Patrimony Caves des Lions is made from 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Franc.
With an inky ruby color, the 2020 Caves des Lions offers elegant aromas of chocolate-covered espresso beans with nuanced layers of blueberries, savory notes of charcuterie, pipe tobacco, and woodsmoke. This festival of flavors continues on the palate with notes of fresh fruit, cayenne pepper, plum jam, and pomegranate. The bold tannins seamlessly balance the fresh and rounded acidity leading to an unwavering finish. This full-bodied and flawlessly intricate wine will surprise you now with its elegance, and later with its longevity.
Reviews:
"Inviting aromas of black and blue fruits with violets, cedar, crushed stones and graphite. A little minty, too. The impressive, compact tannin structure gives depth to the wine, so fine and polished with some chalky texture to it. Stony minerality. Power and delicacy, simultaneously. 65% cabernet sauvignon and 35% cabernet franc. Really long and precise."
-James Suckling 97 Points
The contrast between our 10 Acre and West Block Pinot noirs exemplifies how slight geographical differences can have significant influence on the flavor profile of a wine. Planted in 1997, The 10 Acre block of Pinot noir is the oldest planting on the Patton Valley Estate Vineyard. Located on the east-facing slope of our vineyard, this area gets full sun in the cool morning hours, leading to a slower, more gradual ripening process and a wine that is typically elegant and lighter in body with prevailing red fruit character.
The 2011 10 Acre Pinot noir shows abundant aromatics, immediately woodsy but overwhelmingly fresh with lavender and red plum, sweet caramel and malt. The palate is lush and broad with sweet cherry, cigar box, and the faintest hint of peat smoke. Soft and very subtle tannins give this wine a solid backbone. A great acid profile makes this wine likely to offer boundless enjoyment when consumed in the short term, or if given some time to rest, the distinct potential of becoming something much more profound. Drink now or cellar 5-8 years.
Paul Hobbs George Menini Estate Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
Brilliant ruby red in the glass, the 2022 vintage follows the color with matching aromas of wild mountain strawberry, raspberry, and cherry infused with hints of black tea. On the palate, this wine has the texture of thick satin, evolving seamlessly with subtle energy and pleasant tension. Elegant, fine-grained tannins run through a lingering, juicy finish.
Review:
Wow, a super well-structured, vital wine with oodles of generous black fruit flavors on a firm frame that will help it age well and improve with time. Black cherries, blackberries, blueberries, forest floor nuances and a slight smoky, stemmy character from using mostly Calera-clone grapes, with 15% whole clusters and 30% new French oak. Great interplay between layered fruit and a fresh, crunchy texture. Drinkable now, but best from 2030.
-James Suckling 98 Points & #54 in Top 100
Pazo de Senorans Seleccion de Anada Albarino is made from 100 percent Albarino.
Straw yellow with greenish tints, vivid and brilliant. High intensity and very expressive. Profusion of aromas with traces of mineral. Great volume and ample body leaving a lasting impression from beginning to end.
Reviews:
I think the 2014 Albariño Selección de Añada could be the finest vintage of this characterful long-aging Albariño, from a year with a more moderate 13% alcohol and very high acidity (and low pH) that make the wine fresher and more vibrant. It is developing very slowly and showing quite young after it spent over 30 months with lees in 1,500- and 3,000-liter stainless steel tanks. It has a pale color and an elegant nose with notes of freshly cut grass, white flowers and wet granite. The palate is vibrant with effervescent acidity, and it has a long, dry and tasty finish with an austere sensation, far away from the tropical notes of some past vintages. This is superb and should continue developing nicely in bottle. Bravo! It wasn't bottled until April 2023, and 14,000 bottles were produced.
-Wine Advocate 96 Points
Tech:
Peju Winery Legacy Collection Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot, 6% Merlot.
This stunning wine boasts an expressive nose that immediately captivates the senses. On the palate, the wine opens up with complex layers of dried red fruit and hints of cigar box. A subtle hint of wet stone adds a unique touch to the overall experience. The wine's medium to full body creates a beautiful balance between the fruit and tannin structure. The finish is simply divine, with a touch of cocoa dust that lingers on the palate long after the last sip.
Review:
The 2022 Peju Legacy Collection Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot, 5% Merlot, and 1% Cabernet Franc, aged for 19 months in 40% new French and American oak, crafted by winemaker Sara Fowler. Fragrant notes of spiced plums, leather, fine cedar, and violets lift from the glass. Full-bodied, it features a framework of elongated, supple tannins, creamy black cherry fruits, dark plum jam, mocha, and a cool wet slate character on the lengthy finish.
-Decanter 94 Points
Prager Smaragd Klaus Riesling is made from 100 percent Riesling.
Franz Prager, co-founder of the Vinea Wachau, had already earned a reputation for his wines when Toni Bodenstein married into the family. Bodenstein’s passion for biodiversity and old terraces, coupled with brilliant winemaking, places Prager in the highest echelon of Austrian producers.
Smaragd is a designation of ripeness for dry wines used exclusively by members of the Vinea Wachau. The wines must have minimum alcohol of 12.5%. The grapes are hand-harvested, typically in October and November, and are sent directly to press where they spontaneously ferment in stainless-steel tanks.
Klaus sits adjacent to Achleiten and is one of the Wachau’s most famous vineyards for Riesling. The vineyard is incredibly steep with a gradient of 77% at its steepest point. The southeast-facing terraced vineyard of dark migmatite-amphibolite and paragneiss produces a tightly wound and powerful wine. The parcel belonging to Toni Bodenstein was planted in 1952.
Tasting Notes:
Austrian Riesling is often defined by elevated levels of dry extract thanks to a lengthy ripening period and freshness due to dramatic temperature swings between day and night. “Klaus is not a charming Riesling,” says Toni Bodenstein with a wink. Klaus is Prager’s most assertive and robust Riesling.
Food Pairing
Riesling’s high acidity makes it one of the most versatile wines at the table. Riesling can be used to cut the fattiness of foods such as pork or sausages and can tame some saltiness. Conversely, it can highlight foods such as fish or vegetables in the same way a squeeze of lemon or a vinaigrette might.
Review:
What a stunning example of cool climate riesling. It’s full-bodied and deep, but so cool and delicate, packing in sleek layers of honeysuckle, apricots, lemons and grapefruit married to thyme and crushed rock. So long and seamless, with tension and focus that just keeps going. Sustainable. Try from 2025.
-James Suckling 98 Points
Rubus Special Edition Barossa Shiraz is made from 100 percent
The Rubus Project was created by Fran Kysela as a way to source & sell incredible wines at value prices. All wines in this international project are hand-selected by Fran Kysela. Rubus wines are fruit driven, true-to-type values that over deliver - a true representation of quality for the consumer at an excellent price.
Deep red with a slight purple hue on release. The wine has a rich mix of dark chocolate infused with coffee bean and black liquorice, then scents of tar, aniseed, raw (pure) soy and black olive on the nose. The palate is expansive, and yet balanced and finessed. An amalgam of dark berried flavors and textural sensations. The 100% new oak is completely absorbed, meshed with ripe tannins, completing a palate of impressive length and youthfulness.
Sourced from Thorn-Clarke’s St Kitts vineyard (Block 7) in the far north of the Barossa, the Rubus Reserve demonstrates both the strengths of the region and the unique characters of the vineyard.
A thin layer of topsoil over weathered marble, schist and shale mean the vines work hard to source water and nutrients. The result is naturally low yields concentrating the power and density of the fruit. Diurnal temperature variation is another important aspect of St. Kitts. Warm daytime temperatures are followed by cool nights with variations of up to 30°C (55°F) from the peak during the day into the cool night minimums.
Review:
“Earthy detail develops in this sleek and juicy shiraz, a tarry streak under fresh plum and bruised strawberry. The tannins have gravity and precision, their bracing intensity and concentration integrated into what panelist David Hawkins described as “a big, powerful wine with great liveliness.” While suited to aging, this is accessible now if you’re grilling meats to serve with it.”
- Wine & Spirits (February 2023), 94 pts
"Made by Thorn-Clarke for the US market, this has a rich and vivid nose with blueberry, violet, dark plum and subtle oak spice in play. The palate has a succulent feel with plenty of rich, open-knit blackberry and blueberry flavor. Smoothly delivered tannins carry long and even. Drink over the next decade."
- James Suckling (November 2021), 94 pts
Pago de Carraovejas Cuesta Liebres is made from 100% Tinto Fino. The plot is located on a terraced hillside located at 900 m above sea level with slopes that range between inclines of 30% and 40%. Red cherry color with purple hues. Ripe fruit aromas, vanilla notes. Suave and unctuous in the mouth. A strong and noble character.
The harvest is carried out by hand using small crates and after passing through a refrigerated container it is transferred into tanks via gravity. The alcoholic and malolatic fermentation is carried out in small French “Haute Futaie” Oak casks with unique and original local yeasts and fermenting bacteria from the vineyard itself, to bring out the very best of the terroir, respecting the uniqueness of each and every vintage. Clarified with egg whites and bottled by gravity with natural cork stoppers.
Review:
"From the vineyard of the same name, the 2021 Cuesta De Las Liebres is a knockout, from a hillside vineyard of terraced vines. Aged 24 months in French oak, the first year in new, the second in second-use, all fine-grained, and bottled in June 2024, the tannins are well-integrated and dusty, nearly chalky. It’s truly a beautiful expression of variety, vintage, and site, reaching perfection in its fine-tuned, full-bodied layers of rich cassis, oak spice, and even a touch of garrigue. There’s lovely acidity throughout that brightens the palate, with beguiling notes of violet that never fade away. It’s a seamless, polished, gorgeous wine that will be hard to resist, though aging will continue to see it melt into one over the next 15-18 years. - Virginie BOONE"
- Jeb DUNNUCK (August 2025), 100 pts