Wine Ratings

wines

From the upper part. More sensual perfume here despite the altitude. Fuller white fruit with salinity, tis sufficiently ripe but with a fresh edge. Quite nuanced at the back and with good persistence. Drink from 2025-2030.Jasper Morris | 90-92 JM

The white 2021 Cargol Treu Vi has notes of pollen and yellow fruit with some browning apples. It has contained ripeness and 12.4% alcohol with a very low pH and high-ish acidity but comes through as more evolved and somewhat riper than the phenomenal Principia Mathematica form this same vintage. It has pungent flavors and a medium-bodied palate, with some spice from aging in 300-liter barrels for 10 to 11 months. 2,100 bottles were filled in August 2022.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP

Pale colour. A light and elegant nose, some marine notes behind, gentle but showing well, with a little more volume behind, a wave of white fruit and an attractively nuanced finish. Drink from 2025-2028. Tasted Jul 2023.Jasper Morris | 91 JM

A more restrained nose grudgingly reflects its aromas of strong petrol and mineral reduction with background hints of citrus zest and oak. There is fine mid-palate density to the tautly muscular broad-shouldered flavors that also exude evident minerality on the tightly coiled, lingering and balanced finale. This could use better depth so like the En Caradeux, at least a few years of keeping should prove beneficial.Burghound | 92 BH15 hl/ha despite the best efforts of a wine turbine and bonfire which I saw in action at 4.30a.m. on a cold snowy morning. Pale colour, backward nose, white flowers perhaps. This has a fine balanced fruit, actually sweeter and riper, then oakier behind, with an attractive mineral thread. Needs a little freshening, which will happen before bottling Drink from 2026-2032. Tasted: October 2022.Jasper Morris | 92-95 JM

The 2021 Malbec Single Vineyard Organic Wine from El Cepillo, Uco Valley is purple in the glass. It has a fragrant, expressive nose highlighting fresh plum, raspberry, hoppy and grapefruit notes along with mint and violet aromas. In the mouth, it’s bold and juicy with a taut profile and well-defined, long-lasting flavor. A pleasantly modern red.Vinous Media | 93 VMThe 2021 Escorihuela 1884 Single Vineyard Organic Grapes Malbec comes from their organic and biodynamic vineyard in El Cepillo in San Carlos (Valle de Uco), where they work organically and biodynamically and try to express the variety and place in a pure way with no oak in the wine. It has 13.1% alcohol and mellow acidity. It feels young and has some puppy fat to be rendered by some time in bottle, as I have seen while tasting the 2015 and 2018 next to it. It’s an unoaked Malbec of great purity and balance, juicy and primary now, but it will develop further complexity and nuance with a bit more time. 40,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in October 2021.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPBlackberry and rose-petal aromas and flavors with some sandalwood. Medium-bodied with firm, polished tannins and a long finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 92 JS

The 2021 Ventoux Terrasses Blanc is a gorgeous, clean, up-front, and delicious white that’s ideal for drinking over the coming summer months. Ripe lime, chalky mineral, mint, and some garrigue notes all define the nose, and it’s pure and clean on the palate, with wonderful fruit.Jeb Dunnuck | 91 JD

Spry and briary, this Zinfandel is fun to drink, with lively black cherry, licorice and dried sage flavors, which take on richness and cracked pepper accents toward zesty tannins. Drink now through 2031. 4,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

The 2021 Chablis Bougros Grand Cru, 80% aged in oak, has a delightful bouquet with orchard fruit, lemon verbena and orange pith scents that burst from the glass. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, quite precise with a welcome touch of bitter lemon that keeps the finish on edge. Not a long-term Bougros perhaps, but finely crafted. Tasted blind at the BIVB tasting in Chablis.Vinous Media | 93 VM

The bread-and-butter wine here is the 2021 Bela, produced with Tempranillo from the village of Villalba de Duero (mentioned on the label), from sandy and clay rich soils on limestone mother rock that delivers powerful but not overripe wines with a short-ish élevage to achieve a fine-boned and fresh wine. The grapes were picked between October 1st and 25th, mostly Tempranillo but some 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot too, and it matured in French oak barrels for nine months. The wine has 14.3% alcohol, a pH of 3.57 and close to five grams of acidity, textbook parameters from the zone and textbook profile of classical Ribera; it’s ripe without excess, with very integrated oak and a velvety palate with silky tannins. It reminds me of the historical wines from the early 1990s, Valribeño and so on, with some rusticity but very honest and characterful. With time in the glass, it develops a precise note of licorice intermixed with berry fruit and some spices and herbs. They feel this is the wine they wanted to produce from the beginning; they consider it their best vintage to date irrespective of the style of the year, with 2019 more powerful, 2020 more elegant and this 2021 something in between. 85,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2022.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RP

This is very unique in character, with sliced apple, honeysuckle and lavender. Spearmint, too. It’s medium-bodied with some pine and cooked-apple character in the palate. Flavorful, yet sophisticated and thoughtful. Minerally, compact and focused. 31-year-old vines. Drink now.James Suckling | 96 JSPacks precise flavors of ripe peach, apricot and salted preserved lemon, with lime accents and a savory thread of minerality. Offers a vibrant mouthful of acidity that keeps the flavors in focus, while a hint of dried lemon verbena peeks in on the finish. Drink now through 2029. 1,400 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

The one-hectare parcel that constitutes the 2021 Chablis Valmur Grand Cru yielded five barrels this year. This also has a heavy reduction and is quite yeasty at the moment. The palate is well balanced with a marine-influenced entry, flecks of white chocolate complementing the citrus fruit with a longer finish than the Blanchot. Fine sour lemon mixed with orange rind on the aftertaste. Excellent.Vinous Media | 92-94 VM

The 2021 Chassagne-Montrachet Villages contains three barrels of the young vines in Les Caillerets. It has a crisp and enticing nose with apple blossom and crushed stone that soars from the glass. The palate is well balanced with fine nervosité, taut and linear with a vibrant, malic finish and a stony aftertaste.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM

The 2021 Puligny-Montrachet Clos de la Pucelle 1er Cru, which is half the normal yield, sports a very subtle reduction on the nose, but there is fine delineation and focus here. The palate is well balanced with good weight, lime mixed with tangerine and nectarine, crisp acidity with a lightly spiced finish. There is real nobility evident here.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMThis delicious wine puts the emphasis firmly on citrus and mineral on the initial attack, while the texture on the palate opens up to show concentration, breadth, and spice. The grapes come from a 1.16-hectare plot at the northern end of the vineyard that the family has owned since 1917. Portions have been replanted over time, and the oldest vines date to the ‘50s and ‘60s. The fruit is gently pressed, and the must settled overnight before fermentation in cask (25% new) with relatively few lees.Decanter | 93 DEC

This delightful white from a single lieu-dit in Rully is a marvelous example of the solid quality possible in the Côte Chalonnaise. It boasts ripe apple and linden flower aromas with a hint of butter and spice. The fresh acidity feels fairly chiseled, yet there is enough extract to give the wine a rich texture and lingering finish. Chartron farms three hectares here on the border with Mercurey; the grapes are pressed as whole clusters and run into cask (10% new) for fermentation.Decanter | 91 DEC

This is the fourth vintage of Sandra Bravo’s brilliant old-vine Garnacha from Rivas de Tereso and it’s every bit as good as its predecessors. Aged in 300-litre clay amphoras, it’s wonderfully perfumed and intense, with engaging bramble and red cherry fruit sweetness, tannins and a long, energetic palate. 2023-32Tim Atkin | 96 TA

The 2021 Sauvignon Blanc Vieris opens slowly in the glass, holding back in its youthful state, with hints of lemon oil, rosemary and wet stone accentuated by sweet spice. This is seamlessly silky, almost oily in feel, with sapid yellow citrus and savory herbal tones enriched by vibrant acidity. It finishes potent and spicy, leaving the palate saturated in an intense staining of primary concentration. The potential here is off the charts, but today, the Vieris is one of the most backward wines out of the 2021 portfolio.Vinous Media | 94+ VM

The 2021 Red Wine California is a new Bordeaux-based red wine that Duncan Arnot and Nathan Roberts made initially to take the place of the 2020 Cabernets that would have been released around this time but were compromised by smoke. The Red Wine was initially intended to be a fun project, but Arnot and Roberts may have stumbled into what is really a pretty serious red with real potential. The 2021 is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon (Massa, Bedrock and Gordenker), 20% Cabernet Franc (Persia) and 20% Merlot (Massa). A powerful, old-school wine, the 2021 is going to need a few years to shed some tannin. I loved it.Vinous Media | 95+ VM

I loved the 2021 Lirac Blanc, one of those whites that truly over-delivers. Beautiful notes of pear, white flowers, citrus, and some salty, mineral-like nuances define this beauty, and it’s medium-bodied, with terrific balance, integrated acidity, and a great, great finish. Bravo. Drink this over the coming 2-4 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDThere’s a touch of oak on the nose and palate that helps to frame the tangy citrus notes, and lends a touch of spice, but it’s far from overwhelming. Full-bodied, classically Lirac in its breadth on the palate. Ends on a nip of grapefruit bitterness. Good acidity. Also contains Marsanne, Viognier and Piquepoul.Decanter | 92 DECBrimming with stone-fruit aromas with a touch of mango, this is a rich but very clean and crisp dry white from the Southern Rhone. Good concentration and a touch of positive tannin help it carry the generous body and 14.5% alcohol. From organically grown grapes. Drink now.James Suckling | 90 JS

The 2021 Sauvignon Blanc Quarz is deeply alluring, with a rich mix of savory herbs and grapefruit rinds lifted by a cooling whiff of white smoke. This is potent and supple with medium-bodied weight and a pretty inner sweetness, verging on decadence, yet is balanced by a stimulating core of zesty acidity. Candied lemon and lime resonate throughout as a burst of salty minerality and chalk dust adds perfect contrast. Like most vintages of Quarz, this will cellar beautifully over the medium term. That said, there’s no harm in enjoying it now in this wonderfully primary state.Vinous Media | 93 VM

The 2021 Morgon offers open-knit raspberry and crushed strawberry fruit on the nose. Fine delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with crunchy tannins, fine acidity and quite spicy red berry fruit mixed with white pepper towards the finish. Great potential here.Vinous Media | 92 VMAromas of cherries, plums and berries mingled with hints of peony introduce the 2021 Morgon, a medium to full-bodied, ample wine that’s a touch firmer and more structured than its Fleurie counterpart.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90+ RP

The 2021 Morgon Côte du Py Javernières takes more time to open on the nose compared to the regular Morgon. This is more introspective with scents of melted tar and tobacco. The palate is medium-bodied with finely-tuned tannins. There is a touch of spiciness and greenness but these elements are nuanced and merely lend complexity. A healthy dash of black pepper completes a very fine and cerebral Morgon.Vinous Media | 93 VMThe 2021 Morgon Côte du Py Javernières is a taut, structured wine that will demand a little patience, even in this giving vintage. Offering up aromas of plums, red berries, sweet spices and licorice, it’s medium to full-bodied, deep and vibrant, with powdery tannins and tangy acids.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92+ RP

Rose petal, pomegranate and an herbal blast of oregano and marjoram show on the nose of this bottling from an historic producer in the mountains east of Salinas. The palate is snappy in acidity with plenty of herbal influence, offering thyme-flecked strawberry-sauce flavorsWine Enthusiast | 92 WE

Droin owns 10ha of AP Chablis. Much more interest here with a deeper hue in the glass and much more interest on the nose. Some greengage on the palate, together with a hint of pear and white peach. Pretty much a benchmark example of what village Chablis should be. Concentration and a lengthy mineral character to finish.Decanter | 92 DECThe 2021 Chablis Village has a fresh nose with Granny Smith apples and a touch of fresh pear. With good balance and acidity, the palate is quite saline in the mouth with veins of orchard fruit, hints of wild peach and citrus peel, delicate and refined on the finish.Vinous Media | 88-90 VMThis is aromatically similar to the Petit Chablis though with more citrus elements in evidence. There is again good richness to the succulent and rounded medium-weight flavors that also exude a refreshing salinity on the clean, moderately dry and sneaky long finish that is slightly firmer.Burghound | 88-91 BH

Droin’s Vaudésir comes from just over 1ha with vines planted on both north- and south-facing slopes. A little subdued on the nose and palate, this is a subtle grand cru with plenty of definition, and will blossom with two to three years additional bottle age. No oak.Decanter | 92 DECThe 2021 Chablis Vaudésir Grand Cru has a taut and fresh bouquet, wonderful mineralité with a hint of smoke and flint coming through. The palate is well balanced with a saline note, fine depth, lemon and a little more lime. Builds nicely in the mouth, a lovely Vaudésir.Vinous Media | 91-93 VMHere too moderate wood sets off the overtly spicy and ripe aromas of white and yellow peach, iodine and hints of seashore. The sleek, delicious and intense flavors are just a bit more refined, indeed they are almost delicate, while still delivering excellent length on the citrus-tinged finish where a bit of wood slowly emerges.Burghound | 91-94 BH