Vinous - Antonio Galloni (99)

The 2013 Barolo Riserva Monfortino picks up where the 1999 and 1996 leave off. Tannic and imposing, the 2013 is an austere young Monfortino for the cellar. Soaring aromatics and vibrant, palate-staining fruit are some of the signatures. Readers should expect a bold, large-framed Monfortino.

Vinous (95)

The 2016 Barolo Bussia is a wine of tremendous character and complexity. Menthol, lavender, black cherry, graphite, cloves and leather all open up in the glass. Virile and layered, with tons of depth, the 2016 Bussia has so much to offer. A few years in the cellar will help the tannins soften, but the 2016 is already quite expressive. It is also one of the very finest wines I have ever tasted from Fenocchio.

James Suckling (95)

Aromas of flowers and cedar with plums and beeswax. Full-bodied, chewy and very structured. Very linear and tight. Needs three or four years to come together. Try in 2023.

Kerin O'Keefe (99)

The gorgeous 2019 Brunello from Gianni Brunelli pulls you in, with its quintessential Brunello fragrance composed of underbrush, woodland berry, botanical herb and wild rose. Savory and all about finesse, the delicious palate shows elegant restraint and energy, delivering juicy red cherry, raspberry, cinnamon and crushed mint alongside polished tannins. Bright acidity keeps it beautifully balanced. Hats off to Laura Brunelli, this is an absolutely enthralling wine. Drink 2027–2039. Abv: 14% Kerin O’Keefe November 2023

Decanter (93)

Recent years have seen Gianni Brunelli’s fame and reputation rise. After his passing in 2008, his wife, Laura continued to manage the estate and today it is one of the most sought after producers of Brunello, whose wines are tightly allocated. To experience her meticulous, fastidious style, pick up this Rosso which is complete and harmonious, with fresh fruit, attractive notes of liquorice and tea leaf, and excellent balance. All in all, a lovely expression of Montalcino Sangiovese that has been given a year’s ageing in cask. A little less open than some, this could benefit from another year in bottle before starting to drink.

James Suckling (95)

A rich and velvety wine now with mushroom, ripe fruit and Christmas cake aromas and flavors. Full and opulent. Shows the richness and beauty of this delicious vintage. Perfect to drink now.

Halliday Wine Companion (98)

Pinot Noir of the Year. Named after the Applejack eucalypts that surround the vineyard, which was planted at Gladysdale in 1997 by Ray Guerin. Seven clones comprising 114, 115, MV6, D2V5, D5V15, Pommard and Abel. Whole bunches (40%) and 20–25% new French barriques. 2022 was a hard act to follow, but this superb wine gives it a shake. Exotic, aromatic and pure with its bouquet of wild strawberries, dark cherries, quince, spices and flowers. Densely packed, this saturates the palate, but, as always, it's light on its feet at the same time. Seamless tannins round out another benchmark for what's already a benchmark wine.

Halliday Wine Companion (96)

At 420m Wombat Creek is the highest vineyard site in the Yarra Valley, with a gentle northeast-facing slope of volcanic red soil. The vinification sees the wine bottled by gravity, not fined and only coarse-filtered, as is the case with its siblings. Although the acidity is not adjusted (like its siblings), it feels softer and fruitier, pink grapefruit at work.

James Suckling (97)

There’s striking freshness of lemon and yellow grapefruit here with a chalky, stony, flinty edge. The fresh fruit carries subtly spicy oak nicely. There are grapefruit and fresh yellow-peach flavors in abundance. This carries energetic, acidity-fueled drive and delivers impressive balance, as well as length. So long and juicy. Drink or hold.

Vinous (94)

The 2019 Chablis Vosgros 1er Cru was showing just a small reduction on the nose, though it could not disguise the scents of yellow plum and honeysuckle and touches of wet limestone. The palate is very well balanced, taut and fresh, pinned down by a fine bead of acidity and very intense on the minerally finish. This fulfills the potential I found last year out of barrel.

Wine Advocate (93)

Unwinding in the glass with scents of citrus oil, oyster shell, fresh pastry and light reduction, the 2020 Chablis 1er Cru Vosgros is medium to full-bodied, satiny and incisive, with a racy spine of acidity and a long, mineral finish. This is another impeccably balanced, precise wine from Didier Picq.

Vinous - Neal Martin (93-95)

The 2022 Chablis Vosgros 1er Cru takes a little more time to open on the nose than Picq's other cuvées but eventually reveals eucalyptus-tinged citrus fruit flanked by wet stone aromas. The palate is very well-balanced with a fine bead of acidity, very saline but with a countervailing, almost honeyed element keeping this on its toes. This is a brilliant follow-up to the 2021.

Vinous (92-94)

At the moment, the 2022 Chablis Au Dessus des Carrières is stoic on the nose compared to Picq's other cuvées, despite both of us giving our glasses vigorous swirls. The palate is where the action is: great concentration and depth, hints of white peach and nectarine, the power loaded at its back end. Give this two or three years in bottle.

James Suckling (100)

This is a splendid Brunello, showing extraordinary purity of sangiovese character. Cherry and floral aromas and flavors. Full-bodied with incredibly integrated tannins that seem like they are not there. But they are and are comprehensive on the palate. Great depth and agility. Just floats on the palate. Magic carpet. Drinkable, to enjoy the magic, but needs three or four years to come around.

James Suckling (100)

This is a splendid Brunello, showing extraordinary purity of sangiovese character. Cherry and floral aromas and flavors. Full-bodied with incredibly integrated tannins that seem like they are not there. But they are and are comprehensive on the palate. Great depth and agility. Just floats on the palate. Magic carpet. Drinkable, to enjoy the magic, but needs three or four years to come around.

James Suckling (100)

Seamless is a great way to describe this red wine with intense aromas of plums, cherries, walnut and sandalwood. Some lightly toasted oak, roses and lavender as well. Really aromatic. The palate is full and extremely polished with super fine tannins that go on for minutes and spread across your palate. A great wine, following the perfect, 100-point 2015. Better to start drinking this after 2023.

Wine Advocate (97)

This wine was tasted in a preview capacity as it won't hit the market until the beginning of next year. Tasted at the Giodo winery in one of the most remote and beautiful spots in the appellation surrounded by forests and wide open panoramas, the 2018 Brunello di Montalcino gives us a promising taste of what we can expect from this warm vintage. The wine delivers ripe, but delicate aromas of cassis and dark cherry with shades of lilac, violet and crushed limestone. The tannins are present and well managed. Carlo Ferrini's Brunello promises a long aging trajectory.

James Suckling (99)

Aromas of cedar, earth, tree bark, fruit tea, black tea and cherries. Then it turns to fresh and dried flowers. Medium to full body as it grows on the palate with superb fine tannins that run the length of the wine. It’s structured and powerful with great length. The acid, tannin balance is incredible. Very clear and transparent. What a wine. Drinkable but better in three or four years.

Vinous (94)

“The 2010 Barbaresco Riserva Vanotu 60th Anniversary Limited Edition is drinking beautifully. Silky and perfumed, the 2010 is now entering its first plateau of maturity. Sweet tobacco, dried flowers, menthol and coffee lend striking aromatic complexity as the 2010 opens in the glass. The 2010 is rich and layered, as all of Giorgio Pelissero's wines are, but time has mellowed some of that exuberance.”

Vinous (94)

“The 2010 Barbaresco Riserva Vanotu 60th Anniversary Limited Edition is drinking beautifully. Silky and perfumed, the 2010 is now entering its first plateau of maturity. Sweet tobacco, dried flowers, menthol and coffee lend striking aromatic complexity as the 2010 opens in the glass. The 2010 is rich and layered, as all of Giorgio Pelissero's wines are, but time has mellowed some of that exuberance.”

Renowned for its exceptional composition and elegant nose, Giorgio Scarzello e Figli Barolo Sarmassa Merenda 2010 is a remarkable vintage. Produced in the celebrated winemaking region of Piedmont, Italy, the Nebbiolo grapes are carefully nurtured in the esteemed Scarzello vineyards in the heart of the Barolo region.

Layered with complex flavours, this exquisite wine boasts dense notes of wild cherry, ripe strawberry, and subtle tobacco, harmoniously embracing tannic structure and a lingering finish. Giorgio Scarzello, a respected vintner, has been meticulous in producing this wine, allowing it a 30-month maturation in oak barrels and further refinement in the bottle, to achieve its characteristic depth and remarkable mellowness.

The Giorgio Scarzello e Figli Barolo Sarmassa Merenda 2010 is the epitome of premium Italian wine, demonstrating an authenticity and timeless appeal that is treasured by connoisseurs worldwide. Delight in the distinguished taste of this limited-edition wine, an illustrious testament to the Scarzello family's wine-making legacy.

Vinous (92)

My initial thought was to focus on the 2013 vintage for this flight, but the Bartolo Mascarello is so young, I chose the 2012 instead. Canonica’s 2013 Barolo Paiagallo is another very pretty, translucent, classically built wine. Next to the other wines on the table, the Paiagallo comes across as a bit diffuse, with its aromatics, fruit and structure each in their own space and not woven together into a cohesive whole. The 2013 is still a delicious Barolo, but on this night, well, there are a lot of fabulous wines in the tasting.

Vinous (94)

Canonica's 2017 Barolo Paiagallo is an exotic, utterly beguiling wine. Crushed red berry, blood orange, mint, rose petal and cinnamon give this effusive, mid-weight Barolo its exotic, alluring personality. There's plenty of tannin lurking beneath. A few years of cellaring are advisable. This flamboyant, attractive Barolo is pretty impossible to resist now, though. Canonica works out of a tiny cellar in the historic center of Barolo that has just enough space for the barest essentials. The wines are always unique and idiosyncratic.

Vinous (94)

Canonica's 2017 Barolo Paiagallo is an exotic, utterly beguiling wine. Crushed red berry, blood orange, mint, rose petal and cinnamon give this effusive, mid-weight Barolo its exotic, alluring personality. There's plenty of tannin lurking beneath. A few years of cellaring are advisable. This flamboyant, attractive Barolo is pretty impossible to resist now, though. Canonica works out of a tiny cellar in the historic center of Barolo that has just enough space for the barest essentials. The wines are always unique and idiosyncratic.

Vinous (93)

The 2018 Barolo Paiagallo is laced with kirsch, sweet spice, new leather, menthol and rose petal. Exotic and super-ripe, the 2018 shows all the warmth of the year in its sweet fruit and pronounced alcohol, but avoids the angular contours that afflict so many wines. Even with all of that richness, the 2018 retains a good bit of freshness and energy. An opened bottle was still vibrant after a number of days whereas many other wines in the same tasting faded far faster. The 2018 is a very fine effort from one of Barolo's artisan growers, but readers have to be willing to accept elevated ripeness and alcohol.

Vinous (94)

The 2017 Barolo Bricat is delicate, understated and very pretty. A quiet wine, the Bricat offers lovely mid-palate pliancy and depth. The tannins need to soften a bit, but that should not be an issue in another few years' time. Sweet red berry fruit pomegranate and spice nuances flesh out nicely. This soft Barolo is not an obvious wine, but it will delight readers who appreciate finesse. I very much like the brightness and floral lift here.

Vinous (96)

The 2017 Barolo Castelletto captures all of the savory and mineral complexity of this high-altitude site. Ethereal and gracious, the Castelletto has so much to offer. Pine, mint, blood orange, crushed raspberry and star anise are all finely sculpted throughout. This is one of the best Barolos I have ever tasted from Manzone. Don't miss it.