Exclusive – Decanter

Australia, New Zealand & South Africa Pinot Noir: Panel tasting results

Anne Krebiehl MW — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 14:15:26 +0000

Anne Krebiehl MW, Justin Knock MW and Dirceu Vianna Junior MW tasted 134 wines, with 12 outstanding, 100 highly recommended and 20 recommended.

New World Pinot Noir part II: Panel tasting scores

134 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 12

Highly recommended 100

Recommended 20

Commended 1

Fair 1

Poor 0

Entry criteria: Producers and UK agents were invited to submit their current-release, dry, still 100% Pinot Noir red wines with a minimum retail price of £30 in the UK or equivalent in their domestic market

In a three-day Pinot Noir marathon in late September, we three judges tasted 273 premium examples from North and South America, Australasia and South Africa. There were so many high-scorers – 215 at 90 points or more – that we had to split the results. The wines from Canada, US, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay featured in last month’s November issue, while it is now time for Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to shine.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores from the New World Pinot Noir panel tasting

Australia, New Zealand & South Africa Pinot Noir: Panel tasting scores

The judges

Anne Krebiehl MW is a widely published writer, award-winning author and lecturer with a particular focus, among others, on Pinot Noir and traditional- method sparkling wines from around the globe.

Justin Knock MW is director of wine for luxury merchant Decant London, and has a background in winemaking, brand and generic marketing, education, consultancy and fine wine retail. An Australian national, he was a director of the California Wine Institute UK, and is currently a DWWA joint Regional Chair for Australia.

Dirceu Vianna Junior MW is a wine writer, consultant and educator. Based in the UK since 1989, he was a director at some of the UK’s top distributors. After becoming a Master of Wine in 2008, he co-authored the awarded book Conheça Vinhos (‘Understanding Wine’, in Portuguese).

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Petit Chablis 2022: Top-scoring wines

Andy Howard MW — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 11:49:31 +0000

Chablis 2022: Full vintage report and top-scoring wines

Score tables

Chablis 2022 score table – notes for the 108 wines scoring 93 points and above

Grand Cru Chablis 2022 score table

Premier Cru Chablis 2022 score table

ALSO

Individual appellation analysis and their top-scoring wines:

Grand Cru Chablis | Premier Cru Chablis | AOP Chablis

Petit Chablis 2022

Top-scoring Petit Chablis 2022

The wines below all scored 90 points or above.

Chablis 2021: Full vintage report and top-scoring wines

What happened to Chablis? Ask Decanter

Burgundy 2022: What to expect

The post Petit Chablis 2022: Top-scoring wines appeared first on Decanter.

AOP Chablis 2022: Top-scoring wines

Andy Howard MW — Sun, 10 Dec 2023 11:07:27 +0000

The vineyards of Chablis.

Chablis 2022: Full vintage report and top-scoring wines

Score tables

Chablis 2022 score table – notes for the 108 wines scoring 93 points and above

Grand Cru Chablis 2022 score table

Premier Cru Chablis 2022 score table

ALSO

Individual appellation analysis and their top-scoring wines:

Grand Cru Chablis | Premier Cru Chablis | Petit Chablis

AOP Chablis 2022

Top-scoring AOP Chablis 2022

The below wines all scored 92 points or above.

Chablis 2021: Full vintage report and top-scoring wines

What happened to Chablis? Ask Decanter

Burgundy 2022: What to expect

The post AOP Chablis 2022: Top-scoring wines appeared first on Decanter.

Friuli's skin-contact whites plus six top bottles to seek out

Filippo Magnani — Sun, 10 Dec 2023 08:00:09 +0000

Flavio Basilicata and Silvana Forte of Le Due Terre with daughter Cora.

It started with a small handful of friends, who set out to rediscover the art of skin-contact white wine in the heart of Friuli. But the popularity of these characterful wines has seen this grow to a real movement, comprising dozens of strong-minded producers.

Thanks to pioneers such as Joško Gravner and the late Stanko Radikon, there is now a core of educated winemakers spread all around Italy, each making macerated whites with a distinct history and regional typicity.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for Magnani’s six Friuli skin-contact wines to try

Friuli skin-contact new wave: Magnani’s six to try

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Premium white blends of Friuli and Alto Adige

Great orange wines for autumn: 12 to try

The post Friuli's skin-contact whites plus six top bottles to seek out appeared first on Decanter.

Expert's Choice: South Africa Cinsault – the 30 wines to try

Malu Lambert — Sat, 09 Dec 2023 08:00:15 +0000

Cinsault bush vines on the Gras En Dal farm below the Paardenberg mountains in Swartland.

Blazing a trail up South Africa’s west coast, viticulturist Jaco Engelbrecht is on his way to Skerpioen, the sprawling old bush-vine vineyard rooted on white sand-limestone soils that produces the namesake Chenin Blanc-Palomino blend made by Eben Sadie for his Sadie Family Wines label. And right next to Skerpioen, in this arid coastal desert, Engelbrecht says he’s recently planted five rows of bush-vine Cinsault for Sadie.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of 30 South Africa Cinsault wines to try

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Expert’s choice: Moulis & Listrac

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Festive treats: The best wines to seek out in December 2023

Decanter Staff — Fri, 08 Dec 2023 12:11:50 +0000

As a companion selection to our 34 wines under £20, the Decanter team has selected 16 standout bottles certain to impress, and all available in the UK priced from £20-£50.

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The post Festive treats: The best wines to seek out in December 2023 appeared first on Decanter.

Grand Cru Chablis 2022: Top-scoring wines

Andy Howard MW — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 12:10:45 +0000

Chablis 2022: Full vintage report and top-scoring wines

Score tables

Chablis 2022 score table – notes for the 108 wines scoring 93 points and above

Grand Cru Chablis 2022 score table

Premier Cru Chablis 2022 score table

ALSO

Individual appellation analysis and their top-scoring wines:

Premier Cru Chablis | AOP Chablis | Petit Chablis

Grand Cru Chablis 2022

Top-scoring Grand Cru Chablis 2022

The wines below all scored 94 points and above.

Chablis 2021: full vintage report and top-scoring wines

What happened to Chablis? Ask Decanter

Burgundy 2022: What to expect

The post Grand Cru Chablis 2022: Top-scoring wines appeared first on Decanter.

Premier Cru Chablis 2022: Top-scoring wines

Andy Howard MW — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 12:05:42 +0000

Chablis 2022: Full vintage report and top-scoring wines

Score tables

Chablis 2022 score table – notes for the 108 wines scoring 93 points and above

Grand Cru Chablis 2022 score table

Premier Cru Chablis 2022 score table

ALSO

Individual appellation analysis and their top-scoring wines:

Grand Cru Chablis | AOP Chablis | Petit Chablis

Premier Cru Chablis 2022

Top-scoring Premier Cru Chablis 2022

The wines below all scored 93 points and above.

Chablis 2021: full vintage report and top-scoring wines

What happened to Chablis? Ask Decanter

Burgundy 2022: What to expect

The post Premier Cru Chablis 2022: Top-scoring wines appeared first on Decanter.

Covenant: California kosher fine wine producer profile and 10 wines tasted

Jonathan Cristaldi — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 07:17:51 +0000

Covenant owner and winemaker Jeff Morgan

Covenant founding winemaker Jeff Morgan, 70, is both driven and eccentric. He favours the underdog. Take rosé, for instance. Morgan played an outsized role in jump-starting the rosé renaissance in America more than 20 years ago – long before it was fashionable.

Not only did Morgan co-found SoloRosa, the first American winery dedicated solely to dry rosé, but in 2005, he penned the first English language book on the subject as well (Rosé, A Guide to the World’s Most Versatile Wine, Chronicle Books).

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for ten Covenant wines tasted

In 2003, high-end kosher wine seemed like a long shot. But Covenant was among the first wineries to demonstrate that fine wine made with native yeast and organic grapes and without fining or filtration can also be kosher. It was a novel concept at the time.

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Chablis 2022: Full vintage report and top-scoring wines

Andy Howard MW — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 06:44:10 +0000

Chablis 2022: 4.5/5

‘It was a very good vintage with extremely healthy grapes’ – Vincent Dauvissat

Chablis 2022: wine of the vintage

Domaine François Raveneau, Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru

After a week spent in Chablis tasting 375 wines, it is clear that 2022 is a very good year – and potentially an excellent one. Although a warm and very dry vintage, yields were not excessive and, crucially, acidity is high. The resulting wines are very well balanced with a lovely combination of the freshness and minerality which typifies Chablis, combined with fleshy, ripe, stone- and tree-fruit flavours.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for a selection of top-scoring and top-value Chablis 2022 wines

Coming after the very challenging growing season in 2021 (severe frosts, cold weather and rainfall leading to disease pressure), Chablis 2022 has a different style and one which will appeal both to ‘classic’ Chablis lovers as well as those looking for more generous fruit character.

Top producer Vincent Dauvissat commented that in 2022 ‘the vines were recovering from 2021, and were compensating with lots of vegetative growth’. Dauvissat notes: ‘It was a very good vintage with extremely healthy grapes.’

See the Chablis 2022 top wines score table for all wines scoring 93 points or above

Howard’s pick: 30 great buys

The following wines are Andy Howard MW’s pick of the top-scoring and best-value Chablis 2022 wines, according to his own extensive tastings, as well as including wines from ‘producers to look out for’.

NB: many retailers’ allocations for these wines are as yet unconfirmed – prices and stockists are given where available, and alcohol levels are shown where known at the time of writing. If we have awarded ‘Top value’ to an as-yet unpriced wine, it is based on our predicted pricing.

Chablis 2021: full vintage report and top-scoring wines

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Burgundy 2022: What to expect

The post Chablis 2022: Full vintage report and top-scoring wines appeared first on Decanter.

Regional profile: Abruzzo plus 10 wines to seek out

Alessandra Piubello — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 07:24:29 +0000

Vineyards outside the fortified hilltop town of Capestrano, on the edge of the Gran Sasso national park in L’Aquila province.

Abruzzo is often described as a ‘miniature Italy’: in just a few square kilometres it encapsulates a world of bucolic landscapes, nature, parks, pristine villages, waterfalls, castles and historic cities, offering a blend of tradition and modernity, and is still largely undiscovered by international tourists. The region boasts 130km of coastline; to the north, the beaches are flat and sandy, while the southern area known as the Costa dei Trabocchi (trabocchi are traditional fishing platforms) has long stretches of rocky cliffs.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 10 Abruzzo wines in a range of styles

Geographically, this is central Italy. The regional capital, L’Aquila, is an hour and a half by car from Rome (120km) and one hour (100km) from Pescara’s international airport on the Adriatic coast. It’s a region of incredible variety and contrasts, with a vast range of soil composition and climate conditions, and striking biodiversity.

The natural landscape is mostly untouched and, with three national parks, one regional park and numerous other protected nature reserves, Abruzzo has earned itself a well-deserved reputation as ‘the green region of Europe’.

Pick and mix: Piubello’s 10 Abruzzo wines to showcase the region’s styles

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Expert's choice: Franciacorta

Federico Moccia — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 07:18:34 +0000

Vines near the town of Iseo, on the southern shore of Lake Iseo.

Franciacorta, a small DOCG wine region in Lombardy, 70km east of Milan, is uniquely positioned at the foothills of the Italian Alps. Its vineyards benefit from a warm continental climate, moderated by nearby lake Iseo and sheltered by the mountains. The gentle, southwest-facing slopes of Monte Orfano further provide an ideal environment for grapes to ripen while maintaining acidity, contributing to the distinctive and complex character of Franciacorta’s wines.

Scroll down for Federico Moccia’s pick of 18 Franciacorta wines to try

Federico Moccia’s pick of the best 18 Franciacorta wines

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Italy’s finest white wines: 20 top bottles, region by region

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Galician whites: Panel tasting results

Beth Willard — Sun, 03 Dec 2023 08:00:20 +0000

Beth Willard, Sarah Jane Evans MW and Pierre Mansour tasted 59 wines, with 1 Outstanding and 26 Highly recommended.

Galician whites: Panel tasting results

59 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 1

Highly recommended 26

Recommended 31

Commended 0

Fair 1

Poor 0

Entry criteria: Producers and UK agents were invited to submit their current-vintage white wines – single varietals or blends of any authorised white grapes except Albariño – from any of the five DOs in Galicia: Monterrei, Rías Baixas, Ribeira Sacra, Ribeiro, Valdeorras.

From Godello to Treixadura, Loureiro to Caiño Blanco, this tasting offered some exceptional examples of Galicia’s white wines, as well as some new discoveries and a few surprises.

Here we focused on Galicia’s treasure trove of white varieties excluding Albariño, which has already earned itself plenty of attention and been well explored in other tastings. Spanish agriculture ministry data for 2022 shows that production of white wines across the four provinces of Galicia constitutes a significant 69%, bucking the trend of the majority of regions in Spain where red varieties are more widely planted.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores from the Galician whites panel tasting

Galician whites: Panel tasting scores

The judges

Beth Willard is involved in sourcing wines for both the on- and off-trade in the UK, with a particular focus on Eastern Europe and Spain. Formerly buying manager at Direct Wines, she is a member of Spain’s Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino, and a DWWA joint Regional Chair for Spain.

Sarah Jane Evans MW is a Decanter contributing editor and Co-Chair of the Decanter World Wine Awards. Her latest book The Wines of Central and Southern Spain (£35 Infinite Ideas) is set for release in early 2024.

Pierre Mansour is director of wine at The Wine Society, and has been buying The Society’s Spanish wines since 2008. He is a member of Spain’s Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino, and a DWWA joint Regional Chair for Spain.

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Regional profile: Puglia plus the 12 bottles worth looking out for

Raffaele Mosca — Sat, 02 Dec 2023 07:26:11 +0000

Puglia's Castel del Monte, which gives its name to one of the region's DOCs.

The heel of Italy’s boot, Puglia stretches between the Ionian and Adriatic seas, its easternmost point at Otranto almost touching Albania. With its long coastline (commonly measured at 865km) covering approximately 12% of Italy’s as a whole, this region is a prime tourist destination: according to Regione Puglia, in the summer months more than 10 million visitors flock to its awe-inspiring beaches and rocky bays, picturesque white towns and charming masserie (fortified rural houses).

Gastronomy is another source of attraction: with a warm Mediterranean climate and a flat or gently sloping terrain, Puglia’s vast culinary tradition has its roots in the region’s historical focus on agriculture. Popular dishes range from vegetarian recipes such as orecchiette con cime di rapa (ear-shaped pasta with turnip greens) and ciceri e tria (pasta with chickpeas and fried pasta crumbs) to hearty meat dishes such as cheese-stuffed bombette (pork rolls) and some of Italy’s best seafood.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for Mosca’s 12 excellent Puglian wines

Viticulture in Puglia dates back to before the Phoenician period (20th to 15th centuries BC) and has been prospering ever since. Claiming 91,740ha under vine, which produced 10.8 million hl in 2022 (ISTAT), Puglia ranks third among the Italian regions by planted surface area, and second by total volume produced. Quality, however, has long been uneven: hoards of notoriously ‘jammy’ reds – often used for blending – have always shaped the perception of the region’s wines.

A quality revolution has been slowly taking place over the past 60 years, yet roughly 60% of the production continues to be table wine, while DOC wines often enjoy success in the lower segment of the market, their alcohol-derived heartiness pleasing the crowds.

Mosca’s mixed dozen excellent Puglian wines to try

Expert’s Choice: Puglia Wines

Long Read: Extreme weather in Italy’s vineyards

Italy’s finest white wines: 20 top bottles, region by region

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Ten reasons to rediscover Languedoc plus the wines to seek out

Natalie Earl — Fri, 01 Dec 2023 08:00:57 +0000

Vines of Mas Bruguière beneath the Montagne d’Hortus ridge in the Pic St-Loup appellation, north of Montpellier

A region as vast and geographically complicated as Languedoc is difficult, if not impossible, to generalise about. With so many appellations, topographies, microclimates, grape varieties and terroirs, it’s more than just the sum of its parts. Languedoc has moved into a new era, extending beyond the tropes of ‘great value’ and ‘rustic, hearty reds’.

Now is the time to discover the cutting edge of what’s happening in this region. Run, don’t walk, to snap up the exciting wines of Languedoc.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for 10 Languedoc wines worth seeking out

Rediscover Languedoc: 10 wines to tempt

Best Languedoc wineries to visit

Riveting reds of the Languedoc

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DFWE 2023 Burgundy masterclass: Corton Grand Cru wines

Charles Curtis MW — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 10:27:59 +0000

Why Corton?

The hill of Corton is an arrestingly beautiful place to even the most casual passer-by. As one arrives from Beaune, it rises suddenly to dominate the landscape.

In geological terms, the hill is an outlier, freed from the main slope of the Côte d’Or by erosion. Vines wrap almost completely around the hill, facing every direction from northeast to almost due west, making this the only grand cru in Burgundy with a western exposure.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for all 12 wines in the Corton Grand Cru masterclass

Corton Grand Cru masterclass: All 12 wines rated

FWE 2023 Ornellaia masterclass: Four decades of a Tuscan icon
Cellar Collection 2023 at the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter
Burgundy: a complete guide to Corton

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Napa Valley's Darioush: Producer profile plus 10 wines tasted

Jonathan Cristaldi — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 08:00:01 +0000

Darioush Khaledi

Many high-end producers along Napa Valley’s storied wine routes took on wine as a second (or third) career after securing their fortunes in other lucrative fields. None of them have quite the same story as Darioush Khaledi.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 10 current releases from Napa’s Darioush

Today, Khaledi is famous for being the proprietor of Darioush, an eye-popping merger of a winery and hospitality centre he and his wife Shahpar designed.

Darioush: Tasting notes and scores for 10 current releases

Signorello Estate: Meeting winemaker Priyanka French plus four current releases tasted

Napa and Sonoma 2023: Harvest forecast

Bella Oaks Vineyard retrospective: A 15-vintage vertical

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Walls: The next step for Jaboulet’s Hermitage La Chapelle

Matt Walls — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 08:00:14 +0000

Chapelle Sante-Christophe on Hermitage hill.

Caroline Frey, owner of Paul Jaboulet Aîné, has decided to uncouple La Chapelle (and its white counterpart, Le Chevalier de Sterimberg) from the Paul Jaboulet Aîné brand by creating a separate entity, Domaine de la Chapelle, which will be the new home for these two wines.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the 2022 Domaine de la Chapelle red and white wines

Tasting notes and scores for the 2022 Domaine de la Chapelle red and white wines:

Northern Rhône 2022: Full report and top-scoring wines

Southern Rhône 2022: Full report and top-scoring wines

Rhône 2022 en primeur diary: The north

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Regional profile: Champagne's Montagne de Reims

Tom Hewson — Mon, 27 Nov 2023 08:32:44 +0000

Verzenay Windmill

The vineyards in the northern part of the Champagne region are often sliced into three distinct areas: the Côte des Blancs for Chardonnay, the Marne Valley for Meunier and the Montagne de Reims for Pinot Noir.

Scroll down to see tasting ntoes and scores for Tom Hewson’s top picks of Montagne de Reims Champagnes

The first two can be neatly surmised: the Côte des Blancs is a single, chalky cuesta – a hill with a steep face on one side and a gentle slope on the other – that can be driven north to south in 20 minutes. The Marne Valley is a winding valley planted with an overwhelming majority of one grape variety and with hardly a grain of chalk to play with. The Montagne de Reims, though, is different.

Tom Hewson’s picks of the best Champagnes from the Montagne de Reims

Regional profile: Champagne’s Côte des Bar

A guide to non-vintage Champagne

Champagne 2013: 10 years on

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DFWE 2023: Discovery Tasting of Viña Santa Rita's Casa Real

Ines Salpico — Sat, 25 Nov 2023 08:00:25 +0000

Sebastián Labbé, premium wines winemaker at Santa Rita, presenting at the DFWE

It was not hard for Sebastián Labbé to capture the attention of an audience drawn to a tasting of multiple vintages of Viña Santa Rita Casa Real, the wine that inscribed Chile in the fine wine firmament, worthy of a place among Decanter’s Wine Legends.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for three vintages of Santa Rita Casa Real Reserva Especial

Born in Chile and trained in New Zealand and Australia, Labbé returned to his home country in 2005, aged 25, to join Viña Carmen as Chief Winemaker. In early 2017, he was given the outstanding opportunity of leading the Ultra-Premium Sector at sister estate Viña Santa Rita (both Viña Carmen and Viña Santa Rita are part of Santa Rita Estates, under the umbrella of the Claro Group). With such privilege came the big responsibility of becoming the custodian of some of Chile’s most recognised and highly-regarded labels, not least the flagship Casa Real Reserva Especial.

Before him, only two other winemakers – Ignacio Recabarren and Cecilia Torres – had held the Casa Real helm. Alongside owner Ricardo Claro (the mastermind behind the creation of Casa Real) they defined a recognisable and consistent style that quickly turned heads both in Chile and abroad. First released in 1989, Casa Real revealed the potential of an overlooked terroir and its ability to yield a very specific expression of premium Cabernet Sauvignon.

See all Decanter tasting notes and scores for Santa Rita’s premium wines

In 2021, to celebrate the release of the 30th vintage of Casa Real, Viña Santa Rita made the wine available, for the first time, through La Place de Bordeaux. The announcement represented yet another pivotal moment in the wine’s history, consolidating its status as an iconic and pioneering Chilean label.

So far, Labbé’s tenure has been shaped by this prestigious legacy but also, and increasingly, by viticultural challenges and ambitious expansion plans. His own personal journey served as the perfect narrative thread for the insightful masterclass at the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter.

Credit: Ellen Richardson

A very Chilean Cabernet

Key to Casa Real’s enduring success are its consistency and classic yet characterful style, both reliant on the particular expression of Cabernet Sauvignon delivered by the terroirs of Alto Jahuel. Labbé delved into the three key variables that define this idiosyncrasy: geology, climate and viticultural choices.

A complex accumulation of alluvial sediments deposited strata in different ways across the slopes of Alto Jahuel, with distinct textures dynamically layered at variable depths. This creates a great deal of diversity within each vineyard, producing interesting if minute variations in fruit character. The heavier soils of the Carneros Viejos block, planted in the 1970s, are responsible for the wine’s more structural components, while the more gravely Población, a block planted in the 1980s, adds finesse and aromatic nuance. All blocks benefit from the long dry growing season, with cooling night winds from the Andes causing a wide temperature diurnal range. Cool nights help to preserve a fine acidity, keep alcohol levels in check and, says Labbé, shape the distinct aromatic profile of Cabernet Sauvignon that has become synonymous with Alto Jahuel and Casa Real.

Combined, Carneros Viejos, Población and recently planted, smaller sites – all ungrafted – make up the nearly 20 hectares that supply fruit for Casa Real. Plans to plant another 20 are underway. These will use plant material from massal selections from the existing plots. Labbé is not sure, however, if all of them will be on their own rootstock.

Grafted experiments delivered promising results, questioning the need for orthodoxy. Although he does recognise that much of Casa Real’s aromatic definition and purity of fruit might be a byproduct of own-root systems, other considerations – such as ever diminishing water resources – might need to come into play.

Viña Santa Rita Casa Real discovery tasting at the DFWE 2023. Credit: Ellen Richardson

Blending to perfection

If the different plots within the Casa Real vineyards deliver such nuanced aspects of Cabernet Sauvignon, carving – and remaining faithful – to a defined style requires mindful and masterful blending. For the masterclass, Labbé brought with him barrel samples from the 2023 vintage to illustrate the wide palette of components, from separately vinified plots, at his disposal. These also offered a glimpse of the ‘epic blending sessions’ held each year, in Bordeaux, alongside consultant Eric Boissenot.

The filigreed aromatics of the Población sites and the more robust structure of the Carneros Viejos sections became apparent in the barrel samples tasted. It’s not hard to see how, upon blending, these create a balanced matrix, in which the tannic framework of Carneros holds the vibrant and perfumed details of the Población fruit. Interestingly, a sample from a more recently-planted plot (Carneros Sur, 2015) had a particular balance of its own, promising great things from new and future plantings.

The tasting closed with a selection of three vintages: 2020, 2012 and 1994 (see tasting notes below). The latter showcased the somewhat overlooked longevity of Casa Real. While ready to drink, it still displays bags of finesse, freshness and the lingering herbal savouriness which is so characteristic of Alto Jahuel Cabernet Sauvignon.

Looking ahead

Winemaking at Santa Rita has so far been, first and foremost, a way of harnessing the quality of the Cabernet fruit that goes into Casa Real. Hand-harvested grapes are gently basket pressed and vinified in more than 25 small batches (some through spontaneous fermentation). The wine is bottled without filtration and clarification.

Is this purist approach – and the recognisable style it facilitates – being questioned by climate change? Labbé explained that, to preserve balance and character, the focus will be on strategic viticultural decisions, such as harvesting earlier and increasing the use of cover crops.

He is already making minor tweaks in the cellar though: the use of new oak has been toned down (75%, down from 100%) and there’s a chance future vintages might go through gentle clarification, which Labbé believes might help the Cabernet Sauvignon fruit to shine even more. ‘I want to remain respectful to the heritage and style I had the privilege of inheriting,’ he concludes. ‘All changes are done to preserve the character that has made Casa Real such an iconic wine.’

Casa Real’s label has remained largely unchanged since its first release, in 1989

Exclusive – Decanter

Australia, New Zealand & South Africa Pinot Noir: Panel tasting results

New World Pinot Noir part II: Panel tasting scores

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores from the New World Pinot Noir panel tasting

Australia, New Zealand & South Africa Pinot Noir: Panel tasting scores

The judges

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Grand Cru Chablis 2022

Top-scoring Grand Cru Chablis 2022

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Premier Cru Chablis 2022: Top-scoring wines

Score tables

Premier Cru Chablis 2022

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Covenant: California kosher fine wine producer profile and 10 wines tasted

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Ten Covenant wines tasted

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Chablis 2022: Full vintage report and top-scoring wines

Chablis 2022: 4.5/5

‘It was a very good vintage with extremely healthy grapes’ – Vincent Dauvissat

Chablis 2022: wine of the vintage

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for a selection of top-scoring and top-value Chablis 2022 wines

Howard’s pick: 30 great buys

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Pick and mix: Piubello’s 10 Abruzzo wines to showcase the region’s styles

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Federico Moccia’s pick of the best 18 Franciacorta wines

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Galician whites: Panel tasting results

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores from the Galician whites panel tasting

Galician whites: Panel tasting scores

The judges

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Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for Mosca’s 12 excellent Puglian wines

Mosca’s mixed dozen excellent Puglian wines to try

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Rediscover Languedoc: 10 wines to tempt

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DFWE 2023 Burgundy masterclass: Corton Grand Cru wines

Why Corton?

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Corton Grand Cru masterclass: All 12 wines rated

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Napa Valley's Darioush: Producer profile plus 10 wines tasted

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 10 current releases from Napa’s Darioush

Darioush: Tasting notes and scores for 10 current releases

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