2015 Cap de Faugères • Cap de Faugeres
Rating 89 points
Release Price NA
Drink Date 2018 - 2029
Reviewed by Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Issue Date 22nd Feb 2018
Source Interim Issue Mid-February 2018, The Wine Advocate
The medium garnet-purple colored 2015 Cap de Faugeres has a ripper of a nose, featuring warm plums and baked cherries with hints of garrigue, forest floor and chargrill. Medium to full-bodied, plush and with a savory/meaty character in the mouth, it features impressive restraint and finishes on a mineral note.
2020 Descendientes de José Palacios • Pétalos
Rating 93+ points
Release Price $24
Drink Date 2022 - 2027
Reviewed by Luis Gutiérrez
Issue Date 1st Jul 2022
Source Issue 261 End of June 2022, The Wine Advocate
The regional red 2020 Pétalos comes from 90 hectares of vineyards, mainly from Corullón and Villafranca del Bierzo and the districts of Viariz, Hornija, Valtuille de Abajo and Otero. It mixes expositions, altitudes and soils and wants to paint a picture of Bierzo in the warm 2020 vintage. They reckon it's 92% Mencía with 5% other red grapes (Alicante Bouschet, Gran Negro, Pan y Carne and Negreda) and 3% whites (Valenciana, Jerez and Godello) with an average yield of 26 hectoliters per hectare. The grapes were picked from August 28th to September 24th and fermented partly destemmed in stainless steel and oak vats with indigenous yeasts for 43 days with a slow malolactic fermentation that lasted two months. The wine matured in barrel for around eight months (malolactic was fast, and the wines were put in barrel early) and was bottled unclarified, unfiltered and non-stabilized with cold. It has good ripeness with 14% alcohol (their upper limit) and moderate acidity at 4.6 grams (of tartaric acid). It's a little more fruit-driven, a vintage of sun, jovial and juicy, approachable and round with very fine, slightly powdery tannins. The fruit is darker than in the 2019. This is still young, and, as it happens with even the most approachable wines from the region, it should be even better in a couple of years. I tasted it again in mid-December, and the wine is showing better and better; time in bottle has done it some good, and the wine has settled and is getting more balanced. I don't feel the sun now; it's harmonious and more serious, juicy and tasty. A little better than anticipated. They had 1,050 barrels that produced 263,000 bottles and 1,500 magnums. It was bottled in May 2021.
2019 M. Chapoutier Cotes du Rhone Belleruche
Reviewed by Joe Czerwinski
Issue Date 31st Oct 2020
Source Issue 251 End of October 2020, The Wine Advocate
Rating 88 points
Release Price NA
Drink Date 2020 - 2023
The 2019 Cotes du Rhone Belleruche offers up an enticing mix of blueberries and black cherries, accented by hints of cracked pepper, licorice and dark chocolate. It's medium to full-bodied, with a broad feel in the mouth and supple tannins on the softly dusty finish. Pretty satisfying stuff for the modest price you'll pay (probably around $15 when it hits the U.S. market).
2017 M. Chapoutier Rasteau
Reviewed by Joe Czerwinski
Issue Date 1st Sep 2018
Source 238, The Wine Advocate
Rating 92 points
Release Price $18
Drink Date 2018 - 2022
The hidden, reasonably priced gem in the Chapoutier lineup is the company's consistently fine Rasteau. The 2017 Rasteau is a blend of 50% Grenache, 40% Syrah and 10% Mourvedre, aged in concrete. While blackberries and blueberries mingle on the nose, this is full-bodied, richly tannic and concentrated. Drink it over the next 3-4 years with hearty dishes.
2016 M. Chapoutier Saint-Joseph Deschants
Reviewed by Joe Czerwinski
Issue Date 1st Nov 2018
Source 239, The Wine Advocate
Rating 91 points
Release Price NA
Drink Date 2019 - 2027
Marked by scents of crushed stone and black olives, the 2016 Saint-Joseph Deschants is a super value in the context of Northern Rhone Syrah, offering ample weight and concentration combined with near-term drinkability. It's medium to full-bodied, plump yet firm, with sufficient fine-grained tannins on the long finish to suggest a decade of aging potential.