95 Joe Czerwinski - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Old-vine Grenache from a sandy portion of la Crau (ouest) shines in the 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape Les Petits Pieds d'Armand. Built along similar lines to the blended bottling but slightly deeper and earthier, it boasts wonderfully fragrant aromas of ripe berries, rose petals and fine leaf tea. It's full-bodied, supple and rich, with a long, velvety finish that hints at espresso and salted licorice.

91 Wine & Spirits

"Christian Seely recently introduced this wine in New York as a rethinking of the super-premium, multivintage Porto style. Black replaces LB, Noval's former entry in this range, and uses top-quality fruit to create a soft, accommodating texture. The aromas are purple-black while the flavors are pure black cherry. Acidity spices it up and adds to the juiciness of the finish. It's plump in the middle and supple all the way through, ending on fruit-skin tannin and a touch of chocolate from oak. At the level of many of the region's best LBVs, this wine may become a staple for a new generation of Port drinkers."

96 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Independent

"I tasted a barrel sample of the 2021 Patria Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon with 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Malbec, and 5% Cabernet Franc. It is deep garnet-purple in color and waltzes out with open-knit notes of crème de cassis, blueberry compote, and chocolate box, plus touches of wild sage and dried roses. The full-bodied palate has a firm, serious texture of grainy tannins and plenty of freshness to support the generous fruit, finishing long and pure."

92-94 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

Coming from a mix of terrific sites (Oakville Ranch Georges III Montagne) and blended with 13% Malbec and brought up in 75% new oak the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is a beautifully layered medium to full-bodied barrel sample revealing classic aromatics (cassis gravelly earth chocolate and lead pencil) ripe polished tannins background oak and a great finish. It will be a terrific wine and I suspect will drink nicely right out of the gate.

93 Wine Spectator

This red cuts a broad swath with cherry, strawberry, iron and savory herb flavors. Dense yet lively and harmonious, with a long, mineral- and spice-infused aftertaste. Best from 2025 through 2042. 850 cases made, 100 cases imported.

93 Monica Larner - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Vallocchio shows a robust fruit profile and powerful 15% alcohol. The wine reflects the warmth and heat of the vintage, but a deft hand in the cellar assures balance and elegance in winemaking. The bouquet reveals dark cherry, rum cake, balsam herb and tarry smoke. There's no mistaking that hot-vintage signature and the more exuberant and boisterous personality displayed here. The cellar folks should be proud of their efforts in this 5,000-bottle release.

96 Wine Advocate - Wine Advocate

The 2021 Pintas has an impressive nose—open, extroverted, aromatic and floral, a little toasty and smoky. This is always produced from the same vineyard at 400 to 450 meters above sea level on schist soils. It's spicy and has some creaminess, but it feels balanced and has freshness and acidity to absorb the oak with more time in bottle. It matured in 225-liter barrels, 20% of them new, for 20 months. This vineyard is very consistent; the old vines have deep roots, and the high altitude contributes to the freshness—and the 2021 vintage also helps! 6,000 bottles produced.

95 Wine Spectator

Taut and minerally, offering a sanguine edge of iron and loamy earth notes interlaced with a dark, complex core of mulberry and blackberry fruit, mountain herbs, violet and cocoa powder. Firmed by chalky tannins and bright acidity, this is long and focused, revealing more as it opens in the glass. Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz and Rufete. Best from 2027 through 2039. 100 cases imported.

98-100 William Kelley - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

A blend of 35% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Franc and 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2022 Figeac is a brilliant wine with which to celebrate this property's elevation to Premier Grand Cru Classé "A" status. Wafting from the glass with aromas of raspberries and cassis mingled with notions of iris, forest floor, cigar wrapper and pencil lead, it's medium to full-bodied, pure and perfumed, with a deep and multidimensional core of fruit, bright acids and beautifully refined tannins. Serious yet civilized, it's the quintessential Figeac, testament to the late Thierry Manoncourt's vision to plant such a large proportion of Cabernet, and on drought-resistant rootstocks. Such is the inherent complexity of Figeac's terroirs that harvest took place sub-block by sub-block between September 1st and 25th. Congratulations are in order for the Manoncourt family, director Frédéric Faye, consulting winemaker Thomas Duclos and all their team.

98-100 Georgina Hindle - Decanter

An incredibly impressive wine in 2022 shaping up to be the wine of the vintage not only as it seems to defy the hot and dry conditions in every way but delivers such confidence and charm it makes it hard to resist. Gorgeous aromatic expression on the nose, open and alive, generous scents of bright bramble fruit and floral notes as well as graphite and cedar. Smooth, supple and generous on the palate, tannins are silky and perfectly weighted giving roundness but also structure with a red berry juiciness and saline bite that is so compelling. Vibrant, dynamic, balanced and precise, the energy is outstanding yet there’s still depth, weight and power underneath. There's not a single thing out of place - utterly seductive and totally moreish. A great effort from the estate now proudly displaying their upgrade to St-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé A for the first time as of the new classification. 3.7pH. 8% press wine. 82% grand vin production. Harvest 1 - 26 September, the earliest ever.

97-99 Neal Martin - Vinous Media

The 2022 Figeac was picked between 1-26 September with the pH of 3.7 and 14% alcohol. This wine combines both Left Bank and Right Bank traits due to its blend (as usual), but this year leans more to the Right Bank despite a slightly lower contribution of Cabernet Sauvignon. It is very well defined, fresh and shows lively black fruit, incense and nuanced Chinese tea aromas. The palate is beautifully balanced with a lightly spiced entry, fine depth and with plenty of concentration counterbalanced by finesse toward the graphite-infused finish. Its saline aftertaste beckons you back for another sip. An appropriate way to start your tenure as a Grand Cru Classé "A".

97-99 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Independent

A blend of 35% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Franc, and 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2022 Figeac is deep garnet-purple in color. It rolls out of the glass with eager-to-please scents of juicy blackberries, plum preserves, and warm cassis, followed by hints of cardamom, chocolate mint, and cumin seed with fragrant wafts of rose oil and violets. The concentrated, medium to full-bodied palate is simply electric, shimmering with red and black fruit layers and loads of mineral and floral sparks, framed by firm, grainy tannins and amazing tension, finishing very long and energetic. This is so vibrant it tingles on the palate! pH 3.70.

97-98 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

This is the earliest ever harvest for Figeac and the fruit is something else. Flowers such as violets. Blackberries. Currants. Cherry blossom. Full-bodied with lovely freshness and depth. Crunchy and juicy. Perfect al dente fruit. 35% merlot , 34% cabernet franc and 31% cabernet sauvignon.

98 Jane Anson - Inside Bordeaux

Vibrant damson in colour, edges of gunsmoke and red rose petals on the aromatics, as you so often find in Figeac, with dense cassis, black cherry, incense, graphite, slate, mint leaf, cocoa bean, cappucino and liquorice on the palate. This is creamy but airy, and full of joy. Close to the 2016 vintage in its construction and effortless confidence, no question of the ageing ability of this wine, and a fine vintage to mark the first year as Premier Grand Cru Classé A. Breaking down how they got here, you find inevitably careful winemaking with no pumping over, cool 26C for fermentation, making use of techniques learnt in the hot, dry summer of 2018, from cover crops to minimum green harvesting. Blend finished including 8% press in March, 3.7ph, harvest began September 1, earliest on record, until 26, second vintage in new winery. Frederic Faye director.

95 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

Restrained dark bramble fruit and vibrant spiciness, with notes of cold coffee, earth and bay leaves. The attack is dense and velvety, with thick, ripe tannins that are a bit sandy. Ripe and full-bodied with crisp acidity and good length focused on graphite. Power and grace, with a restrained chocolate aftertaste. Drink or hold.

94 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

"The 2020 Valdisanti is superb in this vintage. Rich, dark and sumptuous, this blend is alluring right out of the gate. Inky dark fruit, grilled herbs, leather, new oak, licorice and mocha are nicely dialed up. The 2020 is opulent, not at all heavy. The 2020 is a gorgeous Valdisanti."

91 Luis Gutierrez - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

I liked the bottled 2018 Arbois Chardonnay better than the unbottled sample I tasted last time. It's a neatly made Chardonnay with some toasty and spicy notes, a little creamy, nicely textured, more Burgundian that most examples from Jura. The wine is tasty and finished with a salty note, with integrated oak and the signature of a fine winemaking team.

97 Wine Enthusiast

Definitely on a top 10 list of Italian icons, Solaia affirms the massive potential of Italian winemaking, from vineyard to cantina to cellar and beyond. Superrich and polished, but never over the top, this gorgeous super Tuscan shows deep layers of chocolate, black cherry, rum cake and spice. The secret lies in its balance: Everything is in place, from intensity and complexity to persistency.

93+ Eric Guido - Vinous Media

The 2019 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Colle Cristi is dark and understated in the glass, mixing plum sauce and grilled herbs with a dusting of cocoa and dried roses. This sweeps across the palate, opening with a pretty inner sweetness that's quickly offset by a saturation of tart red and blue berry fruits. A flourish of salted licorice and clove lingers as the 2019 tapers off, closing with primary concentration and grippy tannins.

93 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

Aromas of baked plums and cherries, orange chocolate, soy sauce and sweet spices. It’s full-bodied with fine, firm tannins. Savory and structured, with a juicy and classic bittersweet feel to the mid-palate that lingers to a long, restrained finish. Balanced and traditional. 70% corvina veronese, 20% rondinella and 10% molinara. Drink now.

90 Mark Squires - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 1996 Reserva Velho Chitas is a Ramsico from ungrafted old vines (50+ years), aged for 48 months in large barrels of exotic woods (like Mahogany and Rosewood). It comes in at 12.5% alcohol. Despite the age, this is currently offered for sale. Bragging about their old wines in Colares is pretty much the way things work. Some merit the enthusiasm and many don't. Some suffer from delusions of grandeur. I'm leaning to enthusiasm here, although not quite all the way. Surprisingly lush and round, this harmonious wine is perfectly balanced, but it still has some vibrancy. It is a bit too jammy in the mid-palate for my taste. The strawberry and rhubarb nuances are still present but controlled. Overall, this is something a little different that is easy to like. It may not be quite as impressive as its current status would suggest, but it's very enjoyable. It should continue to age well for the next decade, maybe more. Of course, with Colares, the general view is often that the wines last indefinitely. For the rest of us, let's take that in stages. There were 5,600 bottles produced.