So often a tasting note of top wines from Pauillac, the gorgeous Liqueur de Cassis was created by Baron Philippe to reflect the mastery of his winemakers’ skilful blending, growing three varieties of blackcurrants within the Mouton estate. Hand-picked and sorted twice at the peak of ripeness in July, the berries are crushed and macerated in grape spirits before being placed in oak for 50 days. The result is a remarkably long, fruity and silky Cassis displaying epic generosity alongside a delightfully spicy core which restrains the sweetness like black pepper on fresh strawberries.

Jeb Dunnuck (97)

My favorite in the lineup was the 2016 Cabernet Franc Mt. Veeder. This rock star effort has a Cheval Blanc-like level of complexity and purity. Possessing a huge perfume of black cherries, blackberries, violets, lavender, and savory herbs, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, incredible elegance, ultra-fine tannins, and a great, great finish. It’s not a blockbuster, yet it has world-class complexity, elegance, and purity. Drink it any time over the coming 10-15 years.

James Suckling (97)

Really beautiful aromas of crushed blackberry, brambleberry, hazelnut, walnut and light coffee, following through to a full yet so reserved and polished body with fine, creamy-textured tannins. Fresh and exquisite finish. This is a much more refined and harmonic rendition of their classic wine. Three years in French oak from their own production. Very enjoyable now, but this will improve with age for a long time.

Wine Enthusiast (98)

This dark-ruby wine offers a bouquet of ripe cherry and baking spices. Notes of clove and nutmeg transition to the palate alongside flavors of blackberry, cassis, chocolate-covered espresso bean, eucalyptus and violet. Luxurious tannins amble toward a lengthy finish. Drink through 2045.

Wine Advocate (97+)

The expressive, complex and nuanced 2016 Prado Enea Gran Reserva is a textbook traditional Rioja in the making. 2016 was a very elegant year, with aging potential, volume and very good acidity and freshness. It's full-bodied but fine-boned, has 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.6 and 5.25 grams per liter acidity. It has terrific balance, with all the components in the right proportion to age superbly in bottle. They have also been working on the selection of wood used. This wine matured in French and American oak barrels for three years, and the oak is super integrated. 127,808 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2020. It was an exceptional year with volume and quality.

Wine Advocate (94)

The 2019 Reserva, sold as Crianza in Spain, comes from a dry and warm year with low yields and concentrated wines. The grapes from the Haro zone, the four from Rioja, Tempranillo, Garnacha Tinta, Mazuelo and Graciano fermented destemmed and lightly crushed in oak vats with indigenous yeasts, and 80% of the volume matured in French oak and the rest in Centro European and American oak, 20% of them new, for 22 months, during which time the wine was racked every eight to nine months. This is serious and young but balanced, nuanced and complex. They are shortening the time in oak, as they feel they have better and younger barrels and think the wines need less time in oak and more time in bottle. This is very Muga, very Rioja and very good. They produced an impressive 960,000 bottles and 18,000 magnums of this. There is only one master blend that is bottled at different times. I tasted a bottle that was filled in April 2022 (because of the lack of availability of bottles!).

Tim Atkin MW (96)

"The hardest wine to make," says Andrea Mullineux of this Chenin Blanc from a nutrition-poor vineyard on the Kasteelbeg. But the effort is certainly worth it. Showing aromas of white flowers and gunflint, it has amazing focus, salinity and depth with linear acidity and notes of green apple, kitchen spices and umami.

Tim Atkin MW (97)

We wine geeks love to discuss the relative merits of the three soil-specific Syrahs from the Mullineux. This is (just) my pick of the trio in 2019, sourced from a two-hectare block on the Jakalsfontein farm. Ginger and violet aromas segue into a palate of remarkable grip and persistence, with energetic acidity and a savoury, satisfying finish. 2022-29

Wine Advocate (98)

This is a true masterpiece from Andrea Mullineux. Her NV Olerasay 4º is a fractional blend of the straw wine (made with high-acidity Chenin Blanc from granite soils) from the 2008 to the 2023 vintages. Basically, she holds back a few barrels each year to create a solera-styled blend. The wine continues to contract and concentrate through evaporation, becoming ever more stable and enriched along the way. This wine has an 8% alcohol content, 11 grams per liter of total acidity and 365 grams per liter of residual sugar, one gram for every day of the year. The wine is quite delicate, with ethereal aromas of melted honey in tea, candied ginger slices and pastry cream studded with diced orange peel. It shows seamless richness and unstoppable length. Andrea Mullineux calls it "pixilated and defined." This special wine has only been produced four times.

Tim Atkin MW (97)

My pick of the three top Mullineux Syrahs in 2018, this world-class red is the most perfumed and alluring of the trio right now. Combining fruit from the Kasteelberg and Roundstone, this has violet and lavender aromas, some sap and grip from 100% whole bunches, incredible focus and grip and a plush, seductive mid palate.

Tim Atkin MW (93)

One of my "go to" wines when I see it on a restaurant wine list, this intensely perfumed Syrah comes from seven vineyards, mostly on schist soils. Made with 90% whole bunches, it has more tannin than you think at first, layers of spice, violet and blackberry fruit and a refreshing tang.

Indulge in the tantalising taste of Muraje, Carema, Sumie 2018. This exquisite fine wine was created in the mystically serene region of Piedmont, Italy by the admired wine producers, Carema. The extraordinary effort behind this production is commendable. Made from Nebbiolo grapes, typically handpicked during the first fortnight of October, the ageing process occurs in large oak barrels creating an enthralling flavour profile.

Tints of rich, intense ruby-red dance around the glass, unfolding robust, yet elegantly intertwined notes of cherries, wild berries and lavender complemented by the heartwarming hint of cinnamon. Expressing extraordinary persistence, the taste of Muraje, Carema, Sumie 2018 is deep-rooted, characterised by a velvety, balanced finish that elaborates the fruity and spicy undertones.

Experience a taste of Italian tradition with Muraje, Carema, Sumie 2018, echoing an epic journey from the idyllic vineyards of Piedmont, right to your palate. A wine for the discerning connoisseur, it embodies the ethos and essence of fine wine indulgence.

Jancis Robinson (18.5)

Pale, particularly bright garnet. Light, spicy, particularly well-integrated nose. Already well developed. Sweet start and very nicely mature. Seems just right now. The opposite of heavy. Lifted, jewel-bright. Really lovely wine. Fresh, sweet with some very slight mintiness. Dry finish and it would go beautifully with food. Very long. One of my favourite wines in this collection. Is it the Cinsault I like so much?

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.

Vinous (93)

The 2017 Napanook is forward, lush and quite giving - in other words, very much in keeping with the style of the year. Silky and radiant, with plenty of bright, red-toned fruit, the 2017 Napanook is one of the very finest Napa Valley Cabernets readers will find in this price range. Savory, earthy and licorice undertones add striking shades of nuance, with silky tannins that extend the finish effortlessly. This is such a gorgeous and inviting wine. When just opened, the 2017 mostly offers density and opulence, but a few hours of air brings out layers of subtlety and aromatic nuance.

Vinous (93)

The 2018 Napanook is every bit the charmer it was last year. Succulent and racy out of the glass, the 2018 is such a gorgeous wine. Silky tannins and generous fruit give the 2018 so much immediacy and appeal. Black cherry, plum, menthol, spice and licorice are pushed forward.

James Suckling (93-94)

Very fine tannins with a medium body and a fresh center-palate. Hints of spices and dried lemon peel. Bright and focused. Pretty fruit. Refined.

Wine Advocate (92)

The weather in Gattinara is often unexpected. For example, in 2017 it rained more in this area than it did in Barolo. This vintage was more tempered, and this 2015 Gattinara comes across as pretty, elegant and soft, with light notes of berries and a pretty ashy signature. This particular expression of Nebbiolo would be a good choice for lamb.

Vinous (94)

Nervi's 2016 Gattinara from Nervi is superb. Sweet red cherry, mint, juniper berry and wild flowers are some of the many notes that soar out of the glass. The 2016 is distinguished by its brilliant aromatic presence and tremendous purity of fruit. Even just bottled, the 2016 exudes precision and nuance to burn. Of course, the 2016 needs time, but readers who want to get a sense of what the future holds at Nervi will get plenty of answers here. This is such a captivating wine.

Vinous (94)

Nervi's 2016 Gattinara from Nervi is superb. Sweet red cherry, mint, juniper berry and wild flowers are some of the many notes that soar out of the glass. The 2016 is distinguished by its brilliant aromatic presence and tremendous purity of fruit. Even just bottled, the 2016 exudes precision and nuance to burn. Of course, the 2016 needs time, but readers who want to get a sense of what the future holds at Nervi will get plenty of answers here. This is such a captivating wine.

Vinous (94)

Nervi's 2016 Gattinara from Nervi is superb. Sweet red cherry, mint, juniper berry and wild flowers are some of the many notes that soar out of the glass. The 2016 is distinguished by its brilliant aromatic presence and tremendous purity of fruit. Even just bottled, the 2016 exudes precision and nuance to burn. Of course, the 2016 needs time, but readers who want to get a sense of what the future holds at Nervi will get plenty of answers here. This is such a captivating wine.

Vinous (94)

The 2017 Gattinara is terrific. It will also give readers something to drink without waiting decades. In 2017, the Gattinara is a bit richer than it often is - the result of the warm dry year – but its profile is super-classic. Sweet pipe tobacco, mint, dried herbs, licorice, dried cherry and Alpine herbs fill out its ample frame effortlessly. I would give the 2017 a few years in bottle, but it won’t need more than that to start drinking well. In 2017, Roberto Conterno did not bottle his vineyard-designates. Instead, all the best lots went into the straight Gattinara, an overachieving wine that delivers the goods. I don’t expect the 2017 will be among the most long-lived wines here, but that will hardly be an issue for most readers.

Vinous (94)

The 2017 Gattinara is terrific. It will also give readers something to drink without waiting decades. In 2017, the Gattinara is a bit richer than it often is - the result of the warm dry year – but its profile is super-classic. Sweet pipe tobacco, mint, dried herbs, licorice, dried cherry and Alpine herbs fill out its ample frame effortlessly. I would give the 2017 a few years in bottle, but it won’t need more than that to start drinking well. In 2017, Roberto Conterno did not bottle his vineyard-designates. Instead, all the best lots went into the straight Gattinara, an overachieving wine that delivers the goods. I don’t expect the 2017 will be among the most long-lived wines here, but that will hardly be an issue for most readers.

Vinous (94)

The 2017 Gattinara is terrific. It will also give readers something to drink without waiting decades. In 2017, the Gattinara is a bit richer than it often is - the result of the warm dry year – but its profile is super-classic. Sweet pipe tobacco, mint, dried herbs, licorice, dried cherry and Alpine herbs fill out its ample frame effortlessly. I would give the 2017 a few years in bottle, but it won’t need more than that to start drinking well. In 2017, Roberto Conterno did not bottle his vineyard-designates. Instead, all the best lots went into the straight Gattinara, an overachieving wine that delivers the goods. I don’t expect the 2017 will be among the most long-lived wines here, but that will hardly be an issue for most readers.

Vinous (95)

The 2018 Gattinara is a stunning wine in the making. Extraordinary in its complexity and nuance, the 2018 dazzles with a kaleidoscope of aromas, flavors and textures. Kirsch, hard candy, flowers and lively acids captivate the senses. The 2018 is elegant, weightless and full of character. It is, quite frankly, everything Gattinara can and should be. This is a great place to start for readers who want to know why the 2018 vintage is so magical at Nervi-Conterno. If it weren't for the single-vineyard wines, I would have said the 2018 is one of the very best wines that have ever been made here!

Vinous (94)

The 2014 Gattinara Molsino is shy and introverted in its first impression, with quite a bit of intensity lurking in the background. Today, the Molsino is not as expressive as the Valferana, but its day will come. With a bit of aeration, the 2014 starts to show the structure, layers of nuance and resonance that will emerge more fully in time.

Vinous (96+)

Tasted next to the Valferana, the 2016 Gattinara Vigna Molsino is much more nervous in feel. Iron, dried herbs, sweet dried cherry, mint, crushed rocks, white pepper and earthy notes give the Molsino a good deal of aromatic complexity to match its intense, saline-infused minerality. Today, though, the tannins and acids are almost overpowering. Readers will find an old-school, classically austere Gattinara that needs 10-15 years to be at its best. The 2016 is an absolute jewel of a wine, but it should be purchased only by readers with either very good genes are a ton of optimism regarding their own longevity.