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The 2016 Chateau D’Yquem is pure magic and dessert wines don’t get much better. Offering a pale gold color as well as a blockbuster bouquet of honeyed tangerines, tart apricots, liquid rocks, white flowers, and honeysuckle, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, an opulent texture, vibrant acidity, and again, an incredible sense of minerality, despite having no shortage of sweetness or richness. The 2016 is a classic blend of 75% Sémillon and 25% Sauvignon that hit 14.2% alcohol with 135 grams of residual sugar. It’s already complex and approachable yet will keep for 3-4 decades. (Drink between 2019-2054)Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDA very classic Yquem. Breathtakingly wide spectrum of floral honey, exotic fruit (passion fruit, mango and pineapple), caramel and marzipan aromas. But none of this is a jot too much. In fact, the wine is extremely precise and finely nuanced. Wonderful freshness and textural complexity, in spite of the considerable concentration and extravagance. Very suave and sensual finish that goes on and on. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 99 JSContaining 135 grams per liter of residual sugar, the pale lemon-gold colored 2016 d’Yquem leaps from the glass with honeyed apricots, pineapple, green mango, crushed rocks, candied ginger, coriander seed and citrus peel with hints of orange blossom. The palate is very tightly wound, vibrant and refreshing with layer upon layer of minerals and spices, finishing with epic poise and persistence.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98+ RPDespite a rich botrytis character, this balances impact with delicacy. Clear citrus on the nose with a hint of flint and smoke, allowing the soft white flowers and lime blossom to steal up on you slowly. There are caramel notes through the mid-palate and great persistency, as ever. Extremely elegant. This was the driest summer since 1898, and the harvest at Yquem lasted a full two months, from 4th September (for the dry white Y d’Yquem) through to 4th November for the final selection of botrytis berries. The final yield is 20hl/ha, the highest in recent years against their average of 9hl/ha, with 40% going into the grand vin compared to 50% last year. 135g/l residual sugar and 3.9pH. 75% Sémillon and 25% Sauvignon Blanc. The 2015 will be released this September. (Drink between 2025-2050)Decanter | 97 DEC95–97. Barrel Sample. The bouquet opens with aromas of honey and citrus, offering richness and freshness at the same time. The mouthfeel is opulent, with honeyed flavors. There is some acidity underneath, although decadence and concentration are its defining attributes. It will age for decades.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThe 2016 Yquem was picked from 27 September until 4 November after drought-like conditions in the summer. It has an attractive nose with white chocolate, chamomile and Chinese white tea infusing the honeyed fruit. Very well defined and focused with more cohesion than previous bottles. The palate is medium-bodied with a viscous opening that demonstrates a little more weight than the 2015, a fine bead of acidity and touches of ginger and lemongrass enlivening the finish. I feel this has gained a bit more complexity in recent years. Tasted at the château.Vinous Media | 95 VMThis is exotic, with very lush and seductive notes of coconut, honeysuckle, creamed white peach, glazed pear, mirabelle plum and yellow apple, all woven together seamlessly. Beautifully caressing in feel, with a long acacia echo on the finish. Best from 2023 through 2040. Wine Spectator | 94 WS

The complexity and beauty of this wine is something else on the nose, offering perfume, cedar, dried flower, black cherry, blueberry and crushed stone. Orange peel, too. Full-bodied with incredible layers of ultra-fine tannins that give this wine horizontal depth that almost seems endless. Extremely long and lightly chewy at the end. This is one for the cellar. Try after 2026.James Suckling | 99 JSDelicate aromas recalling forest berry, rose, violet and wild herb shape the enticing nose. The savory, elegantly structured palate features juicy red cherry, spiced cranberry, star anise and a hint of tobacco set against taut, fine-grained tannins. Fresh acidity keeps it well balanced and focused. A wonderful expression of the fantastic vintage from one of Montalcino's most historic producers, it boasts great aging potential. Drink 2026–2046.Wine Enthusiast | 99 WEThe 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva seduces the senses as it mixes savory and sweet, the dusty rose and crushed stone aromas giving way to wild strawberry and dried cherry. A velvety textural wave saturates the palate with salty minerals and tart raspberry fruits, lifted by stunning acidity and cooling herbal tones that create a cascading feel to the crunchy red fruits. While structured and dry, it's also incredibly long, crystalline in nature, and lingers on notes of salted licorice and savory spice. This shows all of the best qualities of the vintage, expertly matched to the classic stylings of Fuligni. That said, the 2016 is a sleeping giant, in need of cellaring to show its best. Deciding between this and the estate Brunello from 2016 is like splitting hairs, but what I can say is that the Riserva has the potential for a longer life and possibly a higher score when at full maturity.Vinous Media | 98+ VMFuligni’s Riserva is born in the San Giovanni vineyard at Podere Cottimelli, the estate’s original site. It is a selection of the best bunches from vines averaging 50 years of age. The 2016 is currently a brooding beast, but a remarkably handsome one at close glance. It starts with polished leather and walnut skin before disclosing hints of lavender, anise and freshly turned earth. The structure is even denser and drier than the annata, but the fruit is also sweeter and more concentrated. Finely chiselled tannins wrap around black cherry and red plum, and with an intense mineral drive this is fully charged. It will take a few more years, however, to lay bare all of its lurking intricacies. Drinking Window 2025 - 2045.Decanter | 98 DECHere's one of the show-stoppers in this report. The Fuligni 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is a layered and important wine with deep renderings of wild berry, ripe fruit, oak spice, pressed flowers and garden herbs. This Brunello lives up to its Riserva designation with extra textural richness, more oak definition, structure and a bigger, longer-lasting aromatic profile. The wine closes with hints of cola, rosemary and wild rose.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97+ RPThe Fuligni’s estate is in Montalcino’s northeast quadrant, where the high elevations cause temperatures to drop sharply at night. Those conditions combined in 2016 with a long and even growing season to produce this exciting Riserva. The wine is effortlessly concentrated and powerful, its deep flavors of dark cherry layered with notes of fresh tobacco and mortared herbs underlined by a firm streak of graphite. Scents of violet and lavender enhance the wine’s graceful personality as vibrant spice notes draw out the long, harmonious finish.Empson USA, NYWine and Spirits Mag | 97 W&SRipe and harmonious, this red features cherry and berry flavors augmented by earth, mineral, tobacco and thyme accents. Fresh and firms up as it winds down on the long, fruit-, mineral- and spice-tinged finish. Best from 2024 through 2042. 2,160 cases made, 250 cases imported. Wine Spectator | 95 WS