91 Wine & Spirits

"Christian Seely recently introduced this wine in New York as a rethinking of the super-premium, multivintage Porto style. Black replaces LB, Noval's former entry in this range, and uses top-quality fruit to create a soft, accommodating texture. The aromas are purple-black while the flavors are pure black cherry. Acidity spices it up and adds to the juiciness of the finish. It's plump in the middle and supple all the way through, ending on fruit-skin tannin and a touch of chocolate from oak. At the level of many of the region's best LBVs, this wine may become a staple for a new generation of Port drinkers."

97 Eric Guido - Vinous Media

The 2023 Cabernet Franc presents a cascade of dried roses and dusty earth, coming together with savory herbs and nuances of green peppercorn as it slowly evolves in the glass. It displays a pretty inner sweetness and herbal lift before giving way to a silken wave of ripe raspberry and spice. A coating of fine-grained tannin frames the finish as it tapers off, expertly balanced, remarkably long and spicy to the core. In a word, fantastic.

95 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

A super creamy, delicious and detailed red with oodles of red fruit, silky tannins and a full body. It tastes pure, fresh, almost delicate, offering raspberries, cherry cream, blueberries, cafe au lait and subtle oak toast on the palate. A gentle, layered, pretty wine that seems not at all affected by the wildfire smoke that year. Drinkable now, but best from 2030.

94 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

"Every bit as good as the 2019, although in a slightly more concentrated, burly style, the 2020 Château Sociando-Mallet is close to an even split of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, with a splash of Cabernet Franc, all from vines located just north of Saint-Estèphe. It brings lots of ripeness and richness, with darker currants, plums, leafy tobacco, chocolate, and graphite-like aromatics that build nicely with time in the glass. These all carry to a medium to full-bodied Haut-Médoc revealing a deep, layered mid-palate, ripe, sweet tannins, plenty of concentration, and a great finish. Where the 2019 is silky and elegant, this is more in your face and foursquare, and it's mostly potential at this stage, although it clearly offers pleasure even today with its wealth of fruit. It's going to hit maturity around a decade after the vintage and, I suspect, will keep for 2-3 decades."

93 Neal Martin - Vinous Media

The 2020 Sociando Mallet has retained its impressive aromatics from its showing in barrel with beautifully defined blackberry and raspberry fruit, pressed violet and light cedar aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with firm backbone, a little powdery in texture, fine backbone with ample freshness and tension towards its graphite-infused finish. Bravo!

92+ William Kelley - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2020 Sociando-Mallet is very attractive, exhibiting aromas of cassis and plums mingled with notions of pencil shavings, loamy soil, tobacco leaf and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with lively acids and powdery tannins, it's a strong effort from a site that always does well in warm vintages. The 2020 is a blend of 53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Cabernet Franc.

93 Wine Spectator

Generous and robust yet retains a sense of polish, with expressive raspberry and blueberry flavors highlighted by licorice and pepper, plus a whiff of dill as this builds toward fine-grained tannins. Zinfandel, Carignane, Petite Sirah, Mataro and Alicante Bouschet. Drink now through 2034. 25,000 cases made.

94 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

The 2018 La Grande Dame is a very pretty wine that shows the contemporary style that is prevalent here these days. Floral overtones lift a core of citrus fruit, while marzipan, anise, mint, dried pear and spice open with a bit of coaxing. The 2018 is a delicate Grand Dame, as most Champagnes are in a vintage in which yields were exceptionally high. I especially admire the finesse here. Disgorged: September 2024.

90 Decanter

Blue fruits and cola cubes on the nose. Linear and direct, this is powerful but restrained, with a core of dark, juicy fruits and a mineral undertow giving freshness and a velvety-smooth texture to the tannins. Needs more time to expand and be fully expressive, but this is nice and one I want another glass of. Can be enjoyed today with some time in carafe or hold on for a few more years.

90 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

Aromas of blackberries, sweet tobacco and some crushed stones follow through to a medium body with a pretty core of fruit and well-integrated tannins. Drink after 2024.

89 Neal Martin - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2019 La Vaisinerie has thankfully dispensed with the New World ambitions that I found on the nose before, now displaying more refinement and focus. The palate is medium-bodied and pure, with supple tannins, fine acidity and a sensual finish. I am happy to raise my score.

88 Jeb Dunnuck - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Black cherries, candied violets, spicy oak, and floral notes all emerge from the 2019 Château La Vaisinerie, a medium-bodied, soft, supple, nicely textured, and impeccably balanced Puisseguin. It's already drinking nicely and should have a solid 8-10 years of prime drinking. It showed much better from bottle than barrel.

94 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

This gives an abundance of delicious, focused black cherry flavors on a relatively light body. It offers great balance, charm and freshness, with moderate tannins and good acidity lifting concentrated cherry, sour cherry, black tea, purple flower and star anise notes galore. Drink now or hold.

94 Wine Enthusiast

This is a fantastic appellation cuvée, blending grapes from Rancho Real, Wild King, and Julia's vineyards into a showcase of ripe, fresh, clean cherry aromas complemented by crushed rock and soil aspects. The palate is deliciously jammy with cherry flavors that are enhanced by star anise and cardamom, set against an edgy texture. — Matt Kettmann

88 Guía Peñín

Style, citrus fruit, crisp, herbal, full-bodied. Estilo, cítrico, fresco, herbal, corpulento. Stil, Zitrusfrüchte, frisch, kräuterig, korpulent.

92 Wine Spectator

"Expressive notes of tangerine, yellow peach and cherry fruit is set on the lacy mousse of this fresh and focused rosé Champagne. It's well-balanced, with hints of toast point, anise and lemon thyme adding a savory edge to the finish. Drink now through 2023." — AN