Bob McDonald

9.4

We first tried a bottle of Celestins in a restaurant in Gigondas some years ago, and for me it was a WOW Wine. Had this latest bottle on Sunday with Roast Pork. Medicinal to begin with which blew off. Barnyard aromas - horse manure. In hindsight this could’ve been Brett but the overall impression and tasting was impressive and memorable. Glad I have 3 left. Showing a medium to full bodied palate. This is textbook CdP in the old school genre. The tannins are silky and sexy - a liquorice note together with saddle leather. Henri Bonneau passed away in 2016 and the wine making is now carried out by his son, Marcel. A visit to his archaic cellars was keenly sought after and rarely granted. Mould all over the walls, rickety stairs light bulbs dangling from the ceiling and a floor which stuck to the soles of your shoes was how one visitor described his experience in the cellar. Nevertheless this is a CdP up there with Rayas and the top Cuvée from Beaucastel. The blend is usually 90% Grenache with the balance made up of around 4 or 5 different varieties. — a year ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Every now and again, a wine comes into your life that causes you to rethink what you thought you knew about a type of wine. “Avvoltore” by Morisfarms is one of those wines for me.

The cork pulled perfectly. The wine pours a dark ruby color with an opaque core and some slight signs of sediment. Moderate staining of the tears. On the nose the wine is intense with bright, lush dark fruit: black currants, dark plums, blackberries, black cherry, tobacco, freshly tilled earth, cocoa, and baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium++ tannins and medium+ acid. The texture is super grippy…like whoa. Confirming the fruits aforementioned on the nose and accompanied by notes of espresso, and trading the cocoa for dark chocolate. There’s a nice touch of baking spice too. The finish is very long. A super compelling wine that is still quite primary. I expect this vintage to be extremely long lived. My next bottle after 2032.

As an added note, the Super Tuscan genre has always given me mixed emotions. Many of the wines are usually very lovely and technically excellent yet, I often struggle with them because so many taste as if they could really come from anywhere. And that’s cool for a lot of people but I crave wines to tell me a story that give me a sense of where they’re from. “Avvoltore” does this with a style and grace that’s massively compelling. — 2 years ago

Mario Vaillancourt

9.1

Rich golden colour. The nose has some hazelnuts slightly and some buttery notes, with yellow orchard fruit notes like peach. The palate is medium to full bodied, rich, dense with enough acidity to support the richness. Very nice despite being only a Village wine as I am a big fan of the Domaine. 90-91 pts

Couleur or soutenue. Le nez a un côté noisettes et beurrée, des fruits à chair jaune, avec une richesse et un genre fruits murs au nez comme en bouche, c’est assez puissant, une petite tension juste assez pour supporter la richesse et le gras, assez puissant et bonne longueur. Très bien. 90-91 — 4 years ago

Romain Fitoussi

9.0

Between partial carbonic maceration and oak aging. The perfect expression of Beaujolais-bourguignon gamay. Airy and concentrated mouth, red fruits (strawberry, raspberry, cherry), gourmet bubble gum, even regressive. More serious spicy notes perfectly balance the bouquet, linked by herbal peppery notes. One of the basics to me. Exactly the kind of wine you find as a buddy.

Entre macération carbonique partielle et élevage en fût. L’expression parfaite du gamay Beaujolais-bourguignon. Bouche aérienne et concentrée, fruits rouges (fraise, framboise, cerise), bubble-gum gourmand, voir régressif. Des notes plus sérieuses épicées équilibrent parfaitement le bouquet, liaison générale constituées par les notes herbacées et poivrées. L’un des fondamentaux. Exactement le genre de vin que tu retrouves comme un bon copain. — a year ago

Tim L

9.1

Ahhh…Toscana with the Sangeovesi tannins tamed almost perfectly for a textured and balanced almost full bodied dry flavorful dark berry vino…smooth almost lush wine for the genre…the fine wines produced by Avignonesi near Montepulciano, Italy. Nice value, drink again… — 2 years ago

Kenneth Doll

9.2

Hints of dark cherry. Was better on first day, but a lovely example of the genre. — 3 years ago

with Tracy

Tim Hinck

9.3

2017 - $28
Some wines knock you off your feet with oddity or innovation, others are so simply well-made, so unabashedly true, and so germain that they come close to perfectly encapsulating an entire genre. To me, this is exactly what American Riesling can and should be. Perfectly poised between power and good style. This balances a smoky, intense, Alsace influence with good ol’ American fruit and the best that we can offer in response to European funk: umami in spades. I adore this wine. — 4 years ago

Austin Hohnke

9.3

Such a classy bitch. Stylish, refined, and youthful. Drinking so well right now with a fantastic mineral backbone. The oak influence is seamless but pronounced.

Still a polarizing wine though with some blind tasters recognizing the wine’s quality while still being put off by the genre of oaked California Chardonnay. — a year ago

Bob McDonald

9.0

Rich crimson in colour. Muted on the nose and the palate. Very self contained and latent with that solid core promising much. Will develop into the stewed fruits/rhubarb genre I feel. Hopefully with age it will chip bits away from that core to add complexity. Very solid at the moment. 90 now - with potential for 94 points. Some critics state that Dry River’s Pinot Noir is an excellent dry red but is not varietal. I tend to fall into that camp. — 2 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

Very pale lemon in colour. Grapefruit notes on nose and palate. Mineral notes with a bit of funk. In the lean style still with brisk acidity. Bellwether is a Coonawarra winery but Sue Bell sources this Chardonnay from the cool climate Tamar River in Tasmania. When I did vintage in early April at Bellwether a refrigerated tanker of the latest vintage arrived from the Tamar River which we then transferred into a combination of new and one year old oak puncheons for maturation. An excellent wine for its genre. — 2 years ago