Reviews

Dog Point Vineyard

Sauvignon Blanc 2022

Marlborough

Dog Point’s Sauvignon Blanc has become the icon in its category, a stainless steel Sauvignon Blanc that pulsates with energy, expressiveness and complexity that push the boundaries of what you may expect from Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.

Tommasi

Lugana Le Fornaci 2021

Lugana DOC

Le Fornaci hails from Lugana, a trendy, growing appellation on the southern shores of Lake Garda. Tommasi has long owned an estate in the village of San Martino della Battaglia, where they produce elegant white wines made from the indigenous and largely unknown Turbiana grape.

E. Guigal

Saint-Joseph Lieu Dit Blanc 2020

Saint-Joseph

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

Saint-Joseph Lieu Dit Rouge 2019

Saint-Joseph

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.

Château Recougne - Boutisse - Tour Bayard

Château Recougne Blanc 2021

Bordeaux Blanc

Chateau Recougne has produced wine for more than 400 years,and has been recognized for nearly as long for producing outstanding wine – its name is said to have come from King Henri IV in the early 17th century, in “recognition” of the quality of its wine. This wine offers pure Bordeaux unadulterated and pure.

Paternoster

Synthesi Aglianico del Vulture 2018

Aglianico del Vulture DOC

E. Guigal

Crozes-Hermitage Blanc 2019

Crozes-Hermitage

Crozes-Hermitage can be considered the gateway to the red and white wines of the Northern Rhône Valley. Whites make up a small percentage of production in the Rhône, under 2%, but white wines are a little bit of a secret speciality 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.

E. Guigal

Saint Joseph Vignes de l’Hospice 2019

Saint-Joseph

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.

E. Guigal

Hermitage 2019

Hermitage

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.

E. Guigal

Saint-Joseph 2019

Saint-Joseph

Saint-Joseph today is one of the most exciting appellations in the Rhone Valley, and dare we say all of France. The work by leading producers such as Guigal, energy from young growers, and recognition (really, re-discovery) of sites capable of making wines of extraordinary depth and complexity; of the same family as its famous neighbor in Hermitage, but with a distinct suppleness and elegance.

E. Guigal

Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde 2019

Côte-Rôtie

Guigal is synonymous with the Côte-Rôtie area, for bringing this great wine region to prominence, and for owning three times as much land as next largest land-owner, vinifying 1/3 of the total appellation, and unquestionably holding the finest sites in this tiny, special area. The incredible Syrah from this area, co-fermented with a touch of Viognier, has tremendously balanced concentration, depth and finesse.

Domaine des Baumard

Quarts de Chaume 2018

Quarts de Chaume

The dramatically beautiful Quarts de Chaume appellation produces some of the great sweet wines of the world, Baumard’s chiefly among them. Truly the “Grand Cru” site of the Loire Valley.

Château de Nalys

Saintes Pierres de Nalys Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2020

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

The second white wine to the Château de Nalys Grand Vin Blanc has a character all its own, with a strongly different varietal and plot composition, and like its red Saintes Pierres counterpart, a fermentation, and aging geared towards emphasizing freshness. The hallmark seamlessness of Guigal’s white wines is especially evident in this wine, which is unlike any Châteauneuf white we have experienced in its grace and lift.

Château de Nalys

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Grand Vin 2019

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

The realization of the Guigal family’s dream of Châteauneuf-du-Pape: 3 extraordinary vineyards coming together in an intensely expressive, utterly complete wine.

Château de Nalys

Saintes Pierres de Nalys Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2019

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Translated as “holy stones”, a play on the soils and history of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the second red wine to Château de Nalys is an altogether different animal.  Differing varietal and plot selections, fermentation, and aging result in a wine that is rich and ample, yet offers immense direct and approachable pleasure; a wine of red fruits, supple structure and brightness.

Petrolo

Bòggina A 2020

Val d'Arno di Sopra DOC

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

Torrione 2020

Toscana IGT

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.

Petrolo

Bòggina B 2020

Toscana IGT

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. The wine is made under the guidance of one of Burgundy’s greats, Mounir Saouma of Lucien Le Moine.

Petrolo

Galatrona 2020

Toscana IGT

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.

Château de Nalys

Chateauneuf-du-Pape Grand Vin Blanc 2020

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Guigal’s mastery of growing and producing white wine varieties in the Rhône Valley is exemplified in this wine of immense breadth and power, elegance and expression.  Intensely aromatic nose of white flowers, citrus and a touch of vanilla, on the palate the presence is undeniably penetrating, with a deep minerality joining the notes above.

Tommasi

Rafaèl Valpolicella Classico Superiore 2020

Valpolicella Classico Superiore DOC

This Valpolicella comes from the historical Tommasi family vineyard of the same name. Perfectly situated on one of the region’s most famous hills, Monte Masua, it produces what may be the best grapes for the production of Valpolicella Classico Superiore.

Tommasi

Ripasso Valpolicella 2019

Valpolicella Classico Superiore DOC

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.

Tommasi

Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2018

Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG

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.

Mitolo

Jester Shiraz 2019

McLaren Vale

The Jester wines share the pedigree of the top Mitolo wines, but are more accessible and fruit-forward. Jester Shiraz is a blend of several blocks within the Lopresti vineyard in the Willunga district, all the way at the southern tip of McLaren Vale overlooking the coast. Intense, textured and shows pure dark fruit flavors.