New World Pinots and Chardonnays

Vinous 90

Wine Advocate 92, Vinous 91 "The Boekenhoutskloof 2023 Upper Hemel-En-Aarde Valley Chardonnay Cap Maritime comes from a 15-hectare parcel on sandstone planted five or six years ago. Grapes from other patches of Burgundian clones are added into the blend. Winemaking takes an oxidative approach, resulting in a creamy quality with vanilla and stone fruit, backed by a taut saline finish. This spicy wine sees long aging in new and neutral oak to obtain mid-palate richness. Proprietor Marc Kent believes in great white wines with aging potential." www.robertparker.com

Wine Advocate 93 "Sourced predominately from sandy soils on the same property as the Lunita Pinot Noir, the 2024 Mainqué Chardonnay opens with a fresh, lifted bouquet with floral and herbal flourishes that gain volume with aeration. The palate is fittingly chiseled, slender and delicate, releasing into a long, nuanced and iodine-tinged finish that becomes increasingly nimble and dynamic in the glass." www.robertparker.com

Wine Advocate 96+, Vinous 97 "The 2023 Adrianna Vineyard Chardonnay White Stones showcases its classic aromatic purity and focus, centering on aromas of citrus peels, iodine and dried herbs, complemented by an elegant hint of pastry cream in the background. The palate continues this combination with a sculpted, precisely defined texture that extends into a dazzlingly focused, ethereal conclusion. Initially quite restrained, it gradually and consistently reveals textural depth and length on the finish, and I suspect it will warrant a higher score with additional time in bottle." www.robertparker.com

Wine Advocate 97, Wine Spectator 95, Vinous 98 "The 2023 Adrianna Vineyard Chardonnay White Bones leads with its quintessentially lifted, vibrant bouquet of citrus rinds, dried spices, white flowers and fresh herbs, continuously developing additional complexity from its biological aging under flor. The palate combines live-wire focus with ethereal richness and a gently creamy core that runs through its mouthwatering and mineral-drenched finish. A fantastic iteration of the exotic, precise profile readers have come to expect from this pioneering Gualtallary Chardonnay reference point." www.robertparker.com

Wine Advocate 97, Vinous 94, James Suckling 97, James Haliday 97 "I really like this wine, more so every year. Stylistically, it sits in a classical, nutty, creamy sort of space; the sophistication of it seems to be refined each vintage, which sends it in the right direction, for my tastes anyway. On the nose, this 2022 Chardonnay presents salted cashews, white spring florals, firm nectarine, Golden Delicious apple and a splay of beeswax/tatami mat nuances and brine. On the palate, the wine builds on the path set forth by the bouquet—it is rich and wide, textural and fulsome yet with acidity and length that drags the width of the wine out to a focused and long close. It fermented in barrel, with malolactic fermentation eschewed, and it matured in a selection of French barriques (30% new), older barrels and large cask (500 liters). Hard pressing constructs the phenolic shape of the wine—a great thing—and the wine was matured for 11 months. The acidity through the finish is salty and juicy, and it leaves an uptick of energy and life in the mouth once the wine is gone." www.robertparker.com

Wine Spectator 92, Vinous 93 "Fresh peach, lemon curd and grilled pineapple flavors are juicy and delightful, with plenty of clarity and focus. Details of green tea, green cardamom and coriander linger, and the crisp, firm acidity leaves a lasting impression." www.robertparker.com

Wine Advocate 96+, Vinous 94 "The 2024 Applejack Vineyard Chardonnay, like the 2023 tasted alongside, is so perfumed. This is concentrated and intense, with brilliant width and transparency on the palate. The wine seems to wash over the tongue, staining it with flavor and leaving behind a trail of chalky phenolics. Despite writing less for this wine than the 2023, my preference is here. It's an unreal wine and warmly recommended." www.robertparker.com

WS 94, JS 92 “Stunning, with incredible vibrancy and concentration to the orange sherbet, lemon curd and ruby grapefruit flavors at the core.” winespectator.com

Wine Advocate (93-95), Wine Spectator 92

"The 2023 Hunting Hill Chardonnay is the ripest in alcohol of the 2024 releases, and it feels powerfully layered and driven on the palate. This is rich, almost thunderous in its positioning, with salted citrus and exotic spices (star anise/fennel/scraped vanilla pod). The oak here is polished and elegant, smoothing down any stray, loose hairs. The barrels have been air dried for three years and lightly toasted. The finish is tight and focused. This was tasted as a tank sample prior to filtration and bottling."

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Wine Advocate (95-97), Wine Spectator 93

"The 2023 Maté's Vineyard Chardonnay is mouthfilling and full, easily the biggest and most powerful of the single-vineyard Chardonnays in this 2023 release. "In terms of quality, 2023 is up there with the best of them: 2022, 2020, 2014..." This feels perhaps as statuesque and thrilling as the best of the Maté's so far, with intensity that explodes in every direction on the palate—length and width—with spicy top notes and a thunderous base of yellow fruit. The acidity, as usual, coils and weaves its way across the palate, lacing together the fruit and phenolics with seamless intensity. This is very good."

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Wine Advocate (94-96), Wine Spectator 92

"The 2023 Coddington Chardonnay is alive on the palate with preserved lemon rind, tendrils of crushed shells and layers of brine. It is electric, in its way. There are salted and crushed nuts on the middle palate and length, which uncoils through the finish that allows a second and third look at the detail inherent within. This is very exciting and also creamy. It was tasted as a tank sample prior to filtration and bottling."

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Wine Spectator 92

Wine Advocate 93, Wine Spectator 94 "Tasted alongside the Block 2, this 2023 Block 6 Chardonnay feels far more cohesive and resolved. Still tropical, and with viscose-like weight in the mouth, the wine evokes words like "exotic," "opulent" and "sophisticated." The wine is nutty and salty and full of flavor, the acidity tucked into the layers of fruit in the mouth. Very good." www.robertparker.com

Wine Advocate 92 "Sourced from younger plantings at the estate with declassifications from the upper-level bottlings, the 2024 Barda is a pitch-perfect introduction to the Chacra range. It leads with a radiantly floral and red-fruited bouquet supported by smoky, earth-tinged accents while sacrificing no purity. The palate is silky and suave, smoothly flowing into a balanced, persistent finish. It fermented with 15% whole clusters and matured in equal parts cement amphora and barrique, of which 10% was new." www.robertparker.com

Wine Advocate 95, James Suckling 96, James Haliday 97 "The 2022 Pinot Noir leads with a bouquet drenched in cherry and flowers, milk chocolate, bramble, moss and forest floor. The fruit character is pure, but there is so much more going on here than just the usual cavalcade of red berries. In the mouth, the wine is silky, lush and textural, with cocoa powder, a hint of Ovaltine (one assumes an oak character), soft licorice, strawberries and scratched blood orange. The package is creamy and svelte. This is perhaps less weighty in the fruit department than last year, which means that, at this stage, the components that shape the wine have greater dominance over the experience than usual. Having said this, it remains a sophisticated, classy-as-hell expression of Australian Pinot Noir and one that comes thoroughly and heartily recommended." www.robertparker.com

Wine Spectator 95 A stunning red, with a fleshy core of black cherry, plum and blackberry flavors accented with salted black licorice, cardamom, Earl Grey and dried thyme. Accents of fresh tomato leaf and sandalwood linger on the finish alongside firming tannins. Drink now through 2035." www.robertparker.com

Wine Advocate 97 The fruit is picked in the morning, put onto a shipping container, out on the 7 p.m. boat and at the winery in Healesville 36 hours after it is picked. They used 20% whole bunch for fermentation, and the wine matured for nine months. Planted in the vineyard are MV6 predominantly and D clones. The 2022 Fatal Shore Pinot Noir leads with rosemary, lavender, concentrated raspberry in the mouth (wow!) and layers of ductile tannin to support the fruit. The tannins are pronounced here, and it's great; there's plenty to chew on. The fruit is sapid and pure, decidedly floral and quite savory. There are also notes of graphite, iodine, blood, dried rose petal, tobacco, five spice/cumin/clove/ras el hanout. Super. This is an excellent wine, Tassie showing its prowess here." www.robertparker.com

Wine Advocate 96, Wine Spectator 96 "Fragrant, stylish and elegant, this opens with dried rose petal, Saigon cinnamon and cardamom aromatics, with a core of fresh raspberry, maraschino cherry, blood orange and cranberry flavors on a sleek and juicy frame. Added notes of spices and forest floor linger on the long and expressive finish. Drink now through 2037." www.robertparker.com

According to Thomas Bachelder, celebrated winemaker, "Le Grand Clos is a magical place on Jordan Bench, without a doubt one of the best areas for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in all Niagara". Opening on notes of raspberry and blackberry, followed by orange zest, the profile is complete with a vegetal touch and a delicate pepper note.

Wine Advocate 97 "The 2023 Burn Cottage Vineyard Pinot Noir is so detailed and pretty. The fruit here is silky and bright, with nuances of sweet tobacco and raspberry seed, and there are creamy tannins and layers of tissue-paper texture and acidity. What a beautiful wine this is, showing the poise, detail and energy of the 2023 vintage. The 2023 wines seem to be a magnificent cellaring vintage, although I will understand if they are all consumed upon release, such is the beauty and poise of them as young wines. If they were people, we'd say that they were "old souls" or "mature before their time" or even "young prodigies." I love the 2023s en masse and have great respect and hope for their potential futures." www.robertparker.com

Wine Advocate 95, Wine Spectator 94 "The 2022 Sauvage Vineyard Pinot Noir is darker in the glass compared to the Burn Cottage Vineyard Pinot Noir of the same vintage. Here, the nose leads with dried herbs and cranberry, black cherry, pomegranate molasses, dark chocolate and raspberry notes. There's also nori, sweet tobacco and sage. In the mouth, the wine is ripe and plush with chewy tannins and a substantive, fulsome sort of impact. This has loads of everything, including length of flavor. This is a bigger wine than last year's offering, which will please many. I love single-vineyard wines, the lens through which we can view the year that made them and the strength of the site, above all." www.robertparker.com

Number 44 of the Top 100 Wine Spectator

Wine Advocate 92, Wine Spectator 95 "Elegant, plush and lush, with fresh flavors of black cherry, raspberry preserves and lingonberry jam. Herbal accents of dried thyme, sage and matcha, along with whiffs of white pepper and crushed pine needle, linger on the long, expressive finish. Drink now through 2038."

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Wine Advocate 94, Vinous 93 "The 2023 MacMuir Pinot Noir leads with cocoa powder and pomegranate, dried herbs and caper brine. The palate offers all of this and more, framed by fine, chalky tannins and a wash of juicy acidity that feels watercolor-like and impressionist in the mouth. I like this wine very much, and the slightly lighter frame this year works well for it. It is chewy and good, with asphalt and petrichor through the finish." www.robertparker.com

Wine Advocate 93, Vinous 92 "The 2023 Bannockburn Pinot Noir is vibrant and spicy, with real energy and pace on the palate. Cherry, cranberry, pomegranate and raspberry converge on a springy base of pliable tannin. The acidity, which is bright, is woven through all aspects of the fruit, and the wine feels exciting and fresh as a result. This is a great wine here. It has full flavor and resolved texture at a moderate alcohol level." www.robertparker.com

Vinous 94

Wine Advocate 95, Vinous 93 "The 2023 Calvert Pinot Noir is abundantly berry driven on the nose, with ripe summer cherries, mulberry, forest floor, pomegranate molasses and peppercorns. In the mouth, the wine leads with firm tannins, which are laced with Szechuan peppercorns and sandalwood spice and brought into focus by acidity that skirts the edges of brisk but lands gently on juicy. This is a lovely wine, further compounding my affection for the wines of the 2023 vintage on the South Island." www.robertparker.com

Wine Advocate 95+, Vinous 96

Wine Advocate 93, Vinous 92 The 2023 Cornish Point Pinot Noir is perfumed and intense, with dried garden roses, blood plum, redcurrant and licorice. In the mouth, the wine is elegant initially, and as the tannins gather momentum across the palate, it becomes an altogether more powerful experience. This is an impressive wine, as usual, shaped by a firm splay of tannin that feels supple, pliable and granular." www.robertparker.com