Wines

98 Points! Subtle and beautiful on the nose with currants, flowers and light sage aromas that follow through to a full body with ultra-fine tannins and a long and flavorful finish. Extremely polished and poised. Classy. - James Suckling

97 Points! The 2020 Solaia is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, and Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs a little coaxing to bring out notes of warm cassis, black cherry compote, and black raspberries, followed by hints of cedar chest, unsmoked cigars, violets, and cardamom. The full-bodied palate is densely laden with rich, bold black fruits, supported by a firm backbone of ripe, grainy tannins and jaw-dropping tension, finishing long and lifted. - The Wine Independent

97 Points! The 2020 Solaia is an infant. I expected a more exuberant wine, but the 2020 is built along more classic lines. Black cherry, plum, gravel, incense, smoke, pencil shavings and spice all open effortlessly. As always, Solaia is a Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine, but it is a Cabernet that is distinctly Italian, with plenty of Tuscan acid and structure driving through the mid-palate and into the finish. The 2020 is a terrific example of the recent stylistic shift at Antinori. In the past, richness and opulence were qualities of a vintage that would have been amplified in the vineyard and cellar. Today, the aim is to capture a more balanced expression of these kinds of vintages, and that very much comes through. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

97 Points, Wine Spectator's #3 Wine of the Year 2024! Laced 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. Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. - Wine Spectator

Points, Wine Spectator's #3 Wine of the Year 2024! Laced 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. Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. - Wine Spectator

98 Points! The 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 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. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

98 Points! 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. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

98 Points! This is a little riper on the nose than the 2006, with a light raspberry and blackberry jam character combined with a vanilla latte. Full bodied and juicy, with broader shoulders and round tannins. This is powerful and rich, with loads of ripe tannins and fruit. This is all about layers. - JamesSuckling.com

98 Points! Profoundly beautiful aroma on this Cab, a perfect union of oaky char and vanilla with ripe blackberries and cassis. Hard to exaggerate the beauty. Powerful, yet never pushy, with classic Napa balance. Rich, sweet, almost meaty, with massive tannins that are refined and smooth. Very great density and weight. Really defines the vineyard, and should age effortlessly for 20 years. - Wine Enthuisast

92 Points! Expressive and sleekly built, with floral raspberry and cherry flavors laced with cinnamon and dusky spices. Finishes with medium-grained tannins. - Wine Spectator

91 Points! This year, the 2019 Sologarnacha Amphora Aging was produced with grapes from a vineyard planted in 2017. It's "only" 13.5% alcohol (most of the other wines are much higher in alcohol) and has a perfumed and floral nose, showing some lightness after a short maceration to keep the more ethereal part of the variety. The wine matured in a clay tinaja for five months. Only 295 bottles were filled in July 2020. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

99 Points! The 2019 Estate Red is another magical wine from winemaker Sam Kaplan. Based on 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot, and the rest Merlot and Malbec, all from the estate on Howell Mountain, it offers up a dense purple hue to go with stunningly pure cassis and darker currant fruits, full-bodied richness, ultra-fine tannins, and a complex, nuanced style in its leafy herbs, flowers, scorched earth, and classy oak aromas and flavors. It’s brilliant any way you look at it. Hide bottles for 4-5 years, count yourself lucky, and enjoy over the following three decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

98 Points! Tasting this very powerful and concentrated Cornas is like listening to a piece of organ music when the bass kicks in. Very meaty. A wealth of blackberry aromas unfurls as it aerates in the glass. More than enough fruit and flesh to wrap around the imposing core of beautifully crafted tannins. The deep bass notes echo on and on in the compelling finish. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! No Renaissance was produced in this vintage. Reminding me of the 2017, the 2022 Cornas reveals gorgeous red and black fruits, violets, bouquet garni, and gamey, iron-like nuances. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has fine tannins, beautiful overall balance, plenty of mid-palate depth, and a gorgeous finish. This is well worth your time and money, and I'd be thrilled with bottles in the cellar. Hide bottles for 5-7 years and enjoy over the following two decades. This is another beautiful lineup from the Clape family. The 2023s are supple and upfront, with terrific depth of fruit. Due to tiny yields, no Renaissance cuvée was produced in 2022, and the Grand Vin is brilliant stuff, with a sunny yet concentrated, structured style that reminds me of the estate's 2017. These are beautiful, classic Cornas that readers will love. In addition, don't miss their Saint-Péray, a fresher, crisp, absolutely delicious white. - Jeb Dunnuck

96 Points! A tasting of various barrel samples suggests that the 2022 vintage here will be very good, if not necessarily the most powerful year. The fruit is quite dark in character and there's a good sense of purity if not the same freshness as 2021 or 2020, or the grandeur of 2019. Nonetheless, an excellent wine and a fairly typical expression of Clape Cornas. Tannins are ripe and elegant. - Decanter Magazine 

98 Points! Tasting this very powerful and concentrated Cornas is like listening to a piece of organ music when the bass kicks in. Very meaty. A wealth of blackberry aromas unfurls as it aerates in the glass. More than enough fruit and flesh to wrap around the imposing core of beautifully crafted tannins. The deep bass notes echo on and on in the compelling finish. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! No Renaissance was produced in this vintage. Reminding me of the 2017, the 2022 Cornas reveals gorgeous red and black fruits, violets, bouquet garni, and gamey, iron-like nuances. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has fine tannins, beautiful overall balance, plenty of mid-palate depth, and a gorgeous finish. This is well worth your time and money, and I'd be thrilled with bottles in the cellar. Hide bottles for 5-7 years and enjoy over the following two decades. This is another beautiful lineup from the Clape family. The 2023s are supple and upfront, with terrific depth of fruit. Due to tiny yields, no Renaissance cuvée was produced in 2022, and the Grand Vin is brilliant stuff, with a sunny yet concentrated, structured style that reminds me of the estate's 2017. These are beautiful, classic Cornas that readers will love. In addition, don't miss their Saint-Péray, a fresher, crisp, absolutely delicious white. - Jeb Dunnuck

96 Points! A tasting of various barrel samples suggests that the 2022 vintage here will be very good, if not necessarily the most powerful year. The fruit is quite dark in character and there's a good sense of purity if not the same freshness as 2021 or 2020, or the grandeur of 2019. Nonetheless, an excellent wine and a fairly typical expression of Clape Cornas. Tannins are ripe and elegant. - Decanter Magazine

PLEASE BE AWARE, THIS IS A PRE-ARRIVAL WINE - YOU WILL NOT BE CHARGED SHIPPING FEES UNTIL THE WINE(S) ARRIVE

100 Points! Hands down one of the wines of the vintage, shows power and depth coupled at every point with lift and grip, stretches out through the palate, slowly but surely delivering a tickle of spiced sage and saffron, with sappy blackcurrant and graphite. 100% new oak, harvest september 5 to 27, organic conversion, 54 years average vines, Vauthier family shows once again how well they judge construction and architecture. First year not officially a Premier Grand Cru Classé A, but they have kept the ranking off the label for a number of years, so no change on that level. - Jane Anson

100 Points! This is a blend of 50% Cabernet Franc and 50% Merlot. It has a deep garnet-purple color and WOW—what a perfume! This 2022 Ausone offers up an incredible array of floral, earth, and black fruit scents—iris, crushed rocks, juicy blackberries, and black raspberries—plus hints of dusty soil and star anise. The palate bursts with energetic black and red berry flavors and loads of earthy/minerally accents, framed by very fine-grained tannins and amazing tension, finishing very long and chalky. Stunning. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW

98 Points! Wow. This is such a big and beautiful Ausone with huge depth that slowly uncoils. Really powerful, mineral and naturally concentrated, with iron, chalk and a rich, almost opulent core of black fruit, but really fresh, with chiseled tapenade and wood spices that only tiptoe on the nose. Superb intensity hidden beneath the palate, with a matrix of chalky tannins that vibrate, shine and extend. Nothing stops it at the finish, which lasts well over a minute. Almost beguilingly drinkable considering the tannin quality, which is so fine and energetic, but I'd give it at least 3-4 years to let the wood spices integrate more and let the wine grow with more complexity. A bigger Ausone with higher alcohol, but fantastic and rather outrageous. 60% cabernet franc and 40% merlot. This will age well for at least two decades. - JamesSuckling.com

98 Points! The 2022 Ausone was picked from 5 to 30 September and matured for 20 months in French oak. These aromatics take a little time to open in the glass. Once they do, they are precise with wilted iris flowers infusing the black fruit and background pencil box and incense hints. The palalte is medium-bodied with silver bead acidity threaded through the blackberry and bilberry fruit. Fresh and focused, this Ausone possesses a structured finish with a pinch of black pepper on the finish. Elegant in style, this Ausone almost creeps up in you and seduces, intellectual and persistent in the mouth. - Neal Martin, Vinous Media

98+ Points! Lastly, the Grand Vin 2022 Château Ausone is based on equal parts Cabernet Franc and Merlot that spent 20 months in new barrels. Smoky black cherries, mulberries, iron, violets, and spring flower notes are just some of its nuances, and it's deep purple-hued, with full-bodied richness and a surprising level of elegance, purity, and precision. This is one of the more elegant, finesse-driven, yet still incredibly powerful examples of this Château that I can remember. It deserves a decade of cellaring and will evolve for half a century. - Jeb Dunnuck

PLEASE BE AWARE, THIS IS A PRE-ARRIVAL WINE - YOU WILL NOT BE CHARGED SHIPPING FEES UNTIL THE WINE(S) ARRIVE

97-98 Points! A really classic Ausone, reminiscent of the great ones of the 1980s. Medium-bodied, it has such clarity and brightness and length. Purity and precision with drive and focus from superb viticulture and winemaking. A blend of 65% cabernet franc and 35% merlot. - James Suckling

94-97 Points! A classic blend of 65% Cabernet Franc and 35% Merlot resting in new barrels, the 2024 Château Ausone sports a vivid ruby hue to go with a gorgeous perfume of black raspberries, subtle cassis, graphite, sappy flowers, and lead pencil. It's gorgeous on the palate, with medium to full-bodied richness, a pure, focused, remarkably elegant mouthfeel, ultra-fine tannins, and perfectly integrated oak. This classy, perfumed, sensationally elegant Ausone will drink nicely with just a few years of bottle age. - Jeb Dunnuck

93-96 Points! The 2024 Ausone is pure sensuality. Intensly perfumed, pliant and silky on the palate, Ausone is haunting in its beauty. All the elements are so well balanced. Black cherry, lavender, mocha, espresso and exotic spice overtones all take shape in the glass. A wine of understated depth, the 2024 is impressive. Even in the early going, the 100% new oak is not at all evident, suggesting a wine with superior balance. The blend is 65% Cabernet Franc and 35% Merlot. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

98 Points! The captivating Baricci 2019 Brunello is another gorgeous wine from this storied producer. It offers enticing scents of woodland berry, new leather, camphor, pipe tobacco and dog rose while the full-bodied, elegantly structured palate delivers juicy Morello cherry, red plum, licorice and cake spice before a flinty mineral finish. A backbone of tight, refined tannins and fresh acidity provide support and racy tension. While it’s still youthfully austere, it already shows great balance and precision. - Kerin O' Keefe

97 Points! The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino is youthfully inward and darkly floral with an herbal tinge and hints of crushed ashen stone that give way to vivid black raspberry and exotic spice. This is juicy and spry, with racy cherry-berry fruit and stimulating acidity that creates a sensation of boundless energy, even as a saturation of primary concentration settles in toward the close. The 2019 finishes with incredible length and youthful tension, leaving balsamic spice, sage and licorice notes lingering over a bed of dusty tannins. - Eric Guido, Viinous Media

97 Points! Baricci shines with this stunning 2019, from the estate’s south- to southeast-facing plots at 300 metres on the Montosoli hill. It is still far too young, but everything is in place for a long and gratifying life. Preliminary cedar and vanillin nuances melt into sumptuous cherry, and there's a pronounced stony, mineral edge along with juicy blood orange to impart further intricacy. Refined and graceful with layered substance, it has long, chalky, perfectly ‘al dente’ tannins and sappy, mouthwatering acidity. - Decanter Magazine

91 Points! A vivid mix of wild strawberries, roses, hints of cinnamon and crushed rocks captivates as the 2020 Rosso di Montalcino comes to life in the glass. This is silky and refined, with depths of ripe cherry-berry fruits laced with minerals and spice that creates a sweet and sour interplay. The medium-length finish resonates on red currants and inner floral perfumes, as well as a gentle tug of tannin. This doesn't impress on power or prestige, but instead on purity, refinement and sheer drinkability. - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

The only Rosso di Montalcino produced from the Montosoli cru!

91 Points! Consumers take note: Barnett's 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain District is more complex and structured than the MMV bottling yet also less expensive. Sage and bay leaf join black cherries and a hint of vanilla on the nose, while the full-bodied palate is soft and easy drinking but with decent backbone and length and plentiful soft, dusty tannins on the finish. The blend includes 12% Petite Verdot. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

91 Points! Assembled from three different parcels (Catarina, Green Acre and Novillero), Barnett's 2022 Chardonnay Sangiacomo Vineyard is all barrel fermented, with this vintage's proportion of malolactic fermentation at 42%. There's a gentle toastiness evident, serving to elegantly frame the pear and melon fruit on the nose. The wine is medium to full-bodied in the mouth, round and slightly creamy in texture, with a harmonious, easygoing finish. It should drink well for another few years. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

97 Points! Beau-Sejour Becot is a dense, powerful wine. A rush of black cherry, plum, chocolate, new leather, licorice, spice and sweet oak builds as this towering, vertically explosive Saint-Émilion opens in the glass. This is an especially broad, expansive Saint-Émilion, much of that attributable to the clay in these soils. The 2020 is magnificent in its intensity and overall volume. Superb. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media Learn More

98 Points! Another stunning vintage from this brilliant estate that is just delivering hit after hit. Concentration and intensity right from the initial aromatics, damson, cassis and blackberry fruits that you could almost drink now until the tannins build up across the palate and remind you that this is built to last. Velvety texture, black chocolate and crushed stone minerality on the finish. One of the wines of the vintage. Tasted twice, one week apart. 60% 1st wine. A yield of 45hl/ha. -Jane Anson, Decanter Magazine

97 Points! The 2019 Beausejour Duffau-Lagarrosse is deep garnet-purple in color. It slowly expands on the nose to deliver impactful scents of blackberry preserves, Morello cherries, and warm black plums, followed by suggestions of Ceylon tea, iron ore, tilled soil, and fallen leaves. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has exquisitely ripe, silt-like tannins and energetic, nuanced black fruits, delivering a fine backbone of racy freshness and tons of mineral sparks on the very long finish. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent

96+ Points! From one of my favorite châteaux on the Right Bank, the 2019 Château Beauséjour (Duffau-Lagarrosse) is 86% Merlot and 14% Cabernet Franc brought up in a mix of new and used barrels. It's a tighter, more closed 2019, yet it offers beautiful purity and focus in its cassis and black raspberry fruits as well as notes of tobacco leaf, graphite, chocolate, and chalky minerality. Rich, medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced, and again, with this remarkable purity and precision, it has enough tannins to warrant 4-6 years in the cellar and will be incredibly long-lived. It's a beautiful Saint-Emilion. It’s worth pointing out that the 2019 is the vintage bottled by Nicolas Thienpont and starting in 2021, the estate is in the hands of Josephine Duffau-Lagarrosse. - Jeb Dunnuck

100 Points! The 2020 Château Beauséjour (Duffau-Lagarrosse), made mostly by the team of Nicolas Thienpont (the final blend was put together by Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse), is another tour de force from this incredible terroir, and undeniably one of the wines of the vintage. Based on 81% Merlot and 19% Cabernet Franc brought up in 70% new French oak, it offers a sensationally pure bouquet of black raspberries, blueberries, scorched earth, graphite, and a dense, smoky, floral character that emerges with time in the glass. With a voluptuous, layered mouthfeel, gorgeous mid-palate depth, building tannins, and a liqueur of mineral-like character on the finish, it shows the density, purity, precision, and vibrancy of this vintage perfectly and displays that rare mix of richness, intensity, elegance, and length that are the hallmarks of a truly great wine. This is unquestionably in the ranks of the 2009, 2010, and 2016 and will evolve for 40 years or more. - Jeb Dunnuck

98 Points! Intense but delicate, really an exciting wine to taste where you feel the energy build through the palate. Unmistakable limestone influence with the floral aromatics, a jumble of peony, roses and violets, opening up to brambled raspberry and loganberry fruits, with fennel, oyster shell and slate. Huge ageing potential. Cabernet Sauvignon rather than Cabernet Franc in this blend, just one of the many ways in which it stands out from its peers even on the limestone plateau of St Emilion, its delicacy suggesting it is one of the most Burgundian of Bordeaux wines. This vintage was overseen during the growing season and vinification by the team under Nicolas Thienpont, but given its final blend and ageing by new co-owner Josephine Duffau-Lagarosse, along with Prisca Courtin-Clarins. - Jane Anson

PLEASE BE AWARE, THIS IS A PRE-ARRIVAL WINE - YOU WILL NOT BE CHARGED SHIPPING FEES UNTIL THE WINE(S) ARRIVE

100 Points! A curl of woodsmoke and cedar aromatics, peony and crushed roses, fleshy black fruits, rose petals, love the switch between the texture of opulent silk and pumice stone tannic grip, this is exceptionally good. Josephine Duffau Lagrosse's first vintage from beginning to end. A low 3.4ph, reflecting the limestone soils, bottling two months later than usual because of new cellar construction, so 18 months in barrel, 70% new oak, rest in one year old oak. Axel Marchal and Julien Viaud consultants. A potential 100 points during En Primeur, living up to billing. - Jane Anson

98 Points! A heady nose of sun-kissed fruit, tobacco, dried herbs and floral notes. Bright acidity gives energy and excitement, lifting the fruit profile. Tension and persistence come through with liquorice, aniseed and graphite, while ripe strawberries and cherries add charm. Salty, chalky tannins shape the finish. Clean, precise and already enjoyable, yet built for ageing. A flawless wine that has maintained its promise from the en primeur tastings, effortlessly showcasing ripeness and sophistication. - Georgina Hindle, Decanter Magazine

98 Points! What a stunningly complex St.-Emilion from Beausejour, with spot-on aromas of warm bread and roasted spices from the wood. The nose also shows orange rind, hazelnuts, minerals and touches of cocoa powder, hibiscus, mussel shells, graphite and black licorice. Concentrated and compact in flavor, but juicy and effortless. Really fine-grained and focused, with chalky tannins slowly developing and growing on the full-bodied palate before a lengthy finish that lasts for a minute. An incredible wine. Drink from 2028, and this will age well over the next 20 years. - JamesSuckling.com

98 Points!The 2022 Beauséjour is fabulous. I find it better from bottle than it was in barrel. Explosive aromatics from the Franc make a strong first impression. Bright acids drive through a core of dark red fruit, blood orange, spice, new leather and espresso. All the elements meld together seamlessly. What a vivid and gorgeous wine this is. I especially admire the long, saline finish. This is a superb effort from the team led by Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

98+ Points! Violets, ripe black cherries, spring flowers, cassis, and a riveting sense of chalky minerality all shine in the 2022 Château Beauséjour (Duffau-Lagarrosse), another heavenly 2022 that has gorgeous tannins, a seamless, layered, multi-dimensional mouthfeel, ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. It's not massive or incredibly concentrated, yet it has flawless balance and remarkable length. The pH is 3.45, with an alcohol of 14.5%. It's a more elegant, pure, seamless example of the 2020 vintage and has everything in the right place. Give bottles just 4-6 years if you can and it’s clearly going to have 20-30 years of overall prime drinking, as well as a gradual decline thereafter. - Jeb Dunnuck