Wines

97 Points! The 2016 Santa Croce is the estate’s blend of equal parts Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon that spent close to eight years in cask during a time when proprietor Coralia Pignatelli della Leonessa was ill and some lots sat undisturbed in cellar for extended periods. Dark red fruit, rose petal, spice and menthol build in the glass. Most suprisingly, the 2016 is shockingly fresh for a wine of its age . This is a great, great wine. It’s not Sangiovese, it’s not Cabernet Sauvignon, it’s not a blend. It’s simply Castell’in Villa at its most profound. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

99 Points!  The 2016 Chateau D’Yquem is pure magic and dessert wines don’t get much better. Offering a pale gold color as well as a blockbuster bouquet of honeyed tangerines, tart apricots, liquid rocks, white flowers, and honeysuckle, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, an opulent texture, vibrant acidity, and again, an incredible sense of minerality, despite having no shortage of sweetness or richness. The 2016 is a classic blend of 75% Sémillon and 25% Sauvignon that hit 14.2% alcohol with 135 grams of residual sugar. It’s already complex and approachable yet will keep for 3-4 decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

99 Points! A very classic Yquem. Breathtakingly wide spectrum of floral honey, exotic fruit (passion fruit, mango and pineapple), caramel and marzipan aromas. But none of this is a jot too much. In fact, the wine is extremely precise and finely nuanced. Wonderful freshness and textural complexity, in spite of the considerable concentration and extravagance. Very suave and sensual finish that goes on and on. - James Suckling

98 Points! Containing 135 grams per liter of residual sugar, the pale lemon-gold colored 2016 d'Yquem leaps from the glass with honeyed apricots, pineapple, green mango, crushed rocks, candied ginger, coriander seed and citrus peel with hints of orange blossom. The palate is very tightly wound, vibrant and refreshing with layer upon layer of minerals and spices, finishing with epic poise and persistence. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

97 Points! Disgorged this year with 0.6 grams per liter dosage, the 2016 Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Monts Ferrés unwinds in the glass with aromas of crisp nashi pear, yellow stone fruit, mirabelle plum, buttery pastry, honeycomb and oyster shell. Full-bodied, pure and seamless, it's deep, enveloping and vinous, with a tensile spine of acidity, an ultra-refined mousse and a long, saline finish. Produced from a parcel in Vertus that was farmed organically and biodynamically, this is one of two lieu-dit bottlings produced by Charles Doyard before his untimely passing in 2017. - William Kelley, robertparker.com

97+ Points! The expressive, complex and nuanced 2016 Prado Enea Gran Reserva is a textbook traditional Rioja in the making. 2016 was a very elegant year, with aging potential, volume and very good acidity and freshness. It's full-bodied but fine-boned, has 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.6 and 5.25 grams per liter acidity. It has terrific balance, with all the components in the right proportion to age superbly in bottle. They have also been working on the selection of wood used. This wine matured in French and American oak barrels for three years, and the oak is super integrated. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

97 Points! Spiced red and black fruits, new saddle leather, smoky tobacco, and lead pencil are just some of the nuances in the 2016 Prado Enea Gran Reserva, a pure, medium to full-bodied, flawlessly balanced, beautifully textured Rioja from this team. With beautiful yet building tannins, a pure, focused style, and awesome length on the finish, it's a brilliant wine with a solid two decades of prime drinking ahead of it. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! Complex aromas of dark fruit with violets, walnuts and chocolate. Classy. It's full-bodied with plush yet fine velvety tannins, and a precise and pointed finish. Juicy and savory. Tight finish. It's very long. This is beautiful now but will be even better in three or four years. Linear and vertical at the same time. Try after 2026. - JamesSuckling.com

98 Points! Not made since the 2011 vintage to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the winery and before that not since 1964, the Paolo Scavino 2016 Barolo Riserva is gorgeous. Made with a selection of the best grapes from the estate’s historic vineyards, it’s intensely fragrant, boasting multifaceted aromas of forest floor, iris, ripe woodland berry, camphor and brown exotic spice. Combining power and finesse, the delicious palate offers cherry marinated in spirits, raspberry compote, licorice and tobacco set against a backbone of firm, fine-grained tannins. Fresh acidity keeps it balanced and energized. Still primary and youthfully austere, it needs a few more years to unwind and develop. Drink 2028–2046. - Kerin O’Keefe

98 Points! Dark red/magenta in color, the 2016 Barolo Riserva is remarkable, offering loads of kirsch, polished leather, balsamic, dark chocolate, and crushed violets. The list goes on and on as it opens and begins to show more mineral aromas of graphite and truffle. Medium to full-bodied, it’s an exquisite red, with ripe, polished tannins, a seamless structure, and a long finish. It retains wonderful purity and ripeness and leaves a haunting sensation as it tapers ever so slowly. This stunning wine from the Scavino family is built for the long haul. Drink 2026-2056.-Audrey Frick, JebDunnuck.com

98 Points! Though still a bit shy in aroma, this red offers a deep well of ripe cherry, strawberry, raspberry, mint, mineral and tobacco flavors. Intense and vibrant, combining finesse and power, with terrific tension and a long, complex aftertaste. Drink now through 2042. - Wine Spectator

97 Points! The 2016 Pinot Noir le Caprice is pale to medium ruby-purple colored with an incredible perfume of red roses, lilacs and cinnamon stick with a beautiful red berry core of wild strawberries, raspberries, cranberries and underbrush with touches of iron ore and wild sage plus a waft of cedar. The palate is medium-bodied, elegant and refreshing with loads of minerally layers and a long, uplifting finish. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, robertparker.com

97+ Points! Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Missouri Hopper is a little youthfully mute to begin, slowly revealing evocative crème de cassis, blueberry pie, chocolate box and black tea notes with nuances of forest floor, wild sage and crushed rocks. Full-bodied and packed to the gills with black fruits and earthy layers, it has a firm, grainy frame and just enough freshness, finishing with epic persistence. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, robertparker.com

97 Points! A blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc, the 2016 Pym-Rae displays a deep garnet-purple color and reveals wonderfully fragrant notes of candied violets, wilted roses, damp soil and black tea over a core of red and black currants, black cherries and warm blackberries plus touches of cigar box and camphor. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is evocatively singular, offering that rock-solid structure of mountain fruit, yet these are wonderfully ripe, silt-like tannins that beautifully support the elegant red and black fruit layers, finishing very long and very perfumed. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, robertparker.com

98 Points! Top 100 Wine in the United States from James Suckling! This is the debut vintage of this wine from the esteemed Bordeaux owner, Alfred Tesseron, who bought the property in the Napa mountains in 2016. Aromas of plums, wet earth, fresh herbs and tobacco. Some green olives. Turns to blueberries and blackberries. Full-bodied, yet reserved and layered with chocolate, walnuts and plums. Firm yet polished tannins give a framed sense to the wine. Savory. Racy and beautifully structured, it’s extremely drinkable already. Real wine. - JamesSuckling.com

99 Points! Lots of perfume and dark-fruit aromas with floral and burnt-orange undertones. Full-bodied and very, very refined and long. It goes on for minutes. Such subtlety and wonderful tannins. Love it. Drink in 2020. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! Also 100% Cabernet Sauvignon yet from Pritchard Hill, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Houyi Vineyard offers a massive blast of blue fruits, crushed violets, spice box, and new leather. This beauty comes from a site next to David Arthur and has a ripe, rounded, and incredibly sexy style that belies its mountain terroir. Still, it has plenty of underlying tannins, impeccable balance, and one seriously long finish. Give it a year or so and drink bottles over the following 2-3 decades. - Jeb Dunnuck