Vinous (94)

The NV Extra Brut Grand Cru Complantée emerges from a parcel in Avize interplanted with Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Blanc, Arbane, Petit Meslier and Chardonnay. Exotic and beguiling in the glass, the Complantée is absolutely gorgeous. Kirsch, red plum, rose petal and spice give the wine striking aromatic intensity and lovely inner perfume. The red grapes seem especially expressive in this release. The Complantée is not an obvious wine, rather it is a Champagne of translucent finesse. This release is a blend of equal parts 2017 and 2016, vinified in neutral oak. Dosage is 5 grams per liter. Disgorged: April, 2020.

Wine Spectator (94)

A harmonious red, offering an expression of cherry, blackberry and floral aromas and flavors offset by a vibrant, well-integrated structure. Shows iron, tobacco, smoke and a hint of wild herbs, which weigh in as this evolves on the palate toward a lingering aftertaste. Delivers finesse and energy. Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2024 through 2038. 5,000 cases imported.

The assortment case contains

1x75cl Bibi Graetz Balocchi di Colore No. 1 | 96 JS/ 100 DB

1x75cl Bibi Graetz Balocchi di Colore No. 3 | 97 JS/ 97 DB

1x75cl Bibi Graetz Balocchi di Colore No. 8 | 95 JS/ 98 DB

3x75cl Bibi Graetz Colore 2020 | 98 JS

Matthew Jukes (20+)

08NF was made from 83% Grands Crus and 17% de Premiers Crus: 60% Pinot Noir from the Premiers and Grands Crus of the Montagne de Reims and the Grande Vallée de la Marne (Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Aÿ, Ambonnay, Bouzy, Verzenay et Verzy); 40% Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs (Mesnil, Chouilly, Cramant, Vertus); 17% of the wines were vinified in oak barrels, and it was aged on its lees for 150 months; The dosage is 2.9 g/l, and it was disgorged in January 2022. This super-deep wine dwells low in the glass with weight and depth of delivery that is completely unhurried. Vinous, powerful and with a full spectrum of fruit and patisserie, it is remarkable just how little citrus and herb there is on the front end of this staggeringly impressive wine. It is more layered and exotic than any current release Champagne I can think of, and then when it seems as though the scene is set, everything changes instantly. The palate drops about three gears revealing arresting zestiness and tanginess that completely engulfs the senses. I learned that this cuvée’s release was delayed by nearly two years because the back end was so twitchy, nervy and excitable. As it turns out, the Billecart gurus made the right call here – this is an electrifying wine, and the finish shows that the potential here is incredible. I am lucky enough to have tasted the 1959 and the 1961 Billecart-Salmon vintage wines, among others, and the DNA and detail in this 2008 are near-identical. While the top half of this wine is showy, flamboyant and seductive, the lower half is firm, chiselled, rigid and breath-taking.

Matthew Jukes (19+)

The latest release of R.D. – Bollinger’s iconic ‘Recently Disgorged or Récemment Dégorgé’ wine is something completely out of the ordinary. My one-word description for this sensational wine is ‘controlled’. I say this because what I adore about every single vintage of R.D. which I have tasted (and there have been many – see below) is the seeming lack of control in every sip. R.D. should be and usually is an absurdly decadent and unpredictable wine, firing off ostentatious flavour and extraordinary detail in every direction. This is why I love it so much and also why I only open it on very special occasions! What is remarkable about this particular vintage is its restraint and levity coupled with the extraordinary length of finish. After 14 years on lees, this wine is as power-packed and energised as it could possibly be and with the extra edge and vivacity coming from a fulsome percentage of Verzenay Pinot fruit (29%) added to the usual heartbeat coming from the Aÿ Pinot core (26%) this is a dynamic red fruit-dominant cocktail. The overall blend is 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay coming from 14 Crus with 91% Grands Crus in this vintage. The dosage is a keen 3 grams per litre and all disgorgement is done by hand, as usual. But in 2007 the result is atypical, enchanting, surprisingly refreshing and amazingly delicious. I opened this bottle at 11.00 am and did not stopper it for a full 12 hours. I even sneaked half a glass with a chicken curry at supper time and it worked like a dream. This is not a massive firework of a wine that explodes gloriously and then is gone. Instead, it is a blazing torch of flavour with phenomenal persistence and balance and this makes it unmissable in every serious Champagne lover’s cellar.

Vinous (98)

Castellare's I Sodi di San Niccolò is the single most overlooked high-end wine in Tuscany today. The 2016 picks up where the 2015 left off. A rush of inky dark fruit, lavender, spice, licorice, gravel, blueberry and menthol builds as the 2016 shows off its exceptional balance and pedigree. Readers will have to be patient, as the 2016 needs a few years in bottle to fully come together. Even so, the 2016 has been nothing less than spectacular on the two occasions I have tasted it so far. In a word: monumental.

Wine Spectator (96)

A textbook blanc de blancs in a relatively opulent style, with ample grilled nut, brioche and spice character alongside classic flavors of poached apricot, kumquat, oyster shell and lemon blossom. This rich profile is well-defined by racy acidity, sleek and well-cut, driving the long, lacy finish. A beauty. Drink now through 2035. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 4,500 cases made, 185 cases imported.

Wine Enthusiast (99)

This savory stunner has enticing scents of violet, rose and wild berry that gain complexity alongside notes of leather, camphor and sandalwood. The elegantly structured palate is all about precision, featuring juicy cherry, blood orange, star anise and tobacco framed in taut, refined tannins. Bright acidity keeps it energized.

Wine Advocate (98+)

The 2016 Fontalloro is the best vintage of this landmark wine that I have tasted thus far. This is a very elegant vintage, with more volume in the mouth and precise notes of tar, licorice, camphor ash, resin and Indian spice. In a race between the highly competitive 2015 and 2016 vintages, I give a slight advantage to this wine. The warmer 2015 vintage shows more richness and exuberant fruit. However, this wine from 2016 offers a more focused and chiseled delivery. I am hopeful that this wine will continue to evolve and sharpen as it ages in the bottle. This is a beautiful wine to put aside in your cellar for ten years or more.

Vinous (96+)

Impressing from the first tilt of the glass, the 2018 Brunello di Montalcino makes itself known, with a heady burst of exotic spice and crushed ashen stone giving way to dried black cherries and grilled herbs. This combines the energy of the vintage with the dark balsamic-tinged fruits of Montalcino’s southern reaches, as zesty acidity maintains balance throughout, and flinty minerals saturate toward the close. It finishes long, savory and structured, yet its tannins are more rounded than anticipated, creating both a classic feel, but also leaving a mouthwatering sensation that tricks the taster back to the glass for more. Easily one of the top wines of the vintage, the 2018 is not to be missed.

James Suckling (100)

This is very structured and framed with an almost red sensibility. Very phenolic. Full-bodied in a tightly wound ball with so much going on. Very pinot like. Mineral and stone. Shell and stone. Iodine. Vinous. The bubbles just fade into the finish of the wine, which goes on for minutes. Turns to toffee and salted caramel with time in the glass. One for the cellar. Great length. Blend of 53% pinot noir, 25% pinot meunier, 22% chardonnay. Disgorged in beginning of 2020. Drink or hold.

Wine Advocate (95)

Wild cherries, dried blueberries and dark currants open the bouquet of Le Ragnaie's 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Ragnaie V. V. The cherry signature is forefront, and it emerges with medicinal and balsamic notes towed in close. Fruit comes from the estate's oldest vines (aged 50 years old) planted in the highest part of the appellation (at 600 meters above sea level). The bouquet is seamless, putting forth a chain of similar fruit and spice-related aromas that fall neatly in line. This effect is further reinforced as the wine evolves steadily in the glass. Of the various Brunello Selezioni presented by Le Ragnaie, this wine is the most classic in approach with a slightly more closed and austere personality that will serve it well as it continues its bottle evolution. The wine was bottled in April 2019 and will hit the market in February 2020. Only 3,500 bottles were made.

Wine Advocate (96)

The 2020 Paixar is the one wine from the portfolio that is completely different from the others and comes from high-altitude vineyards in the zone of Dragonte on slate soils. In 2020 and 2021 they used the whole field blend—reds and around 5% white grapes, which might have given it an extra spark of acidity. It matured in 5,000-liter oak vat and 500-liter oak barrels. It has a perfumed nose, elegant and floral, with good ripeness but without excess. It's finely textured with a chalky thread and great balance. It finishes long and dry. This is truly superb and should evolve nicely in bottle. It's now Vino de Paraje 'A Serra' in Dragonte, a parish of Corullón. 8,000 bottles were filled in November 2021.

Jeb Dunnuck (94)

The 2015 Champagne Blanc De Noirs Cuvée Du Goulte Grand Cru Extra Brut pours a deep straw color, while the nose lifts to oceanic aromas of sea spray and crushed stones along with orange peel. As it opens, it reveals deep layers of apricot preserve. A bit reserved on opening, it deserves time to open and settle into itself, after which it becomes more profound as its mousse settles.

Wine Enthusiast (95)

Just beginning to mature, this balanced, ripe wine is complex, with bright acidity, toast and pear and green-plum fruits. It is rich, with a tight mouse that shows intensity as well as a stylish character. This is a fine wine just coming into its own but well worth aging further until 2020.

Wine Enthusiast (95)

Just beginning to mature, this balanced, ripe wine is complex, with bright acidity, toast and pear and green-plum fruits. It is rich, with a tight mouse that shows intensity as well as a stylish character. This is a fine wine just coming into its own but well worth aging further until 2020.

Wine Advocate (96)

If you can count on something, it is that the Mount Horrocks Rieslings are on point every vintage that goes by. This 2022 Watervale Riesling is as tight and as focused as I've seen it, and the laser beam of acidity that points across the mouth and down into the throat is as pronounced as Batman's Klieg light over Gotham. The wine is restrained and determined in the mouth, outlaying fleshy lime zest, preserved lemon, green apples and crushed chalk. It is a marvel, and we know these wines age with ease, especially under the STELVIN closure. Drink it whenever it brings you pleasure.

Decanter (95)

With its seamless textural slide across the palate, this is a superb example of what is considered a distinctly Australian blend, showing both generosity and serious intent. A magnificent full nose leads to a lively dance of red plums over blue and black fruits, although the strong acid spine results in a rather sharp finish. Time in the cellar will reveal more integrated harmony between the essential elements. Released at AU$100.

Falstaff (100)

Deep dark ruby garnet, violet reflections, subtle lightening of the edges. Intense bouquet, intense sweet spices, sandalwood, nougat, incredibly multifaceted aroma. Full-bodied, almost port wine-like nuances, structured with finesse, perfectly integrated tannins, great length, already seems irresistible, ripe cherries in the aftertaste, if only one could stop there.

Wine Advocate (98)

This is the flagship wine from Luca Sanjust's Petrolo estate located not too far from Arezzo in the Valdarno area of eastern Tuscany. The 2016 Galatrona is indeed a masterpiece to behold. This wine offers thick layering and deep intensity with aromas that offer an incredible range, starting off with luscious dark chocolate on one side and ending with fragrant white truffle on the far end of its long aromatic trajectory. You get plummy fruit, spice, sweet tobacco and tilled earth packed tight in between. This full-bodied Merlot is softly textured and succulent with long-lasting flavor intensity on the close. Petrolo's Merlot is planted in a ten-hectare parcel distinguished by thick clay soils. I have been watching Galatrona's evolution for years and have tasted the wine on occasion in various vertical tastings. This is my favorite vintage made thus far.

The Real Review (HH) (98)

Full golden-yellow colour; very toasty old-wine bouquet which gradually opened up and revealed more with time in the glass. Aromas of toasted bread, toffee, vanilla, apricot, blood orange, quince paste; the palate full, rich and very dry, the penetrating acidity powering a very long finish. A very mature Champagne, not for everyone, but for those who enjoy aged Champagne, it's a joy. The rating is purely about pleasure. (60/40 pinot noir / chardonnay. 4 grams/litre dosage; disgorged in January 2022)

Jeb Dunnuck (98+)

I was able to taste the 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino three times for this report, and it’s one of the great wines of the vintage. It takes on a bit more muscular style for the Poggio di Sotto estate, but it retains the DNA of the estate at large with its outstanding clarity. It’s medium ruby-colored and reveals notes of pure cherry, anise, wildflowers, wet stone, and tea leaf. Structured and long on the palate, it has ripe, chiseled tannins, a balanced spine of acidity, and notes of salted orange through the finish, with a long-lasting perfume. Its transparency, balanced with its complexity, makes this one of the most intriguing wines, and if stored properly, it will only improve with time in the cellar.

Vinous (98)

A wine of extraordinary finesse, the 2013 Percarlo is utterly magnificent. Creamy and beautifully layered in the glass, the 2013 speaks to finesse more than the power and explosiveness that is often found here. With time in the glass, the mid-palate fleshes out and the flavors gain in intensity and darkness. When young, Percarlo is often forbiddingly tannic, but the gradual move towards larger format barrels and casks has, among other things, given the wine much more textural elegance. I can't wait to see how it ages. This is one of the most complete and strikingly beautiful wines of the vintage.

Decanter (95)

Guidalberto 2020 is a blend of 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, matured for 15 months in oak (20% new), including a small percentage of American oak. The aromas are a little heavier, with ripe dark fruit and a fragrant, floral note. It's a little less finely detailed aromatically than the 2021, with some smoke, spice and green herb qualities. The palate is round, medium-full bodied with juicy, bright acidity. It's a very friendly wine with very fine tannins and there's a little more grip and silty texture to the tannins.

Vinous (98)

We started with the 2006 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, which is every bit as racy and seductive as it has always been. It’s a great, great vintage for Comtes.