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Hors Bordeaux tasting notes: USA
Given the iconic status of many wines from the US – from established icons like Opus One, Vérité and Inglenook to those in the process of becoming icons (Favia, Morlet, Peter Michael and Pym Rae) – it is perhaps unsurprising that many of the superstars of the autumn collection come from the US, reports Colin Hay.
There is also the sheer number and diversity of the wines on offer from the US to consider – from Ernst Loosen’s sublime Oregon Pinot Noir (Appassionata Fortissimo) to L’Aventure’s Pasa Robles ‘Rhone’ blend (Côte à Côte). It is therefore difficult and probably unfair to pick out highlights. But if I force myself to do so it is difficult to look past the two wines that, by their scores alone, place them above all of the September releases – Morlet’s exceptional Coeur de Vallée and Paul Hobbs’ beguiling Cristina’s Signature.
Peter Michael’s Les Pavots and Vérité’s Le Désir (which I really need to re-taste from better stemware) both come very close to perfection too. I was also deeply impressed by all that I tasted from Inglenook and Favia and I have never tasted better from Pym Rae or Beaulieu.
| Oregon releases | Vintage | Region | 1st release? | Rating |
| *Appassionata Fortissimo (Ernst Loosen) | 2013 | Oregon | No | 97+ |
| Californian releases | Vintage | Region | 1st release? | Rating |
| Morlet Coeur de Vallée | 2021 | Napa | No | 100 |
| Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon | 2021 | Napa | No | 97 |
| Inglenook Rubicon | 2021 | Napa | No | 98 |
| Chappellet Signature Cabernet Sauvignon | 2021 | Napa | No | 96 |
| Chappellet Pritchard Hill Cabernet Sauvignon | 2021 | Napa | No | 98 |
| Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour | 2021 | Napa | No | 97+ |
| Paul Hobbs Cristina’s Signature | 2021 | Napa | No | 100 |
| Quintessa | 2021 | Napa | No | 97 |
| Cardinale Estate Wine | 2021 | Napa | No | NYT |
| Favia Coombsville | 2021 | Napa | No | 98 |
| Favia Cerro Sur | 2021 | Napa | No | 97+ |
| Favia Oakville | 2021 | Napa | No | 97 |
| Overture | 2021 | Napa | No | NYT |
| Opus One | 2021 | Napa | No | NYT |
| Maya (Dalla Valle) | 2021 | Napa | No | 98 |
| Pym Rae (Tesseron Estate) | 2021 | Napa | No | 98 |
| Au Paradis (Peter Michael) | 2021 | Napa | No | 98 |
| Les Pavots (Peter Michael) | 2021 | Sonoma | No | 99 |
| Vérité La Joie | 2021 | Sonoma | No | 98 |
| Vérité La Muse | 2021 | Sonoma | No | 98 |
| Vérité Le Désir | 2021 | Sonoma | No | 99 |
| L’Aventure Optimus | 2021 | Pasa Robles | No | 95 |
| L’Aventure Côte à Côte | 2021 | Pasa Robles | No | 96+ |
| L’Aventure Estate Cuvée | 2021 | Pasa Robles | No | 97 |
La Fleur VivaltuS 2019 (Ribera Del Duero DO; 99% Tempranillo; 1% Merlot; a selection from parcels all at high altitudes of between 750 and 1000 metres on poor clay, sandy and limestone soils; pH 3.67; 14% alcohol). Soft, gentle, lithe and engaging aromatically. Not fully open and expressive but still inviting and gently enticing even if it really would benefit from some time in a carafe. As it opens it is, as it was last year too, impressively light, lifted, aerial and, above all, floral in its aromatics, with pleasing notes of acacia, hyacinth and eucalyptus. Cinnamon too, and a hint of clove. Dark berry fruits – blueberries, brambles and mulberries, a little damson too. A touch of graphite and garrigue herbs. Squid ink. We have lovely fine-grained tannins and a degree of precision and finesse that hints already at the quality of the grand vin for which it serves as a wonderful introduction. 93.
VivaltuS 2019 (Ribera Del Duero DO; 99% Tempranillo; 1% Merlot; the old-vine fruit was sourced predominantly from the Fuentenebro and La Aguilera vineyards at, respectively, 900-1000 and 850-900 metres of altitude; aged in a combination of French oak barrels and amphorae; pH 3.67; 14% alcohol; a partnership between Jean-Claude Berrouet, who is the consultant here, and Montxo Martínez). The fourth release of this wine. Another wine of elemental freshness and staggering intensity from VivaltuS, both highly expressive aromatically yet also somehow delicate and restrained. Leafy, herbal, vibrant and very subtly spiced, this is soft and gentle, gracious and beguiling. I love the trace of cedar and that note of wild thyme. Very beautiful, with lovely grip and stretch from the extraordinarily fine-grained but structuring tannins. Long and juicy on the lifted, aerial finish. 97.
Dolio (Adega Alguiera) 2020 (Ribeira Sacro DO; a blend of Mencia, Brancellao, Merenzau, Caiño and Sousón, with no Garnacha Tintorera this year; foot-trodden and 100 per cent whole bunch fermented in a single troncoconic oak vat with indigenous yeasts; matured in 225-liter barrels and 2,000-litre foudres for 24 months; 14% alcohol; 6658 bottles produced; tasted twice, first at the Joanne press tasting and then in Paris from a sample sent by the property). A wine that cries out for a decanter and patience. Very Burgundian in style. Delicate and refined, with a bright, crisp and yet crystal clear mid-palate charged with red berry and stone fruit. Raspberry. Goji berries. Cherries. A little redcurrant too. A peppery florality and no hint of oak. Deceptively, this has quite an ample frame, reinforcing the limpid and glossy mouthfeel. Spicy, with a lovely note of crushed rose and green Szechuan peppercorns. Sapid and juicy especially on the finish and nicely layered too. Impressively crystalline. Likely to represent excellent value. This will need a lot of aeration in its youth. 94+.
Matallana 2021 (Ribera Del Duero DO; from a blend of Tinto Fino, Navarro, Valenciano, Albillo and other varietals sourced from the best sites in Sotillo de la Ribera, Roas, Fuentecén, Fuentemolinos and Pardilla; fermented in oak vats and tanks with indigenous yeasts; aged for 14 months in French oak barrels; 14.5% alcohol). This has great presence and intensity. We’re immediately transported to the crypt or the cathedral. Myrrh, incense, patchouli, molten candle wax. Broad and dense, impressively layered and compact too. Fine-grained but very tactile tannins that get between the layers and structure the gently tapering parameters of the flow of the wine over the palate. Impressive. A true vin de garde. Serious but with great freshness and dynamism. 97.
Yjar 2020 (Rioja DOC; a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, Granegro and Rojal; 14% alcohol). Dark berries and black cherries, a little touch of baking spice, but incense too. Graphite. More open-textured at first than Matallana, but the grippy tannins sculpt this drawing the fruit back to the spine and increasing the intensity through the mid-palate. More glacial, sapid and juicy than Matallana, but with considerable density and impact, above all on the finish. Impressive. Very Telmo Rodriguez! 97.
Tapias de Marques de Riscal 2021 (Rioja DOC; 100% Tempranillo; 15% alcohol). Intense, bright and fresh, but with a very full robe, nice amplitude and a pronounced sense of aromatic tension. The aromatics lead one to anticipate, even before it passes one’s lips, the struggle between the amplitude the fruit wants to take and the tannins that want to pull it back to the spine. Graphite and a touch of cedar with aeration. Sous bois notes. I find this quite bordelais in a way. Lovely. Leafy aromatics. Hyper-fresh. One senses the altitude. Light and lifted, yet considerable density. Dark berry fruits, brambles and mulberries, damsons. Wild thyme and lemon thyme. Ink. It’s fuller and deeper than you expect, with gloriously fine-grained tannins – not really beady before finer grained than that implies. Fantastically pure and precise, especially given both the layering and the density. Lovely structure. Beautifully shaped, but more fluid than chiselled implies. Long and gently rippling on the sapid and juicy finish. Excellent. A vin de garde as ever but all is there and with great harmony. 97.
CVNE Real de Asùa Carromaza 2021 (Rioja Alta; 100% Tempranillo; from the two Carromaza plots in the village of the same name in the Rioja Alta at an elevation of 530-555 metres; aged for 12 months in French oak barrels; pH 3.63; 14% alcohol). Lifted. Spicy, with evident cinnamon and clove. Assorted peppercorns. A tight, almost strict, frame and quite linear. Aerial and crystalline, or it will be once the fine and grainy tannins are more resolved. For the moment they massage themselves into the berry and predominantly stone fruit and disrupt the flow of the wine – but all that is required is a little patience. Juicy and impressively fresh. Lifted on the finish. 95.
Californian whites
| Californian releases (white) | Vintage | Region | 1st release? | Rating |
| Inglenook Blancaneaux | 2022 | Napa | No | 96 |
| Quintessa Illumination | 2023 | Napa & Sonoma | No | 95 |
Inglenook Blancaneaux 2022 (Rutherford, Napa Valley; from just 8.5 hectares of the 235 hectares of Francis Ford Coppola’s Inglenook estate; 40% Viognier; 37% Rousanne; 23% Marsanne; 13.4% alcohol; Philippe Bascaules of Chateau Margaux is the consultant oenologist here). Waxy. Rich. But lovely freshness and crystalline crisp verticality. Concentrated and intense, but with a constant vein of acidity bringing a bright and crisp freshness. White grapefruit. A hint of exotic fresh fruit – passionfruit. Very zesty and pure. It needs that crunch as the mid-palate is dense and rich, but never fat. Tense and taut. Charged and racy. Glacial and gracious in its purity. 96.
Quintessa Illumination 2023 (Napa/Sonoma; 58% Sauvignon Blanc Musque; 32% Sauvignon Blanc; 10% Sémillon; 13.5% alcohol). Lithe. Ultra-fresh. Searing in its acidity. The sample is almost a little pétillant. Lemon zest, a hint of fresh pineapple, but subtle, confit white melon, white grapefruit and a little mimosa perhaps. Gooseberry. Bright and crisp. 95. (€42 ex negoc.).
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