The Outsiders: Modern Greats From Across The World

Release date: 2/9/2021

The 25th anniversary vintage, and an excellent showcase of the supple, nuanced fruits of this wine. Plenty of black cherry and bilberry puree, pure but layered. It has the rich depths that alwaysThe 25th anniversary vintage, and an excellent showcase of the supple, nuanced fruits of this wine. Plenty of black cherry and bilberry puree, pure but layered. It has the rich depths that always delivers, where things are almost too much and yet not quite enough, still leaving you wanting more. Fragrant raspberry leaf becomes clearer as it opens in the glass, as does the saline minerality and a smoky finish, with the tannins becoming more delicate by the minute, highlighting freshness and juice. Located in the Aconguacgua foothills, following biodynamic farming. Tasted twice. Drinking range: 2024 - 2040 Rating: 96 Jane Anson, Decanter (Oct 2021)

The 2018 Nicolás Catena Zapata was produced with 65% Cabernet Sauvignon from Gualtallary (Adrianna vineyard, with the Cabernet Sauvignon interplanted with some Cabernet Franc) and 35% Malbec fromThe 2018 Nicolás Catena Zapata was produced with 65% Cabernet Sauvignon from Gualtallary (Adrianna vineyard, with the Cabernet Sauvignon interplanted with some Cabernet Franc) and 35% Malbec from Altamira (Nicasia vineyard). They no longer use grapes from Agrelo, and this is also a lot higher in Malbec than in other recent vintages. So, it has a very different profile, a change that started in 2017, with more contained ripeness and more freshness, and the wine is intense, keeping some of the Cabernet character (tobacco, blackberries) and the floral notes from Malbec. It comes through as balanced and harmonious, with very fine tannins and a long finish and perfect ripeness. This aims to revive the style of Bordeaux before phylloxera, from massal selection of ungrafted vines... 62,400 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2019. Drinking range: 2021 - 2028Luis Gutierrez, www.robertparker.com (Mar 2021)

The 2018 Clos Apalta is 64% Carménère, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Merlot from Apalta, Colchagua, aged for 24 months in 85% new barrels. The ripe, complex, clear nose offers prune, blueberries andThe 2018 Clos Apalta is 64% Carménère, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Merlot from Apalta, Colchagua, aged for 24 months in 85% new barrels. The ripe, complex, clear nose offers prune, blueberries and blackberries along with pepper, tobacco, rosemary, cigar box and a whiff of smoke. Creamy and broad in the mouth with good volume, a firm flow and contained structure. The tannins set the tone while the mellow freshness underlines the sugary profile. A genuine Michel Rolland wine made during a year of subtle flavors. Drinking range: 2024 - 2036 Rating: 96 Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous.com (Jun 2022)

The opaque blue/purple-colored 2011 Palmer reveals a stunning bouquet of licorice, truffles, camphor, spring flowers, black raspberries and black currants. One of the superstars of the vintage, thisThe opaque blue/purple-colored 2011 Palmer reveals a stunning bouquet of licorice, truffles, camphor, spring flowers, black raspberries and black currants. One of the superstars of the vintage, this brilliant 2011 possesses superb concentration and purity, medium to full body, and remarkable length of close to a minute. A tour de force in winemaking, the Palmer team merits accolades for achieving this level of quality in a more challenging vintage than either 2009 or 2010. The “wine of the vintage” in Margaux, tiny yields of 20 hectoliters per hectare, a final blend of 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, and a severe selection (only 55% of the production made it into Palmer) are the reasons for this success. Winemaker Thomas Duroux continues to fine tune this already brilliant estate, producing first-growth quality wines year after year. Rating: 96 Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, www.RobertParker.com (Apr 2014)

This wine has yet to be tasted by ourselves or critics, so we have no notes to provide.This wine has yet to be tasted by ourselves or critics, so we have no notes to provide.L&S (Aug 2021)

Cracked almond and bitter chocolate and a ton of blackberry and raspberry puree. It’s gourmet with butterscotch and coffee beans, a wine that you want to share. Lifts off through the palate, hasCracked almond and bitter chocolate and a ton of blackberry and raspberry puree. It’s gourmet with butterscotch and coffee beans, a wine that you want to share. Lifts off through the palate, has complexity and delicacy and waves of flavours that invade the mouth. Set in the Tuscany hills, 300m above sea level. A brilliant wine from the Antinori family. Stefano Carpaneto director. Drinking range: 2023 - 2040 Rating: 98 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (Sept 2021)

Here's a plush, opulent, in-your-face kind of red, without being over the top. Toasty blackberry, black cherry and plum aromas and flavors ply the center, graced by leather, earth and tobaccoHere's a plush, opulent, in-your-face kind of red, without being over the top. Toasty blackberry, black cherry and plum aromas and flavors ply the center, graced by leather, earth and tobacco accents. Dense, yet finishes long and light on its feet. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2023 through 2033. Drinking range: 2023 - 2033 Rating: 93 Bruce Sanderson, The Wine Spectator (Oct 2021)

This is extremely perfumed with flowers, cherries and blackberries, as well as hints of lavender. It’s full-bodied, yet so refined, linear and racy. Pure silk. The texture is every so polished.This is extremely perfumed with flowers, cherries and blackberries, as well as hints of lavender. It’s full-bodied, yet so refined, linear and racy. Pure silk. The texture is every so polished. Succulent and subtle fruit at the end. New wood showing now. A sophisticated Masseto that shows balance and harmony. Builds with tannins at the finish. Needs time to come completely together. Try after 2025. Rating: 98 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Aug 2021)

The 2019 Cote a Cote might be the best yet, offering an incredible perfume of jammy blackberries, spice, and violets. The purity of fruit is stunning. It’s full-bodied, has a seamless, elegantThe 2019 Cote a Cote might be the best yet, offering an incredible perfume of jammy blackberries, spice, and violets. The purity of fruit is stunning. It’s full-bodied, has a seamless, elegant texture, and is just a heavenly wine in the making. The blend is similar to the 2013 and 2014 and is one-third each of Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre. Rating: 96-99 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Jan 2020)

Lastly, the 2019 Estate Cuvee is 50% Syrah, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Petit Verdot, which is a classic blend for this cuvée. Not far from the style of the 2018, yet possibly slightly moreLastly, the 2019 Estate Cuvee is 50% Syrah, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Petit Verdot, which is a classic blend for this cuvée. Not far from the style of the 2018, yet possibly slightly more approachable, it has a killer bouquet of jammy black and blue fruit as well as notes of smoked earth, crushed rock, and peppery herbs. Super-rich, full-bodied, and loaded with fruit, it nevertheless has purity, balance, and structure. Rating: 97-99 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Jan 2020)

The 2018 Insignia is a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot, 3% Malbec and 2% Cabernet Franc. The vineyard sources this year include: 30% Las Rocas (Stags Leap District),18% YountvilleThe 2018 Insignia is a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot, 3% Malbec and 2% Cabernet Franc. The vineyard sources this year include: 30% Las Rocas (Stags Leap District),18% Yountville (Oak Knoll District), 13% Banca Dorada (Rutherford), 18% Suscol (South Napa Valley), 14% Home Ranch (St. Helena), 12% Las Rocas (Stags Leap District), 7% Barboza (Stags Leap District). It was aged for 24 months in 100% new French oak barrels. Deep garnet-purple colored, it comes storming out of the glass with powerful notes of blackcurrant cordial, stewed black plums and boysenberries, plus hints of cedar chest, graphite, menthol and wet slate with a fragrant waft of clove oil. The medium to full-bodied palate already demonstrates remarkable balance at this youthful stage, featuring a firm backbone of fine-grained tannins and bold freshness to support the tightly wound, crunchy black fruits, finishing long and spicy. 17,000 cases were made. Drinking range: 2024 - 2044 Rating: 97+ Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Jul 2021)

The very deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Maya is shy and restrained to begin. With swirling, it begins to reveal beguiling notes of fragrant earth, lavender, garrigue and Sichuan pepper, giving wayThe very deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Maya is shy and restrained to begin. With swirling, it begins to reveal beguiling notes of fragrant earth, lavender, garrigue and Sichuan pepper, giving way to a core of wild blueberries, boysenberries, black raspberries and black currants plus a hint of iron ore. The palate is full-bodied, revealing itself in slow-releasing layers of black and blue fruits with exhilarating earth and mineral sparks, framed by firm, beautifully ripe tannins and bold freshness, finishing on a persistent ferrous note. As cerebral as it is downright hedonic, this Maya is simply jaw-dropping. Drinking range: 2024 - 2054 Rating: 100 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Jan 2021)

A little sweeter than the Monte Bello 2011 tasted alongside initially but it finishes dry and appetising – and definitely has a bordeaux-like structure. Impressively long. 14% A little sweeter than the Monte Bello 2011 tasted alongside initially but it finishes dry and appetising – and definitely has a bordeaux-like structure. Impressively long. 14% Drinking range: 2022 - 2034Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2022)

The 2019 Optimus showed beautifully, displaying a soft, full-bodied, impressively textured style as well as the classic cassis and darker berry fruits along with the peppery notes this cuvée alwaysThe 2019 Optimus showed beautifully, displaying a soft, full-bodied, impressively textured style as well as the classic cassis and darker berry fruits along with the peppery notes this cuvée always shows. Rating: 94-96 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (Jan 2020)

The aromas of iodine and blackcurrants with roses and lavender make the wine extremely perfumed. It’s full-bodied with a tight, fine-tannined palate that shows linear flow through the center palate.The aromas of iodine and blackcurrants with roses and lavender make the wine extremely perfumed. It’s full-bodied with a tight, fine-tannined palate that shows linear flow through the center palate. It’s vertical and integrated, adding depth and serious quality to the wine. Rating: 97 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Jun 2021)

The 2018 Cheval Des Andes is a blend of 70% Malbec – half from Las Compuertas and half from Paraje Altamira – and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon from Las Compuertas. It was aged in barrels and foudres, 50%The 2018 Cheval Des Andes is a blend of 70% Malbec – half from Las Compuertas and half from Paraje Altamira – and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon from Las Compuertas. It was aged in barrels and foudres, 50% in new oak. Purplish red in the glass. It shows an expressively complex nose of plum, cherry and hints of spice, pepper, ink, blackberry, and blackcurrant. The oak provides a profound and subtle backdrop of sweet spice. In the mouth, it’s viscous and broad with a little juice, velvety in texture and with very fine tannins. The finish is long-lasting with a satisfying feel. A relaxed, delicate, extremely well-balanced wine with a more generous core than the 2017 vintage. Drinking range: 2021 - 2038 Rating: 96 Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous.com (Nov 2021)

The most gorgeous mix of straw, powerful citrus, apricot, fresh juicy white pear and peach, tons of stone fruits and spice, graphite and smoke. As ever this is both subtle and overpowering, managingThe most gorgeous mix of straw, powerful citrus, apricot, fresh juicy white pear and peach, tons of stone fruits and spice, graphite and smoke. As ever this is both subtle and overpowering, managing push and pull and so so good - both lusciously sweet and a breath of fresh air running through your palate. As I say every time I drink Vin de Constance, if every sweet wine tasted like this, there would be no sales crisis in the category. Drink now, or allow the flavours to deepen further over the next decade. Drinking range: 2021 - 2040 Rating: 98 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (Sept 2021)

This wine has yet to be tasted by ourselves or critics, so we have no notes to provide.This wine has yet to be tasted by ourselves or critics, so we have no notes to provide.L&S (Aug 2021)