Reviews
March 2025 95 Points, Editors's Choice Wine Enthusiast
At first, this wine is steely and unyielding. With some glass swirling, a beautiful aromatic tapestry of French lemon-scented laundry powder, oak spice and melon wrapped in Prosciutto unfurls. Then bright, juicy acidity opens the floodgates, with flavors of lemon zest, wet slate and filberts washing over the palate. Try everything you can to find this wine.
March 2025 95 Points Vinous Media
The 2019 Gran Vino de Guarda La Comtesse is 100% Albariño from Pago Cacheiro, hailing from a 1.4-hectare vineyard within Finca Barrantes. Planted in 1965, this is only the tenth vintage. Aged for five years—one year in 3,000-liter oak casks, one in concrete and three in bottle—it opens with menthol and oak, alongside creamy notes. Broad and compact with elevated freshness, the 2019 offers a saline edge and layered complexity.
March 2025 93 Points Vinous Media
The 2021 Gran Vino Pazo Barrantes is a 100% Albariño from Ribadumia, Valle del Salnés, Rías Baixas. After cold fermentation, 15% of the wine spent three months in acacia barrels with lees, followed by six months in tanks and at least two years in bottle. The 2021 opens with orange blossom and tuberose aromas, hints of herbs, acacia wood and soft peach tones. The creamy palate offers delicate tension and an elegant, floral finish, revealing some emerging tertiary notes. This is a distinctive Albariño shaped by extended bottle-aging.
February 2025 91 Points Wine Spectator
A pure note of ripe and juicy pear is enriched by a skein of salted butter, vanilla and creamed almond accents, while tangerine peel acidity provides lively lift and focus. Long and creamy on the palate, with minerally smoke. Hints of dried thyme and chamomile emerge to linger on the finish. Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay and Picolit. Drink now through 2032.
February 2025 93 Points The Wine Advocate
Crafted from vines planted close to Ch. Grillet, the 2022 Condrieu Clos Boucher displays a ripe bouquet of almonds, apricots, jasmine, flowers and spices. Medium to full-bodied, textured and enveloping, it's sappy with a lovely oaky mid-palate, leading to a long, delicate and ethereal finish. Fresh and beautifully balanced, this vintage captures the essence of Condrieu, presenting itself as a classic in the making.