April 2025 Tasting Report: A Sterling French Homage, Quintessential Barolos and Napa Cabs Come on Strong

The JamesSuckling.com team tasted 2,164 wines from 10 countries in April, uncovering three perfect-scoring bottles and an abundance of excellence from France, Italy, the United States, Argentina and beyond.

Senior Editor Stuart Pigott was tasting his way through France during the month, and was in the Southern Rhone region with Tasting Manager Kevin Davy when they uncorked the perfect-scoring Château de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin 2023, whose perfect balance “makes the finish feel weightless in spite of the titanic concentration.”

Another terrific wine from the 2023 vintage in Chateauneuf-du-Pape is the Domaine Raymond Usseglio Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Imperiale 2023, which shows fantastic refinement and freshness with a slew of floral aromas, accompanied by a breathtaking finish. And two more from the region not to miss from the same year are the fresh and precise Domaine Santa Duc Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau Ouest 2023 and Domaine Santa Duc Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Saintes Vierges 2023, which Stuart called “twin masterpieces with great vitality and finesse that display the best side of the 2023 vintage.”

Some of the most impressive wines from Chateauneuf-du-Pape, though were late releases from the 2022 vintage, like the incredibly subtle and elegant Domaine de la Solitude Châteuneuf-du-Pape Vin de la Solitude 2022 and the astonishingly aromatic Domaine Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2022, which reminded Kevin and Stuart of a great grand cru red Burgundy, but with a southerly generosity.

More extraordinary offerings were tasted in the famous French appellations of Cornas and Cote-Rotie in the Northern Rhone, the best being the 100-point Thierry Allemand Cornas R 2022 (formerly known as Reynard, the vineyard it comes from). Stuart said of it: “It’s hard to wrap your head around how a red wine can have this enormous concentration and giant structure yet be so refined and silky.”

And from the other long-established star of Cornas, Domaine A. Clape, was the Domaine A. Clape Cornas 2022, the tasting of which Stuart likened to “listening to a piece of organ music in a cathedral when the bass kicks in. It is very meaty, but a wealth of blackberry aromas unfurls as this long-term masterpiece aerates.”

In Cote-Rotie, Stuart and Kevin had a breathtaking tasting of the single-vineyard wines of Stephane Ogier 2022 vintage wines, the most amazing of which is the Stéphane Ogier Côte-Rôtie La Belle Hélène 2022, from the Cote Brune side of the appellation. It is a very deeply structured and scented wine with an extremely exciting interplay of sinewy tannins and a pulpy center.

Quintessential Barolos

Senior Editor Aldo Fiordelli continued his tastings of 2021 Barolos, with the more affordable releases from the vintage catching his attention for their excellent quality. Aldo found one in particular, the Francesco Rinaldi & Figli Barolo 2021, to have “remarkable balance and complexity” with an unexpected grace and drinkability – in other words, a Barolo “as it was meant to be – layered, expressive and complete.”

Another, the Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Colonnello 2021, “unfurls in waves of citrus leaf, orange peel and peppermint, mingling with dried cherries and sweet spices” and shows an interplay between freshness and power that is masterful, while also retaining a sense of elegance and grace. And equally profound but stylistically austere, Aldo said, is the Barolo Le Vigne from Sandrone, whose palate is dominated by graphite, supported by firm, velvety tannins and a long, juicy acidity, with a finish that is polished and refined.

And from Bolgheri, Aldo tasted through a vertical of Grattamacco’s Bolgheri Superiore dating back to 1982. The just-released 2022 vintage represents the 40^th harvest, and the year brought “a touch of lightness” to the wine, which Aldo said “just might be a virtue.” The 2022 version is delicious, Aldo said – bright, lightly leafy in the best possible way and well-balanced on the palate. Among the recent vintages, the 2019 stands out. Already excellent at its release, it is now showing remarkable complexity and is an incredibly dense wine full of tension, according to Aldo.

Napa Cabs Come on Strong

Executive Editor Jim Gordon’s top-rated wine in his California tastings during the month was a classic Napa cabernet sauvignon: the beautiful J.H. Wheeler Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Oakville Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard 2021. Jim said this muscular yet linear and fresh wine is destined for long aging. From the same vintage, the Accendo Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2021 is a focused, powerful yet polished Bordeaux-style blend.

From Napa’s difficult 2022 vintage, which featured a fearsome heat dome at harvest time, a great example of the likeable, fruity and not-too-tannic character of the reds from that year is the Quintessa Napa Valley Rutherford 2022, which Jim found elegant, intricate, charming and quite fresh. Another fantastic cabernet from that year is the ever-reliable Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Private Reserve 2022, which is full-bodied with seamless tannins and integrated acidity, showing mulberries, olive tapenade, blueberry compote, dark chocolate and mahogany.

From Sonoma County, Bob Cabral made a great impression on Jim with his Russian River Valley offerings, especially the Bob Cabral Pinot Noir Sonoma County Russian River Valley Cuvée Troubadour 2021, which is from a drought year with light yields but still shows terrific concentration, energy and depth, and overflows with black cherry, black tea, dried blueberry, forest floor and mushroom nuances. And his super-distinctive Pinot Noir Sonoma County Russian River Valley Cuvée Electric Hippy 2022 abounds with black fruits and a spiciness from 35 percent whole clusters. Also check out the Bob Cabral Chardonnay Sonoma County Sonoma Coast Cuvée Anne Rose 2021 (which is named for his wife and is not a rosé). This wine offers an exceptionally expansive palate that is nicely countered by taut minerality and tangy acidity at a pH under 3.3.

And another exceptional California chardonnay to try is the Ramey Chardonnay Carneros Hyde Vineyard 2022, which is outstanding in quality and ageworthy and shows all the richness, breadth and depth typical of this singular property.

And during his recent Oregon trip, Associate Editor Andrii Stetsiuk visited Jim Maresh in Dundee Hills and tasted the 2023 releases from his two distinct brands, Arterberry Maresh, which focuses on old-vine pinot poir, and his chardonnay-focused project, Tan Fruit. His Tan Fruit whites are made using whole-cluster pressing and a combination of barrel and tank elevage, and for the 2023 vintage, he experimented with noble rot in making two exceptional cuvees – the clean and pristine Chardonnay Dundee Hills Maresh Vineyard Extra Tan 2023 and Chardonnay Willamette Valley McMinnville Dupee Vineyard Extra Tan 2023, both of which show great complexity and texture without compromising purity.

Andean Wonders

From the Southern Hemisphere, our team tapped into some Andean wonders, starting with our third perfect-scoring wine from April, the Viñedo Chadwick Cabernet Sauvignon Valle de Maipo 2023 – the 25th vintage of this iconic Chilean wine from the Errazuriz Group. The 2023 vintage represents a changed profile for the wine, with barrel aging totaling 18 months rather than the usual 22 and incorporating 10 percent foudre, or large, wooden vats, meaning a lower wine-to-wood exposure. The result is a wine that “showcases elegance, complexity and a long finish with firm, chalky tannins,” Zekun said.

Errazuriz’s other “flagship” blend from Aconcagua Valley, the Seña 2023, also showed incredibly well in our tastings in April, and the wine is always a little more vibrant, floral and even crunchier than the demure cabernet-sauvignon-driven Viñedo Chadwick.

Zekun also gave high ratings to the incredibly consistent Clos Apalta Valle de Apalta 2022, which is more carmenere-transparent than ever, and the Tabalí Chardonnay Valle de Limarí Caliza 2023, a terroir-driven gem from a small parcel in Talinay near the coast.

And from Argentina, the Zuccardi winery's Malbec Gualtallary Agua de la Jarilla 2022 is the newest addition to the increasingly specific focus on the diverse sections of Gualtallary – an intense and focused expression of this singular terroir in the Uco Valley. On the steeper, poorer soils of the hillsides here, the Zuccardi team has chosen to plant using the single-post training method, both for practical reasons – easier vineyard management on slopes – and because of how the vines yield under these conditions. Because of how it is grown, the resulting wine gives off hints of the northern Rhone, showing sanguine, ferric and savory qualities, with a saline edge that is especially compelling.

Australia's Shining Shiraz

Our top-scoring wine from Down Under in April was the latest iteration of Henschke’s renowned Hill of Grace shiraz, which founder Stephen Henschke said is one of the finest wines to emerge from the historical vineyard.

The Hill of Grace site includes original own-rooted vines planted in 1860, along with additional plantings from the 1950s, but the vine age alone doesn’t account for the wine’s character – it is the result of careful vineyard management and consistent farming practices, and the quality of the 2021 Hill of Grace Shiraz reflects these conditions. It’s a fresh and refined wine, with layered aromas of dark plums, mocha, graphite, five spice, and cured meat, showing  clarity and balance on the palate.

And from the Torbreck winery in the Barossa Valley, Associate Editor Ryan Montgomery tapped into a wine coming from shiraz vines planted in the 1850s in the Torbreck Shiraz Barossa The Forebear 2020. It’s a terrific offering that displays complex aromas of blackberry compote, roasted coffee beans, iodine, graphite and olive tapenade, leading into a deep, luscious mouthfeel with firmly framed tannins.

Chris Ringland in Barossa also makes shiraz from ancient vines, and his Chris Ringland Shiraz Barossa Valley Dry Grown Barossa Ranges 2016 is another top Aussie bottle Ryan tasted. It’s one of Ringland’s finest releases from a cooler vintage, with lifting aromas of blackberries, ferric earth, tobacco leaves, cedar, graphite and roasted coffee beans leading to a seamless palate supported by great depth of fruit and a viscous, silky mouthfeel.

Ryan also visited the Marlborough wine region of New Zealand, where he encountered three notable chardonnays. The first, the Vavasour Chardonnay Awatere Valley Papa 2022, offers racy acidity and a high-tension mouthfeel that lingers, building to a refined and powerful finish, while from the Wither Hills in Marlborough’s northern sector, Ryan discovered producers crafting chardonnay with a more Burgundian influence, with Jeremy McKenzie at Isabel Estate being one of the leaders in this movement. He works with 38-year-old organically farmed Mendoza clone vines, and he made the energetic and fresh Isabel Estate Chardonnay Aratoro Single Vineyard 2022.

Finally, Murray and Rachael Cook, who both work for Dog Point Vineyard, have established their own project, NOUS, which covers only 0.29 hectares and is New Zealand’s smallest certified organic vineyard. Their flinty NOUS Chardonnay Marlborough Wairau 0.29 ha 2022 abounds with citrus-driven aromas that flow onto the palate, and it also has a precise, pure and laserlike finish. It’s a project to watch closely.

– Vince Morkri, Editor-in-Chief

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated by the JamesSuckling.com tasting team. They include many latest releases not yet available on the market, but which will be available soon. 

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