Jeb Dunnuck (100)

The 2015 Screaming Eagle is another monumental wine from this address, and it's one of those cases where if you afford it, you should buy it. A blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc, this magical elixir boasts a deep purple color as well as a blockbuster bouquet of blueberries, creme de cassis, violets, incense, and cedarwood. Reminding me of the 2015 Château Margaux with its off the charts class and purity, it’s full-bodied, thrillingly textured, and has a finish that just won't quit. This legendary wine is going to keep for 30-40 years.

James Suckling (100)

The subtle and nuanced aromas to this are so enticing with perfumed, floral, blackcurrant and blackberry character. Roses, too. Some lavender. Full-bodied yet so refined and polished with the most transparent and polished texture. Firm and seamless. So beautiful now. Give it three or four years to come around, but this already sings.

Wine Advocate (100)

Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Screaming Eagle soars out of the glass with vibrant notions of ripe blackberries, black cherries and fresh red and black currants plus wafts of licorice, candied violets, cedar chest and clove oil with a beguiling touch of sea spray. Medium-bodied with jaw-dropping elegance, the palate is finely textured and yet built like a brick house with a super taut backbone and exquisitely knit acidity. The intense black and red fruit flavors are accented by layers of mineral and floral notions, finishing with incredible length and depth. Undeniably stunning. “I loved it!” winemaker Nick Gislason told me when I asked him for his thoughts on the 2018 vintage. “Everything is just really perfumey with a lot of verve and a lot of freshness. It’s a wholesome vintage, if that makes sense? The canopies were big and healthy; there was a lot of life in the vineyard. After 2017, it felt like the bloom that comes afterward.” He went on to say, "We made a little 2017 red. Only four barrels of the Cab! Ten barrels of The Flight. Only from grapes that came in before the fires—mainly Merlot and a couple of blocks of Cabernet." Whereas Screaming Eagle is mainly sourced from Cabernet Sauvignon grown on the western side of the estate, there is one plot of old Merlot (1980s plantings) on the eastern side of the vineyard that continually makes the backbone of this Second Flight/The Flight. This is planted on very gravelly, well-drained soils. Gislason explained, “The Cabernet Sauvignon for The Flight is always about being fresh, light and perfumey, without the firmer tannins that Cabernet can sometimes give. There is a ‘fresh’ end of the property that this tends to come from. There is some other Merlot on the other side of the property that doesn’t have the acidity, perfume or brightness we’re looking for. We don’t use this in The Flight.”

Wine Advocate (98)

The 2017 Sauvignon Blanc is 100% Sauvignon Blanc, coming from a small section of estate vines closer to the Napa river. It is entirely fermented in French oak, but only about 5% is new. The grapes are pressed straight to barrels and kept on their gross lees. The wine is fermented using native yeasts. This vintage, the nose is not at all shy—it comes bounding out of the glass with exuberant scents of ripe peaches, passion fruit and musk perfume plus wafts of honeycomb, elderflower, ripe gooseberries and lemongrass with a waft of Bosc pears. The palate is super intense and yet ethereally weighted, light-bodied and oh-so-fine, elegant and refreshing, featuring a whole array of chalk and sea spray sparks, creating a shimmer to all the many citrus and stone fruit layers, finishing with great length and energy. There is a truly interesting phenolic texture to the palate that reminds me of some Chardonnays, particularly Burgundian examples. Winemaker Nick Gislason commented that the gross lees contain a lot of phenolic content, which is where the wine picks up that textural component. Love it!

Vinous (98)

The 2016 The Flight is gorgeous. Dark, brooding and closed in on itself, the 2016 is going to need a number of years to be at its very best, but it is incredibly beguiling today. Plum, black cherry, lavender, blood orange menthol, and a host of more mineral-driven notes punctuate this super-expressive wine. This is a decidedly tannic and powerful edition of The Flight. I can't wait to see how it ages. Bottled just six weeks before this tasting, the 2016 appears to have a very bright future. Time in the glass brings out some of the softer edges that will almost surely emerge with cellaring. The Flight is built on a core of older Merlot vines from the southeast corner of the estate. It is an absolutely riveting wine from Screaming Eagle.

James Suckling (100)

This is an incredible wine with such depth and energy and ethereal, mind-blowing sensibility. It sent shivers down my spine tasting it. It just shines on the nose, like bright sunlight breaking through a dark sky. Aromas of raspberries, citrus, violets and dark earth. Full-bodied with extremely fine tannins that go vertical and endless, from top to bottom. A monument for merlot-based wines. Drinkable now, but needs six to eight years to come around.

James Suckling (99)

Extremely floral and aromatic with violets and lavender throughout. Black olives, too. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, very fine-grained tannins that run the length of the wine. Goes on for minutes. A greenish undertone comes out at the end with some spearmint, green tea and green olive. About two-thirds merlot. Best after 2028, but already stunning.

Wine Advocate (98)

The 2019 Seña was produced with a Bordeaux blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Malbec, 15% Carmenere and 4% Petit Verdot with the Chilean character of the high percentage of Carmenere. Most of the volume fermented in stainless steel with some 10% in concrete vats, and the final blend matured for 22 months in French oak barrels, 80% of them new, and 10% in Stockinger vats. It's 13.5% alcohol and has good acidity and freshness, coming through as medium-bodied, elegant and balanced. This is incredibly elegant, subtle and harmonious even at this early stage. It has floral aromas, notes of orange peel, a touch of creamy sweet spices and great freshness. The palate is medium-bodied, seamless and pure, with pungent flavors and a soft texture. It's long, clean, defined and super tasty. I feel this wine is getting better and better by the vintage. The grapes were picked quite early, and that helped to contain the ripeness and seems to have been a great decision. There was also an exception in the Panquehue zone where the Seña vines are, where the summer was cooler than the average, so quite different to many other regions in Chile. 100,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2021.

James Suckling (100)

An extremely pure and elegant vintage for Seña. This is really fresh, nimble and floral on the nose with subtle cherries, plums, redcurrants and wild lavender. More red fruit here with lots of layers and just a touch of sweet spice. Very discreet and subtle, with the elegance, freshness and poise you’d expect from 2021. Medium- to full-bodied on the palate with a bit more flesh and depth if you compare it with Roca de Seña, their second wine. The impeccable tannins show the supreme quality of the fruit this year. Persistent, seamless finish, but comes in a subtle way. 50% cabernet sauvignon, 27% malbec, 17% carmenere and 6% petit verdot. Effortlessly drinkable now, but it will age beautifully.

Vinous (100)

The 2018 Sloan is a flat out stunner. Rich, dramatic and full-bodied, with striking energy, the 2018 is viscerally thrilling right out of the gate. Black cherry, plum, mocha, licorice and gravel all build as this towering, statuesque Cabernet shows off its pedigree. The 2018 is simply magical, and just as breathtaking from bottle as it was as a barrel sample last year. It is the very finest Sloan I have ever tasted. I can't wait to see how it ages.

The Wine Independent (100)

This 2015 Marchesi Antinori Solaia is so charmingly sweet, ripe, and open with very bright and exuberant aromas of cream and blackberries. My impression is that many 2015s in Tuscany in general have absorbed more oak than in some other vintages but this wine wears it so well. The palate is super-harmonious with a gentle ease and flow and the tannins are beautifully integrated and combine with subtle flavors of sweet oak-spice, cream, vanilla and blackberry. There is an elegant acidity and juicy freshness but in this wine the tannins take on a new dimension becoming seamlessly refined. Just beautiful!

James Suckling (98)

This has a complex array of blackberries, black cherries, cocoa, dried herbs, slate, tobacco, olives and charred bark. Some dried roses and iodine, too. Medium-to full-bodied with firm yet refined tannins. Powerful, in an understated way. Long. 73% cabernet sauvignon, 7% cabernet franc and 20% sangiovese. Try in 2025.

Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux (98)

A great vintage of the iconic Solaia, full of cloves, sage, graphite, grilled dried herbs, underbrush and roasted cherry pit. There's fruit too, bilberry and cassis, juicy and mouthwatering, both understated and exuberant, ensuring a Tuscan fingerprint despite its majority Cabernet Sauvignon construction. Has grip and length, and effortless charm, reflecting an excellent vintage with low yields after a hot dry summer. Antinori family showing once again why this wine, that comes from 20ha the sunniest slopes of the Tignanello estate, set at 350-400m altitude, is so hard to resist. Winemaking director Renzo Cotarella.

Wine Advocate (96+)

The elusive and highly collectible Soldera Case Basse 2018 100% Sangiovese is already available in certain markets yet ultimately proves very hard to buy. I suspect it is easier to locate in the United States than in Italy. No matter, Soldera advocates will be very pleased with this latest release that maintains enormous Sangiovese character and brightness despite the uneven growing season (that saw a wet and cool spring and a hot summer). The legendary Gianfranco Soldera died the morning of February 16, 2019, from a heart attack while driving along the bucolic, vineyard-lined road near his winery. That means this is the last vintage manned directly by Soldera, a man who remained extremely active in the vineyards and the winery until the very end. His send-off to us is a delicately nuanced wine with cassis, wild berry, rosemary, pencil shaving and blood orange. This is a beautiful wine that pays tribute not only to Gianfranco Soldera but to his non-interventionist vision of Italian wine that has influenced so many younger vintners in his wake.

Wine Advocate (98)

If you were to assess a wine based solely on its length of flavor, then this 2016 Autumnus Shiraz would do nothing but stun you. The rivulets of velvety, plush fruit rolls across the palate and undulate through the long, lingering finish. What a wine! Wow. As to the flavors, there's Christmas cake spice, black cherries, aniseed and licorice, dark chocolate, raspberries, mulberries, a few damsons, blood plums, beetroot, pastrami and pink peppercorns. A symphonic display. But, for me, more than the flavor and more than the length (both formidable elements in their own rights), the texture is the real highlight. The tannins are so smooth, so shapely and so streamlined that it barely beggars belief. This is what I will remember about this wine in the future: the tannins. Awesome.

Matthew Jukes (19.5++)

By contrast to the Bollinger, Comte is not a one-off, nor anything out of the ordinary. It is a label that all committed Champagne lovers adore. Predictable perhaps. But, of course, one thing does vary, and that is the vintage. The ‘worst’ Comte I ever tasted was rather lovely. The ‘best’, and there have been many (1959, 1966, 1996, 2002, 2006) are all sublime and you can now add 2011 to this list. Taittinger always seems to shun the spotlight, unlike Dom Perignon and other more attention-seeking brands and this modesty rather suits this House. I did something that I never do after first tasting my sample bottle. I was so shocked with the sheer class that I sealed the bottle with a simple Champagne stopper and then tasted it again and again over two days. The stress-testing sorts the wheat from the chaff. It is unlikely that anyone who bought a bottle would do this. Still, I like to see how a potentially great wine evolves, opens up, sometimes falls over, and sometimes blossoms over a few days because it gives me an indication of its potential and its true baseline of quality. The fruit is so tense, grand and layered it is remarkable. The flavour, the fizz, the length, the momentum and the overall halo of greatness did not change one iota over nearly 60 hours of being open with no preservation whatsoever. This is a genius, B de B and while it tastes scintillating now, I am confident that it will amaze Comte fans for decades to come.

The Wine Independent (97)

The 2008 Comtes de Champagne Rose Brut is composed of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay, with 12% Pinot Noir blended in as a still red wine. It comes entirely from estate-grown, Grand Cru vineyards and is aged 12 years prior to release with 9 g/L dosage. Sporting a very pale salmon pink color, it tumbles out of the glass with captivatingly floral notes of roses and jasmine, giving way to a core of wild strawberries, raspberry leaves, red apples, and pears, with faint wafts of crushed rocks and lavender. The palate is delicately played with racy acidity and very fine bubbles guiding the laser-precise red berry and apple-inspired flavors to a long, mineral-laced finish. For those that love the restraint and finesse with red berry sparkles, this is for you!

James Suckling (99)

A beautiful color of bronze and orange with some pink at the end. Aromas of dried strawberry and orange peel with orange blossom and other flowers. Medium to full body with a round, creamy texture, very fine bubbles and a lovely, long finish. Plenty of subtle pie-crust and biscuit flavors at the end. Yet it remains so complex. Very vinous. Drink or hold.

Wine Advocate (100)

The 2017 Quinta de Vargellas Vinha Velha Vintage Port is a field blend of typical grapes (like Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca) aged for 20 months in French wood. It comes in with 105 grams of residual sugar. When last seen, this was only a tank sample. A darker flavor profile than the regular Taylor's, more leaning to plums and blackberries, this shows all that great Taylor's fruit and welds it to a serious backbone. The regular Taylor's seems a bit brighter, while this seems a bit sterner and richer, but at this point in their very young lives, I am not sure there is a lot to choose from qualitatively. That may change, in favor of this, I think, as they go further into their very long lives. Today, there isn't much to separate them except style and price. I'd take this, both for the style and the upside potential, but the price spike is certainly worth noting for many, while the qualitative difference is nominal.

Wine Orbit (100)

The 2021 Coleraine exhibits a commanding presence and majestic poise. The bouquet reveals classic aromas of cassis, dark plum and violet with whispering nuances of cedar and cigar. There are hints of warm spices, compounding the pleasure upon inhalation. The palate is bold and graceful at once, enhanced by plush texture and multi-layered mouthfeel, beautifully framed by refreshing acidity and fine chalky tannins. Robust and substantial with a great line and length, which seem to go on to infinity. This youthful wine is already impossible to resist, but time will reward those who can wait. In sports, they often talk about ‘The Greatest of All Time’, or 'The GOAT'. This 2021 Coleraine is undeniably THE GOAT of New Zealand wine.

Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux (98)

The talented Telmo Rodriguez is launching this wine onto the Place with its first vintage for the entirety of its production. The grapes are from a 3.8ha limestone-dominant plot within the family’s Remelluri estate, found in the foothills of the Sierra de Tolono mountains. A sweet and smoky attack, with a ton of flavours and fragrant aromatics that grab hold and hang on, from dense liquorice root to crushed stones to blueberry, redcurrant, rose petals and tobacco, nothing too much or too overwhelming, but you also feel the herb-strewn call of the vineyard and you want to be there, among the vines where this is made. Get hold of it now, enjoy the brilliance of Telmo Rodriguez and the sense of place that he can bring to a wine. A field blend, as with the brilliant Remelluri Blanco, with just over 7,000 bottles in this inaugural vintage. An outstanding first outing that you should be following - believe me, this is a cult wine in the making.

Wine Advocate (97)

This wine will be released in 2019. The spectacular 2015 Lodovico is shaping up to be wine of stratospheric intensity, depth and succulence. Lodovico is a six-hectare parcel found within the greater Bellaria vineyard (that makes the Biserno wine) at this important estate in Bibbona, Coastal Tuscany. The entire site is planted to Bordeaux grapes Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. This vintage delivers power and momentum that drives this wine smoothly over the palate. The bouquet is seamless with dark fruit tones that segue to spice, tar, smoke and cured leather. This is the sixth vintage to be produced. All the previous editions (2007, 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2013) are included in this report.

Falstaff Magazin (99)

Glänzendes, intensives Rubinrot-Violett. Zeigt in der Nase grandioses Spiel, nach Koriandersamen und Kardamom, sehr klar, dahinter viel Brombeere. Satt in Ansatz und Verlauf, entfaltet sich mit viel geschmeidigem, dichtmaschigem Tannin, baut sich in vielen Schichten auf, dunkle Beerenfrucht, im Finale würzig. Shiny, intense ruby red violet. On the nose shows great game, after coriander seeds and cardamom, very clear, behind it a lot of blackberry. Sated in approach and flow, unfolds with a lot of supple, dense tannins, builds up in many layers, dark berry fruit, spicy on the finish.

Decanter (98)

Produced since 2007 in Bibbona, bordering Bolgheri, Lodovico is a relatively young label managed by Lodovico Antinori. Annual production is below 10,000 bottles, and the exact blend is not revealed. Cabernet Franc-based, blended with tiny amounts of Merlot and Petit Verdot, the wine is fermented in stainless steel and aged 16 months in barrique, with notably less racking compared to an equivalent Bordeaux. The 2018 is not completely representative (try the outstanding and more concentrated 2016), but it describes fairly well the graceful, Margaux-like elegance of this SuperTuscan. Parma Violets, cedar, eucalyptus, wild raspberry and coffee grounds outline its complexity. Silky tannins are integrated with refreshing acidity.

Vinous - Ian D'Agata (97)

Vivid pale golden-tinged yellow. The mineral-driven, perfumed nose boasts intense aromas of fresh pear, Golden Delicious apple, lime peel and jasmine, with a mineral overtone. Racy, fragrant, sharply focused fresh citrus and orchard fruit flavors are powerful and penetrating, but show no excess weight. The 2015 Grande Cuvée I Primo gains sweetness and a gingery nuance with air while maintaining noteworthy tension and remarkable clarity and cut. The strikingly pure, laser-like and extremely long finish shows superb energy with nuances of powdered minerals and lemony zing lingering nicely. An outstanding, truly beautiful wine from Terlano, that is one of this year’s best white wines from Italy.

Vinous (96)

The 2017 Terlaner Grande Cuvée Primo is rich and seductive from the first tilt of the glass. It displays a mix of roasted hazelnut, baked apple and dried peaches, as it gains further complexities through evolving notes of smoky minerals, chamomile and hints of honeysuckle. The textural depths on the palate are otherworldly, seemingly weighty yet precise, enveloping all it touches in velvety waves of ripe stone fruits and sweet spice, as juicy acids sneak in, both framing and balancing the wine. The finish is remarkably long yet fresh, teeming with energy while also showing hints of vanilla and toasty oak. The Terlano wines have a track record for evolving beautifully in the cellar. That said, the 2017 does show a warmer vintage character, yet all of the elements are here to carry it for another fifteen to twenty years. It's a blend of Pinot Bianco 70%, Chardonnay 27% and Sauvignon Blanc 3%...Wow!

James Suckling (97)

The Alps and the Mediterranean meet in a glass! Mountain freshness (think wild herbs) and bright fruit (think Amalfi lemon) come together in a wine that marries a stack of fine tannins with wet-stone minerality on the the tightly wound palate. Make no mistake, this has been built for very long aging, so decant to aerate, if you drink it any time soon. Breathtaking energy at the very long finish. Drink or hold.

The Wine Independent (99)

The 2018 Pym-Rae is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs considerable swirling to unlock evocative, pristine notes of juicy blackberries, ripe blueberries, cassis, and red currant jelly, followed by hints of lavender, crushed rocks, bay leaves, and iron ore, with a fragrant waft of cinnamon and cloves. The densely laden, full-bodied palate bursts with ripe, perfumed black fruits, supported by firm, very finely grained tannins, and fantastic tension, finishing with a long-lasting firework display of red berry and earthy sparks. With a 4–6-hour double-decant, it is delicious now, but if you want that next-level experience, give it a good 5-6 more years in bottle and drink it over the next 40 years+.

Decanter (97)

Racy and thrilling, this hits the spot in terms of direct and punchy yellow fruit flavours - lemon, grapefruit, orange and quince with a crisp texture and fine bubbles that fill the mouth. Such tension and precision. It has a sharp yet also mouthwatering acidity giving you a push pull of intensity and generosity. It's super dry and gives a raciness to the overall impression with very tiny hints of sweetness providing the round feel that's so appealing. Shines brightly and still feels so youthful, such a long ageing potential yet. I like the energy and the persistence here, it's clean and finessed. Not trying too hard but so easy to drink. 100% Chardonnay of white 90% comes from grands crus vineyards. Dosage 4g/L. Disgorged February 2022.