Displaying 3576 - 3600 of 23920
Score
Giant Steps
2019 Tarraford Vineyard Chardonnay
94 Points MaryAnn Worobiec, Wine Spectator

Stylish and memorable, with a touch of salted caramel adding a rich, savory edge, yet the core is pure and juicy, featuring lively Meyer lemon, Asian pear and lime sherbet flavors that show wonderful transparency and intensity, followed by candied ginger notes on the finish. Drink now through 2022.

Vérité
2011 Le Désir
94 Points Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com

Vérité: Now at age 10More mint, black cherry, mulberry, cedar, candied violet, and floral notes emerge from the 2011 Le Desir, and it blossoms with air, developing even more classic Franc herbal and chocolate nuances. With medium to full body, it's more angular and structured than the La Muse yet still beautifully balanced. Possessing ripe tannins, good acidity, and outstanding length, it's another impressive wine from this estate that unquestionably has a Bordeaux-like sense of structure and acidity. It promises another 15 years of prime drinking and will have a gradual decline after that.

Vérité
2011 La Muse
94 Points Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com

Vérité: Now at age 10There were a little over 2,000 cases of the 2011 La Muse produced, and this Merlot-dominated beauty checks in as 89% Merlot, 7% Malbec, and 4% Cabernet Franc. It has a Cheval Blanc-like bouquet of darker currants, cherries, leafy herbs, cedarwood, and graphite that opens up beautifully with time in the glass. More medium to full-bodied on the palate, it doesn't have the density of a bigger, riper year but has terrific overall balance, ripe, polished tannins, and a gorgeous finish. As with the other releases, it's still youthful (there's no hint of bricking or amber at the edges), and while it's drinking beautifully today, it has another 15 years or so of prime drinking.

Giant Steps
2019 Applejack Vineyard Pinot Noir
94 Points Anthony Gismondi, Anthony Gismondi on Wine

You can see why the Australian media is so excited about this pinot. Fresh, light, and medium-weight, this projects a lot of pinot character and fits the Jackson Family Wines delicious factor they like in their pinot noir. Giants Steps’ is now under the watch of JFW Australia and will have access to many resources, including the mind and palate of Peter Fraser. I have no history with this wine, but it doesn’t take much to fall in love with the elegance here, and the rooty, savoury undercurrent that complexes its delicious red fruit. What a delicate pinot with extraordinary length. Let’s hope local buyers get on board and order all they can get.

Hartford Court
2020 Rosé of Pinot Noir
94 Points Virginie Boone, Wine Enthusiast Magazine Editors' Choice

Made predominantly from grapes grown at the Fog Dance Vineyard, a vineyard-designate of its own, this memorably delicious wine is light in color and delicately inviting in tangerine, peach and strawberry. Stainless-steel fermented, it remains crisp on the palate with just a touch of orangesicle richness on the finish.

Hartford
2019 Winberrie Knolls Zinfandel
94 Points Virginie Boone, Wine Enthusiast Magazine

Not much of this was made, sadly, as it delivers velvety thick, rich and tension-filled grip around firm, structured tannin. Blue and black fruit dominate in concentrated form, dusted in nutmeg and oak, from vinesmore than 100 years old.

Hartford
2019 Hartford Vineyard Zinfandel
94 Points Virginie Boone, Wine Enthusiast Magazine

Succulent, with structure and tension in its bones, this hearty, full-bodied wine expresses thick waves of juicy blackberry, dark cherry and cola, the oak wellintegrated within a spicy component of nutmeg and white pepper. Planted more than a century ago, the head-trained vines yield low amounts of delicious, concentrated grapes.

Hartford
2019 Fanucchi-Wood Road Vineyard Zinfandel
94 Points Virginie Boone, Wine Enthusiast Magazine

Dense black fruit contrasts against a tartness of cranberry, the acidity sharp and beautifully complementary to the dry-farmed, head-trained structure of the wine. Powerful grip speaks to its youthfulvigor, unwinding slowly in the glass.

Hartford
2019 Dina's Vineyard Zinfandel
94 Points Virginie Boone, Wine Enthusiast Magazine

A dry-farmed site planted 100 years ago and head-trained still, Dina’s is a study in baked cherry, blackberry and plum, rich and viscously thick. Velvety tannins and ample weight provide an unctuous lushness that is complemented by underlying acidity.

Hartford Court
2018 Far Coast Vineyard Pinot Noir
94 Points Virginie Boone, Wine Enthusiast Magazine

From a high-elevation site on a mountain ridge north of Fort Ross, this blustery, full-bodied red shows the extremes of its growing conditions, offering broad, bright and fruity intensity. Juicy black cherry, plumand blackberry fruit meet graphite, dark chocolate and crushed rock, a note of sea spray and forest never far behind.

Mt. Brave
2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder
94 Points Anthony Gismondi, Anthony Gismondi on Wine

2017 was a solid vintage marred only by the horrific wildfires that swept through the region in October. The nose alone will tell you this wine was picked just prior to the fires. Both floral and mineral, with exotic spice penetrating the wine from front to back. The wine was fermented in stainless steel and then underwent native malolactic fermentation in barrels to round acidity and softly integrate the vanillin character of French oak (94% new). It is barrel aged for months and is bottled without fining or filtration. The blend is 94/3/1.5/1.5 cabernet sauvignon, malbec, cabernet franc, and petit verdot, and it is a giant of a wine packed full of black and blue fruit, purity, and a bony cedar tannic backbone. It will require a decade to rest and settle into a wine you can enjoy by the bottle. For now, a glass or two with a favourite steak is the best way to explore this terrific wine. Mt. Brave Vineyard sits high atop Mt. Veeder at an elevation of 1,400 to 1,800 feet on an area planted since the early 1860s. On the western flank of Napa Valley, the estate is named for the native Wappos, who first called it home. The mountain site is all about high elevation and thin, rocky soils planted to four cabernet clones (191, 4, 8, and 337) and three rootstocks (3309C, 101-14, and 1103P) that combine to neutralize some of the issues in what is usually a slow-moving, long, cool growing season above the fog line.

Zena Crown
2017 Vista Pinot Noir
94 Points James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com

This is a convincingly concentrated and complex pinot that offers deep dark-cherry aromas with spice and cedar, as well as violet and blueberry. The palate holds shape well with a sweeping build of ripe cherry and blueberry flavors. Very resolved. Drink now.

2018 Il Fauno di Arcanum
94 Points Aldo Fiordelli, Decanter

Tenuta di Arceno: chasing perfectionThe first Bordeaux blend of the estate, based on Merlot and Cabernet Franc with a shot of Cabernet Sauvignon and a drop of Petit Verdot, is aged in 30% new French oak barrels for 18 months. It is restrained at present, scented with violet and cassis, undergrowth, chocolate and eucalyptus. It's smooth on the palate, with creaminess and great ripeness, super-refreshing and savoury. In the classic 2018 vintage this is definitely more elegant than powerful.

2013 Valadorna
94 Points Aldo Fiordelli, Decanter

Tenuta di Arceno: chasing perfectionCompared to the older and warmer 2011, which is a bit rustic and jammy, this 2013 is a fairly classic vintage for Merlot. It was harvested in September, marking a return to the usual picking dates. The percentage of the Merlot here reaches 74% of the blend, in order to maximise its fleshy character in a relatively cool year. The nose is evolved yet with an amazing complexity of tobacco, earthy tones, clean leather and balsamic depth. On the palate cassis fruit melds with leather and spices, supported by polymerised tannins and natural refreshing acidity.

2018 Valadorna
94 Points Aldo Fiordelli, Decanter

Tenuta di Arceno: chasing perfectionThis is a truly exceptional preview since the wine will not be released for another three years. The 2018 vintage of Valadorna is the first 100% Merlot of the estate. Until then, the grapes had not achieved the right level of ripeness and quality to produce an unblended Merlot. This vineyard is one of the cooler plots of the estate, where the harvest is delayed. Extremely youthful, it displays plenty of estery notes alongside plum fruit of great vibrancy. A layer of slightly herbal aromas (in my opinion preferable to jammy notes) is followed by a milky, chocolatey, supple palate with refreshing acidity and velvety tannins.

La Jota
2018 Cabernet Franc Howell Mountain
94 Points James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com

Tight and structured red with blackberry, fresh-herb and violet aromas and flavors. Full-bodied with chewy tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Needs time to soften. Better after 2023.

Freemark Abbey
2019 Chardonnay Napa Valley
94 Points James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com

Beautiful, dense Chardonnay with phenolic tension and layers of fruit. Full-bodied with lots of complexity, pretty intensity and tightness at the end. Dried pineapple and hints of tropical fruit and praline. Made from Howell Mountain, Carneros and Napa City. Drink or hold.

Freemark Abbey
2017 Cabernet Bosché
94 Points James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com

Blackberries, fresh herbs and violets on the nose. Mint and olives, too. Full-bodied with delicious, round and juicy fruit and softness. Lightly chewy and pretty now. Delicious now.

Freemark Abbey
2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
94 Points James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com

A tight, dense red with berry, chocolate, currant and hints of bark. Full-bodied, yet tight and nicely framed with firm and tight, fine-grained tannins. Goes on for a long time. Fresh and attractive for a 2017. Drink or hold.

Anakota
2018 Helena Montana Cabernet Sauvignon
94 Points James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com

Lots of pine and walnut with gravel and dark fruit on the nose. It’s very fine-tannined with nice austerity and a dusty texture. Long and juicy. Needs to soften. Better in a year or two. Try after 2023.

Hickinbotham
2018 The Nest Cabernet Franc
94 Points Huon Hooke, The Real Review, AUS

Deep red/purple colour, youthful, with a dominant charred-oak note, smelling like heavily toasted oak barrels - but there is abundant blackberry/cassis-like fruit aroma as well. Very aromatic. The flavour is sweetly ripe and lush on the tongue, rich and full with a backing of fine, emery-like tannins. Good persistence and balance, and has potential to age well. (50% new oak; 3% cabernet sauvignon. Vines planted 2013.)

Hickinbotham
2019 Brooks Road Shiraz
94 Points Huon Hooke, The Real Review, AUS

Deep, darkling purple/red colour, with a bouquet of wood-smoke and undergrowth. The wine is full-bodied and somewhat subdued in its fruit expression while the tannins are very abundant and quite firm, leaving a determined grip at the finish. Latent cherry and plum. A big, generous, solidly built shiraz that will reward cellaring.

Hickinbotham
2018 Brooks Road Shiraz
94 Points Huon Hooke, The Real Review, AUS

Very deep, dense glass-staining purple colour. A dusty, earthy, oaky bouquet, which turns very sweetly-fruited on the palate, soft and succulent, almost syrupy, but nicely balanced in the final analysis. A big, hedonistic style of shiraz that will age well. (3% malbec, 10% whole bunches, 50% whole berries. Matured in a mix of barriques, foudre and puncheons, 30% new oak)

Giant Steps
2020 Chardonnay Yarra Valley
94 Points Bob Campbell, The Real Review, AUS

Impressive chardonnay with grapefruit, lime, white peach, biscuit, ginger, struck-flint and attractive nutty-oak flavours flattered by a peaches and cream texture and supported by juicy acidity.

Yangarra Estate Vineyard
2018 King's Wood Shiraz
94 Points Christina Pickard, Wine Enthusiast Magazine

This vintage of single-block, biodynamically grown Shiraz is more textbook than the cooler 2017. While it lacks the sexiness of ’17, it still offers more restraint and elegance than many of its South Aussie counterparts. An aromatic lift of tangy blueberry, raspberry and plum fruit interlaces gentle baking spice, ground pepper and terra-cotta notes. There’s muscle to the highly textural tannins (both chalky and granular), but it’s woven into layers of flavor. A charming yet serious wine for drinking now until 2030.