Vinous - Antonio Galloni (96)

The 2016 Les Forts de Latour is the clear highlight among these new releases from Latour. The first thing that is evident about the 2016 is the pedigree of the vintage. Undisputedly great. Readers will find a potent, dark Forts de Latour endowed with massive concentration and tons of depth. The 2016 won't be ready to drink anytime soon, but it holds tons of promise. Hints of gravel, sage, licorice and pencil shavings linger. The 2016 was impressive a few years ago. It is even better today.

James Suckling (95)

Juicy and spicy with fresh tobacco, redcurrants and crushed stone character. Medium to full body. Medium velvety tannins and a delicious finish. Will age beautifully as well. Better after 2026.

The Wine Cellar Insider (95)

Cedar, tobacco leaf, cigar box, black currants, mint leaf, and blackberries come through on the nose. On the palate, the wine is elegant, fresh, lifted, and packed with sweet deep red fruits, spice, oregano, and leafy notes. The finish offers richness, length, and vibrancy. The wine is a blend of 65.8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31.9% Merlot and 2.3% Petit Verdot. 14.3% ABV.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (92)

The 2012 Les Griffons de Pichon Baron is dark, voluptuous and immediate. A burst of sweet red plums, smoke, graphite, licorice and tobacco hits the palate. The tannins are sweet but also energetic. Extroverted in style, the 2012 also has enough depth and overall density to drink well for another decade or so. Rose petal, iron and white pepper add the final shades of nuance. Here in its first vintage, Les Griffons is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Merlot.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (92)

The 2015 Les Griffons de Pichon Baron is dense, powerful and quite juicy, with plenty of black cherry, menthol, licorice and smoke overtones nuances that all build in the glass. Polished and racy to the core, the 2015 is a terrific choice for drinking over the next decade or so.

Wine Enthusiast (94)

This is the second wine of Pichon Baron. Its juicy richness echoes the top wine of the estate with its structure and powerful fruits. The texture though has a lightness that means it will mature relatively quickly. Drink from 2026.

James Suckling (93-94)

A punchy red with blackberry and dark chocolate. Full-bodied, yet extremely refined and polished with a long finish. 50% merlot, 42% cabernet sauvignon and 8% petit verdot.

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.

Jeb Dunnuck (95)

The 2018 Les Perrières de Lafleur comes from a massal selection of vines from Château Lafleur planted on the clay and limestone soils in Fronsac. Based on 51% Cabernet Franc and 49% Merlot aged 15 months in one-third new French oak, it has a stately, regal style offering medium to full-bodied richness, notes of blackcurrant, black cherries, graphite, chalky minerality, white truffle, and violets, a broad, expansive mouthfeel, and building tannins. It shares a similar elegance and seamlessness with its Pomerol counterpoint, yet the high percentage of Cabernet Franc and different terroir give it a style all its own. It's a beautiful wine that needs 2-4 years of bottle age and will evolve for 15+ years. As I wrote after tasting it from barrel, if you find a bottle, you should buy it!

Jeb Dunnuck (95)

The 2018 Les Perrières de Lafleur comes from a massal selection of vines from Château Lafleur planted on the clay and limestone soils in Fronsac. Based on 51% Cabernet Franc and 49% Merlot aged 15 months in one-third new French oak, it has a stately, regal style offering medium to full-bodied richness, notes of blackcurrant, black cherries, graphite, chalky minerality, white truffle, and violets, a broad, expansive mouthfeel, and building tannins. It shares a similar elegance and seamlessness with its Pomerol counterpoint, yet the high percentage of Cabernet Franc and different terroir give it a style all its own. It's a beautiful wine that needs 2-4 years of bottle age and will evolve for 15+ years. As I wrote after tasting it from barrel, if you find a bottle, you should buy it!

Blend:
100% Chenin Blanc
Tasting notes:
Deep nose of verbena and fresh apricot. The fresh and slender mouth stretches with a saline persistence and a slightly brioche finish.

Discover the exquisite Lheraud Charles X NV, a veritable celebration of winemaking artistry. Nestled in the heart of France's famed Grande Champagne region, Maison Lheraud, a family-run distillery for generations, produces this divine elixir. This cognac comes from Ugni Blanc grapes, quintessential to distilling the highest quality brandy, ripened to perfection under the warm Grande Champagne sun.

Double distilled in traditional alambic charentais copper pots, it matures in French oak barrels, absorbing a beautifully balanced range of flavours. Testing reveals rich fruit, traces of citrus, and delicate floral notes, accompanied by a hint of spice and underlying woodiness. The meticulously crafted balance yields a silky, full-bodied cognac, reflecting the expertise of Maison Lheraud.

Lheraud Charles X NV is truly an expression of the Lheraud family's dedication to tradition and unyielding pursuit of quality. This cognac is a must-try for those seeking an authentic, timeless taste experience.

Vinous (94-96)

The 2019 Clos de La Roche Grand Cru contains 80% whole bunches this year and underwent just a couple of punch-downs. There is a tiny amount of reduction on the nose as I taste it, gradually opening to reveal raspberry, blackcurrant and violet aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins matched with a very fine bead of acidity. This is a very cohesive and refined Grand Cru with a lilting, carefree finish that belies its inherent complexity and persistent. Easy to under-estimate this, I am sure it will age with style.

Burghound (94)

(from a .72 ha holding; 50% whole cluster). Here too there is just a whiff of reduction that also stops short of overshadowing the ripe and beautifully layered aromas that are composed by notes of poached plum and a variety of spice elements. I very much like the texture of the delicious medium-bodied flavors that, even if not especially dense, still possess good power and minerality while delivering excellent depth and length on the balanced bitter pit fruit finish that really fans out as it sits on the palate. Excellent.

Vinous (93-95)

The 2019 Morey-Saint-Denis Faconnières 1er Cru, which contains 70-80% whole bunches, has a perfumed and floral bouquet of violets and iris. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannins, very focused and perhaps the most sophisticated of all Virgile Lignier’s cuvées. He comments that this was closed 10 days ago but to his surprise has completely changed in recent days. On this showing, it will surely be the "must-buy" from Lignier-Michelot’s range. Superb.

Vinous (97)

Vivid ruby-red. Highly perfumed aromas of ripe red and dark fruits, incense and potpourri, along with an exotic spice nuance and a hint of smoky minerality. Palate-staining black raspberry, cherry and fruitcake flavors show sharp definition and deepen steadily as the wine stretches out. Deftly plays richness off elegance and finishes impressively long and chewy, with repeating cherry and floral character and building tannins adding final grip. 8% whole clusters and 26% new French oak.

Wine Advocate (96)

The 2019 Chardonnay Sisters is notable for its purity and layering of aromas, with defined white peach and nectarine accented by nuances of hazelnut, beeswax, graphite and citrus blossom. The palate is silky and seamless, with expansive, delicately honeyed fruit and a very long finish streaked with matchstick character. It's gorgeous now yet will develop savory complexity in bottle over the next decade.

We are pleased to have secured a number of 2021s in a year when many distillers are severely cutting their allocations of casks to the market and it is a particular coup's barrels specially selected for us; bourbon-sized barrels previously used for top-grade Oloroso sherry giving a smaller surface area than ex-sherry hogsheads, butts or puncheons. Therefore the whisky will develop relatively quickly, rewarding the years more profoundly than lower-quality, lower-cost refill barrels.

Linkwood's 200th year distilling since it's foundation in 1821 sees it making the best whiskies in its history, thanks in part to a reinvigorated interest in the distillery's spirit as a single malt, though this Speyside gem wouldn't have made it to 200 years old if not for the essential role it played in the Johnny Walker blended whiskies.

An undeniably finessed whisky that responds equally well to sherry as it does to bourbon wood, giving those who invest in casks of its spirit a multitude of options further down the road when it comes to finishing and bottling. That being said, there is a decided benefit to having aged since distillation in a single cask, in particular if that cask is 1st fill Oloroso sherry.

We are pleased to have secured a number of 2021s in a year when many distillers are severely cutting their allocations of casks to the market and it is a particular coup barrels specially selected for us; bourbon-sized barrels previously used for top-grade Oloroso sherry giving a smaller surface area than ex sherry hogsheads, butts or puncheons. Therefore the whisky will develop relatively quickly, rewarding the years more profoundly than lower-quality, lower cost refill barrels.

Vinous (94)

The 2020 Viognier The Age of Grace has a subtle, well-defined bouquet of detailed lemon sherbet, lemon thyme and crushed pebble scents, poised and, yes, graceful. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, and linear and quite steely toward the almost Chenin-like finish. This is not a flamboyant, Rhône-like Viognier – it’s is far more tensile and racy. It should age extremely well in bottle.

Vinous (96)

The 2022 Chardonnay Reserve comprises fruit from the Greyton homestead, which is oxidatively handled and fermented for 11 months in 500-liter barrels (25% new). After swirling to address the reduction, it reveals concentrated scents of dried honey, melted candle wax, orange blossom and a touch of grilled walnut. The palate is well-balanced with mineral-infused, slightly tropical fruit: quince and hints of guava that merge into a more mineral-driven taut finish. Quite a multi-faceted Chardonnay, this will age with style and panache. If that Corton-Charlemagne is a bit over-priced…and it probably is…then you know where to come.

Vinous - Neal Martin (96)

The 2023 Chardonnay Reserve comes from the estate. The juice was oxidatively handled and aged on the lees for 11 months in 500-liter barrels. This has a very complex bouquet with wild honey, orange pith and fine mineralité. It just soars from the glass. The palate is well balanced with fine delineation. It’s tensile, focused and vibrant, with a precise and persistent finish. If there's a better Chardonnay from the Cape this vintage, I haven’t tasted it.

Vinous (97)

The 2018 Estate Reserve Syrah contains 50% whole-bunch fruit and is aged in 500- and 700-liter barrels, 30% new. It has an extremely pure, slightly floral bouquet of bright blueberry and black currant fruit infused with scents of crushed iris petals and violets, almost Burgundian in style. The palate is extremely well balanced with perfectly pitched acidity and filigreed tannins. There is an unerring sense of weightlessness about this Syrah, which is one of the most precise Lismore reds I have encountered over several years of tasting. Absolutely stunning.

Vinous (94)

The 2021 Syrah Estate Reserve, which comes from the vineyard most damaged by the fire in 2020, is 50% whole bunches and aged of 500- and 700-liter barrels, 25% new. The potent nose has raspberry coulis, blueberry and touches of cough candy, taking its time to settle in the glass and lose its initial exuberance. The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiseled, slightly chalky tannins. It’s fresh and vibrant, sapid towards the finish, with a long, Côte-Rôtie-like aftertaste and garrigue notes filtering through with time. This should be afforded a couple of years in bottle and will continue to evolve over the next 15-20 years. Just 12% alcohol, too.

Wine Advocate (97)

Hands down the best Viognier in the country, the 2022 Estate Reserve Viognier is instantly impressive in the glass. It seduces and captivates with a delicate floral nose that overflows with aromas of just-ripe stone fruits and sweet citrus. Medium to full-bodied, the palate shows considerable weight with agile, succulent acidity before displaying an appropriate level of phenolic bitterness to keep things food friendly and fresh. The wine concludes with an elongated, ever-evolving finish that has me returning for more. Just under 1,600 bottles were produced. If you're a Viognier lover, you must seek out this bottling.

Tim Atkin MW (96)

Unchallenged as the Cape's best Viognier, this the latest in a long run of superb Lismore releases. Avoiding the blowsiness that is the variety's weaknesses, it displays a medley of quince, peach and passion fruit, with a dab of cream, ample concentration and a refreshing finish. Especially praiseworthy in a very tricky vintage in Greyton.

Vinous (95)

The 2017 Syrah continues to serve as one of the Cape's finest expressions of the variety. Gorgeous scents of raspberry, strawberry, Earl Grey tea and pomegranate seeds feature on the detailed nose; then the palate is lithe and silky, with perhaps more garrigue notes coming through with bottle age. Divine.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (96)

The 2016 Pinot Noir Hirsch Vineyard is fabulous. Elegant and polished with stunning vertical structure, the 2016 shows why this site in Fort Ross-Seaview is so revered. Crushed flowers, mint and chalk weave through a core of nuanced Pinot fruit. The Hirsch is another wine that needed time to fully blossom. Perched at 1,200-1,400 feet in elevation, most of Hirsch sits just above the fog line, which contributes to its unique microclimate. Superb.

James Suckling (97)

Dried-floral nose, accented by notes of black cherries and a hint of lime leaf. Medium-bodied with tight tannins. Lots of freshness and brightness on the palate. There is depth and complexity, but it’s all in harmony. Paprika and allspice come through. Such a delightful wine, bridging intensity with freshness. Drink or hold.