The Wine Independent (99)

The 2021 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard needs quite a bit of coaxing to unlock notes of ripe yellow apples, grapefruit oil, orange peel, and juicy peaches, leading to wafts of wet slate, shaved ginger, and almond croissant. The medium-bodied palate has super-charged intensity, delivering layer upon layer of citrus, stone fruit, and mineral flavors with a silky texture and laser-precise acidity, finishing with incredible length and so many citrus and mineral sparks. This is phenomenal Chardonnay! These Hyde Vineyard vines were planted in 1986. "Hyde were the first to do custom growing and they do it so well," commented DuMOL's winemaker, Andy Smith. "The shoot growth in 2021 was very low and the yields were down from a typical 21 barrels to 17 barrels. But I believe this is the best quality is the best they've ever had from here." I agree. For number crunchers, the pH is 3.38, and ABV is 13.7%.

James Suckling (97)

Very subtle aromas of green apple, pear, kumquat and light peach. Medium to full body with a really refined nature, showing similar flavors to the nose, as well as lightly toasted oak and acacia and nut undertones. Honeydew melon and lilac, too. Refined and savory. Delicious complexity. Drink or hold.

James Suckling (98)

This is really amazing with an exotic dried-fruit character of pineapple and mangoes. Full-bodied, rich and fruity with cream, pie-crust and caramel character. Crazy chardonnay with a little Jura style and some flor undertones. It really does have flor in the barrel when aging. Love. Get it. Drink now.

James Suckling (98)

This is really amazing with an exotic dried-fruit character of pineapple and mangoes. Full-bodied, rich and fruity with cream, pie-crust and caramel character. Crazy chardonnay with a little Jura style and some flor undertones. It really does have flor in the barrel when aging. Love. Get it. Drink now.

James Suckling (98)

A tight and beautiful white with a dense palate of beautiful, ripe lemons and apples. Layered and refined with phenolic tension. Complex yeast and hints of oak and flor. Full body. Great length. 80 per cent flor-growth in barrel. Drink now.

James Suckling (97)

This is another rock-star chardonnay from here with dried-apple, pear-skin, crushed-stone and peach-pit character. Full body. Creamy texture. Phenolic form and a long, flavorful finish. Drink or hold.

James Suckling (96)

Cooked apple, lemon curd and light vanilla on the nose, together with stone, mineral and some dried flowers. Medium to full body with a creamy texture and beautiful fruit. Hints of vanilla and pie crust in the aftertaste. Always great quality for the price. Drink or hold.

James Suckling (96)

This has aromas of ripe apricots, buttercream, baked apples and pastries. Medium-to full-bodied with a creamy, round and almost oily texture. Lovely balance of ripe fruit and toasted-pastry notes with bright acidity. Delicious finish. Fantastic value, as always. Drink now or hold.

James Suckling (97)

A hint of flint and gunpowder with waxed lemon, oyster shell, mango and salted green apples. Quite a textured, saline expression of chardonnay with tangy flavors and a mineral drive. Full-bodied and reductive with phenolic support. Savory, saline and mouthwatering finish. Love the austerity here. Drink or hold.

James Suckling (96)

A consistently impressive chardonnay that highlights purity and saline minerality. Salted lemons, sliced apples, seashells and stones drizzled with a touch of oak spice. Full-bodied yet tense and lightly saline on the palate, with bright acidity and a pure, lengthy finish. Nervy and simply delicious. Drink or hold.

James Suckling (95)

Attractively briny nose with some cooked lemons, hot stone minerals, yeast, juniper and a hint of bread crust and almonds. Full-bodied yet bright and slightly phenolic on the palate with excellent freshness and power. Transparent, dry and saline in the finish. Delicious and super drinkable. Drink or hold.

James Suckling (95)

Hyper-mineral nose full of crushed seashells, limes and a touch of white nuts. Broad and tense yet quite elegant and transparent on the palate, with salty, bracing acidity and a long yet nicely austere and linear finish. I love the mineral-water purity of this. Drink now for its saline, steely minerality, but this will age very well.

Tim Atkin MW (95)

We want to change perceptions of Torrontés,” says Alejandro Vigil, who sources this chiselled, almost Rheingau Riesling-like white from a seven-year-old pergola at 1,600 metres in Gualtallary. Mineral-edged, taut and refined, with lime and white flower notes, stony intensity and thrilling palate length.

James Suckling (92)

So subtle and perfumed with rice floor, lime and green melon aromas that follow through to a medium body with a wonderful center palate of tension, fruit and acidity. Drink now.

James Suckling (95)

This has rich, lemon and lightly grassy aromas in a very fresh, pure and focused mode. Some fresh-pastry and chalky notes, too. The palate is succulent and piercing. Some smooth, lees-derived texture sits nicely around the fresh, lemon flavor with pastry-like resolve. Impressive textural complexity really makes this special. Drink over the next six years.

Vinous (95)

The 2020 Sémillon El Enemigo from Agrelo, Luján de Cuyo hails from a 70-year-old vineyard. Aged with flor for a year before 15 months in barrels, it’s a golden yellow in the glass. On the nose there are notes of flint, honey, a little hazelnut and cashew nut underneath the flor-based aromas of white flowers and pear. In the mouth, however, it’s broad with a good, voluminous flow and a clove backdrop. Intense and creamy with a sustained layer of salinity, the stylistic acrobatics have opened up new possibilities for the varietal.

Vinous (95)

The 2021 Sémillon comes from a high-density vineyard in Agrelo, Luján de Cuyo. It aged for 15 months in used French oak barrels, 35% with a delicate veil of flor. Yellow in the glass with a golden sheen. The nose presents inviting honey, chamomile, cashew and hazelnut aromas against a creamed corn backdrop. The palate has a dry, compact character with a freshness provided by the flor contrasting the grape's natural volume. Ends with a nuanced finish of oak and nut.

James Suckling (94)

Nicely baked apples, ripe citrus, stones, warm spices and a touch of vanilla. Tense and medium- to full-bodied on the palate, with a saline touch to the lengthy, flavorful finish. Fresh, composed and very extensive. Drink or hold.

Wine Advocate (95)

I had the luck of tasting two vintages of the Chardonnay from slate/schist soils side by side, including the 2016 Aconcagua Costa Las Pizarras Chardonnay. The juice from the whole clusters decanted for 24 hours, fermented in oak barrels with indigenous yeasts and then aged in barriques for 14 months. It's a little more compressed than the 2017 and has good, vibrant flavors with some floral notes and some gentler flavors, perhaps more similar to the 2014, with the austere schist minerality but with more volume and juicy fruit. There is a little more malolactic in this year. If people have the idea that 2015 is warmer than 2016 and that 2017 is again warmer, the character of these Aconcagua Costa bottlings is the opposite: 2015 and 2017 are fresher, and 2016 is a little warmer. This sometimes happens, as the cooler years are harvested later and the warmer ones see an earlier harvest, so that the wines are exactly the opposite of what you expect. This is great, and its only problem is being tasted next to the 2017, which is otherworldly. 5,000 bottles were filled in May 2017.

Wine Advocate (98)

The 2017 Aconcagua Costa Las Pizarras Chardonnay is really fascinating, and it's even sharper, more restrained and with higher acidity than the 2016 that I tasted next to it. Winemaker Francisco Pancho Baettig is really pushing the wine to the limits—harvesting early and with more concentration and structure achieved through lower yields, which provides depth and complexity. The origin is the same as for 2016, and so is the vinification and aging in French barriques for almost 13 months. This is really young and austere, and it took some time in the glass to open up. It has Chablis-like definition, austerity and crispness; it's pure, mineral, long, precise like a laser cut, symmetric and chiseled. Even if it's sharp and citrusy, the palate has more volume and depth, and some nutty notes appear after some time. It's more like a Meursault than a Chablis this time, with great length, and I couldn't help but think of the whites from Jean-Marc Roulot when tasting this. It's a monumental mineral white, with the coastal freshness and the slate tastiness. This is hands down the best vintage of Las Pizarras and the best Chardonnay I've ever tasted from Chile. It's amazing how this wine has developed in only four vintages. As an American friend of mine would say, it's awesome beyond belief! 7,000 bottles were filled in March 2018.

James Suckling (99)

I love the aromas of lavender, sandalwood, sliced apples and pears. Some gunpowder and slate undertones. Full-bodied, yet formed and tight with minerality and brightness. Vivid acidity gives this energy and depth. Drinkable, but will age beautifully.

James Suckling (97)

Real depth for a chardonnay, with lots of limey, smoky green fruit, chalky, flinty citrus, stones and oyster shells. Pure, full-bodied and mouthwatering, with laser beams of acidity cutting through the taut, textured palate. Bright, long and pure with a delicious, austere edge. Drink or hold.

James Suckling (98)

Punchy minerals cut through the creamy lemon and limey citrus, almost like licking wet stones! Some green apples, too. Steely, with a hint of white flowers and white almond. Very transparent and vertical but this is not a typical full-bodied chardonnay, it is rather linear, tense and electric. Sharpened minerality lingers in a lengthy, mineral finish. An extremely gastronomic and mouthwatering chardonnay. Drink now or hold.

James Suckling (98)

Astonishing purity and youthful freshness, the white-peach, Asian-pear and candied Amalfi-lemon aromas incredibly vivid. Super-focused, medium-bodied palate with staggering vitality and energy. This is very concentrated, but the refreshing acidity makes it feel so light on its feet. Then comes the diamond-bright minerality at the finish. Surely the best white wine from this producer to date! Made from vines planted in 2005. Drink or hold. 20th Anniversary Berlin Tasting Event, February 2024.

James Suckling (98)

Astonishing purity and youthful freshness, the white-peach, Asian-pear and candied Amalfi-lemon aromas incredibly vivid. Super-focused, medium-bodied palate with staggering vitality and energy. This is very concentrated, but the refreshing acidity makes it feel so light on its feet. Then comes the diamond-bright minerality at the finish. Surely the best white wine from this producer to date! Made from vines planted in 2005. Drink or hold. 20th Anniversary Berlin Tasting Event, February 2024.

Embark on a sensory journey with the exquisite Evening Land Summum Chardonnay 2021. This sublime wine is born from the Seven Springs vineyard in Oregon's Eola-Amity Hills, USA, known for its volcanic soils and maritime climate. Handcrafted by the world-renowned Evening Land Winery, acclaimed for highlighting distinct terroirs, this Chardonnay is a testament to their dedication to bare-handed winemaking.

Meticulously hand-harvested and whole-cluster pressed, the wine matures in French oak barrels. The result is a harmonious marriage of crystalline purity and opulent texture. On the nose, nuanced notes of citrus and wet stone unfold, while the palate is graced with complex layers of ripe pear, honey and subtle minerality.

With its remarkable ageing potential, the Evening Land Summum Chardonnay 2021 promises to evolve beautifully, offering wine aficionados an unforgettable tasting journey. Succumb to its allure and add this elegant expression of nature's finesse to your cellar today.

Steeped in the lineage of grand-cru Burgundy, the Ferren Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2015 emanates an air of quiet sophistication. Born in the verdant vineyards of the rugged Sonoma Coast, this fine wine amasses its distinctive palate from swathes of rich California soil. Matt Courtney, former winemaker at Marcassin, meticulously produces these small-lot Chardonnays focusing on the unique terroirs of premier Sonoma Coast vineyards. The vintage was nurtured using traditional methods, allowing the essence of the region to flourish in its composition.

The wine reveals an exquisite profile of ripe citrus, orchard fruit and brioche uplifted by nuanced minerality, reflective of its Pacific influenced roots. The finish is elegantly layered with lingering flavours, rewarding the palate with its complexity. A testament to Courtney's careful hand and unwavering vision, the Ferren Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2015 is undoubtedly the connoisseur’s choice for a memorable fine wine experience.

Exquisite in every sense, Grgich Hills Chardonnay 2016 is meticulously crafted by the world-renowned Grgich Hills Estate located in California's fertile Napa Valley. Produced by Mike Grgich, a celebrated winemaker, this luscious chardonnay illustrates his masterful winemaking methods. Juicy and energetic on the mid-palate, Grgich Hills Chardonnay 2016 flows with layers of vibrant yellow apple, pear and white peach.

Introducing sustainable farming and handpicking at the peak of ripeness, every grape is delicately pressed as whole clusters and fermented with wild yeast in French oak barrels. The wine is stirred every month for nine months and aged in barrels for another nine, enriching it with a creamy texture and enhancing its naturally zesty acidity. This top-tier vintage from Grgich Hills Estate truly captures the winery's classic style, skill and the fruitful bounty of Napa Valley - it's a bottle sure to captivate the palate of any discerning sommelier.