Wines

99 Points! Incredible aromas of brioche, bread dough and pie crust with superb, electrifying fruit, from peaches to fresh apples. It’s driven, mouthwatering and with fantastic structure, yet it’s so balanced and creamy. Very fine and silky bubbles. It’s better and better as it warms slightly in the glass. 3.9g/L dosage. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

92 Points!  Aromas of rose, peony, red berries and guava preface the NV Brut Rosé, a medium to full-bodied, elegant and vinous Champagne rosé that concludes with a long, ethereal finish enhanced by menthol notes. A blend of 45% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir and 20% Pinot Meunier, it's based on the 2014 vintage with 46% vins de réserve from nine different vintages and the addition of 6% as a red wine, vinified and matured in stainless steel. Dosage: 4.7 grams per liter. - Yohan Castaing, robertparker.com

93 Points! From a steep, south-facing hillside near Trout Gulch Vineyard in Aptos, the 2022 Pinot Noir Lilo Vineyard is a beautiful example of an undersung vineyard source. It was fermented with 20% whole clusters and aged in three- to four-year-old barrels for 14 months. Lush yet composed aromas of dark fruit, conifers and allspice lead to a seamless and refined palate. The finish perfectly balances ripe fruit, succulent acidity and subtle, drying tannins, making this an impressively well-made Pinot Noir, much less at this price point. - Matthew Luczy, robertparker.com

94 Points! A very distinctive Adeliede Hills chardonnay with a fascinating interplay of leesy and mature candied-citrus aromas. Impressive structure, concentration and excellent textural complexity on the palate. Nice lemon-zest freshness at the finish, although the acidity is moderate. Minimal sulphites added. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! Lilting jasmine, white sesame and honeysuckle notes are backed by elderflower, mirabelle plum and bitter orange accents in this lithe and refreshing version, with a cool sweet/dry tension on the pretty finish. Drink now. - Wine Spectator

94 Points! Verdelho makes medium-dry wines; the grapes for this come from Porto Moniz on the cool northwest corner of Madeira island. Mid-deep amber with a green glint. Lovely, lifted savoury aromas with a hint of dried apricots and raisins, very appetising. Delicate leafy, greengage fruit, with considerable richness (75g/l residual sugar) offset by zesty acidity that persists onto a long mouth-watering finish. Lovely poise for a relatively young Madeira wine. Enjoy a glass of this with consommé, clear soups or a Welsh rarebit. - Decanter Magazine

94+ Points! The 2019 Finca Terrerazo has similar parameters to the 2018 I tasted next to it: 14% alcohol, a slightly lower pH (3.542) and higher acidity (6.15 grams measured in tartaric acid). It also fermented in 3,500- and 5,000-liter oak vats with indigenous yeasts and a soft extraction, and it had an élevage in those containers of 18 months. There is a step up in precision here, quite noticeable when tasting it next to the 2018. It's subtle, elegant and insinuating. It was a very good vintage for this wine. In 2018, the vineyards suffered from hail, and the wine shows more clarity here, it's more transparent and pure, it has symmetry and very fine tannins. This has to be the finest Finca Terrerazo so far. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

94 Points! The 2022 Pepe Luis shows the warmer and drier year with a more Mediterranean profile, notes of dry herbs and nutty touch. The palate is round and gentle but has the granite granularity that gives it a dry, chalky mouthfeel. It has 13% alcohol with a pH of 3.26 and 5.9 grams of acidity, lower than usual. This had a much longer élevage of 17 months in oak foudre, but the wine is not oaky. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

From Finca Aeiroá (1939) – O Barco de Valdeorras – Pure slate soils intermixed with broken quartz, northern orientation – three field blend parcels planted adjacent to each other, primarily Godello with intermixed planting of indigenous red varieties. Northern orientation.

94 Points! This is so gorgeous and well polished with aromas of berries, tobacco, cedar and fresh mushrooms. Medium to full body, fine tannins and a beautiful, textured finish. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

94 Points! Glossy, pure fruit here showing excellent concentration of red berries, cherries, hibiscus, stones and subtle spices. Concentrated and deep on the palate with outstanding volume for this vintage. Vertical and pretty long. One of the best Corimbos here. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! 2019 was a warm year, but the style of the wines is quite balanced, and the 2019 Corimbo shows quite faithful with the character of the year. It has a contained 14% alcohol and shows balance and seriousness. The nose shows some restraint, with varietal berry fruit and measured oak. It matured for 14 months in oak barrels, 80% of them French and the rest American. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

99 Points! Given its consistently outstanding quality, it’s easy to forget that the average age of Porseleinberg's 14 hectares of vineyards is only seven years' old. Showing what Callie Louw calls a "little more crunch" in 2021, this is a Syrah with time on its side. Wild herb aromas of sage, oregano and rosemary introduce you to a palate that's dense yet refined, with lots of whole bunch spice and structure, negligible oak influence, detailed, layered tannins, some underlying grip and layers of dark berry fruit. One of the world's great reds from a very special site. - Tim Atkin, MW

97 Points! The 2021 Porseleinberg is whole bunch fermented and aged for 12 months in foudres. I gave my glass plenty of aeration. Chatting with winemaker Callie Louw, this wine can be closed, this being the first time I had tasted it at the remote Swartland estate. It has a compelling bouquet with fabulous delineation, a mélange of, say, one-third red and two-thirds black fruit, hints of iron filings and reflecting its soils, slate-like scents. Obstinately backward, after 10 minutes, it positively blossoms in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied, with filigree tannins framing the mineral-rich black fruit. Plenty of extract is interwoven, but perhaps unlike the vintages of old, Louw's winemaking sense means that it's not immediately tangible. A discrete build in the mouth reveals hidden layers as it sashays towards its crunchy finish and then delivers a dash of cracked black pepper on the aftertaste. Outstanding…but what else do we expect? - Neal Martin, Vinous

97 Points! What an intense nose of charcuterie, grilled herbs, iron, black berry fruit and cracked pepper. Flavor explosion on the palate, too, with a full body, yet so much freshness with an underlying iron and peppercorn character. Firm, yet fine tannins. Even better from 2025. - JamesSuckling.com

94 Points! The 2003 St. Eden comes from an 11-acre rocky knoll on the northern side of the Oakville Crossroad that consists of pure red soils. It is the most evolved and forward of these 2003 Bond wines. Lots of cedar, chocolate, roasted herb, lavender and spice box notes emerge from this complex Pauillac-like effort. Medium to full-bodied and fully mature, it is more evolved than its siblings, revealing sweet tannin as well as a spicy, earthy finish. - Robert Parker, robertparker.com, 2013

94 Points! The 2020 Fara Barton, Boniperti’s top wine, is terrific. Dark and layered, the 2020 offers up tons of Nebbiolo character. Macerated dark cherry, menthol, licorice, spice and a host of balsamic inflections build in the glass. The 2020 spent 30 days on the skins and matured for 14 months in 22HL casks. It’s a gorgeous, classy, elegant wine that can be enjoyed with minimal cellaring. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

93 Points! This offers up some very impressively concentrated fruit in a very smooth, juicy and succulent style with a super juicy and concentrated palate that offers a wealth of very rich and succulent tropical-fruit flavor. From organically grown grapes. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

93+ Points! (I tasted a blend of Bouchard's three barrels) Good deep red. Wild, soil-driven aromas of brown spices, licorice, pepper, wild herbs, celery seed and toasted bread, plus a light yeasty quality. Big, silky and rich, with a flavor of clafoutis Unusually round and generous for young Bonnes-Mares. Quite horizontal on the back end, finishing with extremely sweet, fine-grained tannins for Bonnes-Mares and superb persistence. I would not be surprised to see this rate a score at the high end of my projected range. - Stephen Tanzer, Vinous Media

93+ Points! (like the Chapelle, this is also made from fruit purchased from Damoy) Bright dark red with ruby tones. Sexy aromas of black fruits, spices, dried flowers, licorice, espresso and chocolate. Juicy, penetrating and high-pitched in the mouth, with lovely floral and mineral lift to the complex flavors of red and darker fruits, leather and pepper. In a very upright, firmly structured style, and not at all exotic. Prost uses more tight-grained Vosges oak for this cuvee, which makes for a longer, slower oxygenation during elevage. - Stephen Tanzer, Vinous Media

94 Points! This is attractive with floral character and notes of fresh cherries and blueberries. Some dried herbs, too. Medium-bodied. So polished, silky and seamless with chocolate-coated red fruit and a delicate finish. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! The 2018 Nuits Saint-Georges Les Cailles 1er Cru displays more mineralité on the nose compared to its peers - well-defined, focused, neatly integrated oak, aromatics that seem to unfurl in the glass (an uncommon trait in this vintage). The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, well balanced and quite refined. A judicious touch of cracked black pepper and allspice on the elegant finish gains detail with aeration. Give it just another 12 months in bottle. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2018 red tasting. - Neal Martin, Vinous Media

93 Points! Blueberry, plum and flower aromas with some new leather. It’s full-bodied with lots of fruit and density. Flavorful and stylish at the finish. A little tight now. Try after 2022. - JamesSuckling.com