Argentina Mind-Blowers, the Napa Vintage that Keeps on Giving and Extraordinary Barbarescos

If you were ever looking for a month overflowing with superior wines, March had it, with eight bottles we rated 100 points and 18 that scored 99 out of the 2,648 offerings we tasted from 18 countries. Of the perfect scorers, three were from Argentina, three were from California and one each came from Italy and France.

Starting down in the Andean foothills of Argentina,  the acclaimed winemaker Alejandro Vigil of El Enemigo made a couple of mind-blowingly austere expressions of cabernet franc and malbec, with the El Enemigo Cabernet Franc Gualtallary Gran Enemigo Single Vineyard 2023 the most uncompromising of El Enemigo’s 2023 offerings in all its brightness, density and tension. Senior Editor Zekun Shuai said it was the most radical, stony El Enemigo Gualtallary cabernet franc he has ever tasted, and the perfect score we gave it reflects this.

Equally great and embryonic, according to Zekun, is El Enemigo’s Malbec Valle de Uco Gualtallary As Bravas 2018, which “speaks the same language” as the cabernet franc. It’s a little less angular but no less exacting with its naked, stony ethos. Coming from one of the highest spots in Mendoza, a 0.9-hectare site sitting at around 1,580 meters altitude, the wine is pure and symmetrical on the palate, with a radically vertical finish full of fresh, chalky tannins.

Our third Argentine 100-pointer was a fresh and vivid wine from Argentina’s Patagonia region, the Chacra Pinot Noir Patagonia Treinta y Dos 2025, which comes from vines planted in 1932, hence “Treinta y Dos” in Spanish. And the old vines definitely played a factor in the depth of fruit and character of the wine, Chacra’s owner, Piero Incisa della Rocchetta, told James when they met in Miami during our Great Wines World Miami event. James described the Treinta y Dos as “ethereal, superfine” and “polished” – but you’ll have to wait to get your hands on this beauty since it won’t be released until early 2027.

Another El Enemigo cabernet franc – the deep, fresh and slightly tarry El Enemigo Cabernet Franc Mendoza Gran Enemigo Chacayes Single Vineyard 2023 – was rated just below the 100-pointers, and Chacra also gave us two standout 99-pointers, both of which are already on the market: the Chacra Pinot Noir Patagonia Treinta y Dos Sin Azufre 2025, which is made without added sulfur, and the Chacra Chardonnay Patagonia 2025.

Also check out a fantastic wine from Argentina’s neighbor, Chile – a stunning syrah from Clos du Lican. The Clos du Lican 2023 is from a high, steep hillside vineyard in the Apalta wine region that is protected by a small forest. Coming from a hot year with moderate rainfall and an average temperature of just 15.4 degrees Celsius in Apalta, the wine is fresh, perfumed and nicely fruity, with a meaty character and ultra-fine tannins.

The Vintage that Keeps on Giving

Napa 2023 is the vintage that keeps on giving – and it gave us two more 100-point wines in March. The Bond winery added to their bevy of 100-pointers released this year with their Bond Napa Valley Vecina 2023, but the wine that really stood out for Staff Writer and Critic Ryan Montgomery was the Lithology Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard 2023 – a release from one of California’s, if not the world’s, most celebrated vineyards.

This is a stunning bottling from To Kalon, with so much refinement and perfume, carrying an understated sense of beauty and nuance, Ryan said. Lithology winemaker Matt Sands acclaimed it as “perhaps the best To Kalon I’ve ever made.”

Three other Napa 2023 cabernet sauvignons to check out are a trio of 99-pointers: the Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley St. Helena Estate 2023, Quintessa Napa Valley Rutherford 2023 and Colgin Cellars Napa Valley IX Estate 2023. All highlight the exceptional quality of the 2023 vintage as well as the distinct character of their respective terroirs.

California’s West Sonoma Coast gave us our third perfect-scoring California wine, the RAEN Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast Fort Ross-Seaview Pacific Rock Vineyard 2024. Led by Carlo and Dante Mondavi, the grandsons of Robert Mondavi and sons of Tim Mondavi of Continuum, RAEN makes soulful reds with depth and intensity that reflect the relatively cool, fogbound maritime climate of the Sonoma Coast, and the Pacific Rock 2024 reflects this perfectly. James described it as “medium- to full-bodied, with Musigny-like power and a magical flex of tannins.”

Also from the West Sonoma Coast was the 99-point Platt Vineyard Chardonnay Sonoma County West Sonoma Coast Estate Reserve 2023, which highlights the singular character of Sonoma’s coastal vineyards. And James tasted even more Sonoma 99-pointers in the Joseph Phelps Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast Freestone Estate Proem No. 3, RAEN Chardonnay Sonoma Coast Fort Ross-Seaview Charles Ranch, RAEN Pinot Noir Sonoma County Sonoma Coast Royal St. Robert 2024.

For a nearly perfect chardonnay from the Santa Rita Hills, the Nid Tissé Chardonnay Santa Rita Hills Bentrock Vineyard 2024 shows understated grace, tension and purity, with aromas of sliced lemons, crushed wet stones, flint, citrus blossoms, chalk and sea spray. With a mineral drive and vibrant, almost electric acidity, it has the potential keep you salivating for minutes.

And Donum Estate, a chardonnay and pinot noir specialist based in Carneros, California, showed several exciting wines from the 2024 vintage that illustrate the winery’s evolving approach: somewhat lighter bodies, lively acidity and more precise expression of the vineyard sites. Their top-scoring red was the Donum Pinot Noir West Sonoma Coast Churchview Vineyard 2024 – an assertive offering in savory flavors of pepper, iodine, flint and rosemary around a core of dark cherries, while their top white was the Donum Chardonnay Sonoma County Russian River Valley Ten Oaks Vineyard 2024 – a powerful, linear wine with a tangy, almost tannic texture that carries subtle mineral, chalk and peach skin aromas and flavors in a non-oaky style.

Extraordinary Barbarescos

Senior Editor Aldo Fiordelli tasted Luca Roagna’s latest releases in Italy, with Roagna showing him around the new wing of his cellar in Castiglione Falleto, in the heart of the Langhe wine area. The most striking of his bottles was the perfect-scoring Barbaresco Crichët Pajé Riserva 2004, the latest riserva to hit the market after it spent eight years in large oak vessels followed by 10 years in concrete.

This is an extraordinary wine, Aldo said – complex and fully savory with vibrant aromas of minerals, orange zest, earth, meat, umami alongside velvety and condensed tannins.

Two other stunning Roagna Barbarescos are the Roagna Barbaresco Pajé Vecchie Viti 2020, which is super complex and elegant with aromas of embers, wild strawberries, savory dried flowers, angelica, wet slate and lemon leaves, and the Roagna Barbaresco Asili Vecchie Viti 2020, which comes from a tiny 0.22-hectare selection yielding roughly a thousand bottles.

Roagna’s Barolo Pira Vecchie Viti 2020, meanwhile, is a classic Barolo with an old-fashioned style that nonetheless retains freshness and elegance, offering aromas of watermelon, wild strawberries, licorice, lemon leaves and quinine, with refreshing acidity and a savory finish to boot.

And James said the Tenuta San Guido Bolgheri-Sassicaia Sassicaia 2023 reminded him of a number of the top vintages of the last two decades, but in a very cool, complex way, with undertones of sage and rosemary alongside the estate’s classic currant and plum character. This is “a fantastic cabernet sauvignon year that shows the true character of Sassicaia,” James said.

Old-Vine Burgundy

We tasted a singular and legendary grand cru from Burgundy in March – the 100-point Domaine de la Vougeraie Musigny Grand Cru 2023. Coming from old vines planted in 1970 and 1989, Staff Writer and Critic Ryan Montgomery described the perfect-rated Musigny as “taut and energetic, with firmly framed tannins and bright acidity that bring tension and persistence.”

And two 99-pointers from Domaine de la Vougeraie that are well worth seeking out are the deep and powerful Domaine de la Vougeraie Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 2023 and supremely balanced Domaine de la Vougeraie Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru 2023.

And our French tastings wouldn’t be complete without a few great bottles from Bordeaux. In March, these were the Chateau Latour Pauillac 2019 and Les Forts de Latour 2020. The former, a top grand vin rated 99 points, reminded James of the 1990 for its “refinement but strength.” Both wines appear to have been well received in the market, with the 2019 Latour selling for about $750 a bottle James said.

– 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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