Vinous (92)

The NV Brut Cuvée Ste.-Anne is one of the best Champagnes readers will find in its price range, or any price range, for that matter. Bright and beautifully focused, the Ste.-Anne has so much to offer. The purity of the flavors is just remarkable. If anything, it needs more time on the cork to soften, as it is quite reticent at this stage. This release is based on 2017, with reserve wines from 2016 and 2015. The blend is 40% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay and 20% Meunier, with the Chardonnay very much in evidence at this stage. Dosage is 5.15 grams/liter. Disgorged: February, 2020.

Wine Spectator (96)

Exuding cherry, strawberry, floral and tobacco aromas and flavors, this effusive, fruity style is bright and elegant, with terrific harmony and a long, mouthwatering finish that leaves a mineral impression. Very compelling. Best from 2020 through 2036.

Wine Enthusiast (98)

Wild berry, fragrant purple flower and crushed herb aromas mingle with whiffs of tilled earth and new leather in this dazzling red. The stunning, savory palate boasts remarkable finesse combined with an ageworthy structure, offering succulent black cherry, raspberry compote, licorice and tobacco alongside taut, refined tannins. It's impeccably balanced by bright acidity. It's already tempting, but hold for even more complexity.

Wine Enthusiast (98)

Wild berry, fragrant purple flower and crushed herb aromas mingle with whiffs of tilled earth and new leather in this dazzling red. The stunning, savory palate boasts remarkable finesse combined with an ageworthy structure, offering succulent black cherry, raspberry compote, licorice and tobacco alongside taut, refined tannins. It's impeccably balanced by bright acidity. It's already tempting, but hold for even more complexity.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (90-93)

The 2013 Clinet is terrific. Dark red and blue fruits, new leather, violets, menthol and sweet spices meld together in a wine of rare distinction for the year. This is one of the more pliant, expressive 2013s readers will come across. The finish is long, silky and polished. The oak needs time to fully integrated, but I don't think that is going to be a problem. This is a terrific showing.

Vinous (94+)

Pale, bright lemon-yellow. Flamboyant orange zest and stone aromas come across as a bit more exotic than those of the Genevrières. On the palate, the wine's creamy soft citrus fruit is energized by powerful sappy minerality. There's great stuffing here but this very long, palate-staining wine will need time in bottle.

Vinous (96)

The 2013 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio al Vento is coy at first, brooding, with dark dusty florals, exotic spices and a hint of brown sugar; yet time in the glass allows it to blossom and show its inner beauty, as wave after wave of crushed strawberry, cherry and sweet violets lifts from the glass. On the palate, soft textures envelop the senses in sweet and savory red berry fruits, so silky and refined, as it seems to hover weightlessly, while saline minerals and youthful tannins begin to saturate all that they touch. The finish is long and structured, closing in upon itself, tugging at the cheek and reminding me that this wine is just a baby today. Simply stunning, yet in need of five to ten years of cellaring to show its best. Wow.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

An absolute beast of a wine, the 2013 Ix Estate checks in as a mix of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot that’s all from the estate located at the top of Pritchard Hill. Still a primordial wine that reminds me of a barrel sample, its vivid, saturated purple color is followed by an incredible bouquet of black and blue fruits, graphite, spring flowers, and scorched earth. With a deep, full-bodied, massive mid-palate, background oak, and beautiful purity and freshness, it’s a tour de force and may be the most massive yet perfectly balanced wine I’ve ever tasted. It’s incredible today in an academic sort of way, but it won’t start to hit maturity for at least another decade. Hats off to superstar winemaker Allison Tauziet who, in this critic’s opinion, fashions some of the most profound and captivating wines on the planet!

Jancis Robinson (19)

I bowed to this bottle. Very deep ruby. Lovely savour. Bones and richness on the end with dry finish. Much, much more grown-up than the Iona. Precise and fresh. Really expressive and gorgeous. Long and stunning now. Bone-dry end.

James Suckling (99)

Impressive purity of fruit and definition with black currant, oyster shell, blueberries and slate. Graphite too. Very complex yet subtle. Full-bodied, very chewy and powerful yet polished and gorgeous. Muscular, well-formed tannins. Electric style. Best ever from here. Drink in 2020.

Nestled in the rich Southern McLaren Vale region, the Coriole Lloyd Reserve Shiraz 2013 is an exquisite embodiment of Australian excellence. This pre-eminent Shiraz, crafted by prominent winemaker Coriole Vineyards, charms with a bold, full-bodied profile encapsulating intense fruit flavours dappled with notes of savoury spice and dark chocolate. Each grape is attentively selected from the oldest vineyard plantings, dating back to 1919, ensuring a superior quality yield. The meticulous fermentation process in open-top vessels, followed by ageing in French oak barrels, bestow a distinguished depth and complexity that leaves a lingering palate impression.

Bearing the name of the Lloyd family, who established Coriole in 1967, the Coriole Lloyd Reserve Shiraz 2013 carries a legacy mirrored in its striking character and robust structure. Unquestionably, it's a testament to Coriole’s enduring commitment to create wines that captivate with their elegance and remarkable drinking pleasure.

Jancis Robinson (17.5)

Superb. The acidity is geometric, triangular, feisty, orange-blossom fragrant, direct. The fruit is orange and passion fruit bleeding into plums and tea leaves and sage and mint and thyme and scribbles of pencils and late-summer nights and the finish is like walking through a just-harvested hay field when the first cool rain of autumn is falling soft as mist. Love this. It's delicious, delicious, delicious. I tasted it right at the end of a very long tasting – seven hours on my feet – and it quite literally revived my flagging soul.

Jancis Robinson (17.5)

Succulent, polished fruit in beautiful balance. This is enough to inspire a rash of multi-vintage blends, no? Walter may disapprove of the incursion of those Bordeaux grapes but it's a really lovely drink, grown, presumably, not that far from Tenuta del Trinoro. Very long and nuanced. Beautiful texture and freshness. Lip smacking! How wonderful to find this under £20 a bottle. No prizes for label design but I'd much rather all the effort went into making a lovely (and ready) drink. Not a wine for long keeping. Just drink it. Very good value.

English critic Matthew Jukes has declared that Lionel's wines are 'worth their weight in gold', and we certainly think that is the case with this Cupano Vino Rosso 4th Edition NV. This is made from a blend of barrels that taste excellent but do not feel ready in time when Cupano blended their Montalcino releases so they were left aside. Instead of waiting to use it for a Brunello that might disrupt the usual annual releases of the estate wines, it has instead become a upmarket 'vin de copains' - wine for friends.

 

This 4th Edition comes from the 2018 and 2019 vintages and is made from 80% Sangiovese that would normally be used in their Brunello di Montalcino or Rosso di Montalcino and 20% Merlot that would usually be used in their superb Super Tuscan Ombrone. With the power on the nose and palate that Cupano is usually associated with, this shows all the wonderful Sangiovese character one could want without the oak that a young Brunello would show.

waiting to use it for a Brunello that might disrupt the usual annual releases of the estate wines, it has instead become a upmarket 'vin de copains' - wine for friends.

 

For each new Vino Rosso release, famous french artist Gerard Fromanger paints a special new label and this 4th edition is the most impressive yet. While production has been upped from the last release, this 4th Edition is still made in tiny quantities with only 830 six packs made.

A unique multi-vintage blend of Brunello di Montalcino from barrels that were not ready when they first bottled the 2015 and 2016, with the addition of some 2018 to add freshness. This is a minute release of just 150 cases.

Wonderfully captivating flavours of Brunello, always very approachable and utterly delicious, with warm sun-baked aromas and lovely smooth developed finish. In fact, This is just like drinking mature Brunello di Montalcino. The palate is velvety with taut, finely-knit tannins. Precise, ripe plum fruit with Italian warmth and refined spiciness, with elegance and lift on the finish.

Wine Advocate (98)

The 2013 Amarone della Valpolicella Monte Lodoletta is my favorite wine in the retrospective, along with the amazing 2011, 2009 and 1996 vintages. This wine was released at the beginning of this year, and because Dal Forno skipped over the 2014 vintage, this is the only Amarone we will see for a while (until the highly anticipated 2015 is released). The 2013 vintage is characterized by a slightly more streamlined mouthfeel (which isn't saying much given the baseline enormity of these wines) with carefully etched aromas of black cherry, rum cake, dark chocolate and toasted espresso. The 2013 vintage was balanced overall without the sudden heat waves we saw in the summers of 2011 and 2012. The grapes finished a slow and steady ripening process over an extended growing season. The effect is graceful and focused. Put this bottle aside in your cellar for the decades to come.

Vinous (91)

Bright ruby-red. Lovely floral lift to the aromas of blackberry, blueberry, tobacco and licorice. Plush, very ripe aromas of medicinal black cherry, dark berries and licorice. An almost creamy style of Cabernet Franc but with a restrained sweetness. Not hugely deep but finishes with sneaky length. Ultimately more complex and gripping than the 2012 version.

Vinous (91+)

(15% alcohol): Bright medium ruby. Perfumed scents of blueberry, cassis, violet, pepper and licorice. Juicy, brisk and concentrated, with the dark berry and licorice flavors showing surprising energy and lift for the high alcohol. At once powerful and fine-grained, finishing with dusty, building tannins and lingering black fruit and violet perfume. This very young wine possesses a serious tannic spine for aging but is already nicely delineated. An excellent Syrah in a black fruit style. The tannins turn a bit dusty with aeration.

Wine Advocate (94)

One of the gems in the vintage is the 2013 Hermitage Domaine des Tourettes, which comes from both the Bessards and Grandes Vignes lieux-dits on Hermitage Hill. Completely destemmed, then vinified in stainless steel and concrete tanks, the wine is aged 18 months in 30% new French oak; it offers terrific notes of dark fruits, graphite and ample minerality in a full-bodied, layered, ripe profile. It’s more approachable than the Les Bessards, yet will still have three decades of longevity.

Vinous (93-96)

Bachelet's 2013 Charmes-Chambertin is striking. Translucent and pulsating in the glass, the 2013 possesses notable energy and fabulous overall balance. Dark red cherry, violet, leather and smoke gradually unfurl in a mysterious, beguiling Charmes that will provide fabulous drinking for many years.

James Suckling (98)

A driven and serious DP with aromas of chalk, biscuits, apricot stones and lemons. Some spice and dried flowers, too. So sleek and sophisticated. Elegant. Yet, it’s long and powerful, with a sharp minerality. Tight and precise. Reminds me of bottles from the 1980s, such as 1988. It really takes off. Disgorged October 2021. Drinkable on release in January 2023, but better in a couple of years. A DP for the cellar.

Revel in the luxury of the Domaine de Marzilly Champagne Ullens L.P.M NV, a prestigious creation from the renowned Côte des Bar region in France. This exquisite blanc de noirs embodies tradition and mastery, exclusively crafted from carefully selected Pinot Noir grapes. Brought to life by the meticulous savoir-faire of Domaine de Marzilly, a devoted producer recognised for their artful exploration of terroir-driven expression, this non-vintage champagne showcases an intense personality and superb structure.

The Champagne Ullens L.P.M NV undergoes intricate traditional method secondary fermentation and extended lees ageing, conferring complexity, texture and a distinguished brioche note to its vibrant fruit character. Notes of ripe apple, citrus zest, and subtle minerality marry harmoniously, crowned with a creamy mousse and a splendid finish.

Indulge in the opulence of Domaine de Marzilly Champagne Ullens L.P.M NV, a timeless reflection of the enchanting charisma of the exceptional Côte des Bar terroir.