89 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

The NV Champagne Brut is 62% Pinot Noir, 28% Meunier, and the rest Chardonnay. Its nose is floral and confectionary with aromas sweet pastry, flowers, and juicy pear. This translates to the palate, which is medium-bodied, with sweet fruit, suggesting an aperitif. It is clean and pure, with a kiss of sweetness from the dosage. Drink over the next 6-8 years.

92 John Gilman - View from the Cellar

"Domaine Olga Raffault’s 2020 “les Peuilles” is a superb young bottle of Chinon. The bouquet is deep, complex and very precise, wafting from the glass in a mix of dark berries, cassis, cigar ash, flinty soil tones, tree bark, just a hint of oak and plenty of upper register smokiness. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and complex, with a lovely core of black fruit, fine soil signature, ripe, seamless tannins, fine focus and grip and a long, beautifully balanced and complex finish. There is just a whisper of brett here, but compared to vintages from the domaine back in the 1990s, it is virtually undetectable in comparison. Good juice. 2030-2075."

86-88 Yohan Castaing - Robert Parker's the Wine Advocate

A blend of 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, the 2024 Haut-Marbuzet shows a more reserved and austere character than in recent vintages. It opens with aromas of dark berries, flowers and subtle spices. Medium-bodied, the wine is juicy and supple, driven by tangy acidity and framed by firm tannins that lead to a compact, somewhat short finish. Hailstorms significantly impacted the Marbuzet plateau, and the damage is evident in the diminished quality and concentration of this year’s wine.

94 Wine Enthusiast

This well-balanced and grandly structured wine layers toast, almonds and a hint of wood smoke over Bosc pears, fennel bulb slices and marzipan for a rich blend of fruits and savory accents. Delicious now–2028.

89 Wine Enthusiast

A heady perfume of lemon peel, white grapefruit and florals, with a metallic, coppery tinge opens. Flavors are more muted, the gentle creamy texture and mouth-watering acidity, which creeps in on the midpalate, taking center stage. Subtle enough to handle boldly flavored cuisine like Thai or Mexican. — Christina Pickard

87 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

An ersatz field blend, co-fermented: vermentino (73%), fiano (16%) and backing vocals of grechetto, greco, glera, pinot bianco and grigio. Light-weighted, bright, frisky and immensely versatile at the table. Stone fruit allusions meld with accents of quince, preserved lemon, tangerine and frangipani. The finish, a saline slake of powdery phenolics. Easy drinking stuff with a whiff of intrigue. Drink now.

93 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

The 2021 Chardonnay Bentrock opens with striking, expansive aromatics. There's a bit more new oak here, and that also comes through. Orchard fruit, mint, white flowers, white pepper and pear all open with some coaxing. I especially admire the wine's inner sweetness. All the 2021 needs is a bit of time to emerge. <

90 Wine Spectator

"This shows good grip, derived from the burly tannins and snappy sun-dried fruitlike acidity, layering dark, ripe berry and black cherry fruit with hints of tobacco and cigar box. Drink now through 2023. 800 cases made." 90 Wine Spectator

WINE:
"From mid September to mid October-Withering for two months in the drying room at 450m height. De-stemming and soft pressing, maceration and fermentation for 15 days in vertical tanks. Delestage, followed by a Malolactic fermentation for 2/3 in Tonneaux of 500 liters and for 1/3 in Barrique." -Importer

ESTATE:
"The story of La Formica began in 1893 with the construction of a small shrine dedicated to St. Vincent Ferrer to protect his 26 ha of vineyards below. Today, over a century later, the vines continue to thrive in the Cellore d Illasi and neighboring terroitory of Tregnano, at the easternmost extremities of the Valpolicella appellation. The typical Scaglia Bianca soil, along with the average altitude of 320m asl, and the Eastern exposure define the style of these wines: vibrant fruit, powerful, and always elegant." -Importer

AMARONE PROCESS:
"Grapes are harvested ripe in the first two weeks of October, by carefully choosing bunches having fruits not too close to each other, to let the air flow. Grapes are allowed to dry, traditionally on straw mats. This process is called appassimento or rasinate (to dry and shrivel) in Italian. This concentrates the remaining sugars and flavours and is similar to the production of French Vin de Paille. The pomace left over from pressing off the Amarone is used in the production of Ripasso Valpolicellas."

"Modern Amarone is now produced in special drying chambers under controlled conditions. This new approach minimizes the amount of handling that the grapes go through and helps prevent the onset of Botrytis cinerea. In Amarone, the quality of the grape skin is a primary concern as that component brings the tannins, color and intensity of flavor to the wine. The process of desiccation not only concentrates the juices within the grape but also increases the skin contact of the grapes. The drying process further metabolizes the acids within the grape and creates a polymerization of the tannins in the skin which contribute to the overall balance of the finished wine."

"The length of the drying process is typically 120 days but varies according to producer and the quality of the harvest. The most evident consequence of this process is the loss of weight: 35 to 45% for Corvina grapes, 30 to 40% for Molinara and 27 to 40% for Rondinella. Following drying, end of January/beginning of February, the grapes are crushed and go through a dry low temperature fermentation process which can last up to 30/50 days. The reduced water content can slow down the fermentation process, increasing the risk of spoilage and potential wine faults such as high volatile acidity. After fermentation, the wine is then aged in barriques made from either French, Slovenian or Slavonian oak." -Jancis Robinson - Oxford Companion to Wine