"Walter Bressia is a celebrated for the quality of his red wines, but this is a very smart white wine. Chalky, creamy and toasty oaky, this is like a cross between a white Burgundy and a white Graves with some spice on the finish and complex fresh finish."
Tim Atkin Master Wine (Argentina 2012 Special Report), 92pts
Much more convincing is the 2009 Lagrima Canela, blend of Chardonnay and Semillon aged in oak barrels for 14 months. It has a lively Hunter Valley inspired bouquet of dried honey and grapefruit, the Semillon working well alongside the Chardonnay. The palate is well-balanced, with a slightly viscous honeyed entry, segueing into a peach and nectarine-driven middle and a waxy, lemon curd tinged finish that nods to the Southern Rhone. What an intriguing white! I will be interested to see how this ages. Drink now-2018.
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue 203, October 2012), 90 pts
"Waxy, dusty apple and oak aromas reflect the 30% Sémillon, but this is mostly Chardonnay in quantity, style, feel and flavors. Salty melon, tropical notes and nicely laid-out oak flavors turn a touch bitter on a weighty but healthy finish. Drink this classy white blend through 2018."
- Wine Enthusiast (October 2017), 90 pts
"The white 2015 Lágrima Canela felt better balanced than the 2013 I tasted last time. It's a blend of Chardonnay from Gualtallary with 30% Semillon from Tunuyán in the Uco Valley. It's a barrel-fermented blend that matured for eight months in new 300-liter French oak barrels, but somehow the fruit is in the forefront, and the oak feels better integrated than in the past. The palate also has very good freshness and is nicely textured, with an impressive, long and persistent finish. It's very tasty and faintly balsamic. It's very drinkable now, but time in bottle should only do it good. 5,000 bottles were filled in November 2015. Luis Gutiérrez"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (December 2016), 91 pts
"The ambitious 2016 Lágrima Canela, a blend of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Sémillon, feels fresher and more harmonious than in previous years in this tenth vintage. It matured in new French oak barrels for ten months, a shorter élevage that seems to have respected the fruit, and the wine comes through as fresher and more balanced, with great acidity and harmony. The flavors are delineated and clean, with a long, mineral finish. This has to be my favorite Lágrima Canela to date. It should age nicely in bottle. - Luis Gutiérrez"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue #237, June 2018), 93 pts
"This wine is a blend that’s on the way to become a classic on the Argentine wine scene. The first vintage was 2006 and since then has shown the potential of first the Chardonnay from Gualtallary, and then, the Semillón from Agua Amarga. Both the Chardonnay and Semillón vines were planted in the mid-90’s. The wine is aged between 8 and 12 months in new oak barrels and as a result, it needs time. In a young wine, like this 2015, the wood tends to play a major role, but checking on earlier vintages we see how the wood gives way to the weight of the fruit, thanks to the heft of this white with the structure of a red."
- Descorchados, 94 pts
"(14.5% alcohol; aged in new French oak): Pale straw-yellow. Lemon and orange zest, musky lees, baking spices, anise and dusty herbs on the expressive nose. Surprisingly sweet on entry, but nicely firmed by harmonious acidity and spicy oak. Not especially complex or delineated, but a substantial dinner-table white wine with a glyceral umami quality and a persistent, smooth finish. Not quite as vibrant in the middle as the 2016 version but this is smoother and longer. - Stephen Tanzer"
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (Argentina’s Wines Enter The World Stage, July 2018), 90 pts
