Vinous (95)

The 2018 Barolo Mosconi is superb. It offers up a complex mélange of rose petal, dried herbs, iron, graphite, smoke, incense, scorched earth and blood orange, capturing all the complexity that makes the best Barolos from this site so compelling. Powerful and deep, yet also quite elegant, the 2018 is another fine Barolo from an estate that has undergone a pretty significant stylistic shift over the last handful of years.

Jeb Dunnuck (96)

My favorite of the Pio Cesare wines at this tasting, the 2019 Barolo Mosconi displays great balance in is notes of raspberry liqueur, pressed roses, and blood orange. With fine, ripe tannins and a note of salty mineral earth, it is fresh and persistent with ripe red fruit and orange peel and is long on the palate. Drink 2025-2045.

Jeb Dunnuck (96)

My favorite of the Pio Cesare wines at this tasting, the 2019 Barolo Mosconi displays great balance in is notes of raspberry liqueur, pressed roses, and blood orange. With fine, ripe tannins and a note of salty mineral earth, it is fresh and persistent with ripe red fruit and orange peel and is long on the palate. Drink 2025-2045.

Wine Advocate (95)

With fruit from Montforte d'Alba, the Pio Cesare 2020 Barolo Mosconi was first produced in 2015. Although the winery team has more than five years of experience with Mosconi, Cesare Benvenuto tells me that there was a steep learning curve with this wine. Mosconi is 300 meters removed from Ornato; however, the results are quite different, especially in terms of the mouthfeel. Mosconi shows silky or velvety tannins, and Ornato is more structured. This wine is lifted in terms of aromas, with bright raspberry and blue flowers. It reveals an open but translucent quality that gives this Barolo an especially elegant and undertone personality. Production is 6,900 bottles.

James Suckling (97)

Fabulous nose of milk chocolate, toffee, red fruits, and berries. Complex and ever changing with a massive finish. This does not want to let go, and when you start to think that it does, it keeps going with notes of mushrooms. Amazing wine.

James Suckling (95)

This is very spicy and fruity one with perfumed and bright aromas. Leather, too. Medium-bodied, refined and layered with beautiful ripe tannins. Fine, polished texture with berry and walnut undertones. Drink or hold.

James Suckling (98)

The aromas are so complex yet subtle wtih wet earth, mushrooms and dark fruits. Dried flowers as well. Full body, chewy tannins that are ultra-fine and powerful, yet there is a finesse and beauty to them as I said from barrel. Classic, great nebbiolo. Try in 2023.

James Suckling (98)

The blue fruit and freshness are impressive here. At the same time, there’s richness and focus with ripe fruit. Yet, it remains cool and bright. Superb center palate with great fruit and depth, but compact and focused. Needs three or four years to come together. Better after 2021.

James Suckling (98)

The blue fruit and freshness are impressive here. At the same time, there’s richness and focus with ripe fruit. Yet, it remains cool and bright. Superb center palate with great fruit and depth, but compact and focused. Needs three or four years to come together. Better after 2021.

James Suckling (98)

Extremely perfumed with dark berries, cherries, strawberries and crushed stones. Full-bodied with chewy, polished tannins that are muscular. Fantastic structure to this young Barolo, as well as great length. It grows on the palate with ease. Truly impressive. Incredible. Try after 2025.

James Suckling (98)

Extremely perfumed with dark berries, cherries, strawberries and crushed stones. Full-bodied with chewy, polished tannins that are muscular. Fantastic structure to this young Barolo, as well as great length. It grows on the palate with ease. Truly impressive. Incredible. Try after 2025.

Vinous (94)

The 2018 Barolo Ornato is somber, brooding and quite closed in on itself. There's a ton of aromatic and flavor complexity, but the fruit is very much in the background. It will be interesting to see if the 2018 emerges, or if it remains rather compact, as it is today. There's a good bit of density and power behind all of that tannin. Hints of blood orange, crushed raspberry, rose petal and cinnamon linger on the super-classic finish.

Vinous (94)

The 2018 Barolo Ornato is somber, brooding and quite closed in on itself. There's a ton of aromatic and flavor complexity, but the fruit is very much in the background. It will be interesting to see if the 2018 emerges, or if it remains rather compact, as it is today. There's a good bit of density and power behind all of that tannin. Hints of blood orange, crushed raspberry, rose petal and cinnamon linger on the super-classic finish.

Vinous (94)

The 2018 Barolo Ornato is somber, brooding and quite closed in on itself. There's a ton of aromatic and flavor complexity, but the fruit is very much in the background. It will be interesting to see if the 2018 emerges, or if it remains rather compact, as it is today. There's a good bit of density and power behind all of that tannin. Hints of blood orange, crushed raspberry, rose petal and cinnamon linger on the super-classic finish.

Jeb Dunnuck (94)

Introspective but expressive, the 2019 Barolo Ornato takes on more spice and savor with its notes of black licorice and cedar and is bolder in and broader in its expression. It has a more solar and warming feel, with medium to full body, ample structure, and fantastic length. This more serious and broad-shouldered wine will benefit from time in the cellars and move into more leather and red plum tones in the future. Drink 2025-2045.

Jeb Dunnuck (94)

Introspective but expressive, the 2019 Barolo Ornato takes on more spice and savor with its notes of black licorice and cedar and is bolder in and broader in its expression. It has a more solar and warming feel, with medium to full body, ample structure, and fantastic length. This more serious and broad-shouldered wine will benefit from time in the cellars and move into more leather and red plum tones in the future. Drink 2025-2045.

Wine Advocate (95)

The most powerful of the bunch is the Pio Cesare 2020 Barolo Ornato. This is a structured wine with firm tannins and dense fruit that falls on the darker side of the spectrum with blackberry and damson plum. You also get that typical Serralunga d'Alba imprint of rusty mineral and dark licorice. The wine is quite ample in terms of volume and depth, and iy's definitely reflective of its territory of origin. Production is 12,325 bottles, and larger formats were also made.

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Piollot Champs Rayes 2018 embodies the quintessential elegance and precision characteristic of Piollot's esteemed repertoire. Crafted in the heart of Burgundy, this Chardonnay is meticulously vinified from grapes sourced from the premier Champs Rayes vineyard. Hand-harvested and subjected to gentle pressing, the juice undergoes primary fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, preserving its delicate fruit purity. Following fermentation, Piollot Champs Rayes 2018 matures for twelve months in French oak barrels, imparting subtle complexity without overshadowing its innate minerality. The 2018 vintage showcases vibrant notes of green apple, citrus zest, and a hint of flint, balanced by a refined acidity and a long, graceful finish. Piollot's commitment to sustainable viticulture is evident in every sip, reflecting their dedication to quality and terroir expression. Piollot Champs Rayes 2018 is a distinguished addition to any fine wine collection, promising both immediate pleasure and potential for further ageing.

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Wine Advocate (93+)

Unfurling in the glass with incipiently complex aromas of citrus oil, wheat toast, fresh peach and crisp orchard fruit, the newly released 2012 Vintage Brut is full-bodied, deep and tightly wound, with excellent concentration, racy acids and a fine mousse, concluding with a long and penetrating finish. Even though it's still a little reserved after its recent disgorgement

Decanter World Wine Awards (95)

Mid plus gold in colour, with an active broad mousse. Big and rich style, with ripe and developed aromas, red apple, meyer lemon and some autolytic character. The acidity is fresh, very long and precise palate with lovely froth and a touch of stem ginger notes.

Wine Advocate (90+)

Tasted from magnum, Piper-Heidsieck's 2018 Vintage opens with an aromatic medley of pear, freshly baked bread, orange zest and dried apricot mingling with white peach, wheat toast and a subtle trace of smoky reduction. Medium- to full-bodied, it is ample and textural, underpinned by ripe yet vibrant acidity and chalky structuring extract, culminating in a long, delicately toasty finish. Disgorged in January 2024, it carries a dosage of seven grams per liter.

Decanter (94)

This 100% Chardonnay uses base wine from the excellent 2013 vintage, which is generally a better vintage for Chardonnay than 2012, with 35% reserve wines added. It has a lovely green-tinged hue with exceptional poise and depth - real complexities here from the late-picked fruit, harvested into October. It has enough nuance for gastronomy, especially roast turbot with cèpes but also sole. Still under-the-radar enough to be a bargain.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (92)

NV Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Essentiel contains 30% reserve wines and was aged for five years on lees. Smoky reduction immediately sets the tone, offering a salty shortbread and wet oyster shell backdrop. The palate is wonderfully sinuous and taut, with the essential Blanc de Blancs brightness and slenderness bedded on smooth, yeasty reduction and accentuated by tiny bubbles that create a creamy mousse. This is a smoldering, sinuous Blanc de Blancs—utterly moreish and elegant. Dosage is 4.8 grams per liter. Disgorged: May 2023.

The Real Review (HH) (98)

Full golden-yellow colour; very toasty old-wine bouquet which gradually opened up and revealed more with time in the glass. Aromas of toasted bread, toffee, vanilla, apricot, blood orange, quince paste; the palate full, rich and very dry, the penetrating acidity powering a very long finish. A very mature Champagne, not for everyone, but for those who enjoy aged Champagne, it's a joy. The rating is purely about pleasure. (60/40 pinot noir / chardonnay. 4 grams/litre dosage; disgorged in January 2022)