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The 2018 Chablis Côte de Jouan 1er Cru has a gorgeous bouquet of lemon curd, orange pith and honeysuckle scents that seem to grab the olfactory senses. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, taut and crisp, leading to a complex finish of sour lemon, kumquat and saline notes that linger on the aftertaste. Superb.Vinous Media | 93 VM

A decadent complexity of yellow peach, smoky nuts and fragrant almonds with beautifully crafted oak, superb acidity and a long, powerful finish. Truly delicious.Decanter | 95 DEC

Vibrant straw-green. Liquid minerals, jasmine, green apple and thyme on the enticing nose. Then rich and multilayered but also bright and fresh on the zingy mouthfeel. This outstanding, nuanced Müller-Thurgau finishes long, clean and mineral. Not likely to be the longest-lived Sass Rigais made by this estate, but will provide wonderful drinking over the next five years or so.Vinous Media | 94 VM

A much more serious, focused effort, the 2018 Condrieu Clos Boucher has stunning notes of crushed citrus, liquid rock, white peach, spice, and flowers. Just straight-up Condrieu magic, it’s full-bodied and has a lush, opulent texture, beautiful purity, and a great finish. It has more acidity and cut than the Galopine, yet both show the ripe, upfront, plush style of the vintage. Drink this beauty any time over the coming 4-6 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDGreen-hued straw-gold. An expansive bouquet evokes ripe citrus and pit fruits, violet and honey, joined by emerging mineral and ginger flourishes. Juicy and deeply concentrated but energetic as well, offering pear nectar, Meyer lemon and floral flavors that show sharp definition. The mineral and floral notes carry emphatically through the strikingly long, penetrating finish, which leaves a suave floral note behind.Vinous Media | 95 VMWhile the 2018 Condrieu Clos Boucher isn’t the most dramatically perfumed Condrieu, it’s dramatic and opulent, loaded with honeyed apricot, peach and pineapple fruit. Full-bodied and rich, it nonetheless finishes with admirable energy, gingery spice and a lingering, crushed-stone note. Drink it over the next few years. Tasted twice (once blind), with consistent notes.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPRipe and showy, with nectarine, green plum and apricot flavors bouncing off each other, allied to a lush and creamy texture as they move through the anise-tinged finish. Wonderfully exotic.Wine Spectator | 94 WSWhiffs of spring blossoms and freshly laundered linen entice on the nose of this opulent but freshly balanced white. It’s a luscious, enveloping sip that floods the palate in swirls of sweet cream, honey and spice. The finish is a touch sappy in its youth but should meld out over the next decade. Enjoy now for its bold fruit and floral tones, or wait till 2028.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEThis has a very attractive, fresh and smooth delivery of ripe apricots and peaches with a whiff of gingerbread. The palate has rich, smooth and fluid texture. Suave with plenty of ripe apricots. Drink now.James Suckling | 92 JS(Condrieu “Clos Boucher”- Delas Frères) The single vineyard Condrieu bottling of Clos Boucher from Delas hails from a south-facing vineyard that lies adjacent to Château Grillet. The wine is entirely barrel-fermented and only produced by Delas in vintages they deem exceptional. The 2018 Clos Boucher tips the scales also at an even fourteen percent alcohol and offers up a lovely, youthful bouquet of pear, passion fruit, a touch of tangerine, beautiful minerality, almond, acacia blossoms and a quite refined framing of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very elegant in profile, with a lovely core, fine soil signature and grip, fairly gentle acids (in the style of the vintage) and a long, complex and beautifully balanced finish. This is so well-balanced that it may end up keeping longer in bottle than I anticipate, but it has the fairly moderate acidity of 2018 and will probably drink at its finest in its relative youth. (Drink between 2021-2030)John Gilman | 92 JG

Light, bright yellow. Heady, mineral- and spice-accented aromas of ripe citrus and pit fruits and pungent flowers are complemented by a suave, building floral element. Silky and penetrating, offering intense white peach, tangerine and pear flavors that fan out through the mid-palate. Shows impressive energy and spicy cut on a long, smooth finish that echoes the floral note emphatically.Vinous Media | 94 VMSpicy gingerbread tones and bright, luminous white peach and tangerine extend from nose to finish in this glossy, concentrated Condrieu. True to form, it’s a classically zaftig sip packed densely with honeyed tropical fruit flavors and silken skeins of cream. Stunning in youth but structured enough to age beautifully through 2035 and likely further.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThe 2018 Condrieu Chery from Niero is a solid effort that leans toward the more fresh, racy side of the spectrum while still holding onto plenty of fruit. Spiced citrus, honeyed limes, spice, and a touch of sappy floral notes all flow to a medium-bodied, mineral-laced Condrieu that stays tight and compact on the palate. It’s going to benefit from a year in bottle and keep for 2-3 years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 91+ JD

From vines just next to the Coteau Vernon, the Condrieu Les Chaillées de L’Enfer is year-in, year-out one of the top examples from this appellation. The 2018 Condrieu Les Chaillées De L’Enfer reveals a light gold color as well as a gorgeous bouquet of ripe stone fruits, honeyed nectarines, and apricots intermixed with notions of white flowers, white chocolate, and truffly earth. Possessing an incredible sense of salty minerality, medium to full-bodied richness, flawless balance, and a great finish, it strikes a beautiful balance between richness and freshness and stays light on its feet and elegant. I’d drink bottles over the coming 4-6 years, but it will evolve for longer.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDBright and nicely detailed, with a mix of green almond, white peach, honeysuckle and mango notes, backed by a subtle bitter orange thread on the finish. The rich and showy side of this white is balanced by its inner purity. Drink now through 2024. 650 cases made, 35 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 95 WSPale straw-yellow. Powerful, mineral-accented orchard and pit fruits on the nose; a suave floral nuance builds as the wine stretches out. Sappy, penetrating and seamless in texture, offering vibrant tangerine, Anjou pear and white peach flavors and a sneaky hint of honeysuckle. Shows excellent focus and emphatic mineral cut on the finish, which lingers with outstanding tenacity.Vinous Media | 94 VM

This vineyard site has dark marlstone soils, which are rare here. Most of the rest of the appellation sees white soils instead. The 2018 Gavi del Comune Gavi Rovereto opens to fragrant aromas of citrus, anise, crushed rock and even a tangy touch of spring onion. The bouquet of this wine is full and generous, with candied orange skin and preserved lemon, ending with a dusty mineral signature that is characteristic of the Rovereto vineyard site. You can no longer write "Gavi di Gavi" on the label. Now it must read "Gavi del Comune di Gavi."Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RPAromas of ripe yellow stone fruit and Spanish broom mingle with a smoky note. Reflecting the nose, the linear, elegant palate offers yellow peach, citrus and flinty mineral alongside vibrant acidity.Wine Enthusiast | 90 WE

There are fully 125 barrels of the 2018 Chassagne-Montrachet Village, a lovely wine in the making that reveals aromas of warm bread, citrus oil, fresh peach and dried white flowers. On the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied, satiny and nicely concentrated, with fine cut and a well-defined finish. That there’s so much volume this year is great news for Moreau fans.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 89-91 RP(Domaine Bernard Moreau Chassagne-Montrachet Villages White) Discreet wood influence sets off the ripe aromas of various white-fleshed fruit along with hints of matchstick and lemon rind. The rich and relatively full-bodied flavors possess both good detail and punch, all wrapped in a less refined but notably more complex finale. This is a quality Chassagne villages. (Drink starting 2023).Burghound | 89-91 BH(Chassagne-Montrachet- Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils) The 2018 Chassagne villages here was all ready for bottling and was just settling in for another month or so prior to its mise. The wine had been assembled at the end of July and fined the last week of October, so it was showing very well in mid-November. The nose is pure and very floral this year, offering up a fine blend of pear, apple, a lovely base of soil, lemon blossoms and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and succulent at the core, with a zesty girdle of acidity, lovely focus and grip and impressive backend mineral drive on the complex and beautifully balanced finish. Fine juice. (Drink between 2020-2045).John Gilman | 91 JG

Tasted out of bottle, the 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape Prestige Blanc offers a more Burgundian, chiseled, mineral-laced style to go with beautiful notes of caramelized peach, white flowers, crushed stone, and charcoal. Medium to full-bodied, beautifully textured, and elegant on the palate, it still packs plenty of oomph and has incredible length on the finish. Give bottles 2-3 years and enjoy over the following two decades or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDA rich, alluring style, with a brioche note leading the way for creamed yellow apple, candied lemon peel, white ginger and quince notes. An accent of acacia honey lines the finish, where the brioche edge takes an encore. Showy and delicious. Roussanne, Grenache Blanc and Clairette. Drink now through 2023. 56 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 95 WSThis is outrageously flamboyant but hard not to like. There’s great concentration and it’s highly expressive already showing some complexity. It has a nutty macadamia note and a subtle flinty reduction with rich pear fruits that shoot through with oak spice, but it’s the fruit that has the upper hand. It’s very full-bodied but has enough pep and acidity to keep things upright and rolling. A cuvée that can be overly marked by malolactic fermentation, but not this year. Grown on sandy soils, 80% fermented in concrete, 20% in new barriques. It’s matured for 14 months in old barriques, concrete and 20% new barriques. Drinking Window 2019 - 2024.Decanter | 95 DECThe brassy-hued 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc Prestige shows ample oak on the nose and palate, allied to ripe, luscious fruit. Predominantly Roussanne, fermented and aged in one-year-old demi-muids, it has developed hints of sweet corn and notes of grilled pineapple during its elevage. Opulent and lush, it’s enormously seductive now, although I suspect it will drink well for at least 4-5 years based on its impressive concentration and length.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP

Limpid yellow-gold. Vibrant, mineral- and spice-accented citrus and orchard fruit and jasmine qualities on the highly perfumed nose. Juicy and energetic in the mouth, offering Meyer lemon, pear nectar and quinine flavors and a touch of buttered toast. Closes minerally and impressively long, delivering a resonating floral note and firm, spicy lift.Vinous Media | 93 VMAromas of slightly seared lemon peel, lime and grapefruit blossom show on the bright nose of this bottling. The palate is more toasty in oak flavors, but a lemon twist adds vibrancy.Wine Enthusiast | 91 WE

Among the most iconic Ramonet vineyards, this site on the slopes above Les Fairendes still has some of the vines planted by Pierre in the thirties. This old-vine fruit delivers a wine of impressive concentration. There is still a floral elegance typical of Ramonet, but there are also hints of ripe pear and white nectarine on the nose. The texture is firmly wound but not acerbic, the tension balanced by the ripe heft and extract of 2018. The superb balance carries this to a very satisfying finish. Drinking Window 2021 - 2041.Decanter | 96 DEC(Domaine Jean-Claude Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet "Les Ruchottes" 1er Cru White) Smoky and nicely fresh aromas speak mainly of petrol, citrus blossom, spice and a discreet hint of wood influence. There is fine energy to the fluid, round and delicious middle weight flavors that possess average density but excellent punch and power before terminating in a markedly bitter lemon rind and noticeably warm finale. This is very 2018 in style as one can "feel" the sunshine and a wine that is going to need at least some bottle age to better harmonize as it seems somewhat awkward at present. With that said, the track record of this wine is so good that I wouldn't care to bet against it rounding into form with a few years of keeping. (Drink starting 2026)Burghound | 93 BH

The Boudriotte blanc is produced from the climat Les Fairendes, located reasonably high on the slope, reaching almost to Les Ruchottes. This superb terroir for white wine has provided in 2018 a result that seamlessly melds citrus, mineral, and ripe apple aromas and balances them with surprisingly fresh acidity, a lovely depth of flavour on the palate, and impressive weight and length. Drinking Window 2021 - 2041.Decanter | 94 DECThe 2018 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Boudriotte is showing beautifully, unfurling in the glass with notes of toasted bread, pear, waxy citrus rind, smoke and popcorn. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and elegantly fleshy, it's seamless and elegant, with fine depth at the core and a long, delicately nutty finish. Already approachable, this will offer a broad drinking window.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPA mild touch of reduction is sufficiently subtle to permit the notes of white flowers, citrus rind and discreet wood to be discerned. There is an attractive sense of underlying tension to the delicious medium weight flavors that possess focused power and good delineation on the lingering finish that flirts with rusticity. This well-made effort needs to develop more depth but it appears to have the requisite density to do so. (Drink starting 2028)Burghound | 91 BHA grassy, herbal note makes this white distinctive, adding to the lemon and apple fruit. It finds more focus in the end, leaving a butterscotch- and pastry-tinged finish. Drink now through 2024. 60 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

Lovely, expressive notes of juicy grapefruit and ripe pear, toast and oak spice make an appearance but the cask ageing is very well integrated. The overall impression is of a consummate balance between richness and freshness, with another layer of firm underlying acidity too, and the wine lingers enticingly. As consultant Dominique Lafon notes: ‘Our better wines are not the bigger. Our selection is on refinement.’ Drinking Window 2020 - 2030.Decanter | 96 DECThis sleek yet rich wine is packed with ripe citrus, Honeycrisp apple, peach and pineapple tones. Barrel fermented and aged in 40% new oak, it showcases spectacular fruit on the palate that is softened by creamy, lightly toasty barrel flavors.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEPale yellow. Mineral-accented nectarine, orange, Anjou pear, iodine and white flowers on the intensely perfumed nose. Smooth, fleshy and dry in the mouth, offering concentrated orchard and pit fruit flavors complemented by suggestions of fennel, sweet butter and candied lemon peel. Shows excellent depth as well as energy and finishes minerally, smoky and impressively long, featuring lingering citrus and pit fruit notes. 40% new oak.Vinous Media | 94 VMNo written review provided. | 94 W&SA wine that unfurls slowly with impressive results. Multilayered kiwi, green apple and stony mineral accents build structure and richness on a lingering finish. Drink now through 2022. 1,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

Burgundy insiders have known for some time that this is one of the region’s great bargains, a ’simple’ village Auxey-Duresses that’s as tasty as many Côte de Beaune Premiers Crus. With notes of fresh lemons, aromatic baking spices, chalk dust and scented 10% new oak, it has wonderful weight and concentration and a mineral-etched finish. Drinking Window 2021 - 2026.Decanter | 93 DECThe 2018 Auxey-Duresses Blanc Les Hautés has turned out brilliantly, offering up aromas of crisp Anjou pear, blanched almonds, white flowers, pastry cream and struck flint. Medium to full-bodied, it’s deep and layered, built around an elegantly muscular chassis of chalky dry extract and underpinned by lively acids. Its almost tannic grip lends it supplemental freshness and structure in this warm vintage. This is another brilliant wine from Jean-Marc Vincent.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RPVery fresh and elegant with a fine, citrus, pear and peach feel and a chalky and mineral nose and palate. Powerful, driving and focused palate here. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 91 JS

Pale, shimmering yellow. Fresh pear, honeydew, tangerine and pungent flowers on the mineral-inflected nose. Offers lively, sharply focused orchard and citrus fruit flavors that are complemented by emerging ginger and white pepper notes adding back-end lift and cut. Silky and impressively lithe, delivering solid mineral thrust and repeating florality on the long, incisive finish.Vinous Media | 93 VM

CIX stands for 109, because this was originally called “Parcel 109” when Aubert bought the vineyard. Planted in 2008 to Montrachet clone, the 2018 Chardonnay CIX Estate is wonderfully intense, exploding from the glass with lime cordial, apricot and mandarin peel scents of citrus, followed by suggestions of jasmine, honey toast and marzipan with a touch of coriander seed. The full-bodied palate is jam-packed with expressive citrus and stone fruit layers, framed by an electric line of freshness and finishing long with amazing purity and precision.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPAnother Sonoma Coast release, the 2018 Chardonnay CIX just about knocks it out of the park, offering a medium/lighter gold hue, a huge nose of ripe pineapple, caramelized pears, flower oil, nectarines, and salty minerality, full-bodied richness, integrated acidity, and a stunning finish. It’s everything you expect from a Chardonnay from Mark Aubert – stunning purity, opulence paired with freshness, incredible length, and flawless balance. Drink it over the coming decade.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDLots of ripe-nectarine, lemon-curd, dried-mango and smoked-cashew aromas. Salted butter notes. Ash, too. It’s full-bodied, creamy and smooth with a gradual and graceful evolution of ripe fruit to stone and flint on the finish. Solid density. Agile. Better in a year or two.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2018 Chardonnay CIX Vineyard is a seamless, gorgeous beauty. Orchard fruit, mint, white pepper and floral notes all run through this super-expressive, alluring Chardonnay from Mark Aubert. In the glass, the CIX is understated and nuanced rather than overt. I find it absolutely mesmerizing.Vinous Media | 94-97 VMRestrained but immediately compelling, pretty, creamy nose. The palate dismisses the dairy notes and becomes immediately more flavourful, the acidity growing in intensity and driving through to a long, succulent finish. A beautiful dance between softness and power. This wine truly appeals to me on both a personal and professional level – well crafted and deliciously delivered.Decanter | 97 DECFeatures a steely structure, with concentrated freshly cut apple, brioche and Asian pear flavors, supported by crunchy acidity. Pure and minerally midpalate, offering a long finish that echoes with subtle sea salt and chamomile accents. Best from 2022 through 2027. 1,085 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

The 2018 Chardonnay Larry Hyde & Sons was of the last vineyards picked, in mid-September. This section of Hyde vineyard is located on the Napa side of Carneros and is planted to Corton-Charlemagne clone on St. George rootstock. It strides confidently out of the glass with a very serious nose of baked apples, pear tart, almond croissant and candied ginger with wafts of struck flint and sea spray. The full-bodied palate is impactful and yet achingly elegant, featuring loads of mineral sparks coming off the apple and pear flavors, delivering a long, satisfying, almond-laced finish. Give it a further year or two in bottle and drink it over the next 10 years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPI’d wager one of the top Chardonnays to come out of Carneros, the 2018 Chardonnay Larry Hyde & Sons just about jumps from the glass with its huge nose of buttered lemons, flower oil, nectarines, green almonds, and exotic floral notes. From one of the cooler sites Aubert works with, this medium to full-bodied beauty has an incredible sense of purity, good acidity, and a great finish.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDIntense lime-curd, smoke, dried-mango and papaya aromas. Ginger, too. It’s full-bodied and creamy with incredibly concentrated flavors. So tight and layered. Clear and focused. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2018 Chardonnay Larry Hyde and Sons is the result a larger-than-normal crop. Hyde Chardonnays are typically exuberant, but in 2018, the wine is subtle, nuanced and wonderfully understated. I don’t think I have tasted a Hyde Chardonnay with this much precision. Lemon confit and bright floral notes perk up this beautifully expressive Chardonnay from Mark Aubert. The 100% new oak is already integrated. In 2018, the Hyde Chardonnay is just sublime. What way to start this tasting.Vinous Media | 93-96 VMBroad and rich, with seductive smoky notes to the ripe apple and pear pastry flavors. Buttery accents show midpalate, leading to an intensely spicy finish. Drink now through 2025. 1,013 cases made. — KMWine Spectator | 93 WS

Bright straw. Lemon ice, orange peel, balsamic oils and herbs on the complex nose and in the mouth. Savory but juicy, with a very clean, sneakily concentrated mouthfeel and lots of density on the long, juicy finish. Another knockout from this estate in 2018.Vinous Media | 92 VMVery perfumed and quite intense pears and baked apples with some bright fragrance, too. The palate has a very smooth, supple texture and some bright, punchy pear and apple flavor. Smooth-honed and balanced. Drink now.James Suckling | 92 JSThe Köfererhof 2018 Alto Adige Valle Isarco Sylvaner shows some extra plushness and softness in this vintage, with summer peach, lemon blossom, honey and cantaloupe melon. Whereas most of the white varieties in the Köfererhof portfolio present lifted and vertical aromas with many flinty mineral nuances, this Sylvaner offers a tad more opulence and fruity richness. That extra texture opens this wine to spicy exotic foods like Singapore chili crab.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RP

Not yet bottled, the 2018 Chardonnay Sanford & Benedict is still resting in 20% new French oak. Coming from a great site on the southern side of the Sta. Rita Hills, it offers a rocking bouquet of lemon curd, chamomile, toasted bread, spice, and a touch of crushed stone-like flinty minerality. Beautifully textured, medium to full-bodied, and elegant on the palate, it’s another brilliant wine from this estate.Jeb Dunnuck | 95-97 JDAromas of moss and kumquats combine with decadently ripe, yet still refreshing, limpid fruit. The textured palate reflects the stony minerality of the nose in a snappy, svelte package. It spent 20 months in mostly neutral barrique, and is a blend of the own-rooted 1971 vines as well as younger plantings. Drinking Window 2020 - 2040.Decanter | 95 DEC

Musky apricot pit, peach and spicy vanillin oak on the nose. Densely packed but quite suave and fine-grained in spite of its saline thrust. A very sappy, refined midweight with lovely salinity and tactile length. Offers much more than just fruit: sexy oak, minerals, cyanic fruit pit. Fresh stone fruits continue to emerge as the wine opens with air. Finishes with a lovely spine of citrussy acidity and sneaky building length. No shortage of weight or palate presence here but very shapely and refined. This superb Washington Chardonnay held up brilliantly in the recorked bottle and should evolve positively over the next several years. (aged in French oak, 40% new; about 35% of the wine went through malolactic fermentation)Vinous Media | 93 VMAn impressive Chardonnay, the 2018 from Abeja offers lots of peach, apple, and lemon oil notes as well as a medium-bodied, rich yet also fresh style on the palate. I love its balance and it’s going to drink nicely for 2-3 years at a minimum.Jeb Dunnuck | 91 JDLively and expressive, the 2018 Chardonnay begins with aromas of toasted oak, white peach, baked apples and pears with a waft of lemon crème brûlée on the nose. Medium to full-bodied, the wine is rich with a round edge and energetic acidity and displays a balanced structure across the mid-palate. The wine shows delightful complexity on the lingering finish with lasting sensations of citrus blossom, Anjou pear and peach skin followed by a nuance of graham cracker crust. Nicely done.Robert Parker | 90+ RPBright and elegantly easygoing, with apple and citrus flavors that linger toward a delicately spicy finish. Drink now. 520 cases made.Wine Spectator | 90 WSA straightforward chardonnay with cooked-apple and lemon character. Some pie crust. Medium body. Easy to drink now.James Suckling | 90 JSThe aromas offer notes of toast, barrel char and stone fruit. The palate brings a ripe peach flavor that maintains a sleek profile out of the gate, filling out over time.Wine Enthusiast | 90 WE