90 Wine Spectator

Impressive for the bright, fresh core of pineapple, honeysuckle and tangerine flavors, with a touch of dried lemon zest and green cardamom on the finish. Drink now. 3,609 cases made.

95 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon from Casa Piena is done in a very different style from the past. The combination of a cooler vintage and picking at lower sugars yields a vibrant, energetic Cabernet Sauvignon. Floral and savory notes give the 2018 a striking aromatic top register to play off the red-toned fruit. This silky, mid-weight Cabernet represents a pretty big stylistic departure. I hope to have a chance to revist the 2018 in a number of years to see how it has aged. Readers will find a Cabernet of grace and finesse.

100 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

Lastly, the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape XXL is pure magic and one of the most singular wines out there. Based on 65% Grenache and the rest Syrah and other varieties, it was only 30% destemmed and brought up all in demi-muids. Where previous vintages of this beauty were almost over the top, the 2019 shows a more elegant, pure, balanced profile as well as incredible aromatics of ripe red and black fruits, herbes de Provence, ground pepper, violets, and other notes of Southern Rhône-like goodness. Incredibly powerful and opulent, it somehow manages to stay perfectly balanced, has a wonderful sense of freshness, silky yet substantial tannins, and an awesome finish. Unfortunately, there are just over 300 cases produced, so it won't be easy to find, but this ranks with the all-time greats. It deserves 4-5 years of bottle age and should evolve for 30 years if well-stored.

98 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

A refined, ethereal and elegant Unico. Streamlined layers of mixed peppercorns, smoked paprika, blackberries and spiced dark fruit. Hints of orange zest and flowers. Spicy, with tightly wound tannins. The length is impressive. 94% tempranillo and 6% cabernet sauvignon. Tasted from magnum. Coming along nicely. Try on release in 2026 or after.

98 Luis Gutierrez - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Release Price: $750 Drink Date: 2026 - 2044 The 2014 Único was produced with grapes from 40 hectares of vines selected from the 210 hectares the winery has. The grapes were picked between September 20th and October 3rd, and the blend was 94% Tinto Fino and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon. It fermented in oak vats with indigenous yeasts, with malolactic in stainless steel. The first part of the aging was in 225-liter barrels and the second one in 20,000-liter oak vats, and the élevage lasts 10 years between oak and bottle. It's a year that combines power and elegance; it's concentrated but has subtleness. I had a unique opportunity to taste it from magnum one year ago and was truly impressed. This tasting was consistent with those sensations. 2014 was a good vintage in the zone, a year with good rain and a big crop, not as powerful as 2012 or 2015 but a year with finesse. The wine feels very balanced, lower in alcohol and with integrated oak, crunchy, fresh and still young. It feels quite classical; it's fine-boned, elegant but also powerful, more like the Únicos from yesteryear. It has to be one of the finest vintages of recent times. It has 14% alcohol, a pH of 3.85 and five grams of acidity measured in tartaric acid per liter of wine. One of the largest vintages of Único, 104,606 bottles, 3,612 magnums, 356 double magnums, 50 imperials and five Salmanazars were produced. It was bottled in June 2020. It seems like years ending in four—94, 2004, 2014 (but not 84, that was not produced)—are very good here. We'll have to wait and see about the 2024...

97 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

Powerful aromas of fine oak. Arrives crisp, fresh and smooth, swelling to redcurrant and red cherry. Very youthful still, full-bodied and round, but always remaining crisp and fresh. Tannins are firm but well-balanced. Promising a long life ahead but remarkably approachable now. 2014 followed a mild winter with a warmer spring and summer. Yield 25.2hl/ha. One of the first years with the influence of new technical director Gonzalo Iturriaga. One year in new barrels, six months in used barrels, then three and a half years in large-format tanks. Bottled May 2020. Tasted from magnum.

97 Decanter

Powerful aromas of fine oak. Arrives crisp, fresh and smooth, swelling to redcurrant and red cherry. Very youthful still, full-bodied and round, but always remaining crisp and fresh. Tannins are firm but well-balanced. Promising a long life ahead but remarkably approachable now. 2014 followed a mild winter with a warmer spring and summer. Yield 25.2hl/ha. One of the first years with the influence of new technical director Gonzalo Iturriaga. One year in new barrels, six months in used barrels, then three and a half years in large-format tanks. Bottled May 2020. Tasted from magnum. Tasted by: Sarah Jane Evans MW

98 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

"Blackcurrants and black cherries with lovely flowers on the nose. Medium-bodied with ultra fine tannins that give focus and tension to the wine. Pretty and poised. A little shy now. From organically grown grapes. Drink after 2027."

91 Wine Enthusiast

Roasted black plum aromas meet with tobacco leaf on the nose of this blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc. The palate shows a lot of primary fruit flavors, from black plum to blackberry, with Christmas spices proving quite prominent.

97 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

For anyone who has never taste one, this wine smells like the red-fleshed vineyard peach. Then, on the incredibly focused palate, you plunge into the mineral depths of a riesling Grand Canyon. You need to like acidity to appreciate this astonishing experience at this youthful stage, but the wine is still extremely young. For the moment you need to chase a laser beam! From organically grown grapes with Fair'n Green certification. Drink or hold.

96 Stephan Reinhardt - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

From a two-hectare parcel with the oldest (50+ years) vines, the 2021 Höllenpfad Im Mühlenberg GG shows a deep, quiet and subtle but very complex and generous bouquet of ripe fruits and finely crushed stones (Rotliegend). Full-bodied, rich and intense, with immense concentration and substance, this is a powerful yet firmly structured, elegant, very long and complex Riesling with ripe tannins and a long, refined and textural finish. The acidity is saline and ripe, very elegant and completely interwoven with body, fruit and tannin. 13% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine in July 2022.

90 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

"Sweet berries with tile and rust on the nose, following through to a medium body, firm tannins and a fresh finish. Drink in 2023, but already approachable."

96 Wine Enthusiast

This massively built wine wraps potent black fruit flavors and sophisticated spices in substantial tannins that will surely guide it to greater complexity and smoothness with time. Minerals, graphite, cloves, cedar and blackberries are layered inside a mouthfilling texture. The blend is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Best from 2028-2040

95 Jane Anson - Inside Bordeaux

Combines structure and freshness, showing the spice and intensity of the 2020 vintage in Napa, softened by black cherry, blackberry, cocoa bean, espresso and the freshly cut herbs that takes you up into mountain Napa. Broad and almost sweet in feel, but lifted up by crunchy redcurrant fruit and mandarin peel on the finish. Grapes for this wine come from terraces set on the higher sections of the vineyard, from 300m and above, together with the premium Up and Down plot, in plots across both St Helena and Rutherford, all estate owned and located around the property. Justine Labbé winemaker, Frederick Ammons consultant, aged in 40% new French oak barrels and 20% large oak casks.

94 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

So pure and beautiful with perfumes and cedar as well as currants. Dark mushrooms and bark. A medium-bodied wine with dark berry, currant, chocolate, hazelnut, and fine tannins. 60% cabernet sauvignon and 40% merlot. Better in two or three years and beyond.

90 Jeb Dunnuck - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"The NV Rivesaltes Ambré Hors d’Age 6 Ans has a vibrant, light amber/whiskey color to go with sweet notes of golden raisins, bitter orange, almond and subtle browned sugar. Made from 100% Grenache Blanc and aged six years in barrel, it’s medium-bodied, silky, seamless and layered. It lacks complexity and is slightly straightforward with its sweetness, yet it’s never cloying and is one sexy drink."