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The 1997 Harlan Estate is one of the greatest Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines I have ever tasted. A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, with the rest Merlot and Cabernet Franc, this enormously-endowed, profoundly rich wine must be tasted to be believed. Opaque purple-colored, it boasts spectacular, soaring aromatics of vanilla, minerals, coffee, blackberries, licorice, and cassis. In the mouth, layer after layer unfold powerfully yet gently. Acidity, tannin, and alcohol are well-balanced by the wine's unreal richness and singular personality. The finish exceeds one minute. Anticipated maturity: 2001-2030.Robert Parker | 100 RPSaturated ruby. Liqueur-like superripe nose combines roasted cherry, black raspberry, minerals and Valrhona chocolate; distinctly port-like notes. Voluptuous and huge in the mouth, with explosive fruit bordering on confectionary; flavor of chocolate-covered currants. Much more powerfully structured than the estate second wine but the backbone is hidden under a tidal wave of lush fruit. Endless finish features extraordinarily fine, suave tannins. Like the '97 Bryant Family Vineyard cabernet, this freakishly ripe wine reminds me of a great '47 Pomerol.Vinous Media | 97 VMA great bottle, ripe, intense, structured, focused and concentrated, with youthful, vibrant, layered flavors, gaining velocity and length. There's a tremendous finish.Wine Spectator | 97 WSThe 1997 Harlan Estate is a difficult wine to review, as the nose and palate present something of a dichotomy. The bouquet is quite torrefied and tertiary, with notes of caramel, dried fruit, chocolate and a hint of California prune. But on the palate the wine is very exciting and vibrant, with an ample chassis of fine-grained tannins, vibrant acids and an intense, penetrating finish. Notable bottle variation is reported with this vintage. Drinking Window 2017 - 2025.Decanter | 92 DEC

A wine of exquisite aromatic depth and grace, the 2000 Cheval Blanc is fully captivating. All the elements fall into place in an effortless, gracious wine. It’s frankly hard to move past the 2000 Cheval, because at this point, I want nothing to compete with it.Vinous Media | 100 VMComing out of a relatively dormant state, this 2000 is a spectacular Cheval Blanc. Of recent vintages, I think only the 2009 can give it a run for its money. A blend of 53% Merlot and 47% Cabernet Franc, the wine has a sweet nose of menthol, melted licorice, boysenberry, blueberry, and cassis. A broad wine with compelling purity, a layered texture, and sweet tannin, with hints of coffee and earth in the background, this is by far the best Cheval Blanc since 1990 and before 2009. It is a legend in the making and can actually be drunk now, as the tannins have nearly melted away. This is a beauty with incredibly complex aromatics. Drink it over the next 25-30 years.Robert Parker | 99 RPClosed and backward over the past decade, the 2000 Chateau Cheval Blanc seems to have turned the corner and is drinking spectacularly well today, with the hallmark elegance and complexity of this estate front and center. Sweet red and black fruits, spice box, dried flowers, and forest floor notes all develop with time in the glass, and it has a balanced, resolved style on the palate that’s a joy to drink. The 2000 is blend of 53% Merlot and 47% Cabernet Franc, and while mature, it has another two decades or more of prime drinking ahead of it.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDIn 2000, it seems the Cabernet Franc made Cheval Blanc. It has given a mysterious, wonderful perfume to the intense richness of the Merlot. It has less of the explosive power of Ausone, it is more subtle and elegant, reserving its explosion of richness for the end, when a welter of black fruits seems to go on for ever.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEDeep to very deep red. Sumptuous aromas of raspberries, blackberries, and menthol, full ripe and perfumed but restrained. The rich attack still shows powerful tannins, and youthful, firm acidity. It’s taut and spicy, subtle and complex, with tension on the finish, which is very long. Drinking Window 2015 - 2040Decanter | 95 DECNo written review provided. | 95 W&SA light menthol hint gives way to bay and tobacco leaf notes, which hold steady throughout, while the core of dark currant and fig fruit flavors takes on a warm, macerated, almost hedonistic feel. The finish has a tarry hint but is very polished and refined overall, with finely beaded acidity and a light iron accent. This is so caressing and languid, you almost lose sight of how long it is. Lovely.—Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Drink now through 2030.Wine Spectator | 94 WSA very nice nose of blackberries, dark chocolate, and flowers. Full bodied and smokey, with a meaty, mushroom, tobacco, and berry character. Wonderfully long, long finish to this muscular wine with fine tannins. This is still evolving but needs another five or six years. Find the wineJames Suckling | 94 JS

(Château Le Pin, Pomerol, Red)

The 2005 from Cheval Blanc is a quintessentially elegant, beautiful, deep bluish/ruby-colored wine from St.-Emilion, with raspberry, blueberry, and floral notes, impressive density, great precision, freshness and purity. Full-bodied, but extremely light on its feet, I don’t mean to gush, but it is super-intense, rich and just so meticulously crafted! This is another fabulous wine and a perfect expression for this vintage. It is difficult to forget the gorgeous blueberry and raspberry fruit, full body, sweet tannin, a multi-layered texture, and purity and palate presence of this stunning wine. Drink it over the next 20 years. P.S. In 2005, this was 50% Cabernet Franc and 50% Merlot.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPThe 2005 Cheval Blanc has been nothing less than magical on two separate occasions. A wine of breathtaking nuance and sophistication, the 2005 Cheval dazzles right out of the gate. With a few hours of aeration the aromatics blossom and the wine is explosive in every dimension. Espresso, rose petal, mint, blood orange and incense all open as the 2005 shows off its magnificence and pedigree. Bright saline underpinnings convey energy, tension and brilliance. Cheval Blanc is perhaps not as immediately seductive as some of the other top 2005s, but its all there. In spades. I would give it a few more years to unwind.Antonio Galloni | 100 AGA magical showing, the 2005 Chateau Cheval Blanc is a powerful, deep, incredibly massive wine by this estate’s standards, yet it nevertheless never loses a sense of elegance, purity, and finesse. Bombastic notes of cassis, flowery incense, tobacco leaf, and dried soil all flow to a full-bodied red that has sweet, integrated tannins, a beautiful mid-palate, flawless balance, and a huge finish. It’s drinking shockingly well today, and my money is on it continuing to show this way for another three decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDAlways a fabulous nose of black fruit, dark chocolate, nuts and spices. It’s full-bodied with beautifully dense tannins reminiscent of cashmere. A long, long finish rounds out this beautiful wine. It would be better to leave it alone until 2020 but so hard not to revel in its splendor now.James Suckling | 98 JSThis is starting to awaken, with mulled spice, warm cocoa, freshly plowed loam and steeped black currant fruit aromas and flavors emerging slowly but steadily. The long finish ripples with dark earth, licorice snap and smoldering tobacco notes, while the currant core keeps pace easily. A big, beautiful wine.—Blind ’01/’03/’05 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2017). Best from 2020 through 2040.Wine Spectator | 97 WSSubtle, complex, alluring aromatics. The palate is exceptionally smooth, ripe and intense with blackcurrant fruit, full and fleshy, lifted with freshness and with very fine tannin running through. Glorious! A very dry year, warm but without 2003’s heatwave, creating small berries, with a concentration of tannin, acid, colour delivering. 57% of the wine went into the Grand Vin, 26% Le Petit Cheval and 17% the 3ème vin. Drinking Window 2019 - 2030Decanter | 97 DECPlump, padded and comfortable is the initial impression. But this is also finely structured and dense, with tannins that are sweet, flavors of dark chocolate to go with the roundness and the enticing Cabernet Franc perfumes. In all, this is a great wine, with considerable aging potential, but with enough sweet fruit to make it attractive now.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThe aristocracy of St-Emilion coasts on nonchalant power, with the grandeur you would expect from this site on the edge of Pomerol’s sacred plateau. Part voluptuous, part lean, this has a layering of flavor that could fill a writer’s notebook with the earthy, meaty and spicy directions of its complexities. It’s distinguished by an exact ripeness, so that the Bretty funk that might eat a lesser wine is merely a way into the cool limestone architecture, a tannic underground cellar that will sustain the fresh fruit. For the ages. Diageo Château & Estate Wines, NYWine & Spirits | 96 W&S

Deep garnet colored, the 2009 Cheval Blanc offers up profound notions of baked blueberries, blackberry compote and crème de cassis with suggestions of chocolate mint, new leather and cloves plus a waft of candied violets. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is an exercise in elegance with very classy, super fine-grained tannins, beautiful freshness and layer upon layer of mineral-laced blue and black fruits, finishing long and perfumed.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPThe 2009 Château Cheval Blanc continues to just blow me away every time I’m lucky enough to taste a bottle. It has that rare mix of elegance and power that can be hard to describe. Offering a massive bouquet of black cherry liqueur, flowery incense, crème de cassis, toasted spices, and forest floor, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a magical, seamless texture, and a great, great finish. Its tannins and structure are just now starting to emerge from under ample baby fat, but it still has incredible opulence and richness as well as flawless balance. Enjoy this masterpiece any time over the coming 20-30 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDA profoundly generous wine with coffee grounds and patisserie notes revealing grilled oak that’s subtle but extremely pleasing. The quality of the tannins is exceptional - they are drawn out, elongated and shrouded in smoke. Layer upon layer of complexity unfurls in the mouth, getting better and better, with tons of juicy black fruit. The liquorice is black and tight on the perfectly balanced finish right now, with sprinkles of star anise and a gentle lift of fresh mint. Give it a good few years before opening. Drinking Window 2022 - 2046Decanter | 100 DECSuper-spicy, this is an extremely elegant 2009 with enormous concentration and finesse. The complex finish lights up the sky and you wonder how this spectacular ripeness could have been more perfectly expressed. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019).James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2009 Cheval Blanc has a rambunctious nose with copious red fruit, meat juices, sage and crushed stone aromas, ineffably complex. This is so refined, constantly mutating in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, saturated tannin. There is a mixture of red and black fruit, hints of cassis, cardamom and allspice. Immense depth and grip towards the finish expresses ripe Cabernet Franc. This is an outstanding 2009 destined for long-term ageing. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 98 VMDense, brooding and richly coated, with a well of steeped black currant, fig paste and roasted plum fruit to draw on while the layers of charcoal, Kenya AA coffee and loam resolve themselves. This displays both breadth and depth, offering a great undercurrent of acidity to match its heft. Should be among the most long-lived wines of the vintage. Best from 2017 through 2035. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 7,330 cases made.Wine Spectator | 98 WSAn impressive wine, a true return to form for Cheval Blanc. The fruit is enormous, packed with sweet black berry juice, and with a brilliant freshness. There is a lovely smoky character, topped by ripe figs.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WE(Château Cheval Blanc) The 2009 Cheval Blanc really is stunning. The wine is probably the most serious contender to Lafite-Rothschild’s crown as the ultimate luxury cuvée amongst the red wines in Bordeaux this year, as it is clearly cut from the same cloth. The bouquet is deep, pure and very sophisticated, as it offers up scents of dark berries, cassis, coffee bean, sappy black cherries, menthol, tobacco leaf, smoky soil tones and a generous dollop of smoky, luxurious new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and seamless, with beautiful focus and mid-palate depth, fine-grained tannins, superb focus and a very, very long, suave and complex finish. Like Lafite, Cheval Blanc wears its luxurious gloss very well in 2009, and it will clearly make a lot of friends amongst the jet set and should make some serious inroads into the Chinese high end luxury market, which seemed to be the obsession of every non-Lafite executive at the top estates on this trip. The wine will really need at least fifteen years to fully blossom, but is so finely crafted that it will provide plenty of pleasure early on and is likely to fall prey to infanticide in many circles. But as brilliant as the Cheval Blanc undoubtedly is this year, I would rather have the old-fashioned beauty of 2009 Bélair-Monange in my own personal cellar. (Drink between 2025-2075)John Gilman | 95-96+ JG

The 2010 is one of the most impressive two-year-old Cheval Blancs I have tasted in 34 years in this profession. The final blend of 54% Cabernet Franc and 46% Merlot has the tell-tale berry/floral nose with subtle hints of menthol, blueberry, raspberry and flowers in addition to some forest floor and a delicate touch of lead pencil shavings. The wine exhibits more structure and density than it did from barrel, and it was already remarkable then. The foresty/floral notes seem to linger and linger in this surprisingly full-bodied, powerful Cheval Blanc, yet it possesses a very healthy pH that should ensure enormous longevity. Dense purple in color, and a bigger, richer wine than usual, this is one Cheval Blanc that will probably need a decade of cellaring. I like the description from the estate’s administrator, Pierre Lurton, who said it tasted like “liquid cashmere,” a perfect expression, despite the wine’s structure and intensity. This is another 50-year wine from this amazingly structured, rich vintage.Robert Parker | 100 RPShowing even better than a bottle a few years ago, the 2010 Chateau Cheval Blanc is perfection in a glass and wine doesn’t get any better. As with the 2009, it’s a powerful, concentrated Cheval Blanc, yet it has a slightly dark, cooler profile in its smoky black fruits, graphite, new leather, crushed rocks and cured meat aromas and flavors. Where the 2009 hits the palate with a sunny, sexy style, this stays more inward and masculine, yet it still has incredible sweetness of fruit, flawless integration of its fruit, tannins, and acidity, a great mid-palate, and a finish that goes on for over a minute. It opens up with time in the glass and offers incredible pleasure today, with an exotic masculine yet sexy style, but feel free to enjoy this legendary wine any time over the coming 3-4 decades.Jeb Dennuck | 100 JDThe aromas here are crazy with flowers, mushroom, forest floor, and fruit. It seems like I am walking through a row of the vines in Cheval Blanc when I have my nose in the glass. It’s full-bodied, with fabulous layers of ultra-fine tannins and milk chocolate, raspberries, and a phenomenal finish. Truly one of the greatest Chevals ever. Better than 2009. Try in 2020.James Suckling | 100 JSThis is the finest Cheval Blanc for many years. It is, quite simply, magnificent. The wine shows the greatness of Cabernet Franc in the vintage, with 57% of the variety in the blend. It is beautifully structured and perfumed, with velvety tannins, balanced acidity and swathes of black-currant and black-cherry fruits. It’s well on course to becoming a legendary wine.Wine Enthusiast | 100 WEThis is stone-cold shut down right now, but why worry? You’ll want to wait at least a decade before breaching a bottle as massively endowed as this, with loads of loamy bass notes thumping along underneath a riveting track of licorice snap, pastis-steeped black currant fruit, maduro tobacco and espresso. And then there’s an echo of petrichor at the very end that hints at the aromatic fireworks to come with cellaring. Should compete for wine of the vintage. Best from 2020 through 2040.Wine Spectator | 98 WSThe 2010 Cheval Blanc has another extravagant bouquet with ample red cherries, raspberry preserve, mulberry, fig and singed leather. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, quite dense and assertive, backward with a sinewy finish that just feels a little forced compared to some of the other wines in this flight. With time in the glass, the new oak seems to dominate the finish. I have definitely had far superior bottles, but that’s the way it goes. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 93 VM(Château Cheval Blanc) The 2010 Cheval Blanc is also 14.5 percent in alcohol and was made up with a fairly high percentage of merlot for this estate, with the blend comprised of only fifty-six percent cabernet franc and forty-four percent merlot. It is an extremely powerful young vintage of Cheval Blanc and worlds away from the refined and opulently seductive style of the 2009 here. The bouquet offers up a dense and very ripe blend of black cherries, menthol, coffee bean, a good base of gravelly soil, cigar smoke and new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and seamless on the attack, with plenty of overt ripeness in evidence, a rock solid core of fruit and plenty of substantial, well-integrated tannins on the very long and powerful finish. This will need plenty of time in the cellar to blossom, but should probably turn out to be a fine bottle with sufficient bottle age. It avoids the pitfalls of sur maturité, questionable balance and uncovered alcohol that plague so many of its neighbors in St. Émilion in this vintage, but it is a rather atypically broad-shouldered vintage for this great estate. (Drink between 2025-2075).John Gilman | 92-93+ JG

The harvest at Petrus took place between September 27 and October 12, and the 2010 finished at 14.1% natural alcohol, which is slightly lower than the 2009’s 14.5%. The 2010 reminds me somewhat of the pre-1975 vintages of Petrus, a monster-in-the-making, with loads of mulberry, coffee, licorice and black cherry notes with an overlay of enormous amounts of glycerin and depth. Stunningly rich, full-bodied and more tannic and classic than the 2009, this is an awesome Petrus, but probably needs to be forgotten for 8-10 years. It should last at least another 50 or more.Someone told me recently that Petrus had a second wine, so I asked Olivier Berrouet, their young, talented administrator, whether that was true, and he flatly denied it, so if any Asian wine buyers are running across second wines of Petrus in Hong Kong or on mainland China, be warned – they are not genuine. Proprietor Jean Moueix, who I believe is in his late twenties, has taken over for his father, Jean-Francois, who has largely retired, and the younger Moueix has really pushed quality even higher at this renowned estate. Anyone visiting Pomerol would have undoubtedly noticed the renovations at Petrus, as it was once one of the most modest and humble buildings in the appellation. Moreover, I suspect that multi-millionaire/billionaire collectors will have about 50 years to debate over which vintage of Petrus turns out better, the 2009 or 2010. In a perfect world, most people would love to have a few bottles of each, or at least the opportunity to taste them once in a while, as they have become more of a myth than something real, but these wines do, in fact, exist!Robert Parker | 100 RPThis a Petrus with extraordinary balance and depth. It shows such elegance in the nose with complexity of black olives, dark fruits, and flowers. The palate is full and ultra-velvety yet there is a cashmere quality to the texture. It takes your breath away. There’s almost a Burgundian quality in the mouthfeel meaning it takes you deep into the soil and captivates your attention. Greatest modern vintage of Petrus ever? Try after 2018.James Suckling | 100 JSThe 2010 Petrus has an extraordinary bouquet, ineffably complex with brambly red fruit, sous-bois, dried blood and wild mint aromas that unfurl magically from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, fleshy and generous, yet amazingly controlled with such tension and grace on the silky smooth finish. This is a fantastic Petrus, one of the greatest in recent years. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 98 VMMaybe surprising to see a Pomerol that is so well-built that it is not anywhere near ready even at 10 years old, but this is Pétrus, a place that writes its own rules. The brushed silk exuberance is there, but hidden underneath a still-pulsating wall of tannins. You expect this level of concentration in Pauillac, so it is more of a surprise on the Right Bank, but here you are in no doubt that 2010 is an intellectual, demanding vintage that needs to be given time. You need to look to 2009 Pétrus to begin enjoying any time soon - this is structured, full of dark fruits, structured, savagely built, out to impress. Drinking Window 2025 - 2050Decanter | 98 DECThis feels dense and unyielding now, with loads of grip supporting a dark, muscular and very backward core of bay leaf, tobacco, plum, blackberry and fig notes. Powerful, fresh and racy, with a tarry edge adding vivacity and drive to the lengthy, raspberry-dominated finish. The raspberry spine seems destined to win out after extended cellaring. Best from 2017 through 2035. 2,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSHugely full-bodied wine, with the ripest fruit, black plum juice and spice. The tannins are very dense, balanced of course with acidity. The end is beautiful, structured.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WE(Château Pétrus) The 2010 Château Pétrus is one of the two top wines of the vintage on the Right Bank, but it is not quite in the same celestial league as the magical 2009 vintage here. The wine is very ripe at 14.5 percent, but shows no signs of overripeness in its powerful aromatic blend of black cherries, plums, tobacco smoke, a touch of black olive, lovely soil tones and a discreet base of new oak. The team at Château Pétrus once again used only fifty percent new wood for the 2010- an example that I wish more of the top estates would follow. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and powerful, with ripe, substantial tannins, a rock solid core of fruit, great focus and superb length and grip on the very well-balanced and pure finish. Given the octane level here, it is rather amazing how well this wine has retained its precision, but I have little doubt that Monsieur Berrouet would like nothing better than to always end up with a Pétrus under fourteen percent in alcohol. A very, very good result that underscores just how difficult it was this year on the Right Bank to manage alcohol levels. (Drink between 2025-2100)John Gilman | 95+ JG

The flagship wine, and one of the first in Napa Valley to emphasize the fabulous potential of Cabernet Franc in specific terroirs, is the 2013 Maya Proprietary Red Wine. This wine usually spends about 22 months in new oak and normally has anywhere from 45% to as much as 60% Cabernet Franc blended with the estate’s Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2013 could well be the finest they’ve made to date, and that includes a lot of profound wines. An incredibly complex nose of charcoal embers, blackberry and cassis, some blueberries as well as white flowers, and a touch of forest floor is followed by a full-bodied wine with sweet, well-integrated tannins, a multi-dimensional mouthfeel, and a finish that goes on for close to a minute. This is absolutely remarkable wine – powerful, dense, but at the sane time, precise and elegant. It’s hard to believe, but I think this wine can probably age and improve for 25-40 years. Don’t miss it if you have access to it.Robert Parker | 100 RPThe 2013 Maya is a bit more expressive today than the Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep, plush and vertical in its shape, the 2013 exudes intensity and pure power from start to finish. The Maya is another wine that will require considerable patience. Hints of black cherry, bittersweet chocolate, cloves, leather and scorched earth give the 2013 much of its brooding, powerful personality, but readers will have to give the 2013 at least a few years in barrel for it to be at its best.Vinous Media | 97+ VMBlack plums, caramel, new leather and bramble on the nose. Sumptuous and chewy mouthfeel, with flavours of raw cacao, bitter cherry and dried sage. The finish is long and driving, showing the brilliant, high-toned structure common in this section of Oakville. More generous at present than the 2013 Cabernet, but still very much a baby. Recommended to cellar for another few years. Drinking Window 2026 - 2051.Decanter | 95 DECAn inspiring effort, this captures a dense mix of gravelly earth, extracted dark berry, cedar, dried herb, anise and crushed rock notes, showing a cleansing minerally edge. Stays trim and deserves time. Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2020 through 2032. 750 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

One of the legendary vintages for this cuvée is the 2017 Côte Rôtie La Turque, a blend of 93% Syrah and 7% Viognier from a tiny parcel in the Côte Brune lieu-dit. Always aged 4 years in new French oak, it offers a dense, saturated purple color as well as slightly more masculine notes of blackberries, smoked meats, dark chocolate, and graphite. Full-bodied, beautifully concentrated, and perfectly balanced, with incredible purity of fruit, it already offers pleasure but will ideally be given 5-7 years of bottle age. It will deliver the goods for 30 to 40 years. It’s the star of the show in 2017 and one of the wines of the vintage.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDA common refrain regarding the La-Las is that they require a decade or more of cellaring to come around. In fact, they’re often quite open and appealing soon after release, only to close down shortly thereafter. The 2017 Cote Rotie La Turque offers up hints of crushed stone and struck flint, smoky, bacon-fat aromas and ripe, mouthwatering blackberries. Full-bodied, creamy and rich, it’s a powerful, concentrated effort that should still be drinking well in two decades.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97+ RPYou can almost smell the fresh clay, immediately a different register compared to La Mouline with star anise, incense notes and rolling tobacco as opposed to cigarette tobacco. Rounded, fuller and plumper with more mouthcoating tannins and touches of vanilla pod from the oak.. The fruit is sweeter and juicier than the Mouline and this has a long, sappy finish with plentiful tannin but still elegant. (Drink between 2024-2038)Decanter | 97 DECVery alluring, with silky waves of cherry puree and mulled plum fruit gliding through, infused gently with red tea, savory and sweet tapenade hints. Lingering minerality carries the finish, which has structure and grip to merit cellaring, though the fruit is so hard to resist.Wine Spectator | 96 WSExpansive aromas of black raspberry, cherry and boysenberry, with exotic spice, floral oil and incense notes building in the glass. Energetic and focused on the palate, offering densely packed black/blue fruit liqueur flavors, along with intense violet pastille and cracked pepper notes. The floral quality builds steadily with air and carries through a very long, chewy finish that features resonating blue fruit and floral notes and youthfully gripping tannins.Vinous Media | 95-96 VM

Tasting like the 2015, yet with perhaps slightly more elegance, the 2018 Côte Rôtie La Turque reveals a saturated purple color as well as blockbuster notes of crème de cassis, white flowers, candle wax, graphite, and spiced meats. It’s a huge, full-bodied, blockbuster styled effort as well as another magical wine in the making.Jeb Dunnuck | 98-100 JDDark violet. Deeply perfumed black and blue fruit aromas, along with suggestions of Moroccan spices, potpourri, olive and smoky minerals. Densely packed cassis, bitter cherry and violet pastille flavors show excellent definition and are underscored by a vein of juicy acidity. The mineral and floral notes repeat on a wonderfully long and subtly chewy finish that’s shaped by dusty, steadily building tannins.Vinous Media | 97 VMShut down tight on this occasion, the dark, impenetrable 2018 Cote Rotie La Turque is clearly dense and packed with potential. Cedary notes, dark, concentrated fruit, potent tannins and a long, dusty finish suggest plenty of upside for the patient.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94-96+ RP

Rousseau Clos de Bèze is a blend of three plots that total 1.42ha. Cyrielle believes the wine shows better in its youth than Chambertin. Both wines, however, are vinified in the same way: destemmed, long maceration, gentle extraction and ageing in new François Frères barrels. The result is sublime: charming in its youth, with accessible, ripe notes of red and black fruits, spice, mineral and game, plus a velvety, dense texture that is firm but not forbidding. This has the substance to last fifty years if cellared well. Drinking Window 2029 - 2069.Decanter | 100 DEC(Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru Red) Equally subtle wood frames the even spicier if slightly riper nose that reflects a layered blend of red currant, violet, rose petal, earth and a whisper of exotic tea. The full-bodied if slightly less concentrated flavors also reflect an abundance of minerality on the firm, serious and equally well-balanced, youthfully austere and hugely long finale. I usually prefer one or the other [Chambertin] at this stage each year but in 2019, while the two wines are noticeably different, it’s not clear which will ultimately be the more interesting. In sum, this is a choice but one where there is no wrong answer as this too is brilliant! (Drink starting 2041)Burghound | 98 BHThe 2019 Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze Grand Cru clearly has more intensity than the Chambertin. True, it is showing a little more wood at the moment, but I also find more fruit – raspberry and wild strawberry – interlaced with shavings of black truffle and forest fern. The palate is medium-bodied with supple but firm tannins. This is endowed with impressive depth and body weight and yet it retains disarming elegance on a finish that fans out gloriously. "This is the business" is the phrase that passed through my mind as I tried to keep a stoic face after encountering this fabulous Clos-de-Bèze.Vinous Media | 97-99 VM(Chambertin “Clos de Bèze”- Domaine Armand Rousseau) The Rousseau family’s Clos de Bèze is equally brilliant in 2019. The wine is always a touch more exotic out of the blocks than the Chambertin here and this is again the case in this vintage. The stunning nose soars from the glass in a blaze of sappy black cherries, black raspberries, black minerality, smoked meats, dark chocolate, cedary oak and a touch of black tea in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and impeccably balanced, with great depth at the core, superb complexity and mineral drive, firm, buried tannins and a long, vibrant and focused finish. A great wine by any measure. (Drink between 2036-2100)John Gilman | 96+ JGDeeper-pitched and more carnal than the Chambertin, Rousseau’s 2019 Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru mingles aromas of cherries, cassis and raspberries with hints of Asian spices, incense, smoked tea, rich soil tones and grilled duck. Full-bodied, sumptuous and enveloping, it’s bright and lively, with a fleshy core of concentrated fruit, succulent acids and powdery structuring tannins. Long and perfumed, this is a sensual Clos de Bèze in the making.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95-97 RP

Leading off the three single parcel releases, the 2019 Côte Rôtie La Mouline is an absolute blockbuster of a wine that has incredible depth, richness, and concentration while holding onto a rare sense of elegance, balance, and seamlessness. Incredible floral and orange blossom notes give way to more smoked game, tapenade, sweet black raspberries, and subtle vanilla. This full-bodied, utterly heavenly Côte Rôtie is more reserved and straight compared to the 2018, but it nevertheless already offers a huge amount of pleasure. It will hit maturity in 7-8 years (a decade will probably be better) and have 30+ years of overall longevity.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDThe 2019 Côte-Rôtie La Mouline is textural and concentrated, wafting from the glass with aromas of dark berries, spices, pepper, gentian and cedar, all framed by a delicate touch of oak. Full-bodied, broad and creamy, it’s enveloping and layered, built around a fleshy, deep core of fruit framed by sweet, powdery tannins, concluding with a long, perfumed and gently ethereal finish. This is a beautiful rendition of this emblematic cuvée.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPGreat nose of summer flowers and ripe blackberries with a glaze of toasty oak. A very graceful wine in spite of all the power and concentration. Feels almost weightless until you get to the finish where you feel the enormous structure that lurks just below the surface. A cuvee of 89% syrah and 11% viognier. Matured in 100% new oak for 42 months. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2019 Côte-Rôtie La Mouline bursts with juniper, black cherry, crushed violets, cured meat, vanilla, cedar and a splash of mint. Medium- to full-bodied and remarkably polished, the flamboyant 2019 presents substantial power and density yet neatly maintains balance though fresh acidity. Give this tightly knit La Mouline another five years in bottle, and start enjoying it while waiting for the 2019 La Landonne to come around.Vinous Media | 96 VMMeaty, chewy and gamy, this substantial red shows beautiful floral lift, with salty mineral energy cruising alongside earthy notes of forest floor, revealing a swatch of black fig puree and mocha. Offers depth, substance and textural beauty, with mouthwatering acidity adding surprising tension and brightness through the dark core. Just beginning to show its tremendous potential. Best from 2025 through 2042. 90 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 96 WSThere’s a touch of currant on the nose here which gives a very ripe impression. Cola oak dominates the palate at this early stage, and the finish is dry. It’s powerful and structured, and the intense oak and alcohol combine to give a sweet effect on the finish. Attractive aromatics lie in wait underneath the oak, so give this time. Gneiss and loess soils of lieu-dit Côte Blonde. Fermented in stainless steel, aged for 40 months in new oak barriquesDecanter Magazine | 93 DEC

The Grand Vin 2020 Château Cheval Blanc checks in as a blend of 65% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon that was raised, as always, in 100% new French oak. As usual with Cheval Blanc, it’s primarily about finesse and elegance, as well as complexity, and exhibits a deep purple hue as well as a kaleidoscopic bouquet of sweet red and black fruits, spring flowers, spicy incense, loamy earth, and smoke tobacco. Absolutely flawless on the palate, it’s full-bodied, has perfectly integrated oak, ripe, silky tannins, and a gorgeous finish that keeps you coming back to the glass. This powerful, concentrated Cheval Blanc offers pleasure even today (needs lots of air) but warrants 7-8 years of bottle age and will see its 40th birthday in fine form.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDThe 2020 Cheval Blanc is eternal, seamless and exceptionally beautiful. All the elements are so well put together. Rose petal, blood orange, raspberry jam and cinnamon all take shape in the glass. Above all else, the 2020 Cheval Blanc is a wine of mind-blowing balance. Hints of mocha, raspberry jam, pomegranate and spice emerge with time in the glass. Cheval is quite simply one of the truly great wines of the vintage.Vinous Media | 99 VMSatisfying, edgy and seductive. The 2019 was perhaps more openly charming at this point, but there is lovely attention to detail here with delicate floral aromas, blue fruit and liquorice aspects on the nose followed by a patina of flavours and textures on the palate. Rich and powerful, clearly concentrated but delivered subtly and carefully, not pushed too far. There’s a clarity, precision and purity to the blackcurrant and black cherry fruit, with crushed stone saltiness, clove, aniseed and liquorice root. I loved the 2019 more at this stage but this has excellent potential for long ageing and will no doubt deliver unbridled enjoyment when it’s ready.Decanter | 98 DECLots of blueberries and flowers such as violets and crushed stone. This is very structured and muscular with minerally tannins that run the length of the wine. Very closed. Polished texture that gives it class and presence. This is one for the cellar. 65% merlot, 30% cabernet franc and 5% cabernet sauvignon. Try after 2030.James Suckling | 98 JSThis wine has power and density. It also offers a perfumed intensity of black fruits and ripe tannins. The shape of the wine is already there even if it is still very young. Ripe and sweet, the fruit is delicious and open, bringing great freshness behind the structure. Drink this wine from 2027.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThe 2020 Cheval Blanc wafts from the glass with aromas of mulberries, plums and cherries mingled with hints of rose petals, licorice, sweet spices and lilac. Full-bodied, broad and voluptuous, it’s layered and fleshy, with a ripe core of fruit, sweet tannins and a long, expansive finish. While purists will gravitate toward the purer and more precise and perfumed 2019, the 2020 will appeal to readers who love the richest, most powerful expressions of Cheval Blanc.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPVery alluring, with a well of dark currant, fig and mulberry fruit flavors that have melded nicely, laced with black licorice, black tea and sweet tobacco notes. Well-defined, with a subtle flash of warm earth at the very end. Remarkably polished for the vintage. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2029 through 2040.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

Firmly structured, age-worthy and so focused and deep in black fruit, this is an especially impressive wine from a highly rated year. Aromas of mint, cedar, star anise, charcoal and graphite, then blackberries, dark spices, blueberries and toast. Massive but fine-grained tannins that carry the intensity through to a lingering finish. Full bodied. Best after 2030.James Suckling | 100 JSDarker currants, smoked tobacco, crushed stone, and graphite notes all give the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon a Latour-like stature and regalness, and it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a deep, layered mouthfeel, and a great finish. One of the more inward and structured examples of this cuvée that I can remember, it’s nevertheless flawlessly balanced, has everything in the right place, and is just a magical Pritchard Hill Cabernet Sauvignon that every reader would love to have in their cellar. It should have half a century of overall longevity.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JDTasted as the final blend, which was scheduled to be bottled in December 2023, Bryant’s 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon combines mint, sage, crushed stone, pencil shavings, cherries and cassis on the nose. Is it perhaps just a bit more complex than the Bettina? It’s certainly just as powerful and concentrated, being full-bodied and richly tannic but ripe, silky and almost never-ending on the finish. Personal preference will play heavily into which of the two wines you enjoy more, but both are packed with pleasure.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97-99 RPThe 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is superb. Vibrant and dynamic in the glass, it captures all the energy of this great Pritchard Hill site. Graphite, pencil shavings, plum, leather, spice and lavender race across the palate. Its build is vertical and explosive, in classic Bryant style. All this needs is time in bottle. The 2021 is seriously impressive.Vinous Media | 97 VM

Simply a wonderful wine, the 2021 Maya oozes class, with deep, complex aromas of violets and cassis, earthy loam and hints of tobacco and mint. It’s just medium to full-bodied, cool, silky and finessed. Supremely elegant but concentrated, just reined in, restrained. She’s the "perfect" girl, the one so special a younger me would be afraid to ask out. The current me is married, so... I’ll just sit here and drink it in. Readers should drink it in too. All of it, from the upfront fruit to the lingering, savory finish. While approachable now, this wine should continue to drink well for two decades or more.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPIt comes from the Maya blocks on the house’s southern side combined with Cabernet Franc that abuts the Peter Michael Au Paradis vineyard. A wonderfully dark, opaque ruby colour in the glass leads to fragrant boysenberry and kirsch notes, cedarwood, and rose petals. Full-bodied with super firm and structured tannins that have a pixelated density that would make the latest iPhone jealous. The finish is very long, and even for all the wine’s compactness and weight on the palate, there is a lightness to this wine that is striking. Maya Dalla Valle, the daughter of founder Naoko Dalla Valle, is the winemaker with Andy Erickson and Michel Rolland consulting, while Edgar Alfaro manages the vineyards.Decanter | 99 DECThe 2021 Maya, 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Cabernet Franc, is deep garnet-purple in color. It sails out with graceful notes of violets, fresh blackberries, and blackcurrant pastilles giving way to wafts of pencil shavings and underbrush. The full-bodied palate is an exercise in elegance, with fine-grained tannins and a lively backbone, finishing long and fragrant.The Wine Independent | 99 TWIThe 2021 Maya is young, but so promising. A wine of density and stature, the 2021 offers striking vertical depth, with bright acids and plenty of tannin. All the elements are so well balanced. Intense red fruit, blood orange, cinnamon, new leather and cedar all meld together, but it is the whole rather than the sum of parts that is most impressive here. A blast of vibrant fruit explodes through to the finish. Unforgettable.Vinous Media | 98+ VMThis gorgeous red is streamlined in feel, with the vivid boysenberry, mulberry and black currant fruit profile of the vintage, though in a slightly more reserved style, as a strong tobacco thread and cast iron spine keep its energy in reserve for now. There’s lovely tension through the finish, with a mouthwatering iris detail lingering amid the fruit and earth notes. Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2026 through 2045. 800 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSThe 2021 Maya Proprietary Red Wine is the usual blend of 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon from a single parcel of Cabernet Sauvignon and a selection of Cabernet Franc that will spend 24 months in 80% new French oak. It has a more floral, exotic style in its blue fruits, spring flowers, incense, and peppery herbal nose as well as a stunningly pure, elegant, polished, seamless style on the palate. It’s another magical wine in the making from this terroir.Jeb Dunnuck | 97-100 JDDeep, dark-fruited character with plums, blackberries, chocolate and walnuts. Full-bodied, textural and velvety, with succulence and depth to its fruit. Structured, wide and super refined with a long, encompassing finish. It’s well integrated and balanced with a lively freshness, yet it needs some time. Better after 2027.James Suckling | 97 JS

‘A classical vintage that perfectly suits the Opus style. Gorgeous vivid plum colour, sculpted, balanced, with a ton of lift, waves of rose petals, iris and peony, soft grilled cumin, sage and white pepper spice. Love the hidden power here and the supple slightly chalky tannins that are structured in their architecture with a precision and carved quality. Precise, layered and stretched out, a brilliant Opus, concentrated and yet delicate. Feels pared back and captures the spirit of early Opus, when it moved forward the conversation of what Napa could be. Michael Silacci director, 100% new oak for ageing extremely well integrated even now.’Jane Ansen | 100 JAAn enticing aroma of violets, cherry blossoms, fresh blue and black fruit and great structure define this beautiful, age-worthy wine. Subtle layering of fruit and oak spices between firm, fine-grained and supportive tannins gives it a calm intensity. So elegant and polished. Hints of cinnamon and graphite accent blackcurrant and blueberry flavors that linger and grow in a long finish. Already attractive to drink, but best after 2029.James Suckling | 99 JSTasted out of bottle, the 2021 Opus One is based on 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, and splashes of Merlot and Malbec. This rich, full-bodied, concentrated Opus exhibits a deep ruby/plum hue as well as textbook notes of cedar pencil, graphite, tobacco, and a Graves-like scorched earth character. In my view, this is one of the finest vintages of this cuvée produced, and while it’s accessible today, it has another 30+ years of prime drinking ahead of it.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDThe 2021 Opus One is a blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, and half a percent each of Malbec and Merlot. It was aged up to 19 months in 100% new French oak. It’s a seamless wine with balletic elegance and grace. From a deep ruby-crimson colour comes heady red and violet floral notes, sandalwood, and rich brown spices nuanced by graphite and dried sagebrush. Medium to full-bodied with ultrafine-grained tannins, almost powdery, with gorgeous cranberry and raspberry fruits and a kind of juicy, woody, crushed pomegranate seed character. You really can’t believe how light and ephemeral this wine is.Decanter | 98 DECThe 2021 Opus One is composed of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, and 0.5% each of Merlot and Malbec. It was bottled in July 2023. Deep garnet-purple in color, it comes barreling out of the glass with gregarious notions of creme de cassis, wild blueberries, and redcurrant jelly followed by hints of cedar chest, sassafras, vanilla pod, and dark chocolate plus a waft of lilacs. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers shimmery red, black, and blue fruit layers with a firm texture of rounded tannins and impressive tension, finishing long and fragrant.The Wine Independent | 98 TWIThe 2021 Opus One is one of the most elegant, polished Opus Ones in recent memory. Pliant and supple, with super-refined tannins, the 2021 has a ton to offer. It boasts gorgeous textural depth and resonance, not to mention superb balance. Dark red/purplish fruit, flowers, spice and mint caress the palate, framed by silky, ripe tannins that are the hallmark of a superior vintage. I can’t wait to see how the 2021 develops. This is a stellar showing, certainly the best so far.Vinous Media | 97+ VMShows lovely range and good energy, with an old-school tilt to the savory, bay leaf and tobacco notes that lead the way for a core of gently mulled red currant and black cherry fruit. There’s a leathery strap of grip on the finish, plus a flicker of cedar. This is sneakily long and should age gracefully. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. Drink now through 2042. 25,800 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

Another absolute legend from the 2021, the 2021 Proprietary Red is based on 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot brought up in plenty of new oak. It brings another level of density, purity, and regalness, with awesome blackcurrants, iron, roasted herbs, tobacco, and a Latour-like graphite character all defining the aromatics. Full-bodied, rich, and concentrated, it has a seamless mouthfeel, absolutely incredible tannin, ample mid-palate depth, and flawless overall balance. While it certainly offers pleasure today, it’s going to take a solid 8-10 years of bottle age for this to hit maturity, and it will be a 40- to 50-year wine. Hats off to the team at Sloan.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDThe 2021 Sloan is every bit as impressive as it was last year. Rich, dense and explosive, the 2021 is a gorgeous, ynamic wine. Sumptuous dark red cherry, red plum, rose petal, new leather and cinnamon give this plush, opulent Cabernet Sauvignon tons of character. The 2021 was only bottled a few months ago, so it has room to grow. It is a seriously beautiful, rapturous wine.Vinous Media | 98+ VM