Review Round-up (Apr-May '20) - Boutinot
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We truly believe our wines are fantastic, but you already knew that – we wouldn’t sell them if we didn’t!

That said, it is always nice when someone else recognises the quality in our portfolio, even better when they write a lovely review in the press to tell everyone about it…

Here’s a round-up of what they’ve been saying about us this last month!


 

From Decanter magazine (May ’20):

San Felice Il Grigio Chianti Classico Riserva 2016: “A warm, sweet melange of red fruit, baking spice and smoky woodland; lush and ripe with a vibrant acid tang.” 92 points / Highly Recommended

Villa la Pagliaia Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2015: “A serious wine with outstanding concentration; plush bramble, chocolate, liquorice and smoky oak all beautifully melded together. Pure and driven.” 92 points / Highly Recommended

Sileni, Grand Reserve Straits, Marlborough 2019: “The best parcels of grapes from vineyards on gravel, loam and silt soils were used, and it spends time on lees for added complexity, the yeasty creaminess not masking the mouthwateringly fresh acidity. Top value!” 92 points / Highly Recommended

Waterkloof, Circumstance, Cape Coral Mourvèdre Rosé 2019: “A beautifully pale salmon hue and complex aromas of peppered strawberries, tangy redcurrants and crushed wild herbs. These follow on the elegant, fine-textured palate, enlivened by crisp acidity and appealing notes of wet slate. Excellent value, made by Nadia Barnard-Langenegger who celebrates her 10th anniversary at Waterkloof with this vintage.” 90 points / Highly Recommended.

Cline Family Cellars, Ancient Vines Mourvèdre, Contra Costa County 2017: “Fruit from bush vines up to 120 years old go into this butch, earthy Mourvèdre. Dark red fruits and dark chocolate are the key notes on the nose and palate, with a minty flourish on the finish.”  90 points / Highly Recommended

 

From Monica Larner in the Wine Advocate (9th April 2020):

Re di Ras Posso Piceno 2015: ” …ages in new and second-use oak casks for up to 12 months. You get a nice integration of fruit here as a result, with dark cherry and blackberry that fits squarely with background tones of spice and tobacco. The wine shows a careful balance between those primary aromas (obtained directly from the fruit) and secondary aromas (obtained from the barrel ageing). The sunshine and the warmth of the 2015 vintage is the glue that keeps this wine together.” 91 points

Villaia Verdicchio Classico Superiore 2017: ” …a fresh and zesty vegan wine, with the kind of citric and green aromas you get when wine only sees stainless steel. Ambient yeasts are used to kick-start fermentation, and the wine ages on the fine lees for five months. Aromas of peach, apricot and saffron rise from the lean to mid-weight finish.” 90 points

Caccialepre Rosso Piceno 2016: “You get plump and dark fruit tones of cherry and blackberry preserves… Those fruit tones are backed by mild spice, cured tobacco and scorched earth. This is a blend of 85% Montepulciano and 15% Sangiovese, which was fermented in stainless steel but malolactic fermentation was in large oak barrels (where the wine also ages for 12 months).” 88 points

 

From The Independent’s ’10 best Hungarian wines that should be on every oenophile’s radar’:

Kovács Nimród Egri Csillag 2018: “A white wine blended from two grape varieties you’ll have never heard of before – Leanyka and Olaszrizling – and two you will have, Pinot Gris and chardonnay. The end result is a beautifully fragrant and aromatic wine with notes of lemon, lime, apple and melon and hints of summer blossom.”

Kardos Dry Furmint 2018: Another dry Furmint which is almost green in colour with fruity notes of apple, pear and grapefruit. It’s from a tiny, family-owned winery in the unlikely named village of Mad, located in Tokaj’s most important and prestigious wine area.”

 

Reviewed elsewhere…

Fernando de Castilla Antique Palo Cortado: “An ethereal nose that has you sniffing again and again with fig, orange zest, dates, walnuts and epic length. 95/100.” Martin Moran, The Sunday Times Ireland (5th April ’20)

Vila Nova Alvarinho 2019: “Ripe, almost a touch tropical. Rounded yet fresh, easy to approach.” Julia Harding 16/20 (JancisRobinson.com)

Granbazan Etiqueta Ambar Albariño 2018: “The sea is just 1km from this 40-year-old estate in Val do Salnes, Rias Baixas, which may or may not explain the hint of salinity that seasons its exquisite Albariño, with its full-bodied fruit and creamy, rounded edges. Add a citrus zip to the mix and you have a superb summer wine, lockdown or no lockdown.” Graham Holter, the Wine Merchant magazine (April 2020)

 

Press and Media