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The 2015 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots, matured in two-thirds new oak, has a bewitching bouquet that is very pure and intense, layers of dark cherry and wild strawberry fruit tinged with iodine that seems to blossom in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with quite firm tannin and structured, underneath those intense dark berry fruit, a touch of salinity towards the finish that keeps the senses searching and eager for the next sip. Typical of Cathiard’s style of winemaking, this is just a brilliant Les Suchots from one of its finest exponents.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95-97 RP(August malo): Full, bright red. Showy aromas of black raspberry, licorice and violet convey excellent cut and mineral lift. Savory, penetrating wine with strong early personality to its deep flavors of black fruits, salty minerality and spices. Has the old-vines density of texture to carry its ripe tannins effortlessly.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMJuicy raspberry nose packed with fruit. Good attack, with vibrant fruit and fine-grained tannins. Taut and concentrated with a piquant complexity and good depth of flavour.Decanter | 92 DECA brilliantly spicy nose is comprised by notes of violet, plum, lavender, soy, Asian-style tea and black cherry. There is more volume and richness if less precision and delineation to the velvety and seductive-textured medium weight plus flavors that coat the palate on the beautifully well-balanced, persistent and equally classy finish that is quite firmly structured. The sheer level of dry extract buffering the ripe and dense tannins is impressive and as such this terrific effort should age effortlessly.Burghound | 92-94 BH

This is in a new bottle, like the stout ones used for the rosé and blanc de blancs. This is very structured with a density and richness with hints of strawberry to the apple character. Bubbles turn fine textured at the end. Delicious flavors of biscuits and dried apple in the finish. Special character to this because of the very ripe vintage. Disgorged in November 2021. This is half chardonnay and half pinot noir. This can age well due to the phenolics. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSAs usual, this latest release of the 2015 Brut Millésimé is a blend of equal parts Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Offering up aromas of confit citrus, blanched almonds, spices and a delicate smoky reduction, it’s medium to full-bodied, layered and enrobing, with good depth at the core and a slightly smoky, phenolic finish. Dosage: eight grams per liter.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPThe 2015 Brut Millésimé, a blend of half Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs and half Pinot Noir from the Montagne de Reims, spent at least seven years on lees. Supple smokiness and a sense of rye bread with distant plum create a subtle nose. The palate continues with that lovely smokiness, wrapping it around aromatic plum and taut lemon, which are delicious counter poles in this elegant wine. The bubbles are a little frothy, but it acquits itself well for a 2015 vintage with all its freshness. Dosage is 6 grams per liter. (Lot LP33UK01624E) - Anne Krebiehl MWVinous Media | 93 VMThis is just the 30th vintage made at Laurent-Perrier since 1952, and it’s a slightly unusual one in manifesting plenty of the heat, dryness and structure of 2015. Drinkers accustomed to Laurent-Perrier’s usual delicacy and brightness will still find it in this 50:50 split of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but the year’s up-front firmness plays clearly through bittersweet citrus, yellow apple and pithy, peppery grip, the fruit headed towards golden and tropical nuances rather than classical citrus and gentle red fruits. The body remains fairly compact rather than heavy or viscous, though, as most 2015s do. It’s a punchy, food-friendly vintage for Laurent-Perrier that marks quite a contrast from both the more classical 2012 and 2008 that preceded it.Decanter Magazine | 92 DEC

Lean, piquant raspberry nose showing finesse rather than power. Sleek and poised red fruits, silky and stylish. This is very polished, with ripe tannins and no rough edges. A wine of beauty rather than force, it should age very well. Drinking Window: 2019 - 2035Decanter | 95 DECA wonderfully spicy, elegant and fresh nose blends notes of red and dark cherry with those of cassis, plum, violet and discreet earth nuances. The intense and tautly muscular middle weight plus flavors are even more refined if perhaps not quite as mineral-driven while delivering superb length on the balanced but markedly austere finish where a touch of cherry pit emerges. This is also very clearly built-to-age and I wouldn’t dream of touching a bottle for at least 10 years and it should easily reward 20.Burghound | 92-95 BHThe 2015 Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru has the most composed bouquet of Laurent Ponsot’s grand crus from the Gevrey appéllation, with seductive scents of black cherry, wild strawberry and crushed violet. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin and crisp acidity, pretty dark cherries and blueberry here with a slither of Seville orange marmalade on the finish. It is a satisfactory Griotte Chambertin, although I would like to see more depth, more energy conveyed towards the finish.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 90-92 RP-NM

The 2016 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru has an intense bouquet with blackberry, redcurrant and cranberry scents laced with tobacco and woodland aromas. Lovely definition and focus here. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, enormous depth and great concentration, perhaps the most Musigny-esque of the Bonnes-Mares. Great length but it needs some serious cellaring. Enormous potential here. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting.Vinous Media | 96 VMAs usual, Clair’s Bonnes-Mares will be a wine for the long haul. A detailed nose of cassis, wild rose, currant leaf, incipient venison and a gentle framing of new oak precedes a vibrant, taut and full-bodied palate, its tannins rich but chalky, even firm. This is tight-knit and full of energy - promising for those willing to wait a good fifteen years.Decanter Magazine | 94 DECClear bright colour with a softly oaked bouquet and some weight of fruit behind. Quite an elegant wine. Not hugely concentrated on the palate but with attractive light fruit and fair length. Tasted Sep 2019.Jasper Morris | 94-97 JMThe 2016 Bonnes Mares Grand Cru has a very stern bouquet, quite distant at first, then gradually almost reluctantly unfurling with sea-influenced black fruit, hints of brine and oyster shell in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-boded tannin, foursquare for a Bonnes Mares, eschewing flamboyance for something more noble. This is certainly a more Morey-inspired Bonnes Mares than Chambolle, but nevertheless is a very fine wine of considerable breeding.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-95 RPLike the Bèze there is a moderate lashing of toasty oak framing the spiced mix of various red berries, earth and floral hints. There is even more power if not necessarily more size and weight to the big-bodied and very serious flavors that flex plenty of muscle on the superbly persistent finish. This knockout effort is even more structured than its grand cru counterpart and again, this will indisputably not be a wine for early drinking.Burghound | 93-95 BH

The complexity, concentration and drive make this an excellent Clos in 2016. The fruits vary from citrus to exotic stone fruits. Green tropical and white floral notes, too. The palate has a staggeringly concentrated core of acid-drenched lemons, lime, peaches and green mangoes. Incredible depth, high acidity and a very long finish. A great Clos! Drink or hold.James Suckling | 96 JS(Chablis “les Clos”- Domaine William Fèvre) The 2016 les Clos from Didier Séguier is a fitting close to this tour de force tasting of the vintage. The wine is stunning on both the nose and palate, with the bouquet offering up scents of apple, lime, a hint of tangerine, smoky overtones, flinty minerality, wet stones and dried flowers. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, brisk acids and great backend mineral drive on the very young, very long and snappy finish. This will need bottle age to blossom, but it will be a great example of les Clos in the fullness of time. (Drink between 2024-2065)John Gilman | 96 JGClear bright and pale. Attractive aromatics, in a subdued register, all to play for. This has good energy through the middle, while the finish has that limestone backwash that I associate with Clos and very good length. DIAM 10 closure. Tasted May 2019.Jasper Morris | 94 JM(just 18 hectoliters per hectare produced owing to frost and mildew): Pale yellow. Lovely brisk citrus and apple aromas complicated by gingery spices, white pepper and iodiney minerality. Large-scaled, dense and quite powerful but not yet filled in, with its very concentrated peach and citrus flavors accented by ginger and white pepper. More glyceral in the early going than the Preuses but showing less personality today. This fruit was picked very ripe, with nearly 13% potential alcohol, according to Didier Séguier.Vinous Media | 93 VMThe Clos is excellent this year, opening in the glass with a complex nose of orange blossom and zest, confit citrus and a touch of spice. This wine is the most textural, full-bodied and complete in the Fèvre cellar, with a deep core, lovely minerality and impressive dimension.Decanter Magazine | 93 DECEnticing aromas and flavors of green plum, lemon, apple and seashore mark this balanced, seamless white. The flintiness adds an extra dimension, making this complex, while the finish builds nicely. Drink now through 2024. 120 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WSAn even more complex nose displays excellent Chablis typicity with its smoky combination of lychee, citrus, white orchard fruit, sea breeze, mineral reduction and soft oyster shell nuances. The broad-shouldered flavors are rich and concentrated to the point of opulence while managing to retain reasonably good precision on the citrus and solidly dry finale that really fans out as it sits on the palate. Note that my rating assumes that better depth will develop over time as the finish is somewhat one-dimensional at present.Burghound | 92 BHThe 2016 Chablis Grand Cru les Clos, cropped at around 17 hectoliters per hectare, was blended the day previous to my visit and is due to be bottled in December 2017 or perhaps the following month. As such, the aromatics are too leesy to assess. The palate is balanced with a saline, sour lemon-tinged entry, perhaps lighter than the Bougros Côte Bouguerots and with a prickle of spice toward the finish. It should gain complexity and harmony throughout its élevage and will be one to watch.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93 RP

This is so vivid as it brims with pastis-soaked plum, blackberry, black currant and blueberry paste flavors, all carried by a perfectly integrated brambly spine. Tar and ganache notes give the finish an extra kick while everything stays within the mouthwatering roasted apple wood frame. Both regal and rambunctious, this is St.-Julien to a T. Best from 2025 through 2040. 11,667 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSTerrific intensity of dark berries, almost peppery blackcurrants and violets with attractive and integrated, spicy oak and an earthy edge. The palate has a super powerful and long, linear core with plenty of fruit flesh strapped in tight for a long and thrilling ride into the finish. A blend of 86 per cent cabernet and 14 per cent merlot. Try from 2024.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2016 Léoville-Barton is fabulous. A wine of breadth and power, the 2016 has so much to offer. The black cherry, chocolate, gravel, smoke and licorice flavors are all boldly sketched. A host of expressive savory and mineral notes develop into the substantial finish.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGDeep purple-colored and a classic Saint-Julien with its pure crème de cassis, graphite, liquid rock, and essence of lead pencil shavings, the 2016 Château Léoville Barton is full-bodied, concentrated, and backward, with bright acidity and ripe yet certainly present and building tannins. This old-school, classic Léoville Barton has a fine thread of acidity keeping the wine focused and fresh. It’s a beauty, but mostly potential at this point, although it does have beautiful fruit. Savvy readers will hide bottles at the back of their cellar, and I wouldn’t start to think about opening bottles for a least a decade. It’s going to be incredibly long-lived. The blend of the 2016 is 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Merlot, brought up in 60% new French oak.Jeb Dunnuck | 96+ JDThe Barton family’s flagship wine benefits hugely from the age of the vines. This wine is ripe and concentrated, rich in tannins but with the wonderful black fruits that can be conjured from this vineyard. It will age well and is likely to be ready to drink from 2026.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEDeep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Leoville Barton delivers a superstar nose of crème de cassis, plum preserves and blueberry compote with suggestions of fragrant earth, unsmoked cigars, licorice and cedar chest. Medium to full-bodied, rich and seductive with firm yet velvety tannins, it has a decadently rich finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPIntense, luxurious, fresh yet also very classically Bordeaux on the nose. Loads of dark berry and currant fruit, allied to a touch of oaky spiciness. Density on the palate but also refined, elegant, and smooth. (Drink between 2021-2045)Decanter | 94 DEC

The 2016 Les Forts de Latour is the clear highlight among these new releases from Latour. The first thing that is evident about the 2016 is the pedigree of the vintage. Undisputedly great. Readers will find a potent, dark Forts de Latour endowed with massive concentration and tons of depth. The 2016 won’t be ready to drink anytime soon, but it holds tons of promise. Hints of gravel, sage, licorice and pencil shavings linger. The 2016 was impressive a few years ago. It is even better today.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGLots of blueberries, ripe blackberries, violets, peppercorns, olives and cloves on the nose. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, fleshy tannins. Beautiful blue fruit and flowers. Layered and long. Drink after 2023.James Suckling | 96 JSThe 2016 Les Forts de Latour is superb, unwinding in the glass with notions of blackcurrants, wild berries, sweet loamy soil, cigar wrapper and English walnuts. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it’s concentrated and tightly wound, with superb depth at the core, lively acids and ripe, powdery tannins. This is an impeccably balanced, utterly classical Forts de Latour worth a special effort to seek out.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThe second wine of this great château, the 2016 Les Forts De Latour continues to impress. I commented on release that it was the best wine in the vintage, and my opinion hasn’t changed. This beauty offers plenty of classic Latour character as well as notes of blackcurrants, saddle leather, lead pencil shavings, and dried flowers. Full-bodied, concentrated, and perfectly balanced, it’s just now starting to round into form and will no doubt continue drinking well for another 2+ decades. It’s a gorgeous Pauillac.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JD(Château Latour, Les Forts de Latour, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, Red) Violet scented dark black cherries and figs on the nose, quite powerful. Tannins are generous but they’re juicy and plump, soft almost chalky, they have a really great impact, filling the mouth together with the fruit. Everything has melded together, super balanced and all very harmonious - still clearly powerful with precision and sculpting of the fruit and a long finish with the flavours going on and on. Good acidity gives freshness and a real rush of strawberry and cherry juice on the first sip lifts and sustains the palate the whole way. Such a charming wine with great impact and presence. (Drink between 2021-2030)Decanter | 95 DECThis is a great wine, with superb tannins and rich fruit flavors that are in balance. Made from 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, the palate is dominated by black-currant flavor and a pleasant structure from the very fine tannins.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEA bit fleshier and more caressing than a typical Pauillac, this has flavors of warm fig, currant and blackberry preserves inlaid with charcoal and smoldering tobacco notes. There’s grip for sure and a twinge of warm cast iron on the finish, but the fruit detail keeps the upper hand throughout, showcasing the purity on the finish. Very, very solid. Best from 2023 through 2035.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

Similarly colored, the 2016 Ermitage Le Méal Blanc comes from a warmer terroir of pebbly and more loess soils and was brought up in 10% new demi-muids. It’s a bigger, richer wine than the de l’Orée and boasts rocking notes of honeyed citrus, orange marmalade, baking spices, and licorice. Rich, powerful, and layered on the palate, it’s another rocking white from this team that will drink nicely for two decades or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDA two hectare plot of 50+ year old vines on a steep south facing slope of alluvial deposits and large stones. Deep gold in colour, this is fresh with a lifted apricot aroma. It’s very full and opulent in the mouth, almost too full - a point that’s emphasised by blocking malo. This is distinctly bright, refreshing yet powerful, with mineral notes and a saline finish. It has real relief and detail of texture despite its rich, flowing body. A wonderful wine, but be aware of the low acidity this year.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2016 Ermitage Blanc Le Méal is much more developed than the 2015 Ermitage Blanc De L’Orée tasted alongside. Deep straw-yellow in color, the 2016 exhales pronounced quince, hay, acacia honey, dried apple and toasted bread aromas. Powerful and deep, it hits the palate with full force. Opulent and flashy, the 2016 Blanc Le Méal closes with distinctive phenolic grip. Although it’s not the most elegant rendition, it does show the great potential that aged Marsanne can bring when made in the right hands.Vinous Media | 95 VMThe 2016 Ermitage le Meal Blanc is all Marsanne and all power, with ample weight and richness on the full-bodied palate. Grilled melon and tangerine flavors are big, bold and round yet balanced by a hint of bitterness on the finish. It should drink well for two decades or more.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPSeductive and creamy nose with baked lemons, orange rind, rusks, flower honey, green apples and fresh flowers. Full body with such an ample, round dimension to it. It’s expansive and extensive with controlled power. It’s flattering with so much volume and weight on the palate. Long finish. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 94 JS

The 2017 Chapelle-Chambertin from Madame Tremblay is also a stunning wine, but it is a bit more reserved out of the blocks than the flamboyant and supremely elegant Echézeaux and will need a few more years to blossom. The youthful nose is pure and sappy, offering up scents of plums, black cherries, raw cocoa, violets, gamebird, a hint of hazelnut, woodsmoke, a wisp of orange zest and a lovely base of smoky new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full and sappy at the core, with a beautiful structural chassis, lovely soil signature, ripe, fine-grained tannins and stunning length and grip on the perfectly balanced and youthful finish. All this great wine needs is time in the cellar to fully blossom. (Drink between 2030 - 2085)John Gilman | 97 JGCécile Tremblay’s top wine is made with grapes from a very old 0.35ha block in this small Gevrey grand cru. Exotic yet refreshing, it’s supple and appealing but has good underlying tannins, acidity and minerality, joined by intense red cherry and strawberry fruit.Decanter | 95 DECLike many wines from this charming, demonstrative vintage, Tremblay’s 2017 Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru can already be drunk with pleasure. Exhibiting aromas of red berries and plums mingled with notions of orange rind, warm spices and vanilla pod, it’s full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with a round, giving core of fruit framed by supple tannins and lively acids. Expect it to put on additional depth with further bottle age, much like its 2007 counterpart.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPThis is also quite floral with its cool and strikingly pretty aromas of softly spiced red and dark berry and earth scents that are trimmed in gentle wood nuances. The mouthfeel of the medium-bodied flavors is quite simply gorgeous as it’s at once caressing and lacy yet potent and powerful, all wrapped in an intensely mineral-driven finish that goes on and on. This is a superb Chapelle.Burghound | 93-96 BHNotably deeper colour, this has much darker fruit on the nose, some black fruit notes, powerful though on the palate and with great energy. Fresh finish, with good, even weight throughout. Her holding is in the Gemeaux part of the appellation which resist dry conditions, especially as these are old vines. Very good finale I must say. Tasted: November 2018.Jasper Morris | 93-96 JMThe 2017 Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru has around 80% whole bunches this year. It has a very perfumed bouquet of raspberry, crushed strawberry, vanilla pod and a touch of iodine, all very well defined. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black and red fruit, perhaps not as complex as the Echézeaux, and a touch of brown spice surfaces toward the finish. Very fine.Vinous Media | 92-94 VM

This remarkable 0.35ha parcel used to belong to Domaine Newman but is now an established part of the Mortet range. All located on white soils on the larger Chambolle-side of Bonnes Mares, this is showing its 70% new wood at the moment but has the structure and concentration to soak it up. It’s sappy, savoury and fine, with a palate-pleasing red fruit sweetness and underlying minerality.Decanter | 96 DECFine full mid purple. Gorgeous rich fruit leavened by some whole bunch effect. Dark raspberry fruit. Spicy notes, and not picked too late. The fruit swells beautifully on the palate, though still in the fine-boned style of the vintage. This has a most beautiful finish which really stretches the fruit out beyond the light tannins. Tasted: December 2018.Jasper Morris | 93-97 JMFrom a parcel with white soils, the 2017 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru is very pretty, wafting from the glass with notes of rose petal, blood orange, wild berries and savory bass notes. On the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied, satiny and fine-boned, with chalky structuring tannins, juicy acids and a vibrant core of fruit. The style here is exquisite, and if Mortet can coax a little more depth and concentration from these vines in future vintages while retaining its elegant profile, he will soon number among this grand cru’s greatest exponents.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92-94 RPA deft application of oak easily allows the earthy aromas of plum, red and dark berries and game to be appreciated. Once again there is very good volume to the powerful and solidly concentrated middle weight plus flavors that culminate in a refreshing and chalky finish that is slightly firmer as well as a bit longer too. This beauty possesses impressive development potential.Burghound | 92-94 BHThe 2017 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru includes around 30 to 40% whole bunches with around 70% new oak. At the moment, the new wood is quite vocal on the nose and slightly occludes the fruit underneath. The palate is medium-bodied with a fresh, sorbet-like entry, notes of blood orange suffusing the red fruit, though I would like a little more depth to evolve on the finish, perhaps a touch more blue fruit too. Needs time to develop its personality.Vinous Media | 91-93 VM

A well-defined red, with great focus and precision to the black cherry, black currant, violet and stony, mineral flavors. Ends with a chalky sensation, lending gravitas to the finish and overall impression. Best from 2023 through 2045.Wine Spectator | 95 WSFresh deep purple with a delicious exotic brambly character, pure and forceful, some whole bunch but it is the fruit which wins. Absolutely gorgeous with perfectly balanced acidity and non-aggressive tannins. Liqueur raspberry finish and great length.Jasper Morris | 95 JMThe 2017 Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras 1er Cru has a well-defined bouquet of morello cherry, wild strawberry and just a touch of graphite. This is strict and backward, yet very focused, and the oak is nicely integrated. The palate is medium-bodied, taut and fresh, displaying fine tannins, superb mineralité and beautifully integrated oak, and delivering good body and persistence on the finish. An excellent Chambolle-Musigny with real pedigree. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2017 tasting.Vinous Media | 94 VMChristophe Roumier expresses the terroirs of Chambolle with a combination of emotional engagement and winemaking precision. This pale, delicate, almost balletic premier cru is racy and refreshing, with some spicy notes from 50% whole bunches and one-third new barrels.Decanter | 94 DECThe 2017 les Cras from Domaine Roumier is an outstanding bottle in the making. The nose wafts from the glass in a very classy blend of red and black cherries, violets, raw cocoa, gamebird, chalky minerality, vanillin oak and a gently smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, long and very soil-driven in personality, with a sappy core of fruit, fine-grained tannins and a long, focused and beautifully balanced finish. This should start to open nicely in another seven or eight years, but its real apogee is still probably twenty years down the road. (Drink between 2028 - 2065)John Gilman | 93+ JGThe 2017 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Cras is showing nicely, exhibiting notions of sweet berry fruit, cherries, peonies, spices and creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and enveloping, with a deep core of fruit, lively acids and chalky back-end grip, it will demand a bit of patience, even in this extroverted vintage.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92+ RPA whiff of reduction detracts slightly from the appeal of the overtly floral-inflected nose that reflects notes of violet, lilac, lavender and rose petal along with a fresh mix of red and dark cherries. The sleek, intense and almost pungent mineral-driven medium weight flavors possess terrific delineation on the dusty, firm and youthfully austere finish that goes on and on. This is decidedly backward and compact at present and is going to require at least some patience first.Burghound | 92 BH

There isn’t much of this grand cru to go around, alas, as the Cathiard parcel is a mere 0.17ha. But what a wine it is: plush yet refined, with scented oak, plenty of depth and spice, subtle reduction and layered bramble and black cherry fruit. Fresh and alluring.Decanter | 96 DECOne of the wines of the vintage, the 2017 Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru unfurls in the glass with a stunning bouquet of plums, raspberries, dark chocolate, Asian spice, rose petals and rich soil tones. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, enveloping and multidimensional, with stunning concentration and depth at the core, its ample chassis of fine, satiny tannins entirely cloaked in succulent fruit, its finish long and delineated. This is a stunning wine that entirely transcends the limitation of the year.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95-97 RPThe 2017 Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru, two new barrels out of three in total, has a very refined, supremely focused bouquet of perfumed scents of black cherries, strawberry pastilles and subtle orange blossom aromas. The medium-bodied palate is extremely precise and detailed, with very fine tannin and transparent mineralité toward the finish (as if you can feel the "bones" of this R.S.V.). Sensual and intellectual to boot.Vinous Media | 95-97 VMTwo new barrels out of three. Rich dense black core with an intense purple rim. The nose suggests a wealth of fruit to come but not ready to deliver yet., The front of the mouth fills up very nicely but the back delivers even more. Proper tension at the finish, this time more black fruit than red. At the moment the wine is more about intensity than elegance but this will certainly follow. Tasted: November 2018.Jasper Morris | 95-97 JMAn exuberantly fresh if restrained nose offers up a panoply of spice elements to the primarily red berry fruit aromas that display additional breadth with hints of orange pekoe tea, lavender and a whisper of sandalwood. The lacy yet concentrated middle weight flavors possess a highly refined mouthfeel and first-rate complexity on the balanced and wonderfully persistent if youthfully austere finish. Like the Malconsorts, this is gorgeous but it is also very clearly built for long-term cellaring.Burghound | 93-96 BH

This cuvée, sourced from a 0.75ha parcel of 46-year-old vines completed its malolactic fermentation late, so was a little more backward than the other releases when I tasted it. It may need more time in barrel and bottle, but this is a superb expression of the premier cru, located at the fresher, more scented end of the spectrum. It has fruit intensity from the small berries (millerands) and a chiselled finish.Decanter | 96 DECNoble imperial purple. There is a such a wealth of vibrant heady fruit, which defies simple categorisation, so much more than just dark cherry, too concentrated for floral descriptors though some peony notes are lurking. There is an explosion of fruit at the back of the palate, a little more red than black, an excellent fresh acidity, a very complete wine with as much concentration as one could hope for in 2017. Tasted: November 2018.Jasper Morris | 95-97 JMCathiard’s emblematic cuvée, the 2017 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts is also a great success, unfurling in the glass with aromas of cherries, licorice, spices, dark berries, grilled game and an elegant framing of new oak. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, deep and fleshy, with a broad-shouldered chassis of velvety structuring tannin, considerable concentration and a long, expansive finish. Due to a late malolactic, this was one of the more primary wines in the cellar, but its immense potential is impossible to miss.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-95 RPThe 2017 Vosne-Romanée Aux Malconsorts 1er Cru is matured in 62% new oak and underwent a slightly later malolactic fermentation than the other cuvées. It has a very pure, detailed bouquet of precise blackberry, briar and crushed stone aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red and black fruit, displaying more grip and backbone than the Les Suchots, and the bold finish perhaps offering less charm. It will certainly require several years in bottle.Vinous Media | 93-95 VM Firm reduction renders this impossible to fairly assess today. Otherwise there is more size, weight and muscle to the big-bodied and more evidently mineral-driven flavors that are almost painfully intense, all wrapped in a gorgeously long finish that really fans out as it sits on the palate. However, it is pointless to buy this without the express intention to cellar it as it is very structured.Burghound | 92-95 BH

Bougros is often a bit generous and blousy in style for my tastes (or at least for my perceptions of how a proper young grand cru Chablis should present itself!),but the 2017 from William Fèvre has all of the cut, sizzle and reserve I could ever hope for! The bouquet is pure, complex and very classy, offering up scents of pear, lime blossoms, a complex base of chalky minerality and a nice touch of youthful smokiness in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, precise and very, very mineral in profile, with a superb core of fruit, great focus and balance, snappy acids and a long, laser-like and nascently complex finish. A truly great example of Bougros. (Drink between 2023 - 2060)John Gilman | 95 JGClear and bright. Ripe but with significant energy, more white fruit than otherwise, amazing density from a tiny yield. The trick with this wine is to accept it for what it is without worrying about the fact that it is not the Côte de Bouguerots. Tasted: May 2018.Jasper Morris | 93-95 JMThe 2017 Chablis Bougros Grand Cru is a dense, phenolic and powerful wine that captures the tiny yields of the vintage. Lemon confit, pear, white flowers, mint and lightly honeyed notes explode from the glass in a Chablis endowed with tremendous character as well as persistence. This is an especially ample, full-bodied edition of this wine.Vinous Media | 94 VMAromas of crushed stones and oyster shell here with a fresh, lemon and yellow-grapefruit edge. The palate has a very taut and composed feel with really assertive acidity, combined with such juicy and fleshy fruit. The result is long and delicious! Drink or hold.James Suckling | 94 JSI was unduly conservative with my assessment of Fèvre’s 2017 Chablis Grand Cru Bougros, as this bottle was showing very well indeed, unfurling in the glass with aromas of white flowers, fresh peach, Meyer lemon and crushed chalk. It’s full-bodied, deep and fleshy, with excellent concentration, racy acids and chalky structuring extract, concluding with a precise finish. While this Bougros is still quite demonstrative, it is showing more complexity and tension after another six months in bottle and is well worth seeking out.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPA cool and ripe nose features notes of pear and apple that possess background nuances of iodine and seashell. There is excellent mid-palate concentration to the big, very rich and concentrated flavors that display a very round and suave mouth feel, all wrapped in a powerful, dry and slightly rustic finale. This muscular and robust effort delivers sneaky good length and while it needs to develop more depth, it has the potential aging curve to do so.Burghound | 93 BHThis alluring white reveals floral, white peach, apple and mineral aromas and flavors. Supple in texture and deftly balanced, with a lingering aftertaste of orchard fruit. Drink now through 2023. 150 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

The Dujac holdings in this large and heterogeneous Gevrey grand cru are divided between four blocks, totalling 0.75ha and planted in the 1950s and 1970s. This is a very smart expression of the terroir, showing notes of Asian spices, dense, savoury fruit flavours and sappy, fine-boned tannins. The oak integration is quite brilliant here. Drinking Window 2025 - 2032.Decanter | 96 DEC(Charmes-Chambertin- Domaine Dujac) When Jeremy moved from the Echézeaux to the Clos St. Denis in our tasting progression, I asked why the Charmes was going to be served out of its customary place in the rotation. He responded that “I really, really like the Charmes this year and we will see if my faith in the wine has been misplaced.” However, not surprisingly, when we got to the wine, Jeremy’s impressions were vindicated and the wine showed stellar potential- even hard on the heels of the great Clos de la Roche! The bouquet is pure and simply outstanding in 2017, offering up scents of red and black cherries, black plums, a very complex base of soil, gentle meatiness, woodsmoke, raw cocoa and cedar. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and rock solid at the core with sappy fruit, excellent focus and grip, fine-grained tannins and a very long, soil-driven and complex finish. I am not sure I have ever tasted a better young vintage of Charmes-Chambertin from Domaine Dujac. (Drink between 2027-2075).John Gilman | 95 JGThe 2017 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru is showing brilliantly from bottle, bursting from the glass with aromas of sweet cherries, cassis, orange rind, spices, black truffle, espresso roast and rich soil tones. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, fleshy and mouthfilling, with a layered and nicely concentrated core, ripe tannins and succulent acids, concluding with a long and expansive finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94+ RP(Domaine Dujac Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru Red) The sauvage-suffused nose reflects a discreet touch of wood on the cool and pure essence of red berry fruit nose that projects plenty of floral, earth, forest floor and anise elements. The rich and muscular medium weight plus flavors display touches of salinity and youthful austerity on the otherwise sneaky long but compact finish. This isn’t elegant or especially dense but it is a relatively dense 2017 and one that should age well. (Drink starting 2029).Burghound | 91 BHThe 2017 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru, around 85% whole clusters, has a tightly wound, damp earth bouquet that is well defined. The medium-bodied palate is masculine and structured, quite broody and surprisingly introspective. I don’t quite detect the "charm" in this Charmes, but maybe it was just not showing on the day.Vinous Media | 89-91 VM

The average age of the Seysses’ 1.95ha holdings in the Clos de la Roche are slightly older than those of neighbouring Clos St-Denis. Using fruit from five main parcels, it’s a very complete, self-confident wine with good density and concentration, sappy, spicy undertones, fine-grained fruit and tannins, and a very long, tapering finish. Drinking Window 2027 - 2035.Decanter | 97 DEC(Clos de la Roche- Domaine Dujac) I love the 2017 vintage for red Burgundy and Domaine Dujac’s Clos de la Roche has to be one of the finest wines of the vintage. The bouquet is still youthful and quite red fruity this year, but already shows lovely complexity in its blend of cherries, blood orange, beetroot, raw cocoa, a gorgeous base of soil tones, pigeon and a deft framing of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and very svelte in profile, with a sappy core of fruit, great balance and grip, fine-grained tannins and a long, soil-driven and dazzling finish. This is going to be a stunning wine once it is fully ready to drink! (Drink between 2032-2080)John Gilman | 96 JGDujac’s 2017 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru is more reserved that the Clos Saint-Denis, unwinding in the glass with scents of red berries, plums, orange rind, cinnamon, peonies and sweet soil tones. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, serious and layered, with muscular structure, lively acids and a long, perfumed finish. While this remains a comparatively accessible, finesse-driven Clos de la Roche, at least a decade’s patience will be required to see this begin to realize its potential.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94+ RPThe 2017 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru shows some charry oak barrel on the nose, just a slight hickory scent that feels out of place. It becomes smokier with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with a lot of stem addition that dominates the terroir expression and fruit at the moment. Well-defined and well-crafted, and it may ultimately turn into a brilliant Clos de la Roche, but that depends on how those stems are assimilated. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2017 tasting.Vinous Media | 92 VM(Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Red) This is also markedly floral in character with additional breadth from the impressively pure combination of red cherry, currant, leather and a whiff of the sauvage along with a touch of oak. The beautifully energetic and detailed flavors are much finer than usual thanks mostly to the ultra-fine grain of the tannins supporting the austere, serious and compact finish. This is a Dujac CdlR of refinement rather than one of imposing size, indeed it’s almost a bit light, but even so, it is clearly constructed for the medium to longer. (Drink starting 2032).Burghound | 92 BH

For the third vintage in a row, this 0.32ha plot, ranging in age between 60 and 80 years, has produced the best wine at the domaine. It’s a stunning grand cru that was deceptively easy to taste from barrel. Elegant, refined and sensuous, it’s a soprano of a wine with beautifully pitched chalky precision, a hint of earth and subtle wild strawberry fruit. Drinking Window 2022 - 2032.Decanter | 97 DECThe 2017 Richebourg Grand Cru has a showstopping, persistent bouquet of intense blackberry, sous-bois and crushed stone. The supremely well-balanced palate offers filigreed tannin, wonderful mineralité and an otherworldly-long finish. One of the most elegant Richebourgs that I have tasted. Best Richebourg in show this year? Quite possibly. Six barrels produced.Vinous Media | 96-98 VM(Domaine Jean Grivot Richebourg Grand Cru Red) The elegant, airy and beautifully perfumed nose offers up notes of sandalwood, anise, clove, herbal tea and plenty of floral influences. There is excellent delineation and minerality to the solidly concentrated, indeed even muscular, large-scaled flavors that culminate in an incredibly long if very, very backward, austere and compact finale. This Zen-like effort is going to require an extended snooze in a cool cellar and as such, it’s a wine to buy and forget that you own it for at least a decade. (Drink starting 2032).Burghound | 95 BHThe king of the cellar is the 2017 Richebourg Grand Cru, a decidedly promising wine that wafts from the glass with notes of rose petal, dark wild berries, smoke, Asian spices, espresso roast, licorice and rich soil tones. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, deep and multidimensional, its satiny structuring tannins cloaked in succulent, fleshy fruit, its finish long and vibrant. The Richebourg stands apart for its amplitude and completeness this year.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-96 RP

A blend of 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 0.8% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2017 Les Forts de Latour is deep garnet-purple in color and strides confidently out of the glass with classic notes of plum preserves, warm cassis and pencil shavings with nuances of mulberries, pencil lead, Indian spices and forest floor. Medium-bodied, the palate packs a lot of fruit into a very elegant, tightly knit palate, delivering expressive blackberry and spicy flavors with a firm frame of grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing long with a peppery kick.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPSmells lovely, really aromatic and shining out of the glass, forward and expressive with clarity and precision on the nose full of red fruit and floral scents. Sleek and crisp, this has energy and lifeforce, I love the shape and straightforwardness but it’s the texture that’s so captivating - slightly firm but dense and chalky tannins give the bounce and cushioning on the palate while the fruit is lean and well defined. So well worked, feels careful, controlled, refined and polished. Sophisticated and just so seamless. Extremely young right now, coiled and tense still, direct from start to finish, it needs to slow down and soften and relax. Lovely pure and perfumed red fruits raspberry and blueberries alongside a slightly sharp, bitter grapefruit edge to the tannins as well as graphite and slate which lingers on the tongue and gives the mighty grip that doesn’t let go. Stylish and enjoyable. 64 PIT, 6.7% press wine. 45.4% production. Harvest 11 September to 4 October. Technical director Hélène Genin. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend.Decanter | 94 DECThis is really minerally with crushed stones and dark berries. Some licorice. Medium to full body, firm and silky tannins and a beautiful, tight and focused finish. Such energy, delivered down a straight line.James Suckling | 94-95 JSThis bold, structured wine is packed with blackberry fruits and ripe tannins. Freshness and structure from the Cabernet Sauvignon are very present, giving a crisp edge to the solid backbone. This is a wine for aging. Don’t drink before 2023. ROGER VOSSWine Enthusiast | 94 WEBright and fresh, featuring floral, cassis and plum aromas and flavors allied to a sleek, iron-tinged frame. Racy tension through the finish lets the fruit play out while the minerality blossoms. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2022 through 2038.Wine Spectator | 93 WSA step up, the 2017 Les Forts De Latour includes more Cabernet Sauvignon and is 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, and the balance Petit Verdot and a splash of Cabernet Franc. Creme de cassis, unsmoked tobacco, damp earth, and a touch of cedar pencil all emerge from the glass, and it’s beautifully textured and medium to full-bodied, with terrific purity and a great finish. While it’s a second wine, I suspect it will evolve for 20-30 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDThe 2017 Les Forts de Latour conveys airiness on the nose, reflecting the relatively lightest vintage in recent years. Graphite and sous-bois infuse black fruit, offering a slightly welcome herbaceous/undergrowth tincture. The palate is very well-balanced and will appeal to those seeking a sleeker, lighter style of Pauillac. Not lean by any account, but this Les Fort de Latour is understated, with appealing black pepper and tobacco notes emerging on the finish. Fine.Vinous Media | 92 VM

As always, the 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape Cuvée De Mon Aïeul is all Grenache (from La Serres, La Crau, and La Guigasse) that was not destemmed and was brought up all in used demi-muids. It’s an extraordinary wine, offering a mammoth bouquet of kirsch liqueur, black raspberries, ground pepper, white flowers, and spice. Full-bodied, concentrated, and opulent on the palate, with silky tannins, it’s not going to match the 2010 or 2016, but t’s a magical, elegant, layered wine that does everything right.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDThis is lush and inviting in feel, with waves of warmed raspberry reduction taking center stage, while plum paste and cherry skin notes add range. Underneath the fruit, notes of anise, red and black tea and gently mulled spice notes course along, all supported by perfectly embedded acidity. A gorgeous wine that’s hard to lay off now because of the fruit, but there’s absolutely no rush. Best from 2023 through 2040. 375 cases made, 150 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 96 WSRich and almost painfully intense, from yields that were reduced by coulure to only about six hectoliters per hectare, the 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de Mon Aieul is steadfast in being all Grenache and all whole cluster. Licorice, chocolate and super ripe plums appear on the nose, while the palate is full-bodied and velvety, with a long, warm finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPBrilliant ruby-red. An expansive, spice-accented bouquet evokes ripe red fruits, incense and potpourri, and a smoky mineral element adds urgency. Juicy, seamless and appealingly sweet, offering concentrated raspberry, boysenberry and floral pastille flavors that firm up slowly and turn spicier on the back half. Shows serious heft, but there’s a distinctly graceful quality as well. Finishes sappy, gently tannic and extremely long, leaving a suave lavender pastille note behind.Vinous Media | 94-95 VMAnother string release under this label, showing rich dark fruit and earthy notes with plenty of spice. Tarry notes as well. The palate has a very plush, ripe and rich feel with juicy, ripe dark berries and plums, really bathed in deep, long and smooth-honed tannins. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 93 JS

Exquisitely fine tannins to the currant, lead-pencil and chocolate character. The palate is full, yet very refined and linear with a long, lingering finish. Such polish and tension. The tannins are intense, yet so fine, giving almost a powdery texture. So Lafite-like. Best Carruades ever? 56% cabernet sauvignon and 38% merlot, the rest cabernet franc. Drink after 2026.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2018 Carruades de Lafite is a blend of 56.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot and 5.5% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple colored, it comes skipping out of the glass with bright, cheery scents of redcurrant jelly, blackcurrant pastilles and Morello cherries with hints of candied violets, pencil shavings, menthol and crushed rocks. Medium-bodied and elegantly styled, with layers of crunchy red and black fruits, it has a beautifully ripe, fine-grained texture and loads of freshness, finishing long and mineral laced.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPSeductive, with mulled plum and black cherry fruit that is infused with dark tea, singed cedar and bay notes. Iron note nicely imbedded through the finish, which has a subtle tug of earth. Very restrained in feel, but with some seriously sneaky length. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2025 through 2038.Wine Spectator | 94 WSWhile a lot of estates’ second wines can have a distinctly different style than their Grand Vins, that’s not the case with Lafite. Their 2018 Carraudes De Lafite has a beautiful Lafite-like elegance and sense of nuance that’s always present in the Grand Vin. Based on 56.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, its ruby/purple-tinged hue is followed by a beautiful nose of cassis, lead pencil, black cherries, tobacco leaf, and forest floor. With medium to full-bodied richness, it has a layered, elegant mouthfeel, ripe yet present tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. This juicy, textured, balanced 2018 can be drunk today or cellared for 15-20 years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDThis is a ripe, juicy wine that’s rich and generous in texture, with light touches of spice and fine tannins. It has both weight and freshness, giving a wine that is elegant and ripe.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThe 2018 Carruades de Lafite is delicate, sensual and elegant, with a striking interplay of finesse and power. A wine of total allure and translucence, the 2018 Carruades is so silky, so finessed, so classy. Sweet red/purplish fruit, lavender, rose petal and spice are all finely knit in a Pauillac of tremendous class. Harvest started on September 17 and wrapped up on October 5 for the Cabernets.Antonio Galloni | 93 AGAn understated and enjoyable Carruades, which has that sense of Lafite effortlessness, with a mouthwatering finish. Dark spice and great balance, where you see the beginnings of acidity, tannin and fruits but you don’t see their end as they meld into each other. Savoury Cabernet fruits abound. This is hugely elegant, with smoky notes that come out more obviously as the wine opens up. Drinking Window 2024 - 2038.Decanter | 93 DEC

The 2018 Musigny Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru is even darker than the Bonnes-Mares. It has a spectacular bouquet of intense black fruit, blueberries and shucked oyster shells, the mineralité heightened over the Bonnes-Mares and lending a great deal of precision. The palate is medium-bodied with blueberry, boysenberry and black currant fruit, extraordinary tension, razor-sharp acidity and a dash of white pepper on the crystalline finish. One of the finest Musignys I have tasted from barrel at de Vogüé.Vinous Media | 97-99 VM(Domaine Comte de Vogüé Musigny Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru Red) A ripe and super-fresh nose offers up notes of black raspberry, plum liqueur, Asian-style tea and a whiff of incense. The racy, intense and mineral-driven big-bodied flavors retain outstanding delineation as well as an abundance of palate soaking dry extract before delivering stunningly good length where an interesting hint of citrus character in the form of mandarin orange appears. This incredibly powerful effort is both classy and highly complex and like the Bonnes Mares, is a wine that will live for decades. With that said, it’s not so backward and compact to preclude it being approachable after only 10 to 12 years. A knockout by any standard. (Drink starting 2043)Burghound | 97 BHAll the vines that are used to produce this extensive cuvée of Musigny are over 25 years’ old, so it always has good concentration. But in 2018, it’s an especially big, dense, powerful wine with masses of inky colour, assertive one-third new oak, plenty of plush bramble and black cherry fruit, undertones of sweet spices and liquorice and a chalky flourish. Needs time. Drinking Window 2026 - 2033.Decanter | 95 DEC(Musigny “Vieilles Vignes”- Domaine de Comte de Georges de Vogüé) The 2018 Musigny Vieilles Vignes was also in fine form at the time of my visit, as the racking for this cuvée was just starting and there were plenty of untouched casks to choose from for sampling. The wine is very deep and still very primary on both the nose and palate, with the bouquet wafting from the glass in a sappy blend of black cherries, sweet dark berries, dark chocolate, gamebird, woodsmoke, soil and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and shows off excellent mid-palate depth of sappy fruit, with good mineral drive, ripe, seamless and buried tannins, fine focus and grip and a long, focused and classy finish. All this needs is time in the cellar! (Drink between 2038-2085).John Gilman | 95 JG

Bottled late in 2020, the 2018 Cornas is another exceptional vintage for this cuvée, drawn from the family’s older vines, largely in the lieux-dits of La Côte, Sabarotte and Reynard. Yes, it’s from a hot, sunny vintage, it’s rich and ripe, with plenty of red plum fruit up front, but there’s a solid underpinning of crushed stone to provide balance. Full-bodied and velvety in feel in the mouth, it lingers elegantly on the lengthy finish. Complete, balanced and fine, it should drink well through at least 2040.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPThe 2018 Cornas is a classic wine from this renowned estate that’s 100% Syrah, mostly from the Reynard lieu-dit, brought up all in ancient foudre and casks. This is as classic and old school as they come, and the 2018 is as Clape as it gets with its bloody blue fruits, liquid violet, smoked game, pepper, bay leaf, and iron-like aromas and flavors. More medium to full-bodied on the palate, it doesn’t have the sheer richness of the 2015 or 2017, and if anything, reminds me slightly of the 2016 with its incredible purity, balance, and finesse. The structure and tannins, which were more up-front and present from barrel, have a more round, seamless feel that gives this some up-front appeal. Granted, I followed this bottle for multiple days, and it certainly benefited from lots of air. This is a vintage that could certainly continue to offer pleasure over the coming decade and never really shut down, yet I suspect this will firm up quickly over the coming 2-4 years and require at least a decade of bottle age to really show its true potential. I promise, you will not be disappointed to have this in your cellar.Jeb Dunnuck | 97+ JDBlueberry and liquorice on the nose at this stage, there’s a little touch of acetone that is typical of Clape, along with some thyme and rosemary. Full-bodied, but not massive, this has plenty of immediate impact and drive, it really packs a punch on the finish. Powerful ingrained acidity drives the wine forward, as does an inner salinity and ripe but sharply pointed tannins. Ripe and approachable for Clape but still very Cornas, this is delicious now, but will reward cellaring too. Harvest started on the 12th of September. No destemming as usual, fermented in concrete, aged in large old oak barrels.Decanter | 97 DECRemarkably fresh nose, considering that August 2018 was so hot in the Rhone. Stunning aromas of bitter chocolate and perfectly ripe wild blackberries. I love the generous but not expansive body, where there’s a sensational interplay of fine tannins and mineral freshness that drive the very long and exciting finish. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 97 JSSaturated ruby. Ripe, spice-accented blackcurrant, kirsch, olive paste, candied flowers and smoked meat on the expansive nose. Offers deeply pitched black and blue fruit, exotic spice, olive and licorice flavors and a strong mineral underpinning. Steadily building tannins add shape and grip to an impressively long, smoky finish that emphatically repeats the floral and mineral notes.Vinous Media | 96 VM

The most Vosne-Romanée-like of the Nuits-St-Georges Premiers Crus according to Etienne Grivot, with a character that he identifies as ’a little wild’, Aux Boudots often produces on my favourite wines at the domaine. It’s plush, smooth and glossy all right, with a sheen of aromatic 30% new wood, fine tannins and some underlying bounce and vitality.Decanter Magazine | 95 DECA well of black currant and blueberry mark this sappy, yet beefy red. It’s a tannic Titanic, with a dense, compact finish that echoes the dark fruit, spice and iron notes. The aftertaste is saturated with fruit. Impressive, yet will require time to resolve the tannins. Best from 2025 through 2047. 53 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WSHalf the vines were ripped out 5 years ago and will come back into play in 2020 maybe. Bouncing concentrated dark red fruit, not too exuberant on the palate though, an excellent fine-grained tannic structure behind, and exceptional length. This has been picked at optimum ripeness. Tasted Nov 2019.Jasper Morris | 94-96 JMThe 2018 Nuits Saint-Georges Aux Boudots 1er Cru comes from the old part of the vineyard, half of which was replanted in spring 2017 (these young vines may reenter this cru next year, or more likely the Bourgogne Rouge until they reach maturity). The crisp, fresh, well-defined bouquet is probably the best among Grivot’s Nuits Saint-Georges this year, reflecting the pedigree of this vineyard. The palate is medium-bodied with impressive mineralité and tension, quite "strict" in style but boasting so much coiled-up energy on the finish that you could easily drink it now. This is a superb offering that should age with grace and style over many years.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMThis too is quite firmly reduced to the point that it’s unreadable today. Otherwise the less concentrated but finer middle weight flavors exude evident minerality on the tautly muscular bitter cherry-inflected finish that is a bit leaner and less complex. The younger vines are in evidence though to be fair, and clear, this is still a very pretty effort.Burghound | 89-92 BH

Sensual’ is the word Véronique Drouhin uses to describe this remarkable wine and there is certainly something fleshy, enticing and engaging about this polished, refined Grand Cru bottling. Made with 40% whole bunches and 30% new wood, it’s bright, perfumed and very silky with lacy tannins and no sign of the heat of the vintage. Decadent stuff. Drinking Window 2026 - 2035.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2018 Musigny Grand Cru is slightly lighter than the Bonnes-Mares tasted alongside and has a more detailed, precise bouquet of intense blackberry, mulberry, sous-bois and light charcoal aromas that gain power with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and a fine bead of acidity, very sensual and seductive. The polished and lightly spiced finish is pure class. Outstanding.Vinous Media | 95-97 VM(Maison Joseph Drouhin Musigny Grand Cru Red) A highly restrained nose requires plenty of swirling to coax the super-floral and spicy aromas to reveal nuances of plum liqueur, red cherry and sandalwood. The marvelously refined middle weight flavors possess a beguiling satin-like texture yet there is no lack of punch on the wonderfully long, complex and well-balanced finish. Like the Amoureuses, this stunningly classy effort is a knockout that should also age effortlessly over the long-term. (Drink starting 2036).Burghound | 94-96 BH

The 2018 Extra Brut Rosé de Saignée, 100% Meunier, is tremendous. A deep core of red-toned fruit, blood orange, cinnamon and dried rose petal sweeps across the palate. Still very young, the 2018 is impressive in every way. There is just a touch of reduction that needs time to blow off. There’s a lot of wine here. Dosage is 3 grams per liter.Vinous Media | 95 VMThe 2018 vintage of Delphine Boulard’s Rosé de Saignée is an excellent wine. It is made entirely of pinot meunier, with the juice given a half day of skin contact to provide the wine with its lovely, deep salmon color. The vins clairs are barrel-fermented and aged in cask until the June following the harvest and then bottled up for secondary fermentation and aged sur latte for just under five years prior to its disgorgement in March of 2024. Finishing dosage this year was three grams per liter. The wine is beautifully expressive on the nose, offering up scents of rhubarb, cherries, rye bread, chalky soil tones, dried roses, a touch of clove and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, zesty and complex, with a lovely core of fruit, fine soil signature, elegant mousse and a long, beautifully balanced and gently vinous finish. This is excellent juice! (Drink between 2025 - 2055)John Gilman | 93 JG