Calvados, Merlot, White, Sem/S...

One of the top sweet wines in this report is the 2016 Château Coutet, which has the vintage's plush, opulent style as well as thrilling purity and good acids. Pineapple, white flowers, sugared peach, and honeyed notes all emerge from this full-bodied, layered, balanced Barsac that's already impossible to resist yet will evolve gracefully 2+ decades. (97) JEB DUNNUCK

The vibrant, tropical fruit-coulis character draws you into this concentrated and elegant Barsac. Then the crisp acidity and a wave of lemon and mineral character comes through, driving the finish out in the direction of the horizon. (95) JAMES SUCKLING

Oh that's lovely. Ginger and sumac spice, and a gorgeous richness with the perfect balance of minerality. Rich but pure botrytis character and gently curling smoky notes leap out of the glass. Amazing persistency, easily one of the best wines in the tasting. This is excellent; succulent and mouthwatering. (96) DECANTER

With coaxing, the pale lemon colored 2016 Coutet slowly unfurls to give a myriad of preserved lemons, pineapple pastry, almond croissant, fresh ginger and lime blossoms scents with nuances of chalk dust, white pepper, star anise and cedar. Rich, seductive and yet exquisitely balanced, the satiny-textured palate has layer upon layer of citrus and savory notions, finishing very long and spicy. (97) WINE ADVOCATE

Deep bright purple-red colour leading into a stylish bouquet of sweet mulberry and other berry fruits, violets and cassis, succulent and mouth-filling, with masses of fine emery-like tannins that run the length of the palate adding authority, structure, length and refreshment to the aftertaste. Concentrated, superripe blackberry, cassis and mulberry flavours; oak tucked discreetly into the background. (98) HUON HOOKE, The Real Review

Really delivers as you might expect from this excellent concentrated and powerfully frame vintage in Margaret River. It’s dominant cabernet with smaller portions of merlot, cabernet franc and malbec. Typical of this wine since switching to biodynamics, it is bright and brilliant with a nervy tense energy to drive the palate. The succulent fruit is harness by fine chalky tannins and neatly played oak of which 55% was new. A wine of extraordinary elegance and poise with a few of many decades. (98) RAY JORDAN

Needless to say, Margaret River enjoyed another superb vintage with the 2022 season. Slightly cooler, Cullen report that it was a vintage of “immense perfume and texture”. The wine is a wonderfully vibrant purple in colour. The nose gives up plums, cassis, spices including nutmeg, chocolate, mocha, bay leaves, cigar box notes – think a freshly opened box of Cohiba Siglo VI – and near perfect oak integration. This is finely balanced and exhibiting immense length on a palate that sees the emergence of aniseed, mulberries and coffee beans. An alluringly supple texture with the silkiest of tannins, though plenty of them – there really is some grip here. This will easily sail through fifteen to twenty years in a good cellar. (98) KEN GARGETT, Wine Pilot

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

The 2021 Galatrona is a fine follow-up to the 2020. In most vintages, Galatrona is very showy right out of the gate. That is not at all the case with the 2021, a wine that is going to need a number of years to be at its finest. Black cherry, plum, mocha, leather, licorice and incense infuse the 2021 with tremendous complexity. More than anything else, I admire a feeling of vertical, explosive energy that catapults the 2021 into the stratosphere. This is a tremendous wine by any measure. (98) ANTONIO GALLONI

The 2021 Val d'Arno di Sopra Galatrona shows extremely focused aromas, but very generous ones all the while, with soft mint, cherry and stracciatella over a full-bodied texture with soft layers of spice and cedarwood. The wine boasts an elegantly chalky quality to the tannins, but the mouthfeel is so generous, everything irons out beautifully over the palate. It ages in a combination of new and used barrique. (97+) MONICA LARNER

The aromas here are very distinct with dried flowers such as lavender and violets. Some sage as well. Black berries and black olive skin. Full-bodied yet linear and energetic with very fine tannins and fantastic length. Fresh and lively in the finish. (98) JAMES SUCKLING

The nose showcases a vast world of savory aromas, from sanguine to metallic to woody to earthy, with cranberries, currants and dark berries providing sweet contrast. A lively palate runs with the warmth of earth and just-ripened fruit, alongside austere tannins that promise ageworthiness. An absolutely acrobatic feat in Merlot. (97) WINE ENTHUSIAST

Vivid purple in the glass, gorgeous black cherry and blackcurrant aromas with touches of florality - this 100% Merlot smells wonderfully scented and inviting. Smooth, ample, really quite seductive on the palate, sensual almost in the silky but gripping tannins, beautifully ripe blackcurrant and cherry fruit and crunchy, crisp acidity that is not too sharp or too obvious but lifts the palate and gives a thrill and wonderful freshness to the overall expression. Beautifully presented, harmonious, balanced and totally enjoyable from the first to last sip. A gorgeous wine, intense yet energetic, full of flavour and textural nuance. Totally unputdownable, although with lots of potential for improvement over ageing. (97) DECANTER

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

Regarded as one of the premier producers in Jurançon, Clos Joliette was founded in 1929, when the Migne family cleared forest in a natural southeast-facing amphitheater to plant a hectare of vines.
The result has been an incredible selection of complex and aromatic off-dry wines, reflecting the reputation Antoine Gerbelle bestowed on the domaine as “the Romanee Conti of the South-West France”.

What makes these wines so sought after is the combination of three unique aspects. First, its location. With only 1.85 hectares Clos Joliette sits at 300m altitude, on the slopes of the hill of Beauvallon (Commune of Jurancon). The vines were planted in 1929 by Madame Migné and exposed to the East and South-East in a natural amphitheater, allowing the grapes to capture the gentle morning sun, rather than afternoon heat.

Second, an atypical terroir made of clay-silica, pudding stones, Ponto-Pliocene pebbles and crossed through by a vein of iron.

Third, the wine itself - a single varietal 100% Petit Manseng, treated with minimal intervention throughout vinification, no fining or filtration, and long aging in oak barrels for 4 to 6 years.

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

Dreamy, subtle aromas of dried fruit such as apricots and mangoes, but also fresh lemons and pears. Then there are caramel and tart tatin undertones with some bananas, pineapple, tangerines and other tropical fruit. Full-bodied, yet it remains vivid and compact, giving it a lightness even though it is really structured. The tannins are throughout the palate but blend in perfectly, giving it a solid presence, like a a diamond. It's tight at the end, but you know that it will linger for ages, with a lightly chewy and intellectual finish. Touches of sweetness, cloves and bitterness to make it interesting. Dynamic. (100) JAMES SUCKLING

I find this more direct and intense than the 2020. Yet this is also a wine that exudes balance and harmony, even at this nascent stage. Beautifully limpid and with a disguised natural power. Supremely aerial. Green apple skin. Saffron. Fresh ginger. A hint of confit ginger too. Lime. White grapefruit. A touch of fleur de sel. Marzipan. White almonds. Mango. Guava. Passionfruit. Pineapple - entirely pure and crisply fresh. All in great purity. This is floral, too. Mimosa. Buttercup (almost the leitmotif here). On the palate I find this tight and tense, yet so incredibly softly textured. And, above all, intense and captivating. Sparklingly striking and dynamic - and held together by the salinity as much as by the acidity, the two in fact working together, giving this an incredible aging potential. Delicate in its intensity. Sapid and with lovely waves of saline-inflected juicy fluidity. Even now this is a wine of very considerable complexity - built from assembling the finest botrytised grapes from the best of the couronne (the crown) of Bommes (with the Château of Yquem at the epicentre). This finishes with the most glorious bitter sugar note - burnt caramel just perfectly on the edge of bitterness. So accessible but so totally ageless and, for now, almost cool in its freshness. (99) COLIN HAY, Drinks Business

Beautiful primary fruit boasting tropical complexity: mango, pineapple. Saltiness, according to the winemaker - and there is definitely savoury contrast in there. The marvel of this wine is its completeness - the stitching is so fine between the sugar, acidity, rich fruit and length. Opens up in the glass, with white chocolate, caramel, clotted cream, mixed peel, five-spice. As prestigious as ever, and so gratifying to drink right now. (19) JANCIS ROBINSON MW

The complex aromatic profile explodes from the glass with pineapple, papaya, apricot, Meyer lemon, tangerine peels, caramel, honey, vanilla, saffron, cashews, and candied grapefruit in the aromatic profile. The palate resides perfectly in the middle of hedonism, and vibrancy. Clearly, there is ample sweetness, but the racy acidity provides incredible lift, energy, and length. The fruit expresses purity in its tangerines, oranges, mango, papaya, banana, and pineapples all slathered in honey. This is one of those Yquem's that can be enjoyed either as a sweet wine, or due to its vibrancy, with a diverse array of savory, and spicy dishes. Produced from a blend of 65% Semillon and 35% Sauvignon Blanc, 148 Grams per liter, 14% ABV, 3.79 pH. Yields were only 8 hectoliters per hectare. The harvest took place over an extended time, September 12 - October 27, with 4 passes in total. As you can see, the harvest was quite long, but picking the heart of vintage took place mid-to late October. (98) WINE CELLAR INSIDER

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

Regarded as one of the premier producers in Jurançon, Clos Joliette was founded in 1929, when the Migne family cleared forest in a natural southeast-facing amphitheater to plant a hectare of vines.
The result has been an incredible selection of complex and aromatic off-dry wines, reflecting the reputation Antoine Gerbelle bestowed on the domaine as “the Romanee Conti of the South-West France”.

What makes these wines so sought after is the combination of three unique aspects. First, its location. With only 1.85 hectares Clos Joliette sits at 300m altitude, on the slopes of the hill of Beauvallon (Commune of Jurancon). The vines were planted in 1929 by Madame Migné and exposed to the East and South-East in a natural amphitheater, allowing the grapes to capture the gentle morning sun, rather than afternoon heat.

Second, an atypical terroir made of clay-silica, pudding stones, Ponto-Pliocene pebbles and crossed through by a vein of iron.

Third, the wine itself - a single varietal 100% Petit Manseng, treated with minimal intervention throughout vinification, no fining or filtration, and long aging in oak barrels for 4 to 6 years.

Dreamy, subtle aromas of dried fruit such as apricots and mangoes, but also fresh lemons and pears. Then there are caramel and tart tatin undertones with some bananas, pineapple, tangerines and other tropical fruit. Full-bodied, yet it remains vivid and compact, giving it a lightness even though it is really structured. The tannins are throughout the palate but blend in perfectly, giving it a solid presence, like a a diamond. It's tight at the end, but you know that it will linger for ages, with a lightly chewy and intellectual finish. Touches of sweetness, cloves and bitterness to make it interesting. Dynamic. (100) JAMES SUCKLING

I find this more direct and intense than the 2020. Yet this is also a wine that exudes balance and harmony, even at this nascent stage. Beautifully limpid and with a disguised natural power. Supremely aerial. Green apple skin. Saffron. Fresh ginger. A hint of confit ginger too. Lime. White grapefruit. A touch of fleur de sel. Marzipan. White almonds. Mango. Guava. Passionfruit. Pineapple - entirely pure and crisply fresh. All in great purity. This is floral, too. Mimosa. Buttercup (almost the leitmotif here). On the palate I find this tight and tense, yet so incredibly softly textured. And, above all, intense and captivating. Sparklingly striking and dynamic - and held together by the salinity as much as by the acidity, the two in fact working together, giving this an incredible aging potential. Delicate in its intensity. Sapid and with lovely waves of saline-inflected juicy fluidity. Even now this is a wine of very considerable complexity - built from assembling the finest botrytised grapes from the best of the couronne (the crown) of Bommes (with the Château of Yquem at the epicentre). This finishes with the most glorious bitter sugar note - burnt caramel just perfectly on the edge of bitterness. So accessible but so totally ageless and, for now, almost cool in its freshness. (99) COLIN HAY, Drinks Business

Beautiful primary fruit boasting tropical complexity: mango, pineapple. Saltiness, according to the winemaker - and there is definitely savoury contrast in there. The marvel of this wine is its completeness - the stitching is so fine between the sugar, acidity, rich fruit and length. Opens up in the glass, with white chocolate, caramel, clotted cream, mixed peel, five-spice. As prestigious as ever, and so gratifying to drink right now. (19) JANCIS ROBINSON MW

The complex aromatic profile explodes from the glass with pineapple, papaya, apricot, Meyer lemon, tangerine peels, caramel, honey, vanilla, saffron, cashews, and candied grapefruit in the aromatic profile. The palate resides perfectly in the middle of hedonism, and vibrancy. Clearly, there is ample sweetness, but the racy acidity provides incredible lift, energy, and length. The fruit expresses purity in its tangerines, oranges, mango, papaya, banana, and pineapples all slathered in honey. This is one of those Yquem's that can be enjoyed either as a sweet wine, or due to its vibrancy, with a diverse array of savory, and spicy dishes. Produced from a blend of 65% Semillon and 35% Sauvignon Blanc, 148 Grams per liter, 14% ABV, 3.79 pH. Yields were only 8 hectoliters per hectare. The harvest took place over an extended time, September 12 - October 27, with 4 passes in total. As you can see, the harvest was quite long, but picking the heart of vintage took place mid-to late October. (98) WINE CELLAR INSIDER

Pre- Arrival 2 bottles available 

The 2022 Ausone, which was the earliest-picked ever on September 5 (although that is later than Cheval Blanc) has another very intense bouquet with layers of plush blackberry, blueberry, crushed violet and incense aromas that are beautifully entwined with the 100% new oak. Hints of blood orange emerge with a few minutes in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with silky tannins and perfectly pitched acidity. The slightly higher proportion of Cabernet Franc imparts a touch more pepperiness toward the finish. You can feel this on your tongue long after it has departed. There is a surfeit of freshness on the finish. This is an outstanding Ausone that can look forward to a very long future. (98) NEAL MARTIN, Vinous.com

The 2020 Ausone is stellar. Usually a showier wine, Ausone is packed with bright acids, deep fruit and tons of supporting structure. Dark red fruit, blood orange, pomegranate, rose petal, mocha and dried herbs all race out of the glass. Deep and layered, with magnificent finesse, Ausone is lights out in 2020. What a wine. Readers lucky enough to own it are in for a thrilling ride over the next few decades. 99 ANTONIO GALLONI, vinous.com

1 Bottle at the time of the offer

This really is a creation of true refinement and class, that lends itself to the harmonious, graceful style that is so typical of great St. Emilion. Suckling, Perotti-Brown and Galloni all awarded it perfection, with Jeff Leve noting that there are few wines at this level of quality produced from any vineyard in the world. If you can afford just one of 20,000 bottles produced annually, it will be a trophy for any cellar designed to last 50-100 years. -Tom Portet

Antonio Galloni  99
The 2018 Ausone is mind-blowing. The aromatics alone are mesmerizing. I don't know what more to say. Cabernet Franc is so expressive, so vibrant so nuanced. Rose petal, cinnamon, star anise and sage meld into a core of red fleshed fruit. The 2018 doesn't impress with opulence or richness, rather it is a Saint-Émilion that is all about persistence and energy. I won't be at all surprised if it merits a higher score in the future. Readers who can find it should not hesitate. The 2018 is a viscerally thrilling wine of the highest level.
 
James Suckling 99-100
This is really exotic with wild-fruit character that I have seldom encountered in Ausone. Full-bodied yet reserved and very tight. Amazing depth and purity of fruit. Incredible beauty. Sexy.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown 98-100
Full-bodied, rich, decadent and tightly knit, it offers layer upon layer of fruit, spice and mineral nuances with a firm frame of exquisitely fine tannins and bold freshness, finishing with epic length and heart-stopping beauty.

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

The 2022 Le Pin is a very pretty, sexy wine. The richness of the year is evident in the wine's super-ripe profile and textural feel. Blackberry jam, spice, apricot, black tea, new leather, chocolate and a kiss of French oak build in a sumptuous, potent Pomerol. The 2022 will need time to be at its best. To be sure, extreme heat and drought do not present the most optimal conditions for an early-ripening variety such as Merlot, especially on gravel. The 2022 is a decidedly exotic Le Pin and a wine that will thrill hedonists. (98) ANTONIO GALLONI,Vinous.com

The elegance and harmony of the 2022 Le Pin took me aback. Harvest began at this small estate on September 6th, proceeding bit by bit until all 10 blocks were picked, and the resulting wine is maturing in 65% new oak. Wafting from the glass with aromas of minty blackberries and cassis mingled with hints of licorice, spices and rose petals, it's medium to full-bodied, bright and fleshy, with a sensual, seamless profile and terrific integration at such an early stage. It's one of the finest vintages at this address in the last decade or more. (96-99) WILLIAM KELLEY, Wine Advocate