International Super Premiums

Tre Bicchieri, Gambero Rosso. Wine Advocate 95 points. Decanter 95. points. This bottle is a true ambassador for Umbria. You get ample varietal tones in the 2016 Montefalco Sagrantino 25 Anni, with bitter chocolate and baking spice, but Caprai does a terrific job of softening up and fleshing out the Sagrantino grape to display a more contemporary and ultimately more approachable and versatile wine. It boasts a huge, bold and opulent mouthfeel with plenty of structure and determination. This was a release of 15,000 bottles. ML Jul 2021.

James Suckling 100 points. Wow! The aromas to this are really exceptional, with a tangerine edge to the blackcurrants, graphite, lead pencil, flowers and wet earth... So expressive and refined. Full-bodied with great intensity and depth of fruit. The ultra-fine tannins display millions of layers. The texture on the palate is superb and lasts for minutes. #GEORGES

James Suckling 98 points. Blackberry, blackcurrant and mint with some sage and crushed-stone undertones. Full-bodied with chewy tannins that are in-check and nicely polished. Smoke, toasted oak and bark at the end, complementing the fresh yet ripe fruit. Drink after 2024. JS Antonio Galloni 98 points. The 2018 Georges de Latour is the best young vintage of the flagship wine I have ever tasted. AG. For more than 100 years, Beaulieu Vineyard has set the benchmark for rich, classic Napa Valley wines. The Napa Valley region enjoyed a stunning, near picture-perfect 2018 growing season. The resulting 2018 Cabernets are of very high quality, for a...

98 Points, James Suckling, jamessuckling.com: "The subtlety and perfumed nature of this wine is enchanting, offering flowers, orange peel and cherries. Wonderful ripe strawberries, too. Full-bodied, but not over the top, with tannins that are polished and run the length of the wine. It’s tight, but gives you every indication of terrific wine. You want to drink it now, and you probably should do because it’s so alluring. Yet it will age beautifully as well. Drink or hold." 08/22. 98 Points, Georgina Hindle, Decanter: "Bright and lively on the palate, such beautifully expressed raspberry and red cherry fruit flavours...

James Suckling 97 points. 20th year anniversary special bottling. James Suckling Notes 97 Points, "Very attractive combination of dried fruit and spices with black cherries and plums. Aromas of flowers and sandalwood, too. Full-bodied and very refined, yet intense, with plush, velvety tannins that are wonderfully integrated and intertwined with the fruit. Ripe center palate. Tight at the end, suggesting the need for some serious bottle age. Very structured. Try after 2025." 8/21.

Organic. Ownership: Eric Albada Jelgersma, also owner of Chateau Giscours and Chateau du Tertre in Bordeaux, France. Wine Advocate 95 points. Tasted as an unfinished sample, the Caiarossa 2018 Caiarossa offers great insight into the forward-looking trajectory and the solid quality record of this gem of an estate on the Tuscan Coast. This is a blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Sangiovese, Syrah and Alicante, with the saturated and dark fruit aromas of the Cabernet grapes in pole position. A deep core of black fruit is backed by exotic spice, tar and sweet licorice at the back. The finest work here is to the...

100 Points, Luca Gardini, Gardini Notes: "Bright and dense ruby red. The nose is clean, with clear aromas of blackberry, and notes of rosemary and eucalyptus. Brackish finish with balsamic touches. The mouthfeel has great tension and depth with fine tannins and a fresh saline finish. Pomegranate and aromatic herbs return, of great drinkability. The culmination of Paolo Panerai's project, from Sangioveto and Malvasia Nera. Blueberry jam and Mediterranean shrubs on the nose, in the mouth there’s savory tannins and a balsamic finish." 96 points Goergina Hindle (Decanter): "Lovely abundance and expression on the nose,...

Wine Advocate 98 points, The 2018 Adrianna Vineyard Mundus Bacillus Terrae started with a marked creamy and lactic note, reflecting a very young and tender wine that started with a lot of malic acid. It has lower alcohol and higher acidity than the other two Adrianna bottlings; it's vibrant and lively, nicely textured and surprisingly fresh. The creamy and lactic note disappeared after some time in the glass, giving way to fresher notes, almost citrus....This has to be among the finest vintages for the Mundus Bacillus Terrae.     James Suckling: 98 Points This is a really deep, decadent red, showing incredibly rich black...

Rated 98 by Wine Advocate The sleek and elegant 2019 Adrianna Vineyard Mundus Bacillus Terrae is now certified organic (since 2018) and comes from vines planted in 1992 at 1,390 meters above sea level in Gualtallary on alluvial limestone soils. Seventy-five percent of the volume fermented in concrete vats with 50% full clusters, and the remaining 25% fermented in oak foudres. But instead of fermenting the grapes, they only fermented the juice (as it's usually done for white wines), to give the wine more elegance and lightness. I was listening to a record from a new band, Generation Radio, with musicians from Journey and Chicago, and...

Wine Advocate 95 points. The 2017s feel relaxed, something unusual in Priorat. The 2017 Clos Martinet has seen a change, as they stopped using the sorting table and stopped using the pied de cuve, because the harvest was very easy. They harvested in August—the earliest ever until 2018—and they didn't have time to do anything; so, they put the grapes in the vats and let them ferment, and that's what they have been doing ever since. They feel that there is less manipulation of the grapes now, and that could have helped to make wines more relaxed. This is truly harmonious and expressive, elegant and powerful, not showing any...

100 points James Suckling "A compact and polished Cobos with lots of dark fruit, as well as green olives, flowers and stems. Raspberries and forest fruit, too. Full-bodied, very tight and compressed. Melted tannins give great presence and mouth-feel, but the feeling is that they are invisible. It goes on for minutes. Sensational. So sophisticated and thoughtful. An archetypal malbec from Argentina. Better after 2027." After visiting Argentina in 1989, Californian trail blazer Paul Hobbs became deeply interested in both the terroir and Argentine culture, noticing the unique potential for Malbec and other varietals in the region....

James Suckling 100 points. ""It's full-bodied with lots of gentle tannins that spread across the palate. The character is full of blackberry, blackcurrant and lead pencil. Some conifer and pine needles. Sage at the end, too. Savory. So long-lasting and layered. Such purity."" Wine Advocate (98-100) Composed of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Cabernet Franc, 9% Petit Verdot and 6% Merlot, the deep garnet-purple 2018 Proprietary Red has a fantastically fragrant nose of candied violets, red roses, Morello cherries and blackcurrant pastilles with hints of wild blueberries, red currant jelly, iron ore and forest floor, plus a...

WA 100. The very deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Maya is shy and restrained to begin. With swirling, it begins to reveal beguiling notes of fragrant earth, lavender, garrigue and Sichuan pepper, giving way to a core of wild blueberries, boysenberries, black raspberries and black currants plus a hint of iron ore. The palate is full-bodied, revealing itself in slow-releasing layers of black and blue fruits with exhilarating earth and mineral sparks, framed by firm, beautifully ripe tannins and bold freshness, finishing on a persistent ferrous note. As cerebral as it is downright hedonic, this Maya is simply jaw-dropping. LPB Jan 2021. #100...

Wine Advocate 100 points. As fans know, Maya comes from a very special section of the estate vineyard, situated in the valley's eastern foothills, below Pritchard Hill and in the above the Oakville floor, overlooking Screaming Eagle. The blend is two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon and one-third Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Maya slowly unfurls to reveal a firework display of redcurrant preserves, kirsch, boysenberries and wild blueberries, followed by iron ore, red roses, cardamom, fallen leaves and crushed rocks, with a waft of pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is stunningly graceful and refined,...

Gorgeous blackberries, dark chocolate, spice and lightly roasted coffee. Full body. Layered and creamy. Lovely, silky tannins that melt into the wine. A beautiful red from the vintage with class and finesse to the depth of fruit. Drink or hold. Rating: 97 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Nov 2019) Wow, there is a very impressive freshness here that defies the heat of this vintage. The 2017 Saffredi does not seem like a 2017 at all. Now celebrating its 30th birthday, Saffredi is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Petit Verdot. Thanks to the vineyard's proximity to the sea, leaving leaves on the vines and the...

Wine Advocate 96+. The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Rubicon is a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, the nose pops with vivacious notes of warm cassis, blackberry pie and redcurrant jelly, plus hints of crushed rocks, bay leaves and pencil lead. Medium to full-bodied, it delivers a solid, firm and grainy texture with a lively backbone cutting through dense earth-laced layers, finishing long and minerally. Impressive! LPB Oct 2021. #NEWINT

Jeb Dunnick 99/100 WA 96-98:  The 2019 Insignia is composed of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec. The vineyard sources this year include: 32% Yountville (Oak Knoll District), 23% Banca Dorada (Rutherford), 14% Suscol (South Napa Valley), 14% Home Ranch (St. Helena), 12% Las Rocas (Stags Leap District), 3% Barboza (Stags Leap District) and 2% El Venadito (Oak Knoll District). The wine is aging for 24 months in 100% new French oak barrels. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs a little swirling to unlock a gorgeous perfume of black cherry compote, stewed plums and blackcurrant pastilles with hints of bay leaves, red...

Wine Advocate 96 points. A blend of 49% Syrah, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Petit Verdot, the 2017 Estate Cuvée has a very deep purple-black color and explosive nose of black cherry and boysenberry preserves, crème de cassis, cedar, violet, burnt orange peel, baker’s chocolate, thyme, grilled meats, loamy earth and Indian spices. The silky, full-bodied palate is expansive, spicy and floral laced, with a firm but incredibly pixelated frame and great freshness on the long, dense finish. This merits another 3-5 years in bottle at least. EB Feb 2020. #USA

James Suckling: 99 Points Sophisticated aromas of lead pencil, graphite and blackcurrant. Hints of black olives and herbs, too. Full-bodied, yet tight and deep, with super precision and intensity to the tannins. Incredible balance of structure and finesse to this. Give it time in the cellar. Better after 2027. 

James Suckling: 96 Points The freshness and the floral aromas with citrus fruit and berries are startling for a 2017. The palate is full and extremely refined with elegant tannins and vivid fruit and orange-peel undertones. Racy and bright at the finish. Drink or hold. Decanter: 95 Points March 19th 2020 was the 25th anniversary of Luce, a relatively young project founded by the Mondavi and Frescobaldi families in Montalcino. Despite the obvious cancellation of the event, the 2017 vintage celebrates this birthday properly. Luce is one of the few Super Tuscans of Montalcino. Compared to Brunello it is blended with Merlot adding suppleness and...

Jane Anson 97 points. 80% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. This is savoury, dry in the best possible way, with a ton of red fruits, dried roses and herbs, and waves of fragrance. It’s a successful blend where the Sangiovese is dominant, conferring the wine with its warm personality but the Cabernet Sauvignon adds a touch of austerity to the tannins and a sense of quiet confidence. Turmeric and olive tapenade as it opens, alongside raspberry, red cherry and smoky oak, the whole thing both extremely delicate and intensely fragrant. Can drink now with a short carafe - there are tannins here but they are well defined and finely layered...

James Suckling 98 points. "This is a really racy and fine Siepi with currant, black-cherry and dark-chocolate character. It’s medium-to full-bodied with very long, intense tannins that are linear and fine-textured. Really builds on the palate. Super structure. Finesse with power." Castello di Fonterutoli owned by Mazzei family since 1435, has always been a model farm, still managed today with the same kind of respect. Siepi results of the foresight in the early 1980s to plant Merlot as the ideal grape to complement Sangiovese and to produce a wine which is perfectly balanced between elegance, power and complexity. The 2019...

The iconic Argentinian. 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Malbec. RP96 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate The 2018 Nicolás Catena Zapata was produced with 65% Cabernet Sauvignon from Gualtallary (Adrianna vineyard, with the Cabernet Sauvignon interplanted with some Cabernet Franc) and 35% Malbec from Altamira (Nicasia vineyard). They no longer use grapes from Agrelo, and this is also a lot higher in Malbec than in other recent vintages. So, it has a very different profile, a charge that started in 2017, with more contained ripeness and more freshness, and the wine is intense, keeping some of the Cabernet character (tobacco, blackberries) and...

Rated 98 by James Suckling Number 19 TOP 100 WINES OF ARGENTINA, 2022.   JA 98 - This has a complex nose of baked blackberries, grilled plums, dried earth, moss, pine cones, sandalwood, charcoal and cloves. It’s medium-bodied with firm, tightly knit tannins. Wow. So much going on. Layered, seamless and silky. Incredible length. Keeps going. 42% cabernet sauvignon, 30% malbec and 28% cabernet franc. Try this from 2024.   DC96 Rated 96 by Decanter Deep, concentrated, bramble and blackcurrant fruit cut through by a racy breeziness of Christmas spices, forest floor and fresh herbs. So youthful, dense and luxurious with an...

99 Points, James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com: (James Suckling #67 Wine of 2022) "The purity of fruit is really something else here, with currants and fresh flowers, such as violets and roses. Flower stems as well. Fantastic length and structure to the wine, with tightness and focus. Wonderful fruit. Graceful. A blend of 78% cabernet sauvignon, 8% merlot, 7% petit verdot, 6% cabernet franc and 1% malbec. Try after 2028." 08/22.   97-99 Points, Lisa Perotti-Brown, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "Winemaker Michael Silacci commented that usually the blends are finished in January or February after the vintage. This year,...

Multi-Vintage wine, made from a blend of the five classic Bordeaux varieties and aged for 18 months in French oak.

Case includes 5 x bottles of 'standard' label and 1 x bottle of the limited edition artist label. The only way to be assured of getting one of them is to purchase a seald case of six.   WA 97 "This is a beautiful expression of coastal Tuscany and the sunny Mediterranean. The Ornellaia 2019 Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia (a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot) pours from the bottle with a specific darkness that has elements of both inky saturation and ruby highlights. The wine is saturated and rich—this is something you notice off the bat—but it also reveals a pleasing...

Wine Advocate 98 points. The 2019 Seña was produced with a Bordeaux blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Malbec, 15% Carmenere and 4% Petit Verdot with the Chilean character of the high percentage of Carmenere. Most of the volume fermented in stainless steel with some 10% in concrete vats, and the final blend matured for 22 months in French oak barrels, 80% of them new, and 10% in Stockinger vats. It's 13.5% alcohol and has good acidity and freshness, coming through as medium-bodied, elegant and balanced. This is incredibly elegant, subtle and harmonious even at this early stage. It has floral aromas, notes of orange peel, a touch...

Complex, with savory, spicy character, showing tobacco, salted plums, olives, black cherries, cassis and a hint of white pepper on the nose, followed by a refined, savory, balsamic accent. A full-bodied Seña with juicy fruit chiseling into the tight, extremely fine-grained tannins. Long, bright and still elegant from this warm vintage. 53% cabernet sauvignon, 25% malbec, 15% carmenere and 7% petit verdot. A wine with lots of harmony now, but better to drink from 2025. - James Suckling 98 points.   The 2020 Seña is a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Malbec, 15% Carmenere and 7% Petit Verdot (a little higher in search of...

Wine Advocate 96 points. James Suckling 95 points. Decanter 95 points.   Blend of mostly Tinto Fino then Navarro, Valenciano, and Albillo. "There is a change in the 2020 Matallana, as they have included Jean-Guillaume Prats (ex-Cos d'Estournel, ex-Lafite...) in the Ribera del Duero project, and the wine is going to be sold for the first time with this vintage through the négociant system of La Place de Bordeaux. The grapes from the five villages (mentioned but then crossed out on the label) were picked between the sixth and 18th of October and fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel and oak vats. The...

James Suckling 97 points. 50% merlot, 30% Cabernet sauvignon, 20% cabernet franc. This is a tight and powerful Orma with solid tannins that beautifully frame the fruit in the wine. Full-bodied and focused with intense structure and fruit character. Perhaps the best Orma ever. Give this four or five years to open. Try after 2025. #NEWITALY

OWC 6. James Suckling 95 points. This is the Californian venture of Gonzague and Claire Lurton (owners of such reknowned Bordeaux estates inter alia as Durfort Vivens, Haut Bages Liberal). Cabernet Sauvignon 85% , Merlot 9 %, Cabernet Franc 6% Winemaker Notes Continuing the string of great vintages, 2014 completes the trifecta of extremely high quality growing seasons. The 2014s exhibit a great purity of place, with generous fruit and elegant textures The 2014 shows the purity and excellence of our Cabernet Sauvignon. Subtle and energetic plum and currant aromas follow through to a georgously harmonized palate of wonderfull fruit and ultra...

Each presentation box contains 3 bottles, one bottle each of La Joie, La Muse and Le Desir 2019. LA JOIE (WA 99 points) The 2019 La Joie is an elegant expression that offers power, freshness and expressive, floral character. A blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot, it has a deep ruby color and opens slowly from black cherries and blueberries to accents of violets, ground coffee and licorice. The full-bodied palate has generous, grainy tannins, detailed, perfumed flavors and bright acidity, finishing with an alluring iron character. 2,500 cases were made. LA MUSE (WA 99 points) The 2019 La Muse is a...