The juicy and young 2021 Catena Malbec has a nice combination of spice, berry and herbs to make it balanced, expressive and attractive. It's round, velvety and nicely crafted in an easy to understand and highly drinkable style... Read More
The 2021 Catena Alta Chardonnay is a textbook expression of a barrel-fermented Chardonnay. It fermented with indigenous yeasts in 500-liter barrels, where the wine matured for 14 months. It has good ripeness, 13.7% alcohol and... Read More
Acidic red berries, fresh raspberries, chalk and a hint of herbal freshness. Crunchy and fresh, full of verve. Transparent and nimble with soft, round tannins and a bright, linear finish. Drink now.
I missed the Chacra wines the last time I covered Argentina during the pandemic, so from the 2018s, we jump to the 2021s whites, the top of which is the 2021 Chacra Chardonnay, produced by Jean-Marc Roulot with the help of the... Read More
Fresh and floral nose with tiles, vibrant red berries and pomegranate. Stony, mineral verve. Pure and expressive with good tension on the medium-bodied palate. Silky, very nimble and elegant. Acidic red berries in the finish that... Read More
Very fresh aromas of cranberries, fresh blueberries, stones, pomegranates, stems, violets and lemon zest. It’s medium-bodied with very fine, powdery tannins. So clean and juicy. Mineral, layered and transparent. Taut finish.... Read More
Like the majority of these wines, the percentage of wine in concrete that didn't see any oak in the 2020 Treinta y Dos has been increased to 50%, and the remaining 50% matured in French oak barrels (only 10% new) for nine... Read More
Perfumed nose of lavender, blueberries, coconut and milk chocolate. Creamy, fresh and balanced, with a medium body and supple tannins. Nicely integrated.
Intense aromas of oatmeal, lemon pastry, roasted pineapples and mineral. Fresh, bone-dry and creamy with good volume and substance. 40% viura, 30% garnacha blanca and 30% maturana blanca.
This is a structured and linear Muga Reserva with a creamy and fine-tannined backbone and graphite, cherry, plum and black-truffle character. Medium-bodied, racy and beautiful. 70% tempranillo, 20% grenache and 10% mazuelo and... Read More
Pale pink to the eye, this wine has a bouquet of pineapple and passion fruit. It lights up the palate with clementine, nectarine and rose-petal flavors that evaporate into a vivid finish. — Mike DeSimone
A pure and rather pinot-esque bobal that delivers excellent drinkability and delineated aromas of red flowers, stones, raspberries and potpourri. A hint of grilled thyme and Mediterranean herbs. Textured and pure on the palate... Read More
Fresh and ripe brambly fruit with some grilled herbs, stones and racy red berries. Textured and mineral on the pure, bright and linear palate with flower and fruit notes coming through. A very engaging garnacha that I would drink... Read More
The one Monastrell produced here is the 2022 Depaula, which he was able to bottle at 12.3% alcohol, a rarity for the grape, while keeping richness and mouthfeel. It has a fresh Mediterranean nose of aromatic herbs and fine, elegant... Read More
Ripe blackberries, cedary spice, pepper, and some gamey, sappy herb notes emerge from the 2019 Syrah Larner Vineyard, a juicy, forward, fruit-loaded effort that has good acidity and a great finish. It's up-front and almost... Read More
Rocking aromatics of spiced cherries, spring flowers, forest floor, and sagebrush all emerge from the 2020 Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard, a pure, medium-bodied, elegant, gorgeous, balanced Pinot Noir from a cooler valley floor... Read More
The 2019 Pinot Noir Santa Barbara County brings more up-front fruit, with lots of ripe framboise and strawberry notes as well as flowers and spice. Pure, up-front, wonderfully balanced, and elegant on the palate, it has nicely... Read More