Wines

98 Points! A 60-40 blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot, the 2021 Proprietary Red Wine Sugarloaf Mountain exudes sensual aromas of mocha and black cherries underscored by gentle hints of tobacco and sage. Full-bodied, plush and supple, with a long, softly dusty finish, this makes a compelling argument for non-Cabernet Sauvignon wines in Napa. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

97+ Points! Gorgeous blue fruits, mountain scrub brush, sage, espresso, black raspberry, and violet notes all emerge from the 2021 Proprietary Red Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard, a blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot that's full-bodied and has terrific overall balance, building, fine-grained tannins, and a good spine of acidity that carries through the finish. This is another gorgeous wine in the lineup that shines for its complexity, balance, and depth. - Jeb Dunnuck

97+ Points! The 2022 Château Beychevelle comes from 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot that spent 18 months in barrel. Its deep ruby/purple hue is followed by an absolutely stunning nose of crème de cassis and plum fruit intermixed with leafy herbs, spring flowers, and crushed stone-like minerality. This full-bodied Beychevelle has a pure, elegant mouthfeel, finely polished tannins, no hard edges, and a great, great finish. This is brilliant stuff that already offers pleasure today yet will cruise over the following two to three decades. It's the finest Beychevelle I've tasted. - Jeb Dunnuck

96 Points! The 2022 Beychevelle is so impressive. A wine of precision and stature, the 2022 has so much to offer. Inky dark fruit, licorice, mocha and lavender build in a sumptuous, creamy Saint-Julien. All of that intensity mounts through the mid-palate, reaching a stunning crescendo on the explosive, resonant finish. Even with all of its obvious intensity, the 2022 retains a gorgeous sense of freshness and vibrancy. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

95 Points! Intense blackberries and blackcurrants with spice and lead-pencil aromas. Medium-bodied, it has creamy and polished tannins and a long and flavorful finish. The cabernet sauvignon is singing here. 54% cabernet sauvignon, 42% merlot and 4% petit verdot. Give it three to five years of bottle age. - JamesSuckling.com

92 Points! Fruit-forward and generous, with snappy cherry, roasted sage and cracked pepper flavors that end on a vibrant accent. - Wine Spectator

92 Points! A fresh and fruity red that emphasizes effusive red fruit, good ripeness and light tannins on a full body. Red plums, raspberries and hints of black pepper and basil on the palate. Well balanced for its size. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! Wild roses and wild strawberries, the nose has a lovely fragrance and expression. Lifted and bright, this has such a beautiful delicacy to it, a creamy, chalkiness comes from the fine tannins with bright, succulent strawberry and raspberry leaf elements. You feel the savoury side too, the sweet vanilla spice and dried herb aspect which counter the fruit and the high acidity. I adore the finesse here, the sharp fruit giving the energy and the chalky texture giving the layers. Feels well controlled, powerful yet delivered with poise. It doesn't have so much overt weight, it's definitely more ethereal in terms of density, but the nuance of flavour is thrillingly captivating and this has a long lifted finish. A contemplative wine that keeps you wanting more and more. Made in new winery facilities in Fiesole. Grapes were picked from the best six vineyards; Vincigliata, Olmo, Londa, Lamole, Montefili and Siena with each divided into parcels and harvested up to eight times to get the perfect ripening points. Natural and indigenous fermentation in open top barriques (225l) for smaller parcels and 50hl cask or stainless steel tanks for larger plots. After 7-10 days of maceration, the parcels are moved into old barriques and 50hl casks for 20 months. - Decanter Magazine

94 Points! The Bibi Graetz 2020 Testamatta is brilliant and vertical with a terrific sense of purity. The bouquet opens to tart cherry and cassis. The wine is vertical and lifted, and the acidity is nicely highlighted. The year 2020 was when Bibi Graetz bought a former hotel that he has since turned into his winery and home. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

93 Points! Lean and linear with mineral-driven aromatics of wet slate and petrichor followed on by a note of roasted corn husk. There is a smoky flint note to the palate followed by cut green apple, savoury herbs, a streak of wet slate, and a kiss of seaspray to finish. - Decanter Magazine

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

93 Points! The NV Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru is showing beautifully today, with aromas of confit citrus, pear, herbs, orchard fruits, pastry and brioche. Medium to full-bodied, it is round and supple with the delicate, bright tension that is the signature of Billecart-Salmon. Perfectly balanced and offering a vinous, toasty and elegantly long finish, it's based on the 2017 vintage with 23% from 2016. Vinified and matured in stainless steel, it spent five years on the lees in bottle before being disgorged with a dosage of 1.7 grams per liter. - Yohan Castaing, 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

92 Points! A youthful, flattering Malmsey, with jasmine, apricot, flan, toasted meringue and elderflower honey notes supported by nicely understated acidity. 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 red 2024 Matas Altas Tinto is a pure Monastrell from different old vineyards (the same ones used for the 2023), the youngest of which dates from 1967, all ungrafted and dry farmed in their village Fuente-Álamo and planted with field blends, mostly Monastrell but with other varieties, on limestone soils with different textures: marl, sand and gravel. It fermented with 10% full clusters—the same for all the reds from this vintage—and indigenous yeasts. It's the youngest of the reds and has a clean, perfumed and elegant nose, not really fruity, more austere/stony but still the gentler of the reds. They want to pick the grapes when they are ripe to give them time to develop aromas and flavors. Here, they also want to expand the élevage to 18 months, but in 2024, it was only one winter, in 8,000-liter oak foudres and some barrels. It's fine-boned and balanced, with abundant, chalky tannins, and it's more powerful than the 2023. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

92 Points! The light red 2021 Follaco was produced with a blend of ancient Juan García (80- to 100-year-old vines) and young Tempranillo (15-year-old vines) from gravelly soils with quartz, granite and slate picked early (the wine is 11% alcohol). It matured in well-seasoned, seven- to 12-year-old French oak barrels for 10 months. It has a bright ruby color and a bright and expressive nose of red berries and flowers. It's clean, light, fresh and very pleasant with vibrant flavors of acid berries. A bargain. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

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

The 2022 opens in the glass with ripe raspberry, black cherry, cassis and cedar. Scheduled to age in large foudres for two years, ripe tannins offer the wine a good structure and framework. Finishing on a savory note, the 2022 looks quite promising at this early stage. - Nicolas Greinacher, Vinous

The classic red of the domaine accounts for approximately 85% of the annual production of the estate.  It is composed of 65% Grenache Noir, 15% Syrah, 15% Mourvèdre and a balance of other traditional varieties. The grapes are not destemmed, the cuvaison lasts for three weeks and the élevage encompasses an additional 18 months in traditional foudre wood vats before the wine is bottled unfiltered. The fruit is perfectly in balance with the textural elements, showing typical dark fruit notes with discernible energy and liveliness. Its slighty sauvage character and firm structural backbone is leavened by its exceptional breed.

97 Points! The 2003 Melbury comes from a slopeside site on the northern side of Lake Hennessey, opposite the Rutherford valley floor. Winemaker Bob Levy compares the 2003 to the 2006 because of the wet winter and spring and the summer’s heat spikes. A brilliant effort from sedimentary soil with rocks over compacted clay, it is a gorgeous wine offering raspberry, black currant, spring flower and blueberry characteristics along with a dense purple color, a full-bodied, multilayered mouthfeel and sweet tannin. This stunningly rich hillside Cabernet Sauvignon should reach full maturity in 4-5 years and keep for 15-20 years thereafter. - Robert Parker, robertparker.com