The Outsiders 2020: Modern Greats From Across The World

Release date: 2/9/2020

Le Petit Clos is the second wine of Clos Apalta, it even comes from the same vineyard as the 'Grand Vin', and benefits from the exact same care both in the vineyard and in the chai. However, this isLe Petit Clos is the second wine of Clos Apalta, it even comes from the same vineyard as the 'Grand Vin', and benefits from the exact same care both in the vineyard and in the chai. However, this is a very different expression of the place - with a Cabernet Sauvignon dominant blend it is a completely individual style and is totally delicious!. Organically certified this little sister is a superbly attractive wine - one of our favourites in a tasting of all these new releases - and also, refreshingly, it is one of the most well-priced. Excellent value and totally joyous.L&S(Sep 2020)

This is really sensational as always with dried-apricot, dried-pineapple and honey character with salted nuts and hints of white syrup. It’s very sweet, yet energetic and intense. It goes on for soThis is really sensational as always with dried-apricot, dried-pineapple and honey character with salted nuts and hints of white syrup. It’s very sweet, yet energetic and intense. It goes on for so long. And then again. Yet, it remains balanced. A great sweet wine through and through. Drink or hold Rating: 97 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com(Sep 2020)

Average temperatures 2.7°C over average, combined with 20% of the normal rainfall from mid August to the end of July made makes this a naturally rich, low-yielding vintage (40% less than average, notAverage temperatures 2.7°C over average, combined with 20% of the normal rainfall from mid August to the end of July made makes this a naturally rich, low-yielding vintage (40% less than average, not helped by a hail storm in July), with a gloriously gourmet 145g/ha residual sugar, and a pH level of 3.95. As ever with Yquem, patience was the key, taking in the grapes slowly but surely over 17 days harvest that extended well into October. The results in the glass are intense and glossy, full of satin-textured apricot and white peach flavours. There are exotic fruits of pineapple and mango but winemaker Sandrine Garbay has kept a focus on fresher flavours of lime zest and citrus that balance out the natural richness and concentration. Pretty closed right now, but there is power and balance here, an excellent Yquem. Drinking range: 2022 - 2050 Rating: 97 Jane Anson, Decanter(Aug 2020)

Sweet tobacco, walnuts, blackberries and dried flowers on the nose. Full body, yet ultra-fine tannins and a super long finish. Superb finesse and polish. Drink after 2023, but already fabulous.Sweet tobacco, walnuts, blackberries and dried flowers on the nose. Full body, yet ultra-fine tannins and a super long finish. Superb finesse and polish. Drink after 2023, but already fabulous. Drinking range: 2023 - Rating: 97 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com(Mar 2019)

Average growing season temperatures at Seña were significantly lower in 2018 than in 2017 and that, coupled with a subtle Pacific Ocean influence, has delivered a fresher style. For all that, itAverage growing season temperatures at Seña were significantly lower in 2018 than in 2017 and that, coupled with a subtle Pacific Ocean influence, has delivered a fresher style. For all that, it remains the most exotic and “Mediterranean” of the top Errázuriz reds, with more colour than its partners and top notes of rosemary and lavender. The palate is still quite firm, with sinewy tannins, toasty, cigar-box oak and good depth and structure. Marrying Cabernet Sauvignon with 45% Malbec, Carmenère, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, with ageing in 85% new wood, it’s youthful, assertive and slightly inchoate, hinting enticingly at more to come in bottle as the oak integrates into the wine. Rating: 96 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com(Sep 2020)

Clos Apalta 2017 remains inherently true to its origins. Deep garnet in appearance, the wine reflects the intense colour of carmenere grapes and typical aromas of ripe fruits. On the bouquet, anClos Apalta 2017 remains inherently true to its origins. Deep garnet in appearance, the wine reflects the intense colour of carmenere grapes and typical aromas of ripe fruits. On the bouquet, an abundance of aromas, including redcurrant, raspberry and wild strawberries, reflects the stunning complexity of merlot, cabernet sauvignon and carmenere. On the palate, the initial wave of berry fruits, underpinned by soft, silky tannins, is pursued by contrasting touches of black olive, blackcurrant and liquorice. Incredibly long and taut on the finish, revealing exquisite, delicate tannins, and expressing the great elegance of the Apalta terroirs. • 48% - Carmenère• 26% - Cabernet Sauvignon• 25% - Merlot• 1% - Petit VerdotWinemaker's notes(Sep 2020)

This is the greatest Cheval des Andes ever. The integration of fruit, tannins and acidity is fantastic. Full-bodied, tight and solid with beautiful depth and integrity. Extremely long and exciting.This is the greatest Cheval des Andes ever. The integration of fruit, tannins and acidity is fantastic. Full-bodied, tight and solid with beautiful depth and integrity. Extremely long and exciting. Complex and compelling. Drinking range: 2024 - Rating: 100 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com(Jul 2020)

The 2010 Palmer is one of the superstars of the vintage, a blend of 54% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot, which is just slightly different than what I indicated two years ago. TheThe 2010 Palmer is one of the superstars of the vintage, a blend of 54% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot, which is just slightly different than what I indicated two years ago. The alcohol level hit 14.5%, and the wine comes across like a more stacked-and-packed version of their 2000. It is tannic and backward, but has a sensational black/purple color and a gorgeous nose of camphor, barbecue smoke, blackberry and cassis. Full-bodied, with oodles of glycerin but a relatively healthy pH, this wine has a precision and freshness that belie its lofty alcohol and extravagant concentration. This is a sensationally rich, full-throttle Palmer that could well end up being one of the all-time great wines made at this estate. It needs a good 7-10 years of cellaring and should keep for 50 or more years. There’s no question that Thomas Duroux and the staff at Palmer are producing wines of first-growth quality, and have been for nearly a decade. Rating: 98+ Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, www.RobertParker.com(Mar 2013)

The 2018 Côte a Côte, a blend of 48% Grenache, 26% Mourvèdre and 26% Syrah, is stunning from new oak, concrete and amphorae. Medium to deep ruby-purple, its perfume and spice come through despite itsThe 2018 Côte a Côte, a blend of 48% Grenache, 26% Mourvèdre and 26% Syrah, is stunning from new oak, concrete and amphorae. Medium to deep ruby-purple, its perfume and spice come through despite its aging vessel, offering up fresh blueberries, blackberries and blackcurrant aromas with layers of pepper, garrigue, dried flowers, blood orange, grilled lamb and grapefruit. The medium to full-bodied palate unleashes a torrent of dark, spiced fruits with a high-definition frame, fantastic freshness and a long, layered finish. This is pure pleasure, and I very much look forward to tasting the final blend from bottle. Rating: 94-96 Erin Brookes, www.RobertParker.com(Feb 2020)

A barrel sample blended of 45% Syrah, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Petit Verdot aging in about 90% new oak, the 2018 Estate Cuvée has a very deep ruby-purple color and explodes to crème de cassis,A barrel sample blended of 45% Syrah, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Petit Verdot aging in about 90% new oak, the 2018 Estate Cuvée has a very deep ruby-purple color and explodes to crème de cassis, black cherries, blueberry and boysenberry preserves with accents of violet, grilled lamb, dried thyme, coffee, soil and chocolate with exotic spices in the undercurrent. The full-bodied palate is incredibly pixelated and silky with very bold freshness and a long, layered finish. I can’t wait to see taste this beauty from bottle. Rating: 94-96 Erin Brookes, www.RobertParker.com(Feb 2020)

This is a beautiful wine, effusive in cassis, black cherry, woody cedar and sage... it offers substantial structure and tannin weight, with ample clove spice and toasted oak. It is built to age. This is a beautiful wine, effusive in cassis, black cherry, woody cedar and sage... it offers substantial structure and tannin weight, with ample clove spice and toasted oak. It is built to age. Rating: 95 The Wine Enthusiast www.winemag.com(Sep 2020)

A beautiful, focused wine with a tight center palate of blackberries, blueberries and dark chocolate. Very subtle. Hints of mint and sage, too. Medium to full body and fine, racy tannins. A reservedA beautiful, focused wine with a tight center palate of blackberries, blueberries and dark chocolate. Very subtle. Hints of mint and sage, too. Medium to full body and fine, racy tannins. A reserved and very pretty Insignia. Fresh finish. Hard not to drink now, but better in 2022 Rating: 96 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com(Sep 2020)

Opus One had picked 91% of their fruit before the fires started in 2017, and only two lots were eliminated from consideration. The 2017 Opus One, bottled in July 2019, is a blend of 81% CabernetOpus One had picked 91% of their fruit before the fires started in 2017, and only two lots were eliminated from consideration. The 2017 Opus One, bottled in July 2019, is a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8.5% Petit Verdot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 4.5% Merlot and 1% Malbec. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it slowly grows on the nose, revealing compelling notes of baked black cherries, mulberries, black raspberries, warm cassis and blackberry pie with nuances of spice cake, yeast extract, tapenade, licorice and dusty soil with a waft of wild sage. Medium-bodied, the palate has a lively skip in its step, featuring bags of juicy raspberry and cassis-laced fruit and a refreshing line, supported by ripe, plush tannins, finishing long and graceful. Drinking range: 2021 - 2036 Rating: 95 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com(Oct 2019)

56% Syrah, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Petit Verdot. 100% Estate grown fruit from L’Aventure Vineyard. Very low yield: 2.5 tons per acre. 60% new French oak and 40% 1-year-old French oak with56% Syrah, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Petit Verdot. 100% Estate grown fruit from L’Aventure Vineyard. Very low yield: 2.5 tons per acre. 60% new French oak and 40% 1-year-old French oak with malolactic fermentation in barrel. No fining, no filtering. Length of aging: 14 months. Drink:1-10 years.Winemaker's notes(Mar 2020)

This is such a beautifully nuanced red with tobacco, dried herbs, wet earth and currants. Some leather and rose petals, too. Full-bodied and chewy, yet refined with great polish. It’s rich andThis is such a beautifully nuanced red with tobacco, dried herbs, wet earth and currants. Some leather and rose petals, too. Full-bodied and chewy, yet refined with great polish. It’s rich and intense at the same time. Very focused center palate. Broad layers of tannin and fruit. A blend of 72% cabernet sauvignon, 19% carmenere, 6% cabernet franc and 3% petit verdot. Better after 2024, but already a joy to tasteJames Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com(Sep 2020)

Essence of framboise is joined by layers of garrigue-like complexity, rich, meaty notes and a generous dusting of Asian five spice blend in the stunning 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage à JacquesEssence of framboise is joined by layers of garrigue-like complexity, rich, meaty notes and a generous dusting of Asian five spice blend in the stunning 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin. This is full-bodied but incredibly silky, combining great purity, richness and length into a seamless, elegant package that should give immense pleasure for decades to come. Drinking range: 2025 - 2045 Rating: 98-100 Joe Czerwinski, www.robertparker.com(Aug 2020)

The Marchesi Antinori 2017 Solaia offers a uniquely floral personality with wild rose and lilac that comes as a surprise, especially if you are expecting the more robust and opulent dark fruitThe Marchesi Antinori 2017 Solaia offers a uniquely floral personality with wild rose and lilac that comes as a surprise, especially if you are expecting the more robust and opulent dark fruit associated with this vintage. To use a word that is popular now, the aromas are absolutely lifted. This is a bouquet-driven wine, showing great oak choices that are synergistic with the light and considerably thinner palate. Dried or pressed flowers cede to cherry, blueberry, some red meat char and a light touch of cinnamon. My impression is that the dry extract from the oak ultimately plays a bigger role in the overall flavor profile, preserving its red fruit core nevertheless. The wine is very accessible in terms of mouthfeel, showing a comparatively thinner and shorter approach. With more time in the glass, it offers some of the white soil dust that is a standard Solaia signature. It will be released the first week of September. Wine writers like myself tend to refer to 2017 as a "hot" vintage, but we stand corrected by winemakers who choose the word "dry" instead. In truth, the 2017 growing season was both hot and dry, but the lack of moisture in the atmosphere and in the soils is ultimately what had a lasting impact on the vintage. It pushed concentration, color and flavor extract, resulting in visibly smaller, dark berries and raisins with thicker skins and a reduced ratio of watery pulp inside the berries. Indeed, the growing season kicked off with a frost event on April 23-24 that damaged fruit. Following the frost and the drought, yields for the vintage were reduced by as much as one-third at the Tenuta Tignanello, where the Antinori team farms fruit for Solaia, and in much of the rest of the Chianti Classico region. In a vintage such as 2017, the gap between sugar ripeness and phenolic ripeness is enlarged, creating difficult water to navigate for those seeking to achieve balance in their wines. The expertise of a vintner comes into play in a vintage like 2017. Renzo Cotarella, managing director at Marchesi Antinori, goes over some of the strategies employed by his team in 2017. For one, skin contact during fermentation was reduced to about 12 to 14 days, as opposed to the 20 days of maceration seen in the previous year (the 100-point 2016 vintage). The fruit came in dark, so there was no need to extract further. Pump-overs were replaced with punch-downs that tend to be extra soft and fluid, especially in the conical-shaped fermenters used at the Solaia winery. The tiny element of Cabernet Franc was increased to 7% in this vintage, climbing up from 5% in past editions. That increased Cabernet Franc works to increase freshness and the so-called "fruit energy" of the wine. The grape also delivers sweeter tannins, thus taking away from some of the astringency of the two principal grapes used in this blend. These are of course Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese. In a sense, the added Cabernet Franc serves to make vintages such as 2017 less tannic. "Cabernet Franc is really the key to a vintage like 2017," says Mr. Cotarella. The wine completes its malolactic fermentation in neutral barrique, left over from the previous year. All new barrel acquisitions are made after the harvest. This is important in a year such as 2017, because Cotarella and his team can opt for the sweeter tannins of coopers Remond or Taransaud and match their oak selections to the vintage. In a nutshell, the 2017 Solaia is a balanced, albeit more accessible, wine. The bouquet offers robust dark fruit and plum, and the mouthfeel is silky and streamlined Rating: 95 Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate (www.robertparker.com)(Sep 2020)

There’s a meaty character to this intense, polished red, adding a seriousness to the dark plum, blackberry, iron, vanilla and chocolate flavors. A beam of bright acidity keeps this focused and drivesThere’s a meaty character to this intense, polished red, adding a seriousness to the dark plum, blackberry, iron, vanilla and chocolate flavors. A beam of bright acidity keeps this focused and drives the fruit- and spice-filled finish. Merlot. Drinking range: 2022 - 2042Bruce Sanderson, The Wine Spectator(Sep 2020)