Press Favourites: January to May 2023

2021 Rioja, Spain

Award

Tim Atkin Rioja Report 2023 93 Points

The neighbouring villages of San Vicente and Labastida are the twin sources of this new French oak-fermented Malvasía Blanca from Abel Mendoza and Maite Fernández. Floral and engaging, with clementine and citrus flavours, good focus and a sheen of vanilla spice. 2023-30. 93 Points, TA, 2023.

2018 Rioja, Spain

Award

Decanter 92 Points

Attractive notes of spice, toast, ripe cherry and dark fruits, with well-balanced use of oak. Refined and graceful with a complex finish. 92 Points, SJE, PBT, PM, March 2023.

2015 Douro, Portugal

Award

Decanter 92 Points

Savoury, dried herbs and coffee/mocha as well as some bruised cherries and plums. Round, juicy tannins with forest floor, hay and mushroom. It will carry on evolving and improving. 92 Points, Panel Tasting, January 2023.

2022 South Australia, Australia

Award

The Wine Front 96 Points

Blewitt Springs. A single vineyard with vines 75 years old. Exotic, so much perfume of flowering herbs, aniseed, chocolate, dark raspberry and cherry. Muscular style, purple and ripe red fruits, lots of spice, layers of graphite tannin grip, all blue and spicy on a very long and firm finish. Quite something. 96 Points, GW, 2023.

2022 South Australia, Australia

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James Halliday 94 Points

While vintage '22 may not scale the heights of '21, it was another attenuated, Euro-styled year of poise, enough fruit weight and immense freshness. Savoury, the signature. I'll take that over obvious sweetness any day. The first cab off the premier rank. A subregional blend limited to old, dry-grown bush vines. Varying degrees of whole bunches. A number of picking windows, too, to embellish freshness and enough weight. Fermentation is ambient. I'd be hard-pressed to find a better wine than this for the price. Kirsch, ume, cranberry, bergamot and a scape of pixelated tannin, sandy of feel, directing length. 94 Points, NG (MW), 2023.

2022 South Australia, Australia

Award

The Wine Front 94 Points

Cherry, strawberry, mint and menthol, orange peel. It’s medium-bodied, a juicy red fruit flavour strewn with herbs and spice, supple tannin, and a juicy red fruited finish of fine length and spicy perfume. Nice. 94 Points, GW 2023.

2022 South Australia, Australia

Award

James Halliday 93 Points

Seldom does grenache from Barossa or Eden Valley equal that of the Vale. This is good, but darker of exposure than the luminosity of expressions closer to the coast. But it is still grenache, the finest red cultivar for the majority of Australian conditions by a country mile. Transcendental moments are inevitable, thus. Brambly forest berries, mint, amaro and anise. A swathe of eucalyptus dries the tannins, but there is plenty of push to the extract and underlying freshness for poise and drinkability. 93 Points, NG (MW), 2023.