96 Decanter

“Quite classy and carefully composed, showing attractive aromas of peaches, apples, honey and touches of honeysuckle. Delicious on the palate, with a silky mousse.”

93 Wine Spectator

Pretty, with bergamot, date, fig and caramelized peach flavors gliding through, framed by a caramel note that lingers on the polished finish. This gains intensity as it opens in the glass. Lovely. Drink now. 780 cases made. –JM

100 Audrey Frick - jebdunnuck.com

The 2016 Champagne Cristal is chalky and pristine, with a crystalline nature and notes of white peach, fresh citrus blossoms, and bright salinity. Tasted for the first time last year, it captures a precise and focused energy that’s unmatched. It boasts the energy and tension of 2002 and the precision of 2008. The wet-stone minerality of fresh chalk texture is profound, opening with medium body, showing pinpoint mousse, and sustaining a weightless energy through the long finish. This is not an obvious wine on opening, but it is by far one of my favorite wines of the year. It is going to require some patience, but it is worth stashing away and should have fantastic longevity. Drink 2027-2050.

98 Wine Enthusiast

"This iconic Champagne, first made in the 19th century for the Tsar of Russia, shows its typical stunning balance and poise between richness and concentration. It has a pure white fruit and honeysuckle aroma and tight, tangy fresh fruit flavors. Just ready to drink, the wine will age well, for at least 20 years. Organic. -RV"

97 William Kelley - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"The 2016 Cristal is a taut, incisive rendition of this benchmark bottling, unwinding in the glass with youthfully reserved aromas of citrus oil, white flowers, wet stones and subtle hints of sweet, buttery pastry. Medium to full-bodied, chiseled and racy, it's almost as electric as the brilliant 2013, with serious concentration, a pure core of fruit, chalky structuring dry extract and a long, intensely mineral finish. Given its tightly wound profile, my advice is to forget it in the cellar for a few years and work on the more open, outgoing 2014 in the meantime."

96 Wine Spectator

"This leads with pronounced minerality on the nose, but then a bright burst of tangerine, blood orange and Meyer lemon flavors on the palate hold sway, joined by rich hints of crème de cassis, toast point, pastry cream and crystallized honey. Showing beautiful integration and a refined, lacy mousse, this is compact and statuesque, with a sense of restraint and the hint of more to come, while at the same time offering lovely expression in the glass today. Fresh and focused on the persistent finish. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Drink now through 2044. 8,300 cases imported. -AN"

16 Jancis Robinson's Purple Pages

A blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault. Vinified in truncated tanks. Aged in concrete tanks for eight months and truncated tanks for 12 months. Tank sample. Tasted blind. Very attractive nose with crushed, soft red fruits, spice and garrigue. The palate is juicy, with leather, black tea and very noticeable alcohol. There is a streak of toasty oak on the finish. Rounded, heady and dense and, when the oak integrates, it will be very pretty. (AC)

89-91+ Allen Meadows - Burghound

A slightly more elegant nose also reflects good Chablis typicity on the more floral-suffused aromas of apple, pear and quinine. In the same vein as the nose, the mouthfeel of the seductive, even opulent, medium weight flavors is more refined and just a bit denser as well, all wrapped in bitter lemon-inflected finish. I like the balance and this too could be enjoyed young or aged for a few years to good effect.

98 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

"Plenty of red currant, cedar, iron and terra cotta aromas follow through to a medium to full body with graphite, sandalwood, red currants and fresh Mediterranean herbs such as thyme and rosemary. The tannins are chewy but polished in texture. This is a Sassicaia that needs three or four years of bottle age to come together and soften. A structured wine for the cellar. Try after 2029."

98 Danielle Callegari - Wine Enthusiast

Aromas of vanilla, tobacco leaf, wild blackberries and blueberries gust on the nose, while the palate brings more sweet berries and vanilla but also has an unexpected bouncy, lively, almost pop-rocks feel from the acid. Flexible tannins structure a warm, citrus finish. As ever, a five-star luxury, with the ease of a lifetime of experience.

97+ Monica Larner - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"The Tenuta San Guido 2022 Bolgheri Sassicaia reveals a beautiful fruit profile with fresh blackberry, tart cherry and Mediterranean tones of blue rosemary blooms and lavender sachet. I tasted this wine several times over the course of a few months, and it has already shown a happy evolution coming into slow focus like the faint colors that emerge from a Polaroid photograph. Indeed, the bouquet appeared more closed just a short while ago. The wine's strongest suit is its elegantly streamlined mouthfeel and its contained 13.5% alcohol content. These qualities add to the silky cleanness of the mouthfeel and the accessible freshness of this vintage. I am confident that this bottle will improve with time. It requires patience."

97+ Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

"The 2022 Sassicaia is a deeper, youthful magenta/red color with a slightly deeper aromatic profile of rosemary, gravelly earth, sage, mossy earth, and fresh black cherries. The palate has slightly broader shoulders but remains elegant. It has more plushness on the mid-palate, while its acidity shines through with the finish. It will need several years to shed its baby fat and show its full potential. Drink 2028-2058."

95 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

A graceful wine with cinnamon, earth, strawberries, sweet violets and leesy complexity. There is a lot of fruit depth, with a full body, lifted acidity and dense, ripe, velvety tannins. The finish is polished yet tight. Drinkable now, but best from 2027.

94 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

The 2021 Barolo Castiglione is a superb entry-level Barolo from Vietti. Rich, deep and layered in the glass, the 2021 offers tons of near- and medium-term appeal. The blend of sites is compelling. Dark red-toned fruit, spice, menthol, and licorice are all beautifully amplified. In 2021, the Castiglione approaches the level of the crus, and that is saying something.

90 Wine Spectator

Chive blossom and white pepper hints lace flavors of juicy green melon, pink grapefruit pith, and minerally salt and stone. This white is lithe, with a light, juicy plumpness on the palate. Zesty finish. Drink now through 2030. 3,400 cases made.

90 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

This has fragrant honeysuckle and herb undertones to the apricot and grapefruit aromas. It’s a medium-bodied, fresh expression of viognier. Vegan. Drink now.

87 Jasper Morris, MW - Inside Burgundy

Pale colour, a classical Aligoté bouquet with its slightly acrid grape skins. What has changed is the degree of flesh in the middle of the mouth and the ripeness of the finish. Some lemon and orange blossom notes are now more prevalent than lime. Otherwise, baked apple. In bottle. Drink from 2025-2028. Tasted Nov 2024.

100 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

Dreamy, subtle aromas of dried fruit such as apricots and mangoes, but also fresh lemons and pears. Then there are caramel and tart tatin undertones with some bananas, pineapple, tangerines and other tropical fruit. Full-bodied, yet it remains vivid and compact, giving it a lightness even though it is really structured. The tannins are throughout the palate but blend in perfectly, giving it a solid presence, like a a diamond. It’s tight at the end, but you know that it will linger for ages, with a lightly chewy and intellectual finish. Touches of sweetness, cloves and bitterness to make it interesting. Dynamic. About 54,000 bottles made. Relatively small harvest. 148 g/L residual sugar.

97 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Independent

The 2021 d'Yquem is composed of 65% Sémillon and 35% Sauvignon Blanc. It has 148 grams per liter of residual sugar, making for a relatively rich style and the sweetest Yquem since 2017. Pale lemon-gold colored, perfumed notes of orange peel, juicy peaches, grapefruit, and honeycomb slowly emerge from the glass, followed by suggestions of jasmine tea, fresh ginger, and lime blossoms. The palate is fantastically satiny, with great tension and loads of spicy sparks complementing the citrusy flavors, finishing with epic length and a zesty lift. 54,000 bottles were made. The alcohol is 13.9%, and the pH is 3.79.

19 Jancis Robinson's Purple Pages

Beautiful primary fruit boasting tropical complexity: mango, pineapple. Saltiness, according to the winemaker – and there is definitely savoury contrast in there. The marvel of this wine is its completeness – the stitching is so fine between the sugar, acidity, rich fruit and length. Opens up in the glass, with white chocolate, caramel, clotted cream, mixed peel, five-spice. As prestigious as ever, and so gratifying to drink right now.

92 Robert Parker - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"The non-vintage Light Manzanilla Papirusa Solera Reserva (with an average age of five years in this solera) possesses an extraordinary, penetrating nose of salty brined nuts intermixed with crisp fruit, terrific acidity and intense, powerful, authoritative flavors that are ethereal in their lightness." (08/12)