Wine Ratings

wines

The deep ruby 2021 Pinot Noir St. Dolores Estate takes on a darker though approachable profile, with notes of lavender, fresh blackberry, wild cherry, and anise. Balanced with great energy and a more refined feel, it has fine tannins (although it has structure) and offers bright, even acidity and a long finish. This is already indicating that it’s going to be a remarkable wine with serious aging potential. Drink 2025-2040.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDDolores must be the patron saint of elegant Pinot Noir, as this beautiful wine will make you want to light a candle in her honor. The wine’s raspberry and strawberry aromas are punctuated by wisps of cedar, watermelon rind and almond roca. Frisky acidity and plush tannins back flavors of nectarines, cherries and saline. Amen.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThe 2021 Pinot Noir Estate St. Dolores grumbles up from the glass with earth tones and exotic spice, paving the way for dusty dried strawberries. Racy and sleek, it opens with a saline tinge, giving way to dark red berry depths and inner herbal tones. Its zesty acidity refreshes the palate even as a combination of primary concentration and grippy tannins takes hold through the long and structured finale.Vinous Media | 93+ VMAttractive aromas of cherries and blueberries with hints of violets, cocoa and chalk. Medium-bodied, clean and pure with crunchy blue-fruited and polished, almost glossy texture. Vivid and flavorful with a firm finish. Better from 2025.James Suckling | 92 JS

All Cabernet Sauvignon from specific hillside blocks on the estate, Shafer’s 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select spent 28 months in 100% new French oak. It’s a big, ripe wine, weighing in at 15.5% alcohol, but it remains harmonious from front to back. Deep, intense aromas of black cherries and cassis are accented by dried spices on the nose, while the full-bodied palate is rich and textural, showing tremendous intensity and length on the finish. Based on how previous examples have aged, this vintage should drink well through 2050.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPAged 32 months in 100% new French oak. It is quintessentially Stags Leap, with grapes grown on Shafer’s famous Hillside estate vineyard, roughly 25ha, with very shallow volcanic tufa soils. It’s a barrel selection of the very best blocks. A total of 2,900 cases were produced. Such a beautifully balanced wine with tremendous staying power and expressive Stags Leap ironstone minerality with heady sagebrush and conifer notes with white pepper and walnut husk. The wine has an impressive depth of red-toned fruit on the mid-palate framed by tannins that practically dance across the palate, exuding length, tension, and power. Huckleberry and black cherry fruits, black truffle, dried violets, graphite, and salted dark chocolate are all framed by racy acidity, which keeps everything fresh and lifted. The 2021 releases mark Elias Fernandez’s 38th vintage as Shafer’s winemaker. He was hired by John Shafer in 1984, two weeks out of UC Davis.Decanter | 99 DECThe 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs a lot of shaking to bring out notes of crème de cassis, blackberry pie, and kirsch, leading to nuances of dried roses, star anise and cardamom with a hint of cigar box. The full-bodied palate is decadently concentrated with firm grainy tannins and great tension, finishing long with loads of exotic spices and mineral sparks.The Wine Independent | 98As always, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon that will spend 28 months in new barrels. Its deep purple hue gives way to a behemoth of a wine that has incredible cassis, black raspberry, and even blue fruits to go with loads of camphor, minty herbs, graphite, and darker chocolate. It’s full-bodied, concentrated, yet pure, flawlessly balanced, and has a great finish.Jeb Dunnuck | 97-99 JDThe 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is shaping up to be a jewel of a wine. Floral and vibrant, the 2021 sizzles with tension and a level of delineation I don’t remember seeing in the past. Like all the 2021s here, the Hillside Select possesses notable purity of fruit and exceptional balance. The tannins need to soften a touch, but time should take care of that. I don’t see the opulence or inner sweetness of most years, but that is not a negative at all.Vinous Media | 96-99 VMJuicy and direct, with a solidly built core of cassis and blackberry preserves lined with cocoa, singed tobacco and warm earth hints. Leans toward toasty on the finish, but there’s ample fruit. Best from 2025 through 2038. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 2,900 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

While understated and delicate in the glass, the 2021 Nero d’Avola Siccagno is impossible to ignore. Crushed blackberries, tangerine, lavender, chalk dust and sweet spice form its dazzling bouquet. It’s round, soft-textured, quite juicy in character and has depths of tart wild berry fruit. Sour citrus adds contrast and tension throughout. The 2021 finishes with staining length, leaving a lingering web of fine tannins and salted licorice. Just a baby today, I expect the 2021 to flesh out beautifully with a few years of cellaring.Vinous Media | 93+ VMA single-variety Nero d’Avola, Siccagno displays a dark ruby colour and opens up to deep aromas of crushed blackberries, chocolate-covered hazelnuts, leather, and a whiff of tar. The darkest wine in the range, firm acidity and slightly dusty tannins provide the backbone for layers of undergrowth-tinged black fruits, a lively progression with a medium to long finish lifted by anchovy-like salinity. Slightly more rustic than the Frappato-based wines, it will show best with some bottle ageing. Aged for 16 months in large oak casks.Decanter | 92 DEC

One of the bigger, richer wines in the lineup, the 2021 Syrah Armada Vineyard comes from a high-density vineyard located just beside the cellar and was brought up all in demi-muids. This deeper ruby/plum-hued Syrah boasts a big, masculine bouquet of smoked red and black fruits, sauteed mushrooms, cured meats, iron, and cold fireplace nuances (it almost has a Graves-like character) that flows to a medium to full-bodied, rich, concentrated Syrah with terrific overall balance, ripe tannins, and a great finish. As with the other 2021s here, it needs lots of air to show at its best and will ideally be given 4-5 years in the cellar. It’s going to hit its 20th birthday in fine form.Jeb Dunnuck | 97+ JDDisplaying a lighter color with a medium ruby hue, the 2021 Syrah Armada Vineyard has a spicy, complex, broad and structured nose, with fresh aromas of black cherries, blackberry skin, violets and rose blossoms. The palate, firm and food friendly, features a distinctive tannic edge that’s meant for red meats. Unmistakably Syrah from Walla Walla Valley, this is a gorgeous beauty, and I’m going back to finish the glass. The wine spent 21 months aging in a combination of new and used French oak. 7,632 bottles were produced.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPVery structured and firmly tannic, this muscular wine comes from tightly spaced vines that give a low yield and lots of concentration. Floral and spicy aromas lead to rich, dark cocoa, blackberry and baked blueberry flavors restrained by the sandy, full tannins. From biodynamically grown grapes. Best from 2029.James Suckling | 95 JSThe Armada sails into port behind a tailwind of black cherry, wet terra-cotta, cumin and smoked pork-belly aromas. The wine’s mouthfeel is seamless and slick, allowing dried cherry, espresso and roasted red-pepper flavors to glide along. Elevated acidity keeps everything lively. Wine Enthusiast | 95 WE

First made in 1971, this legendary Italian wine now celebrates its 50th birthday. Happy Birthday, Tignanello! The Marchesi Antinori 2021 Tignanello (made with 79% Sangiovese, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Cabernet Franc) pulls on all the heartstrings. To be released in May, the wine shows a quintessentially pretty taste profile with tart fruit flavors, redcurrant, tea leaf, heritage rose, crushed white pepper, licorice, nutmeg, clove and chopped mint. It opens slowly to reveal more richness and exuberance with time, becoming downright voluptuous and heady a short while later. The through line, however, remains the bright freshness and minerality of Sangiovese. Compared to the 2018 vintage (which I also loved), this vintage has more overall fruit weight and volume.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPThe 2021 Tignanello is every bit as impressive from bottle as it was from barrel and then just after bottling. Silky and polished, with exceptional finesse, the 2021 has all the pedigree to become a modern benchmark for Tignanello and Italian wine more broadly. Bright dark red fruit, blood orange, spice, cedar and sweet pipe tobacco all soar out of the gals, framed by a discreet touch of French oak that adds raciness. In some vintages, the elements are discernible. In 2021, it is the total harmony of the wine that makes the strongest and deepest impression. The 2021 spent 17 months in wood, three months in neutral oak during the malolactic fermentation and then 14 months (50% new) for the rest of its aging. Superb.Vinous Media | 98 VMLaced with pure cherry, strawberry, graphite and tobacco aromas and flavors, this red is beautifully supported by a backbone of vibrant acidity and taut, refined tannins. Everything is framed by vanilla and toasty oak in the best sense, revealing harmony, with a long, orange-tinged finish and, yes, even drinkability at this stage. Best to give this a few more years in the bottle. Best from 2027 through 2045. 11,083 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 97 WSThe currants and spices are very pretty, with some hazelnut undertones. Medium- to full-bodied with juicy tannins and a flavorful finish. Very structured for a Tignanello, with medium chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. Very polished and curated with a deft winemaking hand coming through. Needs three or four years to soften, but it’s all there.James Suckling | 96 JSTignanello is a southwest-facing 57-hectare vineyard on lime-rich soils in San Casciano Val di Pesa. The blend – predominantly Sangiovese with dashes of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc – has remained the same since 1982. Individually vinified in conical vats, with malo in oak barriques, the wines then age in mostly new French oak barrels plus a small percentage of Hungarian oak barrels, for few months before blending and further ageing; around 15 months in total. Ripe red and black berries and a herbal waft rise from the glass. Intense, grainy and vertical, it has impressive freshness of both acidity and dark fruits, with streaks of coffee and sous bois, and a sprinkling of peppery spice and dried herbs. The sapidity on the mid-palate combines with a soft, creamy chocolate and black fruit finish to create a deliciously approachable and gastronomic wine that will, of course, repay further ageing.Decanter | 95 DEC

Super-restrained nose here with candied lemon and lemon bush, tuberose, peach kernel and integrated toastiness. Full body with amazing weight and concentration, yet with vibrant, lemony flavor, zesty and integrated acidity and a warming but balanced finish. Drinkable now, but with aging potential of more than 10 years.James Suckling | 97 JSFor the first time, Ornellaia Bianco becomes a Bolgheri DOC wine in the 2021 vintage. It’s again 100% Sauvignon Blanc, vinfied in a mixture of 300L and 500L amphorae, barriques and tonneaux, with only 25% new wood. Perfumed, exotic, stony and honeyed, it’s nonetheless a vertical and focussed wine, its structure constraining rich aromas and flavours of mango, peach, white flowers, orange peel, papaya and passion fruit. It does feel like it’s being held back, with a touch of austerity and that stony, mineral authority that makes it a necessity to drink with food. ‘It has much more vibrancy than in the past...a better defined character than when the project began,’ notes Marco Balsimelli.Decanter | 96 DECPreviously a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier, the Ornellaia 2021 Ornellaia Bianco is now all Sauvignon Blanc. The estate recently planted Semillon, so it is possible that we will one day see that grape in the blend (especially because it is known to thrive in hot vintages). This wine plays its best cards in terms of texture. It sports broad shoulders and enough texture to support those many creamy citrus and delicately tropical flavors. A dusting of crushed stone adds elegance. The wine should show its best results in five to 10 years from now.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThe 2021 Ornellaia Bianco is alluring. I sense a bit more textural richness vis-à-vis prior editions, a positive in my book. White pear, jasmine, sage, mint, white pepper, peach and apricot fill out the layers. Light tropical accents appear with some aeration, adding a tropical flair that is quite attractive. This is impeccably done.Vinous Media | 95 VMVerging on creamy in texture, this silky white features floral, peach, sage and mint flavors, with a flash of grapefruit pith. Complex, balanced and long, with a salty component on the persistent aftertaste. Sauvignon Blanc. Drink now through 2030. 100 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

A classy wine with a profound and complex profile. The nose is fully focused on tension, with vibrant aromas of pink grapefruit, linden tree flowers, apricots, Mirabelle plums, green apples and toast. Oily texture with zesty, integrated acidity. It’s long, smooth, full-bodied and weighted in the finish. Candied fruit aftertaste. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drinkable now, but it will last for a decade.James Suckling | 96 JSIntense and complex, it displays slightly lifted scents of meadow blossom, bruised apple and lime, with suggestions of creamy pastries in the background. Great energy on the palate, where the youthful fleshiness is supported by firm, tangy acidity. Although still finding its feet, 2021 is a benchmark vintage for Löwengang Chardonnay – a wine with a radiant future.Decanter | 95 DECHints of graphite and smoke underscore flavors of persimmon, plum skin, white cherry and blanched almond in this clean-cut, salty white. There’s textural richness and density on the palate, though this is medium-bodied and elegant overall. Lightly honeyed throughout, with a long, fragrant finish of mountain herb and preserved lemon notes. Chardonnay. Drink now through 2031. 5,800 cases made, 230 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

The 2021 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Badia a Passignano is one of the best editions of this wine I have ever tasted. Ripe blue-toned fruit, spice, chocolate, leather and licorice fill out the layers in an ample, full-bodied Gran Selezione. Here, too, changes in vinification and aging yielded a wine that marries refinement with textural resonance. Superb.Vinous Media | 95 VMThe Badia a Passignano vineyards, close to the Tenuta Tignanello estate, lie at an altitude of between 250 and 300 metres above sea level and are surrounded by 600-metre high hills to the east and southwest, which form a protective amphitheatre. This area is described by Antinori as a ‘geographical liaison between the UGA of San Casciano and the UGA of Panzano’. It has a Mediterranean climate with mild winters and summers that remain fresh and well ventilated. This in turn encourages a longer, slower ripening season. The 2021 has some notes of green herb as well as bitter cherry, orange zest and sweet vanilla. There is a touch of forest greenness and a balsamic note, as well as spicy black pepper. On the palate the tannins are firm, upright and assertive but always refined. There is a beautiful soft, enveloping texture and weight, and the acidity gives mouthwatering freshness on the finish. It is a little oak-dominant at present, but is still young and needs time. A beautifully made wine that expresses a strong identity.Decanter | 95 DECI had previously reviewed this vintage closer to its commercial release. Tasted seven months later, the Marchesi Antinori 2021 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Badia a Passignano has fleshed out nicely and has successfully shedded its oak signature. What you get now is a pretty mouthful of rich, ripe black fruits with background notes of green spice and smoked bacon. There is a hint of fragrant rose that emerges beautifully at one specific point a few minutes in. This expression from the San Donato in Poggio UGA delivers bright and lively fruit overall. With a storied winemaking tradition and first produced in 1988, you could say that this wine is the control sample against which the three new UGA expressions are measured.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPA deep well of cherry, pomegranate, iron, tobacco and wild herb aromas and flavors highlights this intense red, while a dense layer of tannins provides support. Lively acidity drives the lingering aftertaste of fruit, mineral and herb notes. Best from 2026 through 2043. 12,250 cases made, 833 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

This estate makes a bevy of terrific dry whites in addition to an incredible Sauternes. Starting with the 2021 Lions De Suduiraut Blanc Sec, which is a blend of 52% Semillon and 48% Sauvignon Blanc, it offers subtle grapefruit and citrus notes, a kiss of minerality, and a refreshing, vibrant, wonderfully balanced style on the palate. It’s a seriously good bottle of wine to drink in its youth.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDThe 2021 Lions de Suduiraut Blanc Sec is gorgeous. Rich, creamy and expressive, the 2021 is exquisite in its balance of textural richness and freshness. Orchard fruit, white flowers, mint, lemon oil and chamomile envelop the palate, while bright floral accents perk up the finish. Lions is the new name for the Blanc Sec, which is the same wine as before.Antonio Galloni | 91 AGA tangy white with sliced grapefruit, apple and celery character. Medium body. Fresh finish. White pepper. Dry and chalky.James Suckling | 91 JS

(Drink date 2022 - 2032) “The Diatom 2021 Chardonnay has inviting poached pears, quince and lemongrass aromas with touches of baker’s yeast, honeycomb and acacia. The medium-bodied palate balances generous, exotic fruits and a touch of textural grip with bright waves of acidity, finishing long and flavorful. This Chardonnay is dynamic and so delicious.”Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPThe Diatom 2021 Chardonnay (Santa Barbara County) is another home run from Greg Brewer. Stunning in its depth and overall intensity, the 2021 is bright and mineral, with plenty of citrus and floral character, but also a good amount of textural depth to keep things in balance. Time in the glass brings out the wine’s layers and overall pedigree. As always, the style here favors cold fermentation, no malolactic fermentation and very short aging in steel prior to bottling. In 2021, all of the fruit is from Los Alamos. Best of all, the 2021 is a fabulous value.Antonio Galloni | 94 AGVery crisp on the nose, this bottling by Greg Brewer pops with tropical flowers and fruits of jasmine, plumeria and guava on the nose, with a crushed seashell minerality. The tropical character rides through the palate, offering more plumeria and guava flavors in a balanced approach.Wine Enthusiast | 91 WE

Lovely strawberry, peach-skin and cherry-pip aromas with a similar echoing of fruit on the palate, in a fresh and generous mode. Fruity, flattering and well made. Drink now.James Suckling | 90 JS

Cut grass, dark green herbs and yellow apple aromas show on the nose of this bottling. It’s very lean on the palate with a zippy, energetic acidity that cuts right through the cement, crushed stone and serrano flavors, engaging the palate on all sides.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEThe 2021 Sauvignon Blanc Au Naturel is laced with hints of pear, mint, chamomile, spice and apricot. Racy and textured in feel, the Au Naturel has plenty of richness to play off the natural vivacity of the year.Antonio Galloni | 92 AGAll varietal, the 2021 Sauvignon Blanc Au Naturel offers a touch more oomph in its white peach, melon, white flowers, and honeysuckle-like aromas and flavors. It’s rich, medium-bodied, balanced, and certainly an outstanding expression of Sauvignon Blanc.Jeb Dunnuck | 91 JD

Juan António Ponce told me 2021 is one of those vintages when you realize in wine you never know everything... He thinks the 2021 Clos Lojen is the most complete vintage ever for this wine, with unusual freshness (despite "normal" parameters like a pH of 3.7 and five grams of acidity) and 12% alcohol. It’s intense and has varietal Bobal typicity with good weight. It fermented in 4,500-liter oak vats with 100% full clusters and indigenous yeasts and matured in 4,500-, 10,000- and 15,000-liter French oak vats for six months. This is sharp and austere, with lower alcohol and is more mineral than fruit-driven. Incredible value. 60,000 bottles produced.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPThis is a bobal with clarity and silken length, even as its scent fills the head with purple grape skins and bergamot spice. Friendly, in search of a chill for a summer night, this is a by-the-case buy.Wine & Spirits Magazine | 90 W&S

The 2021 Zinfandel Old Vines shows plenty of Lodi exuberance. Succulent red/purplish fruit, leather and sweet spice are front and center, with bright acids that perk things up on the mid-palate and finish. The 2021 is delicious and also a terrific value.Antonio Galloni | 92 AG

The 2021 Meursault Les Vireuils Dessous has quite a strict nose at the moment. The 20% new oak well is integrated (Chassin cooperage), opening with bruised apple and Williams pear notes. The palate is well balanced with fine acidity, slightly resinous in texture and Chassagne-like finish. Saline and more-ish.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM

The 2021 Meursault Le Limozin, matured in a prudent 20% new oak, has a wonderful and expressive nose with just a soupçon of reduction (Parigot was prudent with the SO2 addition). The palate has exquisite balance, beautifully integrated oak, grilled walnut and litchi, superb salinity towards the extended finish - the wine of the vintage from this address.Vinous Media | 92-94 VM

This is displaying aromas of anise, dried lemons, white grapefruit, gun flint and even smoked meat, with dried mangoes and some green tea, too. Sophisticated rather than generous, with tight and firm layers. Full body. Mineral and tight finish.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2021 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru is one of the more powerful wines in the range, mingling aromas of sweet orchard fruit and confit citrus with hints of toasted nuts, white flowers and new oak. Full-bodied, ample and layered, it’s rich and expansive, but it also maintains good tension.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93 RP

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