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.

James Suckling (98)

This is a red with extremely creamy tannins that are fine and polished, giving length and definition to the wine. Full-bodied, yet tight and compact with plenty of currants and fresh herbs. Extremely long and flavorful. Drinking beautifully now.

James Suckling (99)

Fantastic aromas of blackcurrants and other dark fruit with crushed stone, iron and oysters, following through to a full body that shows incredible energy and depth, offering ripe yet fresh fruit, together with bright herbs and earth. Precision and balance of the intensity of the vintage. Layered. Perhaps the greatest Don Melchor ever made. Try after 2022.

James Suckling (100)

This is amazing. The vibrancy and energy in this wine is stunning. The complexity of aromas are breathtaking with flowers, blackcurrants, raspberries and peaches. Full-bodied, yet ever so refined and polished with impeccable texture and beauty. The length is marvelous. This is a testimony to balance, harmony and transparency in a great red. Drink after 2023.

James Suckling (98)

Very perfumed and aromatic with blackcurrant, sweet-tobacco and Spanish-cedar character. Full-bodied with ultra fine tannins that build on the palate and take the fruit and other flavors to an endless finish. More refined than the perfect 2018 and almost as compelling. Drink in 2023 or after.

James Suckling (97)

Deep and serious with black olives, blackberries, blueberries, tobacco leaf, sweet red capsicum, ash, dried meat and a hint of black chocolate. This is a more direct, full-bodied Don Melchor, filled with solid blackberries and wrapped by tight, fine-grained tannins. Long and deep. 92% cabernet sauvignon, 6% cabernet franc, 1% merlot and 1% petit verdot. Better after 2024.

James Suckling (98)

This shows superb finesse and balance with wonderful, harmonious fruit and tannin tones that give the wine purity and focus. Dried spices, blackberries, walnuts and tile. Deep, contained structure with pure, fine tannins. The finish is incredible and goes on for minutes. A blend of 56% syrah, 31% carmenere, and 13% cabernet sauvignon. From biodynamically grown grapes. One for the cellar. Better after 2022, but already fantastic.

James Suckling (98)

A complex nose of blackberry, plum, mocha, cigar box, graphite and spice. It’s full-bodied with fine tannins. Creamy-textured and structured with a juicy core. Pure with a velvety texture on the palate, which is layered and balanced and leads to a flavorful finish that lasts over and over. Spicy on the finish with cloves and black pepper. Grilled meat, too. A blend of 52% syrah, 34% carmenere and 14% cabernet sauvignon. From biodynamically grown grapes. Vegan. Try in 2023.

Wine Advocate (99)

After 20 harvests comes their first Cru, the 2018 Cru Truquilemu, which they describe as "Truqui with more stuffing." It comes from a small triangular section with a lower natural yield, with greater concentration and a darker, more brooding personality. It was fermented with more stems than the other Truquilemu and with a bit of Syrah, which adds weight, depth and texture. After fermenting pieces of the vineyard separately over many years, two distinct personalities emerged, and they have bottled them separately since 2018. Truquilemu has become more ethereal after the separation, and this is sturdier, with extra stuffing but more tension. The wine has less alcohol (12.8%, and 12.5% in 2019!!) higher acidity (7.43 grams measured in tartaric acid) and an incredible pH of 3.18, amazing parameters of freshness and restraint. This is not heavier, it just seems to have the same personality but with more layers. It was produced in a very simple and slow way, fermenting in open-top lagars with some full clusters and adding lignified stems to avoid carbonic maceration, with indigenous yeasts; malolactic took 11 months (!), and the aging in used and neutral barrel was extended over two winters. For the 2018 vintage, they filled 3,449 bottles in January 2020.

Wine Advocate (98)

In 2018, they bottled three Cariñena-based wines from Truquilemu in Empedrado (now a DO) in Maule. The 2018 Truquilemu Vineyard, they reckon, is more focused, sultry and ethereal than ever. It comes from 1.3 hectares and fermented with more full clusters and with a dash of Syrah (around 4%) in the field blend. By taking away the part bottled as Cru Truquilemu, this has become more ethereal. The 2018, an extraordinary vintage, has less alcohol (12.8%), more flavor and, most of all, greater depth with more layers that open up with time in the glass. These wines are as much abut texture and mouthfeel as aromas and flavors, incredibly fine-grained and titillating with lots of light and energy. This is the evolution of a wine produced in the past with slightly different names, with lots 77, 67, 57 and 47. 10,127 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2020 and marked with lot #97.

Wine Advocate (99)

There are three Carignan/Cariñena wines from the same vineyard in Truquilemu in 2018, and the 2018 Vigno comes from a section further down along the creek where there's terrific drainage and thus low yield and concentration. It's Carignan with smidgens of País and Monastrell in the field blend, the grapes grown by a mall farmer by hand and horse with traditional methods of dry-farming, uncertified organic for 75+ years. Like all the rest, it fermented in open-top vats with indigenous yeasts and matured in used barrels over two winters. None of these wines are about the process, they are about the place and the year. In 2018, the wine finished with 13% alcohol, a pH of 3.2 and seven grams of acidity, parameters that talk about a wine with moderate ripeness and vibrant freshness, from a cooler year in a cool part of Maule. 3,336 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2020.

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.

Vinous (93)

The 2018 Montes Alpha M, from Apalta, Colchagua, is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot and aged in French barrels, four-fifths of them new. Garnet red in color. The time spent in the barrel has brought out cigar box aromas alongside black currant, cassis, mint and hints of camphor. This is a complex wine held together by firm, polished tannins that keep the powerful mouthfeel in check. Expressive and long-lasting.

Vinous (91)

From Apalta, this 2017 Syrah spends 18 months in new French oak and offers up blackberry jam, India ink, wood and smoke over a fleshy backdrop that adds a touch of exoticism. Taut and complex, it is quite indulgent (5.94 grams of sugar), with firm tannins and a ripe complexion. A cosmopolitan wine.

James Suckling (98)

Blackberry, blueberry, sage and five spice on the nose. Medium-to full-bodied with fine tannins. Balanced and creamy with a fresh, juicy character palate. Silky texture with great structure. Savory finish with length. Peppery and spicy aftertaste. A blend of 92% carmenere and 8% petit verdot. Try in 2023.

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 (100)

The pure fruit and juicy tannins are so succulent and enticing. Full body and soft, silky tannins. Complete. Everything is where it should be. Ripe fruit and tangy acidity provide energy and balance. Love the finish. Precise and fine-grained texture. Cabernet sauvignon with a touch of petit verdot. Try after 2023. 800 cases made.

Tim Atkin MW (99)

... the 2018 Chadwick is the best release yet from this polo-field turned world class vineyard. Elegant and ethereal, with no sign of tell-tale Chilean eucalyptus, it’s a red that could easily be slipped incognito into tasting of top Bordeaux crus classés. More Margaux than Pauillac in style, with raspberry and red cherry fruit and supple, fine-grained tannins...

Wine Advocate (94)

From low-yielding Cabernet Franc vines that average 45 years of age and root in the silex clay soils of the côte, the 2019 Bourgueil Le Grand Clos opens with a pure, fine and intense, concentrated but also aromatic and fragrant bouquet of dark and red fruits and crushed stones along with refreshing lemony and spicy notes. Round and very elegant on the palate, this is a beautifully balanced Grand Clos with a concentrated finish with tight but fine tannins and a fresh acidity that gives a positive astringency. The aftertaste is long and intense but always in balance and underlines the remarkable finesse of this wine that aged for 12 to 18 months in 400-liter tonneaux. Tasted in June 2021.

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.