"Importer of the Year"

Chateau Montelena

Calistoga, Napa Valley, California

In 1976 Chateau Montelena put California at the forefront of the wine world. That year a who's-who of the French wine establishment gathered in Paris for a blind tasting of French and American wines. When the scores were tallied, the top-ranking white wine was Chateau Montelena's 1973 Chardonnay. Montelena today continues to be a quality benchmark in Napa Valley, producing some of the finest Cabernet and Chardonnay in California.

Ponzi Vineyards

Chehalem Mountain AVA, Willamette Valley, Oregon

Dick and Nancy Ponzi helped put Oregon on the map in the United States and the world. The mantle has been picked up by daughters Maria and Luisa Ponzi, who continue the family history of leadership and innovation in the region and, in the case of Pinot Noir, across the country.

E. Guigal

Rhone Valley, France

The more you learn about the Guigal family, the more astounding becomes their story.  Their wines are the benchmarks for every Rhone appellation, and over the last thirty years they have become arguably the most lauded producer in the world.  Year after year the Guigal family produces wines of exceptional quality that in all classes offer exceptional value.

Château de Nalys

Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France

Since its creation in 1946 by Etienne Guigal, the Guigal family has produced a Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The terroirs of Nalys realize a dream spanning three generations to join this leading prestigious and historic appellation. Marcel and Philippe Guigal will bring passion and rigour, their family quality philosophy, and the ambition of waving the flag of Châteauneuf-du-Pape at the very highest level. 

Champagne Bollinger

Champagne, France

Bollinger is one of the rare Grande Marques that’s still family owned. Known for its rich, elegant and polished style of Champagne, their outstanding wines are the result of rigorous attention to detail and incredibly labor-intensive practices that few houses are willing to undertake. Underscoring its excellence, Bollinger has remained British secret agent James Bond's Champagne of choice since 1973.

Champagne Ayala

Champagne, France

Ayala is one of the most exciting stories in Champagne today, almost the definition of a boutique Champagne producer. Independently owned, a small team of 12 with what must be the youngest head of a producer in Champagne, every step of production from grape reception to labeling tightly controlled in their jewel of a facility, and above all, an incredible precision in crafting Chardonnay-focused wines that deliver immense pleasure, freshness, and elegance.

Château La Fleur-Pétrus

Pomerol, Bordeaux, France

Over the last 15 years La Fleur-Pétrus has become one of the most fascinating and, from a quality standpoint, extraordinary stories in Bordeaux. A wine borne of a great historic terroir, that through nurture and creativity has become something greater than perhaps could have been imagined, and a bright shining light of Pomerol.

Château Margaux

Margaux, Bordeaux, France

It is difficult to sum up in a few lines the long and splendid history of the estate. It was already known in the 12th century but there were not yet any vines. In the 16th century the estate anticipated the future development of the Médoc which was to start abandoning the cultivation of cereal crops in favor of vines, and Château Margaux became a high place in the art of growing and making wine.

Château Recougne - Boutisse - Tour Bayard

Bordeaux, France

These 3 estates are run by an extended family and represent in both the past and future an extraordinarily exciting story: estates on the right bank of Bordeaux making utterly authentic, soulful wines, led by a dynamic young generation eager to bring its own perspective and energy.

Château Lyonnat - Tour d'Auron - Damase

Bordeaux, France

A passionate family together running these 3 high quality estates on the right bank of Bordeaux, each producing individual and charming wines.

Domaine Chanson

Burgundy, France

Chanson is a true mid-size Domaine. Unlike many of their competitors, their wines are produced using the grower model rather than the négociant model. They have extensive holdings of over 111 acres of exclusively Premier and Grand Cru vineyards in the heart of Burgundy. They produce approximately 17,000 cases of domaine wine per year. To compliment the estate holdings, they work with exceptional growers and vineyards and have extremely strict requirements for working with these contracted growers. For example, both the estate holdings and contracted grower vineyards are 100% hand harvested by the Chanson team to tightly control picking time and grape selection. Chanson is obsessed with maintaining a consistent quality level across the entire range. The regional and village wines are produced with the same precision and care as the Premier and Grand Crus. The wines have a seductive and distinctive style due to the rigorous approach to viticulture and vinification.   

Lucien Le Moine

Burgundy, France

In two decades of work, Lucien Le Moine has become one of the most talked about Burgundy producers, making some of the most sought after wines from the region.  The approach is extreme – two people, together doing everything by hand, working with a dazzling array of Burgundy’s great terroirs.

Domaine Talmard

Mâcon, Burgundy, France

This father and son estate produces one utterly perfect wine: a pure and refreshing Chardonnay, from the birthplace of the Chardonnay grape.

Rotem and Mounir Saouma

Rhone Valley, France

Burgundy meets the Rhone.  An utter respect for tradition, and in some ways a total break.  We've watched as Mounir and Rotem Saouma, of Burgundy producer Lucien Le Moine, slowly developed their estate and wines in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and the results today are too extraordinary and distinct to ignore.

Domaine des Baumard

Loire Valley, France

Domaine des Baumard has been planted with vines since 1634, and has remained in the same family since then. In the mid-20th century, however, is when the estate started to build a reputation as one of the greatest white wine producers in the Loire Valley, and the world.

Langlois-Chateau

Loire Valley, France

Langlois-Chateau is the "Tête de Crémant." The Crémants are the focus of the estate, accounting for 62% of the estate's production, making Langlois-Chateau the leader of Loire sparkling wine. It’s a case of quantity and quality with the production standards far beyond the appellation requirements and even beyond Champagne AOC standards. The result is methode Champanoise wines of incredible finesse. The still Sancerres are equally notable and are benchmarks for the appellation, with brightness, intensity, depth and minerality.

Ornellaia

Bolgheri, Italy

Ornellaia has established itself as one of the most iconic producers in Italy (and beyond). The estate is dedicated to producing charming and opulent wines, full of Mediterranean character and finesse, reflecting the estate's unique terroir in Bolgheri on the Tuscan coast.

Masseto

Bolgheri, Italy

Masseto is one of the world's iconic wines. Coveted by international collectors and fine wine connoisseurs across the globe, Masseto constantly receives the highest accolades from the most prestigious wine critics in the world, and is a fixture in the international fine wine trade indexes.

Le Macchiole

Bolgheri, Italy

Le Macchiole can best be defined as the “Boutique Bolgheri.” The winery is known for its spectacular single-varietal wines, and their signature grape varieties are Syrah, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc and work is always conducted with the priority being "the expression of the land." The winery continues to evolve in both the vineyards and in the cellar to allow the soil characteristics from this estate property to be the defining identity in the wines.

Luce

Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy

Today, Luce goes so much further than was originally envisioned when started as a project over 20 years ago. The estate now has some of the most exceptional vineyards in Montalcino and, as of 2018, a state of the art winery to nurture every step of the winemaking process. The original vision, however, remains the same: to produce a bold and ambitious Super Tuscan that reflects the culture of Montalcino.

Casisano

Tuscany, Italy

The Casisano estate is located in the southeastern part of Montalcino between the St. Antimo Abbey and the Val d'Orcia, arguably the most quintessentially picturesque area in all of Tuscany. Casisano wines are the result of 100 years of passion and a deep understanding of Montalcino, its terroir, and the spectacular wines produced there. 

Petrolo

Val d'Arno di Sopra, Tuscany. Italy

Petrolo is the definition of a cult winery, with an owner and a story that have helped create its legendary status. While the estate's benchmark wine, the Merlot cru Galatrona, deservedly receives fireworks in the press and is part of the history of Tuscany’s quality revolution in the late 1980s and 1990s, the winery's two other standouts, Torrione and Boggina, are an equally thrilling success - Sangiovese from a special and virtually unknown appellation bordering Chianti Classico that today produces wines of distinct regional identity.

Poggio al Tufo

Tuscany, Italy

Poggio al Tufo is located in Tuscany's coastal Maremma region near Pitigliano, an historical Etruscan city known for its volcanic soils rich in tufo, a specific type of volcanic rock.  Poggio al Tufo encompasses 3 estates in different areas of the Maremma, each with its own unique microclimate, but all sharing the influence of volcanic soil and Mediterranean breezes.

Sandrone

Piedmont, Italy

Luciano Sandrone is one of the most iconic producers in Barolo, and his story is an extraordinary one. In the bottle, Sandrone’s wines straddle the modern and traditional styles of the region: elegant, attractive and easy to appreciate right from their first years in bottle, but with no less power and structure over time than traditional Barolos.

Attems

Friuli, Italy

Attems is one of the most historic producers in the northern Italian region of Friuli, with a winemaking heritage dating back nearly a millennium. Attems wines have a decidedly Friulian character: fresh, full of flavor and elegant, they respect the singularity of the unique terroir of a region ripe for discovery.

Tommasi

Veneto, Italy

Tommasi has always been a standard bearer of the Amarone appellation. Established in 1902 around the family home in Pedemonte in Valpolicella, the winery has grown and expanded into the choicest areas of the region under the guidance of the many generations of the Tommasi family. The winery is known above all for its classic approach to winemaking in Valpolicella, favoring elegance and balance, and paying homage to the winemaking tradition of their home region.

Masciarelli

Abruzzo, Italy

Founded by Abruzzo native Gianni Masciarelli in 1981, Masciarelli and its wines have become the standard-bearer for the Abruzzo region, and an inspiration to all emerging Italian wine regions. After a summer in Champagne, Gianni Masciarelli became convinced that world-class wines could be produced in Abruzzo, and through tremendous vision and non-stop innovation, Masciarelli became one of the most admired wineries in Italy.

Masseria Surani

Masseria Surani is located in Manduria, one of the most renowned areas in Puglia for the cultivation of the native Primitivo grape. Manduria was first colonized in 700 BC by the ancient Greeks, and Masseria Surani pays homage to the winemaking heritage of the area by producing high quality wines that respect the terroir and tradition of the land on which they are cultivated.

Paternoster

Campania, Italy

Volcanic wines are currently a hot topic among wine critics and enthusiasts worldwide, and Paternoster is very much of the moment: it is a volcanic wine in the literal sense of the term and stands on an extinct volcano. Paternoster is located in the relatively unknown southern Italian region of Basilicata, on the slopes surrounding Mount Vulture, and has long been considered one of the region’s most important wineries.

Telmo Rodríguez

Rioja, Valdeorras, Toro, Spain

Telmo Rodriguez is one of Spain’s pioneer winemakers, advocating native grape varietals tied to the climates and conditions of their sites, and making world-class wines from undiscovered as well as known regions. While Telmo makes rare and limited wines of astonishing character and quality, his everyday wines have been equally praised, and widely recognized for the tremendous value they offer.

Ferrer Bobet

Priorat, Spain

Ferrer Bobet is about respect. The mutual respect of two friends, Sergi Ferrer-Salat and Raül Bobet, respect for the long traditions of vine-growing and wine-making in Priorat, and above all, respect for the terroir of Priorat.

Quinta do Noval

Douro Valley, Portugal

One of the oldest port houses, Quinta do Noval is also arguably the greatest. It is unique among top port houses in that most of the ports are made from estate-grown fruit and, notably, all of the vintage Noval wines are from the single Quinta do Noval vineyard.

Disznókő

Tokaj, Hungary

Disznókő has, above any other estate in the region, restored Tokaji’s reputation to the days it was considered “the wine of kings and king of wines” (Louis XIV).

Errázuriz

Aconcagua Valley, Chile

Errázuriz is recognized as perhaps the single top quality producer of Chilean wines, with in the last year alone Eduardo Chadwick, President, named Decanter Man of the Year 2018, and the winery awarded Best Chilean Winery 2017 by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.

Finca Decero

Agrelo, Mendoza, Argentina

Finca Decero has become recognized not only for having one of the highest quality vineyards in all of Mendoza, but also for catapulting into an elite group of the most highly regarded producers in Argentina. The wines all come from the single Finca Decero vineyard, and the winery’s focus is entirely quality focused.

Dog Point Vineyard

Marlborough, New Zealand

Almost since its inception, Dog Point  has been recognized as among the very top (arguably the very top) wine producers in New Zealand.  Their two very different Sauvignon Blancs, their Pinot Noir, and their Chardonnay are all wines of astounding quality and complexity not just in the context of New Zealand wines, but globally.

Mitolo

McLaren Vale, Australia

Founder Frank Mitolo drew inspiration from his Italian heritage and especially his horticultural background - he is the 4th generation of a family of agriculturists – in starting the company in 1999. In 2001 acclaimed winemaker Ben Glaetzer became a partner, and together Frank and Ben have shared an uncompromising dedication to producing wines that express purity of flavor, show elegance of structure, and maintain a rich, powerful complexity. In a short period of time, Mitolo has become recognized as one of the finest producers in McLaren Vale.

Heartland

Langhorne Creek, Australia

Owner and winemaker Ben Glaetzer’s work in Langhorne Creek is one of the most exciting stories in Australia today. Ben found and grew excited at older, high quality vineyards he had seen in the cool-climate Langhorne Creek area, Australia’s oldest settled wine region, one hour south of Adelaide and southeast of McLaren Vale.

GINRAW

Barcelona, Spain

GINRAW is a super-premium gastronomic gin from Barcelona. It's the result of a collaboration between four masters of their craft: a Chef, a Sommelier, a Mixologist and a Master Parfumeur. Together with the founders, this group of experts embarked on a quest for perfection, combining their talents to craft a superior gin with sublime character and a personality reflecting the avant-garde gastronomic spirit and standards of Barcelona.