Wine Advocate (96)

The 2018 Riesling Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese *** (White Capsule) is bright and intense on the very elegant and refined yet aromatic and super ripe but elegant nose. On the palate, this is a rich and powerful, very intense and concentrated Riesling with a tight structure and a massive yet still not finessed or stimulating finish. The wine has remarkable finesse and salinity, yet it is still somewhat massive and square to really simulate. Never mind, the wine has time. Tasted at the domain in September 2020.

Vinous (91)

Opaque ruby. Oak-spice-accented red and blue fruits, vanilla, roasted coffee and a hint of smokiness on the perfumed nose. Supple and expansive in the mouth, offering concentrated black raspberry and cherry-vanilla flavors that turn sweeter with air. The vanilla and cherry notes linger on the sweet, persistent finish, which is shaped by supple, harmonious tannins. Definitely showing its oak right now, but there's plenty of fruit to back it up.

Tim Atkin MW (94)

Fresh, serious, stylish and well balanced, this is a delightful 2015, with no sign of the heat of the vintage.

Vinous (95)

Inky ruby. A deeply perfumed bouquet evokes ripe red and dark berries, Moroccan spices and floral pastilles, along with suggestions of cola, licorice and smoky minerals. Shows a suave blend of depth and energy to the sharply focused black raspberry, cherry vanilla, star anise and candied violet flavors, which deepen and become sweeter with aeration. Well-knit tannins add grip to a penetrating finish that leaves behind notes of dark berry preserves and spicecake.

Vinous (94-96)

The 2018 Eneo is pure and total class. Dark, resonant and super-expressive, the 2018 boasts terrific personality and class, with striking inner perfume that adds sweetness and aromatic intensity to a core of inky fruit. Lavender, mint, pine and sage are some of the many nuances that come alive with a bit of time in the glass. More than anything else, it is the wine's creaminess and overall feel that are so alluring today.

Wine Spectator (95)

Features a focused beam of black currant, black cherry, plum and spice flavors. Herbal and vanilla accents add complexity as this winds down on the lingering aftertaste, with elements of Mediterranean scrub. Displays an engaging texture and harmony despite the youthful exuberance. Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2023 through 2045. 250 cases made.

Vinous (97)

The 2016 Nardo is distinguished by a whole range of floral, savory and blood orange notes that give the wine striking aromatic brightness and perfume. Powerful and dense on the palate, with tremendous structure, the 2016 is incredibly racy today. Even with all of its richness, Nardo remains so precise and finely cut, with a real sense of saline-infused energy that drives the flavors. It is simply stunning. Wow!

Vinous (96)

Proprietor Fabio Chiarelotto and longtime winemaker Fabrizio Moltard ratchet things up with their stellar 2018 Nardo. Super-ripe black cherry, plum, gravel, spice, underbrush, menthol, licorice and scorched earth give the 2018 its distinct, sepia-toned personality. Dark and brooding in the glass, with imposing tannins, the 2018 is a flat-out stunner. Give it a few years in bottle first. Nardo is built around a core of Sangiovese, with Montepulciano, Alicante and Malvasia Nera. Chiarelotto has reduced the presence of Montepulciano in the blend. If the 2018 is any indication, that choice looks to be spot on.

James Suckling (94)

A smoky syrah with blackberry leaf, dark chocolate, earth, black olives, tobacco and blackberry compote. Full-bodied and intense with chewy tannins, but showing edgy acidity and a long finish.

Wine Advocate (93)

The 2013 Blaufränkisch Burgenland Reserve is sourced from limestone soils and was bottled July 2015 (thus eight months longer in barrels than the regular Blaufränkisch). With a dark cherry color, the wine opens with an intense and ripe, lovely spicy dark ripe cherry flavor and a touch of cassis. Intense and more meaty on the palate than the more crystalline and charming regular 2013 Blaufränkisch, this is a full-bodied, fruit-intense, fleshy and more tannic but fresh and still pure red with a spicy finish. It should age for at least 4 or 5 years, and be matched with braised meat and red cabbage with spices like cloves and pimento. The finish is juicy and intense and the tannins become finer and finer the more aeration the wines gets. The purity and silkiness from the limestone soils shine through better now. This is still a completely introverted wine at the moment but – perhaps – the bigger, more structured and masculine Blaufränkisch next to the the "regular" one with more mealy tannins.

James Suckling (97)

This marries violets, blueberries and darker cherries in a very pure and composed style with gentle bracken and sappy allure. The palate has a succulent, juicy and very fresh feel with neatly carved, fine tannin that holds long, direct and deep. Such regal depth and savory tannin resolve. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

Jancis Robinson (18.5)

‘An exceptional year’, with a dry winter, fresh spring, good flowering. Mild summer with a cloudy July and August, and a hot, sunny September. Bright garnet. Pale rim. Broad and rich with a minty note. More mainstream than many in terms of its build and flavours. Still evolving but beautifully balanced. Lots of energy and transparency. No heaviness at all. Rich but lifted. Already gorgeous but there are tannins behind the exotic fruit and brilliant freshness. Still quite youthful.

Wine Advocate (89)

The 1991 Vintage Port is flattering and precocious for its vintage. It offers generous levels of sweet black fruits, full body, a velvety, supple texture, and a fine finish. Drink it over the next 20 years.

Wine Spectator (90)

This builds on your palate into super, well-constructed, balanced Port. Wonderful floral and fruit aromas, like walking into a lovely florist shop. Full in body, medium-sweet, loads of tannins and long, peppery, fruity finish. Give it time. Best after 2002. -JS

Greg Sherwood MW (97-99)

This lovely signature Niepoort 2019 vintage Port apparently has higher tannins than the famed 2017, but at this youthful stage, it is hard to comprehend this with its rich, accessible, voluptuous layers of silky, juicy soft black fruits. Benchmark certainly, a notable success – absolutely. The aromatics are so much more important than the palate flavours at this early blending phase (according to Dirk) and this enticing 2019 shows attractive notes of sweet sun ripened black berry fruits, hints of creamy molasses, savoury black stewed winter orchard fruits and a dusty, stony, smoked cigars complexity. Beautifully silky, supple and textured, there is also a fine, stony, grippy mineral tannin mouthfeel that lends a wonderful frame for the juicy blue and black berry fruit finery to be displayed. Fabulously drinkable, deliciously fresh and vibrant, but eminently bold and characterful, this is certainly another very accomplished wine from the House of Niepoort. (Residual Sugar: 88 g/l RS)

Each case contains:

1 x 75cl Oddero Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda 2014 | 98 pts WE, 95+ pts VN, 95 pts WA

2 x 75cl Oddero Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda 2013 | 97 pts WE, 96 pts VN, 96 pts WA

1 x 75cl Oddero Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda 2012 | 97 pts WE, 94 pts VN

1 x 75cl Oddero Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda 2011 | 95+ pts WA

1 x 75cl Oddero Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda 2009 | 96 pts WA

The 2016 Palmer Historical XIX, a vintage now widely recognised as one of the greatest vintages in modern times in both Bordeaux and the Rhône Valley. Jancis Robinson suggests that 2016 is “the best Bordeaux vintage I will probably ever taste” across her extensive career as a Master of Wine.

Château Palmer was the pinnacle of success in 2016 achieving four perfect 100-point scores, giving Bordeaux collector’s even more reason than normal to eagerly add this sought-after wine to their collection.

This wine offers a rare, unique and fascinating historical insight into the history of Bordeaux. It is a collector’s gem, with around 4,500 bottles made.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

Lastly, and a legendary wine in the making, the 2015 Hermitage La Chapelle is reminiscent of the 1990 with its full-bodied, opulently, sexy, yet concentrated style. Offering sensational notes of blackcurrants, smoked herbs, beef blood, and chocolate, it’s a huge yet elegant wine that has masses of sweet tannin, incredible purity and finesse, and a killer finish. It’s the finest wine from this estate in close to 30 years. Hats off to Caroline Frey and Jacques Desvernois!

James Suckling (97-98)

Very spicy and peppery with blue-granite aromas plus hints of grilled and smoked meat. Cloves and nutmeg. Full body, round and juicy tannins and a super spicy finish that almost burns with so much character yet turns fine and focused at the end. A beauty.

Jeb Dunnuck (99)

The 2017 Hermitage La Chapelle showed incredibly well and is a brilliant wine that's reminiscent of a richer, denser 2011. Loads of sun-kissed dark fruits, leather, graphite, and flowers, with ample spice and sandalwood nuances, give way to a full-bodied, pure, deep, multi-dimensional Hermitage that’s just about as good as it gets. The balance, length, and depth of this is something to behold, and while it unquestionably offers pleasure today, it has another 20-30 years of prime drinking ahead of it.

Wine Advocate (98-100)

Jaboulet's 2018 Hermitage La Chapelle features scents of crushed stone, violets and cassis. It's a classic trio, backed by a wine that's full-bodied, rich and powerful yet also airy, somehow carrying intense plum and black olive flavors without any sense of heaviness or excess weight. Then the wine finishes long and softly dusty, with tannins that accentuate its savory character, picking up delicious hints of licorice at the very end. The proportion of new oak has been trimmed back to a very reasonable 20% and is hardly noticeable in the wine.

Matthew Jukes (20++)

Like La Maison Bleue, La Chapelle barely moved an inch over the five days that it sat open (and gradually oxidising) on my tasting bench. This is a monumental wine with the finest Syrah nose I have seen since the ethereal and intriguing beauty of the remarkable 2016 vintage and also the monolithic stance of the legendary 1990. However, this is not to say that this vintage can be directly compared to either year. There is a latent power about this wine that is as elusive as it is impressive. This solaire vintage has certainly given La Chapelle a sense of foreboding power and yet there is so much grace here, too. You could be sniffing a handful of granite and gravel, a bouquet of freshly picked herbs, a mortar of freshly ground pepper or a punnet of juicy black fruit and yet there is so much more to discover here. What I find so remarkable about this wine is that it does not show any trace of over-ripeness nor does it have any unwanted oiliness or excessive alcohol. In spite of its richness and depth, this is a pristinely refreshing wine with crunch and crackle of filigree tannin which enlivens every sip. In this regard, it is a far less obvious superstar than the preening 1990 and it is a more erudite and statuesque model than the esoteric 2016. In short, this is one of only a handful of vintages of La Chapelle to which I have awarded a perfect score and who is to say that this will not happen again before too long? The care and attention in this entire portfolio of wines are evident and the hard work and holistic approach are not only paying off in the vineyards but also in the glass, too, and this makes 2019 another phenomenally successful vintage for Jaboulet.

Matthew Jukes (20++)

Like La Maison Bleue, La Chapelle barely moved an inch over the five days that it sat open (and gradually oxidising) on my tasting bench. This is a monumental wine with the finest Syrah nose I have seen since the ethereal and intriguing beauty of the remarkable 2016 vintage and also the monolithic stance of the legendary 1990. However, this is not to say that this vintage can be directly compared to either year. There is a latent power about this wine that is as elusive as it is impressive. This solaire vintage has certainly given La Chapelle a sense of foreboding power and yet there is so much grace here, too. You could be sniffing a handful of granite and gravel, a bouquet of freshly picked herbs, a mortar of freshly ground pepper or a punnet of juicy black fruit and yet there is so much more to discover here. What I find so remarkable about this wine is that it does not show any trace of over-ripeness nor does it have any unwanted oiliness or excessive alcohol. In spite of its richness and depth, this is a pristinely refreshing wine with crunch and crackle of filigree tannin which enlivens every sip. In this regard, it is a far less obvious superstar than the preening 1990 and it is a more erudite and statuesque model than the esoteric 2016. In short, this is one of only a handful of vintages of La Chapelle to which I have awarded a perfect score and who is to say that this will not happen again before too long? The care and attention in this entire portfolio of wines are evident and the hard work and holistic approach are not only paying off in the vineyards but also in the glass, too, and this makes 2019 another phenomenally successful vintage for Jaboulet.

Matthew Jukes (19+)

While there are faint roasted coffee bean notes here, which hint at the warm summer, and exotic rose and musk characters that only ever emerge in concentrated vintages, this is a masterclass in restraint and self-awareness. While this 2020 perhaps lacks the overall gravitas and high-rise tannins of the majestic 2019 vintage, this is a very seductive La Chapelle and one that will appeal to lovers of textural, velvety Syrahs. I am certain that everyone who drinks this wine will fall for its charms.

Vinous (94)

Inky violet color. Deeply pitched cherry, blueberry, licorice and candied violet aromas are complemented by hints of baking spices, incense and smoky minerals. Succulent and penetrating on the palate, offering deeply concentrated black/blue fruit, spice and floral pastille flavors that become more energetic as the wine slowly stretches out. Weighty and broad yet lively as well, finishing with sharp delineation, mounting tannins and outstanding, floral- and mineral-driven persistence.

Matthew Jukes (19++)

I fell for this wine in a microsecond – the very moment the first molecule of perfume exploded on my receptors. This is a step-change vintage for La Maison Bleue because I have not seen this degree of single-mindedness and overriding intention before in this wine. 2019 La Maison Bleue seems as if it has realised that it does not need to sit behind La Chapelle in Caroline Frey’s portfolio. It signals, loud and clear, that it ought to be seated alongside its more renowned stablemate and be accorded the opportunity to address the masses as an equal, not a subordinate. This is a bold move from this honed, sleek wine. In 2019, with just that little bit more power and ambition under its belt, it has broken free and it looks absolutely sensational. The fruit is regal and layered and the tannins are precision-cut and perfectly positioned making it every inch a superstar. By the end of day five of my tasting these amazing wines, La Maison Bleue seemed as if it were saying, let’s keep going! While this is a ‘finished barrel sample’, this wine wanted to be tested to its limits and I cannot fault its enthusiasm and excellence. You simply must track it down!