92 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

This is wonderfully fragrant, with attractive notes of olive, mulberry and peppercorn. It’s juicy, medium- to full-bodied and very bright, with fine-grained tannins and a lively finish. 74% syrah, 11% grenache, 8% cabernet sauvignon, 6% cinsault and 1% viognier. Delicious already. Drink now.

91 Monica Larner - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

With an ample 1.2 million bottles made, the Boekenhoutskloof 2023 Swartland The Chocolate Block is one of South Africa's most popular restaurant and retail wines. The blend is 74% Syrah, 11% Grenache, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cinsault and 1% co-fermented Viognier. Eighty percent of the grapes are farmed by the in-house team. No new oak is used except for the Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest sees neutral barrel. Proprietor Marc Kent says the wine is on its way to officially becoming organic. People underestimate the influence of the Cinsault, he says. It takes away from the roughness of the other grapes, and along with Grenache, creates a more perfumed style of wine. The Chocolate Block is its own brand, representing a fruit-forward, accessible and food-friendly red wine with medium-plus texture and pleasant softness.

91 Neal Martin - Vinous Media

The 2023 The Chocolate Block, arguably the Cape's most successful brand in terms of both quantity and quality, is a mixture of 70% estate fruit (mainly from Porseleinberg) and 30% from partnership vineyards on reddish soils that have supplied fruit for 15 to 20 years. It matured for 12 to 14 months in 95% used barriques. Fruit picked after the rains was not included in the blend. The 2023 has a fresh nose with redcurrant and pomegranate fruit, earthy notes and a touch of tea leaf. The palate is medium-bodied with crunchy red fruit and fine acidity, fresh and vibrant with brown spices and black pepper toward the finish. According to the label, production totaled 4,043 barrels in this vintage—it is some achievement to produce a label of such scale at this level of quality. The Cape couldn't ask for a better ambassador.

92 Anthony Mueller - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Fresh and zesty, showing breadth and depth with citrus and spiced apple tones, the 2022 Clara Sauvignon Blanc is focused, complex and bright. Medium to full-bodied, the Sauvignon Blanc displays fantastic weight, with a round and spicy mouthfeel. Flavors of Marcona almond with nuances of dusty florals and Meyer lemon sway with a delightful mineral tension. Made from only free-run juice, the Sauvignon Blanc is naturally fermented in neutral oak before resting for nine months in a combination of old French and acacia barrels. Nicely done!

91 Robert Parker - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2007 White Port (Dalva) is basically a white Colheita and it pretty much leans to tawny in taste, too. Mostly a field blend, it emphasizes Malvasia Fina, Viosinho and Rabigato. It comes in at 117 grams per liter of residual sugar. Surprisingly rich for a young white, this is filled with caramel nuances. It is a beauty that is really easy to like and drink. Bright, fresh and utterly delicious, it delivers a great performance that easily overachieves at its young age.

95 Kerin O'Keefe - kerinokeefe.com

The straight 2021 Barolo from Francesco Rinaldi & Figli is an absolute stunner, starting with its beguiling fragrance that combines wild rose, Alpine herb, red berry, dark spice and a whiff of sun-warmed hay. All about finesse and flavor, the palate captivates with layers of wild strawberry, red cherry, star anise and crushed mint before a blood orange finish. It's bright and balanced, with vibrant acidity and a backbone of firm, refined tannins. This is still youthfully and austere and shows terrific aging potential. What a fantastic showing. Drink 2031–2041.

95 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

Aromas of fresh green melon, sliced green apples, honeysuckle, flint and salt follow through to a medium to full body with a round texture. Fleshy texture. Layered. Delicious finish. Fermented in concrete eggs and 500-liter French barrels. Very artisanal feel to this small production wine of only 4,500 bottles. From the owners of La Rioja Alta. Spring 2024 release. Drink or hold.

95 Guía Gourmets - Guía Gourmets

92 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

Focused and nicely structured, with aromas of red plums, forest floor, crushed violets and tobacco that carry into a medium- to full-bodied palate. The tannins are firm but integrated, holding a vivid line of acidity that gives the finish clarity and tension. From organically grown grapes. Sustainable. Drink or hold.

98 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

The finest vintage of this cuvée I've tasted, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is going to be one of the Legendary Mayacamas, although a more modern-day version. Sporting a vivid ruby, mostly opaque hue as well as sensational aromatics of crème de cassis, ripe cherries, graphite, crayon, and cedar pencils, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, flawless overall balance, ultra-fine, ripe, perfect tannins, and a great finish that keeps you coming back to the glass. The balance, purity, and elegance paired with the subtle, inward richness and power is something. I followed this bottle for multiple days, and it was never short of spectacular, with its structure and tannins becoming more evident with air. It's far from the tannic beast that some vintages from this higher elevation terroir on Mount Veeder can be, and it clearly offers immense pleasure even today. Yet, it probably won't hit true prime time for another decade, and I wouldn't be surprised to see this be a 50- to 60-year wine. Bravo. Drink 2030-2080

97 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is fabulous. It's vivid and super-classic to the core, offering up an exotic mélange of dark fruit, espresso, dried herbs, iron, forest floor and incense. The 2021 is a quintessential mountain wine from Mt. Veeder, but there's just enough polish to wrap it all together while avoiding any sense of rusticity.

97 James Molesworth - Wine Spectator

Hints of sweet bay leaf and chaparral offer an alluring lead in, while the core mixes red and black currant and cherry compote notes with tobacco leaf and cast iron, backed by a piercing sanguine hint. The fruit cuts a seriously sharp groove through the long, tannin- and acid-driven finish. Should age at a glacial pace. Best from 2028 through 2045. 2,110 cases made

99 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

This has the classic richness and depth of this noted vineyard, braced by vivid acidity for an elegant, soft and silky feel. It’s difficult to imagine a better California chardonnay, as it combines great balance and freshness with creaminess, breadth and length in the finish. Sliced pears, cream and hints of mangoes, green apples, butter and lemon curd. Drink now or hold.

97 Joe Czerwinski - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Nid Tissé's 2023 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard combines Robert Young and Wente fruit, with fermentation in amphora and new and used barriques. After 12 months, the wine was blended and racked into a stainless steel tank, where it spent another three months prior to bottling. Refined notes of pear, melon and peach meet the nose, while the medium- to full-bodied palate is silky and fine, with notes of lime on the long, gently textural and briny finish. 305 cases produced.

97 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Palate

The 2023 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard races out of the glass with vibrant notes of fresh pineapple, orange blossoms, and yuzu with touches of baking bread and marzipan. The silky, medium-bodied palate is elegantly styled with vibrant citrus and tropical fruit flavors, supported by a racy line, finishing long with wonderful purity.