Cheval des Andes wines are ripe and rich, as you’d expect from Argentina. But they do have complexity and interest, too. 

Domaine Latour-Giraud's Jean-Pierre Latour compares 2017 to 2015 "but with more complexity, precision and interest. The wines will have a certain accessibility but they also have much more potential than the '15s." 

The Marchesi Antinori 2018 Solaia reveals a silky and elegant personality, and the wine steps away from some of the more robust fruit weight and dark concentration that we've seen in the past. This elegant vintage prizes fruit purity and focus with black plum, cassis, blue flower, pencil shaving and lots of sweet spice from the oak that recalls clove and toasted almond. The blend is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with smaller parts Cabernet Franc and Sangiovese. The fruit is harvested at the Antinori family's Tenuta Tignanello at the heart of the Chianti Classico appellation. The percentage of Cabernet Franc used in the blend is the ultimate Solaia wild card. In this vintage, the Franc has been increased to 7%, and that number is expected to be even higher in 2019 as the vines get older and the fruit more complex. Production of Solaia is 65,000 bottles in this vintage. This is a beautiful wine, but if pressed I must admit a preference for the 2018 Tignanello (the other celebrated wine crafted at this property). The 2018 Solaia is delicious on all fronts as expected, but the 2018 Tignanello struck at my heart strings. Either way, these are stunning results.

There is some exciting news to report from Antinori's Tenuta Tignanello (which I visited the last week of July). The Antinori family was able to acquire a new parcel measuring 15 hectares adjacent to their historic Tignanello plots, thus giving new space and production possibilities to the various wines made at the celebrated estate (where both Tignanello and Solaia are born).

Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millenaires Blanc de Blancs 2004 / Light yellow-gold. Pungent aromas of lemon, orange and pear, complicated by sexy floral and gingerbread qualities and hints of toasty lees and honey. Lively on entry, with lively citrus flavors, then deeper and smokier in the middle palate, offering juicy orchard fruit and honeyed nut flavors and good mineral snap. The finish lingers with suave floral and spice notes and excellent persistence

Méo-Camuzet Clos de Vougeot 2018 / An unusually spicy and appealingly fresh array is comprised by liqueur-like red berry fruit aromas, especially cherry, that are laced with notes earth, lavender and a whisper of exotic spice. There is a lovely sense of underlying tension to the rich, well-detailed and relatively sleek medium-bodied flavors that display focused power on the sneaky long and markedly firm finale. 
Barrel Sample: 91-94

Gaja Sori San Lorenzo 2016 / 99 points / Another wine with a Burgundian silkiness (tannins this good can be hard to find in young Nebbiolo), the 2016 Barbaresco Sori San Lorenzo offers a more exotic bouquet of spiced red plums, licorice, dried herbs, rose petals, and flowery incense. This is a ripe, incredibly sexy, opulent Barbaresco that stays pure, ultra-refined, and elegant on the palate, with both tannins and acidity perfectly integrated. As with the Sori Tildin, it took plenty of air to show at its best, and despite offering incredibly pleasure today due to its balance and ripe tannins, it's needs 5-7 years of bottle age and will cruise for 25 years or more.

Château Pétrus 2020 Barrel Sample (Pomerol); 98–100 points. Spice and black fruit aromas shine in this powerful wine. The density of the texture and the concentrated fruits are seamless in their power. Yet, at the same time, the wine has refreshing acidity at the end that puts everything on a pedestal. It is the summation of Pétrus.

Felton Road Bannockburn Riesling 2021 / Pale lemon yellow. Apples, some citrus, fruit driven nose. Fresh acidity, apples, fruit driven, elegant texture, nuanced, good length. 89

Miraval's top wine Muse de Miraval Rosé 2020, made from selected best and oldest organic vineyards – Grenache and Rolle. Bottled in magnum only. Vinified in egg-shaped concrete tanks, a very small proportion aged in demi-muids.
Pretty salmon pink. Complex aroma of pretty peachy red fruits along with the merest hint of creamy oak influence. Rounded, very creamy in the mouth. Tastes surprisingly soft, almost flabby. Gentle tannins. Quite long but for me it lacks a backbone of freshness. Have I missed something? Packaging very ornate. (JH)

The last bottles for the arrivage tasting arrived shortly before Christmas, so I took the opportunity today to arrange the tasting.                

Weingut Bründlmayer's Heiligenstein Rieslings Lyra and Alte Reben (Old Vines) as well as the Grüner Veltliner from the 1ÖTW crus Lamm and Käferberg are among the finest of the vintage, and so is the 2019 Chardonnay Reserve.

The 2018 Becker Vineyard Cuvée (93+p) is an equal blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, with a 7% dollop of Petit Verdot, aged for 19 months in 36% new French oak. It comes in at 15.1% alcohol. The winery's Becker Vineyard was planted in 1977 on the upper terrace of the Black Sage Bench.