Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Drawing its fruit from Castiglione Falletto, Sordo's 2016 Barolo Villero represents a very small production with just 3,000 bottles made. These results show medium dark concentration with a savory bouquet that is defined by forest fruit and potting soil. There are hints of spice, leather and tar that emerge slowly at the back. Villero is a sturdy and compact red wine that sees good structural support from its tannins and its natural fruit volume. It is built like a tank and will withstand the test of time.

Sordo has access to some of the best vineyard sites in the appellation, including this celebrated vineyard in Castiglione Falletto. The Sordo 2016 Barolo Monprivato delivers a rich and open-knit presentation with dark aromas of blackberry, plum and truffle-infused earth. The wine shows precision, concentration and personality, all followed by a ferrous tone of iron ore or rusty nail. To my palate, this wine offers the best tannic management. It offers distinct firmness without the bitterness.

From vines said to have been planted in the 1880s, the Roty 2005 Charmes Chambertin Tres Vieilles Vignes announces its distinction a foot away from the glass, with uncanny intensity and clarity of black fruit essences, along with ineffable mineral and animal suggestions. Tactile cinnamon spiciness, bitter-sweet herbs, and black cherry and black raspberry concentrate (fresh, yet with liqueur-like intensity, sweetness and viscosity) saturate the palate, and a dark and rising tide of mineral and carnal flavors meets the fruit and spice in a thunderous finish.

The 2006 Barolo Riserva Vecchie Viti dei Capalot e delle Brunate (magnum) is a dark, sensual beauty. Ripe fruit, violets, licorice, menthol and pine are some of the nuances that are woven into the frame of this rich, expansive Barolo. The wine reveals tons of depth and dimension, but then shuts down rather quickly in the glass. The 2006 Barolo Vecchie Viti dei Capalot e delle Brunate is one of the more imposing wines in this line up of 2006 Barolos, but it is pure magic in a glass. (AG)

The 2010 Pontet-Canet offers a very deep garnet color. Whoa—the nose explodes with a vast array of black fruit preserves and savory nuances: plum preserves, blackcurrant cordial, black cherry coulis and licorice with wafts of dried lavender, melted chocolate, charcuterie, black olives, truffles and camphor plus a hint of sandalwood. The full-bodied palate is completely filled with black fruits, exotic spices and earthy nuances with a firm foundation of ripe, grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing with epic length and depth.

Coming from a dry-farmed, three-acre vineyard in Yountville, the 2018 Georgia Sauvignon Blanc was fermented and aged for 19 months in French oak barrels, 70% new. It slides seductively out of the glass with notes of pink grapefruit, white peaches and lemon drops plus hints of coriander seed, mandarin peel and honeysuckle. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a gorgeous satiny texture with intense stone fruit and citrus layers supplemented by loads of savory and mineral nuances, finishing long with a zesty lift. 461 cases were made. (LPB)

Still vibrant, youthful and fresh, the 2018 Proprietary Red features floral scents alongside sage and bay leaf nuances, all adding remarkable complexity to the cassis and black cherry notes. A blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Cabernet Franc, 9% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot, it's full-bodied and silky in feel but turns dusty and tannic on the long finish. This one needs time. (JC)

Continuum's 2019 Proprietary Red is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Cabernet Franc, 7% Petit Verdot and 6% Merlot, all from the estate vineyard on Pritchard Hill. Aged in two-thirds new French oak, with the balance in second or third-use barrels and a single concrete amphora, it's remarkably dark in hue, a deep, saturated purple in the glass. On the nose, it's floral and herbal yet fruit-driven, with violets, sage and bay leaf adding nuance to black cherries, while the palate is full-bodied, plush and silky.

Having retreated into its shell, the deep garnet colored 2009 Léoville Poyferré gives up slowly revealing notions of cigar boxes, pencil lead, charcoal, rose hip tea and fragrant earth with a core of preserved plums, crème de cassis, espresso and Indian spices. Full, rich, seductive and voluptuously fruited in the mouth, the palate features firm yet beautifully velvety tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long and spicy. (LPB)

Clape’s flagship 2015 Cornas is enormously complex and compelling. Almond skin, cherries, blood and herbal notes all combine on the nose, while on the palate this medium to full-bodied wine is firmly tannic but ripe and balanced, with a rich, velvety and nearly endless finish (JC)