Chardonnay Wines

wines

There is an inherent subjectivity in the pricing of wine that rarely sees a prestige cuvée of the utmost finesse and enduring stamina hit the ground at a jaw-droppingly affordable price. This is the epitome of the precision of Gimonnet: beach-fresh, youthful, introverted and tightly coiled. Pure, adroit 2008 acid propels an incredible finish that splashes long and strong with frothy, salty chalk minerality. A cuvée of effortless poise, unmitigated drive and breathtaking fidelity. Drinking Window 2028 - 2048Decanter | 97 DECReleased only in magnum, the 2008 Brut Millésime de Collection Vieilles Vignes is the same wine as Gimonnet's Special Club, bit it sees more than 10 years sur lattes before disgorgement. Unwinding in the glass with a deep and complex bouquet of pear, green apple, citrus zest, oyster shell, smoke and pastry cream, it's full-bodied, chalky and incisive, with terrific depth at the core, promising reserve and a long, resonant finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPOne of the many highlights in this range, the 2008 Brut Millésime de Collection Special Club boasts tremendous depth and overall intensity. Here it is the interplay of crystalline Cramant Chardonnay with layers of deep, explosive fruit that is absolutely captivating. A vertical sense of structure gives the wine its spine and sense of direction. Still quite young, the 2008 could use a few more years in bottle. Still, it is stellar today. Fruit sources are 57% Cramant, 29% Chouilly, 12.5% Cuis and 1.5% Vertus. Dosage is 4.5 grams/liter. Disgorged: March 2015.Vinous Media | 94 VMA beautiful wine, this has fresh acidity, crisp fruits and zesty mineral texture. Apples, citrus and hints of apricots are all there along with an intense tangy character that bursts in the mouth. It's still so young and needs to age; drink from 2018 at the earliest. The Special Club is a group of growers who rate and taste each other's wines before release.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEA layered and intense Champagne with pie crust and lemons. Decadent and beautiful. Full and rich. An opulent and delicious style. Drink now.James Suckling | 93 JSHints of toasted brioche and roasted nut enrich baked plum, orchard blossom, chalk and lemon curd flavors in this well-knit Champagne, with a satiny mousse. Bright and lively through to the zesty finish. Disgorged March 2015. Drink now through 2025. 30 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

The Dauvissat holdings have been reduced to three parcels now - two above the road and one below it - but there has been no corresponding drop in the quality of this superb wine. Still showing quite a bit of oak at this young age, it has salty, savoury, iodine-scented intensity, impressive concentration and the energy and balance to age superbly in bottle. Always one of the best wines in the appellation. (Drink between 2022-2033)Decanter | 96 DECBright medium yellow. At once penetrating and refined on the nose, with high-pitched aromas of lemon, orange zest and oyster shell accented by cinnamon and ginger spice notes. Wonderfully juicy and vibrant in the middle palate, conveying an impression of outstanding tactile density without weight. Flavors of pineapple, white pepper and salty minerality are at once generous and chewy. This beautifully balanced, fresh grand cru boasts outstanding inner-mouth energy and finishes with steadily rising length and an impression of solidity. This wine, incidentally, was spectacular from the outset. (picked on September 29 with between 12.5% and 13% potential alcohol, according to Dauvissat; 4.5 g/l acidity)Vinous Media | 96 VMThe 2018 les Clos from Domaine Dauvissat is another absolutely superb wine in the making. It offers up a deep, pure and complex bouquet of pear, apple, minerality that is both flinty and chalky in personality, citrus blossoms and a bit of lemon peel in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with a bit more early reserve than the les Preuses is showing right now. The finish is very, very long, mineral-driven and snappy, with excellent focus and grip and impeccable balance. First class les Clos in the making. (Drink between 2026-2075)John Gilman | 95+ JGAromas of pear, green apple and citrus oil mingling with hints of fresh bread and oyster shell introduce Dauvissat's 2018 Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos, a full-bodied, layered wine that's ample and elegantly muscular, girdled by bright acids and revealing more overt structure than Les Preuses at this stage. Concluding with a long, chalky finish, even in the demonstrative 2018 vintage, this will merit a bit of patience.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPThis is so much more closed than many other Les Clos 2018s I have tasted. It has super flinty white peaches and yellow grapefruit, almond pastry and also some weight to the core. A sweeping, smooth palate that carries such intensity and such an assertively rich and layered feel. The rich DNA of this parcel is delivered with such precision and carefully stacked fruit that drives deep into the finish. Such density and yet such elegance here.James Suckling | 95-96 JSHere the brooding and very restrained nose is certainly ripe yet it's still almost classic with its aromas of mineral reduction, citrus peel, sea breeze, oyster shell and apple. Once again, the mouthfeel of the larger-scaled flavors is quite sleek with outstanding intensity along with abundant minerality while exhibiting excellent power on the dense and serious and bone-dry finish that also displays huge length. I did note just enough backend warmth to mention though otherwise this is superb. (Drink starting 2030)Burghound | 94 BH

The primacy of the citrus and green apple fruit is dramatic, but there is depth and nuance here as well, not to mention fresh acidity and enough extract to make the finish linger enticingly on the palate. Boillot’s Clos de la Mouchère is a monopole of nearly 4ha in the lieu-dit Les Perrières. The vines are more than 80 years of age, and each section is vinified and matured separately in cask (70% new). This wine has surprising volume, concentration and length – assuredly close to grand cru in quality. Drinking Window 2025 - 2040.Decanter | 96 DEC

One of the Dauvissat specialities, the La Forest is a triumph in 2021. From seven small parcels, the total site is less than 1ha with average vine age more than 40 years. Intriguing, slightly smoky nose, highly distinctive and different to others in the range. Plenty of power, ripe stone fruit flavours, zesty citrus acidity with a herbaceous edge adding an extra dimension. Definitely of grand cru quality.Decanter | 95 DECThe 2021 Chablis 1er Cru La Forest is a young classic, mingling scents of sweet citrus oil and peach with notions of white flowers, struck match, bee pollen and youthful reduction in an incipiently complex bouquet. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and textural, it’s concentrated, taut and incisive, with a long, mineral finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPThere is a hint of phenolic character on the aromas of crushed leaf, mineral reduction, lemon-lime and seaweed. The denser, succulent and powerful larger-scaled flavors are supported by a firm acid spine on the stony, youthfully austere and bitter citrus rind finale. This is quite dry and I very much like the balance though I would note that at least some patience is strongly suggested as this is quite tightly wound today. In a word, terrific.Burghound | 94 BHI always think of Vincent Dauvissat’s la Forest as his baby les Clos, as with ten years or more of bottle age, the two often resemble each other a bit aromatically and flavor-wise. The 2021 version of la Forest chez Dauvissat is going to be stellar. The bouquet wafts from the glass in a complex mix of pear, fresh lime, flinty minerality, citrus blossoms, discreet vanillin oak and a topnote of beeswax. On the palate the wine is deep, pure and full, with a superb core of fruit, excellent complexity and cut, fine focus, bright acids and a long, complex and impeccably balanced finish. This is superb. (Drink between 2026 - 2060)John Gilman | 94 JGAlso a fine clear colour, though without a green tint. The Forest 2021 has a solid full fruit on the nose, perhaps less intense at the edges. Very pure white fruit, good acidity, not the volume which the 2022 will have but it is coming out very well even so. Drink from 2026-2033. Tasted: May 2023.Jasper Morris | 93 JM

The 2021 Chablis Les Preuses Grand Cru comes from 2.5-hectares split over two parcels. This has one of my favourite aromatics from Fèvre this year with superb delineation and mineralité. The palate is harmonious and poised, very focused and tensile, plenty of energy with a touch of lime and clementine towards the persistent finish. This is an outstanding Chablis that should age supremely well in bottle.Vinous Media | 94-96 VMOne of the domaine’s standout wines, this immediately strikes you with its precision and clarity. Fevre’s vines are from two different sites, with varying expositions - one lower down and facing south-east, the other high on the plateau. Great elegance with plenty of weight and concentration on the palate, full and fleshy. Grapefruit notes to the fore but plenty of mineral/saline notes on the long, persistent finish. A delicious, aristocratic grand cru. Fevre owns 2.5ha within Les Preuses. Drinking Window: 2026 - 2038Decanter | 95 DEC

Mid yellow, with a biscuity touch. Seems unsubtle until you get to the palate which is super powerful but also with subtlety. This Monopole vineyard comprises four distinct terroirs though they are always assembled. An electric backbone stops the power overturning the balance. Yellow fruit, and then an extraordinary, indeed grand cru, weight. Incisive white fruit finish. Drink from 2030-2038. Tasted: December 2023.Jasper Morris | 95-97 JMThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet Clos de la Mouchère 1er Cru is one of the most shut down of the whites in this vast range. Mineral and savory notes abound, but fruit is decidedly pushed into the background. Citrus confit, crushed rocks, mint and white pepper all race across the palate. There’s quite a bit of youthful austerity at this stage, but this should come together in time. A whole range of complex floral and tropical nuances linger. - Antonio GalloniVinous Media | 93-95 VMGuillaume Boillot continues to work his nearly four hectares of old vines in the Clos de la Mouchère in several parcels; we tasted each section separately. The vines near the wood surrounding Clos de la Garenne have bright citrus notes with hints of flint and mineral. Those near Clavoillon have more of a ripe pear and marzipan aroma; they are less focused but have more density, elegance and depth. The combination makes a superb wine that is one of the delights of Boillot’s cellar.Decanter | 95 DEC

Beautiful mix of richness, grace and drive. As always with Fèvre’s Les Preuses, this is elegant, long-living and fine. Ultra-stylish and very mineral. From two sections of vines. One situated low down on Les Preuses next to Vincent Dauvissat’s plot, on the flatter part facing south, the other on deeper soils, with both adding richness and totalling 2.5ha.Decanter | 96 DECA toasty nose features notes of smoky grilled shellfish, pear and algae. The dense and equally serious larger-scaled flavors don’t have quite the same power yet they are clearly more refined on the markedly bitter citrus zest finish that displays outstanding length. This is exceptionally classy and while it too could use more depth, that is all but assured if given a chance.Burghound | 92-95 BHSuch a fresh lime infused colour. The bouquet shows the soft creamy riches that you can find here in Les Preuses. There is plenty of bulk but the hectare plot which drops down into Vaudésir gives the mineral tension. A little lime and lemon coats the tongue at the finish. Drink from 2030-2040. Tasted: June 2023.Jasper Morris | 93-95 JMThe 2022 Chablis Les Preuses Grand Cru is not unlike the Valmur on the nose: backward and a little sultry in style, with faint touches of crustacea coming through. The palate is more generous with orchard fruit, hints of apricot and wild peach, and fine acidity. It is very harmonious but without quite the same complexity as the Valmur on the finish. Still, this should give many years of drinking pleasure.Vinous Media | 92-94 VM

The 2016 Chardonnay Reserve is the stuff dreams are made of. Towering and statuesque in its pedigree, the Reserve shows why the Santa Cruz Mountains is such a special place. The 2016 is deep, powerful and intense, and yet it remains remarkably finessed as well. Tangerine oil, mint, chamomile and lightly honeyed notes all develop with a few hours of aeration. The Reserve is a blend of 11 barrels (all neutral oak) that spends its second winter on its lees in tank, an approach that is common in Burgundy, but that is not often seen in California. All I can say is: Wow!Vinous Media | 97 VMThe 2016 Chardonnay Reserve improved over several days and is just beginning to hint at more to come with bottle age. The nose offers warm citrus and floral perfume with a deep core of orchard fruits. The palate is silky and expansive, with a streak of mineral-like undertones, a flush of juicy acidity and long, layered finish. It deserves more time in bottle. 231 cases were made.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RP

After some time in the glass, the 2018 Chardonnay Cascadia opens to dried chamomile and apple slices with notes of hay, candle smoke, roasted almonds and beeswax. The palate is broad and creamy with expansive, honeyed layers, finishing with great length and powerful flavor. It’s pure pleasure!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RP(Chardonnay “Cascadia”- Brick House Wine Company (Ribbon Ridge)) The Cascadia bottling from Brick House is their Reserve bottling of chardonnay, made from a barrel selection of the finest casks in the cellar in any given vintage. The 2018 Cascadia tips the scales at a very refined twelve percent alcohol and offers up a very expressive bouquet of pear, hazelnut, complex soil tones, a hint of passion fruit, white lilies, a dollop of fresh nutmeg and a very stylish framing of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is bright, youthful and full, with a superb core, excellent mineral drive and cut, impressive focus and a long, nascently complex and beautifully balanced finish. This is still a puppy and really deserves at least two or three years in the cellar to allow its secondary layers to emerge. Fine juice. (Drink between 2024-2040)John Gilman | 93 JGDried apple, spiced pear, grilled pineapple, smoke, licorice, lime zest and flint on the nose. It’s medium-bodied with bright acidity. Tight, spiced and flinty. Excellent focus. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink now or hold.James Suckling | 92 JSAn alluring white, with a luscious yet crisply vibrant texture. Offers expressive pear blood orange accents that linger on a minerally finish. Drink now through 2021. 220 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WSCrisp and layered, with whiffs of flower and spice, this appealing young wine offers fresh apple fruit, along with lighter, well-defined flavors of cucumber and white peach. The low alcohol is in keeping with the flavor profile, but the biodynamic farming brings great depth and detail, unusual in such a lightly ripened wine.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WE

Brought up in 20% new French oak, the 2018 Chardonnay Los Alamos reveals a light gold hue as well as a beautiful bouquet of stone fruits, toasted bread, almond paste, and honeysuckle. Beautifully textured, medium to full-bodied, and seamless on the palate, it’s a gorgeous Chardonnay as well as a brilliant value!Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDLemon blossom, light pecan and classic oak aromas show on the nose of this bottling. The chalky palate and fresh, lingering acidity ride through tight lines of lemon peel and vanilla, which extend deep into the finish.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WETasting Gavin Chanin’s majestic chardonnay bottling from Los Alamos is like standing on a hilltop in that vineyard and letting the sea spray imperceptibly coat your lips. Beneath the cinnamon spice and the citrus brightness is a kind of bracing, briny green sensation, reminding one taster of agretti,the salty springtime green that finds its way into Italian salads. The wine is bracing and delicious, with the structure to age ten years or more.Wine & Spirits | 94 W&SThe nose is dominated by orange rind and starfruit with a subtle note of struck flint behind. The palate is rich, beaming and wide, exuding the sunshine and sandy soils that define this site. The Los Alamos Vineyard bottling is typically the most tropical, flashy and forward of the Chanin Chardonnays, as is the case in the 2018 vintage. 18 months in mostly neutral barrique, full malolactic fermentation. Drinking Window 2020 - 2035.Decanter | 93 DECThe 2018 Chardonnay Los Alamos Vineyard is a very pretty, airy wine. Candied lemon peel, almond paste and chamomile are all laced together. Tangerine oil and tropical accents add an exotic flair as this mid-weight Chardonnay opens nicely in the glass.Antonio Galloni | 92 AG

Not yet bottled, the 2018 Chardonnay Sanford & Benedict is still resting in 20% new French oak. Coming from a great site on the southern side of the Sta. Rita Hills, it offers a rocking bouquet of lemon curd, chamomile, toasted bread, spice, and a touch of crushed stone-like flinty minerality. Beautifully textured, medium to full-bodied, and elegant on the palate, it’s another brilliant wine from this estate.Jeb Dunnuck | 95-97 JDAromas of moss and kumquats combine with decadently ripe, yet still refreshing, limpid fruit. The textured palate reflects the stony minerality of the nose in a snappy, svelte package. It spent 20 months in mostly neutral barrique, and is a blend of the own-rooted 1971 vines as well as younger plantings. Drinking Window 2020 - 2040.Decanter | 95 DEC

A decadent complexity of yellow peach, smoky nuts and fragrant almonds with beautifully crafted oak, superb acidity and a long, powerful finish. Truly delicious.Decanter | 95 DEC

Lovely, expressive notes of juicy grapefruit and ripe pear, toast and oak spice make an appearance but the cask ageing is very well integrated. The overall impression is of a consummate balance between richness and freshness, with another layer of firm underlying acidity too, and the wine lingers enticingly. As consultant Dominique Lafon notes: ‘Our better wines are not the bigger. Our selection is on refinement.’ Drinking Window 2020 - 2030.Decanter | 96 DECThis sleek yet rich wine is packed with ripe citrus, Honeycrisp apple, peach and pineapple tones. Barrel fermented and aged in 40% new oak, it showcases spectacular fruit on the palate that is softened by creamy, lightly toasty barrel flavors.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEPale yellow. Mineral-accented nectarine, orange, Anjou pear, iodine and white flowers on the intensely perfumed nose. Smooth, fleshy and dry in the mouth, offering concentrated orchard and pit fruit flavors complemented by suggestions of fennel, sweet butter and candied lemon peel. Shows excellent depth as well as energy and finishes minerally, smoky and impressively long, featuring lingering citrus and pit fruit notes. 40% new oak.Vinous Media | 94 VMNo written review provided. | 94 W&SA wine that unfurls slowly with impressive results. Multilayered kiwi, green apple and stony mineral accents build structure and richness on a lingering finish. Drink now through 2022. 1,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

Mount Eden’s 2018 Chardonnay offers a fabulous interplay of richness and energy. A wine of linear intensity, the 2018 could use a few more years in bottle to be at its best, but it is super-impressive, even now, in what is very clearly the early going. Lemon confit, mint, orange peel, spice and light butter notes all build into the articulate, polished finish. This is such a classy wine. Give it a few years to come together.Antonio Galloni | 95 AGHoneyed nut, tangerine peel and baked apple aromas show on the nose of this bottling. A zesty acidity enlivens the palate from front to back, carrying toasty flavors of pan-seared apple, cashew, sea salt and white flower. Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEA Burgundy lover’s Chardonnay from the Santa Cruz Mountains, the 2018 Chardonnay Estate is another terrific effort from this estate. Lots of honeyed citrus, nectarine, toast, crushed stone, and white flower notes define the bouquet, and it opens beautifully with time in the glass, gaining both richness and complexity. Medium-bodied, it stays tight and compact on the palate, with bright yet integrated acidity, solid mid-palate depth, and a great finish. As with all of Patterson’s wines, it’s brilliantly made, balanced, and well worth checking out.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDMount Eden’s chardonnay vines are descendants of cuttings that Paul Masson brought from Burgundy and planted at his La Cresta Vineyard, and where Martin Ray sourced the plant material when he established Mount Eden on a nearby ridge, 2,000 feet above the Pacific, facing east. The contemporary vines, mostly planted in the mid-1990s, are tended by Jeffrey Patterson who made this rich and powerful 2018. Fermented in French oak barrels (50 percent new), the wine’s smokiness seems tied as much to the earth as to the wood. It’s savory and lemony, with a firm cut that should serve it well through several years of bottle aging.Wine & Spirits | 92 W&SThere’s a luscious and creamy texture to the concentrated ripe apple, pear and quince flavors that are filled with cooking spice accents. Ends with sage honey nuances on the rich finish. Drink now through 2024. 1,288 cases made. Wine Spectator | 91 WS

Among the most iconic Ramonet vineyards, this site on the slopes above Les Fairendes still has some of the vines planted by Pierre in the thirties. This old-vine fruit delivers a wine of impressive concentration. There is still a floral elegance typical of Ramonet, but there are also hints of ripe pear and white nectarine on the nose. The texture is firmly wound but not acerbic, the tension balanced by the ripe heft and extract of 2018. The superb balance carries this to a very satisfying finish. Drinking Window 2021 - 2041.Decanter | 96 DEC(Domaine Jean-Claude Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet "Les Ruchottes" 1er Cru White) Smoky and nicely fresh aromas speak mainly of petrol, citrus blossom, spice and a discreet hint of wood influence. There is fine energy to the fluid, round and delicious middle weight flavors that possess average density but excellent punch and power before terminating in a markedly bitter lemon rind and noticeably warm finale. This is very 2018 in style as one can "feel" the sunshine and a wine that is going to need at least some bottle age to better harmonize as it seems somewhat awkward at present. With that said, the track record of this wine is so good that I wouldn't care to bet against it rounding into form with a few years of keeping. (Drink starting 2026)Burghound | 93 BH

A hearty mouthfeel belies this wine’s quintessential and quenching acidity, driven by its cool-climate provenance and winemaking style. Green-apple, pear and tangerine flavors meld together easily along a midpalate of complex structure and length, with a lift of crispness reappearing on the finish.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThe 2018 Chardonnay Zephyr Farms comes from a site located 6.7 miles from the Pacific Ocean. Fermented and aged in 15% new French oak, it has a distinct salty, chalky mineral character as well as plenty of lemon, pear, white flowers, toasted spice, and a touch of almond paste aromatics. Beautifully textured and medium-bodied, with integrated acidity and a great finish, this brilliant Chardonnay will evolve for a solid decade.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDThe 2018 Chardonnay Zephyr Farms Vineyard is one of the deeper, more overt wines in this range. All the elements fall into place effortlessly. In this tasting, the Zephyr Farms is distinguished by its vertical depth and overall intensity. Wild flower, apricot, chamomile, lemon confit and lightly honeyed notes all grace this super-expressive and inviting Chardonnay from Red Car.Antonio Galloni | 93 AG

From a 20+-year-old section of Hudson selection Old Wente clone vines, the 2019 Chardonnay Hudson (a barrel sample) delivers a full-on exotic nose of tropical fruits, pineapple upside-down cake, beeswax and spiced pears with an undercurrent of cashews and brioche plus a touch of yuzu zest. Full-bodied, the palate is satisfyingly savory and multilayered, with tons of mineral sparks accenting the opulent fruit, and the long, decadent finish is beautifully offset by racy freshness.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97-99 RPAn inviting nose of jasmine, lemon leaf, chalk and beeswax. Full-bodied and light on its feet with delicate expressions of herbs and spices that carry over the palate in layers. Subtle vanilla bean and toasted thyme on the palate. Supremely elegant. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2019 Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard is a total knock-out. Ripe pear, white flowers, mint and apple tart are all beautifully lifted. Rich in texture, yet light on its feet, the Hudson is unbelievably beautiful and vivid in the glass. In a word: stunning.Vinous Media | 96-98 VMThere’s unctuous minerality and savoriness to the baked apple and dried pear flavors that are lacy and well-spiced, with toasty and buttery accents on the broad-textured finish. Elegant and complex. Drink now through 2026. 579 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

The 2019 Chardonnay Sigrid is especially lovely this vintage, offering that often-unattainable combination of plush, ripe fruits and shimmery acidity. Its aromatic nuances blossom slowly—white peach, Greek yogurt and pie spices emerging over time—and the medium-bodied palate has a persistent textural presence that draws out the finish. You could drink a bottle now for its irresistible youthful fruit and tanginess, or age it in the cellar over the next decade.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96+ RPA bright, vivid chardonnay with aromas of nectarines, dried pineapples, lemon zest, toast and smoked almonds. It’s medium-to full-bodied with intense layers of spiced fruit. Excellent concentration and energy. Long, focused and precise. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSThe 2019 Sigrid, like its predecessors, is shifty, peripatetic, constantly evolving, a wine to taste over the course of several days and marvel at its chameleonic shades. This is smoky and flinty when first poured, though you can already get a sense of its formidable energy and structure. After a day’s air the lees play a more central role, entwined around juicy pear and tart lemon flavors, though these too lengthen with days open. The effect is layered and fine, mouth filling but not heavy, with a seductively broad, blanketing minerality. A tour de force.Wine & Spirits Magazine | 95 W&SThe 2019 Chardonnay Sigrid is a blend from the three single vineyard sites and is held back on release to allow an additional year in bottle. It is fresh and sunny with ripe pear, green melon, and sea spray. The palate is dry with ripe peach, delicate oak spice, and chive. Drink 2024-2034.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDSigrid is the barrel select reserve bottling made from a mix of several different vineyard sources. It’s a juicy, full-bodied wine, with lush tree fruits and beautifully proportioned acidity. Accents of lemony herbs add further detail, and as it winds down through a long finish, the barrel toast is set against a piercing minerality. This lovely wine is drinking beautifully already but could be cellared another half decade. Wine Enthusiast | 94 WESleek yet rich, offering vibrant lemon blossom and orange peel flavors, with touches of mint and spice that sail on the lingering finish. Drink now through 2022. 560 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

A hint of petrichor colors this wine’s lemony, bright nose with a stony allure. The palate dresses this lemony richness in nutty, rounded smoothness without denying its mouthwatering essence. The midpalate is buffered, chalky and intense, with reverberating richness and freshness that makes this wine a real joy.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEPart of the wider Montmains Premier Cru, Butteaux is situated on the top of the hill, located on sparse Kimmeridgian soil with the presence of the much-vaunted blue clay. In 2019, the exposure of this site has added an extra layer of richness to the palate. Fine acidity keeps the wine in balance with purity of fruit very evident. Lots of concentration for further ageing. A fine Premier Cru, appealing now but with much more to come. Drinking Window 2022 - 2027.Decanter | 93 DECThe 2019 Chablis Butteaux 1er Cru has a very promising bouquet of honeysuckle, jasmine, citronella and Japanese yuzu. Very fine delineation and focus on display here. The palate is well balanced with a supple and harmonious opening, lively and pretty, offering yellow plum and citrus notes, and becoming spicier with a dab of stem ginger toward the finish. This Butteaux will be difficult to resist in its youth, but it will give 12–15 years of drinking pleasure.Vinous Media | 92 VM

Impressive in salty pineapple and an underlying richness of crème brûlée, this wine remains balanced within its luxurious layers, with persistent freshness throughout. Unfiltered, it offers structure, graceful elegance and length, while being cohesive on the finish.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WE

A touch of fresh, ripe lemon zest is all that peeps though on this wine’s shy and closed nose. More air reveals lovely hints of petrichor and chalk. The palate is rounded and textured. Yeastiness and chalky depth align themselves to bright, ripe lemon, and the lemony chalkiness lasts beautifully. Drink by 2040.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEShowing rather more of a rich, toastier style, this has some driving mineral characters underneath with lovely concentration. The freshness imparted by the east-facing, steeply-sloping face of Blanchot contrasts with the warmth and ripeness of the 2019 vintage. A Grand Cru which has a fine balance of richness, power and structure, that is already drinking very well. Drinking Window 2022 - 2030.Decanter | 93 DEC

The 2019 Meursault Les Porusots 1er Cru has one of the feistier aromatics from Dominique Lafon, featuring vibrant yellow plum, marmalade and orange pith aromas, very well defined and wonderfully assimilated with the oak. The palate is balanced with a crisp bead of acidity that offsets the richness; elegant and refined, leading to a silky-smooth hazelnut and spice-infused finish. This represents a superb followup to the impressive 2018 but might not surpass it. We will find out. Vinous Media | 93-95 VMThe gently-pressed bunches from Porusots are fermented and aged in cask, with a good proportion of new wood, yet this does nothing to obscure the purity of the lemony fruit on the nose, while the texture on the elegant palate is well balanced, with fresh acidity. The Porusots is a stand-out bottling from this domaine, it being a wine of lovely intensity and structure. (Drink between 2024-2039)Decanter | 95 DECCool and decidedly restrained aromas only grudgingly reveal the notes of green fruit, essence of spiced pear and plenty of citrus elements. The powerful yet quite sleek larger-scaled flavors are tautly muscular before culminating in a strikingly persistence finish that also has a slightly chewy quality to it. Note that this is very firmly structured and a wine that is clearly built to repay long-term keeping. In a word, excellent. (Drink starting 2034)Burghound | 93-95 BHThe 2019 Meursault 1er Cru Porusots opens in the glass with notes of citrus oil, almond paste, white flowers and vanilla pod. Medium to full-bodied, bright and precise, its satiny attack segues into a tightly wound mid-palate and a mouthwateringly chalky finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93 RP

This wine exhibits strength as well as richness. With a dense texture and powerful, warm yellow- and white-fruit flavors, its ripe character is supported by toast and a tight structure. Drink from 2024.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThe 2019 Chablis Les Blanchots Grand Cru is very well defined on the nose, where sea spray and oyster shell notes combine with citrus aromas. Hints of green olive emerge with time. The well-defined palate is taut on the entry, with hints of chai tea and chamomile infusing the white peach and citrus notes, and builds nicely toward a very composed finish. Superb.Vinous Media | 94 VMLaroche owns 11 acres of Blanchots, a cru named for the layer of white clay over Chablis’s Kimmeridgian limestone. That clay helps retain some moisture, which may be why this particular grand cru shows so beautifully in 2019. It’s as full as you would expect from the heat of the season, but the dynamic energy of the wine sustains freshness and buoys the broad flavors of yellow apple and puff pastry. It’s generous in spirit, without being overwhelming in alcohol. Lush and delicious, it lasts on floral apple and tangy white cranberry notes. A keeper.Wine & Spirits | 94 W&SThe 2019 Chablis Grand Cru Les Blanchots wafts from the glass with notions of crisp orchard fruit, white peach, apple blossom, toasted almonds and vanilla pod. Full-bodied, concentrated and reserved, with good cut and back-end grip, it concludes with a long, delicately honeyed finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93+ RP

This 0.23-hectare parcel at the base of the rock of Solutré enjoys a full south exposition and chalky clay soils. The grapes, grown with biodynamic methods, are lightly crushed and fermented in cask (15% new) before aging 18 months in total. The result has delightful aromas of green apple and chamomile, yet there is a gentle touch of honey as well. The wine is superbly balanced, crisp and clean, with appreciable richness but no heaviness. The lingering finish and substance of the wine hint it will improve for decades in the bottle. Drinking Window 2023 - 2033.Decanter | 95 DEC(Domaine Leflaive Pouilly-Fuissé "En Vigneraie" Villages White) Ripe and very fresh aromas are comprised by notes of poached pear, green apple, citrus rind and a hint of mineral reduction. There is fine richness and solid concentration to the middle weight flavors that possess a caressing mouthfeel and exhibit fine length on the clean, dry and balanced finale. This could use better depth, but more should develop if this is allowed a few years first. (Drink starting 2026)Burghound | 90-93 BH

The 2019 Chablis 1er Cru La Forest is the deepest and most complete of Dauvissat's premiers crus, delivering a complex bouquet of orange oil, pear and fresh bread complemented by top notes of iodine, dried white flowers and beeswax. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and enveloping, it's layered and concentrated, with superb mid-palate volume, lively acids and a long, electric finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RP(Domaine Vincent Dauvissat Chablis "La Forest" 1er Cru White) A less elegant but more complex nose reflects plenty of Chablis typicity with its nose of spiced apple, sea breeze, tidal pool, ripe citrus and a touch of the exotic. There is excellent volume to the intense and muscular flavors that brim with both dry extract and minerality before concluding in a bitter lemon and anise-suffused finish that offers just a bit more depth. Like the Montée de Tonnerre, this very powerful effort should be capable of rewarding up to a decade of cellaring. (Drink starting 2029).Burghound | 93 BHThe 2019 Chablis Forêts 1er Cru has one of the most marine-influenced aromatics from Dauvissat, well-defined sea spray and oyster shell notes emerging with time. The palate is beautifully focused and powerful, offering dried honey and light spice notes, and gradually building toward the stem-ginger-tinged finish. Excellent.Vinous Media | 92-94 VM