The 2020 Côte a Côte is a beautiful blend of 45% Grenache, 30% Syrah and 25% Mourvèdre and one of the most successful wines I tasted from the challenging 2020 vintage. Deep ruby-purple, it offers pure aromas... Read More
Very pretty orange peel with currants and blue berries. Flowers, too. Medium to full body with firm and velvety tannins that are polished and impressive. Fresh fruit at the end. Serious structure and brightness. Drink after 2026.... Read More
Made with fruit from Cannubi Boschis, the Luciano Sandrone 2018 Barolo Aleste is plump and ripe, but this wine also shows a more delicate character that is its ace card. The aromas are filigreed and fine with dark fruit, spice... Read More
This too is firmly reduced and all that can be discerned is a whiff of herbal tea. The bigger, richer and more powerful medium weight plus flavors terminate in an austere, compact and much more complex finale. This appears to... Read More
So tannic, so new oaky, it feels clumsy and astringent and awkward in the mouth. Then you realize how rich the heart of fruit is, offering an enormous array of blackberries, blueberries and black currants. The grapes are from... Read More
There are two Bordeaux variety releases, both beautiful wines. The 2017 The Mark checks in as 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, all brought up in new barrels. This smoky, gravelly... Read More
At first deep, dark and mysterious. Just like the Nikolaihof cellar, where this dry riesling spent 16 years in barrel. Then, a minty freshness develops that leaps out of the glass at you. By some miracle, it manages to taste ancient... Read More
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena comes from alluvial soils, and its dense purple hue is followed by a rich, powerful, concentrated wine loaded with ripe black (and some red) fruits, smoked tobacco, scorched earth, chocolate,... Read More
Very expressive, with seductive, gently mulled plum, raspberry and blackberry fruit flavors seamlessly layered together, while hints of black tea, singed anise, apple wood, incense and warm earth filter through on the finish.... Read More
Very refined, with silky and fine-grained structure carrying alluring bergamot, rooibos tea, incense, dried cherry and lightly mulled raspberry notes along. A long sanguine thread weaves through the finish. Hard to resist now... Read More
A blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Petit Verdot... Deep ruby-purple with
aromas of mint chocolate and laurel, split cedar, pencil shavings, toasted cardamom, warm blackcurrant,
blackcurrant bud, red cherries and licorice.... Read More
This red features excellent balance and complexity, with a supple and delicate texture despite a solid matrix of tannins underneath. Reveals macerated cherry, plum and floral notes accented by licorice and mineral on the long,... Read More
This red shows a supple texture and macerated cherry and strawberry fruit, which initially add up to a lot of pleasure. Yet there is a solid base of tannins too, a promise of this wine's future potential. Comes together on... Read More
Both rich and fruity, boasting cherry, strawberry, rose, iron and eucalyptus aromas and flavors. Shows terrific balance and a juiciness that extends the fruit and savory finish. Best from 2024 through 2042. 311 cases made.... Read More
Dense and muscular, with cherry, strawberry, rose, mineral and eucalyptus flavors in the grip of assertive tannins. Despite being lithe and light-bodied, this red finds equilibrium in the end, with the red fruit lingering on the... Read More
Sweet berry, strawberry, rose-petal and honeysuckle aromas follow through to a medium body with ultra-fine tannins and a berry and light chocolate aftertaste. Drink or hold.