Americas
The North American wine producing reputation can largely be attributed to the global fame and success of Napa Valley and Sonoma County in the United States. Although technically ‘new world’, its wines have the same devoted fan base (and often first-growth prices) as many classic European wines. Free from the shackles of European winemaking law, one can find a variety of cooler climate Cabs, Merlots, Pinots, Chardonnays and Rieslings that will entice all wine lovers.
South America is an exciting new melting pot of styles and flavours with a range of soils types and altitudes – taking international varietals and finishing with French winemaking techniques, or in the case of Argentinian Malbec, adopting a largely unloved grape and making it their own.
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Americas
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Vinous (94)
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is a gorgeous wine, especially for Dunn fans who want a wine to drink that won't take forever to come around. Dark and savory, with terrific depth, the 2018 is full of character. Black cherry, lavender, chocolate, sage, mint and cloves all open in the glass. The 2018 has just enough grip to have a good amount of classic structure, but not to the point of being forbidding. The Napa Cabernet is about 55% Howell Mountain and 45% Coombsville fruit. The 2018 is beautifully done and an absolute delight.Inc. VAT£1,561.78 -
Wine Advocate (98+)
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon (containing a splash of Cabernet Franc) is a brand-new wine, representing a collaboration between Dalla Valle in Napa Valley and Ornellaia Estate in Tuscany (hence DVO). Deep garnet-purple colored, it is intensely scented of baked plums, boysenberries and Black Forest cake with an emerging perfume of potpourri, Indian spices and forest floor. The full-bodied palate is opulently fruited and plushly textured, delivering bags of floral and spicy nuances with a long, mineral and earth-tinged finish. Draped in flamboyant drama, this is a very different, very exciting new face of Napa Valley! 400 cases were made.Inc. VAT£983.54 -
James Suckling (97)
Intense aromas of black fruit, cocoa powder, black olives, dried violets, tar and cigar box. Some black peppercorn, too. It’s full-bodied with firm, chalky tannins. Incredible intensity and purity of fruit with gorgeous breadth and depth. Superb, new-wave Napa red. 80% cabernet sauvignon, the rest mostly cabernet franc with a hit of petit verdot. Try from 2025.Inc. VAT£794.38 -
James Suckling (99)
Blackberry, dried-blueberry, bitter-chocolate and some volcanic-ash and burnt-orange aromas. Crushed stone and subtle vanilla notes, too. It’s full-bodied with firm, chewy tannins framing a deep core of dark fruit. Dense, muscular and firmly structured. So long. Goes on for minutes. Elegance with power. Really love the beautiful refinement and integrity to this. Captures the essence of the vintage. Try from 2025.Inc. VAT£709.60 -
James Suckling (99)
Blackberry, dried-blueberry, bitter-chocolate and some volcanic-ash and burnt-orange aromas. Crushed stone and subtle vanilla notes, too. It’s full-bodied with firm, chewy tannins framing a deep core of dark fruit. Dense, muscular and firmly structured. So long. Goes on for minutes. Elegance with power. Really love the beautiful refinement and integrity to this. Captures the essence of the vintage. Try from 2025.Inc. VAT£1,106.99 -
James Suckling (97)
This is another rock-star chardonnay from here with dried-apple, pear-skin, crushed-stone and peach-pit character. Full body. Creamy texture. Phenolic form and a long, flavorful finish. Drink or hold.Inc. VAT£187.24 -
Wine Advocate (98)
One of the finest and more regular wines from Argentina, the 2018 Gran Enemigo Gualtallary Single Vineyard is austere and shows restraint, with great freshness and gobsmacking balance and complexity, but in the context of the 2019 and 2020 vintages that I also tasted next to it, it comes thorough as slightly less refined but still with 13.5% alcohol and with very good parameters of acidity and freshness. It has a medium-bodied palate and a rare combination of power and elegance, with very fine, chalky tannins. It's very long and has a salty and tasty finish. It matured in centenary oak foudres for 15 months. 9,000 bottles were filled in July 2019.Inc. VAT£409.24 -
Tim Atkin MW (96)
Given the price of some Chilean icons these days, Coyam remains one of the best value reds in the country, right up there with the country's top red blends. Based on Syrah and Carmenère with the remaining 19% made up of Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha, Malbec, Carignan, Tempranillo and Mourvèdre, this is wonderfully detailed and complex. Racy and mineral, with scented oak, mint, wild herb and sweet spice undertones and a core of inky damson and black cherry fruit. 2022-30Inc. VAT£189.59 -
James Suckling (98)
A complex nose of blackberry, plum, mocha, cigar box, graphite and spice. It’s full-bodied with fine tannins. Creamy-textured and structured with a juicy core. Pure with a velvety texture on the palate, which is layered and balanced and leads to a flavorful finish that lasts over and over. Spicy on the finish with cloves and black pepper. Grilled meat, too. A blend of 52% syrah, 34% carmenere and 14% cabernet sauvignon. From biodynamically grown grapes. Vegan. Try in 2023.Inc. VAT£382.84 -
Vinous (92)
The 2018 Don Maximiano is 70% Cabernet, 15% Malbec, 7% Carménère, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc from Panquehue, Aconcagua. Intense purple in the glass, it delivers a nose of red fruit with plum, a little jam, black currant, mint, balsamic notes and rose over secondary woody aromas. Ample and juicy on the palate with good energy; the tannins are fine and the flavors intense. A wine that might be described as the missing link between the past and the present.Inc. VAT£586.84 -
James Suckling (99)
I love the aromas of lavender, sandalwood, sliced apples and pears. Some gunpowder and slate undertones. Full-bodied, yet formed and tight with minerality and brightness. Vivid acidity gives this energy and depth. Drinkable, but will age beautifully.Inc. VAT£469.24 -
Inc. VAT£405.64 -
Wine Advocate (95)
Pale ruby, the 2018 Pinot Noir Estate features pretty scents of dried cranberries and red cherries, tangerine peel, sage and earth, unfolding as it spends time in the glass. The medium-bodied palate is powerful and grainy with seamless acidity and a long, fragrant finish.Inc. VAT£818.47 -
It contains two bottles of each:
2x75cl Perihelios - 100 points | Jeb Dunnuck
2x75cl Polysipine - 98+ points - Jeb Dunnuck
2x75cl Sine Fine - 98 points | Jeb Dunnuck
100 points | Jeb Dunnuck (Perihelios)
One of two perfect wines in the lineup of 2018s, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Perihelios comes from Thomas Rivers Brown and is another seamless, elegant, yet powerful wine that’s just a joy to taste. Cassis, blackberries, tobacco, graphite, licorice, and a kiss of iron define this incredible beauty, and it's full-bodied, with a multi-dimensional, layered mouthfeel, ultra-fine tannins, and an incredible finish. Coming mostly from the Upper Range Vineyard and brought up in new barrels, it has ample up-front appeal given its balance, purity, and texture, yet there's no shortage of tannins, and it's going to evolve gracefully for 20-25 years or more.
98+ points | Jeb Dunnuck (Polysipine)
Made by Philippe Melka and a blend of sites, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Polyspline is all Cabernet Sauvignon that saw a small amount of barrel fermentation and aging in 88% new French oak. It's the most structured, backward, and in need of bottle age of the trio and has a dense purple hue to go with powerful notes of blackcurrants, tobacco, licorice, spicy oak, and graphite. Full-bodied on the palate, it's a powerhouse of a wine that has a great mid-palate, building, substantial tannins, and a great, great finish. It needs to be forgotten for at least 4-5 years but will have decades of longevity.
98 points | Jeb Dunnuck (Sine Fine)
Coming from the talented Benoit Touquette, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Sine Fine offers more blue fruits as well as lots of floral, violet, iron, spicy wood, and lead pencil-like aromatics. Another exuberant, incredibly sexy wine under the Fairest Creature label, it’s full-bodied and has just about perfect tannins, remarkable purity of fruit, and a gorgeous finish. It's already impossible to resist, yet I've no doubt this will evolve for 20-25 years or more. The purity of fruit as well as the tannins in this wine are exceptional.Inc. VAT£5,483.09 -
Jeb Dunnuck (100)
Lastly, there are a tiny 532 magnums of the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Triniceros, a blend put together by famed consultant Michel Rolland. It's possibly closest in style to the Plyspline release and has incredible dark fruits (cassis, currants) as well as notes of graphite, toasted spice, chocolate, white flowers, and lead pencil shavings. A wine that builds incrementally on the palate, it has ripe, velvety tannins, an expansive texture, fabulous mid-palate depth, and the balance and class to drink well today yet also evolve for 20-30 years.Inc. VAT£7,040.21 -
Wine Advocate (96+)
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon The Warrior is made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, coming from a single vineyard. Deep garnet-black colored, it gallops out of the glass with bold notes of crème de cassis, black plums and boysenberries, plus hints of cedar chest, pencil lead, tilled soil and tar, with wafts of cumin seed and menthol. Full-bodied, the palate is taut and muscular, featuring firm, grainy tannins supporting the layers of tightly wound, impactful and wonderfully pure black fruits, finishing with an impressive display of mineral sparks.Inc. VAT£1,399.13 -
James Suckling (99)
This is luxurious red for the vintage with velvety tannins that give it superb depth and richness. Lots of tile, dry earth, clay and chocolate. Full-bodied, but almost weightless in the sensibility of the wine. It goes on for minutes. Lovely dried oranges and savory, fruity and forest-floor character at the end. 80% cabernet sauvignon, 14% cabernet franc, 4% petit verdot and 2% merlot. Unfined and unfiltered. Drink in 2025.Inc. VAT£1,211.54 -
Wine Advocate (99)
After 20 harvests comes their first Cru, the 2018 Cru Truquilemu, which they describe as "Truqui with more stuffing." It comes from a small triangular section with a lower natural yield, with greater concentration and a darker, more brooding personality. It was fermented with more stems than the other Truquilemu and with a bit of Syrah, which adds weight, depth and texture. After fermenting pieces of the vineyard separately over many years, two distinct personalities emerged, and they have bottled them separately since 2018. Truquilemu has become more ethereal after the separation, and this is sturdier, with extra stuffing but more tension. The wine has less alcohol (12.8%, and 12.5% in 2019!!) higher acidity (7.43 grams measured in tartaric acid) and an incredible pH of 3.18, amazing parameters of freshness and restraint. This is not heavier, it just seems to have the same personality but with more layers. It was produced in a very simple and slow way, fermenting in open-top lagars with some full clusters and adding lignified stems to avoid carbonic maceration, with indigenous yeasts; malolactic took 11 months (!), and the aging in used and neutral barrel was extended over two winters. For the 2018 vintage, they filled 3,449 bottles in January 2020.Inc. VAT£308.44 -
Wine Advocate (98)
In 2018, they bottled three Cariñena-based wines from Truquilemu in Empedrado (now a DO) in Maule. The 2018 Truquilemu Vineyard, they reckon, is more focused, sultry and ethereal than ever. It comes from 1.3 hectares and fermented with more full clusters and with a dash of Syrah (around 4%) in the field blend. By taking away the part bottled as Cru Truquilemu, this has become more ethereal. The 2018, an extraordinary vintage, has less alcohol (12.8%), more flavor and, most of all, greater depth with more layers that open up with time in the glass. These wines are as much abut texture and mouthfeel as aromas and flavors, incredibly fine-grained and titillating with lots of light and energy. This is the evolution of a wine produced in the past with slightly different names, with lots 77, 67, 57 and 47. 10,127 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2020 and marked with lot #97.Inc. VAT£271.24 -
Wine Advocate (99)
There are three Carignan/Cariñena wines from the same vineyard in Truquilemu in 2018, and the 2018 Vigno comes from a section further down along the creek where there's terrific drainage and thus low yield and concentration. It's Carignan with smidgens of País and Monastrell in the field blend, the grapes grown by a mall farmer by hand and horse with traditional methods of dry-farming, uncertified organic for 75+ years. Like all the rest, it fermented in open-top vats with indigenous yeasts and matured in used barrels over two winters. None of these wines are about the process, they are about the place and the year. In 2018, the wine finished with 13% alcohol, a pH of 3.2 and seven grams of acidity, parameters that talk about a wine with moderate ripeness and vibrant freshness, from a cooler year in a cool part of Maule. 3,336 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2020.Inc. VAT£313.24 -
A gem of unparalleled elegance, the Garzon Balasto 2018 is a testament to Uruguay's wine mastery. Crafted at Bodega Garzon—the distinguished winery that carries the torch as Uruguay's finest—the Garzon Balasto 2018 represents the pinnacle of Latin American viticulture. Composed of 45% Tannat, 25% Cabernet Franc, 15% Marselan and 15% Petit Verdot, this superlative blend offers a mélange of red fruits, spices, and a hint of freshness gleaned from its vineyard's unique, rocky terroir. Artisan precision details each step of the vinification process, from harvesting by hand to maturing in high-quality French oak for 20 months. A confluence of subtropical and maritime climates lends a singular character to the full-bodied, richly layered Garzon Balasto 2018. This impeccable wine, superb to its last drop, is a collectable addition to any wine aficionado's cellar.
Inc. VAT£438.04 -
Vinous (93)
The 2018 Albis combines 70% Cabernet Sauvignon with 30% Carménère aged for 18 months in new French barrels. An intense garnet red in color, the nose offers dark fruit such as blackberry and blackcurrant with attractive hints of cedar, bay leaf and sour cherry. With the terse tannins one finds in the region, it begins expansively before tightening up a little to deliver intense flavor followed by a lactic, long and fruity finish. A complex and nuanced wine.Inc. VAT£340.84 -
Jeb Dunnuck (100)
Stunning on every level, the 2018 Proprietary Red Wine reveals a dense purple hue as well as an incredible bouquet of crème de cassis, graphite, crushed stone, iron, violets, and tobacco. Reminding me of a hypothetical blend of Ducru Beaucaillou and Pontet Canet from a great, classical vintage (or a more elegant version of the 2013 for simplicity), it's medium to full-bodied, perfectly balanced, powerful yet elegant, and has a finish that won't quit. This is pure gold in Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s already drinkable yet will benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age and have 40 years of prime drinking.Inc. VAT£3,006.41 -
Jeb Dunnuck (100)
Stunning on every level, the 2018 Proprietary Red Wine reveals a dense purple hue as well as an incredible bouquet of crème de cassis, graphite, crushed stone, iron, violets, and tobacco. Reminding me of a hypothetical blend of Ducru Beaucaillou and Pontet Canet from a great, classical vintage (or a more elegant version of the 2013 for simplicity), it's medium to full-bodied, perfectly balanced, powerful yet elegant, and has a finish that won't quit. This is pure gold in Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s already drinkable yet will benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age and have 40 years of prime drinking.Inc. VAT£3,669.62 -
Inc. VAT£2,507.54 -
Wine Advocate (100)
Sporting an opaque garnet-purple color, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Kayli Morgan Vineyard needs a fair bit of coaxing to unlock fabulously evocative notions of pure cassis, ripe, juicy black plums and wild blueberries, plus suggestions of candied violets, cinnamon stick and fenugreek, with a touch of fallen leaves. The medium to full-bodied palate is packed with poise and sophistication, shimmering with energetic black and blue fruit layers and a perfectly plush texture, finishing with a dazzling display of minerals and floral fireworks. A hands-down, jaw-dropping beauty!Inc. VAT£2,180.33 -
Wine Advocate (100)
Sporting an opaque garnet-purple color, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Kayli Morgan Vineyard needs a fair bit of coaxing to unlock fabulously evocative notions of pure cassis, ripe, juicy black plums and wild blueberries, plus suggestions of candied violets, cinnamon stick and fenugreek, with a touch of fallen leaves. The medium to full-bodied palate is packed with poise and sophistication, shimmering with energetic black and blue fruit layers and a perfectly plush texture, finishing with a dazzling display of minerals and floral fireworks. A hands-down, jaw-dropping beauty!Inc. VAT£4,090.66 -
Wine Advocate (99+)
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Ark Vineyard delivers powerful scents of blackberry preserves, chocolate-covered cherries and stewed plums, giving way to red and black currant jelly, beef drippings and wild fungi. Full-bodied, tightly wound and shimmering with tension in the mouth, it has a solid frame of firm, grainy tannins supporting the reticent fruit, finishing savory and with lots of latent energy. All the signs say that this baby is holding back right now and has more to give with considerable cellaring. Tuck it away for at least 5-6 years and then enjoy it over the next 40 years+.Inc. VAT£1,596.31 -
Wine Advocate (99+)
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Ark Vineyard delivers powerful scents of blackberry preserves, chocolate-covered cherries and stewed plums, giving way to red and black currant jelly, beef drippings and wild fungi. Full-bodied, tightly wound and shimmering with tension in the mouth, it has a solid frame of firm, grainy tannins supporting the reticent fruit, finishing savory and with lots of latent energy. All the signs say that this baby is holding back right now and has more to give with considerable cellaring. Tuck it away for at least 5-6 years and then enjoy it over the next 40 years+.Inc. VAT£4,091.42 -
Wine Advocate (100)
Deep garnet-purple, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Wraith drifts effortlessly out of the glass with compelling scents of Morello cherries, boysenberry preserves and blackcurrant pastilles, plus hints of unsmoked cigars, wild sage, underbrush and pencil shavings. The taut, tightly packed, muscular, full-bodied palate quakes with energy, supported by beautifully ripe, grainy tannins, finishing incredibly long and provocatively perfumed. So lively and layered, this Wraith perfectly captures the captivating vibrancy of this great, great vintage!Inc. VAT£2,657.93
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Vinous (94)
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is a gorgeous wine, especially for Dunn fans who want a wine to drink that won't take forever to come around. Dark and savory, with terrific depth, the 2018 is full of character. Black cherry, lavender, chocolate, sage, mint and cloves all open in the glass. The 2018 has just enough grip to have a good amount of classic structure, but not to the point of being forbidding. The Napa Cabernet is about 55% Howell Mountain and 45% Coombsville fruit. The 2018 is beautifully done and an absolute delight.In Bond£1,263.00 -
Wine Advocate (98+)
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon (containing a splash of Cabernet Franc) is a brand-new wine, representing a collaboration between Dalla Valle in Napa Valley and Ornellaia Estate in Tuscany (hence DVO). Deep garnet-purple colored, it is intensely scented of baked plums, boysenberries and Black Forest cake with an emerging perfume of potpourri, Indian spices and forest floor. The full-bodied palate is opulently fruited and plushly textured, delivering bags of floral and spicy nuances with a long, mineral and earth-tinged finish. Draped in flamboyant drama, this is a very different, very exciting new face of Napa Valley! 400 cases were made.In Bond£810.00 -
James Suckling (97)
Intense aromas of black fruit, cocoa powder, black olives, dried violets, tar and cigar box. Some black peppercorn, too. It’s full-bodied with firm, chalky tannins. Incredible intensity and purity of fruit with gorgeous breadth and depth. Superb, new-wave Napa red. 80% cabernet sauvignon, the rest mostly cabernet franc with a hit of petit verdot. Try from 2025.In Bond£643.00 -
James Suckling (99)
Blackberry, dried-blueberry, bitter-chocolate and some volcanic-ash and burnt-orange aromas. Crushed stone and subtle vanilla notes, too. It’s full-bodied with firm, chewy tannins framing a deep core of dark fruit. Dense, muscular and firmly structured. So long. Goes on for minutes. Elegance with power. Really love the beautiful refinement and integrity to this. Captures the essence of the vintage. Try from 2025.In Bond£585.00 -
James Suckling (99)
Blackberry, dried-blueberry, bitter-chocolate and some volcanic-ash and burnt-orange aromas. Crushed stone and subtle vanilla notes, too. It’s full-bodied with firm, chewy tannins framing a deep core of dark fruit. Dense, muscular and firmly structured. So long. Goes on for minutes. Elegance with power. Really love the beautiful refinement and integrity to this. Captures the essence of the vintage. Try from 2025.In Bond£913.00 -
James Suckling (97)
This is another rock-star chardonnay from here with dried-apple, pear-skin, crushed-stone and peach-pit character. Full body. Creamy texture. Phenolic form and a long, flavorful finish. Drink or hold.In Bond£140.00 -
Wine Advocate (98)
One of the finest and more regular wines from Argentina, the 2018 Gran Enemigo Gualtallary Single Vineyard is austere and shows restraint, with great freshness and gobsmacking balance and complexity, but in the context of the 2019 and 2020 vintages that I also tasted next to it, it comes thorough as slightly less refined but still with 13.5% alcohol and with very good parameters of acidity and freshness. It has a medium-bodied palate and a rare combination of power and elegance, with very fine, chalky tannins. It's very long and has a salty and tasty finish. It matured in centenary oak foudres for 15 months. 9,000 bottles were filled in July 2019.In Bond£325.00 -
Tim Atkin MW (96)
Given the price of some Chilean icons these days, Coyam remains one of the best value reds in the country, right up there with the country's top red blends. Based on Syrah and Carmenère with the remaining 19% made up of Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha, Malbec, Carignan, Tempranillo and Mourvèdre, this is wonderfully detailed and complex. Racy and mineral, with scented oak, mint, wild herb and sweet spice undertones and a core of inky damson and black cherry fruit. 2022-30In Bond£141.96 -
James Suckling (98)
A complex nose of blackberry, plum, mocha, cigar box, graphite and spice. It’s full-bodied with fine tannins. Creamy-textured and structured with a juicy core. Pure with a velvety texture on the palate, which is layered and balanced and leads to a flavorful finish that lasts over and over. Spicy on the finish with cloves and black pepper. Grilled meat, too. A blend of 52% syrah, 34% carmenere and 14% cabernet sauvignon. From biodynamically grown grapes. Vegan. Try in 2023.In Bond£303.00 -
Vinous (92)
The 2018 Don Maximiano is 70% Cabernet, 15% Malbec, 7% Carménère, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc from Panquehue, Aconcagua. Intense purple in the glass, it delivers a nose of red fruit with plum, a little jam, black currant, mint, balsamic notes and rose over secondary woody aromas. Ample and juicy on the palate with good energy; the tannins are fine and the flavors intense. A wine that might be described as the missing link between the past and the present.In Bond£473.00 -
James Suckling (99)
I love the aromas of lavender, sandalwood, sliced apples and pears. Some gunpowder and slate undertones. Full-bodied, yet formed and tight with minerality and brightness. Vivid acidity gives this energy and depth. Drinkable, but will age beautifully.In Bond£375.00 -
In Bond£322.00
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Wine Advocate (95)
Pale ruby, the 2018 Pinot Noir Estate features pretty scents of dried cranberries and red cherries, tangerine peel, sage and earth, unfolding as it spends time in the glass. The medium-bodied palate is powerful and grainy with seamless acidity and a long, fragrant finish.In Bond£650.00 -
It contains two bottles of each:
2x75cl Perihelios - 100 points | Jeb Dunnuck
2x75cl Polysipine - 98+ points - Jeb Dunnuck
2x75cl Sine Fine - 98 points | Jeb Dunnuck
100 points | Jeb Dunnuck (Perihelios)
One of two perfect wines in the lineup of 2018s, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Perihelios comes from Thomas Rivers Brown and is another seamless, elegant, yet powerful wine that’s just a joy to taste. Cassis, blackberries, tobacco, graphite, licorice, and a kiss of iron define this incredible beauty, and it's full-bodied, with a multi-dimensional, layered mouthfeel, ultra-fine tannins, and an incredible finish. Coming mostly from the Upper Range Vineyard and brought up in new barrels, it has ample up-front appeal given its balance, purity, and texture, yet there's no shortage of tannins, and it's going to evolve gracefully for 20-25 years or more.
98+ points | Jeb Dunnuck (Polysipine)
Made by Philippe Melka and a blend of sites, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Polyspline is all Cabernet Sauvignon that saw a small amount of barrel fermentation and aging in 88% new French oak. It's the most structured, backward, and in need of bottle age of the trio and has a dense purple hue to go with powerful notes of blackcurrants, tobacco, licorice, spicy oak, and graphite. Full-bodied on the palate, it's a powerhouse of a wine that has a great mid-palate, building, substantial tannins, and a great, great finish. It needs to be forgotten for at least 4-5 years but will have decades of longevity.
98 points | Jeb Dunnuck (Sine Fine)
Coming from the talented Benoit Touquette, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Sine Fine offers more blue fruits as well as lots of floral, violet, iron, spicy wood, and lead pencil-like aromatics. Another exuberant, incredibly sexy wine under the Fairest Creature label, it’s full-bodied and has just about perfect tannins, remarkable purity of fruit, and a gorgeous finish. It's already impossible to resist, yet I've no doubt this will evolve for 20-25 years or more. The purity of fruit as well as the tannins in this wine are exceptional.In Bond£4,550.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (100)
Lastly, there are a tiny 532 magnums of the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Triniceros, a blend put together by famed consultant Michel Rolland. It's possibly closest in style to the Plyspline release and has incredible dark fruits (cassis, currants) as well as notes of graphite, toasted spice, chocolate, white flowers, and lead pencil shavings. A wine that builds incrementally on the palate, it has ripe, velvety tannins, an expansive texture, fabulous mid-palate depth, and the balance and class to drink well today yet also evolve for 20-30 years.In Bond£5,860.00 -
Wine Advocate (96+)
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon The Warrior is made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, coming from a single vineyard. Deep garnet-black colored, it gallops out of the glass with bold notes of crème de cassis, black plums and boysenberries, plus hints of cedar chest, pencil lead, tilled soil and tar, with wafts of cumin seed and menthol. Full-bodied, the palate is taut and muscular, featuring firm, grainy tannins supporting the layers of tightly wound, impactful and wonderfully pure black fruits, finishing with an impressive display of mineral sparks.In Bond£1,156.00 -
James Suckling (99)
This is luxurious red for the vintage with velvety tannins that give it superb depth and richness. Lots of tile, dry earth, clay and chocolate. Full-bodied, but almost weightless in the sensibility of the wine. It goes on for minutes. Lovely dried oranges and savory, fruity and forest-floor character at the end. 80% cabernet sauvignon, 14% cabernet franc, 4% petit verdot and 2% merlot. Unfined and unfiltered. Drink in 2025.In Bond£1,000.00 -
Wine Advocate (99)
After 20 harvests comes their first Cru, the 2018 Cru Truquilemu, which they describe as "Truqui with more stuffing." It comes from a small triangular section with a lower natural yield, with greater concentration and a darker, more brooding personality. It was fermented with more stems than the other Truquilemu and with a bit of Syrah, which adds weight, depth and texture. After fermenting pieces of the vineyard separately over many years, two distinct personalities emerged, and they have bottled them separately since 2018. Truquilemu has become more ethereal after the separation, and this is sturdier, with extra stuffing but more tension. The wine has less alcohol (12.8%, and 12.5% in 2019!!) higher acidity (7.43 grams measured in tartaric acid) and an incredible pH of 3.18, amazing parameters of freshness and restraint. This is not heavier, it just seems to have the same personality but with more layers. It was produced in a very simple and slow way, fermenting in open-top lagars with some full clusters and adding lignified stems to avoid carbonic maceration, with indigenous yeasts; malolactic took 11 months (!), and the aging in used and neutral barrel was extended over two winters. For the 2018 vintage, they filled 3,449 bottles in January 2020.In Bond£241.00 -
Wine Advocate (98)
In 2018, they bottled three Cariñena-based wines from Truquilemu in Empedrado (now a DO) in Maule. The 2018 Truquilemu Vineyard, they reckon, is more focused, sultry and ethereal than ever. It comes from 1.3 hectares and fermented with more full clusters and with a dash of Syrah (around 4%) in the field blend. By taking away the part bottled as Cru Truquilemu, this has become more ethereal. The 2018, an extraordinary vintage, has less alcohol (12.8%), more flavor and, most of all, greater depth with more layers that open up with time in the glass. These wines are as much abut texture and mouthfeel as aromas and flavors, incredibly fine-grained and titillating with lots of light and energy. This is the evolution of a wine produced in the past with slightly different names, with lots 77, 67, 57 and 47. 10,127 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2020 and marked with lot #97.In Bond£210.00 -
Wine Advocate (99)
There are three Carignan/Cariñena wines from the same vineyard in Truquilemu in 2018, and the 2018 Vigno comes from a section further down along the creek where there's terrific drainage and thus low yield and concentration. It's Carignan with smidgens of País and Monastrell in the field blend, the grapes grown by a mall farmer by hand and horse with traditional methods of dry-farming, uncertified organic for 75+ years. Like all the rest, it fermented in open-top vats with indigenous yeasts and matured in used barrels over two winters. None of these wines are about the process, they are about the place and the year. In 2018, the wine finished with 13% alcohol, a pH of 3.2 and seven grams of acidity, parameters that talk about a wine with moderate ripeness and vibrant freshness, from a cooler year in a cool part of Maule. 3,336 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2020.In Bond£245.00 -
A gem of unparalleled elegance, the Garzon Balasto 2018 is a testament to Uruguay's wine mastery. Crafted at Bodega Garzon—the distinguished winery that carries the torch as Uruguay's finest—the Garzon Balasto 2018 represents the pinnacle of Latin American viticulture. Composed of 45% Tannat, 25% Cabernet Franc, 15% Marselan and 15% Petit Verdot, this superlative blend offers a mélange of red fruits, spices, and a hint of freshness gleaned from its vineyard's unique, rocky terroir. Artisan precision details each step of the vinification process, from harvesting by hand to maturing in high-quality French oak for 20 months. A confluence of subtropical and maritime climates lends a singular character to the full-bodied, richly layered Garzon Balasto 2018. This impeccable wine, superb to its last drop, is a collectable addition to any wine aficionado's cellar.
In Bond£349.00 -
Vinous (93)
The 2018 Albis combines 70% Cabernet Sauvignon with 30% Carménère aged for 18 months in new French barrels. An intense garnet red in color, the nose offers dark fruit such as blackberry and blackcurrant with attractive hints of cedar, bay leaf and sour cherry. With the terse tannins one finds in the region, it begins expansively before tightening up a little to deliver intense flavor followed by a lactic, long and fruity finish. A complex and nuanced wine.In Bond£268.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (100)
Stunning on every level, the 2018 Proprietary Red Wine reveals a dense purple hue as well as an incredible bouquet of crème de cassis, graphite, crushed stone, iron, violets, and tobacco. Reminding me of a hypothetical blend of Ducru Beaucaillou and Pontet Canet from a great, classical vintage (or a more elegant version of the 2013 for simplicity), it's medium to full-bodied, perfectly balanced, powerful yet elegant, and has a finish that won't quit. This is pure gold in Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s already drinkable yet will benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age and have 40 years of prime drinking.In Bond£2,500.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (100)
Stunning on every level, the 2018 Proprietary Red Wine reveals a dense purple hue as well as an incredible bouquet of crème de cassis, graphite, crushed stone, iron, violets, and tobacco. Reminding me of a hypothetical blend of Ducru Beaucaillou and Pontet Canet from a great, classical vintage (or a more elegant version of the 2013 for simplicity), it's medium to full-bodied, perfectly balanced, powerful yet elegant, and has a finish that won't quit. This is pure gold in Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s already drinkable yet will benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age and have 40 years of prime drinking.In Bond£3,050.00 -
In Bond£2,080.00
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Wine Advocate (100)
Sporting an opaque garnet-purple color, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Kayli Morgan Vineyard needs a fair bit of coaxing to unlock fabulously evocative notions of pure cassis, ripe, juicy black plums and wild blueberries, plus suggestions of candied violets, cinnamon stick and fenugreek, with a touch of fallen leaves. The medium to full-bodied palate is packed with poise and sophistication, shimmering with energetic black and blue fruit layers and a perfectly plush texture, finishing with a dazzling display of minerals and floral fireworks. A hands-down, jaw-dropping beauty!In Bond£1,807.00 -
Wine Advocate (100)
Sporting an opaque garnet-purple color, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Kayli Morgan Vineyard needs a fair bit of coaxing to unlock fabulously evocative notions of pure cassis, ripe, juicy black plums and wild blueberries, plus suggestions of candied violets, cinnamon stick and fenugreek, with a touch of fallen leaves. The medium to full-bodied palate is packed with poise and sophistication, shimmering with energetic black and blue fruit layers and a perfectly plush texture, finishing with a dazzling display of minerals and floral fireworks. A hands-down, jaw-dropping beauty!In Bond£3,389.00 -
Wine Advocate (99+)
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Ark Vineyard delivers powerful scents of blackberry preserves, chocolate-covered cherries and stewed plums, giving way to red and black currant jelly, beef drippings and wild fungi. Full-bodied, tightly wound and shimmering with tension in the mouth, it has a solid frame of firm, grainy tannins supporting the reticent fruit, finishing savory and with lots of latent energy. All the signs say that this baby is holding back right now and has more to give with considerable cellaring. Tuck it away for at least 5-6 years and then enjoy it over the next 40 years+.In Bond£1,320.00 -
Wine Advocate (99+)
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Ark Vineyard delivers powerful scents of blackberry preserves, chocolate-covered cherries and stewed plums, giving way to red and black currant jelly, beef drippings and wild fungi. Full-bodied, tightly wound and shimmering with tension in the mouth, it has a solid frame of firm, grainy tannins supporting the reticent fruit, finishing savory and with lots of latent energy. All the signs say that this baby is holding back right now and has more to give with considerable cellaring. Tuck it away for at least 5-6 years and then enjoy it over the next 40 years+.In Bond£3,389.00 -
Wine Advocate (100)
Deep garnet-purple, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Wraith drifts effortlessly out of the glass with compelling scents of Morello cherries, boysenberry preserves and blackcurrant pastilles, plus hints of unsmoked cigars, wild sage, underbrush and pencil shavings. The taut, tightly packed, muscular, full-bodied palate quakes with energy, supported by beautifully ripe, grainy tannins, finishing incredibly long and provocatively perfumed. So lively and layered, this Wraith perfectly captures the captivating vibrancy of this great, great vintage!In Bond£2,205.00
