Wines (24 View)

96 points Vinous
The 2020 Bolgheri Superiore Guado al Tasso is a rich, resonant wine that captures the natural radiance of the Tuscan Coast. Blackberry jam, mocha, plum, chocolate, spice and espresso all build in a mid-weight yet succulent, inviting Bolgheri red. There's terrific richness and resonance here. This is a classic Guado al Tasso. In 2020, the estate did not make its top bottling, the 100% Cabernet Franc Matarocchio, opting to use that fruit for Guado al Tasso. "Late season rains were challenging for the Cabernet Sauvignon, so we chose to use all our best Franc in Guado al Tasso," CEO Renzo Cotarella explained.

96 points Wine Advocate
The Marchesi Antinori 2020 Bolgheri Superiore Guado al Tasso sees Cabernet Franc at over 30% of the blend in this vintage, with the rest going to Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% to 20% to Merlot. Matarocchio was not produced this year, and this wine benefits from the extra Cabernet Franc as a result. The 2019 and 2021 vintages of Guado al Tasso are quite concentrated and rich, whereas 2020 is leaner in texture, along the lines of the edition we saw made in 2010. There was rain in September. Managing Director Renzo Cotarella says he would not describe 2020 as a hot vintage because the rain did pose challenges at the end of the growing season. In Bolgheri on the Tuscan coast, budbreak is earlier than in other appellations, and the growing season is longer as a result. This is a benefit to the international varieties used here. The wine shows nice richness and intensity. The Cabernet Franc definitely comes through and adds the characteristic vertical lift and linearity that the grape is known for. You get black fruit, spice, white pepper and no signs of bitter stems or bramble. Sweet, almost milky tannins are interlocked with fresh acidity to give this wine good cellaring potential. The new oak was dialed back a bit in this vintage.

96 points Vinous
The 2020 Tignanello is so primary, so intensely fruit-driven, that it almost tastes like a barrel sample. A burst of red Sangiovese fruit opens first, followed by hints of blood orange, cinnamon, spice, dried flowers and mocha develop later. Time in the glass brings out striking dimensions. In 2020, Tignanello is wonderfully sleek and racy, with fine tannins that lie below a core of bright, sculpted fruit. The balance here is just sublime. I can't wait to revisit the 2020 with age. (AG) (2/2023)

95 points Wine Advocate
Newly on the market now, the 2020 Tignanello shows a gorgeous bouquet with an upfront and accessible personality. Right off the bat, you get dark cherry, dried raspberry, spice, toasted almond and citrusy blood orange. The blend is normally 75% to 80% Sangiovese with 7% Cabernet Franc. The grape in between, making up 13% to 18%, is Cabernet Sauvignon. This vintage is very pretty and won’t require a long wait. The tannins are sweet and silky. 'Tignanello proves itself as a great vineyard site in both the challenging and the classic years,' says Managing Director Renzo Cotarella. Annual production falls between 300,000-350,000 bottles. Drink: 2025-2045.ML

This is a chance to get a sense of what older, classic Tuscan wine tastes like without dipping into price prohibitive vintages from years gone by. This is the real, Old World, deal. Wild herbs, tea, and rustic accents mark this as a wine you must try to get a sense of what people were enjoying before fruit forwardness became dogma. Would be heaven with a big chunk of Pecorino Romano procured from Author Avenue in the Bronx by way of Tuscany, of course. - PJ

92 pts Vinous
Bright, dark medium ruby. Lively aromas and flavors of crushed blackberry, licorice, bitter chocolate and mocha. Densely packed, fine-grained and savory, with its ripe, creamy flavors complicated by a wild gamey quality. As rich, concentrated and deep as this wine is, it's not over the top. This outstanding Malbec finishes ripely tannic and long, with compelling sweetness of fruit. (14.9% alcohol; this wine represents a blend of vineyards and altitudes in Calchaqui Valley; aged for 15 months in a mix of one- to ten-year-old French barriques).

97 points Wine Advocate
It wasproduced with grapes from three vineyards in San Vicente de la Sonsierra at different altitudes and is a blend of Tempranillo with 8% Garnacha with limited yields because of mildew. It matured in new French barriques for 20 months. He wanted a more classical image and perhaps a more classical profile of wine. It's perfumed and floral, with notes of aromatic herbs, a little balsamic and quite showy, with very fine tannins and freshness, as he used more grapes from the higher-altitude zones. It's powerful and elegant, and in a way it reminds me of the style of the initial vintages of La Cueva de Contador; it's clean and elegant. It's 14.5% alcohol with a pH of 3.55. It's very young but still drinkable, as the quality of the tannins is very good. I think this is the one wine I'd buy from their portfolio if I could only buy one. It transported me to the wines from the early 2000s. 10,000 bottles produced

Intense Tempranillo character is apparent in a concentrated, deeply colored red wine. Saturated red fruit grips the palate, leaving a long and sweet finish that promises excellent development in the bottle. Aged 15 months in barrique.

The four bodegas that comprise Alejandro Fernandez’s wine legacy, and constitute Grupo Pesquera, share a passion for winemaking that has perfected over time. The strong bond to this great winemaker’s homeland is also reflected in the group emblem: the symbolic Archway and Tower of Pesquera de Duero, the characteristic label on his mythical Tinto Pesquera wines. Numerous awards endorse our wines; awards reaped throughout our 40 years of experience in winemaking. It is, without doubt, a dream come true for Alejandro Fernandez whose maxim was always to own a bodega and make fine wines. Today it could be said that reality has surpassed the dream and that Alejandro, his bodegas, and his wines have earned worldwide recognition and appreciation.

Organic

#47 On The Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines Of 2022!

90 points Wine Spectator
This bright red ripples across the palate, with savory hints of cured tobacco and loamy earth underscoring the black currant and black raspberry fruit. Medium-bodied, with lightly chewy tannins. Drink now through 2027

Organic

94 points Vinous
The 2020 Vatan comes from exceptionally old vines in the Quemaos vineyard situated in the Villaester de Abajo area. Aged for 20 months in French oak barrels, it displays a dark purple color. The balsamic nose reveals plums, sour cherries and subtle blackberries over a cedar layer. Rich, creamy and juicy on the palate, the supple tannins and mild intensity leads to a nuanced, enduring finish. This is a vibrant interpretation of a successful year in Toro. Drinking Window: 2025-2040

Organic / Biodynamic

93 points James Suckling
Fine oak spices and cocoa powder to the ripe cherries, cassis, black cherries and warm stones. Full-bodied and polished on the palate with tightly wound tannins that seep through the compact fruit. Good balance between tight structure and fruit density. From organically grown grapes. Drinkable now, but better from 2024.

92 points Wine Spectator
Long and creamy, this elegant red is structured by supple tannins and juicy acidity, a fine frame for the appealing range of baked black cherry, fig cake, mocha and sage. Fresh, spiced finish. Drink now through 2028.

Second wine of Chateau Rieussec.

Winery Notes:
Like a classic muscle car, Cabernet Sauvignon’s sleek lines belie its power and endurance. Sure this bold dark beauty is racy. But though it is quick to accelerate, it downshifts into a smooth finish. Revved up and ready to go now, you can trust that a little age won’t slow it down. True high performance.

Organic

93 points Vinous
The 2020 Chianti Classico is a dark, voluptuous red. Black cherry, plum, licorice and spice are all amplified in this potent, racy wine. Readers will find a super-classic Panzano Chianti Classico built on texture and volume. Expressive floral and spice notes resonate on the rich, potent finish. A dollop of 10% Merlot works well in exalting richness. This is beautifully done.

97 points James Suckling
Very perfumed with flowers and sandalwood. Medium- to full-bodied with very fine tannins that are so long and intense. This will compete with top Brunellos. Linear and driven at the end. From organically grown grapes. Best after 2026.

92 points Wine Advocate
Opening to medium-dark concentration, the organic Castello di Bossi 2020 Chianti Classico Riserva Berardo offers a velvet-like texture with substantial aromas of dark plum and sweet cherry and moderate tones of earth and spice that are expertly woven within the wine's fine texture. This Riserva offers good tannic structure with fine, powdery sensations to close.

Organic / Biodynamic

Owned by footbal great Charles Woodson.

Organic / Biodynamic

97-99 points Jeb Dunnuck
One of the biggest successes on the upper plateau is the 2020 Chateau Clos Fourtet, and it does everything right in the vintage. A magical, perfumed bouquet of red plums, black cherries, white truffle, and white flowers just screams Saint-Emilion, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, flawless overall balance, a dense mid-palate, and a liqueur of rocks-like minerality on the palate. Building incrementally with time in the glass, this is thrilling stuff that should offer some up-front appeal in its youth yet benefit from 7-8 years in the cellar and keep for 30 years or more. Bravo! The blend is 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3% Cabernet Franc that?????s still resting in 50% new French oak.

98 points Vinous
The 2020 Clos Fourtet is a towering, statuesque beauty that captures all the personality and character of this site in a wine that marries vertical intensity, power and explosive energy. Black cherry, gravel, menthol, sage, crushed rocks and chocolate all soar out of the glass. This is a tremendous showing from the Cuvelier family.

96-98 points Wine Advocate
The 2020 Clos Fourtet is a blend of 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc, harvested from 15th to 30th September and weighing in with an alcohol of 14.5% and a pH of 3.6. It is being aged for 14-18 months in 50% new oak barrels, 48% second-fill barrels and 2% amphora. Deep garnet-purple in color, it comes bounding out of the glass with ripe, expressive notes of crushed black plums, juicy black berries and black cherry preserves, followed by hints of ground cloves, cinnamon stick, camphor and cedar chest. The medium to full-bodied palate is jam-packed with bright, vivacious black fruits, framed by velvety tannins and bags of freshness, finishing with great length

Organic / Biodynamic

Château de Chaintres produces this cuvée from one of their best and oldest parcels: a 1940 planting (hence the name: the year of plantation in Roman numerals) of Cabernet Franc in the heart of the clos. Aged in a single 20-hectoliter tronconic oak cask for two winters, “MCMXL” offers intensely concentrated, sappy fruit, penetrating and finely chiseled minerality, and a firmer structure than the other Saumur-Champigny wines in the lineup.