Brilliant ruby. Hugely perfumed raspberry, boysenberry, fruitcake, floral oil and exotic spice scents show fine delineation and building minerality. Stains the palate with sappy red and blue preserve, candied rose, cola and five-spice powder flavors that smoothly blend depth and energy and betray no rough edges. Polished tannins add shape to an extremely long, spicy finish that echoes the floral and blue fruit notes.

Vivid ruby-red. Assertive scents of ripe red berries, candied rose and baking spices; a smoky mineral element emerges with aeration. Silky, sweet and fleshy on the palate, offering vibrant black raspberry, cherry cola and floral pastille flavors complemented by a hint of star anise. In a juicy, graceful style, showing impressive clarity and smooth, rounded tannins on the long, floral-tinged finish.

Dark, bright-rimmed red. Spice- and earth-tinged red and blue fruit scents show a suave floral overtone. Youthfully taut bitter cherry, blueberry and spice cake flavors flesh out and take a sweeter turn through the back half. Finishes very long and precise, with gently gripping tannins and a resonating cherry flourish.

Glistening ruby. Intense red and blue fruit, floral and spice notes on the incisive nose, along with hints of cola and smoky minerals. Juicy and precise in the mouth, offering sappy raspberry, boysenberry and floral pastille flavors and a bright, spicy top note. Smoothly plays power off delicacy and finishes long and silky, with polished tannins framing repeating red fruit and floral notes.

Vivid ruby. Musky cherry and red currant aromas, along with hints of botanical herbs and allspice. Gently chewy and focused on the palate, offering bitter cherry, red berry, spice cake and licorice flavors that turn sweeter through the back half. Dusty tannins add shape and grip to the long, spicy finish, which leaves cherry pit and baking spice notes behind.

"Contemplative and exceedingly nuanced in personality, with wild berry, underbrush, ferrous earth and candied orange peel, this has everything to look forward to in terms of its future evolution in the bottle. It displays a pretty ruby color that borders on garnet and polished copper. A silky, mid-weight palate is accented by beautifully managed and silky tannins (this aspect of the mouthfeel is extraordinary), bright freshness and long-lasting fruit momentum. The alcohol is a bit more powerful in this release, but the effect is supple and smooth nonetheless.”

"From a benchmark vintage, the Biondi-Santi 2016 Brunello di Montalcino reveals a gorgeous appearance with medium concentration highlighted by shiny hues of garnet and dark ruby. The first thing you notice is the compact dark fruit and rather robust textural fiber and power presented here. You almost bite into this wine, and you taste some fine grain linked to the young tannins. That, with the fresh acidity that is the hallmark signature of this estate, guarantees long cellar aging."

"The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Davies Estate, from the property on Diamond Mountain, is one of the most distinctive wines in this ever growing range. Power and deep, the 2019 is a beautifully layered Cabernet that opens nicely in the glass, showing a compelling mix of dark fruit and more mineral/savory undertones. The Davies Estate is a Cabernet of real stature done in a style that is all about virile intensity."

“The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Jamie is a selection of the best barrels in the cellar. It offers up copious blackberry jam, chocolate, spice, licorice and sweet spices. There is plenty of textural richness, but also a fair amount of new oak, something I don't think this wine really needs, as the underlying material is in no way lacking substance.”

"This lightly mouth-coating sweetie is creamy and just off-dry, showing juicy acidity layered with flavors of baked pineapple, apple peel, crushed shortbread, candied ginger and aromatic hints of jasmine and anise."

"A waft of beeswax on the nose transitions on the palate to a pure and lovely beam of poached apricot fruit, accented by dried raspberry, candied ginger, hazelnut biscotti and honeysuckle notes. Fine and creamy on the palate, with a long, lightly mouthwatering finish."

"The 2018 Barolo Sperss is a gorgeous, gorgeous wine. The aromatics alone are beguiling. Then again, that's one of the things that makes Barolo such a totally seductive wine. Sweet black cherry, lavender, spice and leather give this unusually translucent Barolo striking layers of dimension. Potent Serralunga tannins are present, but they are beautifully woven into the wine's fabric."

“Ripe blackcurrants and blackberries, framed notes of sweet vanilla, eucalyptus and chocolate. Full-bodied, soft and mellow. Polished tannins and a rope fruit core with a long finish. Chewy at the end, with a cola undertone.”

"A solid, deep red with notes of ripe blackberries and blueberries, as well as touches of fresh violets and iodine. Some hazelnuts and chocolate, too. Full body, fine-grained tannins and a deep, savory-fruit profile. Long finish."

The 2019 Chablis Grand Cru Les Blanchots La Réserve de l’Obédience has a lovely, beautifully defined nose featuring white peaches, black currant leaf, citrus peel and flecks of shaved almonds, all very complex and defined. The taut, fresh palate is well balanced with an uncompromising saline entry and fine acidity…It is very impressive.

The 2018 Anjou Violette is deep, rich and very intense but elegant on the pure and refined nose, with dark fruit, tea and kumquat aromas. Full-bodied, deep and generous on the palate, this is a full-bodied, rich and generous, silky-textured, refined and tensioned Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon blend that is one of the highlights of the vintage. Fabulous! A must buy!

The 2018 Chenin Blanc, from sandstone-silex and clay-limestone soils, displays an intense straw-yellow color and opens with an intense and complex, lemony chalky aroma with yeasty notes and a kiss of oak. On the palate, this is a full-bodied, textural, very elegant and finely tensioned Burgundian Chenin with a finely creamy sur lie texture, very fine tannins and refreshing lemon aromas. , but it is textural, more haptic, gentle and very well elaborated. This is a great, lush and fruity but highly finessed Chenin, especially for this difficult year. Lovely lingering salinity and mineral grip.

The 2018 Anjou Cabernet Franc is from sandstone and red silex soils and opens with a deep, intense and concentrated dark berry and cherry aroma intertwined with iodine and some plummy notes with crystalline sugar notes and baked blueberry aromas. Silky, rich and intense on the palate, this is an elegant, deep, refined, long and complex Cab Franc with a tight tannin structure, and kumquat and somewhat brutish aromas. The wine has great aging potential, but it's very individual, with dense fruit but ripe and elegant tannins.

The 2018 Val de Loire Grolleau opens with a light reduction on the nose that is clear, fresh and spicy, with fresh raspberry, blackberry and elegant flinty aromas. Silky, fresh and elegant on the palate, this is a fleshy, sweet, silky-textured but generous red with fine tannins and an elegant, crystalline and concentrated, tart finish. Needs some time, but this is excellent and generous.

The 2018 Anjou Cuvée Violette is full-bodied and rounded, offering a soft embrace. True to its name, it does smell of violets as well as wood smoke, spice and dark black fruits. There's concentration here, no doubt due to the low yields off 70-year-old Cabernet Sauvignon vines and the 45-year-old Cabernet Franc. The tannins have been well handled and provide a frame of chalky structure. The merest whiff of barnyard meets the florals on the finish, but it's kept in check.