Decanter (94)

Another 2015 with a floral scent of violets and roses along with a blood-like iron element, on a foundation of brisk blackcurrant fruit. The tell-tale minty top-note comes to the fore after aeration, and the juicy palate is both fleshy and fresh, sustained by racy tannins. It has a vibrant finish with a salty tang.

Vinous (94)

Single-vineyard from 120-year-old vines, aged nine months in concrete tank. Deep ruby. Savory and floral nose of violets, pepper and forest floor. There’s a charming earthiness throughout this wine. Flavors of blackberry and black cherry emerge at midpalate, along with a lovely fresh root vegetable note. Cool, stony finish. Fresh and precise.

Wine Advocate (95)

I had the luck of tasting two vintages of the Chardonnay from slate/schist soils side by side, including the 2016 Aconcagua Costa Las Pizarras Chardonnay. The juice from the whole clusters decanted for 24 hours, fermented in oak barrels with indigenous yeasts and then aged in barriques for 14 months. It's a little more compressed than the 2017 and has good, vibrant flavors with some floral notes and some gentler flavors, perhaps more similar to the 2014, with the austere schist minerality but with more volume and juicy fruit. There is a little more malolactic in this year. If people have the idea that 2015 is warmer than 2016 and that 2017 is again warmer, the character of these Aconcagua Costa bottlings is the opposite: 2015 and 2017 are fresher, and 2016 is a little warmer. This sometimes happens, as the cooler years are harvested later and the warmer ones see an earlier harvest, so that the wines are exactly the opposite of what you expect. This is great, and its only problem is being tasted next to the 2017, which is otherworldly. 5,000 bottles were filled in May 2017.

Immerse yourself in the experience of Guiberteau Saumur Les Arboises 2016, a quintessential Loire gem from renowned organic viticulturist, Romain Guiberteau. An expert in Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc, Guiberteau continues to dazzle with his 2016 vintage confirming his status as a prominent producer in Saumur. Crafted from centuries-old vines in pure tuffeau soil, the wine was matured using traditional methods, resulting in an opulent and profound representation of the terroir.

Guiberteau Saumur Les Arboises 2016 reveals deep concentrations of black and red fruit alongside delicate herbal notes. Its velvety texture is invigorated by a fine crystal line of acidity, concluding with a seamlessly extended finish. This bottle's elegant complexity reflects Guiberteau's dedication to organic farming and respect for nature which results in expressive, terroir-driven wines of phenomenal quality and personality. Behold an outstanding wine that has been highly acclaimed by critics globally.

Dive into the elegant world of French wines with the Guiberteau Saumur Les Moulins Blanc 2020. A masterpiece from the Loire Valley, this white wine is a true testament to Romain Guiberteau's exceptional viticulture savoir-faire, hailing from his biodynamic vineyard renowned for its limestone-rich soils. Steadfast attention to traditional wine-making methods, low-intervention approach and strict yield control results in wines of phenomenal depth and exquisite purity.

Guiberteau Saumur Les Moulins Blanc 2020, a Chenin Blanc varietal, exudes a vibrant array of aromas from orchard fruits to minerality, perfectly encompassing the characteristics of Saumur's unique terroir. On the palate, this wine dances with balanced acidity and profound complexity. A pristine expression of Loire Valley Chenin Blanc, this wine is noted for its age-worthiness, and rewards patience with developing finesse over the years.

Relish in the refined pedigree of Guiberteau Saumur Les Moulins Blanc 2020, a wine that radiates charm, luxury and an authentic taste of France.

Blend:
100% Chenin Blanc
Tasting notes:
Deep nose of verbena and fresh apricot. The fresh and slender mouth stretches with a saline persistence and a slightly brioche finish.

Vinous (93)

Produced from a flint site that needed to be blown up to make the terroir and made from relatively young vines, this is initially a tender and supple style with a whiff of gunsmoke/flint, a taut line of precision that runs through its core, a mere hint of green herbs reminding you that Pouilly is a Sauvignon producer and even a hint of white pepper. It's a powerful style that has an attractive sense of bitterness holding it together. At just 13%, this is wonderfully balanced, aromatic and driven in this vintage. You may even feel this sense of spice that warms the palate, almost like you've had a warming Indian curry - it's not the alcohol but something else - maybe it's the lint. Unique and intriguing.

Jancis Robinson (18)

100% Sauvignon Blanc. The only vineyard that exists in DO Zapallar and located just 7 km from the coast. Clayey enriched soils and a dry steppe climate. Hand-harvested bunches are destemmed, cold-soaked for 12–24 hours, the must is settled for 24 h, then inoculated with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Torulaspora yeasts. Fermentation at low temperature. Aged on its lees for 6–8 months. How much pleasure! A wine with a lot of aroma, with endless layers of aromatic complexity. It has a great mouth-coating texture triggering a herbal memory. The palate is full, rich, pleasant, although with sharp acidity above the rich texture. It is very well delineated, fresh, rich, deep and concentrated. A complete Sauvignon Blanc that will make you salivate. Delicious!

Vinous (95)

Starting to take on a deep golden hue, the 1997 Moulin Touchais Coteaux du Layon is a sensuous sweet wine (92g/L of residual sugar) that offers ripe and concentrated flavors of apricot jam, cooked oranges botrytis-derived spices (60% of the fruit was affected by botrytis, a high proportion for this wine). It is intense, rich and honeyed, coating the palate with its sucrosity. There's just enough acidity here to keep things going but it does not have the vivacious refreshment of cooler years, providing a weightier, fully charged expression. The finish is lengthy and fragrant.

James Suckling (96)

Focused nose, showing fresh red chili chocolate with cigar, truffle, mint, olive and grilled meat. This is a medium-to full-bodied red with incredibly juicy and bright fruit and fine, caressing tannins that linger in the long, creamy but precise finish. Elegant and extremely drinkable with complexity. on top of 38% malbec, 25% syrah, 15% cabernet sauvignon, 14% grenache and 8% petit verdot. The real deal. Second wine of Seña. Drink or hold.

Decanter (96)

Such incredible aromatics on this wine, so much going on. Wildly perfumed, like wild meadow flowers with cherry, leather, coffee and blackcurrant. Smooth and coursing, this is evocative - pulsing with life and energy. The fruit is bright yet rich with mint-edged tannins that support the fruit and overall structure. You get these lovely mature tertiary aromas on the nose but then such youth still on the palate. Feels like a great time to drink this to enjoy the plump and still lively fruit with the tannins that are supportive, smooth and slightly grippy. I love it. A decadent wine, there's power here, but shining brightly right now. Just gorgeous. The first ex-chateau back vintage release, just a few thousand bottles.

James Suckling (100)

This is a very thoughtful Seña that shows unique aromas of warm earth, mushrooms and conifer, turning to dark berries and black olives. The palate is more glamorous with ultra-fine tannins that envelop your palate. Shows power and vibrancy at the end. Toned muscles. It’s a very intellectual wine that harkens back to the 2015. Blend of 55% cabernet sauvignon, 18% malbec, 15% carmenere, 7% cabernet franc and 5% merlot.

Wine Advocate (93+)

From vines averaging 45 years of age on the slopes of the Coteau and aged in oak barrels for 20 months, the 2018 Bourgueil Les Quartiers opens with a deep, intense and toasty bouquet of ripe, black berries and blackcurrants intermixed with spicy tones, cigar box and graphite. Silky, refined and fresh on the palate, this is an elegant, tight but vivacious, silky-textured Cabernet Franc with crystalline tannins and a long finish that is still oak-influenced in its flavors, but the structure, finesse and intensity and the very delicate raspberry flavor in the aftertaste indicate excellent aging potential. Personally, I prefer the crus that were partly aged in stoneware (amphorae) and also for a shorter period, whereas Les Quartiers represents the old Amirault style, before 2014.