Wines

98 points Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Barolo Bric del Fiasc is the hallmark wine of the estate, and it shows. Taking on more concentration, it is pure and generous with kirsch, star anise, nutmeg, and menthol and moves impressively to the palate with ease and nobility. It offers fantastic depth while remaining true to the vintage and propels forward through an arch of acidity, while having grounded notes of Earl Grey tea, black cherry, and crushed stones as well as ripe tannins.

Organic / Biodynamic

99 points Jeb Dunnuck
#26 in Top 100, 2022. Pure class, the 2019 Chateau Pichon-Longueville Comtesse De Lalande is another brilliant wine from director Nicolas Glumineau that checks in at the top of the vintage. A blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet Franc that was harvested from mid-September through October 8th. Brought up in roughly 60% new French oak, it hit 14.1% natural alcohol with a pH of 3.7. More elegant and poised from bottle than barrel, it offers a brilliant perfume of creme de cassis, lead pencil shavings, tobacco leaf, damp earth, and graphite. Deep, full-bodied, and pure perfection on the palate, it has this incredible marriage of Latour-like stature and regalness buffered by wonderful, sexy, seamless fruit, which no doubt comes from the higher Merlot content and makes Comtesse de Lalande so singular and unique. It builds slowly with time in the glass and has remarkable purity of fruit, ultra-fine tannins, perfect balance, and a finish that just begs you to pour another glass. It has a seductive, seamless profile that offers pleasure even today (although it needs lots of air to show at its best) yet needs 7-8 years of bottle age to hit the early stages of its prime drink window and will evolve for another 40-50 years if stored properly.

98 points Wine Advocate
One of the wines of the vintage, the 2019 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande soars from the glass with complex aromas of wild berries, tobacco leaf, loamy soil, burning embers and hints of violets and rose petals. Full-bodied, deep and complete, it?????s velvety and seamless, with a broad attack and a multidimensional core of lively, succulent fruit. Concluding with a long, expansive finish, it?????s a remarkable young Pauillac that will offer many years of thrilling drinking. Congratulations to Nicolas Glumineau and his team, who are ushering in a new golden age at an address where standards were always very high.

98 points Vinous
One of the most elegant Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande I can remember tasting. The 2019 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is very clearly one of the wines of the year. Statuesque in its bearing, the 2019 possesses tremendous depth and intensity right out of the gate. Dark fruit, gravel, smoke, licorice and incense draw the taster in. The 2019 is like a great book. You don't want to put it down. Each taste reveals a new layer, a new shade of nuance. The 2019 is quite simply one of the most elegant renditions I have tasted recently. That said, it is also incredibly austere and in need of cellaring. Don't miss it. Tasted three times.

100 points Vinous
The 2019 Montrose is very clearly one of the wines of the vintage. Rich, inky and towering in concentration, the 2019 possesses off the charts intensity and tons of structure to back it up. Succulent black cherry, plum, tobacco, gravel and licorice infuse the 2019 with striking depth. The 2019 is not quite as opulent as some recent vintages, and that's a good thing. Readers will find a regal wine that marries elegance with power. Unforgettable. Antonio Galloni (1/2022)

100 points Wine Enthusiast
The wine has a massive structure, great concentration. It now really shows the results of the massive investment of the owners, the telecom magnate Bouygues family. The powerful tannins mask the impressive black fruits and the wine?????s rich berry flavors. This magnificent wine will develop slowly over many years. Drink from 2027. *Cellar Selection* (8/2022)

99 points Decanter
A generous and abundant nose full of fruit and aromatic intensity followed by a gorgeous mouthfeel showcasing fruit density and concentration wrapped up in soft, velvety-smooth tannins. Just so much depth but also refinement here, it feels well made with just the right amount of fruit, toasty spice, tannins, freshness and acidity. The overall structure is gently framing all the elements - big and bold but quietly confident. The tannin impact is also enjoyable giving a feeling of approachability despite the long life ahead. Just superb - one of the best in 2019. (1/2022)

98+ points Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate needs a lot of swirling and coaxing to unlock notions of blackcurrant pastilles, warm black plums and mulberries, plus hints of black olives, tilled soil, mossy tree bark and violets with emerging baker's chocolate and star anise hints. Full-bodied, rich, concentrated and with impeccable poise, it has beautifully ripe, grainy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing epically long and earthy.

97 points Vinous
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is dazzling. What a wine! Ample and creamy, the 2019 possesses striking resonance to match its elegant, refined personality. A healthy dollop of Franc adds freshness to a core of dark red cherry, red plum, mocha, spice and new leather flavors. There is a level purity here that is just remarkable. This is the first vintage that includes a small portion of wine aged in amphora. I especially admire the aromatic presence and vibrancy in the 2019.

92-94 points Vinous
The 2019 Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux Saint-Jacques 1er Cru has a wonderful bouquet of blackberry, raspberry, rose petals and touches of melted tar; the 100% new oak is subsumed extremely well. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, fleshy and ripe, displaying a touch of piquancy on the silky-smooth finish and Asian spice on the aftertaste. (Drink between 2023-2038)

Winemaker Notes:
"Rich, deep burgundy. Aromatic profile features red apples and raspberries. On the palate, bright fresh cherries with toasty elements and just a hint of pepper."

100% Susumaniello vines planted in 2016. Being a late-ripening varietal, harvest takes place in early October. The Susumaniello grapes have a blue/black colour that produces deeply colored, almost inky wines. Fermented with native yeasts in concrete vats where 80% of the wine matures while 20% is transferred in used tonneaux.

A recent project started in 2016 by 4 friends, all veterans in the wine world, when an elderly farmer, no longer able to tend his land, decided to sell his 2 hectares of 50 years old alberello Negroamaro vines. The offer was impossible to resist and the first wine was released in 2019, only 4,000 bottles of it. An additional 2 hectares of Susumaniello were acquired, a local grape varietal that was widely grown but that for a number of reasons (late ripening, low yields soon after its vigorous first years of life etc.) had almost disappeared. The name Susumaniello comes from the local dialect expression for the Italian word somarello, donkey, an animal much needed to carry the heavy loads of grapes from the plentiful harvest from the young vines. We are in the sun-scorched Salento, in the Brindisi province, near the sea, along the ancient Roman Appian Way. A classic Mediterranean landscape, mostly flat, where olive trees and vines play the main role.

92 points Vinous
The 2019 Barbaresco Riserva Pora is a pretty tightly wound wine, certainly moreso than is typically the case for this Barbaresco, which is often much more engaging in the early going. Dried herbs, tobacco, cedar and earthiness lend notable savory nuance in this decidedly nervy, somber Pora. There's good fruit intensity and plenty of character that makes me want to revisit this in a few months' time.

94 points Kerin O'Keefe
The lovely 2019 Pora Riserva from Produttori del Barbaresco offers delicate scents recalling ripe red fruit, culinary spice, new leather and violet while the refined palate features juicy raspberry, liquor soaked cherry and licorice. Tightly-knit, velvety tannins provide enveloping support. Pora is known for its softer tannins and smoother character thank to its more fertile soil, and the these traits come through even in 2019, a vintage known for yielding wines with youthful austerity. Drink 2027–2034. Abv: 14.5%

93 points James Suckling
Sour cherries with orange peel and hints of vanilla bean. Some bark, too. Medium body, with very fine tannins and a fresh and bright finish. Lean and agile. Drink after 2026

Organic / Natural

White Horse is Bloomer Creek's light-hearted tribute Cheval Blanc, the great Saint-milion blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot. The Cabernet Franc for White Horse comes from Bloomer's Auten and Barrow Vineyards (vine age ranges from 9-25 years), the Merlot comes from Barrow Vineyard and was planted in 2015. Vinification is similar to the 2019 Cabernet Franc, with a blend of destemmed, crushed and whole cluster fruit fermented in open vats over a three week period. The wine is matured for two years in oak before bottling, unfined and unfiltered.

Organic

#66 on The Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2022.

96 points Wine Spectator
This is really vivid, with a beautiful range of cassis, cherry pur??e, boysenberry coulis and plum reduction notes unfurling across the palate while succulent licorice, warm fruitcake and enticing red and black tea notes sing back up. The long, refined finish has plenty in reserve for the long haul. One of the stars of the vintage. Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Alicante Bouschet and Tinta Amarela. Best from 2040 through 2060.

#19 On The Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines Of 2024!

95 points Wine Spectator
Strawberry, raspberry and cherry aromas and flavors are beautifully displayed in this charming version, with loam, tobacco and herbs adding detail while the aftertaste goes on and on. Shows balance and formidable length. Best from 2026 through 2042.

93 points Wine Spectator
Graceful and refined, with elegantly layered plum and raspberry flavors that take on forest floor, lavender and spice accents toward polished tannins. Drink now through 2030.

92 points Vinous Media
The 2019 Syrah (Sonoma Coast) is a fabulous appellation-level wine. Sweet, perfumed floral notes and bright red berry fruit give the 2019 its lifted, gracious personality. Vibrant saline notes extend the finish. Best of all, the Sonoma Coast Syrah is already quite enjoyable.

94 points Vinous
The 2019 Barbaresco Riserva Ovello is powerful, savory and intensely linear, in classico Ovello style, and yet it appears to have enough fruit behind its imposing tannins to develop well over the coming years. In this tasting, the Ovello feels pretty closed post bottling, but its inherent balance and qualities are there. Clean saline notes extend the finish in promising fashion.

96 points Kerin O'Keefe
The 2019 Ovello Riserva is succulent and enveloping, offering scents of dark-skinned berry, forest floor, violet and new leather. Full-bodied with impressive structure and fruit, it boasts ripe raspberry, black cherry and licorice supported by firm, close-grained tannins that provide the backbone. Fresh acidity keeps it well balanced. Drink 2029?????2044. Abv: 14.5%

95 points Wine Advocate
The obsession in 2019 was to avoid excess ripeness and to keep the freshness, so they did a softer vinification, used larger vats for the elevage and used less American wood. The 2019 Valbuena was produced with a blend of Tinto Fino with 3% Merlot. It has 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.88 and 4.6 grams of acidity. I love the nose; it is perfumed and subtle. And the wine is beautifully textured; the tannins are very fine, silky even, quite different from the tannins from the other 2019s from the group that I tasted next to this, Macan and Pintia. A triumph over the conditions of the year, it's a more elegant Valbuena than I anticipated. 190,490 bottles, 5,581 magnums and some larger formats produced. It was bottled in June 2022

This wine presents abundant aromas of dark cherry and strawberry jam, brown sugar, dark chocolate and cola with hints of cardamom, black pepper, sandalwood and licorice. The bright and vibrant entry accentuates flavors of fresh blueberries and allspice that linger into a creamy, rich mid palate and ends with a luxurious finish. Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Mourvedre, Petite Sirah.

100 points Wine Advocate
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Poetry is a blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple colored, it sails out of the glass with energetic scents of fresh blackcurrants, black cherries and black raspberries, plus hints of candied violets, dark chocolate, clove oil and fragrant earth. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is exquisitely fine-knitted with tons of graceful nuances intertwined with the many shades of black fruits, accented by SO MANY minerals, finishing epically long and staggeringly gorgeous. WOW!

Organic

96 points Decanter
Bricco Fiasco is a single cru, vinified by itself since 1978, today from vines of 85 years old. The wine, after long maceration and ageing in botti grandi, opens up to smoky woodland notes, with citrus leaf, bark, wild strawberry and rose water delicacy. Full of sucrosity on the palate, the attack is youthful, with firm acidity and grainy, very elegant tannins. Structure and concentration are perfectly woven and poised, giving to this cru terrific balance which will count for ageing. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2050

95 points Wine Advocate
Bricco Fiasco is a proprietary name for a vineyard in Castiglione Falletto with 85 year old vines. Luigi Scavino says, "These vines represent a unique heritage for our family." The 2019 Barolo Bricco Fiasco (with 5,800 bottles released) is a little shy initially, with heavier berry fruit aromas that eventually relax to show campfire ash, pencil shaving and pressed rose. Put this bottle aside for a few more years.

100 points Jeb Dunnuck
An utterly brilliant Pomerol and the finest wine from this estate to date, surpassing even the 2016, the 2019 Chateau La Conseillante checks in as 84% Merlot and 16% Cabernet Franc and was raised in 70% new French oak. A wine of incredible finesse, purity, and precision, its deep purple hue is following by an incredible array of blueberries, creme de cassis, spring flowers, damp earth, and violets. Flawlessly balanced, full-bodied, and concentrated on the palate, it has a beautiful mid-palate, ultra-fine, utterly seamless tannins, and a heavenly finish. It doesn't have the sheer density or outright power of some of the other top Pomerols, but as I wrote in the barrel sample review, no one marries elegance with opulence as well as Conseillante. This magical Pomerol will take a decade to hit full maturity and will evolve for 30 years or more. This is haute couture at its absolute pinnacle, and as I wrote in the barrel review, hats off to Marielle Cazaux for producing one of the top wines of the vintage.

99 points Wine Advocate
The 2019 La Conseillante is performing brilliantly and rivals the 2016 as Marielle Cazaux's finest vintage at this leading Pomerol estate to date. Wafting from the glass with striking aromas of raspberries, plums, violets, raw cocoa, sweet soil tones and licorice, framed by a deftly integrated touch of classy new oak, it's full-bodied, ample and enveloping, its broad attack segueing into a seamless, layered mid-palate that's vibrant and concentrated, framed by powdery tannins and lively acids, before concluding with a long, saline finish.

99 points James Suckling
#41 Wine of the World 2022. The transparency and vibrancy here is impressive. From the very start it?????s so aromatic, showing crushed-berry, dark-chocolate, coffee and cedar character. Full-bodied, yet tight and wonderfully tailored, with tannins that are fine-textured, but intense and so long, giving this wine great length. A joy to taste, but needs many years to soften and come together. Wonderful development here. Try after 2028.

98 points Vinous
The 2019 La Conseillante is elegant and nuanced, just as it was from barrel. All of the freshness and energy that was present en primeur comes through in the bottle. There is an element of sophistication, of reserve, that needs time to be fully expressive. The 2019 is a wine of linear precision more than volume or density. It should age exquisitely for many years to come.

96-98 points Jeb Dunnuck
Much more expressive and complex compared to the backward, masculine Backus Vineyard (which is common when comparing these two cuv??es), the 2019 Insignia offers a gorgeous perfume of cr??me de cassis, chocolate, lavender, dried flowers, tobacco, and leafy herbs. Possessing full-bodied richness, a layered, seamless texture, gorgeous tannins, and just a classy, balanced character, this beauty is going to shine with just 3-4 years of bottle age yet still cruise in cold cellars for 30 years. It actually reminds me slightly of the 1997.

96-98 points Wine Advocate
The 2019 Insignia is composed of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec. The vineyard sources this year include: 32% Yountville (Oak Knoll District), 23% Banca Dorada (Rutherford), 14% Suscol (South Napa Valley), 14% Home Ranch (St. Helena), 12% Las Rocas (Stags Leap District), 3% Barboza (Stags Leap District) and 2% El Venadito (Oak Knoll District). The wine is aging for 24 months in 100% new French oak barrels. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs a little swirling to unlock a gorgeous perfume of black cherry compote, stewed plums and blackcurrant pastilles with hints of bay leaves, red roses, underbrush and pencil lead plus a hint of menthol. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers impactful black fruit preserves layers with finely grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and layered. (Tasted as a barrel sample.)