Wine Ratings

wines

Lemon zest and crushed green apples come together with a whiff of spring flowers as the 2023 Orvieto Classico Superiore San Giovanni della Sala blossoms in the glass. It opens with a pleasant inner sweetness matched by masses of citrus-tinged orchard fruits, all balanced by a core of saline minerals and juicy acidity. The 2023 cleans up beautifully, both long and potent yet remarkably fresh. Sour melon hints slowly fade.Vinous Media | 92 VMWell-cut acidity defines aromas and flavors of white peach, pomelo, spring herbs and white blossoms in this light-bodied, lithe white, with a salty finish. Grechetto, Procanico, Pinot Blanc and Viognier. Drink now. 840 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

The 2023 Il Bruciato boasts a dark purple hue and exudes baked aromas of plum, pie spice, balsamic, and rich earth. Full-bodied, the palate is generous and rounded, with supple ripe tannins providing a fleshy sensation through the finish. I would prefer to enjoy this while it retains some freshness over the near term. This vintage is a blend of 37% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Cabernet Franc, 19% Merlot, and the remainder Syrah and Petit Verdot. 860,000 bottles produced.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDThe Marchesi Antinori 2023 Bolgheri Rosso Guado al Tasso Il Bruciato is an easy blend of Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The 2023 vintage reveals a more powerful and riper character compared to 2022. Baked flavors do come through in this latest vintage with prune and cooked plum. But you also get added sweetness from the barrel aging that imparts dustings of cinnamon and nutmeg. The tannins are soft and accessible.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

A seductive, flavorful, vibrant and vertical Sancerre. The nose offers notes of pears, quince and stones. Medium-bodied with bright acidity. Plenty of vitality and verticality to the mineral edge. Lively, mouthwatering finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 92 JS

The 2023 Domaine Durand Sancerre has a captivating profile, featuring white orchard fruits and flowers. This wine boasts a medium to full-bodied structure, with a satiny and deep palate that has a seamless texture. At its core it has a fleshy fruitiness, culminating in a long, saline, ethereal finish.Sokolin Tasting Panel | 93 SP

Matthieu Baudry’s 2023 Chinon “les Granges” comes in this year at a svelte twelve percent octane. As I have noted before, these vines are a shade over twenty-five years of age, planted on sandy and gravelly soils down close to the river. The 2023 les Granges offers up a beautiful, wide open bouquet of cassis, dark berries, tree bark, gravelly soil tones, cigar smoke and a hint of juniper berry in the upper register. On the palate the wine is vibrant, full-bodied and already generous on the attack, with a good core of fruit, lovely soil inflection, modest tannins and fine focus and balance on the long and complex finish. This is just lovely Chinon! 2024-2045. 92.John Gilman | 92 JG

A fresh and crunchy white with light lemons, mangoes and bitter limes. It’s medium- to full-bodied with lots of fruit. The hot growing season comes through, but it remains fresh at the end. Drink now.James Suckling | 93 JS

The 2023 Grechetto entices with a savory bouquet of crushed stones, salty sea air lime zest and green apples. It is nearly oily in texture, with zesty acidity to balance and ripe tropical fruits swirling throughout. It finishes structured and with a lemony concentration, leaving hints of sour melon and spice to linger on. Wow, this Grechetto packs a serious punch. The complexity within can be better understood when considering that it hails from 78-year-old vines.Vinous Media | 93 VM

A vivid and crunchy pinot with lots of sea salt, strawberries and hibiscus with hints of violets and sandalwood. Notes of fresh flower stem. it’s medium-bodied with pretty fruit and a long, bright finish with plenty of energy. Drink now.James Suckling | 94 JS

Huia has never been one to make stereotypical Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, and the 2023 Sauvignon Blanc is no different. Under new ownership but with the winemaking remaining in the hands of former co-owner Clare Allen, the 2023 is a quiet, elegant, aromatically delicate expression. A little more than light in body, it has a rich, succulent and rounded texture, no doubt a combination of the organic vineyards, wild fermentation and use of barrel. Flavors of honeysuckle, ripe apple and lightly toasted hazelnuts linger on the mouthwatering finish.Vinous Media | 92 VM

It must be difficult being Cloudy Bay, because fame brings extra scrutiny and the question, ‘Does this brand offer value for money in the context of the wider region?’ In 2023, the Sauvignon Blanc silences its critics. Its vineyard may be much larger than it once was, but it delivers – dry, clean and elegant, with classic characteristics and the bonus of welcome structure on the finish. It may not be the most flamboyant on the nose, focusing more on the herbal rather than tropical spectrum (whether that’s elderflower, gooseberry or classic passion fruit), but that seems to be a function of the vintage. The 2023 is long, fragrant and exactly what you want from Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, but with an extra layer of class. Vinous Media | 93 VMShows typical guava, grass and flint aromas with some green melon. Medium-bodied with a solid density of fruit as well as brightness and acid energy. Really well done for this vintage. Drink or hold. Screw cap.James Suckling | 93 JS

When you take a sip, the magic happens. The palate is taut and lively, bursting with flavors of juicy strawberries, tart red currants, and blood oranges, all wrapped up with a subtle hint of honeysuckle. It’s like biting into a ripe, sweet strawberry on a summer afternoon! The finish is long and precise, leaving you with lingering mineral and red berry notes that make you want to go back for more.Sokolin Tasting Panel | 92+ SP

The single vineyard bottling of Franclieu from Jean Manciat is his finest terroir, with these thirty to thirty-five year-old vines planted on argilo-calcaire soils. The wine is fermented with native yeasts and raised in stainless steel tanks until bottling. The 2023 Franclieu is a touch lower in octane than the regular Mâcon-Charnay bottling in this vintage, coming in at 13.5 percent alcohol. It delivers a beautifully precise and more soil-defined bouquet of apple, pear, almond, chalky soil tones and a lovely floral topnote redolent of both white lilies and apple blossoms. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, zesty and complex, with a beautiful core of pure fruit, excellent mineral drive and grip, a lovely spine of acidity and a long, pure and impeccably balanced finish. This is outstanding Mâcon and more refined and soil-driven in personality than the regular bottling! 2025-2040.John Gilman | 92+ JG

Delicate and floral in the glass, the 2023 Rosé Château de Selle Cru Classé wafts up with a captivating blend of freshly sliced nectarines, minty herbs, peach sorbet and wet stone. This is seamlessly silky and serene, focused on purity, with ripe orchard fruits and candied lime motivated by a core of tantalizing acidity. It’s potent and long, with a spicy flourish of ginger and citrus while leaving a sweet herbal tinge that lingers on and on. The 2023 Château de Selle is simply stunning.Vinous Media | 93 VMBright and vivid nose with strawberries, dried raspberries, cherry blossoms and a light, spicy undertone. Medium-bodied, round-textured and lengthy with lots of energy and a crisp, mineral backbone. Round and textural finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink now.James Suckling | 93 JS

The 2023 Sancerre “l ’Authentique” from Domaine Thomas-Labaille is a beautiful, classic example and augurs very well for other bottlings from this next vintage in the pipeline. The wine offers up a superb bouquet of gooseberry, lime, fresh-cut grass, an excellent base of limestone minerality, citrus blossoms and a topnote of orange peel. On the palate the wine is bright fullbodied, complex and nicely balanced, with a fine core of ripe fruit, superb soil transparency and grip, bright acids, lovely focus and bounce and a long, complex and vibrant finish. Lovley Sancerre. 2024-2032+. 92.John Gilman | 92 JG

Derived from over 60-year-old vines growing in very shallow soil, with limestone bedrock close to the surface, Patrick Piuze’s 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Séchet is one of the highlights of the broad 28-bottle tasting across many different climats and appellations. Opening in the glass to reveal a bouquet of oyster shell, green apple and lemon zest mingling with beeswax and iodine, it’s medium-bodied, bright and precise, with mouthwatering acidity and ample structuring extract, concluding with a searingly chalky finish. If one wants to pick a bottle that’s unmistakably (even when tasted blind) Chablisien, look no further than this beautifully defined and incisive interpretation of Séchet.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94+ RPThe 2023 Chablis “les Séchets” from Domaine Piuze is also a fine example of the vintage. The wine’s aromatic constellation delivers scents of apple, pear, lemon blossoms, a lovely base of limestone soils, beeswax and a nice touch of Chablisienne straw in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and nicely structured out of the blocks this year, with a fine core offruit, excellent mineral undertow and grip, bright acids and a long, complex and very well balanced finish. This will want a few years in the cellar before drinking with abandon. 2028-2055.John Gilman | 92+ JG

The 2023 Langhe Bianco Dragon is mostly Chardonnay, with touches of Sauvignon Blanc, Nascetta and Riesling. Pear, white flowers and tangerine oil inflections grace this expressive, mid-weight Bianco. Creamy, silky contours wrap it all together. Baudana’s Dragon has come a long, long way in recent years.Vinous Media | 92 VM

The 2024 Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc leads with a complex nose of sweet pea, cassis bramble, gooseberry, elderflower, preserved citrus and brine. In the mouth, the wine is concentrated and detailed, with fresh energy and zip ensconced in textural folds of phenolics. This is a gorgeous wine and comes highly recommended. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RP

This wine showcases enticing aromas of ripe stone fruit, summer berries and delicate rose. On the palate, vibrant notes of raspberry and ripe cherry bring warm, sun-kissed flavors, complemented by balanced acidity and a satisfying weight. Best enjoyed between 2025 and 2028.Sokolin Tasting Panel | 92+ SP

The 2024 Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc leads with juniper and cassis, green apples and lemon zest. In the mouth, the wine has a quinine-like freshness and intensity, shaped by pliable phenolics through the middle palate and finish. This is a really classy wine here. It’s sophisticated. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPCut grass, passion fruit and river stones on the nose. The palate is light-bodied with focused acidity, giving notes of orange blossoms, jasmine and lemon peel. Polished and tightly wound. Drink now. Screw cap.James Suckling | 91 JS

Meet the summer’s next showstopper! This bone-dry beauty in the iconic blue bottle is bursting with a rush of sea-breeze minerality, keeping things edgy, crisp and oh-so refreshing. You will be swept away by the lively bouquet of sun ripened strawberries, juicy nectarines, honeydew melon, and a zing of orange zest-all lifted by a bright, mineral sparkle that only gets bolder as you swirl. An impressively long, silky finish that lingers with a wave of mineral freshness and just a whisper of lavender. Sokolin Tasting Panel | 93+ SP

This Rosé is a rich earthy expression with lots of peach aroma to back up its stoniness. The full bodied palate has fantastic minerality and an everlasting white pepper finish.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WEA poised, tangy and charming rosé with aromas of nectarines, almond powder and sweet spices. Medium-bodied with a delicious mid-palate. Juicy fruit mingles with the spices and onto the tangy, mouthwatering finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink now.James Suckling | 90 JS

You’ll probably know the Miraval name because of its celebrity owners: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie bought the Provence estate in 2011. But behind the starry names is a range of rather good wines, perfect for summer drinking. This blend of Cinsault, Grenache, Rolle and Syrah delivers fresh strawberry and grapefruit zest aromas. Fresh, crisp and mineral, with silky red berry fruit, this is far too easy to drink... Enjoy!Decanter Magazine | 92 DEC

A well-rounded, focused and delicious rosé showing dried raspberries, frozen strawberries and mild spices on the nose. Medium-bodied with bright acidity. Balanced and driven, with a lively center palate and a persistent, flavorful finish. Drink now.James Suckling | 92 JS