Reviews

E. Guigal 27170

Condrieu La Doriane 2019

Condrieu

November 23, 2020
La Doriane is a luxury cuvée of Condrieu that the Guigals have produced since the 1994 vintage. A great success since the first vintage, the wine always seems richly oaked and very fruity when young, transforming in 3-4 years into a seamlessly complex, aromatic and vibrant wine. La Doriane contradicts the accepted wisdom that Condrieu does not age well.

E. Guigal 27158

Saint-Joseph Blanc 2019

November 23, 2020
While the reds of Saint-Joseph are today one of the most exciting stories in the Rhone Valley, the minuscule production of whites, in the hands of the best producers, are absolutely thrilling and in a perhaps less extreme way than the other great whites of the region, namely in Hermitage and Condrieu. Get them while they're still affordable.

E. Guigal 27147

Saint-Joseph Lieu Dit Blanc 2019

Saint-Joseph

November 23, 2020
Guigal’s Saint-Joseph Lieu Dit comes from the vineyard that gives the Saint-Joseph appellation its name, and is one of the finest sites in the Northern Rhone Valley. Made in minuscule quantities, the Lieu Dit Blanc is one of the most original and distinctive whites in the Rhone. A seamless balance of freshness and fruitiness, pleasure and interest, and flavors and structure. Guigal’s specialty in whites is especially evident in this wine.

E. Guigal 27133

Hermitage Blanc 2018

Hermitage

November 23, 2020
Whites make up a small percentage of production in the Rhône, under 2%, but white wines are a little bit of a secret specialty at Guigal and today comprise 25% of their production. And for good reason, as the whites of the Northern Rhône are true discovery wines, immensely appealing and complex. They specifically display an expressiveness and brightness while also capturing the warmth of the area. Even more of a discovery is Hermitage Blanc, one of the least-known yet most intriguing wines of the Rhône Valley and in the small 309 acre Hermitage AOC.

E. Guigal 27132

Ermitage Ex Voto Blanc 2016

Hermitage

April 14, 2021
Ermitage Ex-Voto represents the fulfillment of a longtime dream of Marcel Guigal’s to own vineyard land on the hill of Hermitage. Through the purchase of the de Vallouit and J. L. Grippat domaines in 2000, Guigal acquired four exceptional vineyard parcels on this legendary site. The 2001 vintage was the first release of this estate-bottled Hermitage red and white. The quality of the intense old-vine fruit is quite special, but given the Guigal’s already strong work in Hermitage, they decided to only release an Ex-Voto red or white when the wine is utterly exceptional and clearly superior to their appellation bottlings.

E. Guigal 27030

Saint Joseph Vignes de l’Hospice 2017

Saint-Joseph

November 23, 2020
Guigal’s Vignes de l’Hospice is one of the finest sites in the Northern Rhone Valley. This steeply terraced vineyard used to be divided into three, but Guigal now owns majority of this parcel in order to restore perception of Saint-Joseph as an appellation of utmost quality. In fact, Guigal is often asked when they will produce a fourth “LaLa,” and their response is that their fourth single vineyard phenomenon of the Northern Rhone is already being produced: the Vignes de l’Hospice.

Masciarelli 27003

Marina Cvetic Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Riserva 2018

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC

November 20, 2020
The Montepulciano Marina Cvetic represents an intense and remarkable expression of one of the historical vines of Abruzzo.  The 100% Montepulciano comes from eight of the estate's top parcels, across an altitude of 500 to 1,200 feet above sea level, on soils of calcareous clay and lime.  In these vineyards, we find not only the traditional Abruzzo pergola vine training, but also Simple Guyot and Spur Cordon as well.  

Masciarelli 26992

Marina Cvetic Trebbiano d’Abruzzo Riserva 2018

Trebbiano d'Abruzzo

November 20, 2020
The Trebbiano Riserva Marina Cvetic represents the ultimate expression for the estate of one of the historical vines of Abruzzo.  Like Montepulciano, Trebbiano was once thought to be a workhorse grape without the potential to produce great wine. The interpretation of this wine is original and has a character. Marina Cvetic wines have full body and are elegant and are a “lone voice” for the most demanding and technical experts.

Dog Point Vineyard 26776

Section 94 Sauvignon Blanc 2019

Marlborough

November 11, 2020
Section 94 is widely regarded as the most distinctive and greatest Sauvignon Blanc being made in New Zealand today. James Healy and Ivan Sutherland were among the first to begin fermenting their Sauvignon in barrel with wild yeasts, a technique that along with the old vines they use, leads to a full-bodied wine that is less fruit-forward, more exotic, and has immense textural complexity. 

Dog Point Vineyard 26758

Pinot Noir 2018

Marlborough

November 11, 2020
Dog Point's renown as a Sauvignon Blanc producers has done nothing to lessen the enthusiasm around their Pinot Noir, today considered one of the finest in New Zealand. What sets their wine apart is the generosity of the structure, which comes off as rich but not sweet, and the complex mingling of fruit and savory notes.

Dog Point Vineyard 26753

Chardonnay 2018

Marlborough

November 11, 2020
Several influential voices in the wine industry believe that in time Chardonnay may prove New Zealand's single highest achievement. All three of the Dog Point wines fermented in barrel are small in production, but the Chardonnay is the smallest, and at times indeed the most dazzling.

E. Guigal 26696

Crozes-Hermitage 2018

Crozes-Hermitage

November 09, 2020
Crozes-Hermitage can be considered the gateway to the red and white wines of the Northern Rhône Valley. The reds, which are the majority of production, have wonderful warm flavors of red and black fruit, and typical Syrah pepper, spice and savory notes.

Petrolo 26616

Bòggina B 2018

Toscana IGT

November 04, 2020
Bòggina B is a little bit of Burgundy with a Tuscan twist. The wine is made with 100% Trebbiano Toscano. The clone of the Valdarno has been known for its quality since the 1300s, when it was regularly sent to the popes in Rome and the courts of Florence. Petrolo has been using Trebbiano grapes for its sweet vinsanto for decades, but owner Luca Sanjust decided that the time had come for a tribute to the great whites of Valdarno’s past.

Petrolo 26603

Bòggina A 2018

Val d'Arno di Sopra DOC

November 04, 2020
Every year, Petrolo selects a small lot of Bòggina, a wine made purely from their best Sangiovese grapes, to ferment in amphorae. The choice of amphorae has a historical dimension: Terracotta in Tuscany has a history back to the early Etruscan times. The remains of amphorae and other Etruscan relics can be found throughout the Petrolo property, an area that has been settled for thousands of years.

Petrolo 26590

Bòggina C 2018

Val d'Arno di Sopra DOC

November 04, 2020
Bòggina is a Sangiovese cru and a testament to the winemaking foresight of Petrolo’s founder, Gastone Bazzocchi, who planted the vineyard in 1952 and saw the great quality potential of the vineyard early on. Over the years, the vineyard has been replanted little by little with a massale selection to preserve the diversity of the original clones. Bòggina showcases the great expression of a 100% Sangiovese that Petrolo’s unique terroir and microclimate are capable of producing.

Petrolo 26577

Galatrona 2018

Toscana IGT

November 04, 2020
Year after year, Galatrona has quietly been recognized as one of the great wines of Italy and is often referred to as the Petrus of Tuscany. What it truly is, though, is beyond comparison - a wine of utter individuality reflective of the Petrolo estate and its unique location in an all but unknown appellation of Tuscany.

Petrolo 26563

Torrione 2018

Toscana IGT

November 04, 2020
Torrione marks the beginning of the Petrolo’s quality revolution. It is considered to be the true identity of Petrolo, made with a blend of grapes from all of the estate’s vineyards.

E. Guigal 26459

Côte-Rôtie La Turque 2016

Côte-Rôtie

October 29, 2020
La Turque is Guigal’s most recent addition to the single-vineyard Cru Côte-Rôties, coming over as part of their purchase of the Vidal-Fleury firm in 1980. La Turque had produced outstanding wines in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but had not been used for wine production for nearly 50 years. The Guigals acquired the vineyard and re-planted it in 1980 and 1981, based on Etienne Guigal’s memory of the quality of the wines it produced during his tenure at Vidal-Fleury. The first vintage was the magnificent 1985. In both position and style, it sits between La Mouline and La Landonne: the complex soils lend an exotic character to La Turque, and its concentration and elegance exhibit the virility of the Côte Brune with the subtlety and femininity of the Côte Blonde.

E. Guigal 26458

Côte-Rôtie La Mouline 2016

Côte-Rôtie

October 29, 2020
First planted by the Romans 2,500 years ago, La Mouline is the oldest and most famous vineyard of Cote-Rotie, and Guigal’s single vineyard bottling of La Mouline in the 1960s set off a quality revolution throughout the Rhone Valley. The stunning amphitheater is the most complex plot in Cote-Rotie due to its extremely steep slopes with expositions in every direction. Of the three famous “LaLas” that Guigal produces and are the most collectible wines of the Rhone Valley, La Mouline was the first and is the only one on the Cote Blonde, and its signature is an unbelievable exoticism, an irresistibly and unique lifted floral, black fruit, earthy, spicy perfume, its coiled power always in balance, seemingly endless.

E. Guigal 26457

Côte-Rôtie La Landonne 2016

Côte-Rôtie

October 29, 2020
One of the three “LaLa” wines that Guigal produces and are the most collectible wines of the Rhone Valley, La Landonne is a remarkable expression of terroir. And for good reason, La Landonne is situated on one of the steepest vineyards of the Côte Brune, a 45 degree slope that remarkably requires harvesters to start picking from the bottom of the vineyard and work their way up, placing grape bunches in bins that are set on sleds and dragged up the hill. Along with its position at the northern end of the Côte Brune and the fact it is the last vineyard to ripen, La Landonne is the mirror of the feminine and voluptuous La Mouline: it is a wine of driving power, defined by its dark fruit and structure. The first vintage Guigal produced was in 1978, after being planted in 1975 at the time of Philippe Guigal’s birth.

Chateau Montelena 26220

Napa Valley Chardonnay 2018

Napa Valley, California

October 22, 2020
A true icon. The Napa Valley Chardonnay is the wine that put Chateau Montelena and Napa Valley at the forefront of the wine world in 1976, in what is now memorialized as “The Judgment of Paris.” To great disbelief, the Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Chardonnay was the top-ranking wine against four white Burgundies and five other California Chardonnays. And as they say, the rest is history.

Tenuta Luce 26092

Lucente 2018

Toscana IGT

October 15, 2020
Lucente is the second wine of Luce, a wine with contemporary style, immediate and great pleasure, and like its elder sibling, an authentic interpretation of Montalcino and the Luce estate.

Masciarelli 26071

Marina Cvetic Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Riserva 2017

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC

October 15, 2020
The Montepulciano Marina Cvetic represents an intense and remarkable expression of one of the historical vines of Abruzzo.  The 100% Montepulciano comes from eight of the estate's top parcels, across an altitude of 500 to 1,200 feet above sea level, on soils of calcareous clay and lime.  In these vineyards, we find not only the traditional Abruzzo pergola vine training, but also Simple Guyot and Spur Cordon as well.  

E. Guigal 25963

Saint-Joseph Lieu Dit Rouge 2017

Saint-Joseph

October 12, 2020
A result of its quality, Guigal’s Saint-Joseph Lieu Dit Rouge comes from the “Saint-Joseph” vineyard that gives the appellation its name. This site convinced the Guigals to work in Saint-Joseph and help to restore the historic perception of Saint-Joseph as an appellation of utmost quality. The 100% Syrah wine has complex and deep black fruit, floral, spice and mineral characteristics. Despite its concentration and powerful attack, the wine retains the trademark elegance that Saint-Joseph offers.

E. Guigal 25949

Condrieu La Doriane 2018

Condrieu

October 12, 2020
La Doriane is a luxury cuvée of Condrieu that the Guigals have produced since the 1994 vintage. A great success since the first vintage, the wine always seems richly oaked and very fruity when young, transforming in 3-4 years into a seamlessly complex, aromatic and vibrant wine. La Doriane contradicts the accepted wisdom that Condrieu does not age well.

E. Guigal 25937

Côte-Rôtie Château d’Ampuis 2016

Côte-Rôtie

October 12, 2020
The Guigal family spent 15 years restoring Château d'Ampuis, a historic property whose oldest sections date to the 11th century. The Château d’Ampuis has been the symbol of the town of Ampuis and the world-renowned Côte-Rôtie vineyard area for ten centuries. When the Guigal family learned that there was at one time a wine produced with the Château d’Ampuis name, they decided to produce an exceptional wine that would showcase the best that Côte-Rôtie has to offer.

E. Guigal 25925

Hermitage 2017

Hermitage

October 12, 2020
Hermitage is one of France’s most spectacular and famous appellations, producing small quantities of extraordinarily intense and ageworthy red wine and tiny amounts of dry white. The entire vineyard consists of 309 acres planted on a single granite hillside on the banks of the Rhône. The Hermitage Rouge is the example of a racy wine, that manages to remain seductive.

Tommasi 25841

Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2016

Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG

October 08, 2020
Tommasi's traditional approach to Amarone favors elegance and balance, with deep fruit complemented by spicy, earthy flavors. Through its commitment to quality and tradition, Tommasi has established itself as one of the principal ambassadors of Amarone in the world.

Tommasi 25833

Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva Ca’ Florian 2012

Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva DOCG

October 08, 2020
Amarone Riserva “Ca ‘Florian” is made with selected grapes from one of the oldest vineyards owned by the Tommasi family, with vines averaging 30 years. 

Tommasi 25806

Ripasso Valpolicella 2018

Valpolicella Classico Superiore DOC

October 07, 2020
This wine is made by refermenting the juice from the Valpolicella on the warm Amarone grape skins, in the typical “Ripasso” method, which imparts a rich character and personality to the wine. The grapes are sourced from three of most prestigious Tommasi vineyards: Conca d’Oro, La Groletta and De Buris.

Gary Farrell Winery 25774

Russian River Selection Pinot Noir 2018

Russian River Valley, California

October 07, 2020
The Russian River Selection bottlings are quintessential Russian River Valley wines blended from some of the region’s top vineyards, taking advantage of varied climates and unique site characteristics.  Undoubtedly showcasing a beautiful expression of the varietal and of the appellation’s unique terroir, this Pinot Noir blend captures the richness, purity and elegance that are Gary Farrell Winery’s trademarks.

Marietta Cellars 25665

Old Vine Red Lot 71

California, United States

October 01, 2020
Affectionately known as "OVR," Marietta's Old Vine Red is a proprietary red wine made to replicate the field blends of the old vineyards in Sonoma and Mendocino counties. A groundbreaking combination of varietals and multiple vintages first produced in 1982, this wine has blazed the path for red blends for decades. With an historic underground following, it is one of the longest lasting and best known red blends produced today. Predominantly comprised of fresh, young Zinfandel, OVR gets its backbone from Petite Sirah with about three years of age in neutral barrel, and its savory component from Syrah with about two years of age in neutral barrel. Occasionally, other varieties like Barbera, Carignan, or Grenache will be blended in to complement the other elements. The goal is always to create an enjoyable table wine made with integrity that combines pure fruit, a supple mouth feel and a rich, solid structure.

Ornellaia 25613

Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia 2018

Bolgheri DOC Rosso

September 29, 2020
Coming primarily from the estate’s younger vineyards and made with the same passion and attention to detail as Ornellaia, Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia is a true “second vin.” A blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc & Petit Verdot, Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia combines generosity and depth of flavor with an engaging and vibrant personality.

Quinta do Noval 25558

Touriga Nacional 2018

Douro DOC

September 23, 2020
Intense and concentrated, with fine tannic structure, Touriga Nacional is distinguished by its delicacy, a characteristic of the Quinta do Noval style. It is the product of a strict selection from the best lots produced by the Quinta in any given year.

Quinta do Noval 25555

Cedro do Noval Branco 2019

Douro Valley, Portugal

September 23, 2020
Named after the emblematic cedar tree that dominates Quinta do Noval's terrace, Cedro do Noval is an authentic expression of the Douro. It is made at Quinta do Noval using carefully selected grapes 100 % grown on the highest steeply terraced vineyards of Quinta do Noval, in the heart of the Douro Valley, in Northern Portugal.

Rotem and Mounir Saouma 25514

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Magis 2017

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

September 17, 2020
Another unsurprising but jawdropping discovery when encountering the Saouma wines: Magis, Mounir’s white Chateauneuf from the heavily limestone Pierredon vineyard in Bedarrides. It makes sense that a producer of great white Burgundy would quickly become enchanted by the possibilities here. Only 3% of Chateauneuf is white, and virtually all of it is bottled after 6 months. Mounir’s chateauneuf is aged 18-24 months and has already been compared to some of the great white Burgundy crus for its depth and minerality.