James Suckling (99)

Amazing aromas of sweet uncooked pie crust with almonds. Then you smell dried apples, apricots and pineapple. Grilled fruits, too. Full-bodied. So tangy and energetic with sizzling acidity and creamy tannins. Flavorful and lightly oxidized at the finish. Smacking my lips. Agile. Ginger and spices. A touch of bitter complexity with some salinity. Extreme character that grabs your attention. 13 years and six months aging on the lees with cork. 3 grams dosage. 71% pinot noir and 29% chardonnay. Don’t serve too cold. Drink or hold.

Wine Advocate (100)

Disgorged in September 2020 with four grams per liter dosage, Bollinger's 2008 Blanc de Noirs Vieilles Vignes Françaises is one of the monumental wines of this great vintage. Soaring from the glass with a generous, honeyed bouquet of pear, orange rind, dried fruits, mocha and toasted bread, it's full-bodied, textural and enveloping, with huge concentration, racy acids and a pillowy mousse. Vinous, rich and sumptuous, it concludes with an immensely long, resonant finish. Bollinger waited until the grapes of these ungrafted vines attained 11% potential alcohol before harvesting, and they have produced the most powerful wine of the vintage—as well as one of the most profound.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (93)

The 2014 Bonalgue is ripe, racy and voluptuous, all of which make it pretty hard to resist. Dark red cherry, espresso, grilled herbs, French oak and menthol caress the palate. All the elements have come together beautifully in this overt, flamboyant yet midweight Pomerol. Silky tannins add to the wine’s early and medium-term appeal. Another year or two in bottle should help the oak integrate a bit further, but this will always be in a forward, giving style. Tasted two times.

Halliday Wine Companion (99)

Pale straw-green - an extraordinary colour of an extraordinary wine. A fragrant bouquet floats out of the glass and introduces a palate that has the best of all worlds: lemon, lemon curd, beeswax and fruit spice with no hint of the searing acidity Hunter Valley semillon can throw at the unwary. Here it is perfectly (and naturally) balanced. A worthy companion to the sublime Graveyard Shiraz '18.

Wine Advocate (96+)

Brovia’s Serralunga Barolo, the 2008 Barolo Ca’ Mia, saturates every corner of the palate. Dark fruit, smoke, melted road tar, graphite and incense wrap around the palate in this dramatic large-scaled Barolo. Even more promising than it was right after bottling, the 2008 impresses for its spherical personality and towering class. Serralunga is, of course, best known for producing powerful wines, but Brovia’s Ca’Mia is just as remarkable for its superb finesse and elegance. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2040.

Wine Advocate (96)

Brovia’s 2008 Barolo Garblet Sue’ bursts from the glass with a heady array of black fruit, smoke, incense and licorice. The Garblet Sue’, from the Bricco Fiasco vineyard in Castiglione, is usually a much more linear, tense Barolo, but in 2008 the wine has gorgeous inner perfume allied to a level of pure juiciness that rounds out some of the rough edges that are at times present in this bottling. A huge finish laced with iron, asphalt and crushed rocks rounds things out in style. This is a super-classic Barolo from Brovia. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2040.

Wine Advocate (93+)

Here's an interesting expression from Alex Sanchez and Elena and Cristina Brovia in Castiglione Falletto. The 2014 Barolo Unìo opens to a dark color tonality and an immediately velvety texture. The bouquet is brimming with dark fruit aromas spanning from Morello cherry to bitter currant. Spice, tar, cola and balsam herb fill in the background evenly and with harmony. This is a well-balanced wine from the 2014 vintage that shows impressive integrity across all the senses. Some 24,000 bottles were produced.

Wine Advocate (93+)

Here's an interesting expression from Alex Sanchez and Elena and Cristina Brovia in Castiglione Falletto. The 2014 Barolo Unìo opens to a dark color tonality and an immediately velvety texture. The bouquet is brimming with dark fruit aromas spanning from Morello cherry to bitter currant. Spice, tar, cola and balsam herb fill in the background evenly and with harmony. This is a well-balanced wine from the 2014 vintage that shows impressive integrity across all the senses. Some 24,000 bottles were produced.

James Suckling (99)

Incredible aromas of violets, roses and blue fruits. So perfumed. Never smelled a wine like this before. Full body, perfectly integrated tannins and bright, vivid acidity. Extremely long and endless. A seamless and great one. An evocative wine that makes you think. Needs three to five years of bottle age on release. Unique red. Available in 2019.

Vinous (96)

The 2014 Barbaresco Rabajà is gorgeous. Powerful and explosive, the 2014 possesses stunning depth and intensity in all of its dimensions. Spice, menthol and orange peel give the 2014 a level of exoticism that is compelling, while beams of searing tannin announce the presence and pedigree of Rabajà. Intense, tannic and yet also very precise, with soaring structure and terrific persistence, the 2014 Rabajà is the best wine the Bruno Giacosa estate has made in many years.

Wine Advocate (87)

The 2008 Barbaresco Santo Stefano has the same color the 1987 had when it was 20 years old, which is to say almost rose colored. I don’t think the 2008 will make its 20th birthday, however. This is a light, translucent, fleeting wine with very little fruit and body. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2016.

James Suckling (96)

Impressive fresh leather-clad red cherries with a subtle earthiness in the background. Quite pure. Floral and aromatic. The palate has a very elegant yet powerful core of blueberries and cherries. A smooth release of fruit sweetness into the fresh and vibrant finish. Elegant and classic. More open than normal. Impressive now but better from 2022.

James Suckling (98)

The aromas are so seductive with dried roses and berries. Tar and asphalt, too. Full bodied, very tight and powerful. Lean and long tannins. It goes on for so long. Stops and then starts over again. A curious and challenging young wine. Great. In the market in 2020. Better in 2026.

Vinous (95)

The 2008 Extra Brut N.P.U. Nec Plus Ultra is a brilliant, taut Champagne. The combination of vintage and the extra brut style favored a Paillard that yields a young Champagne that is quite austere. It will be interesting to see if the 2008 fills out with time in bottle. Today it is piercing in its intensity. Disgorged: April, 2019.

Exuding grace and sophistication, the Butte Bourgueil Mi Pente 2014 is an exquisite testament to traditional French winemaking. Allied with the finest Cabernet Franc grapes handpicked from the sun-kissed hills of Bourgueil in the Loire Valley, this wine is a marvel of nature and human ingenuity. Accurate craftsmanship by the astute vintner produces its signature medium-bodied elegance accompanied by intriguingly complex flavours.

Following the classic Bourgueil style, it is carefully aged for up to 24 months in wooden oak barrels to craft a remarkable bouquet providing a harmonious blend of rich dark fruits and an underlying subtly of earthy undertones. Finely balanced acidity and supple tannins add to its impressively long finish, promising prolonged pleasure.

Butte Bourgueil Mi Pente 2014 indeed captures the essence of the region and the unrivalled skills of its producer. A distinguished selection, it caters to the sophisticated palate of the discerning, experienced wine aficionado.

Decanter (96)

A village wine in the Priorat classification, taken from five parcels of very old vines at different elevations and slopes in Gratallops. Fermented in open-top 225L barrels and aged in French new oak. In a vertical of 2017, 2014 and 2012, the 2014 shone: very dark fruit, a powerful impression, then a delicious lift of orange zest, fresh herbs, eucalyptus. Wonderfully complex. Textured, with fine grain and a long, satisfying finish. Drinking Window 2021 - 2027

The very high quality of ageing vessel gives an elegant interpretation of Caol Ila's classic peat. Medicinal and iodine are the predominant scents that fit well into the whole aromatic structure that supports and accompanies it. Tones of medicinal herbs, vanilla, leather in the background and licorice complete it and make it complex enough to let us fly with imagination. Just 161 bottles filled from a single cask at 45% ABV.

A single cask Islay malt matured in undersized ex-Bourbon barrels previously used to mature Bourbon whiskey at the Koval Distillery, showcasing Caol Ila’s classic oily maritime qualities with aromas of sweet, earthy peat, sea breeze and iodine alongside pungent, warming spices evoking cinnamon, cumin, smoked pepper and cardamom. A finish laced with eucalyptus and dried mint makes for a restrained, finessed Islay with a long, dynamic finish. Bottled at a natural cask strength of 58.1% without colouring or filtration.

The second bottling from the Stewart Whisky Company in their Stiùbhart Single Cask selection, released in March 2021 at 13 years of age in a limited run of just 132 bottles.

Vinous ()

The 2014 Barolo Barolo Rupestris is a very pretty, fragrant wine. In this vintage, the Rupestris is a bit more ethereal than it usually is, and yet there is a lovely underpinning of structure that gives the wine its shape. Beautifully perfumed and gracious, the 2014 Rupestris opens with enticing scents of sweet tobacco, mint, dried herbs, orange peel, dried cherry, cedar and rose petal. The 2014 should drink well with minimal cellaring, but I expect it will also age gracefully while retaining its somewhat delicate feel.

Wine Spectator (95)

A complex bouquet of smoky cherry, plum, iron, leather and spice is enticing, while the supple texture is laden with fading fruit, spice, sanguine and tobacco flavors. Lively and long, it firms up on the finish, where the fruit and savory elements converge. Drink now through 2033.

Vinous (94)

Cecilia Monte's 2014 Barbaresco Serracapelli is a wine of pure and total refinement. Lifted and gracious on the palate, the 2014 is wonderfully energetic from start to finish. Beams of supporting acidity and tannin give the wine a nervous, edgy feel that will soften with bottle age. Orange peel, exotic spice, tobacco, cedar and amaro herbs add an intriguing upper register of aromatics to this mid-weight, classically proportioned Barbaresco. Cecilia Monte's Barbaresco Serracapelli is one of the dark horses of the vintage.

James Suckling (98)

An amazing 2008 rosé Champagne that has all the structure and aromatic complexity - sushi ginger, oolong tea and caramelized mandarin orange - we associate with this vintage, but also has more charm than most. On the palate, this has stunning concentration, yet is diamond bright. The interplay of creaminess, fine tannins and mineral acidity builds and builds at the breathtaking finish. The color comes from about 7% pinot noir red wine, partly from the little-known Les Riceys in the far south of Champagne. Drink or hold.

James Suckling (97)

A white with beautiful density and bright fruit. Full body and bright acidity. Very long, tight and strong at the end. Muscular. This ages in a combination of large and small barrels. Pure sauvignon. First white from the team at Cheval Blanc. Made across the street. Sold in three-bottle cases.

Wine Advocate (92+)

Like the other wines I tasted from Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona this year, I am surprised by the soft ripeness achieved in the 2014 Brunello di Montalcino. This was a cool and soggy vintage so those dark and sweet fruit flavors are counterintuitive. However, they elevate the wine to a higher intensity threshold and a more profound flavor profile. The wine offers enough crisp acidity and tannic firmness to hold it tightly together at this young stage in its lifespan. Some 60,000 bottles were released.

The Wine Independent (99)

The 2014 IX Estate is deep garnet-black in color. Scents of creme de cassis, plum preserves, and blackberry pie jump from the glass, followed by suggestions of incense, iron ore, and camphor with a waft of dark chocolate and Morello cherries coming through after a few moments. The medium to full-bodied palate is vibrant and refreshing, thrumming with mineral-sparked energy and supported by firm, grainy tannins, finishing very long and earthy.

Wine Advocate (96)

The 2014 Musigny Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru has a very intense, cold stone and blackberry scented bouquet, moving towards subtle marine like aromas (oyster shells, Crustacea) with time. There is just wonderful precision here. The palate is medium-bodied with a gentle grip in the mouth, firm backbone, a slightly more masculine Musigny with just a hint of savoriness towards the long finish. This is showing great personality even at this early juncture, although of course, it will not even consider reaching its drinking plateau without 8-10 years in bottle. I suspect this Musigny will only gradually open. Tasted November 2016.

James Suckling (98)

If you want to know what St.-Estèphe smells like, this is it. Aromas of spices, black truffles, forest floor, dried strawberries and tar. It’s full-bodied yet pinpointed on the palate with fabulous density and richness. It’s opulent but in a reserved and checked way. This needs at least five or six years to come around, but it’s already fantastic. What harmony and structure. Try in 2022 if you can keep your hands off it!

Vinous (94)

Shimmering ruby-red. An intensely perfumed nose displays cherry cola, cassis, licorice and smoky oak; floral and vanilla qualities emerge in the glass. Juicy, penetrating red and dark fruit flavors are given spine by a core of tangy acidity, and bitter chocolate, candied rose and spicecake nuances develop with air. Gently gripping tannins add shape to an impressively long, incisive finish that leaves more vanilla and cherry notes behind. Raised for 22 months in a combination of French and American oak barrels.