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Blackcurrants and black cherries with lovely flowers on the nose. Medium-bodied with ultra fine tannins that give focus and tension to the wine. Pretty and poised. A little shy now. From organically grown grapes. Drink after 2027.James Suckling | 98 JS

Including more Cabernet Sauvignon than Cabernet Franc (it swings back and forth), the 2021 Avoyelles Oakville reveals a dense purple hue as well as sensational aromatics of red, blue, and blue fruits, spring flowers, spicy oak, graphite, dark chocolate, and a beautiful earth, forest floor-like character. Full-bodied, concentrated, and ultra-pure, it’s borderline perfection and a heavenly bottle of wine that needs 3-5 years of bottle age and will blow you away over the following two decades. The blend is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, aged 22 months all in new French oak.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDThe 2021 Avoyelles is a bruiser, its mid-weight structure notwithstanding. Strong, savory and floral notes open first. There’s plenty of weight and intensity, but it appears gradually. All the elements are so well balanced in this young, potent Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc blend.Vinous Media | 97 VMI tasted a barrel sample of the 2021 Patria Avoyelles Red, with 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. It has a deep garnet-purple color and offers up vibrant notes of crushed black cherries, warm cassis, and Indian spices, with hints of charcoal, beef dripping, and crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate is laden with taut, muscular black fruits and firm, grainy tannins with seamless freshness, finishing long with a spicy lift.The Wine Independent | 95-97 TWI

The 2021 Ornellaia captures all the magic of this sensational vintage on the Tuscan Coast. Rich, ample and expansive, with tremendous polish, the 2021 is pure class. Dark-toned fruit, mocha, espresso, licorice, plum and dried herbs abound. The tannins are present but also beautifully integrated, as is the French oak. There was a time not too long ago when young wines here needed years in bottle to drink well. That’s not at all the case with the 2021. The blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 7% Petit Verdot works so well. New oak was 70%.Vinous Media | 99 VMAromas of blackcurrants, iodine, crushed stone, hints of mint and sage. Blue fruits. Full-bodied with chewy tannins that open with air. It’s racy and very long. Very tannin driven and energetic with power and focus. Muscular and very toned. This is the best Ornellaia for the cellar in years. Try after 2030.James Suckling | 99 JSWhile the summer was hot and dry, with three months of drought, the vines’ roots were able to tap water reserves which had been topped up by rainfall the previous winter and spring. Despite the warm growing season, Ornellaia 2021 feels less dense and muscular than vintages of old, offering pretty floral and wild herb perfumes alongside ripe red and black fruit scents. It’s intense, fresh and vertical in character, with fine, ripe, round tannins that seem to be a trademark of the vintage – it’s a gorgeous, breezy iteration of the Bolgheri benchmark that is already drinking well. The blend is 53% Cabernet Sauvignon (up from 50% in 2020), 25% Merlot (down from 32%), 15% Cabernet Franc (up from 13%) and 7% Petit Verdot (up from 5%); a carefully considered response from the winemaking team to the increasingly warm summers in the region.Decanter | 97 DEC