Red Wines

wines

Mid lemon yellow. Grilled almonds Marjolaine suggests, and I agree. Once more the flesh and the oak on the nose are apparent. All the requisite weight and white fruit, silky length, a little salinity, understated but very long indeed. Rather hidden at the moment. Drink from 2030-2040. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 93-96 JMThe 2023 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, from vines planted in 1996, had quite a bit of that matchstick reduction on the nose when I tasted it from barrel, but you can discern the concentration here. The palate is well balanced with a slightly honeyed opening. Acidity counters its richness as hints of ginger and white pepper emerge toward the finish. Powerful compared to its peers, this Grand Cru will require two or three years in bottle.Vinous Media | 91-93 VM

More yellow in the colour, a waxy flesh, slight evolution in the sample, I cannot quite see the stones up front. They do appear on the palate and the wine extends very well through to a flinty finish, with some saline notes right at the back. Drink from 2028-2034. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 91-93 JMThe 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet En Cailleret 1er Cru has a strict, almost sullen nose that demands coaxing from the glass, with hints of chamomile interlacing the orchard fruit, though I seek just a little more mineralité. The palate is well balanced with tropical notes of passionfruit and guava on the entry. Smooth in texture with countervailing acidity, the 2023 finishes open and easy-drinking. Drink just a year after bottling and enjoy this in its youth.Vinous Media | 89-91 VM

The 2023 Bienvenue-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru has a wonderful mineral-driven yet understated bouquet unfolding in the glass with subtle oyster shell/crustacean scents. The palate is beautifully balanced with a keen thread of acidity that slices through the more malic fruit profile. Very harmonious with a judicious dab of spice on the finish, this is a marvelous follow-up to the 2022.Vinous Media | 94-96 VMPale with a green tint. Not so much nose on display yet. Then the volume of pure white fruit with some grapefruit bitters towards the back. Biding its time before displaying its wares. Tightly knit, good tension, this may take quite a while to unwind. Drink from 2030-2036. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 93-95 JMElegant, pure and beautifully layered aromas of honeysuckle, acacia, carnation, white peach and a whiff of citrus confit precede caressing, rich and relatively seductively textured medium-bodied flavors that deliver fine length on the balanced and more complex finale. Like the Combettes, this is really quite classy and stylish.Burghound | 92-94 BH

The 2023 Montrachet Grand Cru showed a little more cloudiness in the glass due to the lees (of course, they will disappear once racked). Perhaps the nose is a little primal as a result—it’s not as complete as the Bâtard or the Bienvenues. The palate is more indicative of where this Monty will be heading. It has intense, immense weight with an almost pixelated mineral-driven finish. This is going to be a great Montrachet, but it might take longer to reveal its true identity. Only six barrels were produced this year.Vinous Media | 96-98 VMSix barrels. This was slow to ferment and is still not clear after racking. A huge volume of pure white fruit with a slightly honeyed not as well, and a limestone backbone that drives the second half of the wine. Opulent in one sense yet managed, while the length and concentration of the finish is fully Montrachet worthy. Come back in many years. Lime as well as limestone, lingering in the mouth. Drink from 2032-2040. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 95-97 JMEnough wood to remark upon surrounds the cool and airy white orchard fruit aromas that are liberally laced with spice, zest and floral nuances. The sleek, intense and impressively scaled flavors brim with sappy dry extract that seems to have no effect on the precision of the wonderfully long, bone-dry, superbly long and well-balanced finale that is also supported by citrus-tinged acidity. This is not a massive Montrachet but it’s beautifully proportioned and a wine that should more than repay extended keeping. Moreover, it’s the class of the cellar in 2023.Burghound | 93-96 BH

The 2023 Puligny-Montrachet les Referts 1er Cru shows a little more ripeness and tropical traits than other cuvées from Sauzet. Its bouquet features notes of pineapple, nectarine and citrus peel, yet there remains delineation and mineralité that upholds a sense of Puligny-Montrachet. The palate is well balanced and weighty in the mouth, but I admire the tension and poise. It gradually builds toward the harmonious and subtle spice on the finish. Give this time.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMA slighter fuller lemon and lime colour. The bouquet suggests greater density of fruit. A light lick of oak which suits the more clay-based wines. Excellent energy, the oak backing up the fresh vigour of the fruit, and a well-balanced finish. Not the ripest, but quite powerful. Drink from 2028-2035. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 92-95 JMPungent aromas of moderate reduction and wood toast prevent an assessment of the nose. More interesting are the succulent, round and caressing middle weight flavors that possess solid volume and power that seems to build on the compact, sappy and well-balanced finale. Fine development potential here.Burghound | 91-93 BH

Black cherries, currants, leather, savory herbs, and a beautiful sense of minerality all emerge from the 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Tierra Rioja Vineyard. I love its remarkable purity and freshness, and on the palate, it’s full-bodied with flawless overall balance, building ripe tannins, plenty of mid-palate depth, and a great finish. It’s an incredibly structured, layered, impressive beauty that deserves 4-5 years of bottle age. Drink 2029-2049.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JD

Contemporary and fine, vinous and fragrant, this is focused on dark fruit and fresh roses with leather and meaty depth. There is a hidden complexity that slowly reveals itself. Supple on the medium-bodied palate, this has moderate acidity and ripe, elegant tannins with slightly peppery flavors. Fruity and superjuicy with a savory aftertaste. From organically and biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 96 JSThe woodsy 2023 Teroldego lifts from the glass with a pretty mix of crushed wild berries, geranium and wet stone. This is juicy and energetic in style, with tart red berry fruits that add tactile grip. The 2023 finishes admirably long with a slight tannic tug and a floral lift. This vintage may not be the longest-lived of Foradori’s Teroldegos, but it will certainly provide a lot of pleasure in the near term.Vinous Media | 91 VM

The 2023 Gevrey-Chambertin Champerrier is very pure and sensual on the nose, with generous red cherry and crushed strawberry fruit tones that envelop the senses. The palate is well balanced with a gentle grip, but there is more energy and greater frisson toward the finish than the Vieilles Vignes, which beckons you back for another sip. This is excellent.Vinous Media | 93 VMHere too there is just enough wood to merit pointing out suffusing the compositionally similar, if less expressive, nose. The succulent and rounded medium weight flavors still manage to retain good detail on the solidly powerful, youthfully austere and moderately rustic finish that is both compact and robust. This is an excellent Gevrey villages that is worth your interest.Burghound | 90 BH

Lignier’s new cuvée in Morey is the premier cru Les Sorbès. The wine boasts a ripe blackberry fruit with an almost gamey savoury note and hints of mineral and spice. Although the flavour is substantial, the texture is pleasantly ethereal, almost like a wine from Chambolle. This is the first vintage of this wine; Lignier sourced enough fruit for four barrels from the site located down the slope below the Clos de Tart and the village.Decanter Magazine | 94 DECSlightly fuller crimson colour with a floral nose, a touch of peony. All destemmed as it is the first year of this contract. More sweet cherry fruity intensity on the palate, a little gentian at the finish, an interesting, complex wine. The fruit has more sucrosity than some. Drink from 2030-2037. Tasted Dec 2024.Jasper Morris | 91-94 JMHere too there is a hint of herbal tea on the softly wooded nose of earthy red currant aromas. The seductive, round and utterly delicious middle weight flavors are shaped by relatively fine-grained tannins on the youthfully austere and lingering finale where the only reproach is a touch of warmth. This is a wine of finesse but with sufficient stuffing to repay up to a decade of aging.Burghound | 90-93 BHThe 2023 Morey-Saint-Denis Les Sorbés comes from a purchase of fruit that represents four barrels this year. This has a vibrant floral bouquet with lovely delineation and lift, as rose petal and bergamot infuse the raspberry fruit. The palate is well balanced with supple tannins and a caressing finish, a little fleshy and perhaps Chambolle-like. This will drink well in its youth.Vinous Media | 89-91 VM

The 2023 Clos des Chevaliers from Domaine Chartron was one of the most brilliant wines I tasted during my entire nearly three weeks in the cellars here in Burgundy. The wine is utterly brilliant on both the nose and palate, with the bouquet offering up a pure, beautifully complex and elegant blend of apple, pear, fresh almond, crème pâtissière, a complex foundation of limestone minerality, lemon blossoms, a refined framing of vanillin oak and a topnote of lemon zest. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and seamlessly balanced, with a great spine of acidity, a gorgeous core of fruit, great mineral drive and cut and a very, very long, vibrant finish. Pure magic. (Drink between 2030 - 2075)John Gilman | 98 JGThe delicious Clos du Chevalier is the top wine in the Chartron cellar, boasting intense aromas of lemon peel, mandarin and passionfruit, with nuances of acacia flower and a pronounced saline minerality. The texture is lively and vibrant but rich as well, with a superb balance between the extract and the racy acidity. The clos, a former monopole of the Chartron family, is above the Montrachet from Marquis de Laguiche; although they sold 0.16ha to Lalou Bize-Leroy for its Domaine d’Auvenay, Chartron still owns a half-hectare of Chevalier here. Cellar this for at least a decade before opening.Decanter Magazine | 96 DECThe 2023 Chevalier-Montrachet Clos de Chevaliers Grand Cru is Charton’s best Grand Cru this year. Intense and flattering citrus fruit notes commingle with crushed stone and light undergrowth scents blossoming in the glass. The palate is fresh, vibrant, beautifully balanced and very harmonious with a long and tender finish. Cohesive and multi-layered, très bon vin!Vinous Media | 95-97 VMAn attractive pale colour with a lime streak. Pure and stylish on the nose, with the white limestone feel of classic Chevalier. The bouquet will express itself more later on, I suspect. On the palate, the terroir also reverberates, with a very fine-boned acidity alongside the nuanced white fruit and flowers, with just a little well-judged oak bringing up the rear. A high-class finish. Very distinguished. Drink from 2030-2037. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 94-97 JMA markedly more floral-suffused nose speaks of distinctly cool white orchard fruit aromas, mineral reduction, Asian-style tea and a lovely range of spice nuances. The gorgeously textured and notably denser medium weight plus flavors exude a prominent stoniness on the sappy bitter citrus-tined finale that goes on and on. Like the Clos du Cailleret, the mouthfeel is like sucking on a small pebble and overall, this superb Chevalier should amply reward extended cellaring.Burghound | 92-95 BH

The haunting bouquet of violets, forest floor, red beets and berries holds you in its gentle grip so that you have to force yourself to take a sip. But when you do, the combination of great concentration and finesse is truly breathtaking. Dazzling mineral freshness in the almost endless finish. Fermented and matured in concrete tanks. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2023 Morgon Côte du Py opens with a generous nose that is evocative of dark cherries, sous-bois, fresh eucalyptus and delicate florals. Medium to full-bodied and with ripe acidity, the wine strikes a harmonious balance between lift and depth, unfurling with a long, sustained presence and a layered mid-palate, with tightly wound fine-grained tannins forming the core that drives the wine. As it progresses, the wine narrows toward a focused and precise finish, imparting a satisfying sense of resolution. Beautifully crafted, this is a wine capable of enduring remarkably long cellaring, and one would be well-advised to grant it that patience.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93+ RPThe 2023 Morgon Côte du Py, located in the lieu-dit of Côte du Py, has a beautiful bouquet of dark berry fruit, black tea and mineral-laden bergamot. The palate is medium-bodied, fleshy and very harmonious with finely spun tannins. Its understated yet poised finish lingers in the mouth. Exquisite.Vinous Media | 93 VMAlmost black centre, with a lively purple rim. This is concentrated, well muscled, with its usual austere backbone, a complete Py for the medium term – and maybe longer. Certainly this is a very persistent Morgon. 13.9% alcohol. Drink from 2027-2032. Tasted Feb 2024.Jasper Morris | 91-92 JM

The iodine, blackberry and rose-stem character comes through clearly. Plenty of fruit and depth. Medium-bodied with fine tannins that caress the palate and provide endless flavors of Indian spices, flint, nutmeg and light crust. Such refinement and integrity. Drinkable now, but better in three or four years.James Suckling | 98 JSLovely cherry fruit with hints of lavender and rosemary. The texture is silky and dense, almost fat. There is more clay here, and less limestone than in Les Cras, and the tannic structure is not as firm. The grapes are from Drouhin’s massive 6.75ha here, not far from Pommard; they are partially destemmed and fermented on native yeasts before ageing in cask (25% new) for 14–18 months.Decanter Magazine | 93 DECThe 2023 Clos des Mouches Rouge seems just a touch riper in personality than the les Cras this year, thus having just a bit more mid-palate amplitude of sappy black fruit and just a bit more length on the lovely finish. The bouquet is excellent, offering up notes of black plums, black cherries, coffee bean, woodsmoke, gamebird, dark soil tones, a hint of graphite and cedary oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and very sappy at the core, with a good foundation of soil tones, ripe, buried tannins, lovely focus and grip and a long, nascently complex and very promising finish. (Drink between 2036 - 2080)John Gilman | 93+ JGThe 2023 Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches (Domaine) is showing nicely, bursting with aromas of sweet berries, spices, orange zest and new oak. Medium to full-bodied, succulent and lively, with chalky grip on the finish, it will offer a broad drinking window.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93 RPThe 2023 Beaune Clos des Mouches Rouge 1er Cru comes from 35 separate plots with different geology. It’s comprised of ten different lots picked over a week. This opens with dark chocolate and white pepper scents. It has slightly darker fruit on the nose and is a little more introspective at first. The palate is medium-bodied and quite sapid with a firm structure on the entry and a touch of licorice on the finish. This should be very fine once in bottle.Vinous Media | 91-93 VMDeep purple, with a fresh energy. Intense fresh dark raspberry, with just the right structure, tannins present but refined, adequate acidity, a touch of velvet and very persistent. Drink from 2028-2035. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 91-93 JMAn exuberantly floral nose presents ripe aromas of spice, black cherry and a top note of kirsch. The notably finer, though not denser, middle weight flavors are shaped by remarkably fine-grained tannins on the lightly stony bitter pit fruit-inflected finale. This balanced effort could use more depth so at least a few years of cellaring should prove beneficial.Burghound | 90-92 BH

A fluid version, exhibiting apple, lemon and baking spice flavors, plus a hint of the sea. Though compact, this is resonant and propelled by vivid acidity through the intense, well-delineated finish. Offers fine balance and length. Best from 2027 through 2035. 300 cases made, 50 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WSThe 2023 Puligny-Montrachet Les Chalumeaux 1er Cru is more understated but more complex than the Hameau, with fine delineation and crushed stone infusing malic scents. The palate is well balanced with a twist of sour lemon on the entry, tensile and focused with a precise and quite persistent finish. This is a well-crafted Puligny that will give a decade’s drinking pleasure.Vinous Media | 92 VM

Silky, with some weight to its roundness, this red exhibits cherry, strawberry, rose, spice and mineral flavors. Boasts purity and grace, with alluring harmony and a long, fruit-filled aftertaste. This seems approachable now, yet there’s ample grip on the long finish. Best from 2028 through 2045. 200 cases made, 41 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WSThe 2023 Pommard “les Pézerolles” from Domaine Voillot is an equally stunning young wine. The wine’s aromatic constellation is sappy, pure and very refined, offering up scents of sweet dark berries, black plums, raw cocoa, pigeon, currant leaf, dark soil tones, a hint of anise, woodsmoke and a gentle framing of cedary oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and sports a superb core of fruit, with lovely mineral drive and grip, tangy acids, ripe, buried tannins and a long, impeccably balanced, complex and very precise finish. Great juice. (Drink between 2037 - 2085)John Gilman | 94 JGAn exceptionally pretty, even perfumed, nose blends ripe aromas of red and dark cherry, violet, spice and an interesting suggestion of dried tangerine peel, which isn’t something that one encounters every day. The wonderfully textured, delicious and more mineral-driven middle weight flavors retain a lovely sense of delineation that carries over to the balanced, moderately austere and built-to-age finale. The Voillot Pézerolles doesn’t usually have the same density of tannins as the Epenots but in 2023, it appears that such is the case.Burghound | 92 BHThe 2023 Pommard Les Pezerolles 1er Cru is more backward than the Les Epenots at the moment, but there is a little more complexity than the 2022 and a touch of wild mint emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with a slightly reductive opening. It has mainly red fruit notes, slightly furry tannins and fine weight on the finish. This just needs a little time to knit together. Drink this over ten to fifteen years.Vinous Media | 88-90 VM

Fantastic depth and length to this wine, showing aromas and flavors of sliced apples, stone, flint,matchstick and white pepper. It’s full-bodied and reserved, with very fine layers of bright fruit and minerals. Tight, structured and compact with a long finish. Already impressive, but best after 2027.James Suckling | 98 JSOpulent, creamy and expansive, this white fills the mouth, offering peach, apple, quinine and salty mineral flavors embraced by vanilla and toasty oak notes. There’s a tactile sensation, and this still lacks integration, yet all of the components are there, along with power and length. Best from 2027 through 2042. 3,800 cases made, 1,400 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WSLatour’s 2023 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru wafts from the glass with notes of pear, mandarin oil and peach mingled with notes of struck match and freshly baked bread. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and seamless, it’s rich and textural, with a sweet, layered core of fruit and an expansive finish. Now bottled under Diam, it should age with grace.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92-94 RPCool, pretty and attractively layered aromas include those of Granny Smith apple, spice, wet stone and a plentitude of citrus elements. There is both more volume and richness to the bigger-bodied flavors that exhibit good power on the balanced, sappy and moderately firm finale. This also could use better depth but that should develop in time.Burghound | 90-93 BH

‘The idea of Massetino is to create a more approachable wine,’ states winemaker, Gaia Cinnirella. And combined with the plump juiciness and aromatic appeal of 2023, this is incredibly enticing. Ripe dark berry scents mingle with damp earth, Mediterranean scrub and chocolatey nuances. It has a steely energy, coiled and bright, its vertical structure padded out by generous juicy, creamy red and black berries, and supported by fine-grained tannins. It’s a bold expression this year, with a slightly drying woody finish that should resolve with time in the bottles, but it’s countered by freshness and a really lovely line of acidity which runs through the body. Delicious!Decanter Magazine | 96 DECA dark, super-intense, rich and complex wine. On the nose it shows restrained bramble fruit, vanilla, cloves, eucalyptus and leather. Lots of graphite on the palate, with firm, velvety tannins, chocolate flavors, refreshing acidity and a chalky, oaky finish. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSLush and well-marked by toasty oak, this red displays plum, blackberry, leather, vanilla and salt flavors. A dense matrix of tannins lends support as this extends on the lightly chewy finish. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2026 through 2033.Wine Spectator | 92 WSThe 2023 Massetino is an attractive and expressive wine. Medium in body, the 2023 offers up an attractive mix of dark plum, mocha, new leather, cedar and espresso. Time in the glass brings out pretty floral and spice top notes. The oak and extraction feel just a bit pushed for the wine’s mid-weight structure. The 2023 was done in a period of transition with technical teams and winemakers, and that is evident in this particular vintage.Vinous Media | 90 VM

The 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon John C. Sullenger Vineyard comes from a site just south of To Kalon. Loaded with black cherries and ripe fruit, this full-bodied wine is rich, voluptuous and silky on the outside, but underneath that flesh, there’s a firm structure and dusty tannins that linger easily on the elegant finish. This is a real beauty from the western side of Oakville.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPAnother Oakville beauty, the 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon John C. Sullenger Vineyard sports an inky purple hue and gorgeous aromatics of cassis, currants, iron, leafy tobacco, and violets. It’s medium to full-bodied, tight and focused on the palate, with building tannins, the fresher, structured style of the vintage, and outstanding length. It’s tight and reserved at the moment, so hide bottles for 3-4 years if you can. It’s another brilliant wine I’d love to have in the cellar, and it will see its 20th birthday in fine form. Drink 2028-2045.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JD

A tightly focused beam of bitter cherry, damson plum and raspberry coulis streams through this red, with mouthwatering cut in the form of ocean breeze minerality that runs throughout. Iris and rose hip notes fill in the background as the long, piercing finish shows a remarkably pure and unadorned feel. A high-definition Pinot. Drink now through 2035. 3,650 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSThe 2023 Pinot Noir Freestone Occidental Bodega is a well of strawberry, raspberry and blackberry, plus nuances of grapefruit, tea leaves, cola and bitters. The light-bodied palate offers crunchy, perfumed flavors framed by dusty tannins and vibrant acidity, and it has a long, latent finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RP

Ornellaia owns 13 hectares of white varieties, and this 100% Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from the prime Bellaria vineyard at around 100 metres above sea level on limestone soils. ‘An original expression of this grape variety’, is how Marco Balsimelli describes it. Well balanced and very fresh, it has good body and plenty of energy, with ripe notes of guava, apricot and mango. The oak vinification with batonnage lends a creamy tone and texture but it remains poised throughout, with a sapid, mineral finish.Decanter Magazine | 95 DECMade with Sauvignon Blanc, the 2023 Bolgheri Bianco Ornellaia shows a softer more cushiony profile than recent editions. The Sauvignon Blanc is sourced primarily from the Bellaria vineyard at 130 meters in elevation. Parcel selection played a key role in 2023, with Poggio alle Gazze dell’Ornellaia showing more exotic fruit, and the estate choose to emphasize a distinctly Mediterranean expression with riper yellow fruit tones for this wine. Fermentation is carried out with great precision with strict protection from oxygen, followed by time in barrique, with about 30% new French oak, tonneaux and amphorae. The wine ages for 10 months on the fine lees with daily bâtonnage at first, then gradually reduced. This vintage outperforms the 2022 in terms of length and polish, offering notes of white pepper, ginger, lemon peel, exotic flower and spice. This wine is scheduled for release in March 2026.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPThe 2023 Ornellaia Bianco, 100% Sauvignon Blanc, is soft, open-knit and ready to go. Scents of orchard fruit, sage, white flowers, mint and white pepper open with some coaxing. In 2023, the Bianco is quite soft and generous in feel. Exotic tropical notes run through the textured, creamy finish.Vinous Media | 92 VM

Like the 2023 les Minots, the la Forêt chez Piuze is nicely expressive and generous right out of the blocks this year and will drink beautifully from the moment of release. The beautiful bouquet wafts from the glass in a mix of lemon, pear, chalky minerality, fruit blossoms, beeswax and a topnote of citrus peel. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and succulent at the core, with lovely mineral drive and grip, bouncy acids and a long, seamlessly balanced and zesty finish. Fine juice. 2025-2055.John Gilman | 93 JGThe more giving, fruit-forward 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Les Forêts offers a lovely contrast to the pronouncedly mineral Séchet. “It comes from the bottom of the valley, where the soils are deeper,” observes Piuze, and it’s evident in the glass, as the wine wafts with a deep bouquet of beeswax, peach skin and pear mingling with savory tones. Flamboyant, elegantly muscular and enveloping, it’s fleshy yet laden with lively acidity, concluding with a saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RP

From a site within the climat of Les Vaillons, where the vines are planted east to west and the grape skins are never kissed by the sun, Patrick Piuze’s 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Les Roncières has turned out very well. Opening in the glass to reveal a bouquet of beeswax, peach and lemon zest, it is medium-bodied, textural yet racy, with lovely tension and a long, mineral finish. It retains a classically Chablisien profile even in this warm year.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPI have never seen another vigneron who bottled their Chablis “Les Roncières” on its own. As this premier cru can also be bottled as Vaillons, most producers choose this direction for labeling of this wine. As I have mentioned before, Pat’s parcel in the les Minots section of Vaillons has a completely different exposition than his vines in Roncières, so the two are bottled separately for a very good reason. The 2023 version is lovely, offering up a complex nose of lemon, pear, a complex base of chalky soil, paraffin, orange peel, a touch of anise and a topnote of lemon zest. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and impeccably balanced, with a very good core of fruit, fine transparency and grip, zesty acids and lovely nervosité on the long and precise finish. Fine juice. 2027-2055.John Gilman | 92+ JG

Derived from over 60-year-old vines growing in very shallow soil, with limestone bedrock close to the surface, Patrick Piuze’s 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Séchet is one of the highlights of the broad 28-bottle tasting across many different climats and appellations. Opening in the glass to reveal a bouquet of oyster shell, green apple and lemon zest mingling with beeswax and iodine, it’s medium-bodied, bright and precise, with mouthwatering acidity and ample structuring extract, concluding with a searingly chalky finish. If one wants to pick a bottle that’s unmistakably (even when tasted blind) Chablisien, look no further than this beautifully defined and incisive interpretation of Séchet.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94+ RPThe 2023 Chablis “les Séchets” from Domaine Piuze is also a fine example of the vintage. The wine’s aromatic constellation delivers scents of apple, pear, lemon blossoms, a lovely base of limestone soils, beeswax and a nice touch of Chablisienne straw in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and nicely structured out of the blocks this year, with a fine core offruit, excellent mineral undertow and grip, bright acids and a long, complex and very well balanced finish. This will want a few years in the cellar before drinking with abandon. 2028-2055.John Gilman | 92+ JG

The 2023 Montmains is one of my favorite premier crus in the Piuze cellars this year. The wine’s bouquet is pure, precise and complex, offering up notes of lemon, pear, a touch of tangerine, beeswax, spring flowers, lemon peel and a beautiful foundation of chalky minerality. On the palate the wine is crisp, full-bodied and deep at the core, with great soil signature and grip, a fine spine of acidity, lovely balance and a long, focused and complex finish. Most impressive. 2028-2055+.John Gilman | 93 JGPatrick Piuze’s 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Montmains has turned out well, opening from the glass with notes of acacia, pear, peach and youthful reduction. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated and tensile, built around a chalky core, it’s laden with bright acidity and concludes with a long, saline finish. It’s produced from a parcel just next to Raveneau’s.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92+ RP

The 2023 vintage of “Vaillons” Les Minots from Patrick Piuze is excellent. The wine’s aromatic constellation offers up a superb blend of fresh lemon, pear, tart orange, chalky soil tones, anise, spring flowers and a topnote of beeswax. On the palate the wine is deep, zesty, complex and full-bodied, with a succulent core of fruit, superb mineral undertow, bouncy acids and lovely balance on the long and vibrant finish. This will drink beautifully upon release and has the balance to age gracefully for several decades. 2025-2055.John Gilman | 92+ JGDerived from one of the warmest places in the valley, Patrick Piuze’s 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons Les Minots is flamboyant and demonstrative, soaring from the glass with a bouquet of marzipan, peach and dried white flowers mingling with passion fruit. Enveloping and underpinned by racy acids, it’s full-bodied, rich and gourmand and, unsurprisingly, in the context of the warmer site, is among the first that is harvested. While it offers immediate appeal, it has proven to be an age-worthy bottling.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

A fresh, linear, eye-opening young wine that’s delicious and appetizing, and will develop more complexity and nuance with time in the bottle. Stunning aromas of black cherries, vibrant raspberries and cedary spices lead to mouthwatering red cherry, cranberry, star anise and mineral flavors that expand on the palate. Drinkable now and best from 2030.James Suckling | 98 JSI tasted the 2023 Pinot Noir Le Caprice as a sample just before it was bottled. It has slowly unfolding aromas of cranberry, red cherry, tea leaves and mint, becoming more floral as it airs in the glass. The palate is layered and concentrated with woodsy, earthy flavors evocative of a forest. It’s structured by silky tannins and vibrant acidity and boasts a flourish of spicy accents on the long finish. A total of 979 cases were made, and the wine will be released in April of 2025.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-95 RP