Wine Varietals

wines

Cool, fresh and lively, yet the brisk acidity provides a great counterfoil for some succulent, juicy and ripe fruit. Clear Chablis origin, with the focus and intensity on the palate. This should have a long drinking window and is a very classy example, marrying the warmth of 2022 and the density of the premier cru.Decanter | 94 DEC

All domaine fruit now, from Les Chevalières, Luraule. Pelles, Casses Têtes, Petits Charrons. Pale to medium lemon yellow. A generous bouquet speaking clearly of Meursault. A broad bench of ripe white apple fruit with excellent energy, good acidity behind, and notable persistence. Very Meursault and quite delicious. Drink from 2027-2034. Tasted: December 2023.Jasper Morris | 91-93 JMThe 2022 Meursault is a rich, opulent white. Lemon confit, marzipan, spice and crushed rocks are all amplified. Clean mineral notes extend the finish while also providing a counterpoint to all the textural richness. The Meursault is a blend of parcels (including En Luraule, Petits Charrons, Casse-Têtes, Les Pelles), all estate, high up on the slope. The 25% new oak is nicely judged. - Antonio GalloniVinous Media | 90-92 VM

This beautiful Puligny-Montrachet 1er cru has a subtle nose of bergamot and orange zest with notes of wild herbs. Excellent tension on the generous but focused palate, driving the very long, structured finish, which has a serious stony minerality. From a high-altitude site that may well become better known due to climate change. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSThis white is creamy, with ample baking spice, butterscotch, peach and lemon cake flavors. Shows latent power yet remains fresh and long on the complex finish, where the fruit and spice elements echo. Drink now through 2030. 1,250 cases made, 350 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WSA discreet application of wood frames the pretty aromas of the essence of pear and apple compote, carnation and crushed fennel. The sleek and intense middleweight flavors possess both good richness and a subtle minerality that adds a sense of lift to the markedly zest-inflected finale that exhibits solid length. Once again there is enough gas to notice so a few minutes in a decanter would be helpful.Burghound | 91 BH

Plenty of red currant, cedar, iron and terra cotta aromas follow through to a medium to full body with graphite, sandalwood, red currants and fresh Mediterranean herbs such as thyme and rosemary. The tannins are chewy but polished in texture. This is a Sassicaia that needs three or four years of bottle age to come together and soften. A structured wine for the cellar. Try after 2029.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2022 Sassicaia is simply brilliant in this vintage, showing a remarkable level of poise and freshness. It opens with a captivating bouquet of ripe blackberries, plum, florals and subtle herbs, underscored by a touch of spice, tobacco and minerals. On the palate, it is medium to full-bodied and well-structured, with velvety tannins and a lively acidity that provides perfect balance. Rich flavors of red/dark fruits, tobacco and spices unfold beautifully, leading to a long, persistent finish that is both refined and elegant. A stunning example of Sassicaia’s pedigree and resilience to thrive year after year.International Wine Report | 98 IWRThe Tenuta San Guido 2022 Bolgheri Sassicaia reveals a beautiful fruit profile with fresh blackberry, tart cherry and Mediterranean tones of blue rosemary blooms and lavender sachet. I tasted this wine several times over the course of a few months, and it has already shown a happy evolution coming into slow focus like the faint colors that emerge from a Polaroid photograph. Indeed, the bouquet appeared more closed just a short while ago. The wine’s strongest suit is its elegantly streamlined mouthfeel and its contained 13.5% alcohol content. These qualities add to the silky cleanness of the mouthfeel and the accessible freshness of this vintage. I am confident that this bottle will improve with time. It requires patience.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97+ RPThe wine is tightly coiled and concentrated. It feels almost cinched at the waist, with a fascinating tension between the weight of raspberry, blackberry and strawberry coulis fruit and the wine’s verticality, as if it’s trying to burst out. Lovely mid-palate sapidity is allied to fresh acidity and fine but dense tannins, making for a dark horse of a Sassicaia that isn’t giving much away today but will greatly reward those who can cellar it for 12 years and more. ‘What is sure is that 2022 will need a lot of time, but will also have a long life,’ said Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta. A hot vintage, 2022 caused the team to work in the newly completed refrigerated warehouses in San Guido, even moving the sorting table inside. Shorter macerations and 23 rather than the more typical 24 or 25 months of ageing in wood helped to maximise the freshness.Decanter Magazine | 97 DECOpening with aromas of menthol, dark spice, blue flower and dark-skinned berry, the 2022 Sassicaia is impressive and defied my expectations. Hailing from what was a notoriously hot, dry year, the estate’s location, including its hillside vineyards, vicinity to the woods plus much-needed rain in August preserved freshness and aromas as did harvesting somewhat earlier than usual, shorter skin maceration and slightly less time in oak. Showing elegant restraint, it’s balanced and tense, delivering flavors of ripe blackberry, wild cherry, licorice and mint. It’s still quite tight and youthfully austere, with a backbone of firm, refined tannins and fresh acidity. Give it time to fully unwind. Drink 2030–2042. Abv: 13.5% Kerin O’Keefe | 97 KOThe 2022 Sassicaia is a very pretty, expressive wine. There’s a bit more Cabernet Sauvignon (and less Franc) in this year’s blend, and that really comes through in the wine’s flavor profile and slightly bruising tannins. Dark cherry, plum, leather, licorice, graphite and incense give the 2022 striking aromatic presence to match its rather brooding personality. There’s a bit of tension in the tannins that needs time to resolve. Yields were down about 20% because of intensely cold weather in spring, variable conditions during flowering and set, and then searing heat and drought throughout the summer.Vinous Media | 94+ VM

The 2022 Pinot Noir Outcrop is fantastically spicy! Raspberry and strawberry jam, orange peel and candied violets are accented by wafts of resinous herbs, white pepper, lavender and bitters on the nose. The light-bodied palate is silky and vibrant, its concentrated flavors focused on bright citrus and floral perfume at this early stage. As it airs in the glass, it reveals even more nuance and detail, and it has a hauntingly long finish. It will be long lived in the cellar.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPOwn-rooted, Wadenswil vines from a northern exposure produce wines of savoury structure in the Eyrie Vineyards Outcrop. Fruit character predominates the aromatics, with a spicy blood orange melding with notes of sweet strawberries and savoury dried lavender. The palate goes savoury immediately with tea leaves, fresh mint, and a melange of white and green peppercorns. Structure, texture and, ultimately, longevity will win out.Decanter Magazine | 96 DECThe 2022 Pinot Noir Outcrop is a pale ruby hue and is pretty and floral with notes of ripe candied raspberries, pretty flowers, and sweet herbs. Medium-bodied and well-defined, with a really mouthwatering structure, it’s the most savory of these wines from Eyrie, with notes of tea leaf and mountain herbs. Drink 2025-2040.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDOutcrop is five acres of the Wadenswil clone planted with a northern exposure between 1982 and 2000. The wine’s ripe blackcap raspberry, Stargaze lily ad orange zest aromas make an arresting perfume. The Outcrop’s tart blackberry, black tea and earthy, plum -like dried ancho chile flavors seal the deal. This is beautifully balanced, with lemony acidity and silky tannins. Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEA savory, textural and vibrant red with notes of wild strawberries, dried roses, wild herbs, crushed stone and white pepper. It’s medium-bodied with bright acidity and character. Silky texture with an ethereal character. Refined and infused with a long, textural finish. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 94 JSLavender and violet tones give way to wet stone and hints of blackberry as the delicate 2022 Pinot Noir Outcrop slowly blossoms in the glass. Silky-smooth and pliant, it sweeps across the palate with tart red and blue fruits, taking on a spicy tension toward the close. While not overly tannic, the 2022 finishes remarkably long and potent, with a flowery concentration that lingers on.Vinous Media | 93 VM