92 Wine Enthusiast

Perfumed aromas of white blossom, white peach and honeydew melon flatter the nose along with orange peel and Fuji apple. Layered orchard fruit, citrus and floral flavors open the palate supported by a vein of minerality that is triumphant on the finish.

91 Luis Gutierrez - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

“The NV Pinot Noir Brut Rose, a non-vintage sparkling wine from Pinot Noir grapes, which is quite dark-colored, displays a bright cherry red color with a showy nose of cherries, truffles and strawberry jam with a fresh, pungent palate, balanced acidity and flavors. Different, with a strong personality. It feels like a red sparkling wine, and quite good, by the way! I-d have it with some charcuterie.”

88 Wine & Spirits

"Pure pinot in its rose petal and red fruit scents, this is austere and a bit oxidative in the finish, where creamy nut flavors take over from the fresher fruit. Pour it with jamón Ibérico." (08/13)

96 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

A spicy and classic Brunello with vibrant aromas of wild strawberries, raspberries, violets, smoky wood and licorice. Full-bodied, it shows balanced extraction, tamed velvety tannins, refreshing acidity and a super-savory, minerally finish. Juicy and long. Drink or hold." -Aldo Fiordelli

95 Eric Guido - Vinous Media

"Minty herbs mix with shavings of pine, dried strawberries and dusty earth as the 2021 Brunello di Montalcino blossoms in the glass. It displays exceptional finesse and grace, with silken waves of ripe red and blue fruits elevated by fresh acidity. Inner rose tones and a tactile mineral crunch add form toward the close. The 2021 leaves a pleasantly chewy sensation and a tart blackberry twang, tapering off with excellent length and a totally classic feel."

94 Monica Larner - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"The Uccelliera 2021 Brunello di Montalcino, produced in 34,733 bottles plus 900 magnums, shows a deep core of dark fruit and black cherry while remaining gracefully vertical and bright. Notes of spice, forest floor and sweet earth weave through the fruit, creating balance and a steady sense of richness that carries seamlessly across the palate. Grapes are harvested with the use of dry ice and fermented in stainless steel on indigenous yeasts, followed by 36 months of aging in oak vessels of varying sizes. All of this locks in aromas. The fruit comes from Castelnuovo dell’Abate at elevations ranging from 150 to 350 meters on mineral-rich, rocky soils, and this bottling once again underscores Andrea Cortonesi’s ability to translate terroir with precision and consistency."

92 Michaela Morris - Decanter Magazine

"There are no single-vineyard bottlings at Uccelliera. Instead, owner Andrea Cortonesi brings together a diversity of plots from various altitudes, exposures, soils, vine age and clones for one complex sum. The 2021 divulges its balmy, southeastern origins with all the robustness and vigour one would expect, while managing to remain surprisingly poised. Nevertheless, this veers more to power than grace. A youthful wood imprint is absorbed by the fleshy, dark-toned fruit. Eucalypt, nutmeg and tarragon infuse. The bold and grainy tannins need more time to resolve."

96 Decanter

Hay, linden, lemon curd and dried apple peel, with an edge of zest and flint, mingle on the beautiful nose. Vibrant, linear acidity supports the palate which is at once nutty and saline. Poised, with weighty lemon curd and quince with a lining – at once vegetal and savoury – of wild flower, dry hay, apple peel and dry sage. Long finish, with a vibrant tail of white pepper, cinnamon, aniseed, tarragon, curry leaf and toasted almonds.Drinking Window: 2025 - 2032

95 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

The 2022 Alejandra is named for Juan Carlos Vizcarra’s wife and the mother of Celia and Inez, who have their own namesake wines. It was made the first time in 2018 for her 50th birthday to coincide with when the appellation allowed Albillo Mayor whites to be officially produced. This Albillo has 10% other local white varieties from some of the oldest otherwise Tempranillo plots the family farms. They have since planted a new plot of Albillo and will begin making this wine from that. Fermented in concrete eggs, it then spent 12 months aging in larger-format oak, 30% new. Like many of the whites made from this grape, it’s more about texture than fruitiness, with minerality in the form of wet stone and gravel, or what the winemakers would call “phosphorus.” It gets one year in bottle before release and should age another 10-15 years.

93+ Luis Gutierrez - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The one white they have produced in the last few years, the 2022 Alejandra is a very primary expression of Albillo Mayor, produced with grapes from vines intermixed in the red vineyards. It has contained ripeness, 13.5% alcohol and very good freshness and acidity—remarkable for the very warm year. It fermented in concrete eggs and barrels and matured for 12 months in barrels of different sizes, 30% of them new. The oak is neatly integrated, and the wine has an elegant and fine profile.

90 Wine Enthusiast

From the slopes just west of Castillon, this is a ripe Merlot-dominated wine. A core of tannins and juicy acidity have combined into a savory wine that will be ready from 2023.

100 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

The 2019 Château Lynch-Bages is stunningly good, and it's going to be interesting to compare this to the 2018 over the coming decades. Based on 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, and the balance Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, brought up in 75% new French oak, its dense purple hue is followed by an incredible bouquet of pure crème de cassis, freshly sharpened cedar pencil, spring flowers, smoke, and graphite, with an almost liqueur of rocks-like minerality. A massive, incredibly concentrated Lynch-Bages, Jean-Charles has hit a home run in the vintage, and this sensational wine has building, perfect tannins, insane purity, and a finish that won't quit. It has the purity, finesse, balance, and depth to offer pleasure not only today but to evolve for 40 to 50 years. Smart money will hide these for a good 7-8 years, but wow, what a wine. Bravo.

99 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

"The 2019 Lynch Bages is every bit as magnificent from bottle as it was from barrel, if not moreso. What a wine! Towering and vertical in its bearing, the 2019 is a total stunner. There is plenty of Lynch Bages charm, but what distinguishes the 2019 most is its spine of tannin and energy. Time in the glass brings out sweet red cherry, plum, blood orange and pomegranate and mint. The 2019 is a great, great, great Lynch Bages. It reminds me of the epic 1989, but with the youthful grip of this vintage. A towering Pauillac, the 2019 Lynch Bages will make a great addition to any cellar."

97+ Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Independent

The 2019 Lynch-Bages is composed of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it gallops out with bold notions of warm cassis, stewed black cherries, and boysenberry preserves, followed by hints of tar, violets, and star anise. The medium to full-bodied palate is intense and nuanced with firm, grainy tannins and great tension, finishing long and layered. Classic great Pauillac.

97 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

Fantastic blackberries, blackcurrants, lead pencil and violets. So Pauillac on the nose! Full-bodied with a dense, layered palate and tight yet plush tannins that give the wine layers and gravitas. Compact. Long finish. Silky. Reminds me of a modern, classic version of something like the wonderful 1985 Lynch. Try after 2026.

97 Wine Enthusiast

The wine's power is important and impressive. Behind this lies a solid structure along with powerful black fruits, allowing the succulent nature of the Cabernet Sauvignon to shine. The wine will develop slowly over many years. Drink from 2027.

97 Georgina Hindle - Decanter

Intense, deep and dark aromatics - such wonderful Cabernet notes on the nose. This is incredibly impactful from the very first taste, it grips the mouth and courses with power but in a well balanced, harmonious way. Mouthwatering fruit juice is backed by tannins that, although fill the mouth entirely, come across as quite ripe and soft with a backbone of menthol cooling freshness that goes from start to finish. A Pauillac with such an enticing dark profile, concentrated and direct but also so much to give. Still not near it's potential yet.

97 Jane Anson - Inside Bordeaux

Tight black fruits, run through with espresso, cocoa bean and bitter black chocolate shavings. Brilliant quality, with tannic heft and precision. Takes a jump halfway through the palate and lifts right off. I have tasted this several times over the past few months, and it consistently performs. 75% new oak, Eric Boissenot consults.

95 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

Flint and spice come through clearly, showing a higher level of reduction in the winemaking and providing intensity and intrigue to the wine. It's medium-bodied, linear and very racy with a bright, lightly phenolic finish. Drink or hold.

95 James Halliday - Australian Wine Companion

One of my favourite champagne houses. This entry point has one-third each of pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay from 30 crus, 25% reserve wines, spending 4 years on tirage. It has a flowery bouquet, terrific mouthfeel thanks to a hint of honey, and Meyer lemon cleansing the finish and aftertaste.

91 Wine Enthusiast

This is a medium-bodied treat, beginning with its big time, hunger-inducing butter, seared scallops, tarragon and lemon aromas. Equally rich decadent lemon butter, brioche and fried sage flavors seal the deal. Pair this with a bucket of popcorn and any Jason Statham film that's not “Ghosts of Mars.” — Michael Alberty

92 John Gilman - View from the Cellar

""The new release of the Ployez-Jacquemart non-vintage Brut is outstanding on both the nose and palate. The blend is made up of sixty percent pinot noir and pinot meunier, combined with forty percent chardonnay. The bouquet is deep, quite marked by its red grape components and beautifully complex, as it jumps from the glass in a blaze of ripe apple, blood orange, fresh-baked bread, caraway seed, citrus peel and a very complex base of minerality. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and snappy, with a great core of fruit, bright acids, great focus, very fine mousse and exceptional grip on the very long, minerally and intensely flavored finish. There is a depth and flavor authority here that is most rare in Brut NVs, and as good as this wine is today, it will only get better if cellared for a few years. Superb bubbly."

92 Wine Spectator

Smoky, with overtones of toasted brioche and nut mixing with flavors of ripe peach, fresh quince, lemon pound cake and candied orange zest. With firm acidity and a core of minerality, this is distinctive, with a long, mouthwatering finish. Disgorged April 2012. Drink now through 2018. 500 cases imported. –AN