100 Wine Enthusiast

If sunshine could be bottled it would be this. Aromas of fresh succulent stone fruit, a hint of yeast, citrus blossoms and notes of quince on the nose. The mousse is creamy and light with baked red apples, blood orange zest, white grapefruit, sticky caramel and layered salinity with a mouthwatering finish. It will bring a smile to your lips.

96 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

More open, upfront and sexy, the 2009 Grenache This is Not an Exit is comprised of 79% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 3% Viognier and 3% Roussanne that spent 31 months in roughly 35% new French oak. Showing overflowing richness, with notions of incense, spice cake, potpourri and creamy raspberry fruit, it is a full-bodied, voluptuous and decadent Grenache geared for drinking over the coming decade or so. Drink now-2023. About as good as it gets across the board, these singular, incredible wines are the result of an obsessive attention to detail at all stages of the wine making process. There is no secret or hidden magic going on here. The incredibly talented and down-to-earth Manfred Krankl simply walks the walk as opposed to only talking about attention to detail or offering up the standard, wine is made in the vineyard comments. Looking at the vintages focused on here, 2009 has produced a decadent, voluptuous style that offers up thrilling levels of fruit as well as an approachable, heady richness that-s hard to resist. While they possess ample depth and structure, I would drink these before either the 2010s or 2011s. The 2010s here are stunning and have everything; gorgeous fruit, awesome concentration and incredible purity. While the most age-worthy of the recent vintages, they're a spectacular drink even today. The 2011s, which were all tasted out of barrel, have additional freshness and focus over the 2010s. They have solid concentration and overall balanced profiles that should allow them to cruise in the cellar.

96 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Independent

Medium ruby-purple colored, the 2022 Golden Hour Pinot Noir slides out with seductive scents of cranberries, Bing cherries, and mulberries, followed by nuances of lilacs, cinnamon stick, and cardamom. The medium to full-bodied palate has a solid structure of fine-grained tannins and great tension framing the bright red berry fruit, finishing long and earthy.

92 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

A lovely, flavorful rosé with sliced peaches and strawberries. Medium to full body. Very bright and flavorful. Fine bubbles. Delicious finish. Clear and vivid. Drink now.

92 Wine Enthusiast

This sparkling wine is a majority of Pinot Noir, with Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. It is aromatic in strawberry and cream tones that follow through to the palate. Rose petal, wet stone and lemon peel provide complementary brightness

90 Wine Spectator

Blended of about two-thirds Pinot Noir and one-third Chardonnay with a splash of Pinot Meurnier, the NV Brut Rose sports a very pale salmon-pink color, delivering notes of wild strawberries, McIntosh apples and raspberry leaves with a hint of chalk dust. The palate offers seriously zippy red berries and apple flavors with an impressively fine mousse and well-balanced finish

89-91 Allen Meadows - Burghound

"Mild reduction compromises the expressiveness of the nose but the attractively textured and very rich flavors are supple, round and also relatively fine. I like the balance and overall sense of harmony though a bit more depth would be a plus."

94 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

Super-fresh aromas of lemon peel, with subtle green-apple and buttery notes. Leafy lime touch, too. Medium body with an additional strawberry flavor, long and elegant acidity and a tight-knit structure. Long, fruity finish. Disgorged in 2023. Dosage 3g/L. Drinkable now, but best from 2025.

99 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is fascinating to taste next to the Extended Age bottling. It offers a bit more aromatic presence and brightness. A burst of plum, violet, lavender and cinnamon opens. Energy and tension abound. What a wine. It is very clearly one of the wines of the vintage.

98+ Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and aged in 70% new French oak, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon VHR sports a dense purple hue to go with a stunning nose of blackcurrants, charcoal, leafy tobacco, and violet. This beauty is full-bodied, rich, concentrated, has a great core of tannins, and a killer finish. This will probably merit a triple-digit rating in 5-7 years and is a brilliant wine as well as a possible 30+-year legend in the making.

98 Joe Czerwinski - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Scheduled to be released in February 2024, VHR's 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is another fabulous wine from the Phillips family and winemaker Françoise Peschon. On the nose, it's a bit restrained, with a subtle herbal perfume, hints of peppery spice and a concentrated mix of red and black cherries. In the mouth, the wine is similarly composed and polite, being medium to full-bodied, silky and taut in feel, balanced and elegant on the lingering finish.

98 James Molesworth - Wine Spectator

A deep well of gorgeous flavors -- raspberry, boysenberry, mulberry and black currant preserves -- sparkle in this red, with anise, violet and wood spice hints throughout. All of that is riveted to a terrific graphite spine running from start to finish, where a flash of cast iron peeks in. As the fruit lingers, a subtle echo of hibiscus provides a suave counterpoint. This encapsulates the best aspects of the vintage. Best from 2025 through 2045. 946 cases made.

98 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

Lots of black fruits, lead pencil, graphite, and ink pot. Currants. Black earth. Some bark. Medium-bodied with chewy yet polished tannins with a minerally undertone. Hints of black mushrooms. Juicy and reserved at the end. Lots of freshness and structure at the same time. Good grip in the finish. Try after 2026.

99 Kerin O'Keefe - kerinokeefe.com

Guido Porro nailed the 2021 vintage as all the firm's Barolos demonstrate, especially the compelling Vigna Rionda. Still youthfully austere with racy tension, the structured, elegant palate delivers red cherry, strawberry compote, nutmeg and licorice set against a backbone of close-grained, velvety tannins. Bright acidity keeps it balanced and energized. An incredible showing. Drink 2036–2051.

97 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

The 2021 Barolo Vignarionda is a total knockout. Crushed rose petal, kirsch, mint, blood orange, sweet spice and candy are all beautifully lifted. This is the first Porro Rionda that captures the haunting inner perfume, the sweetness, the finesse that are all at the heart of what makes Rionda one of the very top sites in Barolo. Readers will find a wine of beguiling complexity and class.

95 Monica Larner - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The Quintarelli Giuseppe 2016 Cabernet Alzero is a blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot. The two Cabernet grapes see between one and two months of appassimento, and because these varieties do not share the light color and big berry size of the traditional Valpolicella grapes that are usually used in the air-drying process, the Cabernets reach a higher sugar content in a shorter time frame. The winery team has been working to reduce the sweetness you might associate with older vintages of this wine, and indeed, the Alzero has gone from 20 grams per liter of residual sugar in the past to seven grams today (with a powerful 16.5% alcohol content). There is a subtle herbal note with green curry leaf that transitions to jammy blackberry and blackcurrant. This is a wine of broad shoulders, big richness and a generously fleshed-out texture (my sample came from a bottle that had been opened most of the day).