Specials

95 Points! The cool climate of the vineyard really shines bright in the light-bodied, nuanced 2023 Chardonnay Escolle Vineyard, which offers lengthy, crisp, and subtle characteristics of gravel, green apple, and a hint of citrus and spice. Structured to age another 10 years, it captures the power and intensity of the appellation from a perspective of equal finesse. - Virginie Boone, jebdunnuck.com

95 Points! The 2019 Tinto Parcelas is an equal blend of Alicante Bouschet and Petit Verdot aged for 12 months in new oak tonels. It comes in at 14.48% alcohol. This is a blend of the best parcels of the Herdade. Another beautiful wine from this Alentejo outpost of Sogrape, this has the same features of its lesser-priced siblings—polish, moderate tannins, precision and good fruit. Here, though, the Alicante more influences the blend, easily dominating the more neutral Petit Verdot. This is also a bit tighter, thus likely to be even slower to evolve. It has the best structure of the three in this report and the most upside. You could drink this now, but it will be better in a couple of years. It will then age well. - Mark Squires, robertparker.com

95 Points! The 2021 Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills offers a richer, nicely oaked profile that includes honeyed stone fruits, toasted spice, crushed stone, and salted citrus-like nuances. It's rich, medium to full-bodied, and has a concentrated, mouth-filling profile that's grounded by a beautiful spine of vibrant acidity. It benefits from air, and this is another awesome Chardonnay from this team that readers will absolutely love. - Jeb Dunnuck

95 Points! Crunchy black cherries, raspberries, leather, and peppery floral notes all emerge from the 2021 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills, an incredibly pure, medium-bodied Pinot Noir that has fabulous concentration, a focused, nicely structured mouthfeel, and a great finish. It's a hidden little gem of a Pinot Noir that readers should snatch up! - Jeb Dunnuck

98-100 Points! The 2018 Cote Rotie La Mouline is immensely seductive, offering up enticing notes of floral potpourri and red berries on the nose. Those strawberries and raspberries persist onto the full-bodied palate and through the long, lush finish, buoyed by supple, creamy-textured tannins. This is the most complete, compelling vintage of La Mouline I've tasted. - Wine Advocate

99 Points! Just about pure perfection as well as a desert Island wine, the 2018 Côte Rôtie La Mouline comes from a tiny parcel in the Côte Blonde lieu-dit and spent four years in new barrels. Incredible notes of black raspberries, spring flowers, bacon fat, smoked game, violets, and pepper all emerge on the nose. These carry to a full-bodied, round, supple, sexy Côte Rôtie offering ultra-fine tannins, an insane level of purity, no hard edges, and a monster of a finish. As with the other 2018s here, it leads with its fruit and has a supple, ethereal style on the palate... - Jeb Dunnuck

98 Points! Coming from the warmest terroir on Hermitage Hill, the 2006 Ermitage le Meal is a killer wine that oozes Hermitage notes of black raspberries, saddle leather and bloody meat. Complex, full-bodied, and textured, yet with surprising elegance, it’s an awesome wine to drink anytime over the coming two decades. - Jeb Dunnuck, robertparker.com

96 Points! Superdense but really fresh, with a wild array of zesty blackberry, loganberry, linzer torte and briar notes laid over perfectly embedded tannins. Long and pure through the finish, with lots of minerality waiting in reserve. Great length. - Wine Spectator