Wines

95 Points! The 2017 Syrah Rockpile Vineyard is another huge success in the vintage. From a great site in the Rockpile AVA of Sonoma County, its deep purple color is followed by a great bouquet of blueberries, iron, crushed rocks, ground pepper, and hints of smoked game. Structured and tannic on the palate, it reminds me of a young Cornas and needs 4-5 years of bottle age. It’s seriously impressive, though, and should have 15 years of overall longevity. - Jeb Dunnuck

95 Points! The NV Extra Brut Les Béguines LC 18 is a wine of immense charm and generosity of spirit. Mingling aromas of walnuts, fenugreek, pear, yellow orchard fruit, licorice, white flowers and buttery pastry with evocations of peach and apricot, it's full-bodied, fleshy and voluptuous, with a broad and textural attack that segues into an ample, enveloping core, concluding with a sapid finish. These were the nicest grapes I've ever seen when assessed simply as fruit," Prévost remarks, contrasting the 2018 crop with the smaller berries and thicker skins of, for instance, 2015 "which were great grapes from which to make wine. - William Kelley, robertparker.com

94 Points! A juicy and fruity red with blackberry and some dark chocolate and graphite character. Lead pencil, too. Medium-bodied with creamy and integrated tannins and a juicy finish. Savory and delicious. Some iodine. A blend of grenache, shiraz and mourvedre. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! The 2021 Plexus comprises 48% Shiraz, 28% Grenache and 24% Mourvèdre. This is the first wine that John Duval made when he left Penfolds; the first vintage was 2003. This is polished and juicy, the long and mild 2021 season on show here. There are notes of raspberry pip and cocoa, a hint of chocolate-covered licorice and tobacco, brine and star anise. It's a lovely wine, as ever. And it's potentially a superstar release, given the inherent balance and length of the season and, therefore, the wine too. - Erin Larkin, robertparker.com

93 Points! This quite serious 2021 Red Plexus is a Rhone blend of Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvèdre with an almost Gigondas feel. It delivers exceptional value with its brooding blackberry, meat stocks and licorice aromas, plus a dusting of spices. Dry with excellent focus and concentration, the cooler 2021 vintage provided a tighter and tannic package delivering waves of meaty olive tapenade and peppery complexity. The length is excellent, but it needs a little time to blossom. - Angus Hughson, Vinous

93 Points! Beautifully perfumed notes of violet and lavender add an effusive quality to the core of blackberry, kirsch and fresh plum, with accents of star anise, sage, masala chai and tapenade, plus a touch of bittersweet chocolate that lingers on the long finish, where the plush tannins add further elegance. Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvèdre. - Wine Spectator

93 Points! The 2023 Nisia Las Suertes is 100% Verdejo from very old vines (possibly even the 1880s) and was aged on the lees with bâtonnage for a minimum of 7 months in French oak puncheons and demi-muids. It has more melon ball, hay, crushed stone, and subtly honey nuances that carry to a beautifully textured, layered white with a gorgeous mid-palate, integrated acidity, and a great finish. It's a serious wine that's geared for the dinner table. - Jeb Dunnuck

93+ Points! The village 2021 Viñedos en San Vicente de la Sonsierra was produced with 75% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha and the rest white grapes, mostly Viura from vineyards in the middle and higher part of the village. It fermented partly with full clusters and matured 50/50 in concrete and 500- and 600-liter barrels in their cave. This feels quite serious, with ripeness and power, slowly revealing more elegant notes and some floral hints, with an earthy touch. It feels like the grapes ripened thoroughly in the longer cycle and developed plenty of nuances. It has 13.9% alcohol and is medium to full-bodied, serious and balanced, with the stuffing to develop in bottle. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

91 Points! Peach and melon fruit is offset by a bitter citrus note in this tense, well-structured white. An intense version, with hints of wild herbs and a stony feel on the finish. Drink now through 2028. - Wine Spectator

93 Points! Not a big wine like this village can produce, but a refined, elegant one with ethereal fruit and floral aromas, then succulent red cherries, raspberries and spearmint on a silky, almost-soft texture. Medium-bodied. Drink now or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

92 Points! The 2020 Marsannay Clos de Jeu has turned out especially well, offering up aromas of sweet cherries, mulberries, licorice and toasty new oak, followed by a medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated palate that's deep and vibrant, with powdery tannins and a precise finish. - William Kelley, robertparker.com

91+ Points! Sourced from the upper part of the vineyard, the 2014 Riesling Grand Cru Hengst Samain is rich, ripe and concentrated on the nose, though still closed. Rich, round and intense on the palate, this is a very firmly structured but also finessed Riesling that indicates an enormous ripeness and power; but it should be aged for another couple of years. Picked at the 9th of October, so a week later than the regular Hengst. - Stephan Reinhardt, robertparker.com

93 Points! The 2022 Silver Label now shows the name on the label (and also "Etiqueta Plateada" in Spanish). It's their first wine in their new era, which started in 2002, a wine that aims to promote the quality and potential of Monastrell. It matured in new and second-use French oak barrels for one year, but they were looking for lower toast and less impact of the wood in the wine than earlier vintages when it was 100% new oak. It has a paler color and a subtler and more floral nose, keeping the poise and showing surprisingly fresh for the conditions of the year. It's ripe, reflecting the warm and dry weather, with 15% alcohol but very good freshness, coming through as balanced and harmonious, clean and pure. This is a bargain and a success for the year, a champion in drinkability. Bravo! - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

96 Points! Another full-bodied, rich, concentrated, powerful wine in the lineup, the 2019 Syrah Cattle King is all varietal and comes from the Upland Vineyard in the Snipes Mountain AVA. Not destemmed and aged in 50% new French oak, it offers a brilliant perfume of darker berry and cassis fruits as well as notes of ground pepper, chalky minerality, and graphite, which turns more floral and peppery with time in the glass. It's a classic Washington State Syrah with tons of charm. It's certainly approachable today yet will benefit from just a few years of bottle age and keep for over a decade. - Jeb Dunnuck

93 Points! Blueberry, ripe-blackberry, cedar and chocolate aromas. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, ripe tannins. Structured, yet seamless and rounded. Beautifully balanced and concentrated. From organically grown grapes. Drink from 2022. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! Savory notes of grilled rosemary and olives waft from the glass, joined by currants and wild berries. Lovely texture here, with sleek tannins, medium to full body and a long, creamy finish. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! Made by a man who understands Pinotage better than anyone, Abrie Beeslaar’s red is good to drink now but will also develop in bottle. Comfortably handling its 80% new wood, it has notes of Asian spices and toast, succulent blackberry and cherry fruit, refreshing acidity and a stony, mineral core. - Tim Atkin, MW

93 Points! A succulent, juicy young red with plum, dark berry and some tile and bark undertones. It’s full-bodied with layers of pure fruit and fine tannins. Lightly chewy at the end of the palate with a savory and fruity finish. Better after 2024.  - JamesSuckling.com

91 Points! Alluring, with melted red licorice draped over a core of lush cassis and plum compote notes. An apple wood edge is nicely inlaid on the finish. Drink now through 2028. - Wine Spectator

92 Points! The Klein Constantia 2023 Constantia Sauvignon Blanc is extremely linear and sharp with a mineral quality the persists throughout. Winemaker Matthew Day says it took him a long while to understand what the soils mean to this wine. He works with ancient decomposed granite and reddish sandstone from Table Mountain and along the riverbeds. With 42 blocks to choose fruit from, the blending possibilities are enormous. He can pinpoint the best blocks each year. He starts blending after the wine has seen six months in tank, but he wants to extend that to nine months. A salty marine theme is dominant, but the wine also offers white fruits and light floral nuances. A tiny part of declassified wine from oak may work its way into this blend, but you would never know. If you enjoy Sauvignon Blanc, as I do, I enthusiastically direct your attention here. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

95 Points! The effusive sliced-pear and white-peach aromas introduce you to this extraordinary, contemporary interpretation of this grape, which is so often dismissed as old-fashioned. The abundant fine tannins remind me of natural wines, but there’s a level of brightness here that’s totally Alpine and gives it remarkable drive at the very long wet-stone finish. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

92 Points! Subtle, with a perfumy profile of cinnamon, powdered ginger, hazelnut husk and toasted sesame notes leading the way, backed by mouthwatering date and dried fig details and a lengthy finish. - Wine Spectator, 2018

95 Points! Very elegant, sleek Auslese with a delicate hint of floral-honey sweetness and filigree acidity that makes the finish very fresh and exciting. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

92 Points! The 2024 Village Chardonnay had just been freshly bottled when I tasted it at the estate in Kumeu in March 2025. The other 2024 Chardonnays were tasted as tank samples prior to filtration and bottling soon. The wine leads with yellow citrus and crushed shells. It is texturally fine, sleek and tightly coiled around a core of salty acidity. It is complex but composed and very good. "2024 was a fantastic year, just very small," says Paul Brajkovich. "Weather during flowering wasn't good in spring in 2023," says Michael Brajkovich. "Ripening in 2024 was excellent, so we have a 40% down in yield but very high quality. The Village wine is a blend of Kumeu and Hawke's Bay [and is] a mixture of barrel and tank fermentation." - Erin Larkin, robertparker.com