The Real Review (97)

A blend of merlot, cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon from Gimblett Gravels. Supremely elegant wine with an array of dark berry and spice flavours. A youthful wine from a top vintage and with masses of cellaring potential. This really is a classic

A wine that punches well above its weight, challenging many a cru La Morra for elegance, balance and longevity in its structure, this is a well-made wine that offers an eloquent insight in to the charms of this most elegant of terroirs making up the patchwork quilt of Barolo. Fine, juicy red and black berry fruit and a subtle floral bitterness to the palate make this essential reading for the vintage.

Vinous (92-95)

The 2015 Corton La Vigne au Saint Grand Cru exudes freshness and vivacity. Hints of orange peel, cranberry and white pepper from the whole clusters (45%) add a striking aromatic upper register. This is another wine with a super-appealing push and pull between ripeness of fruit and salivating acidity. Quite frankly, in a blind tasting, this would be very hard to peg as wine from a warm vintage. - Antonio Galloni

Tim Atkin MW (96)

Bona Fide comes from the Vrede vineyard, which also supplies fruit for Hannes Storm's top Pinot Noir. There was no 2019 release, but this is a roaring return to form: a medium-weight red with a haunting combination of perfume and structure. Complete, layered and nuanced with 50% whole bunch spices and layers of plum and summer berry fruit, 2023-28

Tim Atkin MW (96)

Bona Fide comes from the lower, clay-rich part of the Vrede Vineyard in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, a site that produces two of the Cape's best Pinot Noirs. Brooding, herbal and earthy, with notes of tobacco leaf and forest floor, dense plum and dark cherry fruit and some clove spice from 70% whole bunches.

English critic Matthew Jukes has declared that Lionel's wines are 'worth their weight in gold', and we certainly think that is the case with this Cupano Vino Rosso 4th Edition NV. This is made from a blend of barrels that taste excellent but do not feel ready in time when Cupano blended their Montalcino releases so they were left aside. Instead of waiting to use it for a Brunello that might disrupt the usual annual releases of the estate wines, it has instead become a upmarket 'vin de copains' - wine for friends.

 

This 4th Edition comes from the 2018 and 2019 vintages and is made from 80% Sangiovese that would normally be used in their Brunello di Montalcino or Rosso di Montalcino and 20% Merlot that would usually be used in their superb Super Tuscan Ombrone. With the power on the nose and palate that Cupano is usually associated with, this shows all the wonderful Sangiovese character one could want without the oak that a young Brunello would show.

waiting to use it for a Brunello that might disrupt the usual annual releases of the estate wines, it has instead become a upmarket 'vin de copains' - wine for friends.

 

For each new Vino Rosso release, famous french artist Gerard Fromanger paints a special new label and this 4th edition is the most impressive yet. While production has been upped from the last release, this 4th Edition is still made in tiny quantities with only 830 six packs made.

James Suckling (96)

Lots of plum character, chocolate, bay leaves and rosemary on the nose. Iodine, too. Full body and lots of concentration, yet this also delivers amazing freshness and balance. Ultra-fine tannins. Finish is very long, flavorful and wonderfully polished. This is all about refinement in combination with power. Drink or hold.

James Suckling (97)

This is so powerful and tightly wound with so much intensity and power. Full body. Crushed berries and hints of walnuts and cedar. Purity in fruit. Very subtle character, but great tension and richness. Drink after 2021.

James Suckling (95)

Black cherries with cedar and dried flowers, as well as dusty earth. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm tannins that are long and polished. Lots of structure. Very typical and focused. Drinkable now, but better in 2024.

Wine Enthusiast (97)

This is a fabulous gran reserva from a very good but lightly heralded vintage. Aromas of spiced plum, black olive, fig, tobacco and cassis come together like a puzzle. A deep, pure palate shows near-perfect balance, while this tastes of plum, berry fruits and earthy spice. Smooth, elegant and chocolaty on the finish, this delivers all one can ask for from Rioja. Drink through 2035.

Tim Atkin MW (97)

This comes from vineyards in Villalba, Briones and Torremontalbo and is another brilliant release from María Larrea. Savoury, sweet and well balanced, with 15% Graciano adding extra backbone and the zest that you expect from this special red

Tim Atkin MW (97)

This comes from vineyards in Villalba, Briones and Torremontalbo and is another brilliant release from María Larrea. Savoury, sweet and well balanced, with 15% Graciano adding extra backbone and the zest that you expect from this special red

The Wine Cellar Insider (93)

Ripe, lush, sweet, dark red fruits, silky textures and a long, earthy, fruit-filled finish, with a blast of licorice, dark cocoa and black cherries in the finish. This could be the best vintage of d'Aiguilhe produced yet!

James Suckling (95-96)

This is really tannic and muscular for d’Armailhac. Perhaps the most powerful ever. Full and chewy yet balanced and polished. Very, very impressive. Greatest ever?

Decanter (94)

Wonderful florality on the nose, perfumed and full of black cherries. Great freshness here, such good juice content, immediately so alive and fresh, there is a real buzz to this wine with some creamy/chalky edges that are so refreshing. Great personality with vibrant fruit. Rich and layered, super concentrated but with this fun lively aspect. Tannins are chewy and ripe because of the weather but there's a great lift and sense of life to this. I really like it. A blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.

James Suckling (93-94)

A fresh, layered red with blackberry and chocolate. It’s full and beautiful. Cool finish. Soft tannins spread across the finish. Savory.

Jancis Robinson (17.5)

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Appetising freshness but a little hint of wood shavings (Cabernet Franc?) on the nose. Bone dry and pretty vital but relatively early maturing. Lovely drink with St-Estèphe minerality. Everything in the right place but not a long-distance runner. Very pure though.

Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux (94)

Depth and power through the mid palate, good quality tannins, this is classically restrained St Estèphe power, with savoury yet juicy black fruits. Living up to its potential En Primeur, one to look out for, and a strong 2nd wine that beats out many 1st wines in the vintage. If you liked the Dame de Montrose 2010, get on board with this.

Wine Advocate (97)

The 2017 Soul Of A Lion is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc and 8% Petit Verdot aged 22 months in 100% new French oak. It has a deep ruby-purple color and wonderfully unique expression, with scents of forest floor, underbrush, English breakfast tea, espresso, blackcurrant bud, dark chocolate and exotic flowers mingling over a core of perfectly ripe wild blackberries and Morello cherries, all complemented by a classy framing of new oak spices. The medium to full-bodied palate is slow to unfurl, with a frame like liquid silk and a very long finish that gives up layer after layer of nuanced flavors. Wow!

Wine Advocate (97)

The 2017 Soul Of A Lion is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc and 8% Petit Verdot aged 22 months in 100% new French oak. It has a deep ruby-purple color and wonderfully unique expression, with scents of forest floor, underbrush, English breakfast tea, espresso, blackcurrant bud, dark chocolate and exotic flowers mingling over a core of perfectly ripe wild blackberries and Morello cherries, all complemented by a classy framing of new oak spices. The medium to full-bodied palate is slow to unfurl, with a frame like liquid silk and a very long finish that gives up layer after layer of nuanced flavors. Wow!

Vinous (94)

A sleeper in this vintage, the 2017 de Pressac is deep, plush and wonderfully expressive, with a bit more finesse than I have seen here in the past. The 2017 possesses terrific energy to match its translucent personality. Sweet floral, blood orange and spice nuances add striking aromatic top notes, The 2017 is pure class. Pressac remains one of Saint-Émilion's under the radar gems. The 2017 is pure class. Tasted three times.

Wine Advocate (96)

Following the new classification of wines, the 2019 Villa de Corullón is a Vino de Villa (village), produced with grapes from 6.71 hectares divided into 200 small plots they own on slate-rich soils at 500 to 950 meters in altitude. It's 91% Mencía, 1% Alicante Bouschet and 8% white grapes from old vines (50 to 90 years old) that are organically and biodynamically farmed, and the wine will be certified in the coming years. The partly destemmed grapes fermented in oak vats with indigenous yeasts for 43 days and matured in barriques and foudres for 10 months. It has a "moderate" 13.5% alcohol, the lower part of the range, as they aim for 13.5% to 14% alcohol in the finished wines. This is a great blending exercise, as the wines are blended mostly before putting it in barrel. It's a subtle and elegant Corullón, with great balance and freshness; Ricardo talked about some tannins that are very fine. It's a fluid vintage for this bottling, a little herbal, versatile and complex. It seems to have more character than the Moncerbal than it has had in other years. This could be one of the lightest and most elegant vintages of Corullón, with a different texture from the rest of the 2019s. There were 20,344 bottles and some other formats produced.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (96)

The 2014 Domaine de Chevalier is a total knockout. Precise, brilliant and finely sculpted, the 2014 possesses superb intensity. Freshly cut flowers, mint and sweet red berries, along with finessed but persistent tannins, give the wine its regal personality. The 2014 needs a number of years to shed some baby fat and develop the full breadth of its aromatics, but it is a fabulous wine by any measure. The 2014 is 65 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 % Merlot and 5 % Petit Verdot that spent approximately 35 days on the skins. Olivier Bernard noted that the Merlots were brought in between October 10 and 17, which is quite late by the domaine's standards. Tasted two times.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (96)

The 2014 Domaine de Chevalier is a total knockout. Precise, brilliant and finely sculpted, the 2014 possesses superb intensity. Freshly cut flowers, mint and sweet red berries, along with finessed but persistent tannins, give the wine its regal personality. The 2014 needs a number of years to shed some baby fat and develop the full breadth of its aromatics, but it is a fabulous wine by any measure. The 2014 is 65 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 % Merlot and 5 % Petit Verdot that spent approximately 35 days on the skins. Olivier Bernard noted that the Merlots were brought in between October 10 and 17, which is quite late by the domaine's standards. Tasted two times.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (97)

One of the stars of the vintage, the 2015 Domaine de Chevalier has turned out even better than I expected. Bright floral notes give striking aromatic lift to the rich, sumptuous fruit. A marvelously complete wine, the 2015 is racy and silky on the palate, yet also has tremendous freshness. Bright red cherry, blood orange, white pepper, spice and dried flowers build into the super-expressive finish. The 2015 has been nothing less than stunning the three times I have tasted it so far. This is a tremendous showing from proprietor Olivier Bernard and his team. The blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. Tasted three times.

James Suckling (99)

The intensity and perfumes on the nose are extremely impressive, offering pure blackberries and violets, as well as bark, wild-mushroom and raw-tile notes. It’s full-bodied with creamy tannins that envelop the wine and a gorgeous, subtly complex center palate with all the flavors found on the nose. Endless finish. Love the finesse and length to this. Greatest ever. 65% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot and 5% petit verdot. Try after 2026.

Jeb Dunnuck (96-98+)

Reminding me of the 2016, the 2019 Domaine De Chevalier checks in as 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot that was brought up in 35% new French oak. Its vivid purple color is followed by a classy bouquet of crème de cassis, damp earth, tobacco leaf, and spring flowers. With medium to full-bodied richness, stunning purity of fruit, silky tannins, and a good spice of acidity, this beautiful, classic, quintessential Chevalier will need 5-7 years of bottle age yet keep for 4-5 decades in cold cellars. Tasted twice.

James Suckling (96-97)

Great texture to this wine with creamy, firm tannins that are so polished. Full and gorgeous. Very enticing. 96% merlot and 4% merlot.

James Suckling (96-97)

Great texture to this wine with creamy, firm tannins that are so polished. Full and gorgeous. Very enticing. 96% merlot and 4% merlot.

Decanter (95)

At this family-owned, 26ha estate, seventh generation Alexis Depardon, at just 22, is gradually assuming charge of the domaine’s operations, currently overseeing the 3ha of Côte de Py in Morgon. He has a focus on terroir expression inherited from his parents. This cuvée is sourced from a rocky plot with blue schist soil. Rosemary George MW: Fresh red fruit aromas, and fresh on the palate with fruit and acidity in balance. Good weight and concentration. Andy Howard MW: Rounded and appealing style, lovely weight of dark berry and cherry fruit on the palate. Oak is subtle and well integrated. Freshness on the finish with acidity and a hint of graphite coming through. Fine, elegant Morgon. Dominique Vrigneau: Fresh on nose. Nice vibrant fruit in the mouth. Long clean finish and good balance. Pretty. Drinking Window 2021 - 2028