2021
2021
Trisaetum 2021 Coast Range Estate Riesling
American White
Round and fruity, the Riesling combines baked apple and pear with a hint of almond paste. A touch of sweetness remains far from dessert level, while the palate is full and the finish lingers. Production totals two hundred and sixty-nine cases, and alcohol is eleven point three percent. The estate vineyard lies in Oregon's Yamhill-Carlton District.
Emrich-Schönleber 2021 Monzinger Niederberg Riesling 1G
German White
Bright citrus peel, spice and mineral character accompany piercing acidity and a grippy texture. The dry Riesling is linear, with length and focus. Native yeasts ferment the wine in stainless steel. Niederberg's slate and quartzite slopes sit in the upper Nahe. The parcel ripens later than Halenberg because it does not receive the same thermal updraft. Farming is identified as sustainable.
Poderi Colla 2021 Bricco del Drago Langhe Rosso
Italian Red
Deep ruby in colour, the wine shows fresh plum, Morello cherry and almond. The palate is juicy and concentrated, with balanced tannins and a long finish. Dolcetto accounts for eighty-five percent of the blend and Nebbiolo fifteen percent. Alcohol is thirteen and a half percent, residual sugar is below three grams per litre, and acidity is five point six grams per litre.
Trefethen 2021 Eshcol Red Oak Knoll District
American Red
Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for fifty-one percent of the blend, with Malbec at twenty-three percent, Merlot and Petit Verdot at twelve percent each, and Cabernet Franc at two percent. Raspberry and Bing cherry appear with leather and liquorice. Dark fruit and black pepper are also present. The finish is balanced and smooth. Fruit comes entirely from the Main Ranch estate vineyard, and maturation lasts fourteen months.
Domaine Elian Da Ros 2021 Chante-Coucou Côtes du Marmandais
French Red
Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Syrah are vinified separately in open concrete vats with gentle extraction. Dark colour accompanies preserved black fruit, blueberry, ripe blackberry, cassis and prune. Peony and dried chrysanthemum appear with resinous, balsamic notes recalling pine and cypress. Ripe tomato, pink pepper and Espelette pepper are also present. The vines grow in clay-gravel soils over grey marl molasse, and the vineyard is farmed biodynamically.
Frank Cornelissen 2021 Munjebel Rosso
Italian Red
Nerello Mascalese grows on volcanic soils, with vines averaging sixty years of age. The grapes are harvested by hand, destemmed and gently pressed. Spontaneous fermentation lasts sixty days in epoxy tanks with indigenous yeasts. Maturation also takes place in epoxy. The wine is neither fined nor given added sulphur dioxide, and filtration uses five-micron cartridges. The vineyard is farmed organically.
Domaine Sébastien Giroux 2021 Pouilly-Fuissé Les Raidillons
French White
Chardonnay grows in clay soils with little limestone at three hundred metres. The vines face east and average forty-five years of age. Grapes are harvested by hand and pressed slowly. Fermentation uses indigenous yeasts at low temperature. Half the wine matures in tank and half in four-hundred-litre barrels on fine lees for eleven months. The wine is lightly filtered before bottling.
Domaine des Marnes Blanches 2021 Trousseau Côtes du Jura
French Red
Trousseau grows on marl and limestone in the Jura. Whole clusters ferment with about fifteen days of maceration, and the wine spends ten months in oak foudres. The profile is richly aromatic and structured, with a generous texture, mineral balance and marked tannins. The vineyard is certified Organic, with grassed rows and worked soils, and the wine contains eleven percent alcohol.
Domaine Guiberteau 2021 Saumur Rouge
French Red
Cabernet Franc comes from three old-vine parcels with silty and sandy topsoils over limestone. The vines were planted in the mid-1950s. Grapes are fully destemmed, fermented in concrete with indigenous yeast and matured for twelve months in a large conical wooden vat. Sour cherry, blackberry and raspberry appear with bell pepper, earth, violets and flint. The palate has fresh acidity and fine tannins, with a mineral and herbal finish.
Barbacan 2021 Söl Valtellina Superiore Valgella DOCG
Italian Red
Red fruit, mushroom and carnation are present with a savoury palate. The Söl vineyard covers one and a half hectares at 450 metres, with southeast exposure and sandy soil. The grapes were hand-harvested, destemmed and gently pressed, with spontaneous fermentation in steel and fifty days of maceration. Maturation includes three months in steel, twelve months in barrel and nine months in bottle.
Nittardi 2021 Ad Astra Maremma Toscana Rosso DOC 1.5 L
Italian Red
Plum and red-berry aromas are joined by liquorice. The blend combines Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel, followed by twelve months in French-oak barriques and tonneaux and several months in concrete. The vineyards lie at Mongibello delle Mandorlaie in southern Maremma, on predominantly sandy soils rich in limestone and clay.
Chivite 2021 Colección 125 Gran Vino Blanco
Spanish White
Pale yellow colour has green tones. Ripe white fruit, citrus, acacia flower and bakery notes form an intense, complex aromatic profile. The palate is unctuous, dense and silky, with freshness. Chardonnay was harvested by hand, briefly macerated and pressed at low pressure. Fermentation and twelve months of ageing took place in French oak barrels with the lees in suspension. Alcohol is fourteen percent.
Domaine Tessier 2021 Bourgogne Blanc Champ Perrier
French White
Lemon, apple and ripe yellow fruit appear with mineral character. The palate is juicy, light, finely textured and focused, with a pure profile from first taste through the finish. Chardonnay comes from vines that are mostly more than forty years old. The wine spent twelve months in barriques, ten percent new, and six months in stainless steel. Alcohol is 12.5 percent.
Aymeric Paillard 2021 Petit Père Saint-Joseph
French Red
Fresh balance and juicy character sit with depth and complex aromatics. The tannins are fine and integrated, and the texture is supple. Syrah comes from steep slopes in Ozon and Sarras. Part of the fruit is vinified as whole clusters and part by semi-carbonic maceration in small vats and open barrels. Ageing takes place in used barrels and demi-muids over two winters.
CheckMate 2021 Silent Bishop Merlot
Canadian Red
Red currant, raspberry, coffee, tobacco and floral notes join black fruit, mocha and dark chocolate. The wine is fresh and lively, with fine-grained tannins and a lengthy finish. Merlot comes from the cooler western benches of the South Okanagan. Wild fermentation is followed by twenty months in French oak. The palate also carries black cherry, blackcurrant and balanced acidity.
Jane Eyre 2021 Côte de Nuits-Villages
French Red
Redcurrant and raspberry fruit are joined by cocoa powder, tea and spice. The texture is fine and light. The wine used considerably less whole-bunch fruit than earlier vintages, and its volume was forty percent of previous vintages. Fresh and savoury notes are present, with fruit in the background. It was bottled at the end of August. Pinot Noir is the sole grape.
Monte Antico 2021 Toscana IGT 3 L
Italian Red
Grapey fruit, wood, cloves and floral notes are present. Baked cherry, tart plum, strawberry, rounded fruit, eased tannins, barrel notes, earth and almond skin add further detail. The blend is eighty-five percent Sangiovese, ten percent Cabernet Sauvignon and five percent Merlot. Fermentation and maceration each last fifteen to twenty days. Maturation includes Slavonian barrels and barriques. Alcohol is thirteen percent.
CheckMate Artisanal Winery 2021 Fool’s Mate Chardonnay
Canadian White
The aromas include brioche, Meyer lemon, orange blossom and flint. Crème fraîche, crisp stone fruit and freshly baked bread appear on the palate, with a long mineral finish. Orchard fruit, melon, pear, nectarine and vanilla provide further detail. Fifty-four percent of the Chardonnay was aged in French oak barriques, twenty-five percent in foudre and twenty-one percent in a concrete egg.
Bischöfliche Weingüter Trier 2021 Scharzhofberger Riesling Großes Gewächs
German White
Freshly cut apple, white peach and Korean pear meet a silky texture. Floral and spice nuances appear in the finish. Elderflower, lemon sorbet and a touch of whipped cream are also present. The dry Riesling comes from a mid-hill section of Scharzhofberger known internally as Mittlerer Josef. Fermentation takes place in a traditional oak cask.
Veyder-Malberg 2021 Weissenkirchner Ried Weitenberg Grüner Veltliner
Austrian White
Stone fruit, white flowers and citrus appear in the aromas. The palate includes peach, apricot blossom, lemon peel, lemongrass and a touch of pepper, with further yellow-fruit character. Fine fruit acidity and balance accompany a long finish. This is a single-site Grüner Veltliner from the Weissenkirchner Ried Weitenberg in Wachau, bottled at 13.5% alcohol.
Château Brown 2021 Blanc Pessac-Léognan
French White
Floral notes and a light smoky note emerge after swirling. The palate is soft and fresh, with full body, aromatic density and further floral character. Sauvignon Blanc brings tension, and the finish is mineral, taut and very long. The blend is sixty-eight percent Sauvignon Blanc and thirty-two percent Sémillon. Grapes were harvested by hand, then fermented and matured in oak for eight months with stirring on fine lees.
Adelsheim 2021 Breaking Ground Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountains
American Red
Pinot Noir comes from eleven hillside sites, with sixty-eight percent estate fruit. The vineyards include loess, volcanic and sedimentary soils. Grapes are fermented in stainless steel, then aged for eleven months in French oak, twenty-nine percent new. Black cherry and raspberry appear with exotic spice and dark loam. The texture is supple, with ethereal qualities and deeper tones. Alcohol is thirteen percent.
Trefethen 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Oak Knoll District
American Red
Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Petit Verdot form an eighty-eight, six and six percent blend from the Main Ranch estate vineyard. Dark plum and black cherry appear with cocoa, pepper and fragrant herbs. Bright cherry flavours are accompanied by vanilla and forest floor. The wine spent eighteen months in oak, with fifty-three percent new barrels. Alcohol is thirteen-point-nine percent, and the fruit is sustainably farmed.
Tiberio 2021 Fonte Canale Trebbiano d’Abruzzo
Italian White
Trebbiano Abruzzese comes from a 1.5-hectare vineyard at 350 metres, with ninety-six-year-old vines on calcareous clay over sand. Only static free-run juice is used. Fermentation with indigenous yeasts takes place in stainless steel without malolactic fermentation; the wine is neither fined nor filtered. Green apple, nectarine, mandarin, lemon peel, white flowers, anise, mineral character, acidity and a long finish are present.
Viñedos El Pacto 2021 Riojanda Viñedo Singular Rioja
Spanish Red
The small Navaridas parcel sits at 535 metres on calcareous-clay soil, with a ten-percent east-facing slope. It covers 0.2163 hectares, and its old vines produce less than one kilogram per plant. The grapes were picked by hand, destemmed without crushing and fermented spontaneously with native yeasts in wooden vats. Maturation lasted fourteen months in new 500-litre French oak barrels.
Vietti 2021 Perbacco Langhe Nebbiolo 1.5 L
Italian Red
Fruit, mint, spice and raspberry accompany round tannins and a long finish. The wine is made entirely from Nebbiolo, with grapes drawn mainly from vineyards in the Barolo and Barbaresco production areas. Alcoholic fermentation lasts about three to four weeks, followed by malolactic fermentation in steel or barriques. The separate vineyard lots mature in barriques and large casks for approximately eighteen to twenty months before blending in steel for bottling.
Montes 2021 Purple Angel Carménère Petit Verdot
Chilean Red
Deep brick-red colour accompanies intense aromas of ripe blackberry, plum and blueberry. Black and blue fruit, sweet spice, pink pepper, coffee and tobacco appear on the palate. The texture is balanced and silky, with a caramel-like body and a very long finish. The blend is ninety-two percent Carménère and eight percent Petit Verdot. Maturation lasts eighteen months in French oak, with seventy percent first-use barrels.
CheckMate Artisanal Winery 2021 Queen Taken Chardonnay
Canadian White
Rosewater, ginger and Asian pear appear in the aromas. Grilled pineapple, rosemary and ripe apricot are present on the palate. The wine is tense and textural, with a savoury finish. It comes from the Dekleva Vineyard southwest of Oliver, where Chardonnay vines approach fifty years of age. The vineyard sits beneath Mount Kobau and the Thompson Plateau and includes the distinctive Dekleva clone.
Naboso 2021 Ritual Magnum 1.5 L
Slovak Red
Raspberry and cherry fruit appear with floral character, balance and supple green, sappy hints. The wine is made from Blaufränkisch and spent two years in barrel. It is fresh, medium-bodied and medium-tannic, with fruit, spice and mineral character. This dry red comes from Svätý Jur in Slovakia, and the Magnum format contains 1.5 litres.
Naboso 2021 Doma Magnum 1.5 L
Slovak White
Ripe creamy yellow fruit, citrus, spice and dried herbs appear with honey and rose-petal nuances. The profile is dry, medium-bodied and lively, with freshness, juiciness, integrated acidity and fine tannins. Welschriesling, Grüner Veltliner, Roter Traminer and Roter Sylvaner fermented separately on their skins with stems. After pressing, the wine spent one year on fine lees in neutral acacia and oak barrels.