Red Wines

wines

Full, deep red. Sexy scents of black raspberry, licorice, violet and minerals, plus torrefaction notes of espresso and mocha. More tightly wound on the palate than the young 2012; less horizontal and broad at this stage but wonderfully thick, fine-grained, savory and precise, with its multidimensional flavors of dark fruits, spices, minerals and flowers given an added element of complexity by savory soil tones. Manages to be both velvety and light on its feet, and ultimately suppler than the ’12. This exceptional young grand cru finishes with utterly mellow, perfect integrated tannins, explosive rising length and penetrating salty minerality. In short, a great expression of soil and a classic example of its vintage. (13.7% alcohol; 3.34 pH; 20 h/h)Vinous Media | 96 VMThere is just enough wood to be visible but it should be absorbed in short order. Interestingly, the aromatic profile is relatively similar to that of the Griotte, though this has significantly more depth and concentration to the full-bodied, powerful and explosive flavors that benefit greatly from the exceptional depth of material before culminating in a massively long and impeccably well-balanced finish. Sometimes the Roty Charmes displays its wood for years but the 2010 version appears as though it will eat it sooner than usual. In short, this is a stunner of a wine that clearly outclasses its two grands crus stable mates so if you can find it buy it.Burghound | 95 BH

The 2020 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru has a crisp bouquet with crushed rock mixed with touches of dried flowers and a light sea spray note - classic Chablis really. The palate is fresh and vibrant on the entry. Touches of dried honey and chamomile, but underneath it all is a fine mineral spine and a decent, quite Les Preuses-like finish. Fine. Tasted blind at the BIVB tasting in Chablis.Vinous Media | 91 VMThough ripe, offering aromas and flavors of lemon cake, melon and white flowers, there’s also a stony, mineral element underneath this balanced white, which ends with a light chalky sensation. Drink now through 2028. 712 cases made.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

Fèvre’s largest grand cru, with 4ha located higher up in Les Clos, meaning this is cooler climate and with much more chalk than Kimmeridgian. 50% of the vines were planted by William Fèvre’s father in the 1940s. Perfect balance between precision, concentration, acidity and ripe fruits, with oak that’s not at all apparent. A fresh, glorious wine.Decanter | 97 DECChoosing a favorite among the last three grand crus in the Domaine Fèvre lineup is simply impossible in 2020. The les Clos is yet another stunning young wine, offering up a refined and complex bouquet of pear, tart orange, fresh lime, flinty, chalky minerality, citrus peel, dried flowers and a nice touch of smokiness. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and seamlessly balanced, with a beautiful harness of acidity, a great core of fruit and a very long, very minerally and oh, so complex young finish. A great wine by any measure! (Drink between 2032 - 2080)John Gilman | 97 JGThe 2020 Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos is another brilliant effort from Fèvre’s immensely able winemaker, Didier Seguier, and his team. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of confit citrus, fresh bread, oyster shell, orange zest and crisp orchard fruit, it’s full-bodied, satiny and muscular, with a concentrated, tensile profile and a long, intensely saline finish. It’s the broadest and most powerful wine in the range, while remaining quintessentially Chablisien.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPA cool, restrained and airy nose grudgingly divulges its combination of lemon rind, green apple, quinine and acacia blossom scents that are also trimmed in discreet wood. There is again excellent volume and concentration to the powerful and muscular flavors that also coat the palate with dry extract on the impressively complex and hugely long finish. This is classic Les Clos in that it manages to be at once big and overtly powerful while remaining refined and classy. This is, in a word, stunning.Burghound | 96 BHThis lemon- and green apple–infused white stays lean, racy and long, combining power and intensity. On the austere side today, with a mineral underpinning and chalky finish. Best from 2025 through 2038.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThe 2020 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru comes from 10 parcels scattered mainly over the top of the hill. It has a well-defined, crisp and (for the vintage) quite austere nose due to the location higher up the slope. The fresh palate is nicely detailed with lime and lemon thyme and good salinity. Quite strict on the mineral-driven finish. Good potential, but it will need time.Vinous Media | 91-93 VM

This white is both austere and intense, exuding floral, lemon, mineral and pastry aromas and flavors matched to a lean, bracing frame. The flavors persist, picking up lanolin, rosemary and a chalky feel on the long finish. Best from 2025 through 2032. 46 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WSA touch of wood toast makes itself known on the otherwise similar if even more floral-suffused nose. The rich, powerful and imposingly concentrated larger-scaled flavors brim with both sappy dry extract and minerality on the massively persistent, balanced and agreeably dry finale. I generally don’t find a great deal of qualitative difference between the Hospices and the regular cuvée but in 2021 the Hospices has just bit more overall depth, at least at this early juncture.Burghound | 93 BHThe 2021 Chablis Les Clos Clos des Hospices feels more closed than the regular cuvée, but there’s just a bit of flintiness developing with aeration in the glass. The palate is well-balanced with fine acidity, very harmonious and poised, though I am seeking a little more grip on the finish. Maybe this year, I might err more towards the regular cuvée.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMA tiny bit more colour than Les Clos with a little bit more fruit weight but less elegance than the classical bottling. Some perfume here, richer and seemingly riper with some suggestion of peaches, followed by salinity. Drink from 2026-2032. Tasted: June 2022.Jasper Morris | 91-94 JM

No written review provided | 97 DECFour plots all in Pernand. Pale in colour with ripe apple notes. The bouquet suggests a leaner style of wine than the palate delivers, which may be a question of being just after bottling. There is some complexity on the palate, a little lime, a phenolic touch. I don’t notice the 40% new wood, so there is clearly good fruit concentration.Jasper Morris | 92-95 JM

The 2022 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru has a beautifully defined bouquet with yellow plum, wet stone, hints of baked bread and pressed white flowers. Very good intensity. The palate is well-balanced with fine delineation, very good salinity and tension with superb precision towards the finish. This Les Clos doesn’t want the Valmur to get all the acclaim.Vinous Media | 94-96 VMModerate wood is present on the overtly floral-suffused nose of mostly white fleshed fruit, especially pear and apple, along with notes of citrus confit, acacia and oyster shell whiffs. There is excellent richness and concentration to the markedly powerful larger-scaled flavors that coat the palate on the overtly stony, dry and compact finale. At least moderate patience will be required as this is pretty tightly wound.Burghound | 92-95 BH

Matured in a mix of 500-liter oak and 228-liter steel barrels, the 2022 Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos is deep and layered, exhibiting aromas of pear, white flowers, blanched almonds and honeycomb. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and enveloping, with attractive purity of fruit and bright balancing acids, it underlines this estate’s continued progress.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RP

Quite subtle and restrained on both nose and palate. Plenty of warmth of fruit, but as yet quite restrained. Lovely, salty, zesty notes promise a lot in the future. Ripe peach fruit characters develop with a few minutes in the glass. This will be a great example of Les Clos once in bottle. Tank sample.Decanter | 95 DECQuietly powerful, with subtle fruit flavors, a full body (for Chablis) and layers of fruit, minerals and toast that build on the palate and linger in the finish. Grown on a south-facing slope in clay-based but stony soil. 30% was barrel-fermented, and it shows an opulent, rich expression underlain by a minerally, saline character. Drinkable now, but will develop much more complexity with time. From organically grown grapes. Best from 2029.James Suckling | 94 JSA rich style, exhibiting peach and canteloupe flavors, with a hint of vanilla. Balanced and refreshing, this firms up, with a tactile sensation on the extended finish. Needs time to fully integrate. Best from 2026 through 2032. 1,812 cases made, 110 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WSBright full lemon colour with greener notes behind. Floral though with more latent power than that suggests. There is no doubting the intensity of white fruit across the palate, lemons and apples joining the white fruit at the finish, then a more headily perfumed note at the very end, muscat and passion fruit, which suggests that it was time to pick these grapes. Drink from 2028-2035. Tasted: October 2023.Jasper Morris | 92-95 JMGenerous wood and vanilla nuances wood frame cool and exuberantly fresh aromas of citrus, apple and ocean brine. There is borderline painful intensity to the imposing and tautly muscular larger-scaled flavors that retain a lovely sense of refinement on the powerful, balanced, bone-dry and built-to-age finale. As is usually the case with this wine, it’s going to require at least a few years of patience to develop better depth and better integrate what at this point is a borderline annoying level of wood.Burghound | 91-94 BHThe 2022 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru is two-thirds aged in stainless steel and the remainder in wooden barrel for nine months, plus five months, whereby the entire blend is raised in vat. The nose has good intensity: green apple and light kiwi fruit, leesy at the moment but well defined. The palate is taut on the entry with fine depth, well-judged acidity, and smooth in texture with hints of Conference pear mixed with quite spicy peppery notes towards the finish. Good potential.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM

A wine of intense concentration, tension and focus, even in the warm conditions of 2022. Aroma notes of ripe apple, peach and quince, then the volume and density you’d expect from 2022, but it’s well balanced by the fresh acidity that draws it to a lingering finish. Grapes from Niellon’s plot of old vines are fermented on native yeasts in 40% new cask. This wine is among the best from this vintage and will make old bones if you are so inclined.Decanter | 98 DECThe vines were planted in 1962 and 1968. Pale to mid lemon in colour. A light reduction on the nose. The limestone is close to the surface on the nose, a little biscuit note, this is discreet but evidently with a fine tensile strength. Just leave this the time to blossom and it will become a really fine example. Drink from 2030-2038. Tasted: October 2023.Jasper Morris | 95 JM

Generous but not dominant wood fights a bit with the otherwise airy aromas of Granny Smith apples, just sliced citrus and a lovely array of Chablis elements that include iodine, oyster shell, and tidal pool wisps. The racy, intense and markedly stony broad-shouldered flavors possess evident power on the firm, compact and balanced finale that is dry but not especially austere. While perfectly normal in the context of what is typical for Les Clos, this is definitely going to need at least some forbearance, both to better integrate the wood treatment as well as develop better depth. Excellent.Burghound | 93-96 BH20% new wood and 80% inox for vinification, then all to barrel, but will not be bottled until February 2024. The bouquet shows all the majesty of Clos plus some wood as well. Early days. This absolutely fills the palate but the wood has the upper hand for the moment. It cannot entirely keep the fruit out of the picture though. This will get there but you need to wait. Drink from 2032-2040+. Tasted: June 2023.Jasper Morris | 93-95 JM

The 2022 Corton-Charlemagne from Rapet is magnificent – serious, but not forbidding. The aromas range from lemon peel to passionfruit and green apple, adorned with hints of hawthorn and spice and underpinned by a firm, saline minerality. The wine is slow to open on the palate, with abundant extract, lively acidity, and an interminably long finish. The grapes are from two parcels of old vines (among some replanting), totalling three hectares. The vines span En Charlemagne (Pernand) and Le Charlemagne (Aloxe), where the Ladoix limestone breaks through the surface of the thin Pernand marls.Decanter | 95 DECAnother strong performance from Rapet, the 2022 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru unwinds in the glass with aromas of pear and crisp orchard fruit mingled with toasted nuts, white flowers and waxy citrus rind. Medium to full-bodied, layered and textural, with a glossy, concentrated profile, excellent underlying cut and a long, mineral finish, it’s a very good wine that still flies somewhat under the radar.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94+ RPThe 2022 Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru has a very terse nose. It opens with struck flint—quite a bit of reduction here—and a very light fish scale scent in the background that imparts complexity. The palate is well balanced, with a slightly creamy-textured opening, flavors of chamomile and lemon curd and a fine bead of acidity. Impressive substance comes through on the finish. Give this two to three years in bottle. Tasted at merchants’ 2022 Burgundy tastings in London.Vinous Media | 93 VM90% is from the Pernand. Side, a third old vines, a third 20 year old, a third 35 year old. And guess what, the youngest are in the worst condition. Some tressed, some worked by winch. Pale colour, a beautifully mineral nose, properly shows its terroir. The wine picks up speed further back on the palate, opening out very nicely. Very attractive. Drink from 2029-2037. Tasted: October 2023.Jasper Morris | 93-96 JMThis is aromatically pretty similar to the Sous Frétille but with more citrus and slightly more evident wood influence. On the palate there is more size and weight to the rich and generously proportioned larger-bodied flavors that display solid power on the youthfully austere, balanced and very dry finale. Like several of the wines the range, this needs better depth but that’s often the case with CC in its youth.Burghound | 92 BH

Tatami straw, aniseed, Asian pear, pear granita and the barest hints of stone fruit. Yet the mid-weighed palate is taut, salty and immensely refined, packing a power punch to the long finish. A tour de force for the vintage, without the stony reticence of Les Preuses. Salty phenolics, chewy and nourishing, bode well for the future. Best after 2029.James Suckling | 97 JSVincent Dauvissat explained that his Les Preuses is ’the opposite’ of Les Clos. Pale in colour, the emphasis here is on finesse, elegance and precision. Although not showing a lot at the moment, the undercurrent of acidity and salinity, combined with concentration on the palate, suggest this will develop beautifully over many years.Decanter | 95 DECDeeper-pitched than the ethereal Preuses, the 2022 Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos exhibits aromas of ripe citrus fruits, peach, white flowers, beeswax, nutmeg and clam broth. Full-bodied, satiny and enveloping, it’s textural and layered, with a deep and muscular core, concluding with a long, expansive finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94-96 RPThe 2022 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru may not quite have the flair of the Les Preuses on the nose—not quite as complex—yet it still offers enticing yellow plum, almond and orange rind aromas. This is surprisingly linear - a bouquet with a sense of direction. The palate is well-balanced with impressive nervosité from the start: focused and equipped with tangible salinity, a little dried honey and pepperiness surfacing on the detailed finish. This will be a fabulous Chablis, but my money’s on the Les Preuses to be best in show.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMThis ripe effort displays an abundance of classic Chablis aromas of mineral reduction, citrus peel, oyster shell and acacia blossom as well as just the vaguest hint of the exotic. There is terrific punch and a taut muscularity to the more mineral-driven middleweight plus flavors that exhibit focused power on the impressively long and well-balanced finale. This is the densest wine in the range in 2022 and a wine that should age accordingly. In a word, brilliant.Burghound | 93-96 BHMid lemon yellow. This shows its true Clos style without being quite as expressive as the Preuses at the moment. Seated on the bench of white fruit. An excellent weight of fruit, which builds to the back, with just a little grilled bacon awaiting integration with the rest of the wine. Drink from 2032-2045. Tasted: May 2023.Jasper Morris | 93-96 JM

Notes of anise and mint, with demure hints of fruit, yet this is a wine of texture, detail and drive, demanding time. Very powerful and expansive, with a stony, phenolic drag across a prodigiously long finish. Wonderful performance. Best after 2028.James Suckling | 98 JSDauvissat has two sizeable plots in Les Clos, one mid-level, the other a little higher. This has plenty of sweet fruit and quite a hit of oak at the moment. With more time in the glass, zesty orange and kumquat notes emerge together with thrilling acidity. Once in bottle and given a few years’ ageing, this will be a thrilling example of Les Clos.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2022 Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses unwinds in the glass with aromas of oyster shell, orange blossom, warm stones and subtle hints of citrus oil—this cuvée is almost always more about rocks than fruit. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and electric, it’s racy and tensile, with a long, resonant finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95-97 RPThe 2022 Chablis Les Preuses Grand Cru will be very seductive on the nose, discrete at first, unfurling with yellow plum, flint, touches of oyster shell and spice box. The palate is beautifully balanced with fine tannins, perfectly judged acidity, and hints of praline and orchard fruit. Completely harmonious with an irresistible finish, so much so that I cannot resist swallowing when I’m "on duty." Chablis firing on all cylinders - this is a long-term prospect.Vinous Media | 95-97 VMThe name of the vineyard is a version Pierreuses, referencing the huge blocks of stone underneath a reasonable marly topsoil. The 2022 displays a really complex nose, a bit of sun on the stones, the cailloux chauds of the amphitheatre in which Vincent Dauvissat’s holding sits. Then follows a massive development of fruit on the palate too. There is really a huge volume of fruit at the back, with a little iodine touch throughout. Makes one salivate! Drink from 2032-2045. Tasted: May 2023.Jasper Morris | 94-97 JMMore elegant and cooler aromas include those of essence of apple, citrus zest, iodine and shellfish nuances. The rich, generously proportioned and gorgeously textured flavors are at once powerful yet refined; indeed there is a Zen-like character to the sneaky long, impeccably well-balanced and wonderfully harmonious finale. Marvelous and a wine that should age effortlessly over the next 12 to 15 years.Burghound | 93-96 BH

Powerful, dense, and supple, the Corton Charlemagne from Boillot is an impressive wine with aromas of ripe apple, quince and apricot, floral notes, and butter. The grapes are sourced from parcels in Aloxe and Pernand; Boillot purchases the fruit as grapes, and his team does the harvest and the pressing. The result is classic Corton-Charlemagne in style that will open properly in three to five years and should age for 20 beyond that.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2022 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru is a blend of fruit from Aloxe-Corton (75%) and Pernand-Vergelesses (25%), a combination that works well in giving the wine balance. There’s quite a bit of phenolic intensity and youthful austerity here. Herbs, crushed rocks, graphite, mint and citrus confit build nicely. I very much admire the vibrancy here, even if the 2022 remains a bit unyielding today. - Antonio GalloniVinous Media | 93-95 VM

Very appealing, with a fine balance of richness and ripeness of fruit, combined with white pepper, saline minerals and plenty of freshening acidity. A very classy example.Decanter | 95 DEC

An unusually bright, light-gold color with hints of green in it distinguish this rare wine from the first glance before rich, layered and complex aromas lead to even richer poached pears, hazelnuts and cream on the palate. Full-bodied but light on its feet, the wine shows deft balance, great depth and incredible length on the finish. Best from 2028.James Suckling | 100 JSDrouhin’s Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche is always a classic expression of Montrachet, and often among the best ’bargains’ from this site. The 2022 has exotic aromas of ripe peach, nectarine, green apple and hints of acacia flowers, star anise, and beeswax. The texture has the weight of the vineyard and a creamy opulence, yet there is enough freshness to carry the wine to a charmingly persistent finish. The grapes from the Laguiche holdings are from five parcels totalling just over two hectares, picked in three passes by the Drouhin team. (Drink between 2030 - 2070)Decanter | 96 DECStill on its fine lees. A fine fresh very pale primrose colour. Super discreet nose, just offering some light floral notes at first, but you know there is so much more to come. It is not over exuberant but the fruit comes across the palate in little wavelets, perfectly balanced acidity, the oak subsumed into the intensity of the fruit. The 2022 Marquis de Laguiche Montrachet bows out with a wonderfully long and fine finish. Drink from 2034-2045. Tasted: November 2023.Jasper Morris | 96-98 JMThe 2022 Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche Grand Cru was harvested in three picks this year. Exhibiting aromas of pear, peach, honeycomb, toasted nuts, baking spices and buttered toast, it’s full-bodied, ample and unctuous, with a richly layered core of fruit, lively acids and a long, resonant finish. Tasted from a barrel sample before an aerating racking, it displayed fine tension.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94-96 RPSmoky notes of mineral reduction add breadth to the cool and airy nose of mildly exotic white peach, citrus confit and a plenitude of floral wisps that are trimmed in discreet oak influence. The refined medium weight flavors possess good if not genuinely special density but with a positively gorgeous texture that carries over to the stony bitter lemon zest finale that possesses stunningly good length and terrific complexity. This is very classy and a wine that I suspect will add weight with bottle aging.Burghound | 93-96 BH