| 2019 |
Di Giovanna |
Grillo 'Vurria' |
Fabulously fresh and delicately lifted, the bouquet shows apple, lemon peel and green tea aromas with a hint of dried grass. The palate delivers elegant weight and vibrancy together with excellent focus and flow, leading to a lengthy crisp finish. Mouth-watering and delightfully drinkable. |
Wine Orbit |
92 |
 |
2020-07-31 |
| 2016 |
Di Giovanna |
Rosso 'Helios' |
Wonderfully ripe and fragrant, the wine shows dark fruit richness together with toasted spice, smoked game, tapenade and roasted hazelnut characters. The palate delivers excellent weight and concentration, beautifully complemented by rich texture and fleshy mouthfeel, finishing gorgeously long and velvety. |
Wine Orbit |
93 |
 |
2020-07-31 |
| 2019 |
Roucas Toumba |
Vacqueyras 'Rose de la Rouche' |
Bright orange-pink. Racy and sharply focused on the nose, displaying mineral-tinged strawberry and blood orange qualities and a hint of florality. Brisk and penetrating in the mouth, offering bracing, mineral-driven red berry and citrus fruit flavors that carry through a seamless, persistent finish. |
Vinous |
91 |
 |
2020-07-24 |
| 2018 |
Trabun |
Sauvignon Blanc Requinoa Cachapoal Valley |
This is a really attractive sauvignon blanc that shows cucumber, preserved lemons, dill, Chinese plums and seashell undertones. Round, oily and approachable on the palate, yet taut and zingy on the finish. With a little more drive from acidity, this could score even more highly. |
James Suckling |
91 |
 |
2020-07-22 |
| 2019 |
Mas de Pampelonne |
Cotes de Provence Rose 'Elegance' |
You might want this for the label alone, a retro, Mediterranean-blue illustration by Monsieur Z. The wine inside, then, will be a lucky bonus: While it’s fashionably pale in hue, it’s impressively vibrant in flavor, with invigorating lemon-pith acidity and saline notes driving crisp white-cherry fruit. It feels like the sort of wine you’d want to drink on the beach at Ramatuelle, near Saint-Tropez, where Pampelonne producer Camille Coste farms her 35-acre estate. |
Wine & Spirits |
92 |
 |
2020-07-20 |
| 2018 |
Lumos Wine Co |
Pinot Gris 'Rudolfo' Willamette Valley |
From a small, warm site near Corvallis planted just to pinot gris, this wine is thrillingly grippy and austere, with scents of almond flour and lemon, and lean green-appley flavors. Pretty much bursting with acidity, and buoyed on a cushion of sourdough lees, this is built for Willapa Bay oysters on the half shell. |
Wine & Spirits |
90 |
 |
2020-07-20 |
| 2018 |
Folk Machine |
Valdiguie 'Film & Camera' Redwood Valley |
Kenny Likitprakong employs a modest amount of whole clusters to bolster this bracing red from Lolonis Vineyard. It’s darker than the Lioco valdiguié from the same vineyard (also recommended here), with notes of black loamy soil and iron filings. Firm and a touch resinous, it’s a seamless wine with high tone and dark ferrous tannins. |
Wine & Spirits |
90 |
 |
2020-07-20 |
| 2019 |
Quinta da Raza |
Vinho Verde Arinto 'Dom Diogo' |
Arinto was once notable for creating long-lived white wines in Bucelas. Here, at an estate in the inland hills of Vinho Verde, it grew a deliciously ripe 2019 “with fruit off the charts,” as one taster said, pointing to the cantaloupe, citrus and star-fruit flavors he found in the wine. For me, it was more like drippingly juicy pear cleaned up by the malic acidity of green apples. Then it ends on the savor of raw almonds. It’s compellingly drinkable, a stony white that’s waiting for a place next to Dungeness crab, as it shares that same pale buttery savor. Best Buy |
Wine & Spirits |
93 |
 |
2020-07-14 |
| 2018 |
Chateau Viranel |
Saint-Chinian Blanc 'Tradition' |
Fresh, fruity and delicate nose, dominated by citrus fruits, enhanced by some white flowers and apricot notes. The mouth is amazing for its balance and harmony with the nose. Long and mineral finish with a wonderful fineness. The Grenache Blanc gives a superb balance, combination of roundness and freshness, fruit and minerality. Gold Medal |
Decanter |
96 |
 |
2020-07-14 |
| 2019 |
Quinta da Raza |
Vinho Verde 'Raza' |
This quinta is located near Celorico de Basto, in the hills above the Tamega River, inland from the sea and close to the border with Vila Real. That might account for the fruit richness of this wine's flavors, pineapple and litchi just edging toward ripeness. It's clean and fragrant, with enough weight to the blend - arinto, azalea and trajadura - to pour it with grilled chicken. Best Buy |
Wine & Spirits |
90 |
 |
2020-07-09 |