LAST CHANCE TO BUY : Unique bottles for less

It's entirely appropriate that Columella should achieve a 100-point score in its 20th vintage, having completed two decades of trail-blazing brilliance. Based on Syrah with 55% Mourvèdre, Grenache, Carignan, Cinsault and Tinta Barocca, it's a seamless Rhône-meets the-Douro cuvée with violet, thyme and lavender aromas, subtle oak and peppery whole bunch spices, cassis, blackberry and cranberry flavours, thrilling acidity, minerality and haunting palate length. A truly great wine at the peak of its considerable powers. 2023-35. E100/100 Tim Atkin MW

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{region}Swartland{region}
{color}Red{color}                                                               {maturity}ready-improve{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will improve{maturity-text}
{vintage}2018{vintage}
{***}

Overall Red Wine of the Year. “With 100 points, you can only go down," Eben Sadie laughed as we tasted this wine. The 2020 is just a whisper short of the perfection of the 2019 release, but it's still a stunning red and has beaten all comers in this year's report. A seamless blend that combines five soil types and 11 vineyards, it's Syrah-based with 60% Grenache Noir, Mourvèdre, Tinta Barocca, Carignan, Cinsault and Alicante Bouschet. What grace, texture, focus and persistence. This has fibre, sinew and muscularity, nuanced 10% new oak and plum, blackberry, damson and wild strawberry fruit. Sublime winemaking. 2024-40 E/span>

99/100 Tim Atkin MW, South Africa Report 2022

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{region}Swartland{region}
{color}Red{color}                                                               {maturity}ready-improve{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will improve{maturity-text}
{vintage}2020{vintage}

{ratings} [] Tim Atkin MW:: 99/100

{ratings}

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This violet-perfumed Syrah is the most elegant of our single-terroir Syrahs. The palate is medium to full bodied and delicately spicy, with a silky texture balanced by a fresh, natural acidity. There are notes of black pepper, violets and lilies, red berries and herbs. Best served at 16 to 18 °C, this wine will greatly benefit from decanting if drunk within the first 3 to 5 years after bottling.

This is hugely impressive wine that has dark fruit character and huge tannic structure. Despite its impressive size, the whole thing feels so elegant and fine. Although it is Cabernet Franc, it is decidedly more Burgundy than you would expect. With a bit of opening and breathing in a decanter for a few hours it opens up showing its minerality.

The 2016 Barolo Castiglione is a dazzling wine that will show readers just how compelling this vintage is, even among entry-level wines from top producers. Rich, ample and explosive, the 2016 possesses tremendous richness and resonance from the very first taste. Bright red cherry and red plum fruit, wild flowers, mint, blood orange and spice build as this sumptuous, dramatic Barolo shows all it's got. As always, the Castiglione is built on a core of fruit from Ravera. In 2016, the Castiglione benefits from the inclusion of several new sites, including Ginestra, Mosconi, Bricco Ravera (in Monforte), Le Coste, Costabelle, Meriame, Briccolina and Codana. All I can say is: What a wine!
Antonio Galloni, vinous.com (November 2019)

{***}{region}Piedmont{region}
{color}Red{color}                 {maturity}laying-down{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will keep{maturity-text}
{vintage}2016{vintage}

{ratings}[] Wine Advocate:: 94+/100

[] Vinous:: 94/100

{ratings}

{***}

Deeply coloured, the nose offers great aromatic purity, with blackberries, cassis and dark cherries joined by a hint of smoke and coffee bean. It is beautifully complex. On the palate, the wine opens up with a rich and opulent structure. Velvety tannins combine with dark fruit, plum, spicy pepper notes and a touch of dark chocolate. The 2018 is a wine of power  Eharmonious and concentrated with a lingering mouth-feel. Drink 2024-2035.

Blend: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot

{***}{region}Margaux{region}
{color}Red{color}                                                      

{maturity}laying-down{maturity} {maturity-text}For laying down{maturity-text}
{vintage}2018{vintage}

{ratings} [] Vinous:: 93-96/100

[] Wine Advocate:: 94-96+/100

{ratings}

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Bodegas C.V.N.E. is still owned and run by the Real de Asua family whose ancestors established it back in 1879. Its full name is Compañía Vinicola del Norte de España but it more commonly known as "coonay".

In the late 1980s the firm built a spanking new stainless steel winery in the town of Haro and is now producing thoroughly "modern" style Rioja wines. Both red and whites are produced and their white Rioja is one of the few remaining heavily-oaked examples on the market today.

The 2 different ranges of C.V.N.E, the Vina Real and Imperial, are rich, full-bodied Riojas, with the Reservas and Grand Reservas being some of the most long-lived in the region today.

{***}
{region}Rioja{region}
{color}Red{color}                                                                                          {maturity}ready-keep{maturity}
 {maturity-text}Drink Now{maturity-text}
{vintage}1986{vintage}
{ratings}

{ratings} 

Year Bottled: 2017
Years Aged: 20
Region: Lowland
Refill Sherry Hogshead

At Ch. Figeac, production is down by almost a half but we still think the quality is high and under the guidance of Frederic Faye it continues its upwards trajectory. A blend of 43 percent Merlot, 47 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 10 percent Cabernet Franc, it has a
deep purple colour with charming aromatics of small, red berry fruits, violets and liquorice. Once in the mouth there is a silky, mouth filling texture with a graphite and a mineral note finishing with a pleasing graphite grip. It has a long, persistent finish. Less density and opulence than 2015 or 2016 but it is pure in tannin and focus. A truly great Cabernet Sauvignon wine.

{***}{region}St Emilion{region}
{color} Red{color}                {maturity}laying-down{maturity} {maturity-text}For laying down{maturity-text}
{vintage}2017{vintage}
{ratings}

 [] Wine Advocate:: 94-96/100 

        
{ratings}    {***}

This dry wine tingles with life and is somehow reminiscent of wild flowers. A great tightrope of tingly fruit and acidity that is nicely judged. And this is her entry-level bottling …
Jancis Robinson, 2020 festive recommendations  Ewhites, Jancisrobinson.com & Financial Times (December 2020)

This Riesling displays the elegance and purity that Eva’s wines consistently produce. The jasmine floral aromas are wonderfully supported by a peachy juiciness on the palate, while a citrus and nervy acidity provides the backbone to this delicious, fine, dry wine. This is a standout vintage for Eva, and although this wine is a treat to drink in its youth, it will certainly benefit from one or two years in bottle. Drink now to 2028.
Fiona Hayes, Wine Buyer (April 2020)

Brian was limited to 50% whole-bunch here; it would have been more, but there was no space in the tank. Champans can tend towards the rustic and tannic, and Brian softens the edges to give a softer, gentler and more delicate expression with silky tannins and lovely, perfumed lift. Drink 2023-2029.

{***}{region} Volnay {region}
{color} Red {color}                                                              

 {maturity}ready-improve{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will improve{maturity-text}
{vintage}2018{vintage}
{ratings}
{ratings}{***}

About to be released. A classic year with typical weather and 'perfect parameters' according to chef de cave Alice Tétienne. Dosage 5 g/l (Brut no longer appears on the front label). Disgorged November 2022.

Discreet nose, lovely tight-knit texture and lots of energy. Chiselled and not nearly at peak but with a really long and interesting aftertaste.

Drink 2023 - 2032

Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (March 2023)

A reassuringly balanced Rioja wine which retains fruity character after being passionately crafted over the course of five years. Balanced with smoky and spicy notes from oak.

Great elegance and charm with precise aromas, imposing but very fine tannins and great length.

{***}{region}Champagne{region}
{color}White{color}                                                                                                {maturity}ready-keep{maturity}
{maturity-text}Ready, but will keep{maturity-text}
{vintage}2012{vintage}
{ratings}
{ratings}        {***}

{***}{region}Pommard{region}
{color} Red{color}                                                               

{maturity}drink-now{maturity} {maturity-text}Drink Now{maturity-text}
{vintage}1998{vintage}
{ratings}
{ratings}        {***}

Domaine Boisson-Vadot, run by father and son team of Bernard and Pierre Boisson, is one of the rising stars in Mersault. The philosophy of the Domaine revolves around careful, hands-on vineyard management to coax the greatest potential of each vintage out of the various plots, and low-impact winemaking in the cellars that allows the unique terroir of each vineyard to surface. New oak is very minimal, no more than 30% for the top cuvées, and much more restraint in  the village wines and in Bourgogne Blanc.

The Domaine crafts from three of the best lieux à dits in Meursault: Sous la Velle , Grands Charrons (planted in 1988) and Chevalières (planted in 1982). The Grands Charrons is the most expressive, intensely flavoured of the three. The Sous la Velle is a more elegant version of the Grand Charrons. 

{***}
{region}Meursault{region}
{color}White{color}
{maturity}ready-keep{maturity}
{maturity-text}Ready, but will ikeep{maturity-text}
{vintage}2013{vintage}

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Deep red-black right to the rim, with savoury marmite aromas complemented by a lovely nose of violet-infused fruit, rich and intense. It also displays fresh, toasty and really interesting notes that lead to a palate of ripe, spiced, black fruits, making it supple and medium-bodied. It is an elegant wine that also shows lovely cinnamon notes and is fresh and leafy too with a refreshing bitter cranberry twist and bite, but all nicely done, with a long, rich sweet finish.

{***}
{region}Pomerol{region}
{color}Red{color}
{maturity}ready-improve{maturity}
{maturity-text}Ready, but will improve{maturity-text}
{vintage}2019{vintage}

{ratings} 

{ratings}

{***}

This estate is one of the most exciting and progressive estates in Bordeaux. At the helm is the indefatigable Guillaume Pouthier and his passion once again is reflected in the beautifully crafted 2017. The lovely, deep Cabernet nose has a mineral note of wet stone and dark plum. There is very good dense fruit on mid-palate with a lovely saline background. A great snap of acidity gives it a lovely freshness, and the fruit core carries on through the length, boding for a few decades in bottle. A svelte and yet tightly wound Carmes. Beautifully crafted – a Graves on another level.

{***}{region}Pessac-Léognan{region}
{color}Red{color}            {maturity}laying-down{maturity} {maturity-text}For laying down{maturity-text}
{vintage}2017{vintage}
{ratings}
[]James Suckling:: 94-95/100                 
           
[]The Wine Advocate:: 91-93+/100                                                                                                   
{ratings}

Spontaneously fermented in large Garbellotto botti, the wine was kept on skins for a month before spending a further 19 months refining in botti. The nose wields intense aromatics, wild fruits, small flowers, earthy depth and balsamic brightness. The palate is tight, with ceramic-like tannins, compelling fruit charm and savoury complexity, superior to many Brunelli of the region. Brunello intensity meats Burgundian finesse.

Drink now to 2035

The 2017 Paleo Rosso is superb. It is also the wine in this range that seems to have handled the rigors of 2017 best. Then again, that is the magic of Cabernet Franc on the Tuscan Coast. The aromatics alone are so alluring. Sweet pipe tobacco, mocha, dried flowers, mint, sage and cedar give Paleo its aromatic lift. Some varietal character has been baked out because of the heat of the year. In exchange, readers will find a Paleo Rosso that will drink well with just a year or two in bottle. The 2017 was fermented in cement and aged for 14 months in French oak barrels, 90% new with light toast.

Drink 2025 - 2037

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (December 2020)

Deep crimson. Lots of fruit and a little chew – and lots of vitality. Great taffeta texture. Would be a gem to find in Paris, where so much Saumur-Champigny is sold.

Drink 2023 - 2029

Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (September 2023)

The 2019 Chardonnay Wenzlau Family Vineyard is a compelling wine from this site. The pedigree is evident from the first taste. Orchard fruit, mint, white pepper and beams of salinity play off a distinctly phenolic feel. The Wenzlau is a rare Chardonnay of substance and power that very much captures the site's essence.

Racines is the Sta. Rita Hills project headed by Etienne de Montille, Rodolphe Péters and Justin Willett. The wines are deep, layered and, not surprisingly, super-expressive regarding the site. The Pinots, in particular, tend to show notable breadth from a combination of a high percentage of stems, classic winemaking and relatively long ageing of around 19 months in barrel.

Drink 2023 - 2031

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (June 2021)

This is the second wine of Château Canon, part of the Chanel-owned portfolio of Bordeaux estates that also includes Châteaux Berliquet and Rauzan-Ségla. There’s a wonderful purity to the fruit that marks this as being very typical of 2016. The wine is medium bodied but generous, with lots of black fruit, leather and graphite hints in the background. This is a very attractive, beautifully crafted Claret with good intensity. And it’s something of a bargain, I think. Drink now to 2030.

Martyn Rolph, Fine Wine Sales Manager (Aug 2021)

A decidedly earthy nose freely offers up ripe and very fresh red pinot aromas laced with underbrush and sauvage wisps. The sleek, punchy and beautifully well-detailed medium-bodied flavors display fine length on the mildly austere finale that flirts with rusticity. - Burghound 90-92/100

Planted at 36,000 vines per hectare Les Evocelles must be among the highest-density plantings in France. As a result, the vines compete for water and nutrients producing small, highly flavoured berries. The wine shows ripe berries with rich cherry notes, the finesse of a fine tannic structure and a finish that continues for a very long time. The 100% whole clusters are easily blended with the ripeness of the fruit.

This superb domaine grows in reputation and in size: this year sees the first vintage of Nuits-St Georges, Clos de Thorey. Look out for even further additions in the next two years. Winemaker Pierre Vincent’s style is for lighter colours and very sensual wines, and he has done a cracking job again in 2012; a vintage which supported the plentiful use of whole bunch fermentation. The domaine is certified organic and fully biodynamic.

Drink now

Berry Bros. & Rudd

{***}{region} Burgundy{region}
{color} White{color}                                                              

{maturity}ready-improve{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will improve{maturity-text}
{vintage}2020{vintage}
{ratings} 

{ratings}{***}

Brought up in a scant 15% new puncheons, the 2013 Syrah en Cerise is a beautifully layered, elegant, yet focused and concentrated Syrah that really needs 2-3 years of bottle age to strut its stuff. Black cherries, raw steak, violets and pepper all emerge from this full-bodied, balanced, classic Syrah from one the top winemakers in the US.
Jeb Dunnuck - 30/06/2016

{***}{region}Washington, USA{region}
{color}Red{color}
{vintage}2013{vintage}
{maturity}ready-keep{maturity}
{maturity-text}Ready, but will improve{maturity-text}
{ratings}
[]The Wine Advocate::95+/100

{ratings} {***}

Stéphane brings a Burgundian approach to the region’s terroir from his studies in Beaune. He works with multiple lieux-dits, both in and out of the appellation, vinifying each separately and using oak sparingly to allow the particularities of each to show.

Lieux Dits, which translates to  Eaid location E refers to a specific site akin to a single vineyard. Stephane has 6 Lieux Dits across both the Côte Blonde and Brune - feminine, masculine, floral, savoury, earthiness all come through. 

{***}{region} Rhône{region}
{color} Red {color}                  

 {maturity}ready-improve{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will improve{maturity-text}
{vintage}2016{vintage}

{ratings}

[] Jeb Dunnuck ::96/100

{ratings}

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Stéphane brings a Burgundian approach to the region’s terroir from his studies in Beaune. He works with multiple lieux-dits, both in and out of the appellation, vinifying each separately and using oak sparingly to allow the particularities of each to show.

Lieux Dits, which translates to  Eaid location E refers to a specific site akin to a single vineyard. Stephane has 6 Lieux Dits across both the Côte Blonde and Brune - feminine, masculine, floral, savoury, earthiness all come through. 

{***}{region} Rhône{region} {color} Red {color}

 {maturity}ready-improve{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will improve{maturity-text}
{vintage}2016{vintage}

{ratings}

[] Jeb Dunnuck ::95/100

{ratings}

{***}

Discreet but not invisible wood and menthol influences set off the much riper aromas of cassis, plum, black raspberry and game. There is excellent intensity to the mineral-driven and overtly powerful middle weight plus flavors that offer excellent depth and persistence on the firmly structured finale. This is really quite good and worth checking out provided you cellar it for at least 5 to 7 years first.  93 Points - Burghound

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{region}Morey-St Denis{region}
{color}Red{color}                              

{maturity}ready-improve{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will improve{maturity-text}
{vintage}2017{vintage}

{ratings} [] Burghound:: 93/100

{ratings}

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Henri Lurton describes this as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Brane and it is hard not to disagree. Aromas of violets and blackcurrant give way to a concentrated, succulent wine with a long, pure, persistent, finish.

Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon 70%, Merlot 27%, Cabernet Franc 2%, Carménère 1%

{***}
{region}Margaux{region}

{color}Red{color}            

     {maturity}laying-down{maturity} {maturity-text}For laying down{maturity-text}

{vintage}2016{vintage}

{ratings}   
[]The Wine Advocate:: 96-98/100

[]Jancis Robinson:: 17/20

{ratings}

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