Review Round-Up (April 2025)
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 recently!
Borgo, Chianti Classico DOCG 2022 : Just as juicy as it was a year ago. Plush red cherry, raspberry and red plum and then a sense of leafy layers of autumn and tobacco and bay leaf – a long, cool whistle of freshness. Fine, long, looping tannins that start almost transparent in the flood of fruit and then tighten up and dry into an attractive, moreish nip of olive-stone and thyme bitterness on the end. It tastes as if it hasn’t aged a day. (TC) 16.5pts Jancis Robinson (March 2025)
La Pieve, Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG 2021: Masses of tannins but they’re supple and generous, allowing plenty of fruit to swirl between them. Deep, dark-red, damson-rich fruit framed in dense earthiness. Acidity so ripe and glowing it has a ruby-gem-like quality in the way it lights the wine up from the inside. The finish is silk-fine and precise. Something delicately aromatic and resinous (winemaker Leonardo Bellaccini says myrtle, and yes, exactly that). A tiny note of wild lavender and cistus on the finish. Then cigar. You cannot help but lean close into a wine like this. It enfolds you. (TC) 17.5pts Jancis Robinson (March 2025)
San Felice Pugnitello, Toscana IGT 2021: Damson, balsamic cherries, cassia bark and star anise. Intense folds of fruit and spice. Tremendous density (but not astringency) in the tannins. The acidity is cranberry tart and tamarind earthy, but is superbly balanced by the luscious crimson of the fruit. Athletic structure and vigour, grace and strength. I’d so much rather taste a Tuscan like this than one made from bordeaux varieties. – much, much more interesting. (TC) 17pts Jancis Robinson (March 2025)
Amauta Absoluto Tannat 2023: Tannat can be a ferociously tannic, feral beast of a grape. It’s a challenge to tame, but the breathless altitude and fierce sun of Cafayate in Argentina’s northerly Salta province seem to do the trick – particularly in combination with smart viticulture and winemaking, as is the case here… (PR) : Toasty hints, rich plum-damson fruit. Palate is fleshy and with a nip of rugged tannin. Juicy, pleasantly structured and balanced, with an engaging savoury herbal/meaty edge. (BG): Toasty, with stewed black cherry, charcoal, a touch of cedar. The fruit has juicy vibrancy and delivers a really smart and enjoyable Tannat. (AJ) Quite a bold and unapologetic style that’s muscular and spicy on the palate. 95pts Decanter (March 2025)
Novas Gran Reserva Carménère Organic 2023: Red pepper, damson, and dark cherry aromas. Juicy, peppery freshness, plummy hints, and minty notes. Well structured, good length, bright expression, and a warm, mature finish. Great value. 90pts Decanter (March 2025)
Uggiano Chianti Roccialta 2023: An approachable Chianti offering raspberries and currants on the nose with a whiff of cured meat. Zesty acidity and smooth tannins, with good fruit concentration and a hint of tobacco on the finish. Lovely. 91pts Decanter (April 2025)
Uggiano Chianti Riserva Fagiano 2021: A hint of garnet on the rim and bottle-aged aromas of dried mushrooms combined with red cherries and hint of spice. The tannins have softened, and notes of dried herbs with tart acidity linger. Drink now or keep for another year. 90pts Decanter (April 2025)
Naia Verdejo, DO Rueda 2021: A fresh and racy iteration of this wine, reflecting the cooler vintage, this Verdejo comes from all the different soils the winery works with across the DO: a wine that is representative of the region as a whole. Delicate woody spice and honey combine with citrus aromas, leading to a rich and opulent palate… It is slightly waxy with quince and lemon, and a saline, peppery finish. 96pts Tim Atkin MW ‘Rueda 2025 Top 100 Report’ (March 2025)
Naia Verdejo, DO Rueda 2023: Stone fruit dominates with notes of mandarin and delicate orange blossom…Bright acidity balances the richness, with grapefruit pith and a stony vibrancy on the finish. It is already evolving elegantly in bottle without loosing any of its energy. (Bodegas Naia winemaker Laura Sanz was named in it as ‘Young Winemaker of the Year’ ) 93pts Tim Atkin MW ‘Rueda 2025 Top 100 Report’ (March 2025)
Wildeberg Amphora 2023: Complex yet subtle aromas of citrus, peach, blackcurrant, hay, and some flinty reduction. The palate is linear, seamless, and unshowy – good fruit concentration and well-integrated acidity before a long finish. 94pts WineMag ZA ‘Niche White and Red Varieties’ report (April 2025)
Henners Vintage 2018: From a top vintage in England, this is a beautifully crafted bubbly, enticing with opulent honeyed toast, fresh hazelnut (or “cobnut” as the Brits say), butterscotch and lemon-brioche aromas. A crystalline line of acidity and fine mousse cuts through the richness. There’s lovely concentration and length, those honeyed, creamy notes lingering. A classy bottling for a special occasion. 96pts Wine Enthusiast (April 2025)
Henners NV: This offers lovely richness and autolytic characters such as roasted nuts, butterscotch and lemon curd right off the bat. The creamy opulence is cut through by a lovely line of acidity and a fine persistent bead of bubbles. Concentrated flavors flow to a long finish. Flies England’s fizz flag oh-so high. 94pts Wine Enthusiast (April 2025)
Savatiano Papagiannakos 2023: Lemony gold in colour, the nose is exotic without being over the top, pineapple meets Golden Delicious apple with a flourish of fennel and anise-like spice. Generously textured with plenty of melon fruit and nectarine-stone bite with a lavish edge of pineapple to the finish, this is a plush yet vivacious glass of Greek excellence. 93pts Decanter (April 2025)