95 David Schildknecht - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"Abbatucci's 2011 Cuvee Collection: General de la Revolution Jean-Charles Abbatucci - for more on whose vinification and roster of ancient cepages, consult my review of the 2010 in issue 205 - is very nearly as exciting as that immediate predecessor. The persistent effusion on nose and palate of myriad floral and herbal essences appears to be a glorious constant in this cuvee, here favoring a cooling, bittersweet and ultimately soothing alliance of honeysuckle and iris, mint and thyme. The open airiness, lift and delicacy of the 2010 are present here, too - if perhaps marginally less strikingly - and there is an intricate lingering impingement of things saline, stony and somehow crystalline hard to put into less nebulous or dubious words. Like Abbatucci's corresponding 'Ministre Imperial' red, this is a wine of mind-bending profundity in the sense that even as it seduces, it will stretch your imagination and alter your thinking concerning what’s possible from grapes. Speaking of which, I still can't tell you what to expect from this cuvee as bottles mature, but prudence suggests on no account failing to enjoy over the next couple of years most of any bottles you acquire. It would be too much of a shame to miss out on what this wine is delivering now. On the other hand, it would be a shame not to follow at least a bottle or two down the road a few years if one can locate and afford a sufficient number. "

"I hope that a substantial share of those reading these lines will by now have had an opportunity to taste at least one wine of Jean-Charles Abbatucci, about whose amazing work I have written on several occasions in this venue, including extensively in my issue 205 report. So I'll spare you more tales at this time and get right to the wines, of which this summer I was finally able to taste an entire line-up. To verify vintages on the numerous Abbatucci wines that are not of appellation Ajaccio and formally non-vintage, consult the first two digits that appear in tiny print on the back label immediately after the capital 'L.' (In the event that such a 'lot number' cannot be located - which applies to any non-AOC Abbatucci wines prior to the 2011 harvest - you are at the mercy of your retail or restaurant source, although 'Cuvee Collection' wines from before that date do display vintages on their corks.)"