Weine,

94/100 Punkte Robert Parker June 2018
Luciano Sandrone and his daughter Barbara tell me that the 2014 harvest needs explaining. Many are quick to dismiss it given the difficulties of the growing season that saw abundant rain, hail and bombe d'acqua, or "water bombs," which are a dangerous phenomenon with intense rainfall in a very small radius. But hard work does pay off. The Sandrone family employed 38 people for farming, when the average harvest requires only 22 pairs of vineyard hands. Great care was required to keep the leaves and the clusters healthy. The 2014 Barolo le Vigne is bright and fruit-forward. It is perhaps more accessible in the near term compared to past editions. It delivers dark fruit nuances over a mid-weight and compact mouthfeel.

96/100 Punkte Vinous, February 2018
The 2014 Barolo Le Vigne once again shows the wisdom of blending fruit from different sites. If there is a vintage where blending has the potential to be the difference-maker, 2014 is it. So it is hardly surprising to find the 2014 Le Vigne in such great shape. The red cherry jam, mint, cedar and floral notes are all finely sketched. Medium in body and classy, the 2014 is beautifully textured and inviting from start to finish. All the elements are simply in the right place. Vineyard sources are Merli, Vignane, Villero and Baudana.

95/100 Punkte James Suckling, September 2018
Beautiful aromas of licorice, tar and black cherries following through to a full body. A powerful palate with dense fruit. Chewy and intense. Needs two or three years to soften. A triumph for the vintage. Drink in 2020.

95+/100 Punkte Robert Parker June 2019
Luciano Sandrone expected this would be a beautiful year for Nebbiolo, with fruit showing the qualities of an important wine all throughout the growing season and right up to harvest. And yes, the 2015 Barolo le Vigne did turn out to be a great vintage, with a full aromatic array of perfumed rose, lavender and violet. For all of its generosity and expressiveness, with just a beautiful bouquet that sings out a seductive mezzo-soprano aria, be forewarned that in the mouth this is followed by rigidity and nervousness. That explosive bouquet might mislead you into thinking this is a rather evolved wine, but you certainly feel its youth on the palate. To be frank, this was an easy year to make wine, and it's not a big surprise that this edition of le Vigne turned out to be as classic and as good as it is. It should get even better with time.

95+/100 Punkte Vinous Feb 2019
The 2015 Barolo Le Vigne is a wine of pure and extreme grace. Silky and nuanced on the palate, with tremendous character, the 2015 is all class. Rose petal, mint and sweet red berry fruit are laced together in this super-expressive Barolo. Medium in body, with radiant fruit and brisk tannins, the 2015 Le Vigne is a terrific example of the vintage at its best. Today, the 2015 is decidedly reticent. I have seen Le Vigne open up with time in bottle. I imagine that will be the case here as well, although the wine is quite closed down at this stage. Vineyard sources are Baudana, Villero, Vignane and Merli.

97/100 Punkte James Suckling
A tight and focused Le Vigne with strawberry, orange-peel and floral aromas and hints of hazelnuts. Not giving it all now. Full-bodied, very intense and focused. Extremely long and polished, tannic finish. Drink from 2023.

95/100 Punkte Falstaff November 2013
Glänzendes, sattes Rubin mit leichtem Granatrand. Sehr intensive und blitzsaubere Nase, nach Himbeere, etwas Safran, Zwetschke, einladend. Zeigt am Gaumen schöne saftige Frucht, breitet sich mit Druck, aber auch mit Eleganz aus, engmaschiges Tannin, zugleich sehr geschmeidig, tänzelt dahin.

97/100 Punkte Robert Parker June 2019
Now with the distance of time, the 2009 harvest was perhaps not as elegant (generally speaking) as the 2008, but mercifully cooler than the 2007. A ten-year late release, the 2009 Barolo Le Vigne Sibi et Paucis offers plenty of dense, black fruit, along with succulence and plumpness. This vintage of Le Vigne sourced fruit from Monforte d#Alba, but this is no longer the case in the vintage to follow. The tannic structure is there, and this wine seems to be held together with a magical string. You'll find warm, earthy tones covering the whole mouth evenly. As elegant as this Barolo is, I'd be tempted to pair its dark fruit and earthy notes with a simple homemade pasta with sausage, onion and sautéed chanterelles or any other home-cooked dish that is near to your heart.

100/100 Punkte Robert Parker June 2018
Here it is: the newest creation to emerge from the talented hands of Luciano Sandrone and his family. To be released in 2019, the 2013 Barolo Vite Talin is a wine born from a single vine. They noticed one plant that behaved differently than the others. It produced dark and concentrated fruit. Unlike common Nebbiolo, its leaves showed shallow sinuses between the lobes. Its vigor was different, producing fewer very loose clusters with small berry and seed size. The Sandrone family first noticed this vine in 1987 and named it Talin (a dialect version of the Italian name Natale) after the farmer who originally had the vine. For years, they vinified fruit from this vine separately in order to study its progress. They had a hunch that this mysterious vine was indeed genetically Nebbiolo, and they eventually received confirmation of this from the University of Turin. With this, they earn the right to call this wine Barolo. The massal selection is fr

94/100 Punkte Falstaff Rotweinguide 2017/18

95/100 Punkte Falstaff Rotweinguide 2019
Dunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Schwarze Beerenfrucht, Nuancen von Cassis, feine Edelholzwürze, balsamischer Touch. Saftig, reife Herzkirschen, feine tragende Tannine, dezente Extraktsüße im Abgang, bleibt haften, zugänglich, Nougat im Rückgeschmack, sicheres Potenzial.

3 Gläser Gambero Rosso 2018

95/100 Punkte Vinous September 2017
Bright dark golden-yellow with orange tinges. Enticing aromas of very ripe tangerine jelly, orange oil, white flowers, raisins, figs, marzapan and honey. Rich, dense and suave, with a creamy almost unctuous mouthfeel and flavors that are very similar to the aromas. Closes long and extremely dense, with repeating caramel apple, honey and peach flavors. One of the richest, creamiest Ben Ryés in memory, but a touch more acidity might have provided better lift and in that case I would have scored this even higher. Still, this is an absolute knockout, and you#ll never guess it has 14.5% alcohol.

19/20 Punkte Vinum Mai 2018

3 Gläser Gambero Rosso 2020

96/100 Punkte Robert Parker Oct 2019
Rather than pair this wine with a Sicilian dessert, serve it as the Sicilian dessert. The 2016 Passito di Pantelleria Ben Ryé is a radiant and beautifully fragrant edition with white raisins, honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, caramel, preserved lemon, dried sage, apricot and sea salt. I could go on. The wine is light on its feet thanks to that crisp acidity, yet it has the volume and richness to coat your palate in all its luscious glory. The whole package is explosive.

94/100 Punkte Vinous August 2019
Luminous golden-orange. Perfumed and precise honeyed aromas and flavors of cane sugar, peach, mango, papaya, passion fruit and dates. Suave, very sweet and rich, with a dense yet light on its feet quality, this boasts a long finish that features notes of peach and honey. An outstanding Ben Ryé that strikes me as less fragrant but more suave than some recent vintages. Ben Ryé is one of Italy#s five or ten best sweet wines every year and it#s safe to say this year#s version will not harm its reputation any.

3 Gläser Gambero Rosso 2020

96/100 Punkte Robert Parker Oct 2019
Rather than pair this wine with a Sicilian dessert, serve it as the Sicilian dessert. The 2016 Passito di Pantelleria Ben Ryé is a radiant and beautifully fragrant edition with white raisins, honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, caramel, preserved lemon, dried sage, apricot and sea salt. I could go on. The wine is light on its feet thanks to that crisp acidity, yet it has the volume and richness to coat your palate in all its luscious glory. The whole package is explosive.

94/100 Punkte Vinous August 2019
Luminous golden-orange. Perfumed and precise honeyed aromas and flavors of cane sugar, peach, mango, papaya, passion fruit and dates. Suave, very sweet and rich, with a dense yet light on its feet quality, this boasts a long finish that features notes of peach and honey. An outstanding Ben Ryé that strikes me as less fragrant but more suave than some recent vintages. Ben Ryé is one of Italy#s five or ten best sweet wines every year and it#s safe to say this year#s version will not harm its reputation any.

91/100 Punkte Vinous, January 2015
(95% Chardonnay and 5% Pinot Blanc: Pale gold. Candied lemon, lime pith and white flowers on the fragrant nose, with deeper orange and buttered toast qualities emerging with air. Juicy flavors of pear and Meyer lemon show impressive depth and cut, with a gingery nuance adding energy. Bright, focused and mineral-driven on the clinging finish, which leaves behind notes of honeysuckle and brioche.

91/100 Punkte Wine Spectator Nov. 30, 2012
A lithe Champagne, powered by racy acidity. Offers fine texture and flavors of white peach, candied lemon zest, pastry dough and crystallized honey, with a firm, minerally finish. Drink now through 2020. 3,000 cases made.

92/100 Punkte James Suckling October, 2017
Dried white flowers and white peach fruits with hints of lemon. Smells extremely fresh and lively. The palate has an attractive, fleshy and tangy texture. Flavors follow aromas in the stone fruit zone. Grilled nuts to close. Drink now.

91+/100 Punkte Robert Parker, Feb 2018
Peter Wegelin's single-vineyard 2016 Malanser Blauburgunder Scadena is from very calcareous slate soils from a clos that is located below the Bothmar castle. The wine was aged for 12 months in 80% new barriques and another 12 months in used tonneaux. The bouquet is deep, intensely ripe and fruity as well as toasty but very elegant. The palate is full-bodied, dense and tightly structured, with fine but grippy tannins and good acidity. This clear-cut 2016 needs lots of aeration (or time), but its vitality and tension is promising. Release date: autumn this year. Tasted January 2019.

18/20 Punkte Schweizerische Weinzeitung Dezember 2017

88/100 Punkte Robert Parker September 2017
The 2015 Osterfingen Oberhallau Blauburgunder Zwaa offers a clear, fresh, fruit-intense and spicy bouquet of ripe, thick-skinned cherries along with some toasty notes. The full-bodied wine is silky textured, elegant and reveals rich, intense fruit along with a lot of power. The tannins are fine and ripe, the finish very aromatic and concentrated. An impressive but powerful Pinot Noir from Schaffhausen that is sourced from two different plots, one on heavy clay soils, the other on gravels.

17/20 Punkte Vinum Januar/Februar 2018

88/100 Punkte Robert Parker September 2017
The 2015 Osterfingen Oberhallau Blauburgunder Zwaa offers a clear, fresh, fruit-intense and spicy bouquet of ripe, thick-skinned cherries along with some toasty notes. The full-bodied wine is silky textured, elegant and reveals rich, intense fruit along with a lot of power. The tannins are fine and ripe, the finish very aromatic and concentrated. An impressive but powerful Pinot Noir from Schaffhausen that is sourced from two different plots, one on heavy clay soils, the other on gravels.

17/20 Punkte Vinum Januar/Februar 2018

91/100 Punkte Falstaff Weinguide 2017/18
Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Zart kräuterwürzig unterlegtes frisches schwarzes Waldbeerkonfit, ein Hauch von Zwetschken. Mittlerer Körper, elegant und ausgewogen, reife Herzkirschfrucht, mineralisch und anregend, ein harmonischer Speisenbegleiter.

91/100 Punkte Robert Parker December 2018
The 2017 Burgenland Blaufränkisch is pure and fruity on the fresh, precise nose and offers a charm, which is quite rare given this wild and spicy grape variety. Silky and intense on the palate, this is a fleshy, well-concentrated and pretty intense red from the deep and clayey soils of Zagersdorf. The fine, cultivated tannins are intermixed with refreshing, Pinot-like acidity, and the finish is aromatic, taut and dry, like thick cherry skins. Gorgeous. Tasted October 2018.

92/100 Punkte Falstaff Weinguide 2019/20

90/100 Punkte Falstaff Weinguide 2018/19
Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Ein Hauch von Zwetschken, frische Kirschen, Nuancen von Orangenzesten. Lebendig, rote Kirschen, frischer Säurebogen, salzige Textur, trinkfreudiger Stil.

93/100 Punkte Falstaff Weinguide 2019/20

96/100 Punkte James Suckling May 2018
The intense elderberry and licorice nose pulls you in immediately. This is a highly expressive blaufränkisch with a sleek silhouette that is packed with spices and minerals. A very long and almost breathtaking finish. Bottled after three years in large neutral wood. Drink or hold.

92-94/100 Punkte Falstaff Weinguide 2014/15
Dunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Noch sehr zurückhaltend, schwarze Beerenfrucht, feine tabakige Würze, mineralischer Touch, ein Hauch von Herzkirschen klingt an. Wirkt leichtfüßig, rotbeerige Nuancen, zart nach Sanddorn, gut integrierte Tannine, würziger Nachhall, angenehmes Säurespiel im Finish, gutes Zukunftspotenzial.

92-94/100 Punkte Falstaff Weinguide 2015
Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Attraktives Brombeerkonfit, zarte Kräuterwürze, Nuancen von Kirschen, mineralische Akzente. Saftig, seidiger Körper, rotbeerige Nuancen, präsentes, gut integriertes Tannin, bleibt sehr lange haften, feinwürziger Nachhall, sicheres Entwicklungspotenzial.

95/100 Punkte James Suckling December 2016
The elderberry and sour-cherry aromas of this wine are really intense, but on top of that a mass of herbal notes give it serious complexity, power and concentration. The body is delivered without a hint of heaviness, the freshness without a hint of sharpness, and a very long, silky finish makes this a near-perfect single-vineyard blaufränkisch.