Wines

95 Points! Highly aromatic scents of ripe cherry and dark berries, singed plum, cured tobacco and succulent herbs, with a vanilla undertone. Sweet, expansive and powerful, offering intense black and blue fruit flavors with smoke and floral accents. Rich and full but surprisingly lively, with excellent finishing thrust and sweet, harmonious tannins adding grip. Shows the ripeness of the vintage to good effect; this is a somewhat approachable and exotic Unico, especially with some air, but it has the concentration to age slowly. - Josh Raynolds, Vinous

93 Points! Released as the classic Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley in the past, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Spinning Plates has a vivid purple hue to go with a rocking bouquet of pure blue fruits, spring flowers, graphite, and subtle background oak. It's medium to full-bodied and round, with a beautiful core of sweet fruit and ripe tannins. All varietal brought up in 85% new French oak, this ripe, sexy, impressive 2021 will drink well for 15 years if well stored. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! This wine is graceful and delicate, with a clarity and beauty showing aromas of mushrooms, bark, forest floor and violets. Cherries and raspberries, too. Medium-bodied with silky, ultra-fine tannins, it runs long and true. Very crunchy and full of acid tension, this has historical character but is still modern and brilliant. 77% merlot, 20% cabernet franc and 3% cabernet sauvignon. - JamesSuckling.com

Also known as Cuvee Amethyste, 93 Points! An expansive bouquet evokes ripe black/blue fruits, potpourri and olive paste, and a mineral flourish lends vivacity. Shows impressive depth and energy on the palate, offering sharply focused blueberry, cherry preserve, spicecake and candied violet flavors supported by a spine of juicy acidity. Shows an appealingly light touch for its heft, and finishes on a gently tannic note, displaying fine delineation and firm mineral thrust. 70% whole clusters; raised in demi-muids, most of them neutral. - Josh Raynolds, Vinous Media

94 Points! Always Syrah-dominated, the 2022 Avenger is based on 50% Syrah, 20% Carignan, 17% Grenache, 12% Petite Sirah, 1% Mourvèdre that was 75% destemmed and brought up in 20% new French and Hungarian oak. Ripe blackberries, flowery incense, pepper, and sandalwood notes all shine on the nose, and this beauty is medium to full-bodied, round, lush, and polished, with plenty of richness yet a weightless mouthfeel. Drink bottles through 2034. - Jeb Dunnuck

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

98 Points! A blend of 76% Merlot and 24% Cabernet Franc, the 2022 Château Villemaurine is killer stuff, offering black raspberries, black cherries, violets, floral notes, and chalky minerality. Full-bodied, pure, deep, and seamless, it’s layered and rich yet incredibly balanced, with fine tannins and an elegant mouthfeel. Huge minerality and a liquid rock-like character make this a stunning effort. Aged for 16 months in 70% new and 30% one-year-old barrels, it’s going to evolve gracefully for 30+ years. - Jeb Dunnuck

96 Points! The 2022 Villemaurine, 76% Merlot and 24% Cabernet Franc, is very deep purple black in color. It has a wonderfully fragrant nose of candied violets, cinnamon, cloves, and Sichuan pepper with a powerful core of blueberry pie and black cherries. The full-bodied palate is dense and muscular, with black and blue fruit layers supported by a refreshing backbone and soft tannins, finishing with an exotic spice lift. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW

95 Points! The 2022 Villemaurine is an absolute joy. Rich and opulent to the core, the 2022 packs a serious punch. Inky dark fruit, chocolate, cloves, menthol and licorice infuse the 2022 with tremendous depth. Bright saline notes extend the finish effortlessly. Villemaurine is a big, heady wine, but all the elements are so well balanced. Tasted three times. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

94 Points! Fragrant, with wafts of lime blossoms and exotic cardamom, anise and saffron spices, this weaves a firm streak of racy acidity with a satiny texture and finely detailed notes of crushed blackberry, ripe yellow peach, blanched almond and a crackle of fleur de sel, which lingers on the lively, lasting finish. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Disgorged March 2022. Best from 2025 through 2033. - Wine Spectator

93 Points, Tim Atkin's Wine Value of the Year! Wild and floral, with notes of rose petal, tarragon, and spring meadow herbs, this 100% Monastrell from Jumilla’s Valle Estrecho shows bright grip and chalky tannins. Aged seven months in old concrete tanks from the 1960s, it’s textured, vibrant, and deeply rooted in the fruit character of Monastrell and the stony, calcareous soils. It finishes with a bright lemon peel twist. - Tim Atkin

93 Points! The grand vin 2019 O Gran Mein is a blend of different varieties and vineyards that represents the best they have in white, fermenting each variety by plot, which gives them a lot of lots to make a blend. The idea is to achieve something that is complex but delicate rather than intense. It achieved 13% alcohol while it kept a pH of 3.34 and 6.29 grams of acidity, blending wines that fermented in stainless steel, concrete, foudre and 600-liter barrel and matured in tank for 14 months. It has aromatic complexity and depth and is elegant and nuanced, with herbal, balsamic and spicy aromas and the inland, river character. The palate is really balanced, and the mouthfeel is terribly stony, with a drying finish. Here they are again looking for potential to create this blend; they talk about wines for 30 years, guided by the first vintages in the 1990s. - Wine Advocate

93 Points! This shows lovely complexity with blackcurrant compote, cinnamon stick, orange rind, vanilla and undertones of almonds and herbs. The palate has so much blue fruit to it, tight tannins, a wave of fresh acidity and a fruit-forward, tangy finish. Very classy. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! The 2022 Meursault Les Narvaux has turned out beautifully, underlining what a strong vintage this is for the white wines of the Côte de Beaune. Unwinding in the glass with notes of pear, hazelnuts, sweet citrus oil and white flowers, it's medium- to full-bodied, satiny and vibrant, with excellent texture and cut, concluding with a long, saline finish. - William Kelley, robertparker.com

94 Points! Youthfully intense, the 2022 Chardonnay burst from the glass with flinty stone and dusty dried herbs, complicating green apples and hints of incense. This is round and surprisingly supple yet complex, with brisk acidity and citrus-laced pit fruits that take on a more tactile feel as crunchy minerals settle in toward the close. A lemony concentration lingers over a gentle tug of fine tannin as a note of sage resonates. In a word—stunning. - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

93 Points! I was really looking forward to the 2017 Las Enebradas, because the first vintage, 2016, was the revelation of my last review of the zone of Gredos. I was quite surprised because the profile is very different: the wine has a lot more color and up to 2% more alcohol. Nacho Jiménez, one of the partners, explained that the profile of the 2016 vintage was exceptional and hard to replicate, as yields were higher and it rained just before they picked the grapes, so the wine is a lot lighter. 2017 was very different, a lot warmer and with lower yields, and the grapes delivered a concentrated juice with a lot more color, tannin and alcohol. It has a more Mediterranean profile, more in line with the rest of the wines. This fermented with 50% full clusters and temperature control and matured in one 500-liter oak barrel. Despite the higher ripeness and the headier character, the wines from Navatalgordo have a different texture and fine thread, the finesse of a cooler place and sandy soils at higher altitude (even if the vines are south-facing here), and you see it when tasting this next to the wines from Cebreros. It's more elegant and fresher. 570 bottles were filled in August 2019. - Luis Gutiérrez, robertparker.com

94 Points! There is a new and impressive red 2020 Barrio Pastores, a village wine produced with old Garnacha grafted on Rupestris du Lot roots. It is perfumed and floral with moderate alcohol (13.8%) and with a medium-bodied palate with very fine tannins and a dry, austere finish. It has impressive freshness and a pH of 3.2 with 6.5 grams of acidity. The production tried to replicate the wines from yesteryear, and they achieved a clean, fine, soft, perfumed and happy red through foot-trodden grapes and maturing in large oak vats for 10 months. Superb debut. 2,000 bottles were filled in August 2021. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

93 Points! The Garnacha 2022 Barrio Pastores is a village red from Aldeanueva de Ebro and produced with grapes from two plots planted in 1989. The full clusters fermented with indigenous yeasts after being foot trodden, and the wine matured in a 3,000-liter oak vat until it was needed the following harvest. It has a fruit-driven nose that's a little grapey, with a sense of ripe berries and wild herbs. It has 14% alcohol and a pH of 3.45. The palate is medium to full-bodied with fine tannins, ripe flavors and fine tannins. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

95 Points! Mostly Merlot (there's roughly 20% Cabernet Franc), the 2019 Château Valandraud Virginie De Valandraud from the Thunevin team reveals a deep purple hue to go with a brilliant nose of spiced currants, black cherries, new saddle leather, Provençal herbs, and subtle floral nuances. It's rich, medium to full-bodied, and flawlessly balanced on the palate, with gorgeous tannins and a great finish. It's the finest vintage for this cuvée I've tasted, surpassing the 2015, 2016, and 2018. It's going to drink brilliantly for 20 years or more. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! The 2019 Virginie de Valandraud is wonderfully deep and super-expressive. Red plum, raspberry jam, espresso, crushed rocks, rose petal, lavender and tobacco build into the richly textured, resonant finish. This explosive, flavorful Saint-Émilion has a ton to offer. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

94 Points! Blackberry, chocolate and hazelnut character on the nose, following through nicely to a medium body with integrated tannins and a fresh finish. Tight at the end, suggesting more to come with bottle age. Hints of mushrooms and earth. Second wine of Valandraud. Hint of wood at the end that will dissipate with age. Drink after 2024. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! Tasting a bit riper than the 2021 due to the heat during the 2022 harvest, but still an elegant, well-balanced wine. This wine is golden in color, aromatic in lemon-butter, vanilla bean and golden apples, with vivid acidity. Medium-bodied. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

94 Points! The 2021 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast is generous, expressive and begging to be drunk! It has deep aromas of pomegranate, red cherries and blueberries with nuances of garrigue, Angostura bitters and orange peel. The medium-bodied palate is softly chalky and fresh, full of voluptuous, spicy fruit, with pretty botanical accents on the long finish. - Erin Brooks, robertparker.com