Wines

93 Points! Orange peel and fruit with chocolate. Medium-bodied with round and polished tannins. Very pretty fruit and finesse. So pretty. Drink or hold. - James Suckling, jamessuckling.com

93 Points!  Cooler soils can be a little austere in this structured vintage of 2020, and you'll find angular tannins on the opening beats, speaking of the limestone, along with salinity, energy and clear purity of blueberry and raspberry fruit. Lovely, a lyrical take on St Emilion limestone from the Durantou family, Olivier Gautrat director. The first year with Noemie Durantou as winemaker, having taken over from her late father Denis. Cellar master Olivier Gautrat. - Jane Anson

93 Points! I found the 2022 Chardonnay Zotovich Vineyard to be the highlight of Samsara's Chardonnay roster. Half the grapes were foot-trodden before pressing, contributing a subtle phenolic grip throughout the wine that provides welcome tension and mid-palate assertion for this sandy vineyard site. Aromas of orange oil and Asian pear introduce the lively, clean palate, which straddles focus and weight before concluding with a pleasantly grippy, saline and energetic finish. - Matthew Luczy, robertparker.com

93 Points! The 2022 Chardonnay Zotovich Vineyard is also exotic, with orange blossom, ripe citrus, spice, and sappy herb notes in a medium-bodied, racy, focused style on the palate. It's going to evolve nicely for 7-8 years or more. There are a tiny 250 cases, but it’s a beauty. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! The 2018 Pinot Noir Kessler-Haak Vineyard has a pale ruby color and fragrant scents of red berries, black tea leaves, lemon peel and earth. The medium-bodied palate is intense yet delicately styled, with a soft, grainy frame, bright, crunchy fruits and a long, spicy finish. - Erin Brooks, robertparker.com

93 Points! Bright and fruity, offering cherry, strawberry, rose and Mediterranean scrub flavors. Shows no shortage of structure, remaining balanced and long. Reveals tobacco and mineral elements on the finish. - Wine Spectator

92 Points! Reverting to a spicy and savory taste profile, the 2020 Chianti Classico Riserva Il Grigio shows a dark, mid-weight texture with extra heft that comes in the form of baked plum, candied cherry and spice. This is another good value wine from one of the most beautiful properties (and luxury hotels) in Italy. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

94 Points! Expressive and expansive nose of fresh plums, cherries, cloves, nutmeg, flowers and sandalwood. It’s so transparent and vibrant, with a medium to full body and fine, tight tannins. Gorgeous fruit. From organically grown grapes. Try from 2024. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! The San Polo 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Podernovi shows a very earthy side that evokes savory spice, smoke and gamey aromas. The core of this organic wine is colored by black fruit and baked plum, but the wine is primarily driven by the aromas it has picked up during oak and bottle aging. This adds a medium-heavy constitution and a good amount of warm-vintage fruit weight for a Sangiovese. The wine also has an accessible character that makes it best to drink over the next 10 years. The fruit represents a selection from over two hectares. - Monica Larner robertparker.com

93-95 Points! The 2021 Sansonnet is once again a stand out. Blackberry jam, crème de cassis, chocolate, new leather, licorice and espresso give this large-scaled Saint-Émilion tons of depth. As always, Sansonnet is an extrovert, but in 2021 it benefits from a kick of acidity that balances things out nicely. It was impressive both times I tasted it. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

94 Points! Excellent freshness and depth here with ripe but very vibrant berries. Spices, cigar box, black chocolate and incense, too. Quite juicy and bright on the medium- to full-bodied palate. Tannins are fresh and polished. Long and expressive finish. There is a “modern” touch here that gives a sense of restrained plushness to the vibrancy. Better from 2024. - JamesSuckling.com

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

95 Points! A modern and dense St.-Emilion with rich, glossy fresh fruit. Plums, dark chocolate, fine spices and a hint of olives on the nose. Juicy, with some nicely tart berries and dusty tannins on the full-bodied palate. Concentrated and tight in the finish, but polished. Very well executed. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! A blend of 92% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2022 Château Sansonnet is gorgeous stuff, offering cassis, crushed stone, graphite, and truffly aromatics. Beautifully pure and medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has integrated acidity, a fresh, focused style, and ripe tannins. Balanced and seamless, it shows the terroir’s freshness and precision while still bringing concentration and texture. Aged for 18 months in 70% new oak barrels, this should drink well for 20+ years. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! The 2022 Sansonnet is a full-throttle, opulent Saint-Emilion. Blackberry jam, mocha, gravel, incense, licorice and bittersweet chocolate are all dialed up. Sansonnet is always a potent wine. In 2022, everything is dialed up to the maximum. This is not a shy wine. That much is obvious. Tasted three times. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

97 Points! Great red fruit aromas, but also wet earth and tar. Rich, concentrated and very suave on the full-bodied palate, this Chateauneuf has extremely fine tannins and terrific balance. Extremely long, velvety finish with great spicy complexity. A vineyard on sandy soil planted mainly with grenache plus small amounts of mourvedre and counoise. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink from release. - JamesSuckling.com

94+ Points! Crafted from 80% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre and 10% Counoise, planted on safre soils in the commune of Courthézon, the 2022 Chateauneuf du Pape Les Saintes Vierges exhales a delicate, refined bouquet of peony, rose, flowers, dark cherries and fresh thyme. Medium to full-bodied, elegant and tense with a textured, fine mid-palate, it possesses fresh, bright acids. This wine exudes a lot of vertical energy. It is best kept in the cellar for the next decade and will be enjoyable for the following 15–20 years. - Yohan Castaing, robertparker.com

94 Points! The 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Les Saintes Vierges is another beautiful wine. Ripe cherries, blueberries, rose petals, spice, and hints of spring flowers all emerge on the nose, and it shines on the palate for its beautiful elegance and purity. Medium to full-bodied, with ripe, polished tannins and notable freshness, it's going to evolve for 15 years with no issues. - Jeb Dunnuck

92 Points! Offers a seductive, refined nose of potpourri, currant and fresh plum notes. Finely grained tannins encase the smooth palate, firmly grounded with bolts of iron. Heady incense and perfume notes carry through the medium palate, tightly packed with mouthwatering acidity and smoke. - Wine Spectator

94 Points! Like the 2019 vintage also reviewed here, the Sassotondo 2017 Maremma Toscana Ciliegiolo San Lorenzo boasts dark color saturation and concentrated fruit, but in the case of this wine, you get softer, more open-knit tannins. Ciliegiolo can famously live up to the hot vintages, especially when the variety is planted in cooler volcanic soils like the kind found in this vineyard cru. The slightly evolved bouquet shows cherry liqueur, almond paste, blue flower and crushed stone. There is a lively, almost nervous quality of the fruit that keeps things edgy and fresh. The mid-weight finish is silky and long. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

94+ Points! The 2019 Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese is very clear and elegant on the discreet and subtle nose that intertwines very fine fruit and slate aromas. Remarkably piquant and vital on the palate, the acidity cuts the sweet and perfectly ripe fruit like a knife. This is highly stimulating in its piquancy and lingering salinity. A very sportive Auslese, in fact. 7% alcohol. Tasted from AP 1920 in May 2020. - Stephan Reinhardt, robertparker.com

94+ Points! Closed and slightly hard to read on this occasion, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard Monastery Block is full-bodied and impressively concentrated, with ripe black fruits, smoky oak, scorched earth, and graphite-like aromas and flavors. One of the more firm and inward wines in the lineup, it needs to be forgotten for 3-4 years and it should be long-lived. - Jeb Dunnuck

94+ Points! The 2019 Barolo Castelletto La Villa is gorgeous. Dark and ample on the palate, the 2019 offers up a compelling mélange of black cherry, plum, licorice, cloves, tobacco and leather. This strapping, potent Monforte Barolo has a ton to offer. The 2019 is an especially fine edition. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

95 Points! You can taste that these were super-ripe grapes and those golden aromas envelope you on the very focused, medium-bodied palate. Then the mineral acidity cuts through the richness with a samurai sword-like flash that knocks you back in your chair. Very long and super-crisp finish. Excellent potential! - JamesSuckling.com

94 Points! Selbach's 2022 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Auslese opens with a coolish and flinty nose with very fine mineral expression and remarkably precise and delicate fruit. Round and generous on the palate, with very fine and saline acidity, this is a creamy-textured, sweet but well-balanced Auslese with a long, aromatic and mineral Domprobst finish. 7.5% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine in November 2023.Selbach's 2022 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Auslese opens with a coolish and flinty nose with very fine mineral expression and remarkably precise and delicate fruit. Round and generous on the palate, with very fine and saline acidity, this is a creamy-textured, sweet but well-balanced Auslese with a long, aromatic and mineral Domprobst finish. 7.5% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine in November 2023. - Stephan Reinhardt, robertparker.com

94 Points! I loved the 2023 Sauvignon Blanc, a vibrant white offering ample Meyer lemon, honeyed flowers, and crushed stone-driven aromatics, as well as a crisp, clean sense of reduction. Medium-bodied, nicely concentrated, and elegant, it might be my favorite of the lineup. I love it today, yet it should have at least a decade of longevity, if not more. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! A solid sauvignon blanc with Meyer lemons, light grapefruit, peach stones and just a touch of flint on the nose and palate. Creamy texture. So caressing. Very Loire-like in a Touraine sort of way. Made from old vines planted in the 1940s and 1960s. Nine months or less in concrete tanks, used large barrels and 80-gallon stainless steel drums. Made by the fourth generation of the Mondavi family. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! The 2021 Chardonnay Tina-Louise Shea Vineyard lifts from the glass with a savory blend of freshly sliced green apples, split pine and contrasting hints of mint. Round, pliant textures and succulent ripe orchard fruits wash across the palate as confectionary spice comes forward toward the close. This tapers off potent and long yet remarkably fresh, leaving touches of young kiwi to fade. - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

93 Points! Lovely nose of golden apples, baked pears, sweet spices, blanched almonds, warm herbs and some lemons. Medium-bodied with bright acidity. Fresh lemon character at the center and a caressing, silky texture enveloping the palate. Well-balanced, lively and precise. - JamesSuckling.com

91 Points! Lifted, with cherry cola up front, the 2020 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley has a generous palate of fresh cranberry cocktail, sweet baking spice, and tangy acid on the finish. This red is hard not to love and is full of pleasure. Drink it now or over the next 5-6 years. - Audrey Frick, JebDunnuck.com