Wines (12 View)

96 points James Suckling
Brooding but fresh nose, with tarry blackberries and fresh blue fruit. Iron, wet stones, violets and a hint of mocha, too. Full-bodied, mineral and broad on the palate with a stony feel, though not heavy at all. A really elegant, nuanced and extremely poised Pintia that you can enjoy now and for the next decade. A really eclectic Pintia showing more elegance and calculation. Drink or hold.

95+ points The Wine Advocate
The 2018 Pintia comes from a cooler and wetter vintage when the grapes were picked between September 20th and October 7th, and it fermented in their new fermentation room where they feel they can be more precise. The wine still has 15% alcohol, with a pH of 3.82 and 4.6 grams of acidity. It had a shorter levage this year and matured for 10 months in French and 18% American oak barrels, 81% of them new. The nose is very expressive, with bright cherry fruit, and the wine is fresher than the norm in the region, with integrated alcohol and oak, reflecting a very cool year, floral and perfumed. The palate is medium-bodied and reveals very fine and elegant tannins. This has to be one of the finest vintages of Pintia. 251,512 bottles, 14,144 half-bottles, 6,543 magnums and some larger formats produced. It was bottled in April 2020.

A medium-bodied red from Bastardo/Trousseau. A rustic expression of the varietal.
100% Bastardo (Trousseau)
20-year-old vines planted in granite on steep slopes
Fermented spontaneously in lagar with 30% stem inclusion and foot treading for about 12 days
Racked to a single centenary, family-heirloom 2500L chestnut tonel
Bottled unfiltered after 14 months of elevage

99 pts James Suckling
This is beautifully polished with firm, dusty tannins to the blue fruit, as well as chocolate and cedar character. Some much earthier character, too, from mushrooms to bark. Forest flowers. Perfumed. It's full-bodied with round tannins and a soft, creamy finish. Some iron and iodine to this. So attractive at the finish. From biodynamically grown grapes.

92 points James Suckling
Black fruit, nutmeg, charcuterie and roasted marshmallows on the nose. Some licorice and five spice, too. It’s firm and dense, with a medium to full body, tight tannins and a compact core of spicy black fruit.

91 points Vinous
The 2018 Reserva is 100% Tempranillo sourced from San Vicente de la Sonsierra and Ábalos, Rioja Alta. This garnet wine unfolds sour cherry and dried flower notes with hints of fennel and herbs. Dry and mild, the fairly concentrated and chalky palate lingers with a juicy touch.

18 months in French and American oak barrels, followed by two years in the bottle.

Our 2016 Merlot is ruby red in color. It opens with aromas of ripe cherry, Asian plum, and cranberry with hints of tea leaf, baking spice, mocha, and sweet oak. Flavors of dark, ripe cherry, marionberry, and plum follow with sweet brown sugar, English toffee, and mocha. The finish is soft and lingering. Enjoy this wine with rotisserie chicken, meat ravioli, grilled wild salmon, and herbed soft cheese.

Yes, this is 2018 Gruner Veltliner and no, it is not tired. Great Gruner Veltliner can evolve in the bottle like other racy high acidity white wines, for instance Riesling, developing secondary notes. This has a slight petrol component to the bouquet reminiscent of Mosel Riesling.

91 points Wine Enthusiast
A single-vineyard wine made by the winemaking team of Margaux estate Château Siran, this wine has structure, dense tannins and layer upon layer of black fruits. Wood aging shows strongly here, with a light burn of alcohol. The wine definitely needs time, so drink from 2022.

80% Merlot, 10.5% Petit Verdot, and 9.5% Cabernet Sauvignon. From an eleven hectare single-vineyard plot on the Margaux border. 25 year-old vines planted in a sandy gravel subsoil with clay topsoil. Fermented in stainless steel and aged for twelve months in French oak, with two rackings.

"This outstanding property in Labarde in the southern part of the Margaux appellation is making consistently delicious, fragrant, deeply colored wines that are in quality on a par with the best Grands Bourgeois Exceptionnels." - Robert Parker, Bordeaux: The Definitive Guide For The Wines Produced Since 1961

Chateau Siran is a highly regarded Bordeaux producer vinifying wine in Margaux. We have had a vintage or two of their Margaux over the years, but we didn’t know they produce a second wine named Saint Jaques De Siran. And it is this wine that recently knocked our socks off while tasting through an assortment of French wines. Saint Jacques de Siran is a throwback to the Bordeaux of yesteryear with its oak-influenced characteristics. This is not a new-aged, acid-driven Bordeaux all about upfront juicy fruit. No, this has all those classic notes that made Bordeaux popular in the first place, like cedar, saddle leather, tobacco leaf, and dried fruits. I had a flashback while tasting this that it was the early 2000s and I had Bordeau from the nineties in my glass!

Chateau Siran has long been recognized as one of the top estates in Margaux. The property has been in the Miailhe family for six generations– a total of 160 years. Today, the property covers 88 hectares, with 38 hectares planted to vines. The other fifty hectares are left as woods and meadows, for their beauty and to promote biodiversity, a priority of the Siran team.

The majority of Chateau Siran’s vines are planted in the commune of Margaux, but they also have a very special 11 hectare parcel on the border, which is classified as Bordeaux Superieur and bottled as “Saint-Jacques de Siran”. The terroir here has clay topsoil over the famous Bordeaux sandy gravel subsoil. The vines are planted at a density of 5,000 vines per hectare and average 25 years old. The Miailhe family has practiced sustainable agriculture since 2000 and the vineyards have been certified sustainable, HVE3 since 2018. Only organic fertilizers are used and they work with grass cover and plowing to control weeds

A truly remarkable English sparkling wine from a stellar vintage in the UK. A mouthwatering blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir, this has distinct minerality, exceptional fruit ripeness, floral lift, and a compelling textural complexity that comes from fermentation in large old 500l Burgundian barrels. 6 grams dosage.

Organic

93 points Vinous
Masses of crushed cherries and cloves give way to nuances of spiced citrus peels and cedar as the 2018 Brunello di Montalcino comes to life in the glass. This is round and pliant on the palate, with a balanced inner sweetness contrasting its mineral-tinged acids and tart wild berry fruits. Grippy tannins mount toward the close, yet fail to slow the 2018’s momentum, as notes of salted licorice are left to resonate under an air of dried roses. This is a deep and characterful rendition of Col d'Orcia’s Brunello, but patience will be required to unlock all of its charms.

Organic

94 points Wine Spectator
A succulent version, this red reveals cherry, strawberry, plum, floral, eucalyptus and tobacco aromas and flavors. Harmonious and enjoyable now, but there are still tannins to shed. Complex and long. Best from 2024 through 2040. 2,000 cases made, 800 cases imported. Bruce Sanderson

93 points Vinous
The 2018 Chianti Classico Riserva needs a few years to be at its best, but it has plenty to offer. In 2018 the Riserva is on the lighter side, but that's not a bad thing at all. Crushed leaves, tobacco, incense, mint, licorice and coffee add complexity to a core of dark Sangiovese fruit. Wild and exotic, the Riserva is certainly compelling.