Calvados, shiraz, Cabernet Sau...

Diana Madeline. The name evokes a lot of emotions, for what the woman stood for then and what the wine stands for now. The 2021 vintage equals 50 years of cabernet sauvignon plantings at Cullen. When released in early 2023, it was on what would have been her 100th birthday. It’s a wine that can come from nowhere else, so strong is its sense of place. Expect to swoon over aromas of roses, violets and mulberries doused in baking spices, a ferruginous quality as much as detailed if persuasive tannins. It’s complex, complete and structured. Gosh, what a wine. What a woman. The perfect combination. (97) JANE FAULKNER, James Halliday

Very deep, dark, impenetrable purple colour; a gorgeous fragrance of spicy superripe berries and a hint of licorice, super concentrated and almost essency. Traces of soy sauce and nori. The wine is highly concentrated on the palate; powerful, profound and rich, with masses of sweetly ripe berry fruit and no sign of herbal varietal touches. A profound and multi-dimensional cabernet that will richly reward long-term cellaring. It drinks superbly already but it would be sacrilege to open it before it's had more time to build the tertiary complexity that we know will come with time. (99) HUON HOOKE, therealreview.com

The 2021 John Riddoch Limited Release Cabernet Sauvignon is a brilliant wine. It is achingly intense yet is defined by its levity, which is not a common attribute in Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine expounds the virtues of the red gravel in which the fruit was grown, via its iodine and crushed shells, cassis and blood, sweet marrow and tobacco. It tastes so clearly of the place, which is a wonderful thing. The back palate swells with flavor, framed by the earth and the attuned oak. This is a tribute to the earth, an ode to it. Plentiful tannins bob along on the current of fruit. This will cellar interminably. It's up there in both quality and feel with the 2010, or so I think. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. (98) ERIN LARKIN, wineadvocate.com

One of the best vintages in Coonawarra for many years. Little wonder this release of the John Riddoch is one of the best since the initial release from the 1982 vintage. Aromas of violets and red berry with a slightly cherry glaze character adding further intrigue. The palate is medium weight and refined but with tremendous power and persistence. A combination of hogsheads and barriques has been used to deliver the perfect level of oak. One of the best of these I can recall. (98) RAY JORDAN, rayjordan.com.au

"In one word - 'epic'.  Having just returned from ten days in Bordeaux tasting a vast number of youthful Cabernets, among other styles of wine, if this beauty had been slipped into the mix, it would have lounged somewhere near the top of the pile…John Riddoch is more akin to an elite Saint-Estèphe than a typical New World Cabernet…'21 JR is pure, stunningly plush, deeply fruited but seemingly weightless and incredibly detailed. It is a superb thoroughbred with impeccable balance, and it is as relevant for an old-world geek as it is for a new-world disciple. It is time that Wynns John Riddoch sat alongside the acknowledged world Cabernet greats, and this vintage will undoubtedly help make this dream a reality. (19.5/20) MATTHEW JUKE

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!

Made from a blend of Sciaccarellu, Niellucciu, Carcajolu-Neru, Montanaccia, Morescono, Morescola and Aleatico which were all planted in the early 1960’s in granite soil. The grapes are crushed by foot and macerated for 15 days with very gentle extraction before ageing in older 600 litre demi-muid barrels. VINTAGE AND VINE

Smoky, spice and aromatic with dried berries and cherries. Cloves, too. Medium-to full-bodied with round, juicy tannins. Tight and firm at the end. Hints of cloves on the finish with some slate and iron. Flavorful finish. Drink or hold. 93 JAMES SUCKLING

This is a complex and very intense syrah that offers a deeply ripe yet fresh and clear-cut impression of blackberry and pepper, with other layers of spice, graphite and gently meaty notes. The palate is silky yet powerful with really finely layered tannins that cast a long, evenly built finish. Drink or hold. Screw cap. (98) JAMES SUCKLING

The 2018 Homage Syrah includes a mere 0.4% Viognier, yet it boasts distinct scents of stone fruit on the nose, backed by red and black raspberries and hints of peppermint. It's only medium-bodied, in line with the trend over the past few vintages toward less power and (presumably) more finesse. In this vintage, it comes off a bit lacking in richness on the palate, although the wine's complexity—marrying mixed berries, violets, spice and herb notes, plus hints of licorice and coffee—makes this still a very enjoyable drink. Give it another couple of years in the cellar and drink it over the following decade or so. JOE CZERWINSKI, The Wine Advocate

Ultra floral scents, strawberry too, whiffs of flint and wet stone, clove and cedar in tow. The palate is sinewy, lightly chewy, very long, finely wrapped in a web of firm, ribbons of tannin. Feels very composed, almost a little mouth perfume and floral ‘flavours’ emerging too. Suitably elegant in its vibe. Great red. MIKE BENNIE, The Wine Front

70%Cab. Sav. 30% Sangiovese.The 2017 Camartina is going to need a few years to open. That will be helpful as the wine ages, but it also means the Camartina does not have the opulence readers are likely to expect in this warm, dry year. Time in the glass brings out brighter tonalities of fruit and floral overtones that give a good idea to where the 2017 is heading. Readers should be in no rush here. ANTONIO GALLONI, vinous.com

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 Saint-Joseph Le Paradis Saint-Pierre originates from the longest-lived vines of the winery, some of which are over a century old. Vinified with 50% whole-clusters and scheduled to age for one year in a combination of 228-liter pièces and demi-muids, the 2022 unfurls with fragrant raspberry jam, pencil shavings, orange rind and ripe black fruits paired with cedar and discrete vanilla. Medium- to full-bodied and concentrated, this structured Saint-Joseph is framed by ripe tannins and culminates in a complex finish. NICHOLAS GREINACHER

3 BOTTLES AVAIALABLE

Currants, freshly ground black pepper and cold ashes on the nose. It’s medium-bodied with fine tannins. Well-balanced and harmonious with bright fruit character at the center and a vibrant core of violets and succulent dark cherries. Precise with a long finish. Drink or hold. jamessuckling.com

From the same single site as the Reserve (planted in 1971) but a vine-by-vine selection; 100% whole bunches, 100% barrel ferment and 100% new oak. A bright, medium crimson. Aromas of small red fruits, licorice root, graphite and pink peppercorns, while the new oak is beginning to integrate with the wine. There's an old vine intensity on the palate with the silkiest of tannins. Like all the Dr McMahon wines, it will take time for the hand of the winemaker to submerge into the wine, and for those with the patience and the pockets, it will be fascinating to follow its evolution. 50 dozen made. (97) JAMES HALLIDAY'S WINE COMPANION
 
I LOVE THIS! The fruit is so glossy and succulent. Aromas of baking spice and blood red plums waft from the glass with a little swirl of baking spices. Incense and something a little foresty, derived, I assume, from the interplay between the classy wood and those whole clusters, add complexity but also serve to quieten the wine down to a degree. It is a reserved and stately number that just misses out on being sombre because of the fresh and cool fruited profile of the palate. You can see all the pieces are in place and every element is doing it's job beautifully, but this is not a wine for the near term. I think it would be a shame to open one within five years from now and, honestly, probably a decade before it starts to really show its hand. Excellent and well worth having in your cellar. ROSCOE

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!

I suspect the 2018 Côte Rôtie Brune Et Blonde will be up there with the top vintages of this cuvée, and it shows how strong 2018 was for Côte Rôtie. Beautiful cassis, vanilla bean, spring flowers, and subtle oak nuances give way to a full-bodied beauty that has both power and finesse. I love the tannin quality here, and while it's going to be accessible in its youth, it's also going to age gracefully on its purity and balance. JEB DUNNUCK

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!

With the first tilt of the glass, you know that this is not your average 2017 Brunello di Montalcino. An enthralling bouquet of spiced citrus peels, roses, sour cherries, crushed rocks and animal musk keeps you at the edge of your seat. This is remarkably pure and delicate, seeming to hover across the palate, yet delivering a vivid mix of ripe wild berries, salty minerals and purple-tinged florals. Beneath, saturated tannins build, yet the expression remains fresh - almost mouthwatering, in fact - as sweet hints of plum and tobacco slowly fade. While the Baricci family doesn't market their wine as a cru, this is indeed 100% Montosoli fruit from one of the region's top winemaking families. Bravo. ERIC GUIDO, vinous.com

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!

Spicy aromas reveal pipe tobacco, underbrush, new leather and ripe berry alongside whiffs of fragrant purple flower. Linear and full-bodied, the elegantly structured palate has youthful tension, offering succulent Morello cherry, star anise and ground clove before a saline mineral finish. Taut, well-integrated tannins provide the framework while bright acidity lend youthful tension and balance. It's loaded with depth complexity. Drink 2026-2043.(97) KERIN O'KEEFE

Inky ruby. Vibrant, spice-accented cherry and boysenberry scents are complicated by hints of black pepper, candied flowers and licorice. Supple and broad in the mouth, offering juicy red and blue fruit preserves, spicecake, olive paste and violet pastille flavors that tighten up steadily with air. The floral note repeats strongly on the clinging finish, which shows excellent clarity and velvety, slowly building tannins. There are almost a quarter-million bottles of this wine made in a typical vintage, by the way. 50% new oak. (95) JOSH RAYNOLDS

Gentle hints of dried herbs and maple syrup accent blueberries and cherries on the nose of the 2019 Cote Rotie Brune et Blonde de Guigal. The region's largest-production wine and a solid introduction to the appellation, it's just medium-bodied, with a silky feel and gently dusty finish. JOE CZERWINSKI, RobertParker.com

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!

While Pietroso’s home base is just west of the town of Montalcino, the Pignattai family also owns parcels in the east and south, as well as 1.3 hectares on the hill of Montosoli. Acquired in 2010, the latter was pulled up in 2015 and replanted in 2017, making 2019 the first vintage with the estate's Montosoli vineyard back in production. A blend of all four sites, this Brunello sports balsamic rosemary and cedar with coffee and vanilla flirting in the background. More than midweight but not heavy or full, it boasts a lively bounce on the palate. Cranberry fruited, citrussy in acidity and stony in accents, with layers of powdery, textured tannins holding everything together. MICHAELA MORRIS, 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!

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 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Vecchie Vigne presents an intense bouquet of crushed raspberries and cloves giving way to dusty florals and hints of incense. The textures are wonderfully silky and refined, ushering in a rush of mineral-tinged primary fruits that are brighter and more red-toned in this vintage than usual, as well as incredibly concentrated. The tannins come forward through the close, grippy and youthfully dry, along with a salty flourish, while leaving hints of licorice to slowly taper off. Siro Pacenti cut their production down by 50% to create this successful expression of the 2017 vintage. ANTONIO GALLONI

The 2018 Cepparello is a brilliant, tightly wound wine that is going to need a number of years to unwind. Today I very much like its energy and vibrancy. Readers will find a Cepparello that is more about persistence than volume. Dark red/purplish berry fruit, spice, lavender and menthol are laced into the silky finish. ANTONIO GALLONI

A pure expression of Sangiovese, the 2018 Cepparello is a beautiful expression that speaks to the classic and most exemplary side of this versatile and deeply expressive grape. This vintage is especially bright and ethereal with a true sense of luminosity and clarity that radiates from both the wine's appearance and its fragrant bouquet. Tart cherry and cassis segue to balsam herb and wild violets. To the palate, the wine shows muscle and determination with sweet tannins and impressive depth of favor. Cepparello remains true to its unique identity in this vintage. MONICA LARNER, Wine Advocate

Black cherry and berry aromas with some flowers, such as lavender, follow through to a full body with firm, racy tannins and a long, flavorful finish. The quality of the tannins is fantastic in this 2017. Drink after 2023. (96) JAMES SUCKLING

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 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Vecchie Vigne opens with hauntingly dark florals and balsamic tones, as swirling brings about hints of black currant and crushed stone. This is supremely soft-textured, yet lifted by cooling minerality and bright acidity that guides its crunchy wild berry fruits across the palate. It tapers off with amazing length and potency, drenching the senses with primary concentration, as a framework of fine tannins gently tug at the cheeks. The 2018 Vecchie Vigne is a radiant Brunello in need of cellaring to fully blossom. That said, I don’t remember ever tasting a VV from Siro Pacenti with this much energy. I’m very eager to taste this again with some bottle age. ERIC GUIDO

Complex and open already, with aromas of slate, dried rosemary, grilled sage, lemon peel, sour cherries and cardamom. Supple and full-bodied with sleek and fine tannins. I like the olive-stone and herbal undertones. Firmer, mineral finish. Try after 2025. JAMES SUCKLING

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!

Rose petals and dried cherries give way to flowery underbrush and savory spice as the 2022 Rosso di Montalcino slowly unwinds in the glass. Pure and lifted in style, this boasts a core of vividly ripe red berry fruits that swirl beneath an air of violet inner florals. Saline mineral tones mount through the close. Blood orange and spice hints linger as the 2022 tapers off long and gently tannic. This leaves the mouth salivating. Frankly, it's hard to just taste and not drink the 2022 Rosso from Salvioni. ERIC GUIDO, vinous

Lovely aromas of roses, red cherries, melted chocolate and redcurrants. Medium-bodied with silky tannins. A lot of freshness and energy here. Pretty is a good word. Bright red fruit and rose petals. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold. JAMES SUCKLING

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!

Perennially among the best bottlings from the appellation, the 2019 Saint-Joseph Vignes de l'Hospice looks set to rival the tremendous effort bottled in 2015. Enticing scents of crushed stone, pencil shavings and cassis appear on the nose (it ages in 100% new oak), and while this full-bodied wine packs plenty of power, it also shows characteristic granite-derived restraint, delivering a tense balance between ripeness and structure. It should be a beauty, but give it time, as the tannins are prominent at this early stage of its evolution. JOE CZERWINSKI

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 2020 Camartina is a super-classic edition of this wine. Cabernet Sauvignon drives the blend, but there is also a ton of site character. Readers will have to be patient, as this is very much a wine for the cellar. Strong mineral inflections, black pepper, lavender, mint and licorice add layers of aromatic intrigue. ANTONIO GALLONI, Vinous.com

Aromas of black and red currants with dried flowers, sandalwood and dark cherries. Medium- to full-bodied with well-integrated tannins that coat and caress the mouth nicely. Shows a focus and modernity. From organically grown grapes. Best in three or four years. JAMES SUCKLING

Mellow and harmonious, offering plum, black currant, blackberry, iron, leather and menthol flavours. Juicy acidity and dusty tannins lift the flavours and guide them to the long conclusion. Fresh and complex on the finish. BRUCE SANDERSON, Wine Spectator

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 2019 Brunello di Montalcino le Lucére is a darkly concentrated wine with black fruit and a very creamy side. There are aromas of coconut butter and vanilla that meet bakery aromas of croissant or pie crust. The oak renderings are significant, but I give it good cellar potential, as it fleshes out, especially because there is plenty of dark primary fruit to give it aging momentum. MONICA LARNER

Black cherry, cedar and dried flowers on the nose follow through to a medium to full body with chewy tannins and a savory finish. Lots of structure. Muscular and wholesome yet there’s a softness and beauty. Better after 2027. JAMES SUCKLING

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!

Cabernet ……  who drinks Cabernet anymore?   I mean we can't all hang out in exclusive "Gentlemen's Clubs in Mayfair" can we?

So I was super surprised when I had a chance to taste an older (2018) vintage of the Forman Cabernet a few months ago which was superb - so I couldn't wait to have a crack at the new vintage.  California cabernet - all big, juicy and ripe fruit….. right?  Nope - definitely not.  There were layers of blueberry fruit, dusty chocolate, coffee bean, black cherry - and lovely hint of sweet spice and graphite minerality.  Also a hint of oak supporting the rich - but definitely not over ripe - fruit.    With a little time in the glass fantastic savoury notes popped up … think sage, bay leaf all adding wonderful complexity and interest to the wine.

This wasn't an over ripe jammy new world Cabernet … nor was it an austere/mouth puckering Bordeaux  - just a wonderful balanced wine - drink up! MATT O'CONNOR, PWS



The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon is a powerful, deep wine that marries elegance and finesse in a way few people can do, like Ric Forman. Rich and sumptuous in the glass, with terrific depth, the 2020 has so much to offer. Black cherry, mocha, licorice, spice, incense and new leather are all dialed up. Although it is early, this 2020 is shaping up to be one of the finer wines of the year.
(95) ANTONIO GALLONI, vinous

The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley has to be seen as a success in the vintage, revealing a solid bouquet of red and black fruits, tobacco leaf, cigar, and toasted spices. These carry to a medium to full-bodied Cabernet with a good sense of balance, moderate tannins, and outstanding length. It's well done and should evolve for another decade at a minimum. I followed this bottle for multiple days, and it always showed well. JEB DUNNUCK

The 2019 Cepparello is super-impressive, even though it has just been bottled. Ample and creamy, with its classic sense of mid-weight structure, the 2019 has so much to offer. Silky tannins wrap around a core of red/purplish berry fruit. New leather, spice and a hint of oak meld together effortlessly in the glass. I can't wait to check in on it in another 6-12 months or so. The 2019 is shaping up to be positively stellar. 97 ANTONIO GALLONI

This is one of my all-time favorite Brunellos, and although personal tastes are fluid and may change from time to time, there is something timeless and solid about this wine. It's like a touchstone. The Casanova di Neri 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova is graced with a similar interlude of elegant rose or crushed flower that we saw in the annata wine. It appears more prominently here, and with more shape and focused intensity. Make no mistake, Giacomo Neri builds wines for pleasure and sensual impact, and this wine ticks all those boxes. But it also shows floral elegance and sour cherry freshness that defies our expectations of the vintage. (96) MONICA LARNER, www.robertparker.com

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!

Showing the intensity and concentration of the vintage but also the finesse that’s the hallmark of this storied estate, the 2019 Fuligni is a stunner. It opens with aromas of camphor, violet, dog rose and spice while the full-bodied, enveloping palate delivers succulent black cherry, crushed raspberry, dried mint and licorice alongside velvety tannins. Boasting a weightless elegance, it closes on a note of almond liqueur. Drink 2029–2039. (97) KERIN O'KEEFE

With dark fruit balanced out by savory notes of tobacco leaf or cigar ash, the Fuligni 2019 Brunello di Montalcino is rich and beautifully concentrated. In little time, the bouquet reveals a floral interlude with dried rose petal and a tropical note of hibiscus. This wine shows a lot of angles, all very pleasant, that work together. The tannins are dusty and finely textured with a hint of powdery cocoa to close. (96) MONICA LARNER

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!