Wine Spectator

Top-Rated by Wine Spectator at WineMadeEasy.com

Top-Rated Wines by Wine Spectator

Perhaps most famous for the Wine Spectator Top 100 list released annually at the end of each year, Wine Spectator is at the forefront of wine reviews, wine recommendations, and wine education. Spectator has been in publication since 1976, and their top critics evaluate and report on tens of thousands of wines every year. Take comfort in knowing that, if Wine Spectator liked it, you probably will, too!

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  1. Charles Krug Family Reserve Generations

    2016 / 750 ml. | Item#53978

    RP94+94+ pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 29th Oct 2018
    Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Proprietary Red Blend Family Reserve Generations is intensely scented of warm black and red currants, Black Forest cake and blueberry compote with nuances of chocolate mint, new leather, tilled soil and fallen leaves. Full-bodied with a taut frame of grainy tannins supporting the densely packed black fruit layers, it has a long lingering minty kick on the finish.
    SP9191 pts. - Wine Spectator - Oct 31, 2020
    Features a solid range blackberry paste, fig and plum notes, with cassis bush, bittersweet cocoa and licorice root accents. The solidly grippy finish leaves a hefty impression, but this will have fans. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2021 through 2029. 2,400 cases made.
    Premier SelectPremier Select wines are handpicked by our staff from amongst thousands of wines for their exceptional quality. They're made by a top producer and comparable to wines at twice the cost.
    Wine Grapes

    Primary Grape: Cabernet Sauvignon | All Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon

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  2. Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona Brunello di Montalcino

    2016 / 750 ml. | Item#54009

    RP95+95+ pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 30th Nov 2020
    The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino (with 56,000 bottles made) shows bold cherry, spice, crushed stone and balsam herb that come together in seamless fashion. This estate has honed a unique style that becomes a common theme traced to each new vintage. I’d describe it as delicate but also succulent with a rich and almost pulpy quality of fruit. The wine is fueled by the golden light that hits this part of Tuscany in those last hours of the day. Here is a wine that shows spirit of place.
    JS9595 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Wednesday, November 11, 2020
    Lots of red and blue fruit to this, evolving into wet leaves, freshly turned soil and brewed tea. Light herbal notes. Sweet cherries, too. It’s full bodied with silky, firm tannins. More minerality and tea notes on the finish. Elegant and driven. Drink after 2023.
    VN9393 pts. - Vinous - Nov 2020
    The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino from Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona places savory herbs, exotic spice and earth tones above ripeness of fruit. It’s decidedly dark and brooding on the nose, lifted by hints of fresh-picked mint and sage. There are depths of velvety textures in the mouth, offset by a tactile mix of tart wild berries, minerals and zesty acidity which adds vibrancy in spite of the tannic heft and primary intensity found here. The 2016 finishes with a monolithic feel, still wound up tightly in its youthful state but also promising many years of positive evolution in our cellars. This is gorgeous and a great value for age-worthy Brunello.
    SP9393 pts. - Wine Spectator - Jun 30, 2021
    Light on its feet, this red evokes strawberry, cherry, earth, menthol and Tuscan scrub flavors. Shows a firm underlying structure, with a fresh and focused finish. Best from 2023 through 2042. 3,333 cases made, 1,000 cases imported.
    Wine Grapes

    Primary Grape: Sangiovese | All Grapes: Sangiovese Grosso

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  3. Fattoria dei Barbi Brunello di Montalcino

    2016 / 750 ml. | Item#54454

    SP9595 pts. - Wine Spectator - Mar 24, 2021
    This red is pure and supple, evoking cherry, blackberry, licorice, earth and spice flavors, delivering almost seamless harmony at this early stage, with refined tannins that are very well-integrated. Shows fine length, courtesy of the vibrant acidity. Best from 2023 through 2043. 16,600 cases made, 2,000 cases imported. (Bruce Sanderson)
    JD9595 pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - March 4, 2021
    The 2016 Brunello has delicate savory aromas of rosemary, dried raspberry, and floral forest floor. There is freshness and pure ripe fruit that fills the palate, with blood orange, dried red cherry, and fresh tomato leaf as well as classic, angular tannin structure and a pleasant light bitterness. This wonderfully expressed traditional wine will be prime for enjoyment over the next 15 years. 2021–2036. (Jeb Dunnuck)
    JS9595 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Wednesday, November 11, 2020
    Aromas of plums, cherries, flowers and sandalwood follow through to a full body with chewy, polished tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Lots of structure and intensity. Give it at least three or four years to come around. Try after 2025.
    RP94+94+ pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 30th Nov 2020
    The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino is a delicate and graceful wine. It shows the precision, linearity and power of the vintage for sure, but it also delivers floral tones, bright raspberry, toasted almond and a playful touch of medicinal herb that shape a careful and contemplative bouquet. Those bright aromatic nuances are followed by silky tannins and softly finessed fruit flavors. With an ample 160,000 bottles made, this is a solid go-to Brunello, especially if you are looking for a bottle with a relatively accessible drinking window.
    VN9494 pts. - Vinous - Nov 2020
    Dark and minerally intense from start to finish, the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino displays crushed stone and ashen earth tones before blossoming further with notes of black cherry, cedar box and sage. The textures are creamy, with cooling acids that lift the expression while also maintaining an energetic feel, as tart wild berries and spices give way to a coating of fine tannins. This is full of character, yet youthfully poised and tense, but it’s like a bomb waiting to explode. Fattoria dei Barbi really overdelivers in 2016, but it will be a number of years before this is truly ready to drink. (Eric Guido)
    Wine Grapes

    Primary Grape: Sangiovese | All Grapes: Sangiovese

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  4. Prá Amarone della Valpolicella Morandina

    2016 / 750 ml. | Item#58770

    VN96+96+ pts. - Vinous - Mar 2023
    The 2016 Amarore della Valpolicella Morandina is dark and youthfully understated in the glass, as crushed rose petals and store dust give way to red currants. This is silky-smooth, nearly velvety in feel, with masses of mineral-tinged black cherry and spice contrasted by a twang of sour citrus. The 2016 finishes with outstanding length and depth yet is also remarkably fresh, leaving hints of hard red candy and the slightest touch of bitter cocoa. The Amarone of Prà is always so unique but in the best possible way. The 2016 is a total gem but needs cellaring to come fully into focus. (Eric Guido)
    JS9494 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Monday, July 4, 2022
    A savory and complex expression of Amarone with some dried cherries, red dates, stewed herbs, orange peel, tobacco and white pepper. Some bold green peppercorn, too. A svelte delivery of Amarone with a medium body, showing tobacco, cedar and chocolate on the palate. Long, cedary finish. Drink or hold.
    SP9292 pts. - Wine Spectator - Nov 30, 2022
    This elegant red is medium- to full-bodied, with creamy tannins providing a fine frame for flavors of brambly red currant and blackberry fruit, pine, orange peel and crushed pink peppercorn. A subtle, savory overtone of cured tobacco and smoky bacon fat echoes on the fresh finish. Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and Oseleta. Drink now through 2030. 833 cases made, 250 cases imported. (Alison Napjus)
    Wine Grapes

    Primary Grape: Corvina | All Grapes: Corvina

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  5. Carpineto Brunello di Montalcino

    2016 / 750 ml. | Item#56225

    JD94+94+ pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - 3/4/2021
    The 2016 Brunello is aromatic with fresh rose petal, confected red cherry, and forest floor. The palate is somewhat more savory with dried tomato leaf, tart cherry fruit, and orange peel. Its angular tannins build in tandem with its acidity and age-worthy austerity. This wonderful, tension-driven wine by Caterina Sacchet can be enjoyed over the next 20 years. (Jeb Dunnuck)
    SP9494 pts. - Wine Spectator - Jun 30, 2021
    There is a warmth to the ripeness in this red, like sunbaked earth or bricks, surrounding the core of cherry and berry flavors. Very fresh and long, with iron, tobacco and wild herbs lingering as the rugged tannins exert their influence. Best from 2024 through 2042. 2,800 cases made, 1,200 cases imported.
    Wine Grapes

    Primary Grape: Sangiovese | All Grapes: 100% Sangiovese Grosso

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  6. Casanova di Neri Tenuta Nuova Brunello di Montalcino

    2016 / 750 ml. | Item#53903

    JS9999 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Tuesday, January 26, 2021
    Aromas of blackberries, cherries, violets and bark with mahogany. It’s full-bodied and chewy with intense tannins that are layered and focused. The fruit is pure and purposeful, yet not over done. Wonderful strength and purity to this. Class is the word. Try it after 2024.
    RP97+97+ pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 30th Nov 2020
    This is one of my sweetheart wines from Montalcino. The Casanova di Neri 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova offers a long list of aromas on an ever-shifting and fluid bouquet. You get bright cherry, rose potpourri, black truffle, caramel, butterscotch, sandalwood, road pavement and chalky mineral. In fact, each time I come back to this wine, that mineral element seemed to grow in intensity and scope. The wine offers a grounded fruit side that is contrasted nicely against a grounded oak component. The mouthfeel is creamy and long, and the wine shows terrific tannic integration. When you come back hours later, you might find black olive, bresaola and licorice.
    VN9696 pts. - Vinous - Nov 2020
    The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova drawing you in with a display of exotic brown spice, mint and cedar dust. Further coaxing unlocks depths of cherry, plum, hints of dark chocolate and roses. It coasts along a medium-bodied frame with velvety richness, complemented by polished red and black fruits while contrasted by brisk acids and hints of sour citrus. This coats the teeth in concentration, as if you can feel the pulp, seeds and skins of its fruit, while a layer of fine tannin slowly grounds you back to earth. The Tenuta Nuova already has so much to give, yet it will be many years before it reaches its apex. Wow. Thinking back to my tasting of the 2015, I can’t say that the 2016 is necessarily a better wine, just a little less immediate. Either way, both wines are beautiful expressions of vintage.
    SP9595 pts. - Wine Spectator - Jun 30, 2021
    A bright, pure version, boasting raspberry, black cherry and blackberry flavors married to a fluid profile. The structure is present, yet both the lively acidity and fine-grained tannins are in harmony. The focus is really on the fruit here, with accents of graphite, earth, tobacco and underbrush. Best from 2023 through 2045. 5,831 cases made, 1,200 cases imported.
    Wine Grapes

    Primary Grape: Sangiovese | All Grapes: Sangiovese

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  7. Caprili Brunello di Montalcino Riserva AdAlberto

    2016 / 750 ml. | Item#57140

    SP9797 pts. - Wine Spectator - Jun 30, 2022
    A taut, linear red, hallmarked by cherry, strawberry, green olive, rose, sanguine and iron aromas and flavors. This is packed with fruit, backed by a solid matrix of tannins and an aftertaste of wild herbs, fruit and tobacco. Best from 2026 through 2045. 400 cases made, 200 cases imported.
    RP9696 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 17th Feb 2022
    The Caprili 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva AdAlberto (with only 5,000 bottles produced) is a standout wine, showing intensity, smooth integration and lots of varietal personality. “Classic” is probably the best word to apply here, and I use that descriptor with care. The tannins are expertly integrated, and even at this young age, the wine shows no rough edges. It is polished and integrated to the end. Fruit comes from a single hectare of vines with rocky clay soils that lock in important moisture during the summer months.
    VN9696 pts. - Vinous - Dec 2021
    The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Ad Alberto is sultry and dark, captivating the senses with its mix of crushed stone, wild herbs, red currants, dried roses and ashen earth. The textures here are like pure silk, seamless and polished, with potent black fruits and savory spices that penetrate deeply as fine tannins mount under an air of tobacco and dark inner florals. It leaves the palate reeling with a combination of residual acids, tart berries and sour citrus, all held firm in youthful poise. The 2016 Riserva Ad Alberto is absolutely stunning, but it will require a number of years in the cellar to reveal all of its charms.
    Wine Grapes

    Primary Grape: Sangiovese | All Grapes: Sangiovese

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  8. Gaja Sorì San Lorenzo

    2016 / 750 ml. | Item#54236

    VN98+98+ pts. - Vinous - Nov 2019
    The 2016 Barbaresco Sorì San Lorenzo is an eternal wine that will need 10-15 years in bottle to truly come around. Sorì San Lorenzo is often a big, virile wine. There is plenty of heft to the 2016, but at the same time, I also find an element of refinement and nuance that Sorì San Lorenzo has rarely, if ever, shown. Black cherry, cloves, menthol, licorice, gravel and incense are some of the many aromas and flavor that meld together in this dramatic and dramatically beautiful Barbaresco from the Gaja family. The Sorì San Lorenzo just explodes on the finish, with an array of aromas, flavors and textures that will leave readers weak at the knees. The 2016 is an outrageously beautiful, vivid wine of real gravitas and power.
    RP9898 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 8th Aug 2019
    If the Barbaresco Costa Russi expresses itself with purity and grace, the 2016 Barbaresco Sorì San Lorenzo struts out stacked and tall. It has firmer textural support and is not as timid or as withholding as the Costa Russi. The Sorì San Lorenzo site is located closest to the warm air currents that travel down the Tanaro River valley, and this vineyard site is always the first to ripen and be harvested. You get a stronger mineral note here with iron rust, pencil shaving and potting soil intertwined with the primary fruit, showing dazzlingly intricate complexity and depth. This vineyard site suffered in the 2017 vintage from some hail damage that hit on July 19. The quality of fruit is expected to be good, Gaia Gaja tells me, but yields will be reduced next year.
    SP9797 pts. - Wine Spectator - Apr 30, 2020
    Features sweet ripe cherry, plum, eucalyptus, tobacco and spice flavors. The texture is tightly woven and refined, while vibrant acidity drives the long finish. Shows wonderful harmony and the potential for aging. Best from 2023 through 2045. 175 cases imported.
    Wine Grapes

    Primary Grape: Nebbiolo | All Grapes: Nebbiolo

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  9. Tenuta di Capraia Chianti Classico Riserva

    2016 / 750 ml. | Item#58278

    VN9696 pts. - Vinous - Sep 2020
    The 2016 Chianti Classico Riserva will thrill Sangiovese lovers. Ample and expressive in the glass, with tremendous nuance, the Riserva is simply exceptional in 2016. Black cherry, plum, leather, tobacco, incense, menthol and licorice bring out the darker side of Sangiovese. I would give the tannins a few years to soften. The 2016 is very clearly a special wine in the making. (Antonio Galloni)
    RP9292 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 15th Apr 2021
    The Tenuta di Capraia 2016 Chianti Classico Riserva Capraia is tightly packed with cherry fruit, raspberry and cassis. The wine’s primary aromas are lifted and bright, and the wine moves over the palate efficiently with fresh, mid-weight appeal. It serves to refresh and revive your palate during a course of Sardinian capra al profumo di alloro, or roasted goat with laurel essence. (Monica Larner)
    SP9292 pts. - Wine Spectator - Mar 31, 2021
    A harmonious texture and profile sets the stage for this red’s focused cherry, currant and floral notes. Mineral and tobacco accents sneak in as this plays out on the long finish. Shows excellent structure too. Drink now through 2040. 1,000 cases made, 500 cases imported. (Bruce Sanderson)
    JS9191 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Thursday, November 7, 2019
    Aromas and flavors of blue fruit, wet earth and hints of slate, following through to a medium to full body and chewy tannins. Needs to soften a little. Better after 2021.
    WE9090 pts. - Wine Enthusiast - 3/1/2021
    Made entirely from Sangiovese, this opens with aromas of violet, tilled soil and dark-skinned berries. The savory palate offers blackberry, tobacco and black pepper alongside polished tannins and firm acidity. Enjoy through 2027. (Kerin O’Keefe)
    Wine Grapes

    Primary Grape: Sangiovese | All Grapes: 100% Sangiovese

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  10. Gaja Sorì Tildin

    2016 / 750 ml. | Item#54322

    VN100100 pts. - Vinous - Nov 2019
    The 2016 Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn is a fabulous, incredibly complete wine that soars out of the glass with explosive structure and vertical lift. The tannins are very much present, but also matched beautifully by the wine’s aromatic intensity and overall drive. Dark macerated cherry, spice, leather, licorice, plum and mocha add darker shades of nuance. In 2016, Sorì Tildìn is a bit more brooding and bigger than it often is, and yet all the elements are impeccably balanced. It is quite simply a majestic wine of real grandeur and total class, but it is not obvious. Sorì Tildìn will appeal most to readers who understand what the truest essence of Nebbiolo is all about. In a word: magnificent!
    JD9898 pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - November 5, 2019
    Coming from a warmer, south-facing site, the 2016 Barbaresco Sori Tildin is a more concentrated, vibrant wine compared to the straight Barbaresco and has vivid notes of bright cherry fruits, rose petals, road tar, violets and even a hint of orange blossom. Incredible on the palate, with medium to full body, an incredible, seamless texture, ultra-fine tannins, and a monster finish. The tannins here are unquestionably on another level and are perfectly ripe, and this just about off-the-charts 2016 has a Grand Cru Red Burgundy-like texture, elegance, and stature. This bottle didn’t hit prime time until the second day, so either give bottles a healthy decant or, even better, 5–7 years in a cold cellar. (Jeb Dunnuck)
    RP9797 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 8th Aug 2019
    Here’s a wonderfully spicy and opulent rendition of Nebbiolo and another very full and rich Barbaresco from Gaja. The 2016 Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn is open, more concentrated and structured. There are pretty floral notes of rose hip or wild rose in this generous wine of broad scope. We’re talking about smaller fruit here, with plums, cassis, blackberry and plenty of power. Everything came to perfect maturity in this 2016 vintage, representing that rare merge of quantity and quality. This is what you get from the dense soils of the warm, south-facing Sorì Tildìn site and similar ones where the terrain can keep the moisture locked in. The 2016 growing season was also marked by sharp diurnal shifts, and rainfall was well-timed to occur when it was needed most.
    JS9797 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Thursday, November 7, 2019
    Extremely perfumed aromas of dried flowers, dried strawberries and pumice, as well as tar, following through to a full body, with chewy and polished tannins and a long, juicy finish. Quite broad tannins. Dusty texture. Drink after 2021.
    SP9595 pts. - Wine Spectator - Apr 30, 2020
    Supple and concentrated, delivering cherry, strawberry, iron, tobacco and loamy earth flavors. Gets silkier and more graceful, playing out on the long finish. Shows excellent harmony and complexity. Best from 2022 through 2040. 175 cases imported.
    WE9595 pts. - Wine Enthusiast - 1/1/2020
    Red berry, exotic spice and a whiff of camphor form the enticing nose. Firmly structured but loaded with finesse, the linear palate delivers crunchy red cherry, pomegranate, star anise and white pepper alongside tightly knit, noble tannins. It’s still youthfully austere but already impeccably balanced, with vibrant acidity. Drink 2023–2041.
    Wine Grapes

    Primary Grape: Nebbiolo | All Grapes: Nebbiolo

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  11. Altesino Brunello di Montalcino Riserva

    2016 / 750 ml. | Item#57226

    RP96+96+ pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 17th Feb 2022
    The Altesino 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva holds tight to its unique character and power. The classic 2016 vintage produced generous wines that are layered and rich but also coiled tightly at their core. This wine exemplifies this point, adding lots of tart Sangiovese fruit and freshness along the way. It also shows an impressive richness of flavors with dried cherry, licorice, pressed violets, balsam herb and dusty limestone. The caveat with this wine, should you decide to drink it early, is that it needs extra time to open (and a double decanting would also help). This 10,000-bottle production opens beautifully in time.
    SP9595 pts. - Wine Spectator - Web only – 2022
    A beautifully integrated and solidly built Brunello, this is hallmarked by textbook aromas and flavors of cherry, strawberry, iron, sanguine and tobacco. Delivers accents of herbs, earth and almond that emerge as it plays out on the long, detailed finish. Approachable now and should age over the next decade or more. Best from 2024 through 2040. 1,250 cases made, 750 cases imported.
    VN94+94+ pts. - Vinous - Dec 2021
    The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is so incredibly dark and inward that it prompted me to open a second bottle just to confirm that impression. After an hour, the bouquet started to come to life, with hints of menthol and mint giving way to nuances of black currant and animal tones. It’s much more expressive on the palate, where silky textures are cooled by vibrant acids, and tart wild berry fruits mix with salty minerals and inner violet florals. The 2016 is long and structured, showing balsam herbs, black licorice and a flourish of inner sweetness. This is such an interesting showing as, other than the bouquet, all of the ingredients are here and well proportioned for a long, steady evolution. I’m very intrigued to see where this understated beauty is going over time. Until then, I chose to remain somewhat conservative.
    Wine Grapes

    Primary Grape: Sangiovese | All Grapes: Sangiovese

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  12. Bedrock Monte Rosso Vineyard Zinfandel

    2016 / 750 ml. | Item#46212

    RP9494 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 29th Jun 2018
    Medium garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Zinfandel Monte Rosso features baked berries, cherry cordial, spice cake and potpourri on the nose with touches of mandarin peel and fragrant earth. Full-bodied, refreshingly tart and with a chewy backbone, it is wonderfully opulent and spicy on the palate with a long, earthy finish.
    VN9494 pts. - Vinous - Jan 2018
    The 2016 Zinfandel Monte Rosso Vineyard is utterly sublime. Lifted, aromatically precise and nuanced, the 2016 Zinfandel Monte Rosso Vineyard is fabulous. Rose petal, blood orange, cranberry and raspberry notes give the Monte Rosso striking aromatic presence and brightness. Unfortunately, Bedrock, like all the other wineries that purchased grapes at Monte Rosso, no longer have access to the fruit off this historic ranch. Morgan Peterson and Chris Cottrell certainly chose a strong vintage as their last. The 2016 is sublime.
    SP9292 pts. - Wine Spectator - Web only – 2018
    Comes at you like a surly teenager but wins you over with power and personality. Cracked pepper and licorice aromas lead to brooding blackberry, orange zest and bay leaf flavors that finish with big but polished tannins. Best from 2019 through 2026. 300 cases made.
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    Primary Grape: Zinfandel | All Grapes: Zinfandel

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  13. Gaja Costa Russi

    2016 / 750 ml. | Item#54241

    VN9898 pts. - Vinous - Nov 2019
    The 2016 Barbaresco Costa Russi is ripe, creamy and enveloping, as it so often is, and yet also preserves the super classic sense of structure that runs through all these wines. In 2016, Costa Russi has an extra touch of mid-palate sweetness that gives the wine its sense of immediacy. Succulent red cherry, rosewater, kirsch, mint and dried flowers meld together in the glass. Soft and sensual, with tons of allure, Costa Russi is another winner from Gaja. Time in the glass brings out the wine’s density and tannins, both of which it has in spades.
    SP9797 pts. - Wine Spectator - Apr 30, 2020
    This delicate red features floral, strawberry, cherry, currant and loamy earth aromas and flavors, showing terrific balance. A line of firm tannins adds support, and the finish is long and expansive. Best from 2023 through 2045. 175 cases imported.
    RP96+96+ pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 8th Aug 2019
    The 2016 Barbaresco Costa Russi is a very botanical wine in terms of its aromas, with lovely perfumes of rose, elderflower, sambuco and anise seed, along with a touch of glycerine. It then follows up with some sweetness that feels very embracing in this wine. This is the more ephemeral, delicate and floral member of the extended Barbaresco family from Gaja, with a crunchy tannic bite, but nothing too severe. There is a really good vitality and energy to this very expressive wine. Costa Russi remains the smallest of Gaja’s single-vineyard wines, and Gaia Gaja warns that there will be considerably less of it starting with the 2017 vintage. Production for this wine had always varied greatly to begin with, due in part to the fragile nature of the 80-year-old vines, but about half of those were removed and replanted. It will be a while before the new vines are old enough to go online. So, with some 10,000 bottles made in 2016 and 6,000 bottles in 2015, we can count on those numbers to be split by half over the next three to four years, for sure.
    Wine Grapes

    Primary Grape: Nebbiolo | All Grapes: Nebbiolo

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  14. Renieri Brunello di Montalcino

    2016 / 750 ml. | Item#54477

    JS9696 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Wednesday, November 11, 2020
    This is a very tight, refined Brunello that shows so much beautiful fruit and polish with dark-berry, cedar, walnut and cherry character. It’s full-bodied with layers of fine tannins and a fresh, pretty finish. Needs much more time to open. Try after 2024.
    RP9494 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 30th Nov 2020
    The Renieri 2016 Brunello di Montalcino is a plush, fruit-forward and accessible wine that captures the purity and elegance of the vintage. The best take-away, however, is the fresh, ready and bright state of this wine that makes it almost ready to enjoy straight out of the gate. This Brunello from a nine-hectare plot with limestone clay soils offers bold cherry and blackberry with delicate spice, smoke and blue flower. The wine is marked by balanced acidity, and there is some tannic tightness that should further relax by the time this wine hits the market at the start of 2021. This is a go-to bottle (in a 50,000 bottle release) if you want a first and memorable taste of the classic 2016 vintage.
    SP9393 pts. - Wine Spectator - Jun 30, 2021
    A dense, solid style, this red displays cherry, plum, iron, wild herb and scrub aromas and flavors. Concentrated and compact, needs time to unfurl all its nuances and equilibrium. Best from 2024 through 2042. 4,000 cases made, 1,200 cases imported.
    WE9393 pts. - Wine Enthusiast - 5/1/2021
    Floral aromas of violet and rose mingle with new leather and menthol on this fragrant red. Racy and linear, the palate features dried cherry, licorice and blood orange set against firm, fine-grained tannins. Drink 2024–2031.
    VN9090 pts. - Vinous - Nov 2020
    The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino is a sweetly spiced and fruit-forward expression of the vintage, yet it manages to color within the lines of refinement. Mulled apples and strawberries with a balsamic tinge give way to mentholated herbal tones. It’s soft with a wonderful mix of inner sweetness, pure red berry fruits and minerals, yet it lacks momentum toward the close. Rounded tannins linger along with hints of plum, tobacco and dark inner florals. With the exception of a lull on the mid-palate, the 2016 Renieri is really quite pleasurable, yet it’s better to enjoy this sooner rather than later.
    Wine Grapes

    Primary Grape: Sangiovese | All Grapes: Sangiovese

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  15. Château Barde-Haut Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

    2016 / 750 ml. | Item#49267

    JD94+94+ pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - February 28, 2019
    Incorporating 20% Cabernet Franc, the Merlot-dominated 2016 Château Barde Haut is one of the darker colored wines in the lineup. It offers a Grand Cru Burgundy-like purity and elegance as well as beautiful cassis and darker fruits, smoked earth, black cherries, and damp earth aromas and flavors. This medium to full-bodied, balanced, yet tight, backward, pure effort needs a solid 5–7 years of cellaring to round into form, but it’s beautifully balanced and packed with potential. (Jeb Dunnuck)
    JS93+93–94 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Tuesday, April 4, 2017
    Lots of blueberry and blackberry character here. Medium to full body, firm and silky tannins and a savory finish. Should develop beautifully. Exciting young wine.
    VN92+92–95 pts. - Vinous - Apr 2017
    The 2016 Barde-Haut is a racy, voluptuous beauty. Mocha, espresso, plum, black cherry and smoke race across the palate in a dark, sumptuous Saint Émilion loaded with class and personality. This is an especially up-front style. With time in the glass, the wine gains brightness and precision to balance things out. The 2016 is easily one of the best recent versions of Barde-Haut I can remember tasting. Today, it is fabulously beautiful.
    RP92+92–94 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 28th Apr 2017
    The 2016 Barde-Haut is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, vinified without SO2, matured around 80% in new 300-liter barrels from three cooperages and the remainder in one-year-old barrels. Hélène Garçin-Léveque told me that they are focusing on the elegance of their Saint Emilion estate and are picking a little earlier and practicing slightly less extraction. It has a really quite gorgeous bouquet with layers of ripe black plum and wild strawberry notes tinged with sloes. This has very fine delineation and focus. The palate is very well balanced with super-fine tannin, very well judged acidity and tension that lasts from start to finish. This is certainly one of the most feminine Barde-Haut wines that I have tasted from barrel, expressing more precision and finesse. It is an excellent follow-up to the 2015 Barde-Haut and may well surpass it in the long-term.
    SP91+91–94 pts. - Wine Spectator - Web only – 2017
    Juicy, with good bramble and plum cake accents along the edges of the cherry, blueberry and raspberry preserve flavors. Judicious toast lets the fruit shine through the finish while keeping the energy up.
    Wine Grapes

    Primary Grape: Merlot | All Grapes: 80.7% Merlot

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