James Suckling (95)

Racy wild strawberries and raspberries with white pepper, agave and dried herbs. Fresh, medium-bodied palate with silky, refined tannins spreading evenly across the palate. Juicy and bright finish with lovely, herbal allure. Extremely drinkable now, but will hold, too.

James Suckling (95)

Racy wild strawberries and raspberries with white pepper, agave and dried herbs. Fresh, medium-bodied palate with silky, refined tannins spreading evenly across the palate. Juicy and bright finish with lovely, herbal allure. Extremely drinkable now, but will hold, too.

Vinous (93)

The 2021 Morgon Côte du Py, matured in used barrels, has a more complex bouquet than the Corcelette: a melange of red and black fruit, potpourri/lavender, and a faint hint of curry leaf that emerges with time. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins and a fine backbone considering the growing season. This is very fresh and saline with quite a strict finish. You could attempt this now though I would be intrigued to age this for another two or three years before broaching.

Vinous (93)

Vivid ruby. A highly perfumed bouquet evokes ripe red and blue fruits, potpourri, earth and smoky minerals. Supple, deeply concentrated and alluringly sweet, offering juicy, spice-kissed raspberry, boysenberry and floral pastille flavors that slowly turn livelier with air. Delivers an appealing blend of depth and energy and closes with superb clarity and strong persistence, leaving notes of juicy red berries and candied violet behind.

Wine Advocate (95)

Jean-Paul Brun's 66-year-old vines in this prime lieux-dit have yielded a superb 2018 Fleurie Grille-Midi, a striking wine that unfurls in the glass with complex aromas of black raspberries, rose petals, smoked meats and violets. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and satiny, with a bottomless core of concentrated fruit, velvety tannins and ripe acids, concluding with a long and sapid finish. This is a brilliant, age-worthy Fleurie worth special effort to track down.

Wine Advocate (95)

Jean-Paul Brun's 66-year-old vines in this prime lieux-dit have yielded a superb 2018 Fleurie Grille-Midi, a striking wine that unfurls in the glass with complex aromas of black raspberries, rose petals, smoked meats and violets. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and satiny, with a bottomless core of concentrated fruit, velvety tannins and ripe acids, concluding with a long and sapid finish. This is a brilliant, age-worthy Fleurie worth special effort to track down.

Wine Advocate (91)

The 2016 Brouilly Cuvee Vieilles Vignes has a perfumed, floral bouquet with delightful wilted violet and blackcurrant scents, very harmonious and cohesive. The palate is well balanced with succulent tannin; there is a fine backbone here with impressive focus toward the finish. There is just a prickle of white pepper right on the finish. Tighter, more backward than the 2015, this should nevertheless age with style.

Wine Advocate (94)

The 2018 Morgon Côte du Py derives from both higher-altitude and lower-lying parcels, and it is a great success this year, offering up a lovely bouquet of dark fruits, cherries, smoked meat and licorice. On the palate, it's full-bodied, ample and layered, with a fleshy and concentrated core, fine girdling tannins and succulent acids, concluding with a long and sapid finish.

Vinous (94)

The 2022 Morgon Côte du Py has an absolutely delightful bouquet. Much more charming than the Corcelette, it shows exquisite delineation with perfumed, mineral-laced red fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-boned tannins, very focused with a touch of Indian spice toward the detailed finish. This has a long life ahead. It’s so refined and elegant.

Discover the elegant sophistication of Jules Desjourneys Moulin-a-Vent Styx 2016. Hailing from Burgundy, France, this cherished red wine exemplifies the fine craft of winemaker Fabien Duperray, known for his meticulous old-world techniques and measures to guarantee quality. Drawing from the vineyard's rich granitic soils, Jules Desjourneys Moulin-a-Vent Styx 2016 displays an exquisite synergy of intense berry flavours and a robust mineral structure.

This wine is a sublime result of 100% hand-harvested Gamay grapes, whole-cluster fermented to elegantly preserve the unique character of each bunch. The aging process involves 20 months in well-seasoned oak barrels which contributes to the layers of complexity, adding notes of spice that meld perfectly with the velvety tannins and rich fruit backdrop. The Jules Desjourneys Moulin-a-Vent Styx 2016 promises a wine of great longevity and evolving depth, perfect for enthusiasts of a truly refined vintage.

Wine Advocate (94)

Deep and complete, the 2018 Morgon opens in the glass with notes of cassis, plums, smoked meats and cracked pepper. Medium to full-bodied, supple and layered, it's seamless and beautifully balanced, with powdery tannins and succulent acids. This is another terrific wine from Julien Sunier.

Wine Advocate (91+)

Offering up aromas of dark chocolate, roasting game bird and small wild berries, the 2016 Côte de Brouilly is medium to full-bodied, bright and fleshy, with a crunchy core of fruit, racy acids and a long, chalky finish. Like the Fleurie Clos Vernay, it will demand and reward time in the cellar.

Vinous (91+)

From granite and quartz soils, the 2020 Fleurie La Clos Vernay has a perfumed rose petal scented bouquet with ample red cherry and crushed strawberry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannins, quite tensile and steely, broody on the finish. Give this 3-4 years in bottle.

Vinous (90)

The 2020 Fleurie La Joie du Palais comes from a steeper vineyard and is de-stemmed by hand (30% whole bunch). It has an incense scented bouquet, hints of lavender and violet petals. The palate is medium-bodied with gentle grip, quite fleshy in the mouth, more red fruit laced with crushed stone on the finish. Very fine, perhaps a couple of years in bottle required.

James Suckling (97)

What a sensational perfume this Morgon has! So rich and sensual, yet so refined and complete on the enveloping yet delicate palate. Mind-blowing concentration at the breathtakingly long finish that builds to a gigantic climax. Drink or hold.

Wine Advocate (94+)

The 2020 Morgon Côte du Py Javernières is brilliant, unwinding in the glass with aromas of wild berries, spices, rose petals, loamy soil and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, with impressive reserves of ripe tannin and sapid fruit, it's seamless and lively, concluding with a long, resonant finish. As ever, this is built to age, and it will reward patience, even if its youthful charms are considerable.

Jancis Robinson (18)

Pale smudgy garnet colour (and beautifully simple label). This wine is so pure and gorgeous! But gosh how the price has risen since I bought a case only a few vintages ago. It's a great advertisement for minimal intervention and purity. Direct fruit and not a trace of oak. Long and reverberant. Already drinkable but there is no hurry whatsoever.

Wine Advocate (96)

I love the 2015 Clos Martinet, which I find complex and elegant while keeping the Priorat rustic character found in the best vintages, like 2000. It's balanced, and the palate feels ethereal for the concentration it has. The tannins are abundant but very fine-grained, and there is a sense of harmony that is captivating. A great Clos Martinet. I had the chance to drink the 2000 a few days before I tasted this, and it remains one of the best years they have produced. 2015 is also among the best years. The favorites for Sara Pérez are 2009, 2013, 2015 and 2017. 12,000 bottles were filled in April 2017.

Wine Advocate (96)

The flagship 2018 Clos Martinet is the wine that started it all and is still a blend of Garnacha (Tinta and Peluda), Syrah, Cariñena, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Monastrell as it was since the beginning but now with a restrained 13.5% alcohol and higher acidity. Clos Martinet is a single five-hectare terraced vineyard planted with clonal material in 1986 on decomposed llicorella slate, iron and big rocks in the soil. The varieties are co-fermented depending on the date picked—at three different ripening times—in two concrete vats and 200-liter oak vats with indigenous yeast and whole clusters. The beginning and end of the élevage was in concrete, and in between they used 2,000- and 4,100-liter oak vats and some 20% in glass demijohn and amphorae. The wine is subtle and a bit shy, insinuating rather than in your face. There is a lot less ripeness than in the past. It's medium-bodied and fluid, fresh and balanced. This is a very elegant Clos Martinet. 11,070 bottles and some larger formats produced. It was bottled in June 2020.

Wine Advocate (95+)

A 60/40 blend of Garnacha and Cariñena from the vineyard that names the wine, the 2016 Planetes de Nin saw a similar vinification and aging as the 2017 I tasted next to it, so the differences found were only due to the vintage and the moment of harvest. This is a fresher vintage, with tantalizing aromas that are subtle and elegant, with notes of violets and red cherries, nuanced and ever-changing in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied and nicely textured, with very fine tannins and fine chalky minerality. 9,108 bottles were filled in April 2017.

Jancis Robinson (18.5)

100% Malvasía de Sitges. Organic viticulture. Hand-harvested. Gentle pressing. Fermented in stainless-steel vats and aged on its lees for 9 months with bâtonnage twice a month. Neither fined nor filtered. Tasted blind. Fabulous! It is a saline, linear wine with a lot of energy, depth and very serious too. Elegance, strength, minerality and a clear sensation of wet stones. Very long and precise. Umami sensation on the back palate. I am impressed with this wine. World class. (FC) 12.5%

Vinous (94)

The 2022 Régnié Haute-Ronze Mosaïque adds more complexity and mineralité to the aromatics compared to the regular cuvée. As I've said before, this is as good as any Régnié you will find. The palate is beautifully balanced with sculpted, fine tannins that frame the mineral-rich, spice-laced dark berry fruit. Long and tender on the finish, this is a wine that you will finish to the bottom of the bottle and then demand a second. Brilliant.

The exquisite Raventós i Blanc Mas del Serral 2009, a sparkling wine of exceptional complexity and grace, hails from Catalonia, Spain. Crafted by the renowned Raventós i Blanc, a winemaking dynasty dating back to 1497, this wine exemplifies perfection with three years of lees ageing and a further six years of bottle ageing. Expertly sculpted from a blend of Xarel·lo and Parellada grapes delicately harvested from the prized Mas del Serral vineyard, it oscillates between freshness and maturity.

Perfect acidity and fine bubbles introduce an amalgamation of bright citrus notes balanced with aged honey undertones, culminating in a lingering, nuanced finish. A glorious testament to the terroir, the Raventós i Blanc Mas del Serral 2009 effectively captures the minerality of the limestone-rich soils of the 12-hectare estate. Unquestionably, it stands among the premier Catalan sparkling wines.

Wine Advocate (98)

The flagship 2018 Clos Mogador is a blend of 45% Garnacha, 29% Cariñena, 16% Syrah and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon that fermented with natural yeasts and showcases their philosophy—slow fermentations with long maceration and long aging. It matured for 18 months in 2,000-liter oak vats and 30% in 300-liter oak barrels. There was a lot of rain in 2018, and the vineyards were extremely happy and everything seemed very easy; in fact, René Barbier told me it was perhaps too easy... It's an atypical year: It has a gentle profile, and the wines are not as concentrated as those from 2013 (the last rainy year before 2018)—they are more elegant and nuanced. This should develop beautifully in bottle. 27,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2020.

Wine Advocate (95+)

Similar to the Dits del Terra but from a north-facing slope, the 2013 Arbossar is pure Cariñena from an ancient vineyard planted around 90 years ago, and it is always a fresher and more floral style of Cariñena, matured in a Stockinger foudre for some 16 months. I already tasted an unbottled sample last year and it showed great, lively, very red fruit-driven, electric and full of flowers and minerals, and the bottled version has delivered as expected. It's a bright ruby colored red, which is always fragrant and perfumed, more feminine than the Dits del Terra, which is the comparison because both vineyards are in Torroja and the wines share the same price range. The nose reveals bright red fruit, and feels fresher than the 2014. The tannins are ultra-sleek, really elegant and balanced. This is a superb, elegant and fresh Cariñena, without any rusticity. Super! 4,669 bottles were filled in August 2015.

Wine Advocate (95)

The south-facing Cariñena vineyard used for the 2018 Dits del Terra is worked biodynamically and is in the process of being certified organic. The grapes fermented in concrete with indigenous yeasts, and the wine matured in 50% oak foudre and 50% in concrete. The 2019 will be 100% concrete. You can immediately notice the cooler year and the longer ripening cycle here compared with the 2017; there is more depth here, and the quality of the tannins is completely different and provide for a more elegant mouthfeel. The oak is neatly integrated and folded into the structure of the wine. It comes through as medium-bodied, powerful and elegant. It should develop nicely in bottle. 2,006 bottles were filled in September 2020.

Wine Advocate (98)

Already bottled in June 2016, slightly earlier as it usually spends two years in foudre to avoid excessive fatigue because of too much oxygen in the wine, the 2014 Les Tosses is pure Cariñena from an old vineyard on slate soils at some 650 meters altitude. There is none of the rusticity I often link to the grape, this is extremely floral and perfumed, with plenty of violets, a little earthy too. The palate is extremely balanced, and I don't remember tannins as elegant as these in a Cariñena before. There is length, freshness and a very, very long finish. This might very well be the best vintage of Les Tosses so far. This wine feels very young and it's a bit shy, but giving it time it is just amazing. It should be much better with a little more time in bottle. If you decide to pull the cork soon, make sure you give it some time to breathe. There are 1,946 bottles produced. The vineyard is almost two hectares, and Dominik Huber only used part of it for this bottling, and the rest goes to Torroja. But, his idea is to increase the volume so he'll take longer to sell this vintage so he can keep the wine for one year longer in bottle before selling it. Smart thinking...

Vinous (86-88)

The 2019 Moulin-à-Vent Vieilles Vignes was reduced by 60% in quantity by frost. A mix of six parcels with 40% whole cluster, it offers quite earthy red berry fruit on the nose. The palate is medium-bodied with fleshy red fruit, fine grip and sour cherry toward the finish. Give this a year in bottle.

James Suckling (95)

Wow. A glorious chardonnay that I have been admiring for decades. It’s full-bodied with layers of ripe apple, hints of white peach and nougat and vanilla undertones. Creamy. It’s full-bodied and gorgeous all the way through. Drink or hold.