Reviews

Very rich and opulent. You can taste how the grapes had a long season to grow enormously ripe, delivering flavors of pineapples, pears and golden mangoes. Yet the cool vintage also preserved vital acidity. A delightful young Chardonnay for drinking now with upscale fare.

This is noticeably more refined than the Chardannes though compositionally, there is a strong similarity between the two aromatic profiles. Likewise, the supporting tannins are much finer here and not surprisingly, so is the mouth feel of the appealingly voluminous medium-bodied flavors on the firm and dusty finish. Lovely if not genuinely stunning.

Rich, tannic and spicy, a classic Sonoma Zinfandel with enough elegance to pair with upscale food. It’s a little hot in alcohol and overripe, but wears it proudly, celebrating its Zinny personality with a sweet flourish. That’s characterisic of the vineyard, which is on a warm ridge within this cool appellation.

A subtle, delicate style showing ripe black cherry, plum and boysenberry notes on a medium body, with baking spices, mineral and dried berry flavors rolling off the finish.

A stylish statement, reliant on equal parts dense, mocha-laced flavors of currant and dark berry, joined by creamy, vanilla bean-tinged oak. Extracted, dense and concentrated, this maintains its chewiness through the finish, where it takes on a more rustic presence. The inaugural Jean-Charles Boisset Cabernet. Best from 2013 through 2023. 50 cases made. –JL

A stylish statement, reliant on equal parts dense, mocha-laced flavors of currant and dark berry, joined by creamy, vanilla bean-tinged oak. Extracted, dense and concentrated, this maintains its chewiness through the finish, where it takes on a more rustic presence. The inaugural Jean-Charles Boisset Cabernet. Best from 2013 through 2023. 50 cases made.

This firm yet supple red shows a vivid focus on wild berry and raspberry fruit, which picks up a peppery, spicey edge, leading to an aftertaste of wilted rose and spice.

CABERNET SAUVIGNON FINALIST. Excellent. Highly recommended.

CHARDONNAY FINALIST. Great Value. Excellent. Highly recommended.

One panelist compared the harmonic power of this wine to a night at the opera in the first row. The wine’s energy has that sophistication and refinement, buzzing with limestone and mushroom earthiness, more focused on bass notes of umami and high-toned florals than any sweetness of fruit. Cellar this and you should be amply rewarded in ten years’ time.