Wines (24 View)

#10 on The Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines Of 2024!

94 points Wine Spectator
Oozing with character, this succulent and mouthwatering white offers a fleshy, juicy mix of perfectly ripe peach, mango and lemon bar flavors, with fresh herbal accents of lemon verbena and vetiver. Offers accents of freshly grated ginger, tangerine and crunchy sea salt on the finish. Drink now through 2036.

95 points Jeb Dunnuck
A bright straw color, the 2022 Chardonnay Russian River Valley is fresh and aromatic with notes of flinty, ripe, fresh apple, candied lemon, a savory, lightly herbaceous touch, and a hint of wet stone. Medium to full-bodied, it’s elegant and long on the palate, with a delicate saline touch and a balanced feel throughout. It is phenomenal wine and shows off the versatility of this vintage with ease. Drink it over the next 10 or more years.

94 points Wine Spectator
Oozing with character, this succulent and mouthwatering white offers a fleshy, juicy mix of perfectly ripe peach, mango and lemon bar flavors, with fresh herbal accents of lemon verbena and vetiver. Offers accents of freshly grated ginger, tangerine and crunchy sea salt on the finish. Drink now through 2036.

95 points Vinous
The 2021 Lytton Springs is fabulous. Bright and vibrant to its core, the 2021 impresses with its poise. Readers will find a Lytton Springs that is very much in reserve, as opposed to the rest of the 2021s in this report, all of which are more approachable. Salivating acids and veins of tannin lend shape and persistence, but the 2021 needs time. Red cherry fruit, blood orange, rose petal and sage are some of the notes that linger on the close

"Firm, fresh and complex, with an array of glazed apricot, ginger, maple and cream flavors. Features notes of truffle and mineral on the crisp finish. Drink now. 200 cases imported." Wine Spectator

Organic

94 points Wine Advocate
The 2010 Finca Iscorta De Peciña Gran Reserva is their usual blend of Tempranillo with 3% Garnacha and 2% Graciano, sourced from 50-year-old vines from their Finca Iscorta vineyard in the Sonsierra zone; therefore, it is a single-vineyard bottling. It fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged in well-seasoned American oak barrels for 48 months with manual and gravity rackings every six months. This feels very harmonious, combining some primary notes with more-developed tertiary aromas. The palate also reveals a rare mix of power and elegance that only the very best vintages are capable of. It has polished tannins, good volume, freshness and length. Drink or hold, there should be no rush.

John Gillman, "The 2010 Rioja Gran Reserva “Finca Iscorta” is the first single vineyard bottling from Bodegas Hermanos Peciña that I have had the pleasure to taste. This vineyard is located at five hundred meters above sea level and planted to fifty year-old tempranillo vines. It is aged four years in older American oak casks prior to bottling, and another three years in bottle prior to its release. The wine is deep, still fairly youthful at age eight, and very promising aromatically, offering up scents of black cherries, Rioja spice tones, cigar smoke, a superb base of soil, bitter chocolate and a nice touch of coconutty American oak. On the palate the wine is pure, fullbodied and quite black fruity, with a fine core of fruit, good soil signature, tangy acids and a long, moderately tannic finish. This still needs several years in the cellar to blossom, but it will prove to be outstanding when it is ready to drink. Stylistically, it stands out quite a bit from the blended Peciña bottlings of Rioja, which are usually far more red fruity and spicy in personality than the 2010 Finca Iscorta, but the wine shares the customary Peciña refinement and classic sensibilities that has made this bodega so popular amongst traditionally-minded Rioja lovers. 2020-2050."

94 points Vinous
A flavorful Sonsierra wine, the 2015 Gran Reserva is 100% Tempranillo sourced from San Vicente de la Sonsierra and Labastida, Rioja. Aged for 26 months in American oak barrels, this garnet wine with a bricked sheen exhibits a complex nose of oak and spice, accompanied by hints of herbs, sour cherry and thyme. Dry, compact and juicy, the mildly rich palate lingers with a thyme inflected finish. The nuanced character of this Gran Reserva is the result of well-managed vineyards, located in the very best terroir of the Sonsierra.

93 points Wine Advocate
I hadn't tasted a Gran Reserva from Sierra Cantabria since the 2012, and the 2015 Gran Reserva follows the same traditional style: mostly Tempranillo with 2% Graciano matured in American oak barrels, 25% of them new, for 26 months. It's ripe at 14.3% alcohol, with the powerful and velvety house style, but it shows the effect of the warmer and powerful years, especially in the tannins that are more abundant and a little drier. It's a concentrated year that might need more time in bottle.

94 pts Wine Advocate
The pale, translucent, ethereal and perfumed 2019 Finca Xabrega was produced with a field blend of 90% Mencía, 10% Garnacha Tintorera and some white grapes from a single vineyard planted with old vines on granite and mica soils. The destemmed grapes fermented with indigenous yeasts and soft pigéage in stainless steel, then the wine matured in barrel for three months, followed by six months in tank to settle before bottling. It's very, clean, elegant, precise and subtle with great freshness and balance and only 12.5% alcohol. Ethereal, beautiful juice. Only 912 bottles were filled in July 2020.

50+ year old vines and only 0.8 hectares

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is exuberant and expressive, with a bounty of wild bramble berry fruits alongside lifted floral notes of lavender and violet. There are also warmer spiced notes of Crème brûlée, allspice and black pepper, a nod from the seamless oak integration. On the palate, juicy cassis, black currant and blackberry are supported by hints of delicate red rose, brown butter and bittersweet chocolate, giving this Cabernet a rich depth and complexity. Cocoa-powdery tannins provide a pleasurable mouth coating texture, all enfolding into a lengthy mouthwatering finish. Very approachable and pleasing upon release, this wine is sure to impress and pair well alongside many culinary dishes.

#76 on The Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of 2023!

93 points Wine Spectator
Lovely, with a mix of persimmon, white peach, hazelnut, green tea and singed alder notes all moving together in streamlined harmony. The long, elegant finish has nice latent energy. Drink now.

Organic

94 points Wine Advocate
The certified organic Col d'Orcia 2019 Brunello di Montalcino shows ripe fruit, blackberry, earthy notes, licorice and, generally speaking, a much bigger and riper fruit profile compared to its peers. It offers full-bodied Brunello opulence to enjoy over the near or medium term, and the wine delivers dried fruit flavors of prune and fig to close. The tannins are velvety and add to the richness of the rather upfront and immediate mouthfeel.

93 points Vinous
Depths of dried black cherry come together with cedar shavings and worn leather as the darkly alluring 2019 Brunello di Montalcino slowly evolves in the glass. This is surprisingly juicy and energetic, with a pure blend of red fruits and inner florals coasting along a fresh acidity stream. Fine tannins settle in through the finish as the 2019 takes on a youthful tension, puckering the cheeks as tart cranberry notes fade through the youthfully chewy finale. (Drink between 2025-2033)

This is a blend of 40% Malbec, 27% Zinfandel, 21% Petite Sirah, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and smaller amounts of Mourvedre, Petit Verdot and Merlot. Together, they work to offer inviting elements of baking spice, cherry vanilla and a creamy palate of integrated tannins and toasted oak. The fleshy, lush feel benefits from a fresh backbone of acidity.

Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauv., Petite Sirah, Syrah, Grenache and Charbono.

"Aromas of briar fruits and dried cherry are accented by hints of vanilla and toasted oak. On the palate, tiers of blueberry, ripe mulberry and boysenberry give way to an edge of espresso, cracked pepper and a seasoning of fall spice. These dense aromas and flavors culinate in a lingering finish framed by refined tannins." ~ Prisoner Wine Co.

"Light gold. Musky orchard fruits and dried fig on the mineral-accented nose. Fleshy and broad on the palate, offering smoky pear and nectarine flavors and a hint of honey. Finishes on a gently spicy note, with very good cling and a touch of bitter lemon pith. Things have definitely begun to turn around for this bottling, which had been lagging behind the winery's vintage offerings for some time." 90pts VS

The predominance of Pinot Noir provides the structure that is so typically Clicquot, while a touch of Pinot Meunier rounds out the blend. Chardonnay adds the elegance and finesse essential in a perfectly balanced wine.

The top Barbera from the leading producer in the Colli Tortonesi (southeast Piemonte), and one of a handful of truly age-worthy Barberas. This wine, along with Sentieri and Fuso, demonstrates that Walter Massa is an able and versatile “Barberista”, in addition to having the magic touch with Timorasso.

Native yeasts. Aging in used barriques for about two years and at least an additional year in bottle. No filtration. All the classic Barbera cherry and raspberry fruit, with the grape’s high acidity honed into a tightly-knit complexity. One of the few Barbaras that age and become more complex.

Walter Massa is the real deal: a contadino (farmer) with deep family roots in his native Colli Tortonesi who’s usually plowing his vineyards or buzzing around his cellar when someone arrives for a visit. He’ll then stop to spend hours showing around, pouring wines for, and talking with the continual waves of journalists, sommeliers, importers, buyers, and just plain fans who make their way to his village of Monleale in the southeast corner of Piemonte. Massa is universally known as the Maestro of Timorasso — he rescued it from obscurity and near-extinction and now leads a mini-renaissance of the variety in the Colli Tortonesi. But he also produces amazing and distinctive reds from the local varieties Barbera, Croatina, Freisa, and Nebbiolo.