Producer: Dehours et Fils
The Dehours Champagne Brut Grande Reserve is the result of an assemblage of Meunier, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with a great percentage of vin de rèserve, fermented according to Solera methods, embraced by Jerome in 1998.
Producer: Jacquesson
The NV Extra-Brut Cuvée No. 744 is soft, open-knit and caressing. The natural radiance of the vintage comes through in the wine's ample, creamy feel. Apricot, spice, dried flowers, hazelnut and lightly honeyed notes are all beautifully laced together.
Producer: Jacquesson
For the 2018 harvest in Aÿ, Dizy, Hautvillers (68%), Avize and Oiry (32%), the previous winter was exceptionally rainy, this was followed by a mild, stormy spring. The weather changed from June onwards, becoming fine and dry, resulting in a particularly early harvest: we started picking on 30 August and finished on 11 September. The vines were in perfect...
Producer: Jacquesson
NV Extra-Brut Cuvée No. 743 (2015 base) is soft, open-knit and caressing. The natural radiance of 2015 comes through in the wine's ample, creamy feel. Apricot, spice, dried flowers, hazelnut and lightly honeyed notes are all beautifully laced together.
Producer: Bouquin Dupont Fils
A wonderful champagne, 100% Chardonnay of Avize from vineyards more than 60 years old. A base of citrus fruit melted with the scent, and taste, of a custard where there are also two drops of lemon juice. Delicious and enjoyable.
Producer: Jacquesson
2017, the harvest from Ay, Dizy, Hautvillers (66%) Avize and Oiry (34%). Winter and Spring were exceptionally dry; the beginning of Spring was mild but, in April, destructive frosts ravaged the vineyards, especially in the Côte des Blancs. Temperatures then rose and the weather was good until July. The end of the growing season was hot but very wet. The...
Producer: Dehours et Fils
The Champagne Rosè Oeil de Pedrix is the result of an assemblage of Meunier and Chardonnay from old vineyards. Flowery Champagne Rosè Extra Brut, particularly fine and fresh with a very limited production.
Producer: Podere Poggio Scalette
The 2021 Il Carbonaione is a regal, elegant wine. Silky, beautifully perfumed and persistent, the 2021 is everything I want from Il Carbonaione. All the purity of Sangiovese caresses the senses in a wine that is both textually intense and also light on its feet. Dark red-toned fruit, rose petals, cinnamon, new leather and cedar are some of the many...
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The 2016 Barolo Aleste is ample, creamy and expansive in feel. But more than that, the 2016 stands out for its freshness and brilliance. In so many vintages, the Aleste has been rich and powerful in feel, but in 2016, the wine is all about finesse.
Producer: Produttori del Barbaresco
The 2017 Barbaresco Pajè is a fine choice for readers who enjoy wine of freshness, verve and energy. Dark fruit, menthol, spice, pine and crushed rocks are bautifully delineated. This is an especially chiseled wine in the range of 2017 Riservas.
Producer: Giacomo Conterno
Roberto Conterno took full control over the running of the Giacomo Conterno estate in 2003. Roberto continues to practice the traditional winemaking techniques, producing long-lived wines.
Producer: Bartolo Mascarello
The 2015 Barolo is outrageously beautiful. Best of all, it will drink well with minimal cellaring. Rich, sumptuous and super-expressive, the 2015 is such a showy and expressive wine.
Producer: Produttori del Barbaresco
The 2017 Montestefano is a pontent, savory wine. Today, the fruit is very much in the background. A brooding, backward Barbaresco, the Montestefano clearly needs time, it is a somber, imposing Barbaresco. Dark plum, earthiness, cloves, menthol and licorice infuse the finish with notable gravitas.
Producer: Giuseppe Rinaldi
The 2022 Langhe Nebbiolo is a gracious, mid-weight wine to drink now and over the next few years. Attractive spice and floral notes add shades of nuance to the Nebbiolo fruit. Short-ish fermentations keep the flavors bright.
Producer: Giacomo Conterno
The 1996 Barolo Cascina Francia is a prototypical wine for the vintage. Hard as nails and completely forbidding when it was first released, the 1996 has developed into a stellar wine. Well-stored bottles will drink well for 20-30 years, perhaps more.
Producer: Ferdinando Principiano
The 2019 Barolo del Comune di Serralunga d’Alba is redolent o tar, incense, goudron, menthol, licorice and macerated black cherry. This potent, strapping Barolo pack a serious punch, that much is obvious. Sage, cloves, leather and a whole range of balsamic notes infuse the finish with tons of depth as well as character.
Producer: Produttori del Barbaresco
The 2015 Barbaresco Riserva Montestefano is ample and resonant, the Montestefano shows all the natural breadth that is so typical of this site. It is also one of the wines where the personality and style of the vineyard are very much in evidence.
Producer: Bartolo Mascarello
The 2011 Barolo from Bartolo Mascarello is blessed with a divine bouquet, surfeit with red cherries, crushed strawberry, decaying autumn leaves and rose petal, and later a hint of roasted chestnut and Montecristo.
Producer: Angelo Gaja
Bright deep ruby. Precise, vibrant, deeply spicy aromas of blackberry, bitter chocolate and violet, lifted by a minty nuance. A wine of explosive sweetness of fruit and great depth; large-scaled but quite suave and light on its feet.
Producer: Vietti
Good deep red. Vibrantly aromatic, slightly high-toned nose combines flowers and minerals. Smooth and seamless but with lovely vinosity. Note of lead pencil. Less dense than the '97 but offers excellent balance. A very pretty wine that finishes with big, even tannins and very good length.
Producer: Bartolo Mascarello
The 2015 Barolo is outrageously beautiful. Best of all, it will drink well with minimal cellaring. Rich, sumptuous and super-expressive, the 2015 is such a showy and expressive wine. Bright red cherry, red plum, blood orange, mint, star anise and dried flowers are all given an extra kick of textural richness in this flashy, exceptionally ripe Barolo.
Producer: Ferdinando Principiano
Barolo del Comune di Serralunga d'Alba DOCG 2018 is a wine capable of showing its soul. Fermented with only indigenous yeasts, it rests for two years in wooden barrels and contains no added sulphites. Natural and sincere, it really is a great drink.
Producer: Produttori del Barbaresco
The 2015 Barbaresco Riserva Pora is just as radiant and seductive. Plush and sumptuous in the glass, the 2015 Pora captures all of the natural intensity of the year. Best of all, it should drink well with minimal cellaring.
Producer: Produttori del Barbaresco
The 2017 Barbaresco Pora is rich, creamy and layered, with a bit more generosity than is typically the case. Sweet red cherry, red plum, spice and rose petal are amplified in a radiant, open-knit Barbaresco.
Producer: Giacomo Conterno
A much more overt, powerful wine, the 2010 Barolo Cerretta races across the palate with explosive fruit and tons of pure, unbridled energy. The Cerretta is shaping up to be magical. Bottled only in magnums.
The 2016 Barolo Aleste is ample, creamy and expansive in feel. But more than that, the 2016 stands out for its freshness and brilliance. In so many vintages, the Aleste has been rich and powerful in feel, but in 2016, the wine is all about finesse.
