Whites & Rosé
Roll over: Excellent nerve and acidity with real cut and potential.
The 2021 Chablis 1er Cru Vaulorent is another of the range's highlights, bursting with aromas of white flowers, sweet citrus oil, white peach and blanched almonds. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and seamless, it's concentrated and complete, with racy acids and a saline, orange blossom-inflected finish. Robert Parker.com
Roll over: Full-bodied palate, with lovely roundness.
The 2021 Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons reveals a perfumed bouquet of white flowers, citrus zest, crisp orchard fruit and shells, followed by a medium to full-bodied, satiny and seamless palate that's bright and charming, with a pure, elegant profile. This has turned out beautifully. Robert Parker.com
Roll over: A wine for Chablis lovers because of its freshness
The 2021 Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre is a lovely classic, unwinding in the glass to reveal aromas of white flowers, citrus zest, crisp green apple and oyster shells, followed by a medium to full-bodied, satiny and incisive palate that's pure, layered and structured, concluding with a penetrating finish. This will reward a bit of patience. Robert Parker.com
Roll over: Weingut Egon Müller is a renowned wine estate based just outside the village of Wiltingen.
The 2021er Wiltinger Braune Kupp Riesling Auslese is a sweet wine made from botrytized fruit. It offers a superb even if still slightly reduced nose made of bergamot-infused herbs, pineapple, ginger, starfruit, white peach, pear, and a hint of apricot blossom. The wine proves beautifully filigreed yet packed with fruity-driven flavors on the palate. It leaves a pure and ethereal feel in the absolutely stunning finish. This great Auslese has even some upside potential as it integrates its acidity backbone in the long finish. 2031-2061 95+/100 - Jean Fisch & David Rayer, Mosel Fine Wines
Roll over: Domaine des Comtes Lafon is a wine producer in Burgundy making some of the most lauded (and highly priced) white wines from Chardonnay in the region. It is located in Meursault in the Côte de Beaune subregion
“A cool, pure and wonderfully elegant if distinctly restrained nose reluctantly presents its aromas of citrus, floral and spiced apple. On the palate this is almost a blend of the Genevrières and Perrières as there is some of each attribute on the middleweight flavors including minerality, intensity and focused power on the refined, balanced and highly complex finale. This is excellent and should age accordingly.”
93-95 pts – Outstanding - Burghound
Roll over: Fresh, succulent stonefruit with a citrus backbone.
I tasted five different lots that will be blended into the 2020 Hermitage Blanc, from Péléat, l'Ermite and three parts of Les Rocoules. Full-bodied, honeyed and rich, this should be another outstanding vintage for Chave's white, with the incredible lushness of the bigger wines balanced by the zestiness found at the top of Les Rocoules and the delicacy and freshness of L'Ermite. RP96-98 Robert Parker.com
In an amazing example of vinous lineage, the Chave family has been growing grapes on the hill of Hermitage since 1481. Today the estate is run by Gerard Chave and his son Jean-Louis and they produce some of the regions finest wines including a red & white Hermitage, a St-Joseph and a Côtes du Rhône Mon Coeur. Superb vineyard holdings including prime slices of Bessards, L'Hermite, Peleat and Meal in Hermitage, and incredibly high standards in both the vineyard and cellar, the wines are made in a very hands-off fashion and show great detail, nuance and regional typicity.
Roll over: The meeting of two winemakers from the two hemispheres.
The 2020 season was very cool—it snowed during vintage—and the wine spent an extended time in oak: 26 months, as opposed to 32 months for the 2019 and 17 months for the 2018. The yield this year was one barrel more than the 2019, another interesting point. So, the 2020 Cuvée Aux Antipodes Blanc feels the sweet spot in terms of minerality and savoriness—it is restrained and composed and aromatically voluminous. In the mouth, the wine touches both extremes. The composure of the fruit is enlivened by the electricity from the acidity, and the combination is a truly exciting and svelte drinking experience. It's really, really good. The phenolics are tightly woven and flowing through the finish, and these grab the flavor and propel it further into the finish. Remarkable wine. Superb. Nine barrels were made. 12.5% alcohol, sealed under Diam. 97 Robert Parker.com
Prophet’s Rock know that great wines begin in the vineyard. That’s why they embrace an approach to winemaking that shares the splendour of the place rather than pronounced winemaking characteristics. The result Iconic wines that invoke Central Otago’s striking, unforgettable beauty.
Roll over: Weingut Egon Müller crafts the most consistently magical Rieslings on the planet.
The 2022 Riesling Scharzhofberger Kabinett has a very open but tender nose: ripe greengage is bright and edged with a whisper of chervil. The sweetness on the palate kicks in first, but lightness takes over with serene lemon freshness and fine, almost earthy stone. Ripe greengage, delineated by lemon, soaks up that initial sugar and presents it as juicy, ripe fruit. Finesse runs through this, dancing on light Kabinett feet. The finish is merely off-dry. Oct 2023 Vinous
Roll over: Fresh, succulent stonefruit with a citrus backbone.
Chave's 2019 Hermitage Blanc delivers just the merest hint of toasted grain on the nose, accenting green peaches and waves of honeyed richness. It's full-bodied and concentrated but not overdone, with tremendous length and a hint of bitterness on the finish that left me wondering if this wine will need 20 years to show its best, or if it was still suffering a bit from being bottled in July 2021. RP95 Robert Parker.com
In an amazing example of vinous lineage, the Chave family has been growing grapes on the hill of Hermitage since 1481. Today the estate is run by Gerard Chave and his son Jean-Louis and they produce some of the regions finest wines including a red & white Hermitage, a St-Joseph and a Côtes du Rhône Mon Coeur. Superb vineyard holdings including prime slices of Bessards, L'Hermite, Peleat and Meal in Hermitage, and incredibly high standards in both the vineyard and cellar, the wines are made in a very hands-off fashion and show great detail, nuance and regional typicity.
Roll over: A wine for Chablis lovers because of its freshness
Consisting of roughly equal parts Montmains, Butteaux and Forêts (the three sous-climats of Montmains), the 2020 Chablis 1er Cru Montmains offers up aromas of crisp green apple, white flowers, bee pollen and oyster shell. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and concentrated, it's taut and precise, concluding with a saline finish. Robert Parker.com
Roll over: Full-bodied palate, with lovely roundness.
Derived from old vines in Les Minots (that are a source for the Fèvre massale selection), as well as holdings in Roncières and Chatains, the 2020 Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons unwinds in the glass with notes of white flowers, crisp stone fruit and clear honey. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and enveloping, it's a beautifully vibrant, racy wine that concludes with a long, penetrating finish. It's the best young Vaillons I've ever tasted chez Fèvre. Robert Parker.com
Roll over: Excellent nerve and acidity with real cut and potential.
One of the finest wines in the portfolio this year is the 2020 Chablis 1er Cru Vaulorent, a taut, youthfully reserved bottling of immense promise. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of citrus zest, beeswax, crisp white peach, white flowers, freshly baked bread and oyster shell, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and seamless, with terrific tensioning intensity in a tightly wound format. It's warmly recommended, though patience will be required. Robert Parker.com
Roll over: Fascinating aroma and gorgeously flavourful with a sweet/sour finish
Pine resin and a light, oily brine character define the nose on this lithe, fresh fino. Crisp acidity and healthy weight mesh into balance on an easy-to-navigate palate. Flavors of almond, sea brine and toffee finish crisp
Roll over: Very tight and earthy, a worthy and unconventional Amontillado
The most aged of the Palmas series, Cuatro displays powerful, almost fiery aromas of caramel and briny stone fruits. The palate is so charged up and acidic that it's no walk in the park to get through, while nutty flavors of rancio and burnt toast finish with heat. Of all the Palmas wines, this is the one that shows afterburners.
Roll over: Nutty, citric and zesty on the finish
Intense, well-directed aromas are staunch, woody and suggest turpentine before pulling back. A lemony palate is loaded with citric acidity, which creates an electric mouthfeel. Nutty, citric and zesty on the finish, this is a superb artisan fino with a high level of complexity.
It's ready to drink now or in the next two to three years. Serve lightly chilled, ideally with dried jamón.
Roll over: Fino taken to the next level
Gold in color and ideal on the nose courtesy of alluring walnut, nutmeg and briny aromas, this elevated fino is both crisp as well as viscous. Flavors of almond skins, saline and dried apricot finish with purity and supreme confidence. This is fino taken to the next level
