Weekly tasting report (May 3-9, 2020): Australia, France, Italy

What we tasted last week is phenomenal to say the least. We rated no less than four 100-point wines. Of course, they came from three of the greatest wine producers on earth including Roberto Voerzio, Bruno Giacosa and Henschke. All three wines are benchmarks for their particular country, region and genre.

What I loved about the Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Asili Riserva 2016 and Bruno Giacosa Falletto Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva 2016 was the incredible structure and power. I have never tasted a young nebbiolo from Giacosa like this and I have been tasting their wines since the 1990s. Normally the top nebbiolos of Bruno Giacosa wow you with their purity and transparency but these two wines are incredibly tannic and poised in a classical way that reminds me of their wines from 1978, 1996 and 2001, but with a modern clarity. The Asili is out now and the Vigna La Rocche Riserva should be out in 2022.

Meanwhile the best wine from the Barolo master Roberto Voerzio gives you the same power and intensity with his Roberto Voerzio Barolo Cerequio 2016, but with a polish and soulful depth that only he can pull off with incredible precision in his vineyards. This may be the greatest Cerequio he has ever made. He has a several more great wines from our tasting last week.

The Henschke Shiraz Eden Valley Hill of Grace Vineyard 2015 is something completely different, but it is equally vineyard driven and highlights the greatest features of this legendary piece of the planet in the Eden Valley in the Barossa. Executive Editor Nick Stock calls it a “collector’s dream” and if you read the note it sounds like the wine will be one of the all time greats from Australia for cellaring.

There’s shiraz and cabernet sauvignon blends to also put on your wish list for the future as well as four barrel samples from Bordeaux with one from the legendary winemaker of Spain, Pingus’ Peter Sisseck, who is co-owner of Chateau Rocheyron. I am tasting about 300 Bordeaux barrel samples from 2019 in my tasting room at my wine bar/restaurant James Suckling Wine Central and they are very impressive. They seem to mirror the excellent 2018s I tasted just over a year ago in Bordeaux.

Stay tuned for more great tastings from this week.

See the wines, scores and tasting notes below (subscription required) and please let us what you have been tasting in the past week. Add to this discussion in the comments!