Vegan-Friendly

Press Reviews

Wine Align

91 points (2021) - David Lawrason

This shows the vivid yellow colour I expect from good Soave. It also shows the complex, detailed nose honeysuckle, lemon blossom, camomile and almost tropical peach/mango fruit. It is mid-weight, rich and viscous yet shows some enlivening freshness, spritz and tenderness at the same time. Slightly bitter and lemony on the finish. The length is excellent. Tasted January 2023.

90 points (2021) - Michael Godel

The latest volcanically driven garganega from the Tessari family is a child of a promising vintage full of sun, fun and support. The sky is the limit for just how well this will drink and please. It is in fact bottled salty and fruit crunchy deliciousness and why shouldn’t it be? Made simply with tradition in mind, basalt in pocket and all the modern facility made available. Citrus and nectarine, basil and Maldon salt. Lime all over the finish. Spot on. Drink 2023-2025. Tasted January 2023.

4 Stars (2022)- Sara d'Amato

Nervy and salty with a dash of elderflower and pear, this stylish Soave Classico is a favourite of restauranteurs. Richly textured with notes of apple and lemon zest, salt and lime. Quite chalky and dry, with a pleasant degree of roundness despite the moderate level of alcohol. Nicely balanced with a pleasant finish of good length. Drink now. Tasted January 2023.

Press Reviews

WineAlign

91 points - Michael Godel

From vines near to the village of Vasto at 250m on hillsides above the Adriatic. Usually light, crisp and simply refreshing but 2024 takes it just a bit further. More luxe feels and phenolic grip this time for a pecorino that actually shows off a little bit of its varietal woolliness. Great persistence and length for an “entry-level” example with proof that Jasci does not mess around when quality is at stake. Drink 2026-2028. Tasted February 2026.

Press Reviews

Wine Align

91 points (2022) - John Szabo, MS

Good volume and fruity depth here on this southern Rhône from Mas Carlot, richly flavoured, properly sapid, and saliva-inducing. I like the broad and rich palate, the long finish. White-fleshed orchard fruit leads and lingers. Top notch, and lovely. Tasted January 2024.

90 points (2022) - Megha Jandhyala

This golden southern Rhône blend is charmingly ripe and fleshy, even comforting, with notes of apples, tangerines, lychee, and toasted bread. The palate is mellifluous and pleasantly full, with a satin silk-like richness and juicy acids. The finish is gently warming, faintly bitter, and delicately textured. Tasted January 2024.

Press Reviews

Wine Align

91 points - David Lawrason

Saint Bris is a rare sauvignon blanc appellation in northern Burgundy, pres de Chablis, which is not all that far as the crow flies from Sancerre. And I definitely get that tight, firm if less mineral character here. Expect generous aromas and flavours of juniper, grapefruit, pine needle and gooseberry/guava. It is medium weight, firm and dry, with some bitterness. The length is excellent. Always fun to present it this blind to sauvignon blanc fans. Tasted January 2024

Value Rating:  5 Stars

90 points - John Szabo, MS

This is an uncommonly ripe and fruity sauvignon blanc from Saint Bris in Burgundy, round and creamy, quite full bodied despite just 12.5% alcohol declared, with ripe orchard and pineapple fruit leading. Acids are creamy yet still fresh, and length and depth are very good. And while I'd love a little more complexity at the price, or at least would have expected, the current international yardstick of inexorably increasing prices secures this wine a spot in a favourable quality/cost zone. At peak now I'd say to capture the fruit. Tasted January 2024.

90 points - Megha Jandhyala

Saint Bris is an appellation in Bourgogne that, unusually, is centred around sauvignon blanc. This is a lovely example, showing poise and grace but also inviting and expressive flavours of peaches, apricots, grapefruit, and a hint of passion fruit. The palate is medium bodied and fleshy, with juicy acids. The length is very good, with a refreshing citrusy finish. I would drink this over the next year or two. Tasted January 2024.

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

Wine Align

91 points - Megha Jandhyala

This is a firm, flavourful, and elegant chardonnay, made with fruit that were organically, bio-dynamically, and sustainably grown. I like the balance between crunchy orchard fruit and juicy lemons, on the one hand, and finely-integrated notes of spice and toast on the other. It feels rounded and silky on the palate, lifted by taut acidity. The finish is long-lasting, leaving subtle salinity in its wake. Tasted April 2023 by Critic Understudy Megha Jandhyala.

90 points - David Lawrason

This is a very fine, quite elegant chardonnay that over-delivers for $25. There is a sense of sophistication here.The nose is generous and clean with very well integrated peach/pear, subtle toast, spice and lees. It is mid-weight, polished and very well balanced, with some minerality on the finish. Tasted April 2023.

Press Reviews

Wine Align

92 Points - David Lawrason

This is a blend of usual suspects among the white grapes of southern France with marsanne leading at 40% followed by clairette at 35%. It was fermented and aged in French oak barrels which accounts for the quite deep yellow gold colour. The nose is rather reserved but exotic and complex with waxy notes, apricot, orange peel, honey and wood spice. It is full bodied, almost thick, creamy and warming with 13.5% abv. Quite a mouthful, with some sense of wood tannin on the finish. Needs very rich savoury dishes. Excellent length. Tasted Nov 2025

91 points - Michael Godel

Comtesse Madeleine is a blend of marsanne and clairette with lesser amounts of grenache blanc and picpoul, likely named for Marie-Madeleine Pioche de la Vergne, comtesse de La Fayette, a 17th century French writer known for La Princesse de Clèves. Profound is once again the first word to slip from the tongue because neither Lirac nor Côtes du Rhône are normally poised to offer such substantial qualities. Aside from the flinty opening salvo there are wisps and whispers of aromatic complexities in between, all ahead of a maturity and knowing experience showing prominently at the finish. Once again gastronomical scents, of porchetta, herbs and other aromatics coming from this meatiest of white wines. Begins slower and takes longer to reveal its charms than the previous vintage tasted but once momentum makes gains then the stirring is activated. The finish is long and true. Drink 2025-2029. Tasted November 2025.

90 points - Sara d'Amato

This blend of marsanne, clairette, grenache blanc and picpoul, aged 8 months in oak barrels, is named in homage to Madeleine de Montfaucon, grandmother of current owner Rodolphe de Pins, who stewarded the estate for over 60 years. The wine offers a gently aromatic profile: floral notes, fresh linen, a touch of musk, and yellow fruit recalling mirabelle plum. Lanonlin and a lively mineral edge keep it fresh. The palate is fleshy, with oak spice playing a minimal supporting role behind the fruit. Highly drinkable, it gains richness as it unfurls. Features a lingering finish of memorable length. Tasted November 2025.

Press Reviews

WineAlign

90 points (2022) - Michael Godel

Far from ubiquitous pinot grigio and yet knowable as a varietal wine that could not be anything else. Not a skin-macerated style but well-pressed to eek out high volume fruit intensity and so the levels of extract, pulpy muskiness and tannin are all on order. Almost chewy in this combined regard and flavourful to the pinot grigio maximum. A style for sure and one executed with top acumen. Drink 2024-2026. Tasted June 2024.

90 points (2022) - David Lawrason

This is a fairly ripe, almost tropical warm vintage pinot grigio with yellow plum, melon and subtle lemon/mandarin citrus blossom notes. It is medium weight, still nicely fresh with a hint of CO2, but a touch warm and off-dry, so do keep it well chilled. Nicely bright and generous, with a hint of minerality on the finish. The length is very good to excellent. Tasted June 2024

Press Reviews

Wine Align

91 points - Michael Godel

Of Catalonian garnatxa blanca planted upwards of 600m on limestone and clay before aging judiciously inside 800L clay amphora. A going concern of method and style for white grenache in this northerly part of Spain and 2023 comes away as clean and fleshy as any previous vintages. Sapid with an herbal-botanical element while fruit is so bloody persistent in its ability to shine. These are the right kinds of tonics and bitters to fulfill a garnacha raised in amphora dream. Drink 2025-2028. Tasted November 2025.

90 points - Sara d'Amato

High-elevation white garnacha raised in amphora, delivering a juicy and engaging profile in eye-catching packaging. Clean, bright, and subtly salty with flavours of peach, lemon zest, chamomile and dried herbs. It's nervy and deceptively complex, finishing with a gentle swell of warmth from otherwise unassuming alcohol. Excellent length. Drink now or hold 2-3 years. Tasted November 2025.

Press Reviews

Wine Align

93 points (2020) - Sara d'Amato

A captivating chenin blanc from Saumur, famed for its calcareous "tuffeau" soils, among others, on which chenin blanc can reach showstopping heights. The aromatics are dizzying here with spring blossom, honeysuckle, ginger and lemongrass hitting the nose with staggered entry. The texture is equally alluring with a juxtaposition of mineral, freshness and viscosity resulting in a dynamic interplay. Expressive with memorable length. Tasted August 2022.

92 points (2020) - David Lawrason

This is from a leading Saumur producer of Loire chenin blanc with vines planted in calcerous clay soils near the Loire River outside of classical town. It is both rich and delicate, a juxtaposition I find in some of the world's best whites. It is not however an intense, flashy, acid and mineral driven chenin. Fermentation in neutral barrels has created a pale gold hue and softened the nose to gentle honeyed, spicy state along with ripe pear/apricot jam fruit. It is medium-full bodied, smooth and dry, almost creamy, with the grape's acidity and minerality arriving more on the finish. The complexity and length are excellent, with a touch of wood spice and bitterness as well. Tasted August 2022

Press Reviews

Wine Align

91 points (2021) - Michael Godel

Robert Gilvesy’s Bohém blend no longer uses pinot gris (as mentioned in March) and tasting it four months later while looking out at Lake Balaton only romances the flavours and exults the wine. How could it not? The appellative excellence speaks to all the winemakers in the area and says it’s time. Time to join the party and make a white blend that represents estate.  Last tasted July 2023.

The blend in 2021 is olaszrizling (a.k.a. welschriesling), riesling and sauvignon blanc with pinot gris no longer involved. No doubt a botanical aspect ups the complexity game away and beyond the simple norms of white blends marked by citrus and stone fruit. They are in the mix but the herbal tonic and fine bitters elevate the cuvée to speak rightly and spritely for Balaton, the Szent György Hill and Robert Gilvesy’s oeuvre. This wine is an institution now and deserves plenty of attention. Drink 2023-2026.  Tasted March 2023.

91 points (2021) - Megha Jandhyala

Situated near an ancient dormant volcano, Gilvesy grows native grape varieties organically and sustainably in volcanic soils. This blend of olaszrizling, pinot gris, riesling, and sauvignon blanc is subtly reductive and mineral, with notes of freshly cut-grass, juicy grapefruits and lemons, peaches, and crunchy pears. It feels fleshy and rounded, but refreshing on the palate, with a long, pleasantly grippy finish. I like the layers of flavours here and the succulent texture. This wine is ready to drink and vegan-friendly. Tasted March 2023.

90 points (2021) - John Szabo, MS

Gilvesy's 2021 Balatoni cuvee is the customary blend of welschriesling, riesling and sauvignon blanc, crafted in an appealingly reductive, grapefruit pith and peel-inflected style, tightly wound and bone dry, mineral and fresh. I love the saltiness on the palate and the succulent acids that draw additional sips. Crunchy, fresh, lively, drinking now or hold short term. Tasted March 2023.

Press Reviews

Wine Align

92 points (2022) - Michael Godel

The name is Grey, representative three ways, of Réva’s Bianco label, the earth as its life giver and a sauvignon blanc meeting sauvignon gris growing from the Langhe “formation lequio.” In other words ancient Serravallian terroir come into being some 12 million years ago. Translates today as clay, limestone and fossil, adding up to and defined as grey marl. Just smells like wet stones, rich in mineral, as if after a rain. A place where ripeness means abundant and substantial fruit in cohorts with and defending the “sottosuolo” of elements below to do more than merely simulate but actually effect an authentic Langhe experience. Drink 2025-2030. Tasted May 2025

91 points (2022) - David Lawrason

This is a blend of sauvignon blanc and sauvignon gris - a highly unusual wine for the Langhe region, but a specialty of the youthfully re-imagined Reva estate in Montforte. It is an impressive, full flavoured, generous and well balanced wine with lifted aromas of guava/lychee, lemon and fresh herbs. It is very bright with lively acidity, considerable warmth and juicy, tart-edged finish. The length is excellent. A bit aggressive in the end so chill well. Tasted May 2025

91 points (2022) - John Szabo, MS

Réva's Langhe Bianco "Grey" is composed of 70% Sauvignon Gris and 30% Sauvignon Blanc, related but considered separate varieties, the former less effusively aromatic than the blanc version. It pours a pale-medium yellow gold colour, and offers maturing, bruised pineapple and binned apple aromatics in an advancing style, purposely no doubt considering Réva's commitment to natural winemaking and low intervention. It's also notably herbal, like dried mint or cold mint tea, fresh celery and other non-fruity components on a fairly rich and full-bodied frame with palpable extract - tannins - that provide some grip. Despite the advancing flavours, I'd recommend another year or two in the cellar for the palate to smooth out, and since it's not about the fruit in any case, those flavours will continue to develop in the savoury spectrum. Length is very good. Tasted May 2025.

Press Reviews

Wine Align

92 points (2021) - David Lawrason

From high altitude volcanic-soiled vineyards in the Canary Islands this is from the local listan grape, also known as palomino fina, related to the white grape grown in Jerez to make sherry. It is light to medium bodied, fresh and lively with trace minerality. Not tart acidity but enough to keep it in ballast. The fruit is pear, guava, lemon amid the reductive mineral notes, plus a distinct sourdough yeastiness on the nose that immediately recalled fino sherry. The length is excellent. Tasted December 2022.

91 points (2021) - Michael Godel

Viñátigo Listán Blanco 2021 initially emits this unusually funky and exotic perfume of wet basalt or concrete mixed with washed manchego cheese rind but quickly comes together as one inviting scent. Preps the palate for wanting a taste to see what comes next and the clarity shines right away, of gemstones and the salty sweat of craggy wet stones. There is some orchard fruit but what matters most is the saline-mineral comport. It's like a compôte of imagination built on fruit and volcanics melted into a salad that spoons straight on down. Bloody delicious and well-made. Drink 2023-2027. Tasted December 2022.

91 points (2021) - John Szabo, MS

2021 marks another fine vintage for this reliably intriguing and interesting, complex wine from own-rooted listán blanco (aka palomino fino), quite ripe, showing pineapple and quince, baked apple and apple blossom flavours, less immediately flinty-reductive than the previous vintage and with more fruit. The palate is mid-weight and creamy, with balanced acids and very good length. Really delicious now, though should continue to gain in non-fruit complexity over the next 1-3 years, or hold into the mid-'20s. Tasted December 2022.