GUINIGI

Wine Reviews

95

Tony Bish 2025 Chardonnay, The Family, Hawk’s Bay, NZ ($45)

This is a fantastic, refined, medium-bodied Chardonnay from Tony Bish, bursting with ripe citrus and orchard fruit, white flowers, and elegant brown baking spices. All of those aromas come together on the palate, with saline minerality and crisp acidity. Excellent fruit concentration creates a harmonious mid-palate, and the wine is teeming with energy, with great length and tension. 100% Chardonnay. Abv. 13.5%

94

Walker Chiles 2024 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, California, USA

A bold, mountain-grown Cabernet with impressive power and intensity. Just-ripened blackberries and black cherry fruit are further enhanced by darkly earthy spices and dark chocolate sprinkled with sea salt. 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Malbec, 3% Merlot. Abv. 14%

95

Chateau Rouselle 2019 Tradition, Cotes de Bourg, France, by CW Underwater Cellar Coral Wine Project ($67)

This wine shows a brightness on the nose of a youthful wine, but the maturity on the palate of a wine that has aged more years than it has. And that’s what happens when a wine ages under the sea, which hastens the aging process because pressure breaks down minerals that help soften tannins and mellow ripe fruit flavors. Here, this wine is medium-bodied with lovely savory tobacco and bay laurel notes, red berry and currant fruit, and a long spicy finish. Brown baking spices and a slight nuttyniness on the lasting finish. Following conventional cellar maturation, the sealed bottle underwent additional aging beneath the sea, where darkness, stable temperature, water pressure, and gentle currents created an alternative environment for its evolution.

92

Dutton Goldfield 2025 Dutton Ranch-Shop Block Pinot Blanc, Green Valley of Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California, USA

Such a zesty, crisp, focused Pinot Blanc, with white peach and apple-pear undercurrents, white flowers and honeysuckle notes, and a long, mineral-driven finish. Ideal for a seafood restaurant by-the-glass option, or, for you, at home, with oysters or hard cheeses.

97

Jean Mallet NV Brut Tradition, Champagne, France, by CW Underwater Cellar Coral Wine Project ($148)

Positively riveting with a gorgeous nutty richness, toasty notes, and unimaginably fresh, with a perfectly bright, frothy, ultra-creamy mousse that comes from the undersea aging. The underwater aging accelerates the tertiary notes. With 36 months on the lees with a fabulously long, saline-mineral character. So incredibly delicious. Following conventional cellar maturation, the sealed bottle underwent additional aging beneath the sea, where darkness, stable temperature, water pressure and gentle currents created an alternative environment for its evolution.

95

La Lomellina 2018 Gavi Old Annee, Gavi di Gavi, Italy, By CW Underwater Cellar Coral Wine Project ($84)

This label is owned by the owner of Ducati Motorcycles. There’s a beautiful freshness to this white, with fantastically saline mineral character infusing this candied citrus peel and lime pith, with slivered almonds and a terrific mid-palate richness. The finish is exceedingly long and resolves with mouthwatering freshness. Following conventional cellar maturation, the sealed bottle underwent additional aging beneath the sea, where darkness, stable temperature, water pressure and gentle currents created an alternative environment for its evolution.

99

Marchese d’Azeglio 2018 Meriame, Barolo, Italy, by CW Underwater Cellar Coral Wine Project ($230)

So aromatic, revealing notes of rose petal, tar, licorice, and red currant fruits. Medium to full-bodied with softened tannins and soaring acid tension that keeps this wine lively and fresh. A long finish of dusty mineral black truffle notes adds further intrigue. Following conventional cellar maturation, the sealed bottle underwent additional aging beneath the sea, where darkness, stable temperature, water pressure, and gentle currents created an alternative environment for its evolution.

95

Marchese d’Azeglio 2020 Nebbiolo, Langhe, Italy, by CW Underwater Cellar Coral Wine Project ($73)

Vivid red berry fruit and warm Asian spices mingle with walnut husk notes, dried rose petals, and violets. A sultry, velvety palate is framed by integrated tannins, and a dusty mineral backbone reveals a salty steak through savory black olive, tar, and rose petal notes with incense and blood orange nuances. Following conventional cellar maturation, the sealed bottle underwent additional aging beneath the sea, where darkness, stable temperature, water pressure, and gentle currents created an alternative environment for its evolution.