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The 2019 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru is showing nicely, opening in the glass with scents of pear, orange oil, clear honey, blanched almonds and fresh bread. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated and textural, it’s rich and fleshy, with bright acids girdling its enveloping core of fruit.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92-94 RP(Domaine Follin-Arbelet Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru White) A mildly oaky nose features aromas of green apple, citrus blossom and white-fleshed fruit. The sleek, delicious and more concentrated bigger-bodied flavors brim with minerality and particularly so on the muscular, powerful and sneaky long finish. This will need a few years to better integrate the wood treatment but given the density of material, that should be no problem. In sum, this is quite promising. (Drink starting 2027)Burghound | 93 BH

The 2019 Chassagne-Montrachet Maltroye 1er Cru has a fragrant, chalk dust scented bouquet that opens nicely with aeration. The palate is well balanced with a lightly spiced opening, touches of orange rind and marmalade lending a welcome tanginess. It might not be a long-term Chassagne, though it is thoroughly enjoyable. 14.10% alcohol.Vinous Media | 90 VM

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

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

Introducing the 2019 Chablis are aromas of beeswax, dried white flowers and oyster shell dominating youthfully discreet notions of citrus oil and fresh bread in an already complex bouquet. A medium to full-bodied, satiny and enveloping wine, this is fleshier and more textural than its Petit Chablis counterpart—though it’s just as chiseled—concluding with a long, saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPThe 2019 Chablis Village has an intriguing nutty and slightly smoky bouquet. The palate is lively on the entry, with a superb line of acidity, and quite saline in the mouth, leading to a brisk, energetic finish. Excellent.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM(Domaine Vincent Dauvissat Chablis Villages White) Here too there is very fine typicity with its ripe but cool nose of white peach, pear, iodine and pretty floral nuances that also include a whiff of citrus confit. There is equally fine volume to the rich yet well-detailed flavors that flash a lovely mineral streak on the refreshingly dry finale. Good stuff in a robust and powerful style that should repay mid-term aging. (Drink starting 2025)Burghound | 90 BH

An interesting nose of decidedly ripe citrus tart, poached pear and discreet spice nuances. There is again fine volume to the nicely detailed medium-bodied flavors that possesses good underlying tension, all wrapped in a lingering and lemony finish that isn’t quite as complex.Burghound | 90 BH

The 2019 Meursault Genevrières 1er Cru has a very expressive bouquet of grilled almond and walnut aromas that burst forth from the glass. The palate is vibrant on the entry, offering orange zest and apricot; yellow plum and light ginger notes surface with time. I like the finish, which brims over with tension and feels long and tender. Superb. Vinous Media | 92-94 VMAn impressive Meursault with ripe-orange and pear aromas, plus a hint of exotic-fruit character. Generous and concentrated with animating acidity that keeps this light on its feet. Bold finish with a ton of minerality that makes a serious statement. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 94 JSot domaine, now racked to tank. Attractive classic Genevrières nose with its little herbal touches. Not too powerful, the fruit builds very well to the back of the palate, ripe yellow fruit, but distinguished and fresh enough at the finish. Very persistent.Jasper Morris | 92-94 JMAromas of pear, orange oil, baking spices and nutmeg introduce Drouhin’s 2019 Meursault 1er Cru Genevrières, a medium to full-bodied, bright and lively wine with promising depth and energy. Still a little introverted when I visited, this hadn’t yet been bottled.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93 RPThis is also aromatically cool and pure with its array of naturally exotic acacia blossom, lavender, white orchard fruit and jasmine tea nuances. The texture of the sleek and vibrant mineral-driven flavors is also sophisticated and refined though the finish is not quite as persistent as that of the Pucelles. Even so, this also offers fine development potential. A Genevrières of finesse and delicacy.Burghound | 92 BH

A stunning wine, showing both power and elegance, this has a creamy, supple texture paired with vibrant, mouthwatering acidity that turns up the intensity. Presents plump, fleshy apricot, peach cobbler and dried mango flavors complemented by notes of savory Himalayan salt and butterscotch. The long, harmonious finish features lingering accents of candied ginger peel. Drink now through 2030. 2,100 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSThe 2019 Chardonnay (Napa Valley) is superb. Powerful and resonant in the glass, with notable depth as well as structure, the 2019 is mesmerizing. Lemon peel, white pepper, chalk and mint lend brightness throughout. There is more than enough backbone to allow the 2019 to age gracefully for years to come. What a wine!Vinous Media | 95 VM

Such a classic Corton Charlemagne! Stunningly concentrated and powerful, but also so graceful. Very racy at the long finish, which has so much mineral freshness. Takes your breath away! Drink or hold.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2019 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru is also quite promising, exhibiting aromas of pear, buttered citrus fruit, honeycomb, toasted almonds and white flowers. Full-bodied, satiny and rich, with a fleshy core of fruit and good underlying freshness, I hope it can repeat this fine performance from bottle.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93+ RP(Maison Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru White) More elegant and cooler aromas are comprised by green apple, floral, citrus rind, wood and spice hints. The delicious and more vibrant broad-shouldered flavors are more tightly wound and certainly more mineral-driven on the youthfully austere and sneaky long finish. (Drink starting 2027)Burghound | 91-93 BH

Restrained aromas of spice, mineral reduction and poached pear are also trimmed in just enough wood to merit pointing out. The delicious, round and caressing flavors also possess a fleshy mouthfeel while delivering fine length on the citrus rind inflected finish. This isn’t quite as energetic and there is a touch of warmth though the balance does not seem to be materially affected.Burghound | 91 BHThe 2019 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Garenne reveals aromas of orchard fruit, smoke, bread dough and white flowers, followed by a medium to full-bodied, ample and lively palate that’s open-knit and elegantly textural.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RP

The domaine purchased 0.19ha in 2011 without knowing the vine age, though probably around 40 years old. Paler colour and quite light on the nose, lightly biscuity, then the palate delivers a greater weight of white fruit with a little cream. One third new wood, only a little warmth at the back. Tasted: February 2021.Jasper Morris | 91 JM

A holding of 0.22ha planted in 2004, next to Sauzet, Carillon and Latour-Giraud. This is a very early site, usually where the harvest starts chez Pernot-Belicard. Pale primrose, light toast, one third new wood, giving a crisp edge to the rich white fruit. Plenty of weight here, a little on the powerful side, but long and satisfying. There is a useful little touch of acidity too. Tasted: February 2021.Jasper Morris | 92 JM

A holding of 0.53ha planted in 1955, vinified and aged with one third new wood. Pale primrose with quite a stylish bouquet, more fruit than floral, definitely encouraging a second sniff. There is an attractive lime blossom note, without the higher alcohol feel of the vintage (though still around 13.8%), sitting back with quality reserve. Long and quite impressive. Tasted: February 2021.Jasper Morris | 93 JM

The 2019 Chardonnay Ma Belle-Fille is from an estate vineyard in Knights Valley, which is in Sonoma, just north of Napa Valley. Beautiful white flowers, honeysuckle, green almond, and chalky minerality all emerge from this beauty, and it's another full-bodied, rich, concentrated Chardonnay from this team that checks in with the crème de la crème of the vintage. Despite its richness level and decadence, it stays lively and fresh. This is straight-up brilliant ChardonnayJeb Dunnuck | 97 JDMa Belle Fille is the highest of the Peter Michael vineyards, located at 1,200-1,800 feet. Planted to a field selection of Hudson, Old Wente, Montrachet and Calera clones, it is also the earliest ripening vineyard. A tank sample due to be bottled in just a few days, the 2019 Chardonnay Ma Belle Fille slips seductively out of the glass with tantalizing notes of warm apple slices, ripe nectarines and spice cake, giving way to a beautiful perfume of honeysuckle, beeswax and tangerine peel, plus a waft of cashews. Full-bodied, the palate delivers mouth-coating stone fruit and spiced apple flavors with a lively backbone and decadent oiliness to the texture, finishing on a long-lasting honey-nut note. 2,017 cases were made.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97-98 RPLithe and well-knit, with lacy richness to the apple pastry and pear tart flavors that are backed by lively acidity. Brioche accents midpalate lead to a juicy finish that lingers with fresh minerality. Drink now through 2025. 2,006 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

The 2019 Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard is laced with the essence of crushed rocks, white pepper, orchard fruit, white flowers, chalk and mint. It is a bit less forthcoming than the Alpine Chardonnay. Saline notes build into the palate staining finish. This classically austere young Chardonnay just needs time in bottle. Tasted next to the Alpine, the Horseshoe has more mid-palate weight and feeling of phenolic intensity. The differences between the two are remarkable considering the sites are just 400 yards apart. The Horseshoe is planted on Monterey shale, while the soils at Alpine are Purisima, a formation that is about 8 million years younger. Such is the complexity of the Santa Cruz Mountains.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGRipe Meyer lemons, crushed stone, white flower, and exotic spice notes all emerge from the 2019 Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard. Rich and medium-bodied, it has a beautiful mid-palate, integrated acidity, and a great finish. It shows the slightly more rounded, supple style of the vintage, yet I love its density and length. Give it a year or two and enjoy over the following decade.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JD(Chardonnay “Horseshoe Vineyard”- Rhys Vineyards (Santa Cruz Mountains)) The 2019 Horseshoe Vineyard chardonnay from Rhys is one of the low octane whites from the winery in this vintage, as it comes in at a cool 12.3 percent. However, the wine is very expressive on the nose, wafting from the glass in a refined blend of apple, pear, fruit blossoms, a beautiful base of soil tones, a touch of hazelnut and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is vibrant, full-bodied and tightly-knit, with lovely intensity of flavor and transparency, a fine girdle of acidity and a long, nascently complex and promising finish. This will need a few years to open up, but should prove to be a long-lived and lovely middleweight once it is ready to drink. (Drink between 2024-2035)John Gilman | 93 JG

Mid lemon, a slightly subdued nose, competent if slightly lacking personality, middle weight and I like the quite generous finish. White fruit, good acid balance and relatively persistent. Tasted: October 2021.Jasper Morris | 91 JM

The 2020 Chardonnay Powder House is ethereal and gracious in feel. Effusive aromatics give the Powder House its lifted personality. White pepper, chalk, mint and lemon oil add quite a bit of brightness. The balance here is driven by energy and vibrancy more than by volume.Antonio Galloni | 90-92 AG

A cool, late-harvest site relative to Aubert’s other sources, the 2020 Chardonnay Larry Hyde & Sons also sees a bit less new French oak (50%). Readers will note that the oak made virtually no impression on me, as the wine bursts with aromas of ripe, honeyed melon, balanced by bright lime notes. Full-bodied, creamy and lush on the palate, this is just a pleasure to drink, finishing long and zesty.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThis stunning version opens with a rich impression, with candied ginger, marmalade and honeyed overtones to the core of fresh fruit flavors, including notes of pear, apple, melon and citrus. Hints of orange blossoms and minerality mingle with fresh acidity, while a nutmeg-dominant wave of spices gain momentum on the long finish. Drink now through 2033. 1,538 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSA big and juicy white with cooked apple, pear, honey, and mineral. Flint. Full and layered with a flavorful and delicious finish. Drink now.James Suckling | 96 JS

An exuberantly floral-suffused nose is more elegant still with its aromas of poached pear, spiced apple and citrus confit. There is excellent punch to the beautifully delineated medium-bodied flavors that display outstanding length on the sneaky long finish that is both stylish and very classy. Meursault villages wines rarely get much better than this and it too is strongly recommended.Burghound | 91-93 BHThe 2020 Meursault Le Tesson wafts from the glass with aromas of white currants, ginger, lime, spring flowers and nutmeg, followed by a medium to full-bodied, satiny and tensile palate that’s taut and racy, concluding with a bright, precise finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92+ RP

Notes of green apple, citrus confit and a hint of resin lead to rich, delicious and generously proportioned flavors that are shaped by lemon-tinged acidity on the lingering and saliva-inducing if slightly warm finale.Burghound | 90-92 BH

The 2020 Chardonnay Adrianna Vineyard White Stones from Gualtallary, Uco Valley, was barrel-aged for 16 months. Greenish-yellow in the glass. The intense, layered nose presents bold aromas of green apple, pear, hints of linden blossom and ginger with touches of lemon and herbs. In the mouth, it’s concentrated, rooted in a lively, heightened freshness while maintaining the variety’s expansive flow, which also delivers salinity and long-lasting flavor. A thrilling white that defines this nook of the Uco Valley.Vinous Media | 97 VMLemon zest, pineapple, white pepper, cloves, jasmine, crushed stones and chalk on the nose. Medium-bodied, focused and phenolic. Very fine, mineral and tight with persistent energy and vivid acidity. Creamy, with salted-almond notes at the end. Drink from 2023.James Suckling | 97 JSI had the opportunity to taste two vintages (2020 and 2021) of the top whites side by side and could see the differences of the two years quite clearly, as the wines express the natural conditions of the year quite faithfully. The 2020 White Stones Chardonnay is riper than the other three wines; it’s a very good wine, but it shows the warmer year with a rounder mouthfeel, faintly creamy, still a little closed in the nose, which slowly reveals yellow fruit and some spice. The palate is quite gentle, with 13% alcohol and very good balance. 7,500 bottles produced.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPCatena Zapata was founded in 1902, with a focus on high altitude plantings in Mendoza. Its famed Adrianna vineyard sits above 1,450m, ensuring a quality crop with good acid retention as a result of the cool night-time temperatures. The wine is 100% Chardonnay from a small selection of vines on stony, free-draining soils with a topsoil of oval-shaped white stones. Fermented in French oak, the wine also goes through partial malolactic fermentation before ageing 12-16 months in seasoned French oak barrels with batonnage throughout. Amanda Barnes: Great purity and wet stone character. Vibrant acidity and great tension on the finish. Ben Gubbins MW: Fresh, light and vibrant with red apple skin, lemon, good intensity and tension. Dirceu Vianna Junior MW: Graceful and attractive with lovely aromas of citrus fruits, yellow plum, star fruit, fresh dough and hints of sweet spices. Refined, silky texture and beautiful underlining freshness. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2032Decanter | 95 DECRestrained and elegant, with floral citrus and melon flavors and powerful minerality adding texture and expanding its presence. Ends with spicy details and hints of cream. Drink now through 2026. 540 cases made, 200 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

The 2020 Puligny-Montrachet les Folatières 1er Cru has an expressive bouquet with green apple, wet limestone and light kiwi fruit scents. This is nicely focused and has more energy than the Pucelles. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, quite poised and harmonious towards the finish that needs more mineralité. Maybe I was seeking a little more verve and tension.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM

A blend from Le Charlemagne and Mourottes, picked and pressed together. There is a lovely pale green thread running through the lemon colour. The nose is agreeably chiselled, with a real wealth of fruit backed by the stony minerals. It is showing a bit of oak at the moment. Pierre-François is hoping in future to be able to age this for longer. A very good example.Jasper Morris | 95 JM