Wines (48 View)

94 points James Suckling
Pretty Brunello with licorice, smoky woodland and ripe black cherries. Medium-bodied, soft and velvety at the start, then thick with an austere finish. Refreshing acidity. Good definition and savoriness here, yet it’s mostly fruity. Needs time to develop greater complexity. Drinkable now, but best from 2026.

93 points Decanter
Davide Bozzon has been the resident winemaker at Castelgiocondo since this 2020 vintage. Given the hot conditions, he kept macerations to under 28 days to rein in the power and keep the wine from becoming too heavy. After one year in neutral barriques, it refines for a further two in large Slavonian oak casks. Grenadine and macerated red plum are topped with chocolate, rosemary and oregano. Smooth and polished on entry, luxurious fruit is laced with espresso and leather. Despite its girth, a concentration of frisky acidity persists through the core. That charming touch of Tuscan rusticity is felt in its dry, dusty tannins on the back end.

93 points Wine Spectator
Fresh and expressive, this red displays cherry, raspberry, earth, leather and menthol flavors. There are gripping tannins, yet it's the vivid acidity that makes a stronger impact as it propels the long finish. Best from 2028 through 2045.

90 points Wine Enthusiast
The wine’s rich fruit and structure are dense and have potential. This is a solid wine, black fruits foremost with spice from wood aging.

Organic / Biodynamic

10 hours on the skins followed by spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel tanks. Aged in stainless. Filtered. A bright yellow color with a brilliant focus and structure. Mineral driven, stony, savory, and a delicate salinity aspect that is intriguing. A compelling wine that any white wine drinker will enjoy.

12% abv

Organic

95 points Wine Advocate
The 2020 Reserva was produced with a blend of 80% Tempranillo and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, a selection of two plots, mostly from the zone of El Picón below the winery where the soils are very white and rich in limestone and the Cabernet from the gravel and sandy soils. 2020 was a little warmer than 2021 but cooler than the following years, 2022 and 2023. This is always a very serious wine, and it has ripeness and 14.5% alcohol but very good balance and harmony, with enough freshness and acidity to come through as a powerful but elegant. The differences between this and the regular Hacienda Monasterio are basically the origin, the plots and a slightly higher percentage of Cabernet and perhaps a little more new oak (no more than 40%), because the Cabernet Sauvignon from Hacienda Monasterio takes the new oak very well compared with Tempranillo, because the grape ripens very well and integrates the oak very well. It is full-bodied, powerful and elegant, with stuffing and balance to develop nicely in bottle. 50,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2023. Drink 2025-2035.

The Hidden Vines Red Wine opens with inviting aromas of ripe blackberry, blueberry crumble, dark currants, tobacco, dried herbs and floral nuances. On the palate it offers a medium to full body with juicy black and blue fruits that expand through the velvety finish.

40% Merlot, 40% Petite Verdot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 18 months in American Oak, 20% New Oak

A classy, fuller-weighted Ripasso with no lack of concentration. A big wine with lots of resinous pine-needle oak as the framework. But for those seeking heft, this is delivered with the grace of tension, well-portioned dark fruit and alpine herbs across the finish, promoting an uncanny freshness.

Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara, Croatina, and Oseleta.
A second fermentation is induced by adding the must of the Amarone to the tank. Aged in second-pass French and American oak for 12 months.

95 points Vinous
The 2020 Lessona is a classy, polished wine. Macerated cherry, mint, rose petal, pomegranate and tangerine peel lift from the glass. The 2022 is wonderfully fresh and translucent, with relatively soft contours that make it an absolute joy to taste today. I especially admire the wine's vibrancy. Drinking Window: 2027-2035

93 points James Suckling
A classical, typical Rioja Alta red with elegant notes of vanilla, coconut, smoked spices and strawberries. Refined and suave, with fine tannins and a long, creamy finish. Juicy and elegant. Really approachable now, but give it two more years to get more mushroom complexity.

92 points Wine Advocate
The younger wine here is the 2020 Vi¤a Alberdi, a versatile version of the Haro reds. It was produced with Tempranillo fermented in stainless steel and matured in American oak barrels for two years (it's sold as Reserva in international markets and Crianza in Spain). It has 14% alcohol with a pH of 3.6 and five grams of acidity. It has a classical nose of ripe fruit, American oak and spices, the subtle notes of forest floor, still young. The palate is velvety and very balanced with polished tannins.

91 points James Suckling
A medium-to full-bodied carmenere with lots of dark, grilled cumin, black beans, olives and smoked meat. Dry and tannic with a juicy core of fruit, without being sweet.

Organic

A delightful expression of traditionally styled Nebbiolo (100%) from Piedmont’s Roero region. Classic notes of dried cherries, orange rind, baking spice and dried flowers. Medium-bodied with nice length that finishes with slightly firm tannins that soften nicely with decanting. Sourced from two prized vineyards Trinita and Renesio. Fermented in stainless steel tanks, then aged for 25 months in 460 to 500 liter (2-3 times used) French oak casks. The wine then rests in bottle for an additional 12 months prior to release.

Ruby red colour with medium depth rim. Intense, fresh aroma. Complex notes of plum, enveloped against a very enjoyable balsamic undertone. Delicate leather and spicy touches that recall a subtle toastiness enhance the wine's finesse and elegance. Its broad, well-rounded tannins and ripe fruit provide a balanced, full-bodied mouthfeel. A pleasant, luscious and tasty wine in mouth. - Winery

94+ points Wine Advocate
The 2020 Rioja Reserva, their flagship wine, comes from the 300 hectares of estate vineyards. Here, Tempranillo is the backbone, making up 82% of the blend in the low-yielding vintage of 2019, complemented with 8% Graciano, 7% Mazuelo and 3% Garnacha. It has controlled ripeness at 14% alcohol, with a pH of 3.65 and 5.1 grams of acidity. I loved the aromatics here—floral and elegant, more in the style of the 2018 than the 2019. it's lighter, more elegant, fine-boned and has a silky texture and very fine tannins. Both 2019 and 2020 are very good, but 2020 is more my style.

In September 2023, the Cebrián-Sagarriga family celebrated its 40th anniversary as owners of Marqués de Murrieta, which they bought in 1983. In 1996, Vicente Dalmau Cebrián took the reins of the winery, driving a deep transformation, and he continues today, relentlessly trying to improve every year. It's pretty amazing how the wines feel better each year, like a winery on its way up.

94 points James Suckling
Refined nose with peppery and earthy undertones to the savory berry fruit, subtle vanilla and orange. Minerals as well. This is firm and quite long on the palate, with medium body and a traditional, nicely rustic twist at the end. Really poised and persistent, showing precision and finesse. One of the best Reserva expressions lately from Marques de Riscal? A joy to drink now, but will hold well over the next 10 years.

Tempranillo sourced from a vineyard planted in 1970 in Rioja Alavesa. This dark purple wine unfurls with aromas of dried plums and balsamic over an oaky layer. Dry and rich on the palate, the firm tannins are enlivened by an ethereal mouthfeel—a warm, flavorful and overwhelming wine.

A really fresh and well-balanced Amarone here, with tapenade, ripe but fresh blackberries, chili chocolate and some red berries, too. This is tight and juicy, with a medium-to full-bodied palate and a long, fruity finish. A modern, fresh expression of Amarone that shows immense drinkability, but still pretty serious. Not super-concentrated, but shows restraint and balance.

The review is on the previous vintage.

92 points Wine Enthusiast
This historic wine of the Veneto region, first made in 1964, is still a classic today. The wine is rich and luscious, with ripe notes of black plum, cherry and blackberry. These fruits are supported by herbal and deep earthy notes. The palate is sumptuous, rich and balances the earth and fruit notes with near perfection. The wine is well structured and overdelivers.

"Offering a joyous explosion of color and fun, it is a substantial, dense, full-bodied, whopper style of wine loaded with pure black fruit and vanilla flavors that coat the palate. It reveals remarkable richness with a finish that is slightly dry and seems to linger." Winemaker notes

Like elephants whose size is imposing, Petite Petit is large! A blend of 85% Petite Sirah and 15% Petit Verdot.

Aged 16 months in French oak, our memorable blend of Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot definitely steals the show! Our trunks detect blueberry, violet and plum. Chalky tannins give a smooth and seamless finish to this jumbo sized offering, leaving you wanting more.

95 points Jeb Dunnuck
From a slightly more challenging year for the region, the 2020 Muga Seleccin Especial checks in as 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, and the rest Graciano and Mazuelo that's aged six months in new French barrique, followed by two full years in older French and American (70/30) oak barriques. Rocking levels of cassis and black raspberry-like fruit as well as graphite, spicy wood, violets, and lead pencil notes all shine on the nose, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a round, layered mouthfeel, and silky tannins. It's already hard to resist.

94 points Wine Advocate
Their most gastronomical red is the 2020 Seleccin Especial, a blend of the four traditional varieties from RiojaTempranillo, Garnacha Tinta, Mazuelo and Gracianofermented in oak vats. Half of the destemmed grapes were put through an optical sorting machine. The wine matured in French oak barrels, 40% of them new, for 26 months and was racked every eight to nine months. 2020 was a warm year, and the wine comes in at 14.5% alcohol, with a pH of 3.56 and 5.75 grams of acidity. Manu Muga likes 2020 very much and says it's a year that suffers because it's in between 2019 and 2021. This is also a textbook example of this wine, a little more developed and tertiary, with generous spice and toast and a palate with more grip. The tannins are not as precise and elegant as those from 2021 (yeah, it suffers in the comparison), but it's a very worthy wine. 246,120 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2023 after being fined with egg whites.

94 points James Suckling
Mint, blackberries, cocoa powder, graphite, black pepper and roasted dark spices. Full-bodied and juicy, with lots of tannins that are quite sinewy and fine-grained. Really long. Needs at least two more years to come around. Tempranillo, garnacha, mazuelo and graciano. Drink after 2026.

Organic

The wines of Olga Raffault are a reference point of Chinon... in this delicious, savory, 100% Cabernet Franc you're treated to pencil shavings and wet grass which dominate the nose, and the palate balances cherry fruit with herbs and earth. Farming here is managed to the strictest of Organic standards. Wondering what to have along side this for dinner? Think about pork chops and mashed potatoes with mushrooms and garlic or if you're a fan of duck; have a glass alongside root vegetables and cranberries.

Les Picasses is the most famous Chinon lieu-dit, close to the village of Beaumont-En-Vron on the north bank of the Vienne River. It is a slope with full southern exposure and chalky clay-limestone soils. Raffault's mid-slope vines are at least 50 years old and are worked organically and harvested by hand. The fruit is destemmed with the berries left whole; they are fermented with indigenous yeasts in tank with a maceration of 25-30 days. The wine is aged for one to two years in 30-hectoliter oak and chestnut foudres; it is then aged in bottle for several years before release..

94 points James Suckling
Medium ruby hue, with a bright and racy nose thats full of pretty berries, redcurrants, fresh strawberries and potpourri. Medium-bodied and naturally juicy on the palate, showing lots of crunch and drinkability. Fresh, transparent and silky. Drink or hold.

93 points Wine Advocate
They are going for lower yields and less bottles of the 2020 La Montesa and slowly putting prices up, as they feel the wine is more serious than what the perception of the affordable price makes it. 2020 is a powerful vintage; it's structured and textured, the oak is very nicely integrated (12 months in barrel, but the powerful wine absorbed it completely), and it's powerful with 14% alcohol and a pH of 3.55, a little darker than in previous years. The tannins are very fine with a subtle chalky texture. There were 2,319 barrels that resulted in 672,000 bottles, 10,000 magnums and some larger and smaller formats. It was bottled from April 2022.

98 points Wine Spectator
There’s a core of cherry, raspberry, rose, earth and eucalyptus in this powerful yet reserved Barbaresco. Flashes of orange peel and amaro emerge as the vivid acidity kicks in. The tannins are accordingly dense, and this shuts down on the finish today. Nevertheless, there’s a majesty to this red and the sense of a thoroughbred waiting to emerge. Best from 2030 through 2050. 1,900 cases made, 900 cases imported.

97 points James Suckling
Youthful and pure, a bit austere at the moment, showing earthy minerality, dark chocolate, restrained black cherries and red currants with Earl Grey tea aromas. Full-bodied and vibrant, this has elegant, velvety tannins, refreshing acidity and stunning savoriness with almost meaty depth. The multilayered, juicy finish is full of fruit, flowers and licorice. Not easy, yet outstanding. March 2026 release. Drink or hold.

97+ points Vinous
The 2021 Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà is dark, powerful and explosive. That’s the good news. Readers will have to be patient with this brooding, sepia-toned Barbaresco. Dark fruit, graphite, new leather, licorice, scorched earth and gravel add to an impression of muscular gravitas. The 2021 needs a bit of time in the glass to start opening, but when it does, it’s magnificent.

97 points Kerin O'Keefe
The most structured and brooding Riserva from Produttori del Barbaresco, the 2021 Rabajà Riserva offers enticing scents of new leather, red cherry, citrus and forest floor that carry over to the full-bodied palate along with ripe raspberry, star anise and ground clove. Firm, well-integrated but clenching tannins provide the backbone. Drink 2031-2041. Abv: 14.5%

Organic

92 points Wine Advocate
I love the simplicity of the red blend 2020 Candea Tinto, which is straightforward, tasty, juicy and balanced, without any excess or makeup, raw and authentic, with note of wild berries, flowers and herbs and a medium-bodied palate with moderate alcohol and nice balance. Highly drinkable. 14,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in September 2022

100% Baga made via Methode Champenoise to produce a savory and juicy sparkling red wine. Baga is typically known for its deep structure, but these grapes were chosen for their high acidity and good fruit potential. The base wine was initially fermented in stone lagares then transferred to 3k liter old oak tonels to complete fermentation. Secondary fermentation occurs in bottle to add sparkle. This is a Brut Natural so there is no added sugar. The Bruto Natural Tinto jumps out of the glass with bright and brambly fruit. The palate is generous and savory with excellent length.

90 pts Wine Advocate
The 2020 Meandro do Vale Me??o is a blend of 50% Touriga Nacional, 35% Touriga Franca, 10% Tinta Roriz and dollops of Tinta Barroca and Alicante Bouschet for the rest, all aged in used French oak for 14 months. It comes in at 14.2% alcohol. This was in bottle about a month when seen. In the tough vintage, this doesn't seem to miss a beat. It's fresh, understated, elegant and full of great fruit. It has ripe tannins for support and some ability to age too. Most of all, it's another nice bargain in this consistent brand.

Organic / Biodynamic

93 points Wine Advocate
The 2020 Intens Rosat was produced exclusively with Monastrell (as they couldn't use the Garnacha that was lost in that year of mildew) that macerated with the skins for six hours and aged in oak barrels for a short time. It was put to referment in bottle closed with a cork with concentrated organic must and was disgorged after 31 months. This is their youngest wine, and it has an intense pink color (a little paler than in earlier vintages). But going beyond the color, it has the subtle aromas from the red grape (translucent red berries) and is a gastronomical rosé with a balanced palate and abundant small bubbles. It has 11% alcohol, a pH of 3.21 and 4.5 grams of acidity from the year of rain and mildew (and Covid!) that delivered very low yields. Very tasty.

Recaredo’s uncompromisingly vinous, deeply colored sparkling rosé is produced from fully ripe Monastrell and Garnacha, pressed slowly and given six hours of skin-maceration, and given five years of lees aging. Bright, sappy, and bursting with salt-flecked fruit, this wine simultaneously expresses the verve of the vintage and the solar imprint of the terroir. If most still rosé from the French stretch of the sea straitjackets itself with overcropping, sulfur, and a rush to bottling (that salmon color so beloved by the market requires some coercion), “Intens” expresses the full luscious heat of the Mediterranean in typically Recaredo-esque visceral fashion, yet it remains scintillatingly vibrant and refreshing to drink.

Josep Mata Capellades founded Cavas Recaredo in 1924, naming the domaine in honor of his father, Recaredo Mata Figueres. Josep Mata Capellades built the cellars in his house, in the historic centre of Sant Sadurní d'Anoia. Parts of the cellars are now over 80 years old and have been conserved in their original form.

Recaredo is a pioneer in the production of totally dry cavas, in working with oak barrels and in longer-aged cavas. Cavas Recaredo is currently managed by Josep and Antoni Mata Casanovas, the sons of its founder, with Ton Mata actively involved and representing the succeeding generation.Recaredo owns forty-six hectares of vineyards in the Alt Penedes district planted primarily to the Xarello, Macabeu and Parellada grape varieties, with smaller amounts of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Monastrell (Mourvedre).

Viticulture at Recaredo is based solely on dry farming; no herbicides or pesticides are used and only organic fertilizers are applied when necessary; grapes are harvested manually; and, production is limited to cavas that are completely dry. The estate strictly follows an organic viticulture regime.Vinification is carried out entirely at the Recaredo cellars in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia. The musts from the oldest Xarello vines ferment in oak barrels, which give structure and greater complexity for longer-aged cavas. Some of the base wine is aged in oak barrels for some months. This wine will be used to add greater finesse and structure to the final blending. At Recaredo, the wines are aged in-bottle in continuous contact with the second fermentation lees; the bottles are closed with 100% natural cork stoppers. Disgorging is carried out on an exclusively manual basis, at the cellars' natural temperature, without freezing the necks of the bottles, a process that produces the most natural product possible. The cavas of Recaredo are disgorged totally dry with a zero dosage and all cuvées are vintage-dated.Effectively, Can Recaredo, as the domaine is known, is a deeply traditional producer of the finest Cavas available in the market. To visit the cellars and observe the process is to return to another time when artisanal, hand-crafted products of the highest quality were the universally accepted standard, the goal that all sought to achieve. Here, in brief form is the Recaredo commitment:Production of single-vintage cavas only.Production of completely dry cavas: “Brut Nature”.Vinification, production and ageing 100% in-house.Ageing in bottle inside our caves, with real cork stoppers.Remuage by hand, in traditional racks.Manual disgorgement without freezing the bottle's neck.

Organic / Biodynamic / Vegan

Josep Mata Capellades founded Cavas Recaredo in 1924, naming the domaine in honor of his father, Recaredo Mata Figueres. Josep Mata Capellades built the cellars in his house, in the historic centre of Sant Sadurní d'Anoia. Parts of the cellars are now over 80 years old and have been conserved in their original form.

Recaredo is a pioneer in the production of totally dry cavas, in working with oak barrels and in longer-aged cavas. Cavas Recaredo is currently managed by Josep and Antoni Mata Casanovas, the sons of its founder, with Ton Mata actively involved and representing the succeeding generation.Recaredo owns forty-six hectares of vineyards in the Alt Penedes district planted primarily to the Xarello, Macabeu and Parellada grape varieties, with smaller amounts of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Monastrell (Mourvedre).

Viticulture at Recaredo is based solely on dry farming; no herbicides or pesticides are used and only organic fertilizers are applied when necessary; grapes are harvested manually; and, production is limited to cavas that are completely dry. The estate strictly follows an organic viticulture regime.Vinification is carried out entirely at the Recaredo cellars in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia. The musts from the oldest Xarello vines ferment in oak barrels, which give structure and greater complexity for longer-aged cavas. Some of the base wine is aged in oak barrels for some months. This wine will be used to add greater finesse and structure to the final blending. At Recaredo, the wines are aged in-bottle in continuous contact with the second fermentation lees; the bottles are closed with 100% natural cork stoppers. Disgorging is carried out on an exclusively manual basis, at the cellars' natural temperature, without freezing the necks of the bottles, a process that produces the most natural product possible. The cavas of Recaredo are disgorged totally dry with a zero dosage and all cuvées are vintage-dated.Effectively, Can Recaredo, as the domaine is known, is a deeply traditional producer of the finest Cavas available in the market. To visit the cellars and observe the process is to return to another time when artisanal, hand-crafted products of the highest quality were the universally accepted standard, the goal that all sought to achieve. Here, in brief form is the Recaredo commitment:Production of single-vintage cavas only.Production of completely dry cavas: “Brut Nature”.Vinification, production and ageing 100% in-house.Ageing in bottle inside our caves, with real cork stoppers.Remuage by hand, in traditional racks.Manual disgorgement without freezing the bottle's neck.

Winemaker Notes:
Rich with dark cherry, plum, and baking spices. The delicious fruit is accompanied by black pepper notes, crushed violet, and cassis. The palate has medium tannins, lingering spicy oak flavors with a velvety lush finish.
Enjoy this Cabernet with a grilled steak, rack of lamb, or grilled winter vegetables.

90pts Wine Enthusiast:
Brawny blackberry, dark cherry and raspberry make for an inviting entry into this impressively likable wine. It is smooth, rounded and rich in feel. Touches of vanilla and baking spice season the whole, building to a velvety finish.

95 points James Suckling
A super creamy, delicious and detailed red with oodles of red fruit, silky tannins and a full body. It tastes pure, fresh, almost delicate, offering raspberries, cherry cream, blueberries, cafe au lait and subtle oak toast on the palate. A gentle, layered, pretty wine that seems not at all affected by the wildfire smoke that year. Drinkable now, but best from 2030.

Organic

The roots of wine production in Conero (located in the middle of the Marche) date back to the 10th century BC, during the Etruscan period. Compared to that, the Malacari family's 500 years in the region seems rather brief, though they are one of, if not the longest, continually operating winery in the region. Alessandro Starrabba is at the helm of the winery and is the current generation of the Malacari through his mother's side of the family. He makes some of the best value (and super soulful!) Montepulciano to be found in Italy. Both his Rosso Conero Villa Malacari and the more modest Rocca bottling offer tons of character at very modest pricepoints. These wines are full of character and offer a level of quality that should not be overlooked. - Distributor