90+ Points | Critical Acclaim | Wine & Sparkling Wine

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2021

James Suckling 94 Points | This exhibits violets and tar, as well as underbrush and a distant bitter-chocolate note. The palate is angular and incisive, well-constructed with a harmonious interplay between the focused acidity, fine grained tannins and delineated, fleshy fruit. Precise. Best ever from here. Better in 2028.

The Wine Spectator by Bruce Sanderson 94 Points | A sleek, elegant red, silky in texture and linear in profile. Rose, macerated cherry, strawberry, mineral and spice flavors abound, while a line of energetic tannins shows up on the long finish. This wine's purity and structure show the potential of the vintage.

Jeb Dunnuck by Audrey Frick 93 Points |  One of the overachievers of the vintage for a regional Barolo and a strong contender for top of the year lists, the 2021 Barolo Ludo pours a reflective brick red color and is attractive on the nose with notes of cinnamon sticks, fresh cherries, mossy earth, and anise. The palate offers a good balance of richness in the structure of its medium-bodied frame, with ripe tannins, lovely clarity of fruit, and refreshing ripe acidity. A gorgeous entry-level Barolo, it’s stunning now and has the potential to age with ease over the next 12-15 years.

Memo Summary Notes

The Poderi Luigi Einaudi Barolo "Ludo" 2021 is a significant release, as 2021 is being hailed as an exceptional, "best-ever" vintage for this specific bottling. Unlike Einaudi’s single-vineyard crus (like Cannubi or Bussia), Ludo is a blend of Nebbiolo from younger vines across those famous sites, designed to be more approachable in its youth.

Why "Ludo"? The name comes from the Latin ludus, meaning "playful."

Pair with Wild mushroom risotto or tajarin pasta with truffles.

Meats: Braised beef short ribs or herb-crusted lamb chops.

Cheese: Aged Grana Padano or Castelmagno.

Round Pond Estate · Sauvignon Blanc · Rutherford · 2024 · 375ml Half Bottle

Round Pond Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2024 combines bright citrus and layered tropical fruit with a rich mouthfeel and a fresh, clean finish. Offered in a 375ml half bottle, this Rutherford white brings lemon peel, mango and citrus blossom to the glass, followed by guava, passion fruit and honeydew on the palate.

Estate & Harvest

Multiple picking passes through the Rutherford estate capture Sauvignon Blanc at different stages of ripeness. The resulting layers move from zesty citrus to stone fruit, melon and exotic tropical notes, with crisp acidity keeping the wine juicy and bright.

Expert Reviews · Vintage 2024

Tasting Panel · Brian Freedman · 93 Points

Aromatically complex yet still anchored, the balance between lemon blossom lift and citrus acidity is beautifully woven. Flavors of white grapefruit, papaya, fennel bulb, and tarragon mingle seamlessly, and resolve in a savory, mineral finish.

JamesSuckling.com · Jim Gordon · 91 Points

Sliced pears, lemon pith, jasmine and mineral nuances on the nose. The medium-bodied palate is textured yet crunchy, with lively acidity coming through. Flavorful and sleek.

Wine Spectator · MaryAnn Worobiec · 90 Points

Peach, apricot and lemon curd flavors are generous, plump and juicy in this white, with plenty of oomph to the details of tangerine, orange zest and lemon thyme that linger on a mouthwatering frame.

Winemaker Description

This wine is focused on purity of fruit; it is a flip book of the varietal as it ripens on our Rutherford estate. We capture different snapshots of the grape’s character by making multiple picking passes during harvest. This provides the wine with complex layers of fruit starting with zesty citrus, moving to stone fruits, progressing to melons, and finishing with a hint of exotic tropical fruits. Each of these aromatic profiles represents the different ripeness levels at which the clusters were picked.

Delightfully aromatic, notes of lemon peel, mango and a touch of citrus blossom burst out of the glass. On the palate, tropical notes of guava and passion fruit are balanced by hints of citrus and honeydew. Juicy and bright, with a rich mouthfeel, the crisp acidity adds a fresh, clean finish that begs you back for more.

2024 was a picture-perfect growing season with exceptional fruit set, balanced vines, and ideal ripening. While days were a bit hotter than usual during the summer months, nights cooled significantly, slowing vines to replenish and balance out ripening. Careful canopy management was key to ensuring we got dappled sunlight on the fruit without too much sun exposure on the hot days. The warmer weather helped us achieve maximum ripeness and concentration with deep color and flavors for our red wines while our white wines have our signature bright acidity mixed with loads of tropical aromas and flavors.

Food Pairing Suggestions

Try with grilled shrimp, citrus-dressed salads, goat cheese or fish with fresh herbs. Its citrus freshness and generous fruit also make it a lively aperitif.

Details

• Producer: Round Pond Estate
• Vintage: 2024
• Bottle Size: 375ml Half Bottle
• Country: United States
• Region: California
• Subregion: Napa Valley
• Appellation: Rutherford
• Grape: Sauvignon Blanc
• Type: White wine
• Closure: Screw top
• Harvest: Multiple picking passes to capture different ripeness levels

Expert Review

The Wine Enthusiast by Joe Czerwinski writes 92 Points | Dark amber in color, this example of classic Muscat is wonderfully balanced between the freshness of youth and the power and complexity of age. Raisin, malt and Guinness stout-like notes meet vibrant orange-zest and honey characters in a sweet, harmonious whole

Producer Description

Complex & layered

Average age 12 years

We affectionately call this the ‘Goldilocks’ tier—it’s just right! Our Classic Muscat is a perfect blend of fresh and older Muscat parcels, this wine offers the best of both worlds. It showcases vibrant, fresh fruit flavours alongside the deeper, richer complexity that comes with extended time in oak.

With notes of Turkish Delight, raisins, walnuts, and dense fruit cake, this tier has a much greater richness and complexity than the Rutherglen tier, hinting at the mature wood-aged characters that will continue to develop as it ages. It’s the ideal middle ground for those who want a balance of youthful fruit and the beginnings of that beautiful, layered depth Muscat is known for.

Stanton & Killeen acknowledges and deeply respects the Bangerang people, the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and gather. We honour their Elders—past, present, and emerging—and celebrate the continuation of their cultural, spiritual, and educational practices that have shaped this place for generations.
We are committed to learning, listening, and fostering a future that respects and uplifts all voices.

Memo Pairing Suggestions

The "Classic" Pairings:
    •    Desserts: Sticky date pudding, dark chocolate tart, or pecan pie.
    •    Savory: Strong blue cheeses like Gorgonzola or Roquefort (the salt/sugar contrast is legendary).
    •    Affogato: Pour it directly over high-quality vanilla bean gelato.

Gramona Imperial — Corpinnat, Catalonia 2018

Gramona is the crown jewel of Corpinnat — the prestigious breakaway appellation of the Penèdes committed to the highest standards of traditional-method sparkling wine production in Spain. Founded in 1881 and farming biodynamically for decades, Gramona produces wines of extraordinary depth, precision, and longevity that stand comfortably alongside the finest Champagnes in the world. The Imperial is Gramona's flagship expression: a vintage-dated Brut aged on the lees for a minimum of five years, crafted from a blend of the great indigenous Catalan varieties led by Xarel·lo. The 2018 vintage is particularly notable — a cooler, wetter year that produced a wine of exceptional freshness and fine-boned structure, with the kind of calibrated acidity that will reward further cellaring.

The bouquet is elegant and complex after 60 months on the lees: lime and lemon pie lead, complemented by a delicate array of fine herbs, brioche, and a subtle autolytic creaminess. On the palate, it is dry and creamy with an ethereal, flowing texture enlivened by calibrated acidity. Refreshing and joyful, with a long, mineral-driven finish — this is sparkling wine of genuine distinction.

🏆 Vinous 91 Points — "The bouquet features aromas of lime and lemon pie, complemented by a delicate array of fine herbs. Dry and creamy on the palate, the ethereal flow is enlivened by calibrated acidity. Refreshing and joyful, this sparkling wine is a delight."

• Producer: Gramona, Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, Penèdes, Catalonia, Spain
• Vintage: 2018
• Appellation: Corpinnat
• Method: Mètode Tradicional (Traditional Method)
• Blend: 56% Xarel·lo, 30% Macabeo, 10% Parellada, 4% Chardonnay
• Aging: 60 months on the lees
• Style: Brut
• Size: 750ml
• Vintage Note: Cooler, wetter year — exceptional freshness and fine-boned structure
• Tasting Notes: Lime, lemon pie, fine herbs, brioche, creamy texture, calibrated acidity, mineral finish
• Drink: Now through 2030
• Best Paired With: Grilled monkfish, scallops, lobster, roast poultry, Ibérico ham, mature Manchego, Comté

Five years on the lees, one of Spain's greatest sparkling wine houses — Gramona Imperial 2018 is a Corpinnat benchmark of rare elegance and freshness.

VINOUS 93 Points

The NV Extra Brut Rosé ADN de Meunier is a classic-layered and supple with rose petals, mint, dried cherry, mint, spice and orange peel. Assembled with the inclusion of 10% still red Meunier, the Rosé is exquisitely nuanced and super expressive, offering great depth and tons of personality.

Vilmart & Cie Cuvée Rubis Brut Rosé 1er Cru — Champagne NV

Vilmart & Cie is one of Champagne's most celebrated grower estates, farming Premier Cru vineyards in Rilly-la-Montagne and Villers-Allerand with a practicing organic approach and a commitment to traditional winemaking. The Cuvée Rubis is their signature rosé — a Pinot Noir-dominant blend of 90% Pinot Noir (including 15% red wine addition) and 10% Chardonnay, drawn from 35+ year old vines on clay and limestone soils. Fermented and aged entirely in large foudre with no malolactic fermentation, the wine is built for texture, depth, and longevity. Thirty-plus months on the lees and a 8 g/L dosage complete a cuvée that consistently earns scores of 90–93 points across the major critics.

Generous and expressive on the nose: red berries, plum, blood orange, and dried flowers with a lovely yeasty undercurrent. The palate is fleshy and enveloping — pureed raspberry, blood orange granita, lime peel, and biscuit — carried by a pillowy mousse and a spine of chiseled acidity. The finish is lively, delicately phenolic, and notably dry for the style. Already drinking beautifully, with the structure to evolve through 2030 and beyond.

Wine Spectator 93 • Wine Advocate 92 • Burghound 91 • Jeb Dunnuck 90 — "Fine and harmonious… concentrated yet ethereal." — Wine Spectator

• Producer: Vilmart & Cie, Rilly-la-Montagne, Champagne, France
• Appellation: Champagne Premier Cru
• Vineyards: Rilly-la-Montagne 1er Cru & Villers-Allerand 1er Cru
• Blend: 90% Pinot Noir (incl. 15% red wine), 10% Chardonnay
• Vine Age: 35+ years
• Soil: Clay and limestone
• Farming: Practicing organic
• Vinification: Fermented and aged in large foudre; no malolactic fermentation
• Lees Aging: 30+ months
• Dosage: 8 g/L
• Size: 750ml
• Tasting Notes: Red berries, plum, blood orange, dried flowers, raspberry, lime peel, biscuit, pillowy mousse, chiseled acidity
• Best Paired With: Salmon, duck breast, charcuterie, soft-ripened cheeses, roast poultry, berry desserts

93 points from Wine Spectator. 30+ months on the lees. Foudre-aged with no malo. Vilmart's Cuvée Rubis is Premier Cru rosé Champagne at its most serious and rewarding.

Peter Michael La Carrière Chardonnay — Knights Valley, Sonoma County 2024

Peter Michael Winery is one of California’s most celebrated and collectible producers, farming over 200 acres across three distinct estates — Knights Valley, the Sonoma Coast, and the Oakville bench — within a 1,200-acre preserve alive with forests, wildlife, and cold mountain creeks. La Carrière, named after the ancient quarry on the Knights Valley estate, is widely regarded as the pinnacle of the Peter Michael Chardonnay lineup — a wine of extraordinary minerality, tension, and precision that draws comparisons to the finest white Burgundy. The 2024 vintage arrives with a remarkable sweep of near-perfect scores.

The nose is ethereal and layered: citrus peel, jasmine, oyster shell, passionfruit, and tangerine, with a perfumed wisteria lift and a stony, briny undercurrent that sets this wine apart from virtually every other California Chardonnay. On the palate, it is full-bodied yet weightless — raw honey, melon, nectarine, and lemon curd balanced by focused, driving acidity and a crystalline minerality that carries through the very long, salty finish. It is beautiful now and built to evolve over the next decade.

“True to its name, La Carrière is full of stony, briny nuances. Citrus peel, jasmine, oyster shell and tangerine peel are all wonderfully vivid in the glass. Airy and translucent — all about crystalline transparency. I especially admire its energy, tension and poise. La Carrière is my personal favorite because of its intense minerality and energy.” — Vinous, 97 pts. (Vintage 2024). 

“Tropical and perfumed with highly floral wisteria and jasmine, as well as notes of passionfruit and lemon-lime meringue. Full-bodied but light on its feet, offering notes of raw honey, melon, and a pleasing salty lift on the close. Can drink well now or over the coming 10 years.” — Jeb Dunnuck, 96 pts. (Vintage 2024). 

“Alluring, layered aromas of nectarine, mango, panna cotta, lime peel and seamlessly integrated, spicy oak. The full-bodied palate has a satiny texture, a dynamic interplay of ripe, expressive fruit with focused, driving acidity and a very long finish.” — Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, 96 pts. (Vintage 2024). 

“Plenty of focus and drive, with a backbone of crushed rock and sea salt minerality. Fragrant white flowers including jasmine and alyssum add a perfumed thread, and the core notes of crunchy star fruit, pear and lemon curd are equally juicy and precise.” — Wine Spectator, 94 pts. (Vintage 2024).

• Producer: Peter Michael Winery, Knights Valley, Sonoma County, California
• Vintage: 2024
• Appellation: Knights Valley, Sonoma County, California
• Varietal: 100% Chardonnay
• Size: 750ml
• Accolades: #13 Top 100 Wines of the USA, 2025
• Tasting Notes: Citrus peel, jasmine, oyster shell, passionfruit, tangerine, raw honey, melon, lemon curd, stony minerality, long salty finish
• Best Paired With: Dungeness crab, butter-poached lobster, scallops, turbot, whole roasted chicken, aged Comté

California’s most celebrated single-vineyard Chardonnay — Peter Michael La Carrière 2024 is a wine of extraordinary minerality, tension, and precision that belongs in any serious cellar.

Central Otago's Most Exciting Pinot Noir — Moonlight Race by Burn Cottage

Burn Cottage is one of Central Otago's most celebrated biodynamic estates, and the Moonlight Race Pinot Noir is their benchmark expression of this breathtaking South Island appellation. Sourced from three exceptional vineyards — Burn Cottage, Sauvage, and Luna — the 2023 vintage is a wine of extraordinary energy and precision. Crunchy, lively, and deeply satisfying, it captures everything that makes Central Otago Pinot Noir so compelling: vivid fruit, electric acidity, and a silky, fine-grained texture that is impossible to put down.

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2023

• James Suckling — 96 pts: "I really like the crunchy character to this, with ripe, al dente pinot noir character highlighting the strawberry and lemon notes. Medium-bodied, lively and energetic with citrus and crushed stone undertones. This is so satisfying and fresh."
• Wine Spectator — 95 pts: "Stalky, spicy and bright, with notes of Campari/blood orange that mingle alongside dark chocolate, coffee, blood plum and star anise. The tannins and acidity work together as one, making this wine feel integrated, serious, and fun, all at once. Very fine."
• Wine Advocate — 94 pts: "Supple and spicy, with pink peppercorn, cherry blossom, red apple skins, a hint of blond tobacco and white pepper. The tannins are totally fresh and fine — finely milled and like poudre. Superb, silky, totally satisfying and enlivening."

Winemaker Notes

Burn Cottage Pinot Noir Moonlight Race Central Otago 2023 750ml

A blend of 56% Burn Cottage Vineyard, 22% Sauvage Vineyard, and 22% Luna Vineyard fruit. Seven percent whole bunch was included in the ferment with 17 days on skins. Aged in 22% new French oak. The result is a wine of remarkable freshness and complexity — bright red fruit, floral lift, spice, and a long, mineral-driven finish that is quintessentially Central Otago.

Vineyard & Provenance

• Grape: Pinot Noir
• Appellation: Central Otago, South Island, New Zealand
• Producer: Burn Cottage
• Vintage: 2023
• Farming: Biodynamic
• Closure: Screwcap
• Size: 750ml

Food Pairings

Incredibly versatile — exceptional with roasted duck, salmon, mushroom risotto, lamb rack, soft cheeses, and charcuterie boards.

Warehouse stored item - please allow one to three business days to fulfill.

95 points, Wine Spectator. This bursts with bramble, licorice snap, blackberry and mulberry aromas and flavors that are energetic and juicy through the finish, where a flash of iris kicks in. A graphite spine to keep this honest. For fans of the exuberant style. Drink now through 2040.

Barolo's Most Elegant Single Cru — Monvigliero by Paolo Scavino

Paolo Scavino is one of Barolo's most revered producers, and the Monvigliero is the crown jewel of their single-vineyard lineup. Sourced from the stately Monvigliero vineyard in Verduno — widely regarded as the grand cru of the village — this cru was first bottled as a single vineyard wine in 2007 after the Scavino family purchased the site. Monvigliero is celebrated for its distinctly feminine character: floral, spicy, balsamic, and precise, with a finesse and aromatic complexity that sets it apart from the more powerful expressions of Barolo.

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2022

• Jeb Dunnuck — 95 pts: "Moving north to Verduno, the 2022 Barolo Monvigliero pours a bright ruby hue and remains slightly reserved at this stage, revealing aromas of preserved cranberries, white peach, candied orange, baking spice, ripe apricot, and dried earth. Medium-bodied, it has a more linear feel, with focused acidity and well-defined tannins. Citrus notes lift the palate and carry through a refined finish."  Rating: 95+                                                                                                     
• James Suckling — 95 pts: "This wine shines with freshness and transparency, full of red currants, red cherries and intense violets against a meaty background. Lightly extracted and medium-bodied, showing crisp, brilliant acidity and velvety tannins. A touch of sternness in the tense, fragrant finish. Drinkable now but best from 2027."

Winemaker Notes

Paolo Scavino Barolo Monvigliero 2022 750ml

Great finesse and aromatic complexity, distinctly floral spicy, savory, balsamic in its expression. The nose is vivid and compound. The texture is focused. An extremely elegant cru, feminine and full of character. 

Vineyard & Provenance

• Grape: Nebbiolo
• Appellation: Barolo DOCG, Piedmont
• Vineyard: Monvigliero, Verduno
• Producer: Paolo Scavino
• Vintage: 2021
• Size: 750ml

Food Pairings

A classic Piedmontese pairing — exceptional with braised beef, osso buco, white truffle dishes, aged Parmigiano-Reggiano, wild boar ragù, and roasted lamb.

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2022

Vinous 94 Points | The 2022 Chardonnay Alta Historic Rows originates from Gualtallary and Villa Bastías, Uco Valley vineyards. It was aged up to 14 months in a combination of new and used barrels. Yellow in hue with a golden sheen. The floral nose presents appealing green apple, cedar, and nut aromas with hints of fennel and quince in the background. On the palate, it has a creamy, chalky texture and tart acidity resulting in a taut, refreshing mouthfeel. A well-crafted Chardonnay that sums up the advantages of high-altitude vineyards. 

James Suckling 94 Points |  Pie crust, smoked pineapple, lemon curd and zesty citrus on the palate. Medium-bodied, showing fresh, creamy fruit and a lengthy finish. Drink or hold.

Hirsch · The Bohan-Dillon Pinot Noir · Sonoma Coast 2024

This 2024 Bohan-Dillon is a generous, youthful Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir built for the table. Cherries, ripe strawberries and cassis lead, followed by plum skin, wet stone and a note of redwood forest as the wine opens in the glass. Its juicy, mouthwatering palate makes it an easy companion to roast chicken, salmon or mushroom dishes.

Producer Description

The Bohan-Dillon is an authentic, handmade Pinot Noir that is delicious young and effortlessly food-friendly. The 2024 Bohan-Dillon is a charming, exuberant wine with lots of personality and character. It opens with a bouquet of cherries, ripe strawberries and cassis. With air, notes of plum skin, wet stone and redwood forest emerge. On the palate, it’s juicy and mouthwatering, with an easy, irresistible drinkability. Delicious upon release and effortlessly food-friendly, this wine can be enjoyed young and pair with a wide variety of foods.

Hirsch · Producer Description

Expert Review · 2024 Vintage

Purity and freshness with sliced strawberries, minerals and hints of flint. Some volcanic undertones. There’s an edge this year that gives it energy.

James Suckling · 94 points

About Hirsch

Hirsch describes its vineyard practices as Biodynamic, organic and regenerative. Since 2011, the estate says it has farmed its 72 acres of vines, along with gardens and orchards, using those practices, with work focused on bringing each vine into balance.

At a Glance

• Producer: Hirsch
• Vintage: 2024
• Appellation: Sonoma Coast, California, USA
• Grape: Pinot Noir
• Size: 750ml

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2019

The Wine Advocate 95 Points | The San Felice 2019 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Il Grigio (made with 80% Sangiovese and 20% complementary indigenous grapes) stands out due to its velvety richness and expressive flavor profile. The wine delivers measured intensity with bright purple and black fruits, a good sense of energy and drive, and some lingering spiciness on the close. It is rich but not heavy.

James Suckling 93 Points | This is spiced and racy with dark cherries, currants, savory herbs, walnuts and sandalwood. Medium- to full-bodied with ripe, powdery tannins, juicy acidity and a mineral backbone on the palate. Bright and fruit-forward in the finish. Drink or hold.

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2021

Erin Brooks of The Wine Advocate 95 Points | I tasted the 2021 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley about a month after it was bottled, but it doesn't seem to matter—it bursts from the glass with generous pomegranate, cranberry and raspberry preserves aromas and accents of orange peel, aniseed and tea leaves. The palate is stunning: it strikes a balance between highly concentrated, nuanced fruit and an uplifted, silky structure, and it has a particularly elegant finish. 

James Suckling 94 Points | Wild and vibrant nose of rosemary, cherry stones, small strawberries, violets and seaweed. So fresh, with a medium body and powdery tannins. I like the persistent fine, chalky texture. Unfined and unfiltered. Drink or hold.

Wine Spectator 94 Points |  Sleek, graceful and elegantly proportioned, with expressive violet, raspberry, guava and black tea flavors that jump out of the glass and gather richness toward polished tannins. Drink now through 2032.

Decanter 93 Points | Sourced from 13 vineyards throughout the Valley, though predominantly Star Morring and Doration vineyards. Aromas of violets and crushed stone hint at edginess. The palate offers sappy blackberries and bright, fresh fruits backed by spearmint. There is an excellent lingering juiciness and a finish that goes on for minutes.

Jeb Dunnuck 92 Points | Deep ruby with a purple tinge, the 2021 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley is generous and attractive, with a pure and spicy perfume of pressed flowers, wild raspberry preserve, and brambly herbs. Approachable and drinking well out of the gate, this medium to full-bodied red is ripe with juicy fruit, good structure, ripe tannins, and pithy texture, as well as a touch of warming spice on a long finish. It’s a solid appellation wine that casts a very large net for appeal. Drink 2024-2030. - Audrey Frick

Vinous 91 Points |  The 2021 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley is lifted and pure with a cool-toned bouquet of dusty florals, lavender and spice-dusted blackberries. Soft and round, it casts violet inner florals and wild berries across the palate, taking on a saline tinge and hints of licorice toward the close. The 2021 finishes remarkably fresh and with a pleasantly chewy sensation, leaving slowly fading inner rose tones. -- Eric Guido

Luis Perez El Muelle de Olaso Blanco VdT Cadiz 2023 750ml

Willy Pérez is one of the most exciting winemakers working in the Sherry region today — and El Muelle de Olaso is the wine that proves it. Made from 100% Palomino Fino sourced from 40- to 50-year-old vines on the legendary albariza marl soils of Macharnudo and Carrascal, this is a Vino de Pasto in the old tradition: a dry, still table wine from Jerez that has nothing to do with Sherry and everything to do with terroir. Fermented mostly in stainless steel with a touch of bota aging and brief contact with flor, El Muelle is a wine of extraordinary finesse and minerality.

The 2023 vintage is a year of nuance and detail — less concentrated than 2022 but more balanced, with a fine thread of tension running through the palate and a long, clean, and deeply satisfying finish. This is Palomino as it was always meant to taste.

"The claim that Palomino is a neutral-flavor grape is proven wrong with El Muelle — a wine with citrussy and tropical fruit flavors, lively chalky minerality, and a touch of herbal tanginess from its short contact with flor."

• Producer: Luis Pérez, Jerez, Cádiz, Spain
• Appellation: Vinos de la Tierra de Cádiz
• Grape: 100% Palomino Fino
• Vintage: 2023
• Vineyards: Macharnudo & Carrascal — 40–50 yr old vines on albariza marl
• Vinification: 80% stainless steel, 20% bota — brief flor contact — 6 months aging
• Tasting Notes: Dried pineapple, citrus, apple, light caramel, honey, cedar, chalky minerality, herbal tanginess, long clean finish
• Best Paired With: Grilled seafood, oysters, jamón ibérico, fried fish, or goat cheese

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2023 

James Suckling — 93 Points
Aromas of dried pineapple, apple and light caramel. Medium to full body. Light honey and cedar flavors. Made mostly in stainless with some natural fino in the blend. This is blended from two top vineyards of Jerez: Macharnudo and Carrascal.

Wine Advocate — 93 Points
The 2023 El Muelle de Olaso comes from a warm year but less warm than 2022 and more balanced. It was produced with Palomino grapes from 40- to 50-year-old vines on "barajuela" laminar albariza marl soils fermented mostly in stainless steel (80%) and only 20% in bota. It matured in stainless steel for six months. Pérez confessed that the wine has a little more Macharnudo wine this vintage. The wine is still a baby, primary and undeveloped but with a lot of finesse; it’s a year of less concentration, and it has nuance and detail, a fine thread and a long, clean and tasty finish.

A wine that rewrites what Palomino can be — El Muelle de Olaso is essential drinking for anyone who loves mineral-driven whites with soul.

Laherte Frères Ultradition Brut NV — Champagne

Laherte Frères is a benchmark grower-producer in Chavot, farming biodynamically and organically across 10 hectares in the Côte des Blancs and Vallée de la Marne. The Ultradition is their signature cuvée — a multi-vintage blend anchored by old-vine Pinot Meunier, built to express terroir transparency and minimal intervention. Wine Spectator awarded it 92 points, calling it “vivid” and “clean-cut and minerally on the finish.” John Gilman added 92+ points, praising its “superb soil signature, refined mousse, and a very long, complex, dancing finish.” At this price, it is one of the most compelling values in grower Champagne.

The nose opens with white peach, spring flowers, chalky soil tones, gentle smokiness, and a dollop of brioche. On the palate it is full-bodied and extremely elegant — pure, with a fine core, refined mousse, and a long, dancing finish of citrus and mineral. Pinot Meunier at its most expressive.

Wine Spectator 92 • Vinous 92 • John Gilman 92+ — “Pure, full-bodied, and extremely elegant, with a very long, complex and dancing finish.”

• Producer: Laherte Frères, Chavot, Champagne, France
• Style: Brut NV
• Blend: 60% Pinot Meunier, 30% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Noir
• Appellation: Champagne AOC
• Dosage: 6–8 g/L
• Farming: Biodynamic, Organic
• Format: 750ml
• Tasting Notes: White peach, spring flowers, chalk, brioche, citrus, mineral finish
• Best Paired With: Oysters, lobster, sushi, aged Comté, roast chicken, caviar

A 92-point biodynamic grower Champagne at an honest price — Laherte Frères’ Ultradition is the benchmark for what Pinot Meunier-driven Champagne can be.

Expert Review- Vintage 2023

Christina Pickard of the Wine Enthusiast writes 93 Points | Lime leaf, waxy citrus, white peach notes and a hint of honey open this Clare Valley Riesling. The combo of dryness, cheek-sucking, orange peel acidity and chalky texture makes for a somewhat austere wine solo, but pair with a creamy goat's cheese or seafood risotto and watch it shine. 

Producer Description 

Originally a pastoral run dating back to 1839, and originally named Wolta Wolta, Jim Barry purchased the land for The Lodge Hill Vineyard in 1977 as he was sure it would “produce some of the best Riesling in the Clare Valley.” Situated at 480 meters above sea level and situated on the Eastern Ranges of the Clare Valley, the grapes at our Lodge Hill Vineyard are exposed to concentrated bursts of sunlight and cool nights which encourage slower ripening. This helps deliver beautiful natural acidity and citrus characters that ripen early because of the small crop it produces. Gentle pressing and a rapid move into the fermentation allows the natural fruit flavors to be preserved.

Aromas of fresh lime, spice, citrus blossom, white peach, and nectarine skins open on the nose. In the mouth, the lime flavors take center stage commanding attention on entry. The fruit is fleshy with considerable weight and framed with a refreshing driving acid. A lot of wine!

Expert Review - Vintage 2022

The Australian Wine Companion 91 Points | Yalumba continues to grace us with a range of wines made from viognier, from entry-level to aspirational, that convey a deep understanding of both the variety and site. Pale straw with green flashes and aromas of lemon, grapefruit and apricot along with hints of lemon sorbet, wildflowers, a liminal whiff of white pepper and stone. Flecks of dried herbs join in on the palate, which is stony and savoury, lingering nicely as it fades away. A great introduction to the variety. 

James Suckling 91 Points | A fresh, juicy and precise viognier with aroma of peaches, apricots and fresh flowers. Medium-bodied with fresh acidity. Vivid and playful, with a refreshing finish.

Producer Description 

With 175 years of unbroken independence, Yalumba continues to make wine at its founder's home estate under the direction of the same family today. Samuel's Collection honors Yalumba's founder Samuel Smith, his spirit of independence and conviction to invest in the land and make great wine.

Pure aromas reminiscent of fresh apricots, lifted ginger, saffron and fresh white flowers. The palate is long, rich, and luscious, with intense and expressive stone fruit flavors finishing with an alluring freshness. This wine will continue to grow and develop in the bottle, firstly showing enhanced apricots and spice, then honey flavors and toast complexity.

Enjoy with a Moroccan tagine and couscous, or baba ghanoush.

Chateau Sociando-Mallet Haut-Medoc 2020 · Haut-Medoc, Bordeaux, France

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2020

James Suckling, 94 Points — This has a pretty nose with dark spices, nut shell and cedar notes with a dark fruit backbone, following through to a medium body with firm and finely polished tannins that go on and on. Refined and nicely balanced with velvety texture. Lingering and chalky finish. Try after 2026.

Vinous, 93 Points — The 2020 Sociando Mallet has retained its impressive aromatics from its showing in barrel with beautifully defined blackberry and raspberry fruit, pressed violet and light cedar aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with firm backbone, a little powdery in texture, fine backbone with ample freshness and tension towards its graphite-infused finish. Bravo!

The Wine Advocate, 92 Points — The 2020 Sociando-Mallet is very attractive, exhibiting aromas of cassis and plums mingled with notions of pencil shavings, loamy soil, tobacco leaf and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with lively acids and powdery tannins, it's a strong effort from a site that always does well in warm vintages. The 2020 is a blend of 53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Cabernet Franc.

Decanter, 92 Points — Wonderfully fragrant on the nose, just stopping short of being potent. Glorious perfumed scents and rich, ripe black fruits. Clean and clear, this has a lively energy to it and a little bit of liquorice which gives a savoury, dark and sticky edge to the fruit. Clarity, classicism and precision on show. Sculpted, muscular, grippy and chewy. Excellent potential with a slate and coffee-toned finish.

Details

• Bottle Size: 750ml
• Region: Haut-Medoc, Bordeaux, France
• Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot
• Type: Red

Weingut Forstreiter | Grüner Veltliner Tabor | Kremstal DAC | Niederösterreich, Austria | 2021

Weingut Forstreiter is one of the Kremstal's most respected family estates, farming sustainably on the steep terraced vineyards above the Danube in Niederösterreich — Lower Austria. The Kremstal DAC is one of Austria's premier appellations for Grüner Veltliner, where the combination of loess and primary rock soils, the moderating influence of the Danube, and the continental climate produce wines of exceptional concentration, mineral precision, and longevity.

The Tabor is Forstreiter's single-vineyard flagship Grüner Veltliner, always hand-harvested at the very end of the harvest season to achieve maximum ripeness without botrytis. The result is a monumental and complex expression of the variety — a wine that inspires with its concentration, aromatic complexity, clarity, and youthfulness.

The 2021 opens with a dense, powerful bouquet that evolves beautifully with air — ripe aromas of green sugar snap peas, sweet citrus, overripe banana, dried apricot, and candied ginger, with a great arc of tension between warm, ripe fruit and cool mineral precision. On the palate, medium-bodied and vibrant with apple, green melon, white chocolate, and lemon fruit, underscored by a crunchy minerality. The finish is long, citrusy, and stony, marked by loads of white pepper — the hallmark of great Grüner Veltliner.

Pair with Wiener Schnitzel, grilled fish, sushi, white asparagus, light pasta, and soft cheeses. Also exceptional as an aperitivo.

• Producer: Weingut Forstreiter
• Vineyard: Tabor
• Appellation: Kremstal DAC, Niederösterreich, Austria
• Grape: Grüner Veltliner
• Vintage: 2021
• Harvest: Hand-picked; end of harvest season
• Farming: Sustainable
• Bottle Size: 750ml

Critical Acclaim — Vintage 2021

• Wine Enthusiast — 92 pts: Medium-bodied and vibrant — apple, green melon, white chocolate and lemon fruit underscored by a crunchy minerality. Finish is marked by loads of white pepper and a long, citrusy and stony aftertaste. — Aleks Zecevic

Descendientes de José Palacios | Pétalos | Bierzo DO | Castilla y León, Spain | 2021

Before Mencía became the darling of Northwestern Spain, Pétalos was already making waves. Descendientes de José Palacios — the project of Álvaro Palacios and his nephew Ricardo Pérez Palacios — has been the defining force in Bierzo’s modern renaissance, farming old-vine Mencía on ancient slate soils with biodynamic and organic principles. Pétalos is their entry wine, but it carries the full weight of the estate’s philosophy: precision, transparency, and a deep sense of place.

The 2021 is widely regarded as the finest vintage of the 2020–2022 trio. Lower alcohol than ever (13.5%), it shows a lighter, more delineated profile with the juicy, aromatic Mencía character that defines the appellation. The nose is enticing: red berries, violets, wild herbs, white pepper, and a whisper of agave. On the palate, a velvety mouthfeel and very fine, chalky tannins frame nimble red fruit with elegant structure and a long, gourmand finish. Approachable now and drinking beautifully through 2029. 320,000 bottles and 2,567 magnums produced.

Before the Mencia grape became the darling of Northwestern Spain, Petalos was already making waves. A beautifully tailored wine. Enticing aromas of red berries with underlying whiffs of violets. Poised and well integrated flavors.
Oscar Garcia, 67Wine

• Producer: Descendientes de José Palacios
• Appellation: Bierzo DO, Castilla y León, Spain
• Grape: 100% Mencía (Biodynamic, Organic)
• Vintage: 2021
• Alcohol: 13.5%
• Drink: Now through 2029
• Production: 320,000 bottles + 2,567 magnums
• Size: 750ml

Critical Acclaim - Vintage 2021

• Luis Gutiérrez, Robert Parker — 93+ pts: Juicy, expressive, and showy. Aromatic herbs, velvety mouthfeel, very fine tannins. Very hedonistic. Drink 2023–2029.
• Zekun Shuai, James Suckling — 93 pts: Tangy white pepper, wild herbs, and red berries. Elegant and delineated with chalky tannins and nimble red fruit. Drink now.

Bodega Garzón · Tannat Reserva · Uruguay · 2024

Bodega Garzón Tannat Reserva 2024 combines dark-fruit depth with a supple mouthfeel and firm structure. Black fruit and anise meet a juicy, savory finish, making this Uruguayan red a flavorful partner for roasted meats.

Producer & Winemaking

With consultant Alberto Antonini, Bodega Garzón emphasizes an approachable, fresh expression of Tannat and its coastal terroir. The 2024 Reserva is entirely Tannat, fermented in cement and aged in oak for 6–12 months.

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2024

James Suckling · 91 Points  Dark cherries and inky blackberries in a slightly monolithic mode. Medium- to full-bodied, with good fruit and firm, tight-wound tannins. Juicy and savory in its medium-length finish.

Jeb Dunnuck · 90 Points · A full-bodied wine that's all varietal, the 2024 Tannat Reserva is cement-fermented and oak-aged over 6-12 months, supple in mouthfeel with chalky black fruit and anise.

Wine Enthusiast · 90 Points · Vintage Not Specified. Crushed dark berries shape the nose of this approachable Tannat. The soft palate is full of fruit flavors with dark berry character. It’s firm and juicy throughout.

Winemaker Description

Reserva Tannat is an ideal complement to roasted game meat, but its most traditional pairing is with simmered leg of lamb with sage, mint, and garlic.

Pairing & Serving

Try roasted game or slow-cooked lamb with sage, mint and garlic. Serve slightly below room temperature and allow time in the glass for the wine to open.

Details

• Producer: Bodega Garzón
• Vintage: 2024
• Country: Uruguay
• Grape: Tannat
• Type: Red wine
• Bottle size: 750ml
• Fermentation: Cement
• Aging: 6–12 months in oak

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars — AVETA Sauvignon Blanc 2022

Appellation: Napa Valley, California | Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc | Format: 750ml

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars needs no introduction — the Napa Valley estate that stunned the world at the 1976 Paris Tasting with its Cabernet Sauvignon is equally masterful with white wine. AVETA, named for the Celtic goddess of springs and water, is their Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc: a wine of remarkable freshness, aromatic complexity, and thirst-quenching precision that stands apart from the richer, oak-driven California white wine style.

The 2022 is bright, lively, and unmistakably Napa — fragrant, fruit-forward, and built for the table.

Critical Acclaim

Wine Enthusiast — 92 Points
“Lively aromas and inviting flavors of mixed tropical fruits, wild grasses and wet stones make this wine mouthwatering and inviting through a lengthy finish.”

Winemaker’s Notes

Fragrant aromas of grapefruit, lemongrass, citrus, lychee, and orange blossom. Bright and lively on the palate with thirst-quenching acidity and pure flavors of mandarin orange and honeysuckle that lead to a lasting aftertaste.

Wine Details

• Producer: Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars
• Appellation: Napa Valley, California
• Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc
• Vintage: 2022
• Format: 750ml

Food Pairings

Fresh fish ceviche, crab cakes, grilled oysters with mignonette sauce, sushi, goat cheese, and light citrus-dressed salads.

Winemaker Description

A perfect combination of softness and concentration, matched by a masterful maturity, The 2015 Cristal Brut delivers intense and delicious aromas with a superb energy and a magical vibration.

This is a timeless champagne with a chalky temperament, sustained by its soils, freed from the sunny character of the vintage.The nose begins with hints of yellow fruit, toasted almonds and wheat from the Chardonnay, combined with the juicy red fruit of the Pinot Noir. 

Then comes the great surge of energy from the wine's structure, a vibratory intensity that transforms into a gentle caress, a silky texture interwoven with fine flavors of candied citrus and iodized spices.The vintage's chalky character thus bursts forth in a bracing, vertical effervescence, with an insistent, precise and finely honed freshness.

The finish is underpinned by subtle oaky, sappy and saline notes, which creates the ultimate sensation of delicacy and concentration.Cristal 2015 remains a wine of supreme balance and measure, resonating from the chalky nature of its soils rather than the sunny character of its vintage.

A perfect Cristal, intensely of the 2015 vintage, with enormous ageing potential.

Expert Reviews 

James Suckling 97 Points | The warm and dry vintage this has tremendous freshness and elegance. The complex nose of citrus blossom, mint, lemon and lime zest opens up slowly as this aerates in the glass. The wine’s ample structure is still quite firm, which is a vintage characteristic, the mousse very fine but also very lively for an eight-year-old champagne. Cristal fans will love this as it is, but a year or two more in the bottle will do a lot for the very long mineral finish of this youthful masterpiece. A cuvee of 60% pinot noir and 40% chardonnay, picked from all 45 Cristal vineyard plots. Tasted at the Cristal vertical tasting at the champagne house on July 6th, 2023.

96 Points Wine Spectator | This mouthwatering Champagne has an ethereal quality, with a frame of chiseled acidity and focused precision to the pointillisme-like, vibrant mousse. Yet this shows depth and generous expression, with the finely spun notes of patisserie apple and blackberry fruit opening beautifully on the palate and through the minerally finish, with notes of grated ginger, blood orange granita, salted Marcona almond and anise.

96 Points Jeb Dunnuck | I had the opportunity to taste the 2015 Champagne Cristal twice, both at the house in Reims as well as at my home office. On both occasions, the wine offered a terrific balance of decadence and notable freshness for this vintage, which was highly expressive on opening. The release reveals layered custardy notes of lemon balm, incense, apricot, and hazelnut. Medium to full-bodied, the mousse is fluffy and rounded out beautifully through the palate. Round and approachable, it has a well-managed richness along with underlying savory sapidity and saline to keep this going over the coming three or more decades, with a chalky tannin structure to support it.

95 Points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate | If the 2014 vintage was especially open and demonstrative, the 2015 Cristal is going to require more patience. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of citrus oil, crisp stone fruits, white flowers, crushed mint and subtle hints of buttery pastry, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with a deep, concentrated and rather introverted core of fruit framed by chalky extract and animated by a pretty pinpoint mousse. This is a serious, vinous Champagne that has considerable substance to age and may well evolve along the lines of the lovely 1985.

95 Points Decanter | An open and inviting nose references cream, oatmeal and Amalfi lemon with the slightest edge of smoke. The palate immediately strikes with a mouthwatering lemon ripeness and a juicy, mouthfilling generosity reminiscent of yellow plum. It stays true to the trademark sleekness of Cristal and speaks of the concentration of 2015. Fine mousse accentuates the fullness and roundness of the wine while the long finish hints at chalky depth which, for now, is dominated by ripe stone fruit and more of that textured, rich notion of oatmeal. Definitely a Cristal to enjoy soon.

Winemaker Description 

A white gold in color with delicate and persistent bubbles, Grand Siecle No. 26 offers a very complex nose which mixes honeysuckle, lemon, clementine and fresh butter aromas, followed by notes of hazelnut and a touch of honey. The feel in the mouth is very delicate and fresh with candied lemon and fresh hazelnut aromas. The palate is silky and mineral with notes of honeysuckle, flaked almonds and clementine.

It pairs with high quality produce and refined dishes, including shellfish, noble fish and white meats such as Thai style langoustine tartare and fine roasted poultry.

Expert Reviews

100 James Suckling James Suckling's #1 Wine of 2023 |  This is really something. Electric on the palate. The aromas are so complex with sliced fresh and dried ginger, subtle pie crust, tarte tatin and hints of nutmeg with some salted caramel. Toasted bread, too. Always subtle. The palate is full- to medium-bodied yet hemmed-in with a freshness and balance that draws you back. Savory and vibrant. It's full of energy. Spectacular. Fascinating. Symphonic blend of 2012, 2008 and 2007. 65% of the 2012, 25% of the 2008 and 10% of the 2007. Eight grand cru. Chardonnay 58% and 42% pinot noir. Disgorged February 2023. 10 years on the lees. 7g/L dosage.

97 Points Wine Enthusiast | Tautly textured, the Champagne is delicious with a poise between white and citrus fruits along with touches of maturity coming through. Drink this magnificent wine now for its great balance and intensity.

96 Points Decanter | This iteration of Grand Siècle is almost entirely composed of two of Champagne's greatest recent vintages, so expectations are high. The wine more than meets them, tempering the generosity of 2012's fruit – ripe apricots, white peach, clementines and sunny, zesty citrus – with a pitch-perfect streak of 2008 tautness and structure. There are some fleshy, creamy notes of papaya and toasted white sourdough, but everything is as delicately rendered as expected and impeccably shaped, with a sleek, silky mousse. A little more approachable than Itération No. 25, it will welcome extended bottle age rather than demand it. The blend is 58% Chardonnay and 42% Pinot Noir from eight grand cru vineyards. 65% is from the 2012 vintage, 35% from 2008 and 10% from 2007.

96 Points Robert Parker | Unfurling in the glass with scents of crisp nectarine, pear and honeyed citrus fruit that mingle with notions of fresh mint, blanched almonds and iodine, the wine is full-bodied, concentrated and tightly wound, with broad structural shoulders, tangy acids and a long, intense finish. It's a great Grand Siècle in the making.

95 Points Wine Spectator | A graceful Champagne, with flavors of boysenberry and black cherry fruit, toast, blanched almond and grapefruit pith, graphite and fleur de sel gliding across the satiny mousse. Reveals racy acidity that sculpts fine definition, allowing the detailed profile to expand on the palate, while minerally hints of chalk and oyster shell linger on the finish. 

Ridge Vineyards · Geyserville · Alexander Valley 2021

This 2021 Alexander Valley red blend brings together Zinfandel, Carignane, Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet and Mataro. The winemaker lists Zinfandel as 69% of the blend, with the other varieties in smaller proportions.

Ripe cranberry and cassis open into dark bramble fruit, cocoa and clove. Vibrant acidity carries the opulent fruit through a long, elegant finish; critics also note plum, blueberry, pepper, blackberry and herbal complexity. The review sources give differing blend percentages, so each is kept with its own attribution below.

Winemaker Description · blend
Ripe cranberry and cassis on the nose. Focused dark bramble fruit on the palate, layered with cocoa and clove. Vibrant acidity balances beautifully with opulent fruit and carries through to a long and elegant finish. Blend: 69% Zinfandel, 20% Carignane, 8% Petite Sirah, 2% Alicante Bouschet, 1% Mataro.

Wine & Spirits · 95 Points · 2021
When Geyserville hits in a great vintage, it takes me back to what I originally loved about California wine. Or to that sense of optimism on a spring day when I first visited San Francisco in 1984, to pitch this magazine on publishing services. I didn’t know at the time that I would still be publishing it 40 years later, and I didn’t know how much California wine would change. Or how little the style and intention of Geyserville would change. The team at Ridge manages the vineyard’s generations of vines to produce complex wines like this perfectly ripe 2021, with its dark, resinous scents of marijuana, its deep layers of rich fruit and the fruitiness of detailed tannins. The fresh, herbal complexity is pretty epic and the richness doesn’t stop. What I want from California.

Wine Enthusiast · 94 Points · Cellar Selection · 2021
Toasted oak and wood-smoke aromas lead to equally smoky, spicy flavors of black pepper, blackberry jam and maple in this full-bodied, muscular and firmly tannic wine. Great to pair with barbecue and hatchet throwing. The Zinfandel grapes were supplemented with 16% Carignane, 6% Petite Sirah and 2% Alicante Bouschet. Best from 2025-2035.

Jeb Dunnuck · 93 Points · 2021
The 2021 Geyserville checks in as 76% Zinfandel, 16% Carignane, and the rest Petite Sirah and Alicante Bouschet. It has a pure, expressive bouquet of fresh plums, figs, mulberries, peppery herbs, leather, and vanilla bean, and it takes some air to show at its best, gaining depth and richness with time in the glass. This medium to full-bodied, spicy, elegant red blend has a touch more oak present than I'm accustomed to, but it has a silky, elegant mouthfeel, nicely integrated acidity, and outstanding length. It's going to benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age. Rating: 93+

Wine Spectator · 93 Points · 2021
Tightly focused and briary, this blend offers density without weight. Presents plum and blueberry flavors accented by dill and green peppercorn as this builds tension toward medium-grained tannins. Zinfandel, Carignane, Petite Sirah and Alicante Bouschet.

• Producer: Ridge Vineyards
• Wine: Geyserville
• Vintage: 2021
• Region: Alexander Valley, Sonoma County, California
• Style: Zinfandel-led red blend
• Blend (winemaker description): 69% Zinfandel, 20% Carignane, 8% Petite Sirah, 2% Alicante Bouschet, 1% Mataro
• Size: 375ml half bottle

Geyserville’s layered fruit, spice and vibrant acidity make this half bottle a distinctive expression of Alexander Valley.

On the sun-warmed shores of the Neusiedlersee in Burgenland, Hannes Schuster tends his organically farmed vineyards with quiet conviction. Sankt Laurent — an ancient variety thought to be a crossing related to Pinot Noir, native to this corner of Austria — finds one of its most honest expressions here. The Klassik is exactly what its name promises: focused, unadorned, and deeply satisfying.

The 2022 arrives brimming with red cherry and wild berry fruit, carrying the earthy, mineral-rich signature of the St. Margarethen soils. The palate is barely medium-bodied yet anything but thin — silky tannins, lively acidity, and a delicate spice thread keep each sip animated through to a long, clean finish. At just 11% alcohol, it drinks with effortless elegance.

Fermented with native yeasts and aged one year in used 500-liter Stockinger barrels, this is a wine made without shortcuts. Drink slightly chilled as an aperitif, or alongside mushroom dishes, charcuterie, roast chicken, or duck confit.

Appellation: Neusiedlersee, Burgenland, Austria
Grape: Sankt Laurent
Farming: Organic
Vintage: 2022
Format: 750ml

Critical Acclaim - Vintage 2022

91 Points — James Suckling | “Brimming with red-cherry fruit and joyful freshness… Amazing for just 11% alcohol!”

Exceptional Douro White Wine

Luis Seabra Xisto Ilimitado Branco 2023 is a stunning expression of Portugal's Douro Valley, crafted by acclaimed winemaker Luis Seabra. This limited production white wine showcases the unique terroir of Douro Superior, where ancient vines grow on schist soils ("xisto" in Portuguese) at elevations between 500 and 700 meters. The wine is a masterful blend of indigenous Portuguese varieties, primarily Rabigato with Gouveio, Codega, Viosinho, and Arinto, sourced from 30- to 60-year-old vines. The result is a fresh, mineral-driven wine that balances power with elegance and has earned exceptional critical acclaim.

Primary Varietals - Rabigato, Codega, Gouveio, Viosinho, Arinto

Expert Reviews & Critical Acclaim

James Suckling - 93 Points: "This has aromas of sliced green apples, orchard fruit, fennel and a touch of flint. Medium- to full-bodied and fresh, with texture and pleasant phenolics. Long and persistent. Incredible value."

Wine Advocate - 92 Points: "The 2023 Xisto Ilimitado Branco feels very fresh and clean, with a shy nose and balanced palate with purity and precision. It has 12.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.35 denoting freshness and comes through as balanced and elegant. Excellent!"

Traditional Winemaking & Terroir

This wine is produced from grapes grown in the Meda zone of Douro Superior, close to Beiras, on distinctive schist soils that give the wine its name and mineral character. The bunches are carefully pressed and the juice allowed to settle before fermenting with indigenous yeasts, preserving the authentic expression of the terroir. The wine matures for 10-12 months in 228- and 500-liter used oak barrels with the lees, undergoing full malolactic fermentation without bâtonnage. This traditional approach results in a wine with remarkable purity, precision, and complexity while maintaining freshness and balance.

Tasting Profile & Sensory Experience

This wine displays a bright straw yellow color that hints at its vibrant character. The nose offers aromas of sliced green apples, orchard fruit, stone fruit, fennel, and a distinctive flinty wet stone minerality with white pepper accents. On the palate, discover impressively bright and mineral-driven flavors of lemon, green apple, Bosc pear, and slate minerals, with subtle floral tones adding complexity. The wine is medium- to full-bodied with fresh acidity, pleasant phenolics, and a smooth texture that creates a harmonious mouthfeel. The finish is long, persistent, and juicy, showcasing the wine's remarkable balance between power and lift.

Perfect Food Pairings & Serving

Serve this Douro white wine chilled to 8-10°C (46-50°F) to enhance its crispness and lively character. Its fresh acidity and mineral profile make it an exceptional companion to grilled fish, seafood risotto, shellfish, or sushi. It also pairs beautifully with light pasta dishes, fresh citrus salads, roasted chicken, or creamy cheeses. The wine's versatility allows it to complement both simple home-cooked meals and gourmet cuisine, making it perfect for summer picnics, dinner parties, or special occasions. Its elegant sophistication and incredible value make it a standout choice for any wine lover.

Luis Seabra Winemaking Excellence

Luis Seabra is one of Portugal's most respected winemakers, known for his dedication to showcasing indigenous grape varieties and traditional winemaking methods. His Xisto Ilimitado wines represent his commitment to terroir-driven expressions that honor the Douro Valley's unique character. By working with old vines, schist soils, and indigenous yeasts, Seabra creates wines of exceptional purity and authenticity. The 2023 vintage exemplifies his philosophy of balance and elegance, delivering a wine that is both approachable and sophisticated—a true celebration of Portuguese winemaking heritage.

Fattoria dei Barbi is one of Montalcino's most historic and respected estates, with a winemaking tradition stretching back centuries. The Colombini family has been farming these lands since the 18th century, and the estate today remains one of the benchmarks for classic, age-worthy Brunello — wines built on structure, terroir integrity, and the long-term vision that defines the appellation at its finest. Fattoria dei Barbi farms its own vineyards, produces its own olive oil and pecorino, and operates one of Montalcino's most celebrated wine museums, embodying the full culture of the Tuscan estate.

The estate's vineyards are planted on the southeastern slopes of Montalcino, where galestro and clay-limestone soils combine with the area's warm, dry climate to produce Sangiovese Grosso (Brunello) of exceptional concentration and aromatic complexity. The southeastern exposure delivers ripe, structured fruit while preserving the freshness and acidity essential to Brunello's legendary longevity.

Following harvest, the wine undergoes extended maceration and fermentation before aging for a minimum of five years — including at least two years in large Slavonian oak casks — in accordance with Brunello di Montalcino DOCG regulations. The result is a wine of classical structure, with the depth and tannic architecture to evolve gracefully over decades.

The 2019 opens with a clean, bright aromatic profile of plum, dark cherry, blueberry, and orange peel, with notes of cedar, nutmeg, and a mentholated freshness. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied with firm, polished, slightly chalky tannins, rich texture, and a long, structured finish with hints of licorice and wild herbs. Fresh, velvety, and still quite primary — this is a wine with an exceptional future ahead of it.

"Offering a clean and bright fruit profile… The fruit presented in this vintage is fresh, velvety, nicely contoured and still tastes quite primary in nature. This bodes well for the wine's future bottle evolution… Great job here."
— The Wine Advocate, 95 Points. (Vintage 2019). 

"Blueberry and orange peel with some cedar and nutmeg in the aromas and flavors. Medium to full body with firm and polished tannins and a flavorful finish. Polished and refined, yet structured."
— James Suckling, 95 Points. (Vintage 2019). 

"Fresh and lively… flavors of cherry, strawberry, earth and herbs, with crisp tannins emerging on the finish. Approachable now but should improve with a few more years of age. Drink now through 2038."
— Wine Spectator, 92 Points. (Vintage 2019). 

"Opens with a mentholated freshness, blending savory herbs with wild strawberries and camphor hints… Crisp red berry fruits cascade throughout and are supported by brisk acidity. This finishes tannic and long."
— Vinous, 91 Points. (Vintage 2019). 

Grape: Sangiovese Grosso (Brunello)
Region: Tuscany, Italy
Appellation: Brunello di Montalcino DOCG
Vintage: 2019
Élevage: Minimum 5 years; 2+ years in large Slavonian oak
Bottle Size: 750ml

Pairing: Bistecca alla Fiorentina, braised wild boar, lamb, aged Parmigiano-Reggiano, and classic Tuscan preparations. Decant for at least one hour; best from 2026 onward.

Expert Reviews 

Wine Spectator 93 Points | This is alluring, with whiffs of warm date, green tea and walnut backed by juicy fig bread and salted caramel flavors. The racy, focused finish lets a singed juniper note glide through. Drink now.

Wine Enthusiast 94 points | The wonderful old-gold color of this tawny leads into a generous, rich wine that has retained fruits while also showing a woody character that is typical of wines this old. With spice, dried raisins and intense acidity, it is a beautiful wine that deserves to be drunk just by itself.

Wine Advocate 94 Points | The NV RP 30 Year Old Tawny Port comes in with 119 grams per liter of residual sugar and was bottled in 2015. This is the new release. This mingles complexity of flavor with a fresh and surprisingly elegant feel (relative to the category, of course). The finish is very long, complex and persistent, adding new flavors as it lingers. Beautifully constructed and balanced, this is a 30 that starts with a bit of understatement and keeps getting more impressive. It's fun to just smell, but you expect that with long-aged Tawnies. The lift to the fruit and the sunny demeanor aren't always as guaranteed. It has a surprisingly supple and fresh style that I rather appreciated, delivering those old Tawny flavors while also seeming remarkably elegant. Then, it finishes with that big acidity. It was notably better a few days later, no longer seeming quite so understated, particularly in regards to its concentrated flavors and intense aromatics. Note that this comes with a bar top cork. If you're wondering, this is their oldest NV Tawny; Ramos Pinto does not make a 40.

The Ramos-Pinto 30-Year old Tawny is amber colored with orange and garnet tones. The delicate green highlights of the meniscus are characteristic of old cask-aged wines, and illustrate the quality and advanced age of this fine port.

This complex, perfectly balanced port shows rich aromas of dried fruit and vanilla. Agitate the glass and spice aromas of cinnamon and cocoa are liberated. In the mouth, the attack is fresh, fine and delicate. Ripe, dried fruit softly merges with almond and hazelnut, culminating in vanilla flavors which linger gracefully on the palate. Winemaker Description.

 

Expert Reviews 

Wine Spectator 94 Points | A very fresh, floral-laced style, offering a bright beam of cassis and plum gelée laced with flashes of violet, hibiscus and rose petal. Nicely grounded through the finish, with alder and warm earth hints filling in. Approachable, but this has more to show in time. Best from 2023 through 2036. (JM)

Wine Advocate 94 Points | Delicate herbal shadings accent the cassis notes on the nose of Corison's 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon. It's classic Corison, balanced and concentrated without being showy or weighty, silky in feel, with a long, lingering finish and two decades of ageability. (JC)Decanter 94 points Alluring aromas of dark cassis, graphite, cedar and wild herbs. It has a striking depth with layered flavours and texture, and while restrained now it is incredibly well-built and in need of time in the cellar to fully shine. Reveals subtle hints of fresh black and blue berries, currants and dried herbs tinged with red florals. Finishes with polish, energy and poise. (JC)

Jeb Dunnuck 92 Points | Lots of dark, blackcurrants, cassis, darker chocolate, and hints of violets emerge from the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, a medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced St. Helena Napa Cabernet Sauvignon offering nicely integrated acidity, terrific balance, and a great finish. This quintessential Cathy Corison Cabernet shines on all accounts. It's going to evolve for two decades. (JD)

James Suckling 94 Points | A perfumed nose of blackberries, dark cherries, cedar, cocoa and nutmeg. Violets too. Medium body with fine tannins and bright acidity. Fresh and refined with a bright core of wild fruit and a long, flavorful finish. Drink or hold. (JS)

Vinous 93 Points | The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is full of charm. It offers all of the natural intensity of the year, with bright acids that keep the flavors bright. Sweet red cherry, plum, cedar, tobacco and spice all build effortlessly. This open-knit yet classically built Cabernet is likely to offer a wide window of drinkability over the next 15-20 years. As always, Cathy Corison's Napa Valley Cabernet is a blend of three sites in St. Helena. (AG)

Wine & Spirits Magazine 96 Points | The 2019 vintage might be something of an outlier for Cathy Corison, who picked two weeks later than usual, taking advantage of the cool season from summer into fall. This wine is, in fact, an idealized version of her benchland cabernet sauvignon, holding on to the elegance she regularly achieves, while adding a luscious textural beauty that more often comes from bottle age. James Conley of NYC’s Keen’s Chophouse found the aroma suggested a more delicate wine than the density and extract this one carries in its “cabernet grape tannins and intriguing, lifted fruit. If someone said, ‘I love Napa, but show me what I’m missing.’ I’d say, ‘Well, try this.’” Warm and explosive in its energy, this wine carries an imprint of the benchland soils in the play of darkness and light, in the detailed tannins that make you crave another taste. (JG)

Winemaker Description

#5 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2025
#99 Jeb Dunnuck Top 100 of 2025
#8 Vinous Top 100 of 2025

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2022

100 Points Vinous | The 2022 Beau-Séjour Bécot is a total stunner. What a wine! The 2022 was magnificent en primeur, and it is all that from bottle. The aromatics alone are mesmerizing. Crushed rose petal, mint, blood orange, new leather and cedar meld into a core of pliant red-toned fruit. More than anything else, I am so impressed with the wine's precision and finesse. I have never tasted a Beau-Séjour Bécot like this.

Jeb Dunnuck 98 Points | Tasted on multiple occasions, the 2022 Château Beau-Séjour Bécot is flat-out sensational, as well as the finest wine I’ve tasted from this château. Powerful aromatics of red, blue, and black fruits as well as crushed stone and violets define the aromatics, and it’s full-bodied, incredibly concentrated, has integrated acidity, and ultra-fine tannins. Based on 76% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, this heavenly Saint-Emilion will benefit from just 3-5 years of bottle age and have 30 years or more of overall longevity. Back up the truck.

The Wine Advocate 97 Points | The 2022 Beau-Séjour Bécot has turned out brilliantly in bottle. Wafting from the glass with a complex bouquet of sweet wild berries mingled with rose petals, orange zest, violets, gentian and espresso roast, it's full-bodied, supple and suave, with a deep core of cool, layered fruit, beautifully vibrant flavors and polished structuring tannins, concluding with a saline finish. As I wrote when I tasted it from barrel, this is a Saint-Émilion of breathtaking perfume and harmony that will be worth a special effort to seek out.

The Wine Spectator 96 Points | This is very fresh, expressive and focused, with violet, iris and rosehip notes darting to the fore, while flavors of sleek raspberry and red currant preserves race along behind. Almost flattering, but there’s a subtle chalky tension piercing the finish, which sails through. A dreamy wine. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Decanter 96 Points |  Floral notes on the nose. Tangy and sharp, lively and bright straight away, sweet and sour, so energetic and lively with a mineral grip from the fine, firm, grippy tannins. Lovely precision and almost delicate presentation of fruit. You really feel the mineral, salty, tangy aspect of the fruit, nothing feels overworked, all in balance, really quite thrilling and electric. Great purity and focus. Scintillating yet still with a lovely volume and roundness accented by tobacco, clove, liquorice and cinnamon touches. Really well worked and fresh - this feels very modern with such control to the fruit, tannins, acidity giving overall depth and complexity. Elegant but confident, taking the best density from clay density and freshness from limestone. A very singular charm with this wine.

Memo Summary Notes 

The Château Beau-Séjour Bécot 2022 is being hailed by many critics as the "best wine ever produced" by this historic Saint-Émilion estate. This vintage marks a significant milestone, recently ranking as #5 in Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of 2025.

Situated on the iconic limestone plateau of Saint-Martin de Mazerat, the estate has shifted its style under owner Juliette Bécot toward greater precision, floral aromatics, and mineral tension, moving away from the more opulent, oak-heavy profiles of the past.

Winemaker Description

Champagne Palmer & Co concentrates its vineyard holdings in the Montagne de Reims: in the grand cru villages of Mailly and Verzenay and the premier cru villages of Trépail and Villers-Marmery. While they also have holdings in the Marne Valley, the Côte de Sézanne and the Côte des Bar, their prestige cuvée Grands Terroirs, channels those north- and north-east-facing slopes with power and precision.

The 2015 vintage is blended from 50% Pinot Noir, 38% Chardonnay and 12% Pinot Meunier, sourced from Mailly and Verzenay as well as Trépail, Villers-Marmery, Ludes, Chigny-les-Roses and Rilly-la-Montagne. Palmer & Co refers to the vintage as “exceptional” because it combined high temperatures and little rainfall – spelling little disease pressure and even ripening. Sunny days and cool nights in August, they say, allowed for “perfect” ripening.

The nose, subtle and charming, opens with notes of orange blossom and acacia, mixed with notes of yellow fruits, then it evolves towards lovely and delicately spiced aromas of fried pineapple and tonka bean. The palate is characterized by freshness, with citrus fruits sublimating the notes of brioche and dried fruits. Its creamy texture stretches deliciously into a persistent finish. 

Expert Reviews

92 Points Wine & Spirits | Markedly youthful in its smoky reduction, this wine sees its sulfur blow off quickly, leaving a flinty scent and an impression of clarity. It’s bright with pretty scents of black tea and herbs, firmed up by strong acidity.

92 Points James Suckling | A chalky and mineral Champagne with aromas of blanched almonds, chalk, seashells, biscuits, lemon pith and dried apples. Creamy mousse. Dry and bright, with a rounded finish. Drink now or hold.

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2019 

Joe Czerwinski writes:  Whitehall Lane's 2019 Merlot Napa Valley actually contains 87% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot. Slightly candied cherry notes mark the nose, framed by vanilla and touches of dried tobacco, while the medium to full-bodied palate is succulent and juicy, textured without being overly rich or tannic.  Drinking 2022 to 2030.  - Robert Parker Wine Advocate 90

James Suckling writes:  Vibrant, fruity nose of ripe plums, raspberries, mulberries, licorice and nutmeg. Some chocolate orange, too. It’s medium-to full-bodied with creamy tannins. Plush, round and succulent. Drink or hold.  - Wine Spectator 91

Tim Fish writes:  Refined and structured, with expressive red currant, toasty mocha and tomato leaf tones that gather tension and polish toward fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2029.  - Wine Spectator 91

Winemaker Description 

This Merlot offers notes of raspberry croissant, red currants, cocoa powder, and layers of graphite. The palate showcases fine, firm tannins alongside chocolate cherry lollipop, red plums, dried goji berries, and toasted brioche. It is supple in texture and shows attractive depth on the finish. Winemaker Description.