New vintages of renowned wines from France and beyond, including Italy, the US, Australia, Argentina, Chile, China, New Zealand and South Africa, are being launched this month via Bordeaux's famous distribution network.
Here we present a quick and easy way to see tasting notes and scores for all 130 wines being released on the Place de Bordeaux this September.
Wines are listed in score order. Click 'view' to expand the row revealing the tasting note.
| Producer | Country | Vintage | Score | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudburst, Chardonnay, Margaret River, | Australia | 2023 | 100 | Oyster shell, iodine, soy and umami notes on the nose. They marry with a clear salted caramel popcorn aroma with lemon balm and a soft touch of dried herbs and toasted brioche. Succulent and so juicy but calmly - the citrus lemon and lime juice slowly creep along the palate, lengthening and deepening the impression while the vanilla, white chocolate and ginger spice gives the pixelation and complexity. Round, utterly moreish from the first sip - this is engaging, mouthwatering, alive and so utterly enjoyable. I’d never tire of drinking this wine. Lovely toasted pineapple, nectarine fruit, peach flesh and undeniable lemon juice but with a toasty, slightly spiced and herbal edge. It’s incredibly specific and unique to this wine. Owner and winemaker Will Berliner. 3.64pH. 4,888 bottle production. Click to see full details | |
| Bibi Graetz, Colore, Toscana, | Italy | 2023 | 99 | Deep and heady on the nose. Fragrant with hints of blood, iron and saltiness. Nice energy to this, there’s a clarity and precision with great detail and definition to the elements. Tannins coat the mouth in a fine layer of flavour with lots of minerality and savoury, herbal tapenada saltiness on the finish. A little quieter than some Colore but this has depth and such nuance. After a few minutes the flavours evolve and widen giving juicy, almost sweet and fleshy strawberry with a tangy acidity that keeps everything lifted. Such an amazing wine, clearly confident but understated and not shouting at all. A spectacular wine from Bibi Graetz. Click to see full details | |
| Giaconda, Estate Vineyard Chardonnay, Beechworth, | Australia | 2023 | 99 | Reductive nose, matchstick smokiness with buttery salty popcorn aromas, so distinct and clear. Lovely purity with some toasted brioche elements and toasted almonds. So clear and pure, a zingy vibrant acidity that catches you off guard, crystalline doesn't quite explain it, but this is scintillatingly fresh with tension and superb direction. This has a great balance with push and finesse - not too tense or lean, not heavy - a gorgeous filling, generous but gentle power and structure. Leaves a salty, lemon and pineapple touch on the finish that just lasts and lasts! Super sophisticated and just a gorgeous wine from the coolest vintage since 2017. Less heady than the 2021 but there’s no doubting the refinement and precision on offer while being so enjoyable. 3.19pH. Acidity under 6g. Basket press, natural yeasts. No pumps. Minimal settling before fermentation. No sulphur dioxide in the crushing and pressing stage. No filtering or fining. Even bottling is done by gravity. Stays on lees for a year with very little battonage. 30% new oak. Click to see full details | |
| Jim Barry, The Armagh Shiraz, Clare Valley, | Australia | 2022 | 99 | Very minty on the nose, spearmint and salty strawberries with pencil shavings and lots of dried flowers. A gorgeous aromatic profile that draws you in. Wow, instantly captivating, you can't help but smile as soon as you taste this. Succulent strawberries and crunchy cranberries join quite spiced liquorice edges giving a push-pull of flavour. Light on its feet but still deep and captivating. This is dangerously drinkable with such charm on offer. Bright and energetic yet layered and long. Bottled happiness! I love this wine and this is another great vintage by the Barry boys - Tom Barry and Ben Marx winemakers. A wine that lingers long in the memory. 3.4pH. Click to see full details | |
| Penfolds, Grange Bin 95 | Australia | 2021 | 99 | Confession: Grange has never been my favourite of the Penfolds portfolio (I am a St Henri girl) but I’ve been converted. And if ever a vintage were to turn me, 2021 was always going to be the one, heralded by many in South Australia as a ‘vintage of a lifetime’. Sourced from sites across the Barossa Valley (66%), McLaren Vale (26%) and Clare Valley (8%), it is a blend of 94% Shiraz and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, which spends 18 months in 100% new American oak hogsheads, and has already integrated seamlessly into the opulent fruit. My initial impressions, hurriedly typed, start with a string of descriptors that detail just how seductive it is already: “Wow! Exotic, inky, generous, silky, ripe, velvety. Immense. Incredible. The whole package!” (My colleague Georgie Hindle wrote: “Classy and so sophisticated. Like looking at a gorgeous man in a tuxedo.”) The trademark Grange volatile acidity presents itself as macerated balsamic strawberries, tapenade and tarmac, joining mouthfilling silky tannins and sumptuous aromas and flavours of boysenberry, root beer, mocha, salted liquorice and crème caramel. If you can ignore its siren call from the cellar, it easily has three to five decades of life ahead. Released at £600. Click to see full details | |
| Quintessa Napa Valley (Rutherford), | USA | 2022 | 99 | Such an incredible wine here - one of the stars of the September releases. Smells amazing, cooling blueberries with fragrant blackcurrants, edges of florality - totally inviting scents. Full and filling in the mouth, this is ample with such a layered effect, super vertical and elongated. Tight and a little tense but it really works - such balance between black fruit, dried herbs, high acidity and a profound structure. Refined and beautifully presented. So much life, so much energy - this is pure class. A wine you don't want to put down. Feels hands off despite such concentration and power. Ends salty with sticky liquorice, mint and cooling wet stones. You could definitely drink this now but it will age too! 1% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot complete the blend. One of the final few vintages with Rodrigo Soto at the helm - he stepped down last year to concentrate on his family project Far Mountain in Sonoma Valley which is worth following. Winemaker Rebekah Wineburg. Click to see full details | |
| Seña | Chile | 2023 | 99 | What a knockout wine from Seña this year. Szechuan pepper spice on the nose, some chocolate notes, tobacco bell peppers and black cherry. High acidity makes the first mark, piercing and alive, so up front and forward with a dollop of ripe, almost sweet strawberry fruit, with a mouthwatering element that just makes you smile. Confident and so characterful. I love this wine, and could drink this all day. The length is incredible but the sense of energy and precision is also amazing as well as delivering a real push of flavour and complexity. Sheer brilliance. 6% Petit Verdot completes the blend. Director Eduardo Chadwick, winemaker Emily Falconer. Click to see full details | |
| Zuccardi, Finca Canal Uco, Uco Valley (Paraje Altamira), | Argentina | 2022 | 99 | I couldn't help falling in love with this wine which really shows not only the winemaking talents of Sebastian Zuccardi but also the brilliance of high-altitude Malbec. Pink flowers, milk chocolate and cherry fruit - so open and expressive, but clean and lifted. Crystalline and pure, there’s delicacy on offer here despite such detail and depth. Supple but so polished and delineated with red, blue and black fruit, cocoa powder, iris, slate and iron with a touch of spice liquorice and smokey tobacco on the finish. Juicy, sleek and utterly moreish - a wine you'll want to drink again and again and again. A wine that conveys emotion. 3.6pH. Click to see full details | |
| Antinori, Solaia, Toscana, | Italy | 2022 | 98 | The drought and heat of 2022 pushed vines in Tuscany to their limits, and the outcome in many cases are wines of density and concentration but with a vein of freshness – and that's exactly what we see here in the 2022 Solaia. It opens with cool aromas of damp earth, woodland berries, red fruit coulis and a waft of balsamic herbs. In the mouth it is immediately very fleshy, almost voluptuous but holding its shape. Balsam-infused black cherry and dark berries are deepened by chocolatey wood, while succulent acidity brings out the top end and leads to a long, bright, energetic and fresh finish which is full of promise for the future. Click to see full details | |
| Bibi Graetz, Testamatta, Toscana, | Italy | 2023 | 98 | A wild nose, savoury and darkly fruited. Some earthy scents - soy, iodine and tobacco. So seductively pure and delicious. Easy to drink with a clarity and concentration that is perfectly balanced. Sumptuous, filling and deep with fleshy tannins that give such excellent width and scope to the wine but keeping a direct core from start to finish. Orange rind, dried herbs, pumice stone and cumin. Deliciously lifted and effortless but charming and smiley too. I could drink this all day. What a wonderful wine. Joyous and moreish with incredible sapidity and mouthwatering acidity. What more could you want?! Lovely minerality on the finish too, salty stones, cola and chalk. Effortless. Click to see full details | |
| Cheval des Andes Uco Valley, | Argentina | 2022 | 98 | Earthy, savoury nose full of wet soil, peppercorns and blackcurrants alongside violets, chocolate, cherries and raspberries. Well crafted, such a svelte and streamlined expression with real charm and finesse. There’s power for sure but it’s funnelled into one line from start to finish. I love the brightness and opulence here yet there’s super charm and precision too. Great energy, succulence and vibrancy with natural acidity creating a salivating effect that makes you want to come back for another glass. Expertly made with an accumulation of details that make it so enjoyable. The joint project of Château Cheval Blanc and Terrazas de los Andes. Winemaker Gérald Gabillet. Click to see full details | |
| Dalla Valle Vineyards, Maya, Napa Valley, | USA | 2022 | 98 | Another corker of a wine from Dalla Valle. Liquorice, mint, aniseed and dark fruit with a smokey edge - very seductive and beguiling. This is pulsing with life and, despite the clear concentration and pretty strong muscular frame, it has an excellent personality. This is not for the faint hearted, it’s extremely spiced and bitter with dark chocolate, liquorice, aniseed and clove spice although countered by blue and black berry fruit, wispy florality and slate-edged minerality. The vintage is speaking but still, in terms of power, presentation, style, precision and overall impact this is hard not to love! Just brilliant. Director Maya Dalla Valle, winemakers Naoko Dalla Valle and Andy Erickson. Click to see full details | |
| Dr Loosen, Weingut Zacharias Bergweiler-Prüm Erben, Riesling Auslese, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, | Germany | 2019 | 98 | Caramelised oranges, baked caramel, white chocolate, lemon zest, candied lemons and baked lemon pie. Zesty and sherbet like straight away. This has such a rich texture, thick and viscous, like a syrup but with the mot lively, juicy, bright and lifted core that just makes you sit up and smile and then want another glass straight away. Dense and rich yet mouthwatering with great clarity as well as a little bit of creamy, vanilla and peach aspects to the finish. Absolutely stunning. Another great wine with such mass appeal that offers pleasure now but will continue to grow and change and get better over the next few decades. The second vintage for three wines in this range on the Place de Bordeaux that is an homage to the historical winemaking traditions of Ernst Loosen's family. Click to see full details | |
| Kracher, Nummer 2 Welschriesling Trockenbeerenauslese | Austria | 2022 | 98 | Lively and bright, this has a gorgeous playful aspect with pineapple and peach and biting acidity that cuts through some of the sweetness. Rich and intense yet delineated, precise, finessed and elegant. Citrus fruit, saline notes and savoury touches of vanilla, white chocolate and dried herbs. I like this a lot, lifted and pure with plenty going on. Thick and viscous but keeps a sherbet, citrus kick on the back which makes it so fun and approachable. Totally yum. A marvelous wine. One of five wines in the line up, from the outstanding 2022 vintage, entering the Place de Bordeaux this September. Director and winemaker Gerhard Kracher. Click to see full details | |
| Kracher, Nummer 3 Grande Cuvée Trockenbeerenauslese | Austria | 2022 | 98 | Green apple, pear and pineapple, a little more subdued than the other two so far, even though it has pronounced sweetness. That said, this is lighter and more easy going, easier to drink perhaps or more versatile, but still with a silkiness and depth that is so remarkable with freshness and purity despite the sugariness. Gorgeous, peach and pear, creamy lemon, some vanilla and lemon verbena with wisps of sea salt acidity. Divine. 181.7g/l residual sugar. One of five wines in the line up, from the outstanding 2022 vintage, entering the Place de Bordeaux this September. Director and winemaker Gerhard Kracher. Click to see full details | |
| Kracher, Nummer 5 Rosenmuskateller Trockenbeerenauslese | Austria | 2022 | 98 | A wonderful dark red colour in the glass. Wow incredible nose, blood orange rind and gorgeously perfumed pot pour - incredibly floral. Filling but so smooth and effortless, silky, this is dangerously drinkable with a lovely slightly orange juice element alongside a nougat, nutty sugary peach and pear succulence. Rich, sweet, thick, weighty but refined too and lifted by threads of delicious salty acidity. The highest level of residual sugar in the five-wine line up, from the outstanding 2022 vintage, entering the Place de Bordeaux this September. Incredible. Director and winemaker Gerhard Kracher. Click to see full details | |
| Morlet Family Vineyards, Cœur de Vallée Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (Oakville), | USA | 2018 | 98 | Such a delicious wine from Luc Morlet, the first vintage to use entirely estate-grown fruit. Caramel, toasted edges, fragrant and highly scented, perfumed with toasted edges. Strawberries, ripe and fragrant. Liquorice, graphite and blueberries, the nose is really quite compelling. Subtle and so seductive in a quiet way. Really gentle and lightly footed. There's concentration and complexity but this has lost its baby fat and any pent up power and has started to relax and give lots of enjoyment. Long but not too much, it’s graceful and effortless. The texture is incredible - a touch of crispness, flesh and grip with some warming spice and heat towards the finish too. Leave to air and enjoy. Starting to really hit its stride but will continue to age beautifully. It’s fiery but delivered so excellently. A gourmet wine, have with food and a cold winter’s night. Click to see full details | |
| Philipponnat, Clos de Goisses LV Extra Brut | France | 2000 | 98 | Absolutely gorgeous golden hue in the glass. Truffle and some mushroom elements on the nose. Quite mature and tertiary right now - in its peak drinking window. Layered and lemony but baked lemon pie with orange zest, high acidity and tiny bubbles. This has plenty of energy for its age with brightness as well as complexity. Ultra refined and delightful. Such a treat to taste such a wine at this point. Juicy, lively, racy, bitter and a touch truffley. Just divine. The first full vintage by Charles Philipponnat who had just arrived at the House to take the general manager position. Dosage 4.5g/L. Tasted twice. Click to see full details | |
| Allegrini, Fieramonte, Amarone della Valpolicella (Classico), | Italy | 2018 | 97 | You'll know by now I just can't get enough of this wine. Coffee, liquorice, cough sweet aromas on the nose, sticky liquorice, raisins, dried strawberries. Gorgeous texture, wow, this is so drinkable. It's dialled down a notch from the excellent 2015 and 2016 vintages but the trademarks are there - grippy, salty tannins, a gorgeous sweetness on the mid palate, lots of dried fruit aromas and high acidity giving lift and length. So smooth overall with such energy to this wine yet it’s deep, dense, and complex too. This is out to please and it does. Hugely satisfying and a great glass of wine. Just fantastic. Intense but so utterly irresistible. Click to see full details | |
| Catena Zapata, Adrianna Vineyard Mundus Bacillus Terrae, Uco Valley, | Argentina | 2022 | 97 | Gorgeous lifted and expressive scents on the nose, so clear and profound. Glossy and rich - thick and filling with a really chewy core and long length. But this has finesse - there’s no heaviness and you really feel the detail to the tannins and the fruit - red summer berries with touches of bramble fruit, violets, tobacco and cinnamon spice. I love the texture and the cooling freshness. Great acidity - it’s almost understated despite the concentration and confidence. A great food wine and lots of enjoyment to be had here. From a 1.4-hectare vineyard at almost 1,400m altitude. Director Laura Catena, winemaker Alejandro Vigil. Click to see full details | |
| Chappellet, Pritchard Hill, Napa Valley, | USA | 2022 | 97 | Blackcurrant, cola and minty fresh aromas on nose. Fleshy and super ripe, sticky liquorice and exotic spices. There’s an immediate burst of power and fleshiness with concentration - this is a bold and massy wine. It maintains elegance despite muscular and sinewy tannins with tons of personality overall. Stylish but certainly big and showy. Great fruit forwardness and overall freshness with dried herbs, scrubland notes and dark ripe fruit. I'd leave this a few years before approaching but when it's ready it'll be a beauty. 3.71pH. Click to see full details | |
| Château Cheval Blanc, Le Petit Cheval Blanc, Bordeaux Blanc, | France | 2023 | 97 | Freshly zested lemon with grapefruit and orange aromas - so pronounced and really quite crystalline on the nose. At the back some green apple and white floral elderflower and acacia notes too. Clean and focussed, lovely precision and clarity to the flavours with such a strikingly poised texture. This has grip and zing but also just a touch of buttery, softness that adds weight to the body. Threads of nuttiness and wood enter giving accents and spiced edges. Piercing acidity adds lift and joins the layers of confit lemon, baked vanilla pecans, bitter grapefruit and soft cinnamon spice. Gorgeously complex and the flavour lasts for ages. It has everything you want from this cuvée which has found its rhythm. Tasted in a vertical going back to 2018 and this is the most impressive. Director Pierre-Olivier Clouet and cellarmaster Carole André. Click to see full details | |
| Château Rieussec Sauternes (1er Cru Classé), | France | 2023 | 97 | Lovely yellow gold colour, bright and shining in the glass. Aromatic nose, ripe mango and nectarine with some elderflower and cool, crisp apple scents. Ripe and sweet but so well balanced and harmonious. I love the interplay between almost sherbet lemon sweetness and zinginess with quite pronounced bitter aspects too - grapefruit rind, vanilla bean, pastry and some toasted spice on the finish. A very modern interpretation which begs for food. Not super typical but this has effortless drinkability. Ends clean and light but long with a kick of freshness that immediately draws you back in. Botrytis arrived mid September, the harvest started on 15th September. Grapes were picked in five separate passes just from the first onset of botrytis with no rain after. 3.9pH. Click to see full details | |
| Domäne Serrig, Gross Lage, Saar, | Germany | 2022 | 97 | A gorgeous wine from a difficult vintage marked by heatwaves and drought. Petrol, inviting white floral aspects with peach and lemon scents. Smells lovely. Gunsmoke and flint elements too. Sharp and so delicious straight away, crunchy white and yellow stone fruit with piercing and racy acidity that gives a sherbet tang to the palate although this is technically off-dry. Clean and crystalline, great purity and sense of class, long intense, concentrated yet amazingly light on its feet. Lovely stuff. Round and generous but perfectly balanced and controlled. Refined and finessed but offering so much flavour with mouthwatering acidity. I love it. The third vintage of this wine by Markus Molitor from the estate purchased in 2016. Click to see full details | |
| Dr Loosen, Weingut Zacharias Bergweiler-Prüm Erben, Riesling Kabinett, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, | Germany | 2019 | 97 | Dried herbs and lemon rind, some bitter touches on the nose. This is immediately so satisfying on the palate, rich and honeyed, thick and sugary but not heavy at all. It’s like a burst of sherbet before the glorious fresh, ripe fruit comes flooding in, like a fruit salad compote - a mix of white and green fruit all mingling together. So juicy and alive, structured and so intense yet perfectly balanced and harmoniously presented. Complex but not overdone. You don't necessarily want to sit and think about this wine, just drink it down and enjoy. A wine that just makes you smile. Electric and absolutely glorious. If I could buy just one wine from the releases it would be this for the sheer enjoyment factor! Around 28.5g of residual sugar, 1,331 bottles made. The second vintage for three wines in this range on the Place de Bordeaux that is an homage to the historical winemaking traditions of Ernst Loosen's family. Click to see full details | |
| Kracher, Nummer 4 Scheurebe Trockenbeerenauslese | Austria | 2022 | 97 | Intense and vibrant from the off - orange and pineapple nose, baked and in a pie, not bitter or fresh more ripe. Chocolate, exotic mango and pineapple, just amazingly sweet though, a hint of sherbet-edged acidity gives the lift but the focus here is the rich fruit and heavenly sugar content. Well constructed and so full of enjoyment. Despite the concentration there's brightness, energy and purity of fruit among the sweetness. One of five wines in the line up, from the outstanding 2022 vintage, entering the Place de Bordeaux this September. Incredible. Director and winemaker Gerhard Kracher. Click to see full details | |
| Opus One Napa Valley (Oakville), | USA | 2022 | 97 | Chocolate, cherry and rose petal aromas on the nose. Very open and alive - this has a great energy from the aromatics alone with soft cedar shavings, vanilla bean and bramble fruit. Juicy and lively, this is full of fun - fruity and concentrated. The tannins are just wonderful, creamy and slightly grippy, extending the flavours vertically. Tons of juicy, succulent fruit - this feels quite modern but still with that flash of sunshine and ripeness Long lasting with purity and delicacy that make it so enjoyable. A wonderful creation from Michael Silacci. This is not your typical blockbuster at all, this is a darling of a wine. 0.5% Malbec completes the blend. The Opus team chose to pick early and quickly given the heat spikes in 2022, starting with the Merlot on 24th August. Ageing 18 months in French oak. Click to see full details | |
| Philipponnat, Clos de Goisses Extra Brut | France | 2016 | 97 | So fragrant and inviting on the nose, peach, pear and white flowers and a kiss of toast. Some buttery pastry, nutty, white chocolate and vanilla aspects too which are lovely. Round and filling, delicate mousse but so lively. Comple and charming this really extends vertically and horizontally. Super refined and graceful yet there's lots of life and character with racy acidity and spiced ginger. Lots of potential for this wine that was only disgorged in March of this year. Click to see full details | |
| Schloss Johannisberg, Riesling Goldlack Trocken | Germany | 2022 | 97 | Aromas of petrol, lychee and wild jasmine flowers with white pepper and dried thyme. Thick and unctuous, but so alive and really piercing - this makes you sit up and take notice. Utterly filling in every way, confident and shining, it has a wonderful viscosity to it, complex and captivating - honeyed with some bitter caramel and toasted edges but lovely bright, citrus acidity too. Sweet lemon and lime with some sugary peach and a salty, mineral touch to the finish that elongates the expression. I adore this - a wine you can’t help but fall in love with. First year conversion to organic. An overall hot and dry vintage with one of the hottest August’s in recent years although more rain fell than average in September and October bringing relief to the vines. The harvest started early on 22 September. Ageing on the lees for 24 months. 3.9g/L residual sugar. 7.6g/L acidity. Click to see full details | |
| Vérité, La Joie, Sonoma County, | USA | 2022 | 97 | Cocoa powder on the nose, Chinese five spice - aromatic spices for sure - with dark berry fruit and some menthol notes too. Finely grained and streamlined, this has a poised core, direct and svelte, not so much richness or concentration with the Cabernets more delineated and straight but still with layers and depth. I this this has lots of personality and great ripeness without being overpowering. If I had the money I'd buy a case and share the bottles with lots of friends during fun dinner parties. Great stuff with so much energy, I love it. 6% Petit Verdot completes the blend. Owner Jackson Family Wines with director and winemaker Pierre Seillan of Château Lassègue in St-Emilion. Click to see full details | |
| Acaibo Sonoma County (Chalk Hill), | USA | 2019 | 96 | Richly seductive on the nose, ripe and fragrant, super expressive blackcurrant and black cherry aroams. Gorgeously plush and heady on the palate, this is full of richness and power and fleshy tannins and ripe fruit but it’s glossy and characterful and so drinkable. Really great personality to this wine. I love the detail and the finesse. A great wine that you just want more of. Definitely has the fullness and so much flavour but delivered with such balance and grace. Bravo. Owners Claire and Gonzague Lurton, director and winemaker Nicolas Vonderheyden. Click to see full details | |
| Almaviva, , Puente Alto, | Chile | 2023 | 96 | Rich and heady nose, some bell pepper aromatics with blackcurrant and milk chocolate, black pepper and floral scents. Glossy and thick, lots of flesh and power here with juicy black fruit. Great concentration but refined and focussed. There’s no shortage of power and precision - vertical and layered with mint, aniseed, menthol aspects, minerality and black fruit. Velvety but packing a punch. Give this a good few years but the structure and finesse is there. Classy and captivating - and mouthwateringly moreish. 3% Merlot completes the blend. A joint venture between Baron Philippe de Rothschild and Viña Concha y Toro. Director Manuel Louzada, winemaker Michel Friou. Click to see full details | |
| Caiarossa Toscana, | Italy | 2022 | 96 | A fabulous Caiarossa worth seeking out. Perfumed and floral - lovely aromatic expression with salty black liquorice, tobacco, tapenade, milk chocolate and dried strawberries. Tangy and zingy, the mouthwatering acidity joins an iron-touch on the tongue that lingers for a long time. Racy and clearly powerful but well constructed with an enjoyable bitter, spice and gorgeous saline finish - a whip of sea breeze accompanying the red fruits and dried herbs and spices. Excellent youthful vibrancy on show with and energy and focus. Tasted twice and equally impressive both times. Biodynamic viticulture and organic winemaking. 3.48pH. Ageing 14 months, 25% new oak and 7% botte which is new. 12% Merlot, 7% Sangiovese, 5% Petit Verdot and 1% Grenache complete the blend. Click to see full details | |
| Castello di Fonterutoli, Siepi, Toscana, | Italy | 2023 | 96 | This single-vineyard blend of Sangiovese and Merlot offers bold, plummy black fruit scents with some menthol, spice, currants and chocolate. In the mouth it's poised, and vertical in shape. Plush black fruits and grilled herbs are accompanied by touches of spice and chocolate, and licks of iron and salt, with fine, chalky tannins and a silky mouthfeel. The minty acidity is persistent, leading into a long, delicate finish with some floral lift and just a hint of alcohol. Classy stuff. Click to see full details | |
| Château d'Yquem, Ygrek, Bordeaux Blanc, | France | 2023 | 96 | Gorgeous fresh aromas of white peach and pear on the nose with bright elderflower freshness. Clean and pure. Hints of citrus lemon and some toffee cinder. Instantly alive and so focussed on the palate, this is vibrant and sharp with the acidity that gives a real kick. But this slowly expands in the mouth, adding layers of complexity and richness as well as an invigorating mouthwatering aspect. Just utterly gorgeous, a really soft oiliness that is reminiscent of Sauternes with enticing elements of bitter orange and grapefruit skin. Ends a touch salty which I also adore. A funfair in a glass. A wine to sit with and just enjoy each of the aspects - saltiness, sweetness, bitterness and freshness. I love it. What more could you want in a glass of wine? 3.15pH. 6g/L residual sugar. Click to see full details | |
| Château Pajzos, Esszencia | Hungary | 2021 | 96 | Always a treat to try the world's sweetest wine styles. At a staggering 439g/l and with only 3% alcohol this is more dessert than tipple. Fragrant jasmine, peach and orange nose, so floral and inviting. Thick and runny, wild honey laced with lemon rind. Just like syrup in look and mouthfeel. Decadent and insanely sugary and sweet but so seductive and succulent. It's creamy but there's enough acidity so it’s not too cloying. Almost nutty, peach, pear, grapefruit, pineapple and mango with a sherbet aspect This is amazing. So enjoyable and such a treat. Click to see full details | |
| Clos Apalta, Apalta, | Chile | 2022 | 96 | Gorgeous nose, pixelated, not shouting but lovely expressions of dried herbs, toast, some sweet spices, blackcurrant and crystalline blue fruit and lead pencil. Broad and structured but so graceful with delicate and grippy tannins that fill the mouth and leave a coating of powdery, graphite edge chalkiness. Compact but sculpted, you can feel the muscles here with both ripe and cooling elements. Precise and characterful. Juicy as well as mouthwatering with a depth that is so captivating. Linear and straight but still with grip and intensity. A knockout wine! Ageing 21 months in 73% new oak, 27 two-year-old French oak 225l barrels. 3.78pH. Cooler and drier conditions than in 2021 with lots of sun and light and excellent sanitary conditions although 35% lower yields. Harvested on March 11. Click to see full details | |
| Cloudburst, Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River, | Australia | 2022 | 96 | Fragrant and so crystal clear, so perfumed and nuanced, really this has an outstanding aromatic profile that says Cabernet Sauvignon straight away. Certainly a light, more ethereal take on Australian Cabernet where the nuance is at the fore and you need to take your time to understand what the wine is telling you. It’s graceful and on the more delicate side of the spectrum with blue berries, minty spice, dried flowers and touches of oak, all with beautiful purity. A particular success given the challenging vintage but this benefits from owner and winemaker Will Berliner’s sensitivity which is a wonderful trait. Juicy, bright, so much energy. A wine that is in a class all of its own. Wonderful. 3.85pH. Click to see full details | |
| CVNE, Real de Asúa Carromaza, Rioja (Alta), | Spain | 2022 | 96 | Gorgeous fragrance on the nose, so softly and gently perfumed - fragrant with floral roses and violets and ripe, almost sweetly-scented strawberries with a hint of Black Forest Gateau too. Succulent and grippy, this takes hold with super fine tannins that give a powdery sensation on the palate with crunchy red berry fruit. Acidity is perfect, lifting the fruit giving tension and zing as well as elongating the expression. There’s lift but no lacking in power or push. Finessed, elegant and totally delicious. Juicy and moreish, there’s a feeling of utter confidence but no showing off. Authentic and you get a feeling this is clear representation of what this wine/vineyard can do even in conditions of drought and high temperatures. 3.60pH. Ageing 12 months in 50% new and 50% one-year-old French oak barrels. Click to see full details | |
| Inglenook, Rubicon, Napa Valley (Rutherford), | USA | 2022 | 96 | Chinese five spice, fragrant pepper, raspberries, raisins and stewed strawberries alongside liquorice, tobacco and clove. Lots of savoury spice straight away here but with plenty of black cherry and blackcurrant too. Still on the oaky side right now but there’s precision too and a feeling of classiness. I love the succulence, the acidity is there undermining the wine and will serve it well for long ageing. Give this time. Well made, clearly a very good wine with brightness and personality. Owner Francis Ford Coppola, director Todd Devincenzi, winemaker Philippe Bascaules. Click to see full details | |
| Jim Barry, The Florita Riesling, Clare Valley, | Australia | 2015 | 96 | Salty, ocean spray meets petrol with gunsmoke, peach, lemon zest and saffron. Filling and round - the texture hits first before electric acidity livens the palate and makes this such a delight to drink. Thick and glossy but with threads of salinity, bitter citrus fruit and flesh. Waxy, mineral and super long. Hitting the 10 year mark right now this seems like it's just beginning to reveal it's true beauty. I adore the razor sharp edges that linger on the finish. Incredible. Click to see full details | |
| Kracher, Nummer 1 Zweigelt Trockenbeerenauslese | Austria | 2022 | 96 | Bright, blood red in the glass. Red apple, some bitter lemon and grapefruit touches, lifted zesty lemon and bright acidity makes this tangy yet sweet - a great combination that is so drinkable and enjoyable. Super impressive. Some bitter touches alongside the creamy, visovus texture. It manages to weave vibrancy with structure and intensity but keeping a lifted frame and moreish quality. Have with food. One of five wines in the line up, from the outstanding 2022 vintage, entering the Place de Bordeaux this September. Director and winemaker Gerhard Kracher. Click to see full details | |
| L'Aventure, Estate Reserve, Paso Robles (Willow Creek), | USA | 2022 | 96 | Crayon, blueberry, cool and fresh notes on the nose - expressive - some florality and soft dried herb accents. So perfumed with milk chocolate too. Round and filling, tannins are plentiful but so integrated and give the sense of structure without overpowering - slightly chewy but no dryness. There’s definitely spice and this ends with a touch of bitterness alongside some really salty minerality - oyster shell and graphite. Great complexity and sense of building to this wine - so pure, crystalline, detailed and pixelated. Still young, a little tightly coiled with tension but there's amazing potential. Lots of liquorice, clove, aniseed and mint. Ageing 12 months; 83% new oak, 17% one year with malolactic fermentation in barrel. No fining or filtering. Click to see full details | |
| La Massa, Giorgio Primo, Toscana, | Italy | 2021 | 96 | From Bordeaux varietals growing in the ‘golden shell’, a sun trap in Chianti Classico's Panzano, this take on the Médoc's finest is a bonanza of spicy red and black berries supported by chocolatey depth and grippy tannins. Incredibly fresh and lifted, the poised mid-palate sees the emergence of some herbal touches and structural acidity, leading to a long, bright yet still quite sturdy finish. Click to see full details | |
| Matallana Ribera del Duero, | Spain | 2022 | 96 | Balsamic nose, rose petals, blackcurrants with Maraschino cherries. Tannic and grippy but not dry, this has flesh but turns more savoury than overtly fruity giving liquorice, vanilla cream, cola and tobacco touches. It’s quite a serious wine with less charm on offer right now but lots of energy and precision to make up for it. Needs a while for the wood to integrate and to shake some of the seriousness off but there's no faulting the precision to each and every element and the fruit is amazingly pure. Owner/winemaker pair Telmo Rodriguez and Pablo Eguzkiza. Click to see full details | |
| Paul Hobbs, Nathan Coombs Estate Cristina's Signature, Napa Valley (Coombsville), | USA | 2022 | 96 | Such Cabernet dominant aromatics; peppers, blackcurrants and liquorice spice with lots of floral accents too. Tobacco, clove, aniseed and lots of iron filings. Juicy and forward, this is shiny and glossy with such a happy expression. Clearly concentrated but you get the salty, iron mineral tang so strongly - a signature of this wine. Clean and precise, focussed and straight with a great defined edge. Tons of summer berries, strawberry and crunchy cranberry with a chalky finish. Lovely. Still lots of oak but it’s a lifted expression. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend. Owner and winemaker Paul Hobbs. Click to see full details | |
| Penfolds, St Henri Shiraz | Australia | 2022 | 96 | A brighter, bigger style of St Henri. Strawberry and cherry on the nose, then a ripe and concentrated palate full of flavour, charm and personality, packed with tons of superb spice which comes from both the fruit and the wood: liquorice, black and Szechuan pepper. Juicy, succulent and totally moreish on the finish. Very full structured, dense and powerful but tightly coiled right now. Built for the long haul, this will age for decades and provide plenty of enjoyment along the way. A blend of 96% Shiraz and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Padthaway, aged 14 months in large, seasoned oak vats. Released at £95. Click to see full details | |
| Penfolds, Yattarna Bin 144 Chardonnay | Australia | 2023 | 96 | Reminiscent of the focused, arrow-straight 2021 vintage, this is a blend of 65% Tumbarumba fruit joined by parcels from the Adelaide Hills and Tasmania. It's the 'reserved, pristine, exact' sibling to the 'funky and forward' Reserve Bin A, says Penfolds' chief winemaker Peter Gago, explaining that inoculated, not wild, yeast is used for Yattarna to retain that purity. This needs at least a year before broaching, with the toasty oak (eight months in 60% new and 40% one-year barrels) still integrating, but while shy at present, there's a concentrated, complex core of fruit stirring underneath. Bright lemon juice, grapefruit zest, fresh fig leaf, nougat and crunchy nectarine combine with cool, mossy wet stones and laser-sharp acidity in a beautifully elegant expression. Released at £135. Click to see full details | |
| Santa Rita, Casa Real, Alto Jahuel, | Chile | 2022 | 96 | A brilliant Casa Real on the Place this year. Floral and graphite aromas on the nose, so expressive and inviting. Clear and crystalline blackcurrant - juicy and succulent - putting this wine directly into the 'happy' category. Tension and vibrancy join plenty of power with silky fruit, spiced liquorice and tobacco edges and a delicious salty grip on the finish. Racy and streamlined, still tense but super polished and classy. 9% press wine. 3.58pH. Ageing 80% new oak, 20% used. Click to see full details | |
| Vérité, La Muse, Sonoma County, | USA | 2022 | 96 | Black pepper spice, milk chocolate and ripe blackcurrants. Less ripe and heavy on the palate than the nose suggests, more streamlined with detail to the tannins and purity to the fruit. Built heavily on the concentration but it’s not missing any freshness or brightness. I love the mouthwatering succulence on the finish. A big Merlot but with tons of personality, I think this wine will find a lot of fans! Still quite toasted but that will settle. Great cooling mint on the finish. Owner Jackson Family Wines with director and winemaker Pierre Seillan of Château Lassègue in St-Emilion. Click to see full details | |
| Viña Cobos, Cobos Malbec, Uco Valley, | Argentina | 2022 | 96 | Potpourri incense aromatics, so floral and fragrant. Thick and glossy, there’s succulence and high acidity with plenty of freshness but there’s also plenty of heft and this delivers a broad and filling palate. On the richer side, despite the cooling, fresh acidity. It’s a showy and confident wine that really delivers plenty of enjoyment. Sticky liquorice on the finish with lashings of oak and bitter chocolate. A Napa Malbec with personality. Easy to like this! Owner Paul Hobbs, winemaker Andres Vignoni. Click to see full details | |
| Wynns Coonawarra Estate, John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra, | Australia | 2022 | 96 | Quite a smokey, reductive nose at first. Excellent structure, full and wide in the mouth but with soft powdery tannins that grow in structure as time goes on. Wonderfully ripe and rich - blackcurrants, black cherries and cigar smoke. Juicy and sumptuous, this is rich and is something you want to curl up around a hot fire in the winter. Captivating and so well made. Carries lovely flavours but with a moreish element that you just want another glass straight away. Eminently drinkable. Ends stony, fresh, minty with a herbal tinge. Click to see full details | |
| Yjar Rioja (Alavesa), | Spain | 2021 | 96 | A fabulous Yjar on the Place this year. Fragrant nose, roses and peony flowers, Chinese five spice, cinnamon and exotic spices. Great clarity and focus, juicy and fleshy with a great mouthfeel. A modern take on Rioja but so well defined and delineated. Lovely poised structure, definitely powerful but funnelled into a long finish. Beautiful in all the senses - calm, collected, detailed, easy to drink with plenty of interest and power. I love it. Telmo Rodriguez winemaker. Click to see full details | |
| Adega Algueira, Dolio, Ribeira Sacra, | Spain | 2021 | 95 | Sweet cherries with dried plums and incense and ash. Lovely clarity and focus on the palate, this has a lifted frame with savoury edged balsamic strawberries and wet stones. Clearly very mineral. Mouthwatering acidity gives the lift with so much salty salinity around. Sea breeze. A lovely effortless take, so easy to drink and like. Ends crips with salty stones in the mouth. Perfectly balanced and interesting. 3.7-hectare vineyard. Owner and winemaker Fernando González Riveiro. Click to see full details | |
| Barons de Rothschild, Rare Collection Rosé Extra Brut | France | 2015 | 95 | Strawberry tart aromas on the nose, juicy and fun, playful and so lively, with an interesting mix of red berries and some dried herbs. Fresh and upfront, cooling. Extremely enjoyable with a gourmet edge that would be good with food. Dosage 4g/L. DIrector Frédéric Mairesse, winemaker Guillaume Lété. Click to see full details | |
| Beaulieu Vineyard, Georges de Latour Private Reserve, Napa Valley, | USA | 2022 | 95 | Cooling minty fresh nose, lifted and aromatically intense. Quite powerful and concentrated on the palate - I feel the 15% alcohol here with the intense 2022 conditions shining through in terms of fruit ripeness. A little sharp in terms of acidity, with spiced outlines and a savoury tang with red cherry and blackcurrant fruit. Excellently integrated oak which lets the fruit and acidity shine. Long finish with some stone grippiness. I like it, but it’s not totally harmonious at this point, and doesn't quite reach the heights that this wine can. Click to see full details | |
| Castello di Fonterutoli, Concerto, Toscana, | Italy | 2023 | 95 | While Siepi is an even split of Merlot and Sangiovese, Concerto gives Sangiovese the limelight, with 20% of Cabernet Sauvignon. In 2023, it's actually the Cabernet which shows most prominently, with chocolate- and violet-tinged dark berries overlaying some subtle red fruit. Intense and concentrated yet very fresh and not at all heavy, the palate is infused with menthol and sweet spice, with some wood peeking through. A long saline and ferrous finish with a touch of dark chocolate wraps things up nicely. Lifted and articulate, it's only at the beginning of its life, with plenty to offer those with patience. Click to see full details | |
| Catena Zapata, Nicolas Catena Zapata, Uco Valley, | Argentina | 2022 | 95 | Blackcurrant and damsons on the nose with pink peppercorns - really quite a unique aroma to this wine. Floral and fruity, wide and long, this has excellent freshness and sense of brightness straight away. Super tannins, although there’s no hiding from the power exuding from this wine. The texture fills the mouth, fleshy and ripe, and leave such a lingering hold. Chewy and wide, but really enjoyable with a well-made aspect. Polished but powerful with a load of spiced, minty and savoury touches on the finish; liquorice, black chocolate, eucalyptus and clove. Extremely tasty. Director Laura Catena, winemakers Alejandro Vigil and Fernando Buscema. Click to see full details | |
| Chappellet, Signature, Napa Valley, | USA | 2022 | 95 | Highly perfumed and scented with some pepper spice, minty menthol aspects, damsons, cherries and blackcurrants. Floral accents too. Grippy in the best way, this captures your attention and doesn't let it go. Amazing minerality - the salty wet stones linger on the palate with a mineral, saline aspect alongside the blackcurrants and plums. Still quite compact and a touch strict in terms of tannins and spice - vanilla, chocolate and lots of oak but this will settle. Great quality. Owners the Chappellet family with director David Frankie and winemaker Philip Titus. 2% Merlot completes the blend. Click to see full details | |
| Clos Lanson, Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut | France | 2011 | 95 | An electric Clos Lanson for the Place this year. Confit lemon, white flowers, brioche - a touch of patisserie - with some toasted nuts. Bright and zesty lemon, such a burst of citrus juice, clean and precise, sharp and to the point. Great raciness, this lifts you up straight away. Tight and focussed, touches of pineapple alongside hints of butteriness that linger. Has such a mouthwatering appeal. A Champagne that sharpens your senses. Dosage 4g/L. DIrector Emmanuel Gantet, winemaker Hervé Dantan. Click to see full details | |
| Craggy Range, Le Sol Syrah, Gimblett Gravels, | New Zealand | 2023 | 95 | Smoky strawberries with some charred wood, milk chocolate, violets and dried earth. Gorgeous scents. This is calm and collected, beautifully delineated with such a push from start to finish of ripe red fruits with mouthwatering, almost zesty acidity, that leaves a buzz on the tongue. A long lasting finish dotted with some toasted spice, almost minty, with cinnamon and some vanilla. Pure and refined, really makes you smile. Excellent. 3.71pH. Ageing 14 months, 37% new oak. Click to see full details | |
| De La Riva, Macharnudo San Cayetano | Spain | 2024 | 95 | Iodine and saltiness on the nose, really smells of the ocean - like an oyster shack with orange and lemon scents alongside white pepper and pears. Wild herbal elements with brisk acidity and a deep salty core - olive tapenade and lots of toasted nuts. Quite a singular style with some smokey reduction and a minerality that just lasts and lasts. Director Luis Pérez, winemakers Ramiro Ibáñez and Willy Pérez. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Chapuis Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, | France | 2023 | 95 | Sharp and piercing, great acidity drives this wine but really accompanied by a warm butter, toasted bread element but not overly so - brioche patisserie with lemon, peach, grapefruit and nectarine fruit. A dash of pineapple too - both fresh juice and bitterness - which is great. Complex and well built, I can see this growing over time and being extremely enjoyable. Directors Pierre and Claire Chapuis, winemaker Pierre. Click to see full details | |
| Domäne Serrig, Kabinett Vogelsang, Saar, | Germany | 2022 | 95 | Stony petrol kerosine on the nose, flint, slate and lemon. Unmistakable German Riesling. A dollop of sweet peach and nectarine fruit with a deep core of almost fleshy and racy acidity - the two giving a push-pull but giving an overall excellent and delicious expression. Totally enjoyable with mouthwatering acidity alongside flavours of crisp and baked apples, slate saltiness and a touch of exotic yellow fruit. An amazing wine that will be widely adored. The third vintage of this wine by Markus Molitor from the estate purchased in 2016. Click to see full details | |
| Fattoria Petrolo, Galatrona, Toscana, | Italy | 2023 | 95 | Petrolo's 100% Merlot is one of Tuscany's flagship reds. Dark and plummy aromas are lifted by some invigorating blueberry notes, while in the mouth it showcases an intense, structural palate of sapid dark fruits and balsamic herbs. The oak influence peeks through as a layer of liquorice, then floral overtones segue into a zesty finish of orange peel and flecks of wood. While absolutely delicious, it doesn't quite have the same amplitude as the 2022. Click to see full details | |
| Leclerc Briant, Château d'Avize Blancs de Blancs Brut Nature | France | 2015 | 95 | White stone fruit and green orchard fruit. Racy and so pure with a lovely balance between acidity and fruit purity. This is lively and fun, super easy to enjoy and like. Hints of buttery patisserie and brioche but only slightly so you get a hint of richness and texture while the citrus does the talking. Mouthwatering. Tense and straight, but in keeping with the style. A perfect aperitif wine. FIrst vintage certified organic. Biodynamic as of 2016. Dosage 4g/L. DIrector Frédéric Zeimett, winemaker Hervé Jestin. Click to see full details | |
| Marqués de Riscal, Tapias, Rioja, | Spain | 2022 | 95 | Very rich nose, dried prunes, raisins, black chocolate, some espresso notes too with red flowers - highly expressive. Rich and concentrated with lots of structure on show, still a little bit tight, but lovely fine tannins and a gorgeous concentrated strawberry and red cherry element. Touches of spice around the edges. Juicy and supple, this needs time to soften and expand but it has excellent mouthwatering acidity which keeps things lifted and moving, with the structure keeping the mouthfeel and power in the back. Lovely potential. Click to see full details | |
| Penfolds, Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon | Australia | 2023 | 95 | ‘Coonawarra in 2023 had a bit of a rough patch,’ notes chief winemaker Peter Gago. Consequently none of the region’s Cabernet Sauvignon was deemed up to the standard required for Bin 707 (and indeed, no Bin 169 Coonawarra Cabernet was made in 2023 either). So this iteration of Penfolds’ top-tier multi-region Cab is 68% McLaren Vale, 18% Padthaway and 14% Barossa Valley, maturing (like Grange) in 100% new American oak hogsheads for 18 months. The oak is quite prominent at the moment, giving a glossy coconut sheen to this always imposing wine, but this muscular frame, plus firm, chalky, tannins and a vibrant vein of acidity will ensure a long life. Dark chocolate-coated red cherries lead the flavour charge, alongside boysenberries and cassis, along with an exotic savoury twist of tapenade, tarmac, biltong, incense, roasted hazelnuts, eucalypt – endlessly complex and long. Released at £450. Click to see full details | |
| Peter Michael, Aux Paradis, Napa Valley (Oakville), | USA | 2022 | 95 | Highly scented and perfumed blue fruit on the nose, smells fresh and fragrant. Tobacco, dried herbs, blackcurrants, plums and black cherries. Super floral but also with some savoury earth tones as well as tobacco and cedar. Fleshy and almost chewy, mouth filling but delicately, the tannins have a soft grip. I like the cooling blue fruit and graphite aspect with liquorice, aniseed and clove. Wide and ample in the mouth but lifted and not heavy, elegant and polished. Complex flavour and really nice layering, there’s no shortage of flavour and there’s gorgeous tannins but the alcohol heat and spice poke through at the end and just create a bit of a narrowing of enjoyment. Aging 18 months, 60% new oak. Harvested over eight days from September 10-17. Click to see full details | |
| Schloss Johannisberg, Riesling Orangelack Kabinett | Germany | 2024 | 95 | Exotic pineapple, mango, peach, lemon and floral grassy scents - a wild flower meadow. Excellent texture and zing with a plentiful sucrosity but balanced by vibrancy and cooling minerality. The acidity just lifts the palate making this so easy and enjoyable to drink. Forget about just the sweetness here, this is full of complexity, nuance and deliciousness. A wine you’ll want to reach to again and again. A bargain for the price. From the rainy and challenging 2024 vintage that required constant vigilance and extreme sorting during harvest. 34.5g/L residual sugar. 7.7g/L acidity. Ageing on fine less in wooden barrels made from the estate’s own oak. Click to see full details | |
| Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, SLV, Napa Valley, | USA | 2022 | 95 | Toasted caramel and blackcurrants on the nose. Some ripe cherry aromas too. Juicy, this has concentration but is well presented, almost delicately with quite a straightforward and direct expression rather than being overly fleshy or wide. Well made, with precision - fruit purity alongside quite a spiced liquorice finish. Interesting, feels very hands off. 3.89pH. Ageing 20 months, 100% new oak. Owners the Antinori family with winemaker Marcus Notaro. Click to see full details | |
| Tenuta Sette Ponti, Oreno, Toscana, | Italy | 2023 | 95 | Situated in Tuscany's Valdarno on via Setteponti, an ancient route connecting Florence and Arezzo, this 2023 Oreno from Tenuta Sette Ponti is beautifully refined. Its earthy, spicy hedgerow berry aromas recall an autumn walk in the countryside, while in the mouth it showcases beautiful freshness, with balsamic herb-infused blackberries underlined by potpourri fragrance. Fine, slippery tannins lead into a long, poised finish with a flourish of spice. Lots more to come from this. Click to see full details | |
| Thiénot, La Vigne aux Gamins Extra Brut | France | 2014 | 95 | Lovely aromatic display, notes of green tea, quince and green apples, chalky elements and salty mineral notes. Dry and zesty but chalky too, the lemon and citrus acidity mingled with a crunchy aspect but also a powdery texture on the palate. Bright and crisp with a juicy, mouthwatering core and quite a lot of tension driving the flavours forward. Almost an element of spearmint freshness towards the finish alongside wet stones and a bitter toasted grapefruit touch. Lemon multi ways - sherbet, sorbet and meringue pie. Lovely full bodied flavours but really delicately bubbled. It’s zingy but not tart, giving mouthwatering vibrancy alongside tons of complexity and flavour. Incredibly easy to drink. No dosage but it’s not a rule. No malolactic fermentation either. The 2014 saw a sunny, warm and dry spring followed by a gloomy summer with warm, dry conditions for harvest on 18th September. From a little less than half a hectare on hillside slopes in Avize. 3.02pH. 8g/l tartaric acid. Production; 2,700 bottles, 250 magnums. Click to see full details | |
| Vérité, Le Désir, Sonoma County, | USA | 2022 | 95 | Floral and milk chocolate notes on the nose, blackcurrants and damsons with red cherries too. Fleshy and ripe, I love the tannins on this wine, chewy but with a ripe skin texture - not dry but softly chalky that really extends to a long finish. This is the most delicate, if we can say, of all the three wines with a gentle juiciness and lots of concentration. I like it alot, maybe less forward and upfront than the other two but nonetheless interesting and enjoyable. 5% Malbec completes the blend. Owner Jackson Family Wines with director and winemaker Pierre Seillan of Château Lassègue in St-Emilion. Click to see full details | |
| Yalumba, The Octavius Old Vine Shiraz, Barossa Valley, | Australia | 2020 | 95 | Wow, a deep, heady nose full of purple flowers and ripe black fruit. Supple and alive, this is almost thick in the mouth - concentrated and intense thanks to the dry and mild-to-hot vintage conditions - although there’s a tense aspect too with acidity that drives the wine forward and keeps it all in quite a straight line. Streamlined and focussed, this has such detail to the tannins and fruit and while the flavour widen the structure is pointed and very straight. I like the sense of bite you get, the tangy edges and lovely stony, mineral, salty touch. Some iron, clove spice, cedar spice, bitter chocolate but with freshly picked strawberries. Amazing - still a little compact on the finish but great potential here and it has a mouthwatering core that is so delicious. 3.64pH. With an average vine age of 89 years, 72% of this Shiraz is sourced from the Barossa Valley and 28% from Eden Valley. Click to see full details | |
| Zuccardi, El Camino de las Flores, Uco Valley (Gualtallary), | Argentina | 2024 | 95 | Gorgeous aromas of lemon meringue pie, crisp green apples, white flowers, orange rind and a touch of dried herbs. The palate blends cool white stone fruit with ripe, exotic yellow fruit underpinned by a vibrant, mouthwatering acidity that gives it a sleek and straight backbone. Purity and polish in spades with excellent freshness and stony minerality. Great energy and precision with balance, density and a very slightly oily texture that fills the mouth. This is a single-estate wine from Finca Las Cerrilladas, located in Gualtallary Monasterio at 1,380 meters above sea level. Vinification and ageing for one year in unlined concrete vats. No malo and no batonnage. 3.25pH. Click to see full details | |
| Adega Algueira, Cornamuse | Spain | 2023 | 94 | A new and interesting addition to La Place de Bordeaux this year. Super flowery aromatics with lemon juice and some white grapefruit. A slightly waxy, oily texture with some burnt caramel alongside peach and pear. Quite a savoury take with bright and zesty citrus elements alongside pronounced saltiness. Complex and enjoyable. Director Fabio González Pérez and winemaker Fernando González Riveiro. Click to see full details | |
| Appassionata, Fortissimo Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley (Chehalem Mountains), | USA | 2014 | 94 | Rose petal and peony fragrance with dried earth, toast and stewed strawberries on the nose. Nuanced and full of complexity with even more rose florality, delicate yet sappy red berries and lots of savoury spice, tobacco and umami elements. Forward and super interesting to see how it grows and changes with time in the glass. 2014 began with an early bud break followed by a warm, dry and plentiful season. A large crop with perfect harvest conditions. Winemaker Tim Malone, Bob Bertheau consultant winemaker, formerly at St Michelle. The first vintage of this exciting project, 2005, is set for release in 2030. Click to see full details | |
| Barons de Rothschild, Rare Collection Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut | France | 2015 | 94 | Smells lovely, buttery and slightly nutty. Some toastiness but works well with the piercing citrus acidity and bright lemon fruit aspects alongside crisp green apple and elderflower florality. The palate is fresh and frothy with a long finish and super fine bubbles. Dosage 5g/L. DIrector Frédéric Mairesse, winemaker Guillaume Lété. Click to see full details | |
| Boizel, Joyau Extra Brut | France | 2013 | 94 | Buttery toasted nose, lovely complexity of aromas. hazlent, caramel and some confit orange. Succulent and juicy, really mouth watering, bright and piercing, great acidity with a soft sugary lemon aspect. Ends crisp and clean, so delicious. I love the orange and sweet lemon that lingers along with some lovely minerality - slate and wet stones. Just has the most lovely depth on the mid palate that really elongates the wine and counters the acidity. Lovely stuff. Dosage 3.5g/L. 10% aged in big casks. Director and winemaker Florent Roques-Boizel also with Lionel Roques Boizel and Isabelle Tellier. Click to see full details | |
| Caiarossa, Aria, Toscana, | Italy | 2022 | 94 | Ripe and fragrant red cherries and strawberries, smells open and inviting. Sunny fruit but with such delicacy of aroma. Juicy and lively, this bursts on the palate with crunchy red fruit and lots of iron giving a mineral tang. Really quite salty and savoury with some herbal elements. Not super fleshy, this is straight and streamlined, direct and focused. Has a lovely brightness to it. A lot of tannins, it’s still tight with a lot of structure but carefully constructed and so delicious with a cooling freshness all the way through. From vines grown between 350-400 m in altitude on volcanic soils. For the first time, a third of the production was aged in botte with 15% new oak in 2022, down from 20% in 2021. 3.40pH. 21% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Grenache complete the blend. Click to see full details | |
| Château d'Aussières Corbieres, | France | 2021 | 94 | Milk chocolate, liquorice, strawberries, blackberries and dried herbs on the nose - so inviting. Glossy and sleek, this has beautifully soft and smooth tannins with a rich and concentrated core of red and black bramble fruit and bright acidity. Perfectly balanced with no let up of energy from start to finish. Feels really well made with a long length and delicious salty, pumice and slate minerality. Great drinkability and value. This also got better having been open a few days so if drinking soon give it a good air. Click to see full details | |
| Craggy Range, Aroha Te Muna Pinot Noir, Martinborough, | New Zealand | 2023 | 94 | Beautiful fragrant aromas of violet and dried rose petals. Smells alive and expressive with hints of forest floor and some dried leaves and soil. Smooth and so juicy, this is both calm and relaxed but effortlessly pure and streamlined - like a gentle caress. It’s packed full of flavour, this is not lacking in nuance or depth, with such layering of flavour and even though it has an element of lift it still carries a wide mouthfeel. Just heavenly with a crushed stone aspect on the finish. 3.71pH. Ageing 14 months, 31% new oak. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Lebrun, Cuvée Eugenie , Pouilly-Fumé, | France | 2020 | 94 | Extremely fragrant and floral, peaches, pears and wild flowers. Juicy and alive, gorgeous creamy, almost oily elements of peaches and pears with vanilla and honeysuckle. Some delicious grapefruit bitterness that nicely counters the juiciness and rich texture. Moutbnwateing, clean, fragrant, so long and so easy to drink with some bitterness. A wonderful addition to La Place this year form the family-owned domaine with this tiny production, selection from 10ha of top parcels in the appellation. Click to see full details | |
| Dr Loosen, Weingut Zacharias Bergweiler-Prüm Erben, Vieille Vignes Riesling, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, | Germany | 2019 | 94 | Racy and bright on the nose, some dried apricot scents with honeyed vanilla and lemon. Smells gorgeous, so expressive and full. Alive on the palate, an instant zing of lemon and lime with a softly sweet element of pears and caramel with a bitter, almost herbal edge. Round and full but with a zing of zestiness around the edges stopping it from being too heavy or thick. I love that thick, oily creaminess balanced with the mouthwatering zestiness and delicious slate touches. Bitter orange on the finish. Serious and seriously drinkable. The second vintage for three wines in this range on the Place de Bordeaux that is an homage to the historical winemaking traditions of Ernst Loosen's family. Click to see full details | |
| Fattoria Petrolo, Boggina C Riserva, Valdarno di Sopra, | Italy | 2022 | 94 | This oak-vinified Sangiovese from Petrolo's oldest vines has a triple-attack of density: from the old vines, from the oak ageing and from the vintage. Yet its balance and freshness give it the drinkability that's required. A complexity of fresh and dried cherry, woodsmoke and spices are enlivened by zesty streaks of blood orange and wonderful sapidity. A wooden frame with creamy undertones and a spicy finish point to the 16-18 months spent in large barrels, and will settle down with further ageing in bottle. Click to see full details | |
| House of Arras, E.J. Carr Late Disgorged | Australia | 2008 | 94 | Clean and fragrant nose full of lemon rind, vanilla, buttery popcorn, oyster shell salinity, peach and apricot. Excellent freshness and sense of life, zesty flavours edge the fine bubbles with a touch of honey and lemon meringue pie. VIbrant with enjoyable bitter touches that linger alongside slate and wet stones on the extremely long finish. This is full of flavour, mouthwatering and delicious with a cushioned texture, round body and great sense of direction. A fabulous wine that belies its 18 years of age. Dosage 2g/L. Click to see full details | |
| Inglenook, Blancaneaux, Napa Valley, | France | 2023 | 94 | Dried herbs and rose petals on the nose with some lemon rind and orange skin too. Juicy and succulent but with a rich, savouriness that begs for food. Ample and round but not heavy with both creamy and spiced pepper elements as well as floral touches with peach aromatics and a lovely cooling clean salty wet stone finish. Leaves you wanting more. Great stuff. Click to see full details | |
| Inglenook, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, | USA | 2022 | 94 | Graphite, pencil lead, blackcurrant and dark liquorice scents. Full and ripe, this has tons of personality from the get go, lovely acidity counters the concentration with a delicate presentation of the tannins that extends the wine in a direct line. Well constructed with precision. I like the reserved nature, power but lots of fruit at the fore with freshness a key component. A success and so drinkable. Owner Francis Ford Coppola, director Todd Devincenzi, winemaker Philippe Bascaules. Click to see full details | |
| L'Aventure, Côte a Côte, Paso Robles (Willow Creek), | USA | 2022 | 94 | Extremely floral on the nose, so perfumed and lively. Very expressive and open. Roses, iris, peony with black cherry and plum notes. Seductive and spiced, so smooth and juicy, this really is effortless. Lots of cherry, baked strawberry, blackcurrant and cooling blueberry fruit. Crystalline and pure, this is gorgeous, sapid and mouthwatering but elongated vertically where there’s layers of freshness, fruit and minerality. Some spiced and herbal aspects too. I love this, really excellent and so easy to like. Refined, plenty of character and confidence. Ends lifted and so long, really leaves a moreish aspect. Ageing 18 months; 33 one year old barrels, 33 new French oak, 19% amphora, 13% concrete with malolactic fermentation in barrels. No fining or filtering. 3% Graciano and 2% Viognier - the first time the blend includes white grapes - complete the mix. Click to see full details | |
| L'Aventure, Optimus, Paso Robles (Willow Creek), | USA | 2022 | 94 | Black olive tapenade on the nose, quite savoury with dark black fruit aromas, some vanilla and chocolate elements too. Smooth and silky with amazingly high acidity that you don't expect from the aromatic display. Lively and clean, tongue scraping with a long length of almost tart strawberry and wet stones. Biting acidity with tons of mint and minerality. Mouthwatering but not too much, a little clipped on the finish but more due to tension I think at this point. A cooler climate feel to this, definitely not jammy, it has concentration but a fresh aspect to the fruit with pronounced acidity and minerality. Clean and focussed. Something very drinkable to this. Ageing 18 months; 81% in one year old French oak, 19% new with malolactic fermentation in barrels. Click to see full details | |
| Odyssée Vin de France, | France | 2022 | 94 | Darkly herbal and chocolatey - quite a savoury spiced edge to the nose. Tobacco, leather, cedar and blackcurrants. Some animal notes coming from the Syrah with the fruit burst from the Cabernet. Tannins are clearly front and centre right now, they fill the entire mouth and create a massy expression although this extends vertically allowing the tannin finesse to shine through. Still compact with some bitterness. I love the ampleness here, and enjoyable salty, liquorice minerality. Winemakers Pierre Graffeuille and Matthieu Dumarcher. Click to see full details | |
| Opus One, Overture, Napa Valley (Oakville), | USA | 2022 | 94 | Gorgeous Cabernet aromas, clear and crystalline, some herbal notes with a cool blueberry and chalky element. Rose scents, dark cherries and cinnamon bark. Full and expressive, warming tones but great acidity that gives such lift. Lovely purity and drive, this has a great sense of confidence - nothing overdone, really pristine and finessed. If anything it’s not super heavy, but it’s the better for it. You get the Napa richness in the fruit concentration but it’s so well defined and still with a graceful power. Yum. 0.5% Petit Verdot completes the blend. Click to see full details | |
| Orma Toscana, | Italy | 2023 | 94 | This Merlot-dominant blend from Bolgheri has really hit its stride in recent vintages, and while this 2023 isn't yet giving too much away, the promise is evident. Black and blue berries are struck through with a line of balsamic herbs and a slightly rustic, earthy hint. In the mouth it has all the intensity you'd expect of these varieties in this place, with a very youthful, creamy character that will settle down with time. More importantly, it ripples with salinity and sapidity, which lend juxtaposition and a savoury tweak to the glossy fruit profile. Click to see full details | |
| Penfolds, RWT Bin 798 Shiraz, Barossa Valley, | Australia | 2023 | 94 | Even though this wine earned its Bin status with the 1997 vintage, the Red Winemaking Trial acronym has stuck. Always a generous, polished, modern take on Shiraz (and always matured in French oak hogsheads, here 69% new, for 14 months) in this tricky growing season it is more composed than its usual blockbuster style, thanks to a crunchy seam of acidity that gives real energy and focus. But RWT fans will still find those plush tannins and dense, chewy concentrated fruit core they love: black brambles, Turkish coffee, Black Forest gateau, steak seasoning and root beer sweetness. Time will soften the still quite present oak, and it will reward over the next two decades. Released at £125. Click to see full details | |
| Peter Michael, Les Pavots, Sonoma County (Knights Valley), | USA | 2022 | 94 | Ripe and heady blackcurrant with cedar and tobacco touches as well as clove and garrigue herbs. Very scented. Supple and lithe, quite high acidity sets the tone and gives this bite and frame. Quite taut and coiled, clearly powerful with an underlying sense of heat and spice. Ends grippy and stony. High acidity, mouthwatering but not thick or too ripe, definitely more streamlined and focussed. This is tense in the sense it drives from start to finish not expanding but maintaining a direct core. There’s a sense of the alcohol in the tightness and slight heat on the finish but it’s not overly jammy in terms of fruit presentation. Keeps a lifted and elevated airy element. I like the refinement and there’s definitely purity to the fruit but it’s not super charming right now. I do love the construction though - very classy. Confident and long. Ageing 18 months, 70% new. 6% Petit Verdot completes the blend. Click to see full details | |
| Santa Rita, Casa Real, Alto Jahuel, | Chile | 2015 | 94 | Crayon and inky notes on the nose, gorgeous Cabernet markers with cassis, black chocolate, dried herbs, some smoke and tobacco scents. Glossy and rich in the mouth, this has a fiery spiced core, you can taste the sun but it’s not jammy, a touch sweet and slightly bitter on the finish with some grippy tannins, black chocolate and an olive touch but all aligned to excellent acidity and freshness with a minty lift on the finish. This is very enjoyable. First year of winemaker Sebastian Labbe although Cecilia Torres did the blend. Ageing 18 months, 100% new oak. Click to see full details | |
| Vik, | Chile | 2022 | 94 | Very expressive - ripe blackcurrant, so open and alive. Lots of liquorice, spiced chocolate, clove and espresso beans. Floral scents too, lots of chocolate. Round and pulsing with life, great energy and sense of vibrancy to this. Tannins coat the mouth in a fine layer of texture, well integrated and softly chalky. This has a lovely delicate structure, you can taste and feel the refinement with hints of fleshiness. Tobacco, liquorice and some salty stones alongside cherry, vanilla and sweet blackcurrants. 100% massale selection of organically-farmed grapes, no fining or filtration with fermentation using native wild yeasts. Ageing: 86% oak for 26 months, 16 different toastings, low in terms of flavour, more for micro-oxygenation - 55% is new and 45% comes from first and second use barrels, the remaining 14% is aged in clay amphora for 12 months. Winemaker Christian Vallejo. Click to see full details | |
| Bodegas Caro, Caro, Uco Valley, | Argentina | 2023 | 93 | Strong aromatics on the nose, blackcurrant and dark chocolate with black pepper spice too. Juicy and supple, this is quite serious and dark, lots of sticky liquorice and black chocolate but lovely deep and ripe blackcurrants and blueberries too which counter the savoury aspects. I like this, heady but overall really cool and fresh. Great minerality - salty wet stones - on the finish. I like this alot. Owners Lafite Rothschild and Nicolas Catena. Director Philippe Rolet, winemaker Olivier Trégoat. Click to see full details | |
| Clos Apalta, Le Petit Clos, Apalta, | Chile | 2022 | 93 | Fragranced purple flowers with hints of fig, plum and black cherry. Just wonderful aromas of dark fruit - but so precise with great clarity - cool and ripe tones on the nose. So silky smooth, bright and forward. Juicy and crystalline, red summery berry notes alongside sweet spices, liquorice and espresso with bitter black chocolate and garrigue herbality. So pleasing. Still relatively tightly coiled but increases in width with time in the glass. Wonderfully finessed with plenty of underlying power. Slightly powdery tannins on the finish. Layered and charming. Great freshness that leaves you wanting more with a lively and long finish. Black cherry, juicy blueberry - fruit forward and easy to drink but not lacking in character of complexity. 5% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 3.71pH. 18 months in 42% new oak, 58% two year old fresh oak 225l barrels. Cooler and drier conditions than in 2021 with lots of sun and light and excellent sanitary conditions although 35% lower yields. Technical director Andrea Léon. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Chapuis Corton-Chaumes Grand Cru, | France | 2023 | 93 | Structured and intense with milk chocolate, rose and peony floral accents and red summer berries. Still a little tight and compact but there's excellent definition to the fruit - cherry and strawberry with some bitter orange and toast touches too that are quite prominent towards the finish. A new addition to the Place de Bordeaux this year. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Baronarques Limoux, | France | 2023 | 93 | Ripe and plummy nose, forward with lots of black bramble fruit and some lavender florality. Ripe and fleshy, this fills the mouth with bright acidity and concentrated fruit - both in keeping with each other. Chalky tannins with a touch of toast accent the fruit and ends with a salty, liquorice touch. Well constructed and although a touch tight and oaky right now it'll age well and be beautifully in a few years. Sweet acidity makes this so pleasing and I love the soft liquorice and chocolate finish. Round and well constructed. 3.65pH. Ageing 12 months, 25% new wood. 10% Malbec and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon complete the blend. From the Mouton Rothschild stable in Limoux. Director Augustin Deschamps and winemaker Fabrice Boullier at the 31-hectare estate. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine des Baronarques Limoux, | France | 2023 | 93 | Citrus and pear flesh, this has a nice full bodied aspect to it, really round and complex, full of flavour and intensity but with a lifted acidity. A gourmet wine with plenty to like. Dried herbs, grapefruit, pineapple, juicy and fresh but deep and layered too. A great quality and invigorating wine with plenty to say. Director Augustin Deschamps, winemaker Fabrice Boullier. Top value. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Luneau-Papin, Gula Ana, Muscadet (de Sèvre et Maine), | France | 2023 | 93 | The first time on the Place for this delicious and captivating, biodynamic wine from Muscadet. Lively and bright, this has an orange and grapefruit element to the fruit with brightness and clarity. It’s still quite spiced around the edges, just detracting from easy enjoyment at this point with white peach pit, wet stones and gravel. Very leesy with an oily thickness here countered by peach, a flash of lemon zestiness and a mouth watering salty element that makes you want another sip. Great for a summer’s day but still with complexity. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Vincent Delaporte, Le Cul de Beaujeu, Sancerre, | France | 2022 | 93 | A new addition on the Place de Bordeaux for this Loire Pinot Noir. Beautiful florality on the nose - freshly crushed rose petals with raspberries. Soft and seamless, a lovely gentleness on the palate. Crunchy red fruit has bite and tang with such an elegant and long expression. Touches of wet stone give a salty, chalky touch to the finish. Easy to drink and clearly well made. Lovely. From a tiny 1.25-hectare plot. Owner/winemaker Matthieu Delaporte. Click to see full details | |
| Flowers, Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, | USA | 2023 | 93 | Salty fresh ocean spray with cranberry and strawberry scents on the nose. Some forest floor and wet soil accents add the savoury touch but this is lovely and expressive on the nose. Smooth and almost subtle, it’s not super bright, more knitted down and quiet right now - straight with a spiced vein that stays from start to finish. I like the succulence and precision however, there is still great acidity, but this presents more power than poise right now. 3.65pH. The first time this wine will be sold via the Place de Bordeaux. Owner Huneeus Vintners, director Jen Beloz and winemaker Chantal Forthun. Click to see full details | |
| Les Héritiers Saint-Genys, Clos Marcilly Monopole, Mercurey (1er Cru), | France | 2023 | 93 | Lively and bright, this has a gorgeous aspect of bitter grapefruit and orange and lemon skin straight away with some toasted almonds. Balanced with such a strong personality and character. I like this alot, fuller bodied than some with plenty of interest. Bitter, white stone fruit and salinity on the finish. From the 3.15-hectare monopole vineyard. Director Patrice de Jeu, winemaker Jean-Baptiste Aline. Click to see full details | |
| Quentin Jeannot, Vieilles Vignes, Pommard, | France | 2023 | 93 | Floral fragrance with some earthy, wet forest floor notes. Crunchy strawberry and red cherry fruit. I love the depth and concentration without any heaviness. Juicy and easy to enjoy with salty wet stone minerality towards the finish. A happy drinking wine. From a tiny 0.5-hectare plot. Click to see full details | |
| Bodega Monteviejo, La Violeta, Uco Valley, | Argentina | 2016 | 92 | A toasted, milk chocolate and charred nose - you can smell the concentration straight away. Cinnamon, olive, salty shells, black chocolate, wild flowers and blackcurrants. This is intensely tannic and extremely oaky and spiced with a savoury core. Mouthwatering acidity stops this from being too heavy but it certainly packs a punch. Ageing 24-36 months in new French barrels followed by a lengthy time in bottle until it's deemed ready to drink. Owner Henri Parent, of La Violette in Pomerol, winemakers Marcelo Pelleriti and José Mounier. From a 4.06-hectare, old-vine, high-altitude estate in the Uco Valley. Click to see full details | |
| Caiarossa, Pergolaia, Toscana, | Italy | 2022 | 92 | Dried herbs and fresh strawberries on the nose, smells lovely and appealing. Gentle on the nose, a hint of sunny ripe fruit with lovely savoury herbal edges - garrigue. Smooth and succulent, great acidity enlivens the palate creating a mouthwatering affect - this craves food. Ends salty and clean with a bite of spiced mint, liquorice and aniseed. Freshness is there but also some depth and purity. Only large foudre used for ageing. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Brunet, Les Pentes de la Folie, Vouvray, | France | 2022 | 92 | The first time on La Place de Bordeaux this September. Green apple, freshly cut pear and pine nut aromas - fresh and focussed. Balanced and smooth, this has a touch of oxidation with some toasty, spiced edges alongside grapefruit and peach flesh with a honeyed nutty and vanilla character too. Complex, grippy and interesting. Great to have with food and ends fresh and long with a cooling element. Director and winemaker Sebastien Brunet. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Chapuis Aloxe-Corton (1er Cru), | France | 2023 | 92 | Smooth and shiny, this is relatively tight still, the acidity adding tension to the strawberry and red cherry fruit with a touch of citrus zing. Well made, easy to enjoy with good definition and a long length. Some creamy milk chocolate and blackcurrant elements. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Chapuis Chorey-lès-Beaune, | France | 2023 | 92 | Fragrant lemon and lime, more citrus than anything else with some buttery brioche edges. A touch of oak gives some restriction but this has freshness and cooling elements too with salty minerality. Mouthwatering acidity gives lift with grip and intensity the whole way through. Directors Pierre and Claire Chapuis, winemaker Pierre. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Terrebrune Bandol, Rouge | France | 2021 | 92 | A rich nose full of red and black cherries with some vanilla and chocolate alongside garrigue herbal elements. I love the round and filling nature, it has breadth in the mouth with gorgeous high acidity. Easy to drink but not without complexity. Lovely wet stone notes and lots of graphite. Some wood and bitter chocolate notes too. I love the freshness and the lifted expression, but it needs to shed some strictness and tightness due to the wood and then it’ll be lovely. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine de Terrebrune, Rose, Bandol, | France | 2023 | 92 | Herbal edged strawberries and cherries. Quite a savoury style - pithy bitter herbal aspects, refreshing but a more gourmet take that would be good for food. Lifted frame with sunny red fruits, garrigue, thyme and wild herbs. Fresh, long and enjoyable. Director Reynald Delille, winemaker Daniel Abrial. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Delaporte, La Côte d'Amigny, Sancerre, | France | 2023 | 92 | White stone fruit - peach and pear meets quite toasted characters of burnt caramel that adds a bitter touch to this refreshing and salty wine. Mouthwatering and interesting. Director and winemaker Matthieu Delaporte. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Delaporte, Les Monts Damnes, Sancerre, | France | 2023 | 92 | Green apple and wet stones - something very chalky, smokey and mineral about this with a relaxed feel. Quite a cooling white stone fruit aspect alongside hints of florality and some toasted cinnamon accents around the edges. Director and winemaker Matthieu Delaporte. Click to see full details | |
| Fattoria Petrolo, Boggina B, Toscana, | Italy | 2023 | 92 | Tuscan Trebbiano is having a moment, and Boggina B is one of the ringleaders. Vinified in tonneaux with indigenous yeasts, then with regular batonnage, it opens with a reductive flinty, struck-match aroma. In the mouth it's creamy, herbal and zesty, with rich layers of orange peel, toast and salted buttery popcorn. An enjoyable alternative to Chardonnay, but very much its own thing – and it ages wonderfully. Click to see full details | |
| Fattoria Petrolo, Torrione, Toscana, | Italy | 2023 | 92 | I'm very happy that Torrione is now available in the UK, via importer Armit. It's a great value wine given its pedigree, coming in at under £35, and it makes sense to have a few bottles ready to pull out for guests or a cosy evening in front of the TV. Combining a majority of Sangiovese from the Bòggina vineyard with Merlot from the iconic Galatrona site, and a drop of Cabernet Sauvignon from Campo Lusso, it's an intense yet not overly concentrated (read: perfectly balanced) mouthful of generous, fleshy red and dark berries supported by subtly grippy tannins. It's not trying to be too intellectual but it does showcase the ability of the Petrolo team. Click to see full details | |
| Quentin Jeannot Santenay (1er Cru Passetemps), | France | 2023 | 92 | A fragrant and refined nose full of floral and red berry charm. Supple and amazingly well balanced, clean and clear, crystalline and pure with a gentle and finessed structure. Well crafted still with red cherry and graphite touches on the finish. Enjoyable. From a tiny 0.25-hectare plot. Click to see full details | |
| Almaviva, Epu, Puente Alto, | Chile | 2023 | 91 | Red bell peppers on the nose - so clear - really unmistakeable and so pronounced. Shiny and glossy, still more pepper flavours on the palate with bright red cherries and some creamy milk chocolate too. Relatively compact still, but there’s finesse and lovely cooling freshness all the way through with a mint, aniseed finish. I don't get the alcohol here. Well balanced and presented. 3% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. Director Manuel Louzada, winemaker Michel Friou. Click to see full details | |
| Clos Apalta, Prélude, Apalta, | Chile | 2023 | 91 | So aromatic, dark black fruit, bramble berries - ripe and heady, deep and seductive. Damson plum, earthy scents, wet soil and a touch of gunsmoke. Intensely perfumed blackcurrants, liquorice and black chocolate. Svelte and streamlined with soft, well-integrated tannins and gorgeous fruit purity - keeps a streamlined structure. Poised, lovely delicacy, nothing overblown. There’s power but also restraint. Some granite and pencil lead minerality really adds the salinity and touch of metalicism as well as spice and toast accent the fruit but overall stay in the background. Ends on a toasted liquorice note. Great quality. Click to see full details | |
| Domaine Delaporte, Silex, Sancerre, | France | 2023 | 91 | Grassy and clean, lovely green apple and fresh orchard fruit scents with white floral edges. Good purity and minerality with some wet stone accents alongside toasted lemon tart, pear drops and saltiness. Director and winemaker Matthieu Delaporte. A new addition to the Place releases this September. Click to see full details | |
| Giovanni Rosso Barolo Cerretta (Serralunga d’Alba), | Italy | 2021 | 91 | With touches of orange peel to the cherry aromas, this is a succulent, vertical Ceretta showing freshness and brightness. There's some sapidity to the precise red fruits, and refinement to the chalky tannins, however it's perhaps lacking some Nebbiolo character – a winemaker's Barolo for sure. Click to see full details | |
| Quentin Jeannot, Vieilles Vignes, Santenay, | France | 2023 | 91 | Red berry fruit, almost tart on the palate, giving high energy and a zestiness that is really appealing. A little sharp, some raspberry and just-ripe cherry. It’s certainly on the zingy aspect, strawberry and sherbet-like berry fruit - super high acidity and tons of vibrancy. One for those who like livewire wines. From a 1.85-hectare plot. Click to see full details | |
| Giovanni Rosso Etna, | Italy | 2024 | 90 | This straightforwardly fresh Etna Bianco is the result of cryomaceration, whole-bunch pressing and vinification in stainless steel. Carricante's floral, peachy characters are accompanied by touches of honeyed apple, lemon peel and grapefruit, with a hint of spice on the finish. Don't expect fireworks, but do pick up a case for reliably delicious sipping. Click to see full details | |
| Giovanni Rosso Etna, | Italy | 2022 | 90 | From vines in Castiglione on the north side of Etna, made by Barolo winemaker, Davide Rosso. Fragrant cherry, raspberry and orange peel scents are tinged with fresh touches of violets, lavender and mint. Bright and sapid, it appeals with its soft tannins, juicy fruit, citrussy acidity and blood orange notes on the finish. Click to see full details | |
| Les Héritiers Saint-Genys Santenay, | France | 2023 | 90 | Lemon pith and creamy grapefruit elements with some toasted sides. Nice buttery aspects and a richer texture where you're not just getting acidity although it provides nice lift. A good food wine. Lively character with complexity. Director Patrice de Jeu, winemaker Jean-Baptiste Aline. Click to see full details |