2022 Vintage Port

96/100 Luis Gutiérrez für Wine Advocate am 12. Dezember 2024

“I found the regular and classical vintage wine, the 2022 Vintage Port, to be a lot more expressive, aromatic, floral and complex than the (much more expensive) Capela do Quinta do Vesúvio. It has a dense and seamless palate, full, rich, expressive and tasty, with plenty of tannins but with all its components in nice harmony. It's intense and long, very precise, large but proportioned. This should develop very nicely and for a long time in bottle. This 2022 was crafted with 45% Touriga Nacional, 33% Touriga Franca and an unusually high 22% of Alicante Bouschet. It has 20% alcohol, with a pH of 3.63 and 112 grams of acidity. Often the sweet wines look better in comparative tastings; this one did. It does seem to have more of everything...

Quinta do Vesúvio, or Adega do Vesúvio, as the company is called, is an impressive property with 133 hectares of vines that today belongs to the Symington family. The vineyards have all possible expositions and altitudes ranging from 106 to 462 meters.”

2022 Vintage Port Capela

95/100 Luis Gutiérrez für Wine Advocate am 12. Dezember 2024

“The 2022 Capela da Quinta do Vesúvio Vintage Port was closed and tight even after a couple of hours in the glass. It's named after the Chapel vineyard, the first to be replanted in the property after phylloxera. It's a field blend of centenary vines, and the wine also has grapes from other plots, including a younger one planted exclusively with Touriga Franca. It fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in oak casks for 18 months. It's subtle and with incipient complexity. It has a super balanced palate, with abundant tannins but in great harmony with the rest of the components, coming through as powerful and elegant. It has a beautiful sense of harmony. It takes a long time to open up, and it's not explosive; it keeps the subtleness. I believe this is going to age very well, as it has the components and the balance between them to do so. It has 20% alcohol, a pH of 3.64 and 100 grams of sugar. They produced the equivalent of 5,520 bottles, 4,320 numbered bottles and other formats. It was bottled in 2024. 

 Quinta do Vesúvio, or Adega do Vesúvio, as the company is called, is an impressive property with 133 hectares of vines that today belongs to the Symington family. The vineyards have all possible expositions and altitudes ranging from 106 to 462 meters.”

2023 Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese

97/100 Anne Krebiehl MW für Vinous im September 2024

“The 2023 Riesling Scharzhofberger Spätlese still has a touch of reduction, but the verve of citrus backed by creaminess shines through. passionfruit foliage fringes the lemon notes and leads to a palate that plunges into the cleanest candied lemon sweetness-tart, deliciously sharp and thrilling. The crystalline clarity gives the impression of naked wet slate. It's astonishing to have so much fruit and stone. Exquisite balance and tension make this endlessly long, stretching that impression of elegance into slow motion, making it even more apparent.“

2022 Châteauneuf du Pape

96+/100 Jeb Dunnuck im Oktober 2024 

"Reminding me of the 2020, the 2022 Châteauneuf du Pape is based on 60% Grenache, 16% each Mourvèdre and Cinsault, and the rest Syrah. Its medium ruby hue ist followed by a gorgeous perfume of black raspberries, white pepper, Provencal garrigue, and crushed stone-like minerality. With medium to full-bodied richness, a seamless, layered mouthfeel, and ripe, polished, yet building tannins, it’s an absolute gem in the vintage that will benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and cruise over the following decade or more." 

 94/100 Yohan Castaing für Wine Advocate im September 2024 

“Less exuberant than the F601, the 2022 Chateauneuf du Pape from Famille Isabel Ferrando is a blend of 60% Grenache Noir, 16% Mourvèdre, 16% Cinsault and 8% Syrah. It exhales a complex, shy bouquet of dark berries, spices, licorice, violet and dark cherries. Medium-bodied, fleshy and round with a textured mid-palate, it's enrobing and suave with structured tannins that segue into a long, penetrating and racy finish with lots of vertical energy. It matured for 18 months in a combination of foudres (34%), concrete tank (33%) and terracotta jars (33%).”

2020 Phelan Segur

96/100 Neal Martin für Vinous im Jänner 2024 

“The 2020 Phélan Ségur has a very well-defined and seductive bouquet. There's real complexity here, with ebullient red fruit, crushed stone and dried rose petal scents, revealing more graphite aromas with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied, harmonious and poised, with very fine tannins, a keen line of acidity and a very svelte and persistent finish. This is a wine that seems unaware of just how good it is. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.“

2022 Châteauneuf du Pape Colombis

97/100 Jeb Dunnuck im Oktober 2024 

“The 2022 Châteauneuf Do Pape Colombis is also stunning, with an upfront, perfumed style in its wild strawberry and framboise-driven fruit as well as savory garrigue, spice, and floral nuances. Medium to full-bodied and flawlessly balanced, with fine tannins, it has a remarkable sense of elegance and finesse as well as ample richness and length.“

 96/100 Yohan Castaing für Wine Advocate im September 2024 

“One of the more elegant and racy wines at this address this year, the 2022 Chateauneuf du Pape Colombis, crafted exclusively from Grenache Noir planted on safres, calcareous soils and a mix of other soils, displays a delicate, perfumed bouquet of rose, flowers, dark cherries, pepper and herbs. Medium to full-bodied, layered and racy, it's deep and concentrated with velvety tannins with a delicate core of fruit and a long, ethereal finish. Matured in a mix of foudres, concrete tanks and terracotta jars, this is an outstanding wine in the making.”

2016 Barolo DOCG Riserva Villero

98/100 Bruce Sanderson für Wine Spectator 

“Complex aromas and flavors of cherry, raspberry, rose, wild herbs, stony mineral and autumn woods are the hallmarks of this elegant red, which is beginning to reveal all of its facets yet is still structured. Leaves a chalky feel of refined tannins on the long finish. Best from 2026 through 2045. 370 cases made, 60 cases imported.“

2006 Magdelaine

95/100 Jane Anson im November 2024 

“Deeper than the 2005, in colour but also in fruit expression, this captures the terroir-driven personality of Magdeleine with its salt-encrusted oyster shell salinity that speaks to vines whose roots are sunk into limestone rock. Delicious, fully in its drinking window with tertiary truffle and undergrowth, plenty of lift with sage and cinnamon spice and tobacco leaf. Moreish and silky, with fine tannins that are edged with soy and turmeric. 50% new oak, Jean-Claude Berrouet winemaker.“

2021 Cabernet Sauvignon

97/100 Clive Pursehouse für Decanter im Oktober 2024

“This is a Cabernet of power and balance with tremendous concentration and perfumed aromatics certainly lifted by the 100% new French Oak. Typically comprised of three different Cabernet clones, though predominantly Clone 8, 90% of this wine comes from Champoux Vineyard with 10% coming from the dramatic estate site, Mach One. Floral aromatics of spicy lavender and rose petals meld with oak-driven tones of frankincense and a melange of black pepper. Gobs of ripe red and blue berry fruits, red plums and a mix of brown spices deliver the finish.”

2022 Vin de France Definitely Red

92-94/100 The Wine Advocate im September 2024

“Labeled as Vin de France for administrative reasons, Lenzenwoger’s 2022 Definitely Red reveals delicate, pure aromas of bay leaf, dark cherries, lavender, pepper and violet. Medium to full-bodied, round and elegant, this wine features a fleshy core of fruit and bright acidity accompanied by a gently stemmy tension framed by delicate tannins that lead into a long, ethereal finish. Full of finesse and fruit, this outstanding wine is crafted entirely from Grenache Noir, planted on soils in the northeast part of the appellation, vinified with whole bunches and matured in used barrels.

Andreas Lenzenwoger, who works at Domaine du Pegau crafting white wines, also pursues his passion by making wines independently. He buys grapes from meticulous vignerons and vinifies them in the cellar of his own home. His white wine, a pure Clairette, is macerated for one week and matured for a year and a half, while his red undergoes a three-week maceration followed by the same maturation period. Andreas has abandoned the use of pumps and strongly advocates whole-bunch fermentation. His wines are singular, delicate and refined, with an ethereal character enhanced by gently stemmy tannins. Despite the low production of just a few barrels a year, they are worth seeking out.”

2015 Quintessa Red

97/100 Jonathan Cristaldi für Decanter im Feber 2023

 “Heading into harvest at the peak of the California drought years, the 2015 vintage also marks the first full vintage produced by winemaker Rebekah Wineburg. 'We saw a small crop with small berries and incredible concentration. Not a hot year but warm,' she recalls. What a drop-dead lovely wine sporting red, black, and blue- toned fruit flavours and aromas, with enticing cardamom and sweet cedar. Expansive and voluminous on the palate with divine concentration lifted by a spine of tingly acidity. The tannins are almost feathery, light, and delicate, yet present and built on a long, seamless finish. 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, 1% Carménère. Harvest: September 2 - September 30, 2015. 21 months in 75% new French oak barrel.“

2014 Quintessa Red

98/100 James Suckling im Oktober 2024

 “Quite full-bodied, bold and muscular, this wine, poured from a magnum, runs deep on the palate and long on the finish. Black cherries, dark chocolate, graphite and cocoa on firm, polished tannins that will give the wine at least ten more years of powerful enjoyment. As good or better than when reviewed several years ago. Drink or hold.“

2019 Gewürztraminer GC Furstentum

98/100 Falstaff

„Kandierte Früchte, etwas Rose, aber eher fruchtig als würzig, auch ein Anflug von Brotkrume. Der Gaumen fließt reich und rund, die Süße bildet gemeinsam mit der opulenten Frucht ein komplett verschmolzenes Amalgam, Mineralität und Stoffigkeit setzen den Kontrapunkt. Hoch differenziert, und dabei dennoch mit Kraft.“

2021 Pinot Noir The Beaux-Freres Vineyard

98/100 Falstaff

„Mittleres Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, breitere Randaufhellung. Intensives, facettenreiches Bukett, reife rote Beerenfrucht, floraler Touch nach Rosen und Lavendel, Limettenzesten unterlegt, animierendes Bukett. Saftig, elegant, extraktsüß nach reifen Herzkirschen, Rote Johannisbeeren im salzigen Abgang, sehr harmonisch und lange anhaftend, seidiger Stil, wie ihn nur große Pinot Noirs offenbaren, mineralisch frisch und mit toller Länge ausgestattet.“

2021 Pinot Noir Wester Reach

96/100 Falstaff

„Kräftiges Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, dezente Ockerrandaufhellung. Feine Edelholzwürze, Rosmarin, dunkle Kirschenfrucht, Orangen, tabakige Nuancen, floraler Touch unterlegt. Kraftvoll, saftig, süße Kirschen, seidige Tannine, weißer Nougat im Abgang, bereits jetzt ein eleganter Speisenbegleiter, bleibt gut haften, feine Salzigkeit, gutes weiteres Zukunftspotenzial.“

2020 Haut Bailly

98/100 Jane Anson im Juli 2024

“Deep plum colour, intense and reserved, this is poised and mouthwatering, with carved tannins. As it opens, the precise blackcurrant fruits soften to a sumptuous texture, while fennel and sage herbs wind through the palate, with oyster shell salinity and uplift on the finish. You could almost drink with a good carafe now, and yet there is a huge potential for ageing. A stunning wine. Harvest September 9 to 25. Axel Marchal and Valerie Lavigne consultants, Gabriel Vialard winemaker.”

2021 Syrah Distenta III

100/100 Lisa Perotti-Brown

"The 2021 Syrah Distenta III is sourced from The Third Twin (51%), Cumulus (26%), and Eleven Confessions (23%) vineyards. The blend is 81.7% Syrah with 11.3% Grenache, 3.3% Mourvedre, 2.1% Petite Sirah, 0.9% Petit Manseng, and 0.7% Muscat. It was made using 21% whole clusters and then aged around 23 months in 53% new French oak, 43.1% one- to three-year-old barrels, and 3.9% concrete. Deep purple-black colored, it needs some coaxing and swirling before the nose erupts with a mushroom cloud of blackberry preserves, kirsch, and red roses scents, giving way to hints of bacon fat, tar, and espresso, plus a touch of wild sage. Full-bodied, the palate is incredibly bright and vibrant with beautifully defined black and red fruit flavor layers, supported by very fine- grained tannins and bold freshness, finishing long and shimmery. Stunning. 1877 cases and 600 magnums were made."

2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Dakota Vineyard

97+/100 The Wine Independent

"Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Helena Montana Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon needs plenty of swirling to unlock notions of plum preserves, warm cassis, and stewed black cherries, plus suggestions of mossy tree bark, black olives, and fragrant earth. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers mouth- coating black fruits with a firm, finely grained texture and plenty of freshness to frame the generous fruit, finishing with brightness and a compelling lift. 793 cases were made.

2021 Charme

 95/100 Alison Napjus, Wine Spectator

"Lovely and graceful, offering precision, balance and length, this red glides across the palate. Delivers flavors of pureed raspberry and warm cherry, with aromatic accents of wild sage, sandalwood, violet and red licorice finely woven with supple tannins through the lasting, mineral-laced finish. Tinta Roriz and Touriga Franca. Drink now through 2036. 808 cases made, 7 cases imported."

2021 Andremily White Cuvee

98/100 Jeb Dunnuck im August 2024

"The 2021 White Cuvee is slightly more Chardonnay-dominated and checks in 40% Chardonnay, 26% Roussanne, 19% Marsanne, and the rest Viognier. It's slightly more dense and concentrated, with a beautiful sense of precision in its buttered citrus, mandarin orange, white flowers, spicy oak, and brioche-like aromas and flavors. It's textured and has full-bodied richness as well as incredible length on the finish. It reminds me of a great vintage of Château Beaucastel's Roussanne Vieilles Vignes." 

2020 Andremily No. 9

95/100 Antonio Galloni für Vinous

"The 2020 Andremily No. 9 is rich, ample and expansive on the palate. Succulent tannins wrap around a core of dark cherry/plum fruit, crème de cassis, chocolate, rose petal, cinnamon, new leather and cedar. The 2020 shows more overt fruit and textural opulence than the 2021 tasted alongside it. Now with an added year in bottle, the 2020 shows all the qualities I saw when it was a barrel sample. I especially admire its immediacy and lush, inviting personality."

2022 Tiara Branco

95/100 Benjamin Herzog und Dominik Vombach im August 2024 für Falstaff

„Elegantes Bouquet, das von einer rauchig-würzigen Reduktion getragen wird. Dazu Noten von Agrumen, Aprikose und kräutrig-florale Anklänge. Alles ausdrucksstark, aber dennoch filigran. Am Gaumen wunderbar aufs Wesentliche reduziert, karg, leicht, saftig, würzig-herb und lange. Toll.‟

2021 Sisters Chardonnay

96/100 Audrey Frick im August 2024 für Jeb Dunnuck

"Also a pale silver/yellow hue, the 2021 Chardonnay Sisters️ is a blend of the best barrels and parcels of the vintage. An homage to founder Larry Stone's family, it reveals layered notes of fresh bread, gunflint, white pepper, lemon balm, and green apples. Coming from the west side of Eola-Amity Hills, as well as the south part of the appellation, which provides a slightly sunnier feel, it has a good deal of power, with an electric energy to it, as well as mouthwatering, ripe acidity and a long, lightly salty finish. It will need time to show its best. Drink 2025-2037."

2016 Vina Cubillo Tinto Crianza

94/100 Zekun Shuai für James Suckling

"Savory berries with aromas of white pepper, blood orange peel, preserved plums, iron and a touch of dust. Still pretty structured and intense, with a medium to full body, but juicy and long. Drink or hold."

2017 Vieux Chateau Certan

96/100 Neal Martin im Juni 2024

"The 2017 Vieux Château Certan was picked from September 12. This has a perfumed and quite floral bouquet with blackberries and violets. It shows lovely definition and mineralité, that hint of wild heather coming through but none of the previous menthol scents. The palate is exceptionally well-balanced with chiseled tannins, which are a perfect bead of acidity. I adore how this gathers momentum towards the lightly spiced, persistent finish. This shows better than when I tasted it just after bottling six years ago, hence my higher score. Tasted at the VCC vertical in Etikhove, Belgium."

1998 Clos des Goisses L.V.

97/100 James Suckling

"Pale golden color with notes of honey, dried pear, chopped nuts, white chocolate and truffles. Creamy and rich, with a delicious sweet and salty character alongside earthy and honey undertones. Soft bubbles. Complex and drinking beautifully after 25 years in the cellar. Disgorged in March 2023. 4.5g/L dosage. Drink now."

N/V Royale Reserve Non Dose

94/100 James Suckling

"Intense on the nose with a kind of bread, butter and strawberry- tartine character, as well as lemon-zest freshness. Firm palate and acidity, with medium to full body and a tight yet elegant finish. 67% pinot noir, 31% chardonnay and 2% pinot meunier. Disgorged in 2023. Dosage 0g/L. Powerful and austere enough for aging, yet you can enjoy the complexity now."

2021 Cabernet Sauvignon

Jeb Dunnuck im Juli 2024

“The flagship 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon (90% from Champoux Vineyard and 10% from Mach One Vineyard) raised all in new barrels. It's slightly deeper hued than the CVR and has a stunning nose of blackcurrants, smoked tobacco, toasted spices, and graphite with a beautiful varietal, herbal undertone that comes through with time in the glass. Deep, rich, full-bodied, and velvety textured, this thrilling Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and evolve for two decades. This is unquestionably up with the greatest vintages of this cuvée ever made. While Quilceda Creek has had some substantial changes in their winemaking team over the past few years, with both Alex Steward and Hal Overson departing to work at Matthews, it certainly hasn't affected the quality, and 2021 is going to go down as one of the all-time great vintages for this estate.”

2016 Clos du Clocher

Jane Anson im Juni 2024

"Once again the tannic weight has jumped up. This was a superb vintage, and here you get a wonderful depth and character, just a beautiful wine, well balanced, a ton of concentrated black cherry, damson, cassis, mint leaf, grilled orange peel, violets, real precision and heft, excellent. 55% new oak for ageing. A year with early budding, an excellent summer, with some welcome rain at the end of August, Cécile Dupuis technical director, Jean-Baptiste Bourotte owner."

2022 Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese

Jeb Dunnuck im Juli 2024

"Just about pure perfection, the 2022 Riesling Scharzhofberger Spätlese has a level of purity and precision that's hard to describe, but wow, what a joy to actually drink. Lychee, tart white peach, honeyed mint, and an incredible, liquid mineral-like character all define the aromatics, and this beauty hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a layered, absolutely precise, chiseled mouthfeel, perfect balance in its acidity and sweetness, and incredible length. Riesling doesn't get much better than this, ladies and gentlemen."