90 Wine Enthusiast

"Dark plum, mahogany and toasted-wood aromas lead the nose on this bottling from a vineyard atop Mount Madonna. The palate is savory and very sticky in structure, showing blackberry, elderberry, toasted-wood and milk-chocolate flavors. -MK"

90 Georgina Hindle - Decanter

"Wonderfully aromatic and expressive on the nose - the aromas really just jump out the glass. So inviting. Juicy, red fruits - strawberries, raspberries and red cherries - quite bright and a nice change from the dark fruits. This is lively and fun, light with hints of spice underneath the fruit giving some structure and backbone. Hard not to like for its fruit-forwardness and easy drinking style. Though does have a spicy undertone which comes through on the finish?! Wood/alc."

94 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

Perfumed and floral with delicate notes of cherries, dried strawberries, flowers and earth. The midweight palate has fine-grained tannins and a plush, rounded mouthfeel that balances minerality and high-toned fruit. There's so much early-drinking pleasure here with great aging potential. Delicious. Drink or hold.

96 Richard Baudains - Decanter Magazine

A blast of sour berries, candied peel, undergrowth and freshly cut herb aromas. No less exuberant on the palate, this is a big, dry, gritty, concentrated mouthful which bursts with energy in all directions. Objectively, it needs a little bottle time to come together, but in the meantime it is a wonderful celebration of a traditional style from one of Montalcino’s longest established estates.

95 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Independent

Medium garnet-purple in color, the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon needs a little coaxing to bring out pretty notes of kirsch, redcurrant jelly, and juicy blackberries plus hints of rose oil, cinnamon stick, and underbrush. The medium to full-bodied palate is bright and cheery, with red and black berry layers framed by a chewy texture and refreshing line, finishing long and earthy. Nice!

94 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the wines of this very challenging harvest. Dark and imposing, the 2020 is packed with black fruit, cloves, leather, menthol, chocolate and dried herbs. This is an especially dense, potent Cabernet. There is some aggressiveness to the tannins, but that is the vintage. Overall, this is impeccably done, especially within the context of the year.

94 J. D'Angelo - International Wine Report

The 2020 Mayacamas Cabernet Sauvignon presents a deep and expressive nose, featuring a blend of ripe blackberries, boysenberries, and black cherries, accented by fragrant notes of dried savory herbs, anise, exotic spices, cocoa powder and a touch of dusty nuances all coming together beautifully to add wonderful complexity to the aromatics. On the palate, this wine is full-bodied, dense, and structured with muscular tannins, that provide plenty of backbone to support the fruit. Layers of dark fruits, tobacco and spices are well-integrated, leading to a long finish. This is remarkable showing from Mayacamas in this vintage, and should be provide immediate drinking pleasure, but also thrive in the cellar for over a decade.

17 Jancis Robinson's Purple Pages

Mid-deep tawny amber. Woody, toasty, hazelnuts and some smoke – mostly barrel aromatics. Vibrant acidity lifts the fully-sweet palate, with cooked citrus and strawberry fruit. Spicy, cinnamon, hazelnut and dark chocolate, with just some spirity warmth detracting. A fine 20 Year Old, nevertheless. (TJ)

89 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

"The 2022 Langhe Nebbiolo is a pretty dense, heady wine. Kirsch, blood orange, pomegranate and spice fill out the layers. Potent tannins wrap it all together. This is far from an easygoing Langhe Nebbiolo, that much is certain."

94 Eric Guido - Vinous Media

The 2023 Chardonnay Phoebe is dusty and floral, with nuances of ginger and lime-tinged green apples forming its bouquet. Round textures and juicy acidity soothe as ripe pit fruits and a twang of candied citrus excite the senses. Flinty mineral tones linger as the 2023 tapers off wickedly fresh and floral, leaving a sensation of liquid stone.

97 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

A bright, nervy wine, the 2021 Pinot Noir Radian captures all the natural intensity of this site on the far edge of the Sta. Rita Hills. Bright acids and veins of minerality infuse the 2021 with tremendous character. Dark red/purplish fruit, lavender, crushed rocks, graphite and dried herbs are some of the many notes that race across the palate. This just sizzles with energy. It's a great example from the western edge of the appellation

97 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

I loved the 2021 Pinot Noir Radian Vineyard, which has a vivid, perfumed, exotic bouquet of black raspberries, spring flowers, violets, graphite, and chalky minerality. I love its purity, and it's medium-bodied, with an incredible sense of refinement and class and a great finish. Coming from a rocky hillside vineyard on the southern side of the Sta. Rita Hills, this incredible Pinot Noir will benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and cruise in cold cellars over the following decade or more

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

95 Luis Gutierrez - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2021 A Merced is surprisingly a little higher in alcohol than the 2020 I tasted next to it, despite the much cooler year. It fermented with 50% foot-trodden whole clusters in 1,000-liter oak casks with indigenous yeasts and a long maceration. It matured in used 225-liter French oak barrels for one year. It's a little earthy but also floral and elegant, combining that wild side that seems to be inherent to this place, as I've noticed it in the last few vintages. It's quite expressive and showy, very complete and balanced. 10,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in October 2022.

92 Luis Gutierrez - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The textbook traditional red 2019 Señorío de P. Peciña Crianza was produced with their classical blend of Tempranillo with small percentages of Garnacha and Graciano. It fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and matured in used American oak barrels following the most orthodox tradition, for two years, a lot longer than required to obtain the category. It has spicy notes, a hint of cigar box and forest floor and is a powerful and ripe year, when the wine achieved 14.36% alcohol and good freshness and acidity. It has a medium to full-bodied palate with a chalky mouthfeel, fine tannins and a slightly dusty and rustic touch that would welcome food. It was bottled in May 2022.

95 Aaron Brasher - The Real Review

Young, vibrant and youthful colour in the glass. Black fruit aromas, mulberry and blackberry along with bramble, dried herbs, menthol, cedar and pencil shavings. Dark, rich and full-flavoured, there plenty of blackcurrant, mulberry, dark cherry and spice, there’s a also a lick of soy and meaty umaminess. The wine has a lively line of acidity and granular, layered acidity. Very smart gear, plenty going on.

95 Wine Pilot

Not your shy and retiring kind, 1000 Crowns comes out plush, rich and complex. A fair whack of vanillin oak introduces the black-hearted wine with lifted florals – violet, briar – and tilled earth, undergrowth aromas. The wine can take it. At 14.5% alcohol, it’s on the ripe and generous side. Handsome fine tannins sweep long across the palate emphasising cassis and black fruits with savoury input and some expensive oak-led cigar box characters. Time and patience will reward the drinker.