Wines

95 Points! The Poderi Aldo Conterno 2020 Barolo Bussia is a fine and silky wine with the elegant power that is characteristics of this special cru. The wine shows bright fruit flavors with cherry and blackcurrant followed by earthy iris root and licorice. There is a hint of perfume or church incense. That pretty intensity follows through to the palate with balanced freshness and lasting medium-plus richness. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

94 Points! The nose is attractive, with watermelon, leafy lightness, fresh violets and strawberry fruit. The palate is savory and graceful, with a full body, velvety tannins soaked in peach fruit, juicy acidity and a polished aftertaste. A bracing Barolo with at least 10 years of cellaring potential, yet enjoyable now. - JamesSuckling.com

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92 Points! The white 2023 Blanco was produced with 85% Viura, 15% Garnacha Blanca and 5% Tempranillo Blanco, which is the taste they have found works for them, without adding yeasts and putting the wine through malolactic fermentation and using some skin contact for the fermentation. They use grapes from eight vineyards, most of them from the Montes Obarenes, except a little bit from Remelluri. In 2022, a very warm and dry year with a tendency toward less acidity and higher pH, they decided to use less skin contact, perhaps 10%. They aged the wine in concrete, oak vats and 500-liter barrels, working the lees less and less as the élevage advances. Despite everything, it has a moderate 12.8% alcohol and a pH of 3.29, a clean and floral nose, with perhaps some hints of yellow fruit, and a tender and velvety palate with tasty flavors and a dry and chalky finish. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

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92 Points! A well-spiced Champagne, with a subtle underpinning of roasted hazelnut enriching flavors of poached apricot, cherry glâcée, crystallized honey and tangerine peel. A spine of citrusy acidity and a touch of salinity animate the expressive profile through the creamy finish. Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir. Drink now through 2030. - Wine Spectator

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93 Points! This firm, focused Champagne shows pinpoint balance, offering a fine, chalky texture to swathe the chiseled spine of acidity and support the tang of tangerine and blood orange peel, pureed white peach and raspberry fruit, almond biscotti, mineral and lime blossom notes as they expand through the finish. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Disgorged January 2025. Drink now through 2030. - Wine Spectator

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90 Points! An elegant style, with lime sorbet, quince, Fuji apple and lemon zest, plus a touch of lemon basil, all on a sleek and juicy frame that lingers. Drink now. - Wine Spectator

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92 Points! The aromatics leap out of the glass, showing a mix of lemon verbena, lemongrass and lemon balm flavors, plus a touch of wild fennel. Vibrant, juicy fruit flavors are at the core, led by citrus notes of Meyer lemon, pomelo and tangerine, with a touch of salted lime. Sleek and juicy on the finish, with details of peppery white flowers. Drink now.  - Wine Spectator

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94 Points! Brilliant acidity behind rich, ripe and creamy flavors. The wine is luscious, fresh, layered and long in the finish. Full-bodied, toasty and concentrated but sleek and elegant, too. Drink now or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

 

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93 Points! Very structured, balanced and complete. Ripe black cherries, blueberries, toast and baking spices. This is the most widely available Alma Rosa pinot, made from mostly hillside, estate-grown grapes with no stems included. Aged in 30% new oak barrels. Drink now or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

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93 Points! Floral and slightly spicy, with a fresh fruit profile, this has red currants, pomegranate and deep graphite. Medium-bodied, it shines with concentration, weight and elegant tannins. The supersavory finish is sustained by crisp acidity. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

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97 Points! A sophisticated and complex red with blackberries, blueberries, sea shells, terra cotta, crushed stone and sea salt. Medium-bodied, savory and juicy on the palate with a creamy yet firm texture. Opens and softens in the end. - JamesSuckling.com 

96+ Points! From silty soils at the estate Jardín Altamira site, the 2021 Malbec Appellation Altamira is another benchmark example of Altamira's distinctiveness. A broad, expansive and expressive bouquet of crystal-clear purple flower aromas bounds from the glass, supported by a rich yet measured bed of black and purple fruits. The palate is both wide and broad, with a laser-focused, tensile core, releasing into a finish that is equally high and refreshing yet deep and grounded. This is all about flowers and textural breadth, sitting lower in the mouth with a pronounced horizontal richness, juxtaposing the equally fantastic Appellation Gualtallary bottling, which exudes a more vertical, stony profile with a distinctly herbal bouquet. Even while attempting to correct for vintage variation, I find the Altamira wine a touch more complete and three-dimensional, but it really is splitting a hair. - Matthew Luczy, robertparker.com

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97 Points! A sophisticated and complex red with blackberries, blueberries, sea shells, terra cotta, crushed stone and sea salt. Medium-bodied, savory and juicy on the palate with a creamy yet firm texture. Opens and softens in the end. Drink now or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

96+ Points! From silty soils at the estate Jardín Altamira site, the 2021 Malbec Appellation Altamira is another benchmark example of Altamira's distinctiveness. A broad, expansive and expressive bouquet of crystal-clear purple flower aromas bounds from the glass, supported by a rich yet measured bed of black and purple fruits. The palate is both wide and broad, with a laser-focused, tensile core, releasing into a finish that is equally high and refreshing yet deep and grounded. This is all about flowers and textural breadth, sitting lower in the mouth with a pronounced horizontal richness, juxtaposing the equally fantastic Appellation Gualtallary bottling, which exudes a more vertical, stony profile with a distinctly herbal bouquet. Even while attempting to correct for vintage variation, I find the Altamira wine a touch more complete and three-dimensional, but it really is splitting a hair. - Matthew Luczy, robertparker.com

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93 Points! The 2021 Malbec Reserve from Altos Las Hormigas, sourced from Paraje Altamira and Gualtallary in the Uco Valley, boasts a lean, precise character. Planted in chalky soils, it's a rich purple in the glass. The expressive nose presents enticing blueberry, violet, sage and other herb aromas. It has a compact, focused profile on the palate, with chalky tannins that contribute to the lean texture and a refreshing mouthfeel that highlights the wine's taut structure. The long, nuanced finish allows the wine's spare beauty to really come through. - Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous Media

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92 Points! The aromatics of the 2023 Evodia give justice to the name, which in old Greek means "fragrance," and it has high-lifted aromatics, floral, elegant and ethereal. In 2023, they used 15% full clusters for the fermentation, and the élevage was in concrete, with 20% in used 225-liter barrels and 10% in oak vats, and lasted five months. It has a bright ruby color and an extroverted nose. This is ripe, hedonistic and outspoken, showy and juicy, with very good ripeness and 14.8% alcohol, but it comes through as balanced with a pH of 3.68 and 6.1 grams of acidity. You just want to keep smelling it as it unfurls in the glass. The quality is clearly beyond its price point; it's an amazing value for money. One to buy by the truckload!  - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

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93 Points! The mellow and soft 2020 Camino de los Arrieros comes from the same plots as the 2019 I tasted next to it, but the profile of the wine is quite different. This 2020 is a full 1% higher in alcohol, and despite keeping a low 12.5% alcohol, it comes through as riper and more fruit-driven. The integration of the oak in all the wines from De Dios is amazing; the wines show purity, delineation, balance, elegance and freshness. It reveals fine, chalky tannins and a long and dry finish. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

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92 Points! Racy red bramble berries with notes of hibiscus, pomegranates, cochineal and cherries. Some chewy tannins add more gravity to the otherwise medium-bodied palate. Juicy, firm and stony in the medium-long finish. - JamesSuckling.com

91 Points! A fresh, balanced red, with fragrant hints of dried rosemary and thyme, resin, and milled pepper accenting the core of creamy black raspberry and black plum fruit, enmeshed with fine, taut tannins. Stony finish. Garnacha, Samsó, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. - Wine Spectator

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93 Points! Deep and concentrated, with ample stone and citrus aromas, the mirabelle aroma as intense as that of Amalfi lemon. Quite an austere style, but with all this ripeness to balance the firm structure that’s no problem. Intense herbal and chalky character at the very focused finish. Still very young, this should develop magnificently with a bit more bottle age. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

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93 Points! So creamy, layered and sunny, this opulent and velvety wine is rich in blueberries, creme de cassis and cocoa. Affordable for a wine so delicious and smooth. Tannins are fine-grained, body is full, finish is long and lingering. - JamesSuckling.com

 

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92+ Points! Not yet released, Amici's 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon is slightly less flattering than the 2022 but more structured. Slightly herbal, sage-like nuances join black cherries on the nose, while the medium- to full-bodied palate finishes firm and dusty with ripe tannins. It needs a bit of time—buy and drink the 2022 in the meantime—but should represent another great value. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

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91 Points! Readers looking for a delicious, impeccably made Sauvignon Blanc from Napa could do a lot worse than the 2019 Sauvignon Blanc from Amici. This lightly colored white offers textbook notes of white grapefruit, tart lime, and sappy green herbs to go with a medium-bodied, refreshing, yet beautifully balanced style on the palate. Drink bottles over the coming year or two. - Jeb Dunnuck Learn More

93 Points! The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon AE, with 5% each of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec in the blend, is deep garnet-purple in color. It bursts with vibrant scents of blueberries, stewed black plums, and blackcurrant pastilles opening out to notes of mint tea and garrigue. The full-bodied palate is plush, juicy, and ready to go, delivering bags of black fruit and savory flavors and a long, lifted finish. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW

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