Wines with Age

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Similarly colored, the 2016 Ermitage Le Méal Blanc comes from a warmer terroir of pebbly and more loess soils and was brought up in 10% new demi-muids. It’s a bigger, richer wine than the de l’Orée and boasts rocking notes of honeyed citrus, orange marmalade, baking spices, and licorice. Rich, powerful, and layered on the palate, it’s another rocking white from this team that will drink nicely for two decades or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDA two hectare plot of 50+ year old vines on a steep south facing slope of alluvial deposits and large stones. Deep gold in colour, this is fresh with a lifted apricot aroma. It’s very full and opulent in the mouth, almost too full - a point that’s emphasised by blocking malo. This is distinctly bright, refreshing yet powerful, with mineral notes and a saline finish. It has real relief and detail of texture despite its rich, flowing body. A wonderful wine, but be aware of the low acidity this year.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2016 Ermitage Blanc Le Méal is much more developed than the 2015 Ermitage Blanc De L’Orée tasted alongside. Deep straw-yellow in color, the 2016 exhales pronounced quince, hay, acacia honey, dried apple and toasted bread aromas. Powerful and deep, it hits the palate with full force. Opulent and flashy, the 2016 Blanc Le Méal closes with distinctive phenolic grip. Although it’s not the most elegant rendition, it does show the great potential that aged Marsanne can bring when made in the right hands.Vinous Media | 95 VMThe 2016 Ermitage le Meal Blanc is all Marsanne and all power, with ample weight and richness on the full-bodied palate. Grilled melon and tangerine flavors are big, bold and round yet balanced by a hint of bitterness on the finish. It should drink well for two decades or more.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPSeductive and creamy nose with baked lemons, orange rind, rusks, flower honey, green apples and fresh flowers. Full body with such an ample, round dimension to it. It’s expansive and extensive with controlled power. It’s flattering with so much volume and weight on the palate. Long finish. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 94 JS

This is a fantastic white. The greatest Ornellaia white so far. Very complex and dense yet, at the same time, energetic and vivid. This shows so much richness and density with a pretty, phenolic texture that keeps you entranced. Full-bodied with lots of honeysuckle, green-melon and cooked-apple character. Very long and flavorful. Dynamic and great wine. Drinkable now, but better in 2021.James Suckling | 99 JSThe star of the show with regard to the whites is unquestionably the 2016 Ornellaia Bianco. It’s reminiscent of a great vintage of Domaine de Chevalier with its incredible purity, precision, and length, displaying notes of clean citrus, melon, white flowers, and honeyed minerality. Fresh and vibrant as well as rich and powerful, it’s medium-bodied, seamless, and flawlessly balanced on the palate, with a thrilling finish. While it’s beautiful today, it should keep for 10-15 years or more. The 2016 is 100% Sauvignon Blanc that was brought up in 30% new French oak.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDA cooler but drier year than 2015, making an interesting comparison between Ornellaia Bianco’s only two 100% Sauvignon Blanc vintages. Smoky lanolin notes lead to a concentrated, intense and juicy palate with creamy nectarine, grilled pineapple and citrus zest. Despite heading towards all-out exoticism, however, the 2016 is corseted and refined, demonstrating a push-pull between juicy, ripe tropical fruits and mineral restraint, suggesting there is much more to come from this wine. The individual base wines were fermented in barriques (30% new) with no malolactic fermentation, then aged on the lees for up to 18 months with occasional batonnage. A final three months on steel was completed before blending and bottling.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2016 Ornellaia Bianco is a beguiling wine, even a bit deceptive when you get down to facts. This is indeed the central part of its irresistible charm. For one, this edition is a mono-variety wine made solely with Sauvignon Blanc. (The other protagonist of the blend, Viognier, is said to return in 2017.) However, the complexity of the bouquet could mistakenly make you think the blend is more intricate. You get white rose, crisp apple, saffron, toasted pine nut, cinnamon and wild sage. The aromas show brilliant detailing. In addition, the wine is expansive and creamy in terms of mouthfeel. However, none of the whites at Ornellaia—including this wine—undergo malolactic fermentation, though the creamy and richly textured mouthfeel might lead you to conclude otherwise. This classic vintage is especially generous and rich. The wine does see barrique aging, but only a third of the wood is new. Those spicy endnotes serve to frame the beautiful fruit that sits squarely at center stage.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThe 2016 Ornellaia Bianco has more nuance, freshness and layers of flavors than the 2015 tasted alongside it. I very much like the delineation and energy that are such signatures of the 2016.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMThe 2016 Ornellaia Bianco looks more mature than the 2015 and Heinz comments that it may have had a little too long in oak - 18months - which was longer than in other vintages. Although 2016 was cooler than 2015 - so you might expect more freshness - it was also much drier than 2015. This 2016 has an orange-gold tone to the color and a slightly, nutty, dried fruit aromatic profile with lightly perfumed spice notes. The texture is great, more of a full, voluptuous style with a medium-long finish. The 2016 is 100% Sauvignon Blanc, perhaps lacking a little freshness and vibrancy, but has a lovely silky weight and a gentle savory finish.The Wine Independent | 93 TWI

The 2017 Guiraud is brimming with pineapple, passion fruit, spice and vanillin. Rich, structured and racy, it shows tremendous character as well as personality. Readers should expect a bold, extroverted Sauternes. I loved it. Antonio Galloni | 95 AGThis is very fruity and layered with botrytis spice and dried-apricot and pear flavors. Full body. Very sweet with tangy acidity. There an almost sweet-and-sour undertone to this. From organically grown grapes. Drink in 2021 and onwards.James Suckling | 95 JS94–96. Barrel Sample. Ripe, botrytized fruit currently dominates this wine with its rich concentration. It is a full and liquorous wine that will age for many years. Drink from 2025. Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThe 2017 Guiraud opens with subtle notions of crushed rocks, wild fungi and fragrant earth leading to a profound core of orange marmalade, crystalized lemon peel, dried pineapple and paraffin wax. The rich, opulent, wonderfully exotic palate delivers soft acidity and loads of spicy sparks, finishing with great length and depth.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPSilky and concentrated, this is one of the successes of the appellation for me. It has lovely zest and zip, with touches of candied ginger and a fresh lift on the finish. It manages to give shade and light more than most in the vintage, but is just a little shorter than in some previous years. Very good quality, reminiscent of the 2009. (Drink between 2020-2032)Decanter | 94 DECMango, peach melba, gingerbread and hazelnut notes are laced with a racy streak of orange peel, giving this unctuous, forward Sauternes good energy through the finish. Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc. Drink now through 2035. 3,750 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSAnother rockstar Sauternes is the 2017 Château Guiraud, which has the freshness and purity of the vintage, yet ample depth and richness. Caramelized limes, citrus, and ample minerality all emerge from this full-bodied, impeccably balanced dessert wine. Its acidity is present yet integrated, and it has a great mid-palate and a big finish, all pointing to this being a beautiful Sauternes with a long life.Jeb Dunnuck | 93-95 JD

The 2017 Ornellaia Bianco is a slightly tweaked blend compared to the 2016 and includes a splash of Viognier. The blend is 91% Sauvignon Blanc and 9% Viognier, which is a combination you don’t see often, yet it makes sense, and the Viognier plays the role of Semillon seen in Bordeaux Blanc releases. Coming from a dry, hot year, it has a beautiful bouquet of Meyer lemons, honeysuckle, flowers, and hints of barrique. This carries to a seamless, full-bodied white that’s flawlessly balanced, has a bright core of acidity, ample mid-palate depth, and a great finish. It’s one seriously classy white I’d be thrilled to drink any time over the coming 4-5 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDA really beautiful, layered white with sliced lemons, limes, stones and hints of steel. Some lemon curd. Tight and solid with fine phenolics that give it structure and focus. Extremely poised and dignified. Drink now or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSThe previous vintage of this wine was made soley with Sauvignon Blanc, but as expected, the Ornellaia 2017 Ornellaia Bianco sees a small percentage of Viognier added to the blend. The exact percentage of the two components is 91% Sauvignon Blanc and 9% Viognier. If you are a fan of these grape varieties, as I am, this wine will appeal to all your basic pleasure points. Showing medium rich concentration and a creamy textural fiber, it reveals some of the weight that we associated with this hot and dry vintage. However, any trace of over-ripeness is mitigated by the cool soils that, in this case, consist of deep calcarious clay broken up by rocks at a breezy 80 to 100 meters above sea level. This consistency is perfect for locking in moisture even in drought vintages. The wine is fermented in oak, but no malolactic fermentation occurs, and the wine instead rests on the fine lees with frequent stirring. Orchard fruits and Cavaillon melon give the wine a sturdy center of gravity. Some 5,000 bottles were made, and this wine was released in April 2020.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPThe 2017 Ornellaia Bianco is impressive, especially within the context of the warm, dry year. Bright and focused, the Bianco shows the natural richness of the vintage - that is impossible to escape - but it also retains quite a bit of energy. Orchard fruit, citrus and floral notes are beautifully delineated throughout. Once again, the Bianco is a wine of real distinction.Vinous Media | 94 VMSubtle peach, passion fruit, elderflower and earth flavors converge in this white. There is a touch of oak adding a vanilla accent. Though lush in texture, this is also intense and long, with an echo of passion fruit and salty elements. Drink now through 2024. 75 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

...The complexity and richness of Special Cuvée is unparalleled among the entry non-vintage blends of every Champagne house, short of ascending to the mesosphere of Krug. Its grand recipe explains why, built on incredible depth of 50%-60% reserves. Triumphant complexity is a given at Bollinger, but it’s the dynamic freshness and vitality that really set it apart as one of the most affordable Champagne benchmarks.Decanter | 96 DECBollinger’s NV Special Cuvée knocks it out of the park. Made from 60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay and the rest Pinot Meunier, with 30% of the blend brought up in barrels, it boasts a rich, deep, medium to full-bodied style as well as terrific notes of lemon curd, crème brûlée, caramelized stone fruits, and hints of toasty nuttiness that develop with time in the glass. It’s a big, rich Champagne that stays balanced and pure. Beautiful stuff.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDBollinger’s NV Special Cuvée knocks it out of the park. Made from 60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay and the rest Pinot Meunier, with 30% of the blend brought up in barrels, it boasts a rich, deep, medium to full-bodied style as well as terrific notes of lemon curd, crème brûlée, caramelized stone fruits, and hints of toasty nuttiness that develop with time in the glass. It’s a big, rich Champagne that stays balanced and pure. Beautiful stuff.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDRestrained and very pretty aromas include those of yeast, Meyer lemon, petrol and green apple where the latter element is picked up by the utterly delicious, vibrant and detailed flavors that possess fine complexity on the agreeably dry but not austere finish. The supporting mousse is dense but fine and overall, this is a wine that could be enjoyed now or held for up to a decade. Excellent. (Drink starting 2024)Burghound | 93 BHOne of Bollinger’s great assets is a massive stock of reserve wine, including 600,000 magnums held under cork. Gilles Descôtes tends those reserves, working with the blending team to subsume the variations of the current vintage into Bollinger’s Special Cuvée by using a majority of reserve wines in the blend. The result is a rich and harmonious Champagne with deep reserves of flavor. Its substantial, formal structure feels polished, its flavors balancing the cool earthiness of a limestone cave and the sunnier, bright floral notes of fresh cream. Built for food, whether emphasizing the freshness with lobster bisque, or the depth with beef Wellington and chanterelles.Terlato Wines Int’l., Lake Bluff, ILWine & Spirits | 93 W&S Like its rosé counterpart, the latest release of Bollinger’s NV Brut Special Cuvée is showing especially well, bursting from the glass with aromas of honeyed apples, crisp stone fruit, buttery pastry, ripe lemons and fresh walnuts. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and vinous, with a deep core of beautifully ripe fruit, racy acids and a pillowy mousse, it’s a charming, characterful wine that proves that Special Cuvée is firmly back where it belongs.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPThere’s a pleasing, snappy quality to the acidity framing this elegant Champagne, enlivening accessible flavors of currant, Marcona almond and orchard blossom, with a minerally touch of saline-laced oyster shell that lingers on the finish. Drink now through 2022. 11,000 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WSLots of biscuit aromas and a wide spectrum of fresh-citrus, candied-citrus, red-apple and red-berry notes. Mouth-filling creaminess, plus quite an imposing presence and powerful structure for an NV Brut. Long, citrus and chalky finish that’s very clean and properly dry. 60% pinot noir, 30% chardonnay, 10% pinot meunier. Almost 20% barrel fermented and 62% reserve wines. Based on the 2017 vintage and disgorged July 2021. Drink now.James Suckling | 92 JSFine bubbles combine nicely with the cooked apples, pie crust and lemon rind. Some biscuit, too. Full body. Layered and creamy with a crisp finish. Always delicious. Drink now.James Suckling | 92 JSDominated, as always, by Pinot Noir and with wood fermentation and aging, this Champagne has a great poise between freshness and richness. It is intense and ripe, with apple and minerality coming together. The bottling is ready to drink.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WE (60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunier; 8 g/l dosage; L1403801): Pale yellow. Toasty aromas of apple and pear nectar are complemented by hints of toffee, honey and orange zest. Full and expansive on the palate, offering ripe orchard and pit fruit flavors and an undercurrent of smoky minerals and buttered toast. Smooth and gently spicy on the clinging, nicely focusd finish.Antonio Galloni | 91 AG(NV Bollinger “Special Cuvée” Brut NV (Aÿ)) The current release of Bollinger “Special Cuvée” is composed of its customary blend of sixty percent pinot noir, twenty-five percent chardonnay and fifteen percent pinot meunier. It was finished with a dosage of eight grams per liter and offers up is classic pinot-shaded bouquet of white peach, apple, bread dough, a beautiful base of soil tones, a touch of hazelnut and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and complex, with a fine core of fruit, a good spine of acidity, elegant mousse and a long, well-balanced and classy finish. This is still a young wine and I would tuck it away in the cellar for at least a few years and let its acids relax a bit and its secondary layers of complexity emerge. (Drink between 2020-2040).John Gilman | 91+ JGNotes of flowery beeswax, white fruit, and quince on the nose. The palate has a flinty austerity with Braeburn, white pepper and subtle spice followed by yeasty richness and brisk finish. Drinking Window 2020 - 2025.Decanter | 90 DEC

The NV V.P. Vieillissement Prolongé (base 2014) is a powerful, explosive wine. The combination of the base year, with the extended time on the lees and low dosage, yields an especially stark, austere Champagne that will need a few years to unwind following its disgorgement just a few months ago. Orchard fruit, chalk, mint, white pepper, plum and slate are some of the many notes that build into the intense, mineral-drenched finish. This is a wine for the patient. Dosage is 3 grams per liter. Disgorged: October, 2022.Vinous Media | 96 VMThe NV Champagne Grand Cru VP Viellisement Prolongent Extra Brut (which I believe is based on the 2014 vintage, with 2012 and 2013 reserve wine) is expressive and elegant with ripe pineapple, lemon custard, and white flowers. The mousse is elegant, and it’s long on the palate, with another level of refinement and precision. There’s more focus here, with great length and a wonderful and balanced savory edge. At this stage, it still feels like it would benefit from more time in bottle. Drink 2024-2042. This spent 7 years on the lees before disgorgement.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JD

The floral bouquet is very fine and elegant but also quite delicate, suffused with touches of slightly candied citrus, but the telltale autolytic note of hazelnuts is less pronounced than usual. There is, however, some almond nuttiness on the palate, as well as racy rectitude and vivacity that give thrust to a long, surprisingly breezy finish. Will benefit from five to 10 years of cellaring. Disgorged January 2020. Dosage: 4.5g/L. Elaborated from 146 wines and 11 different vintages, the oldest of which dates back to 2000. 40% reserve wines. Drinking Window 2021 - 2035.Decanter | 94 DEC

A lovely ferny nose and breezy seaside raciness. Bright yellow fruit on entry, a flicker of preserved lemon and cooked quince adding vibrancy. Then comes the Krug richness which spreads over the palate. The balance hovers tantalisingly between tactile precision and soft warm fruit and the finish reveals layers of cinnamon-tinctured blancmange, and the creaminess goes on. Rich but light on its feet. A definite buy and a keeper. The 2014 base harvest was hit by sour rot and mildew in mid-summer. Intense selection meant Krug had to reduce the amount of Meunier to half its Grande Cuvée average, and reserve wines (representing 45% of the final wine) back to 1998 buttress the balance and complexity; a triumph of blending. It also relies heavily on 2013 to add life and structure. Main harvest: 2014. 45% reserves. Aged for six years on lees. Disgorged: Spring 2021. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2040Decanter | 96 DECWonderful precision and depth right away on the nose, with dried pineapple, light apricot and hints of flint and slate. Medium-bodied palate that’s firm, bright and linear. Vivid,driven acidity adds focus and perfection. Dried lemon and a wonderful, creamy texture with a mineral undertone. Extremely long, almost endless. Sophistication here. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 96 JSThe numbering indicates this is the 170th blending of this Champagne. This iteration has a fine poise—it’s mature and toasty on the one hand and offers rich fruit on the other. It is a finely balanced wine that is ripe and full in the mouth. Drink this beautiful wine now. —R.V.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEKrug’s NV Grande Cuvée 170ème Édition is based on the 2014 vintage, complemented by some 45% reserve wines dating back to 1998, with the house drawing on, among many others, 2013 for structure and 2012 and 2003 for generosity. Opening in the glass with aromas of pastry cream, dried fruits, pear, warm spices, freshly baked bread and vanilla pod, it’s medium to full-bodied, pillowy and fine-boned, with excellent concentration, racy acids and a precise, chiseled profile. But if the latter adjective could be applied to the 2013-base 169ème édition equally felicitously, the 2014-base 170ème is more giving and less tightly wound out of the gates and will offer more demonstrative drinking young.Robert Parker The Wine Advocate | 95 RPA lovely, mouthwatering Champagne, with a vivid and finely detailed panoply of baked nectarine, lime blossom, ground coffee, mandarin orange peel, candied ginger and salted almond notes set in a lithe, limber frame. Seamlessly knit, with a sense of buoyant vitality, this has a harmonious, elegant frame for the richly expressive flavor range. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier. Disgorged winter 2020 to 2021. Drink now through 2027.Wine Spectator | 95 WSFrom vintages spanning from 1998 to 2014, the NV Champagne Grande Cuvee 170eme Edition is decadent and nuanced, with a rounded perfume of toasted brioche, lemon curd, and honeydew melon. Ripe yellow orchard fruits fill the palate with nectarine, fresh grapefruit pith, and a core of acidity. This is showing wonderfully now, although it still has the tension to go for the next 20 years. Jeb Dunnuck | 95+ JD(NV Krug Grande Cuvée “170ème Édition” Brut NV (Reims)) The very soon to be released new “170ème Édition” of Krug Grande Cuvée is a stunning young wine. It is from the base year of 2014 and composed from a cépages of fifty-one percent pinot noir, thirty-eight percent chardonnay and eleven percent pinot meunier. In this vintage, a nearly unprecedented forty-five percent of the blend was made up of reserve wines. The reason so much of the blend this year was made up of reserve wines was the crop of pinot noir in 2014 was not stellar, as it had to contend with the infestation of Suzuki flies that damaged the quality of this grape in particular leading into the harvest of 2014. But, fortunately, there was plenty of pinot noir in the reserve wine library at Maison Krug, so the challenge was able to be overcome beautifully. The “170ème Édition” of Grande Cuvée is strikingly floral this year, offering up a beautiful bouquet of pear, delicious apples, hazelnut, a complex base of soil tones, orange zest, patissière and a gorgeous array of floral scents in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, crisp and beautifully mineral in profile, with a fine core, refined mousse and a very long, complex and perfectly balanced finish. This is a beautiful rendition of this iconic wine. (Drink between 2022-2065)John Gilman | 95 JGThe 170th edition of Grande Cuvée is based on the 2014 vintage, with reserve wines making up 45 percent of the blend. The layered complexity of the wine is immediately intriguing, a character Jhonel Faelner of NYC’s Atomix described as “multidimensional,” finding shades of citrus, apple, hazelnut and nougat, even as the wine finished completely dry. The force of the limestone acidity structures the varied amplitudes of flavor, the wine needing bottle age to fully show its depths. When it comes to blended wines from traditional grand marque houses, Grande Cuvée’s presence, stature and detail set it apart.Krug, NYWine and Spirits Mag | 94 W&S

The May 2017 disgorgement of Fallon’s NV Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Ozanne is showing brilliantly, wafting from the glass with aromas of citrus oil, crisp yellow orchard fruit, freshly baked bread, toasted nuts, candied peel and honeycomb. Full-bodied, vinous and concentrated, it’s layered and textural, with a bright spine of acidity, a pearly enlivening mousse and a long, intensely sapid finish. Its combination of power and tension makes this the finest wine I’ve tasted from Fallon to date. Of course, finding any of the thousand or so bottles released every year is next to impossible, but readers able to track one or two down are in for a treat.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThe NV Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Ozanne is laced with gorgeous scents of pastry, brioche, citrus, white flowers and yellow orchard fruit. Warm, oxidative tones add breadth and volume, but the wine remains weightless, impeccable and pure. The delineated, crystalline finish leaves a lasting impression. This is a super-impressive showing from a producer who appears to have a very bright future. Ozanne is the old, historical name by which Avize was known prior to 796. Disgorged May 25, 2012.Antonio Galloni | 93 AG