Dry

Press Reviews

Wine Align

90 points - David Lawrason

This is new appellation (formerly Coteaux de Triscatin) is the northernmost in the southern Rhone. It uses the typical southern Rhone varieties, but none can be more than 80% of the blend. This is a quite elegant, well structured, mid-weight red with some stony minerality, lifted pepper and savoury notes. Not as opulently fruity and rich as many peers, yet very tidy and balanced. The length is very good to excellent. Tasted March 2022

Press Reviews

Wine Align

92 points - David Lawrason

This is a very tasty, rich, golden hued, well aged chardonnay-based sparkler with an involved nose of cashew, baked apple, nougat and honey. It is almost creamy in texture with fine mousse and very good acidity providing counterpoint. There is pleasant nutty bitterness on the finish; length is excellent.

91 points - Michael Godel

Varietal chardonnay that sees a year of lees aging with a dosage to reach the desired Brut. A richness and also dried herbal notes plus fennel that is offset by a creamy sweetness melting and melded through the pictorial texture of a wine so sharp and yet so soft. One imagines the Baud family being led by such humans and when a wine acts as an expression of they, well isn’t that the point in a wine like this? Drink 2022-2024. Tasted July 2022.

Baud’s Crémant is made in true Blanc de Blancs style, from 100 per cent chardonnay and though faintly if beautifully oxidative, the cuvée pulses with great energy. The scents of fraying ginger batons, scraped orange skin and baking almond cookies are all a treat for the olfactory. Just enough but not too much sweetness fleshes the the body to get down to density in mouthfeel but never abandons its airy character. A terrific Champagne alternative that was disgorged in October of 2017. Drink 2018-2022. Tasted April 2018.

Treve Ring

91 points

This family estate dates back to 1742, but it wasn't until 1950 when René Baud, 7th generation, rebuilt the vineyards, expanding from 4 hectares into 20 hectares over the years. Today the estate is managed by siblings Clémentine and Bastien, 9th generation. This sustainably farmed chardonnay is rooted in the Jura's marl and limestone soils and was fermented in stainless before a year on lees before disgorgement and release. Green apple, white florals, oyster shells, meadow herbs, meringue run the bright, sleek palate, with a bed of creamy lees. There's a lovely streaming anise note that leads to a lengthy finish. Drinking beautifully now, but will hold over the next couple years easy.

Press Reviews

Wine Align

91 points - David Lawrason

This is a textbook Etna red from a relatively new, large and important producer. It is a pale and light bodied red that perfectly transmits the red strawberry/pomegranate/cranberry fruit of the nerello mascalese grape and region along with herbals, vague pepper and flinty minerality. It is medium weight, firm and very well balanced with some internal warmth and energy, then a dry, mineral finish. The length is very good to excellent. Chill lightly, serve over the next five years. Tasted May 2025

90 points - Michael Godel

Were September of 2024 not the most ideal time to experience the sheer beauty of this classically styled and modernized Etna Rosso - Well, May of 2025 is really that. moment. Get at it now, without hesitation, preferably alongside anything that involves Sicilian eggplant in one of it it many local preparations. Last tasted May 2025.

The most understandable and straightforward Etna Rosso there could be, mature and layered, of riches and earth, fruit and soil all in the mix. A volcanic paint by numbers canvas of realism and beauty, easily accessible and generous to a perfectly reasonable degree. Entry point for the DOC and once in, never to look back. Drink 2024-2026. Tasted May and September 2024.

89 points - Sara d'Amato

Pours a pale, luminous hue, this Etna-born red offers notes of dried leaf, gentle earth, white pepper, bramble, and notable brininess. A swell of warmth is noted on the palate. Its delicate red fruited character is contrasted by twiggy flavours and marked tannins. Very good length. Tasted May 2025.

Press Reviews

James Suckling

91 points

Very nice blueberry and blackberry character with some spicy orange. Medium body. Fruity and tart. Drink now.

Press Reviews

Decanter

92 points - World Wine Awards

Press Reviews

Wine Align

93 points - Michael Godel

Just bottled one week ago and hello to a '23 that Tommaso Cortonesi says is "very close to the Rosso di Montalcino style that I want for my winery." Tommaso has been working and honing his concept of Rosso for more than a decade and this first look at its next iteration seems somewhat of an aggressive one. That is the idea and Cortonesi admits how others who faced major 2023 challenges were jealous of the quality and quantity of La Mannella's harvest. Palate intensity is off the charts, there is a spicy element happening and structure is tops for Rosso. There are Brunello makers who would kill for this combination of substance and style. Drink 2026-2031. Tasted February 2025.

Press Reviews

Wine Align

91 points (2020) - David Lawrason

This is a quite rich, slightly oxidative style of unoaked chardonnay with pale golden colour and a ripe nose of baked apple. Peach pie, toasty lees and vague nuttiness. It is medium weight, smooth and almost creamy with fine acidity and mineral underpinning. The length is excellent. Tasted June 2022

Press Reviews

WineAlign

90 points (2020) - Michael Godel

A varietal bobal from Utiel-Requena where 34,000 hectares in Valencia between the two neighbouring towns of Utiel and Requena are mostly concerned with this unique variety. Here is a firm and medium-bodied example with a plenary meeting of root-earthy fruit and exemplary acidity. Not exactly tannic but structured in its own parochial way to live non-plussed for a few years. This is quite a youthful example with more getable juiciness than many. Drink 2023-2025. Tasted February 2023.

90 points (2020)- Sarah d'Amato

A fruity, juicy red smartly packaged with a modern-utilitarian label from the Valencian sub-appellation of Utiel Requena where the bobal variety dominates in both red and rosé forms. Mid-weight, supple and easy-drinking with white pepper spice, and bramble along with wafting notes of botanicals and mint. Lightly reduced in a very pleasant fashion. Would benefit from a slight chill. Engaging and convivial with plenty of food pairing potential. Ready to drink. Tasted February 2023.

90 points (2020) - Megha Jandhyala

This 100% bobal was sourced from a single vineyard called La Pinada planted in 1958 in the Valencian sub-appellation of Utiel-Requena. It has a sense of freshness, candour, and authenticity that is appealing. I like the ripe red fruit flavours including plump and juicy strawberries, raspberries, and cherries, accompanied by notes of savoury herbs and earthy tones. The palate is medium-bodied and fresh, with juicy acids and fine tannins, while alcohol is well-integrated (13.5%, per the label). Ready to drink, this bobal is best enjoyed lightly chilled. Tasted February 2023 by Critic Understudy Megha Jandhyala.

Press Reviews

WineAlign

90 points - Sara d'Amato

Pours a luminous, deep pink, this rosada from Leon is made entirely of the indigenous prieto picudo grape, more typically a blending variety with dark skins and often resulting in wines with licorice-tinged black and red fruit. With youthful exuberance and potency, this salty and succulent expression features a wealth of lightly candied red berries, slippery tannins and a touch of welcome bitterness that contributes balance and a sensation of freshness. Best to enjoy in its youthful condition but it has the concentration for another year or two of aging. Tasted February 2024.

Press Reviews

Wine Align

91 points (2021) - John Szabo

A blend of garnacha, tempranillo and graciano grown at around 500m in the Sierra de Cantabria, this is aged exclusively in concrete and thus a long way from what many would consider the 'traditional' style of Rioja. I like the freshness and vibrancy allied at the same time to ripe, plush fruit spanning both the red and black spectrum. Tannins are supple and acids balanced and creamy, leading into a long, gently saline finish. Concentration and depth, as well as complexity overall, far exceed expectations in the category. Well made wine from an evidently superior vineyard, delicious now, or hold 3-4 years. Tasted January 2024.

91 points (2021) - Megha Jandhyala

This is a charming Rioja, a blend of garnacha, tempranillo, and a small amount of graciano. I like the bright, supple red fruit here and the pretty floral and savoury herbal notes. The palate is lively and supple, with fine-grained tannins and juicy acids. Fresh, streamlined, and with a sense of lightness that is appealing, this wine is ready to drink, though it can also be cellared for a couple of years. Tasted January 2024.

Press Reviews

Wine Align

91 points (2020) - Michael Godel

In Catalunya and other parts of Spain’s north-central appellations there has been a decade-long investigation into grenache raised in amphora with Bodegas Puiggròs making some of the cleanest of the bunch. This family’s work dates back nearly 180 years though in bottling just more than a dozen. Their Catalonian garnatxa blanca grown at 600m on limestone and clay sees time in 800L clay amphora. The freshness and oily texture combine for honest to goodness pleasure with lemon, orange, lime and dried herbs all in the mix. Almost lemongrass and kefir but certainly some notes of exoticism within. Good energy here and worth a look, finishing with tell-tale tisane and tonic. Drink 2022-2025. Tasted September 2022.

91 points (2020) - John Szabo, MS

Amphora-aged garnacha blanca from Catalonia, Puiggros's 2020 Exedra is a fine follow up to the excellent 2019, clean, fresher than most in the clay pot-aged genre. I like the gentle white-fleshed orchard fruit flavours, the lemon curd and cream, the fullish, well-rounded palate, the impressive length. It's not easy to render this style so cleanly and precisely, but Puiggros does it so well. I'd consider ageing it another year or two for full complexity, though it's also admittedly delicious now. Tasted September 2022.

89 points (2020) - David Lawrason

This is 100% grenache blanc - the favoured white grape of northeast Spain. It shows bright fairly deep lemon colour. The nose is generous but gentle with ripe yellow melon/pear fruit, acacia florality, a hint of anise and spice. It is medium-full bodied, just off-dry and sour-edged with a hint of acetic, which lowers my rating below 90. Still, it is enjoyable, quite plush, open knit and intensely flavoured with excellent length. Tasted Sept 2022

Press Reviews

WineAlign

91 points (2021) - Michael Godel

The 2018 país was, and I quote Garage Wine Company founder (and Oakvillean) Derek Mossman Knapp ”A wine that rose from the 2017 bush fires, quickly having ascended out of the ashes as something resurrected and reinvented.” The method is pressing whole clusters with stems and a co-fermented (2018) collection of país, stacked with carinena, one on top of the other. Now in 2021 it’s all about the mission grape, survivor and revivalist, the stacks of fruit like lyrics, on repeat. If you say the mantra often enough it becomes bible and this grape made in this way is the lifeblood and soul of Chile’s Secano Interior Cauquenes. A very instrumental red wine, comfortable, of relaxed warmth and lack of pressure that you would only expect at home, with people you love. “People can you feel it? Love is everywhere.” Drink 2023-2026. Tasted February 2023.

90 points (2021) - Megha Jandhyala

Born during the pandemic, the Garage Wine Company’s old-vine project is devoted to reviving previously-neglected old vines and supporting local farming communities. Founded by Mossman Knapp and Pilar Miranda, it is based in Maule, home to many dry-farmed, family-owned, old vineyards. Only about 5000 bottles of this old-vine país were made using traditional methods, including traditional dry-farming and hand-harvesting in the vineyards, and manual punchdowns and native yeast in the winery. It is a fresh, light, cheerfully fruity, wine, clean and uncluttered, with a down-to-earth, guileless charm. Red berries and herbs are joined by notes of pepper and wildflowers. The palate is medium-bodied and soft, with fine tannins, tart acids, and very good length. 

Press Reviews

Wine Anorak

94 points - Jamie Goode

Powerful, lively and spicy with concentrated tangy citrus and pear fruit with some saline notes and tangy apple and lemon on the finish. Lovely intensity here with some crystalline citrus fruit.

Wine Align

93 points - David Lawrason

This is not your everyday chardonnay! In the Jura region of east-central France in the lower foothills of the Alps, there is tradition of oxidative winemaking, some under a layer of flor, as occurs in some Spanish sherry. As a result of the advance maturation this pours medium gold. The nose is dominated by classic hazelnut, honey, barley sugar sourdough and anise, around the ripe tropical fruit. It is medium weight, very smooth, well balanced and focused, with excellent length. More lithe lemon notes enliven the finish. There is a touch of tannin. Tasted December 2022.

91 points - John Szabo, MS

A pure chardonnay made in the traditional, oxidative Jura style under flor, not unlike fino sherry, but here the oxidation is more pronounced. Expect bruised apple and cold Orange Pekoe tea, cold wheat toast with honey, lemon pith and zest, and much more in an unusual but complex expression. The palate is mid-weight, showing more fruit and less oxidative qualities than the nose, succulent acids, and good to very good length. I must say, I like the salinity and savoury aspects, the lingering flavours and authentic but unimpeachable winemaking. There's fantasy here; be sure to decant before serving; best now-2026. Tasted December 2022.

91 points - Michael Godel

Clémentine Baud took over the family estate with her brother six years ago. The first father to daughter transition and with many to follow. The estate dates back to 1742, started by Jean-François. They farm 25 hectares, Clémentine’s father started with five and grew to 19 hectares when he retired. Picking for Sparkling now seems to happen in August, save for the difficult 2021 vintage. In 2017 70 per cent of the harvest was lost to the frosts, 50 in 2019 and 80 in 2021. "We have over 40 old varieties in the Jura, important for diversity, including those not allowed under the rules of the AOC," tells Clém. The fruit for Cuvée Flor is grown at a latitude of 46.73 North and though very much a cool climate place for chardonnay the threats of warmer winters and seasonal frosts has wreaked havoc over the past 10 years. A chardonnay of remarkable lustre, concentration and purity, worked by way of oxidative aging, low alcohol expectation starting at 12 and finishing no higher than 14 to 14.5. A floral chardonnay, not one related to yeast and surely a pretty in Jura wine. From the younger vines, phenolic and hinting towards though remaining clear of emerging boozy. Filled with flavour, hazelnut and praline, peach and yellow plum. A world of its own. Drink 2022-2025. Tasted July 2022.