James Suckling Top 100 Wines of Australia
Earlier in December we were included amongst the top 100 wines of Australia. We are so proud of the wines that were included in the top 100 where we had four wines listed, a wonderful way to finish 2023 and reward for effort for the entire Stefano Lubiana team. The tasting notes for each wine can be read below:-
#13 Single Block La Roccia 2021 - 97 Points limited availability
'Often the cuvée I prefer of the pack due to the sterner carapace of tannin, compressing and corralling what, in so much of the New World, can be excessively sweet fruit. Not here! Rhubarb, cinnamon stick, tamarind and bluer fruits over red. The tannins are sublime, Firm, sure, but refined, sinuous, a little stern and long-limbed, stretching across the palate and guiding flavor into every crevice. From biodynamically grown grapes. Excellent, mid-weighted pinot with ample aging potential. Best after 2026. Superb!'
#40. Collina 2022 - 96 Points available in mid-2024
'Collina is a hillside selection from culled barrels to the tune of 1000 liters in all. Inaugural vintage under cork. For the better. Tight. Hazelnut, acacia, lees-derived sourdough and reductive flint and mineral grit. This drives extremely long, belying its mid-weighted composure. Wow! A strident, athletic expression. Extremely complex. It funnels its way long across the palate. Great chardonnay, this. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drinkable now, but best from 2026 or 2027.'
#47 Sasso 2021 - 96 Points limited availability
'A confluence of the best performing, lower yielding rows across the three single sites. Thus, usually the first picked as ripening is expedited. Often Roccia-dominant, as in this instance. Blood plum, ferrous notes of ironstone, darker and meatier than the other cuvees, blowing white pepper and Asian five spice long across a forceful, filigreed finish. This is a graceful, richly flavored pinot, as much as it is a sublimely elegant one. The tannins, extremely impressive. I'd bury this. From biodynamically grown grapes. Best after 2026.'
#90 Single Block Ruscello 2021 - 95 Points limited availability
'A refined nose, mute but shimmering with intent as it is clearly marked by depth and precision, with just the faintest allusions of fruit. This is a mid-weighted wine of structural torque, hinting pomegranate, persimmon, kirsch, forestry scents and rose hip after a workout in the glass. Perhaps the most enticing of the single site cuvees in its youth. A wonderful, incisive drive through the mouth, directed by beautifully managed tannins, taut but svelte at the same time. The tannins, the signature of the estate. A long life ahead. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drinkable now, but best from 2025.'
For the mid-2024 release of the 2022 Collina Chardonnay sign up to our mailing list to ensure you do not miss out on this wine. We are also excited and looking forward to releasing the 2022 Single Blocks and 2022 Sasso in mid-2024.