Small Run Limited Production

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Harvested at a minuscule yields from a vineyard planted in 1975, then aged 17 months in one-third new French oak. With a bit of aeration the youthful, concentrated aromas open to reveal opulent plum, spice, orange zest and pine forest accents. The palate offers juicy black cherry and more plum, mulled wine spices and powdery tannins, with crushed stone minerality and elegant cedar oak tinged with dark chocolate. There’s a distinct salinity to this wine which refreshes through the long finish. | 95 DECAn elegant array of baked berries and creamy masala chai pull the nose deep into this single-vineyard bottling from the legendary appellation. Dark fruit flavors meet with lavender and peppery spice on the palate, which is wrapped in sticky tannins.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WECalera’s oldest and most established vineyard produced its darkest pinot noir in 2018: Jensen feels lean, controlled and so full of internal tension that I wrote ‘disciplined’ in my notes. Wines can’t have discipline, can they? In this case, the structure is built around clove- and olive-scented tannins, which act like girders in the wine. With air, the tannins turn lighter, toward Christmas spices, suggesting layers of complexity and depth that one tasting can’t yet plumb. For the cellar. —P.J.C. (535 cases) Wine and Spirits Mag | 93 W&SDeceptive in its mid-weight structure, the 2015 Pinot Noir Jensen Vineyard is extremely closed to a degree I don’t think I have seen before in this wine. I imagine the 100% whole clusters have something to do with the wine’s current state of reticence. Time in the glass helps to some degree, but it is clear the Jensen needs time in bottle to be at its most expressive.Antonio Galloni | 91+ AGThis ripe red is filled with exuberant spiciness to its dark berry and plum tart flavors. Shows plenty of toastiness on the finish, with notes of chocolate-covered cherry. Drink now through 2025. 570 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

The 2018 Pinot Noir Ryan Vineyard is quite deep and heady in this vintage. Red fruit, iron, white pepper and savory herbs give the Ryan its distinctly incisive, feral personality. Hints of blood orange, raspberry and spice add an exotic flair. There is plenty of character here, that is for sure.Vinous Media | 94 VMComing from vines that provided less than one ton per acre, this concentrated bottling begins with aromas of blackberry, loamy soil and a hint of violet. The palate is wrapped in chalky tannins yet remains bright with black-raspberry and elderflower flavors. Wine Enthusiast | 94 WECalera’s highest elevation vineyard on Mt. Harlan, Ryan produced a powerful wine in 2018—rich, flavorful, broad in structure—all of it delivered with a compact texture that’s a marvel of control. It leads with scents of chocolate mint, black plum and beeswax, glossy, vinous and firm, the dark fruit flavors brushing up against sage-scented mountain scrub. A big wine; all of its weight is in the right place for skirt steak.Wine & Spirits Magazine | 93 W&SRipe and well-focused, offering gently mulled loganberry and black cherry fruit, with steeped black tea, incense and savory details. This is carried by a fine chalky spine through a lengthy finish. Solidly built and one for the cellar. Best from 2023 through 2033. 752 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

This is unusually cool and airy in the context of what is typical in 2018 with its restrained and beautifully layered nose of rose petal, violet, lavender, lilac, sandalwood and soy nuances that add incredible breadth to the mostly red berry-suffused aromas, all of which is trimmed in very subtle oak influence. There is outstanding volume to the big, muscular and robust flavors that also possess focused power where the intensity does a slow build from the mid-palate to the explosively long and decidedly austere finish that just lasts and lasts. This is somewhat less 2018 in style than the prior wines though it is clearly quite ripe. It is also a bit less refined than it usually is, at least at this early stage, though to be fair it is still in its formative stages so we will see how it comes along with more aging. I would observe though that it is already abundantly clear that this is a stunningly great LT; indeed it may well rival the 1999 in time, is going to develop quite slowly over a very long period.Burghound | 99 BHThe grand old lady’ is how Bertrand de Villaine refers to La Tâche, now planted with 50-year-old vines and responsible for one of the great wines of the vintage in 2018, as it so often is. This is a Grand Cru with incredible presence and self-assurance, showing remarkable balance, grace and intensity, the majesty of a great, soaring cathedral, fine texture and flavours of green malt, red berries and autumn leaves. Wonderful stuff.Decanter Magazine | 98 DECA gorgeous rich imperial purple, with savoury characters over and above the others. The aromatics suggest a heart that stretches ever deeper. What a weight of fruit is there, how noble in reason. In a vintage like 2018 the fruit weight completely subdues the tannins, which are always a little bit more evident in La Tâche. The fruit shows this extraordinary dark raspberry character perfectly on the cusp of red and black, anting to be floral at the same time. Pens out from its more vertical style, with a sweetness of fruit to finish. Tasted Nov 2020.Jasper Morris | 98+ JMThe 2018 La Tâche Grand Cru exhibits quite a strong whole-bunch influence on the nose, perhaps a little too much when juxtaposed against the more seamless Richebourg. Scents of black truffle, pressed rose petal and decayed autumn leaves/undergrowth infuse the mainly dark fruit. There is something a little introspective about this nascent La Tâche. The palate is very well balanced with filigreed tannins. A multifaceted wine that leans more to the red side of the fruit spectrum. The silky, saline finish shows wonderful sapidity. Once the aromatics open for business, I have little doubt that this will be an awesome yet quite cerebral La Tâche.Vinous Media | 95-97 VM

Diana Snowden-Seysses describes this as a 'spectacular' Clos de la Roche and no one who's tasted the wine would accuse her of hyperbole. Bolder and more concentrated than Dujac's Clos St Denis, this has impressive weight and fruit concentration, 75% whole bunches and 70% new wood. Plush, sweet and intense with notes of black tea and Asian spices. Drinking Window 2026 - 2038.Decanter | 97 DECThe 2018 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru is probably now just a step ahead of the Clos Saint-Denis on the nose: stunning violet-infused red fruit with veins of blueberry that unfold exquisitely. The palate is silky smooth in texture, lightly spiced with a cornucopia of mineral-driven red fruit that convey just the right degree of flamboyance. Outstanding.Vinous Media | 97 VMUnfurling in the glass with aromas of sweet berry fruit, dark chocolate, rose petals, orange rind, burning embers and spices, the 2018 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru is full-bodied, layered and muscular, with a deep, concentrated and multidimensional core that's framed by rich, powdery tannins and impressively lively acids. This is a dramatic wine that hasn't yet shut down, but I wouldn't plan on opening bottles for at least a dozen years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RP(Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Red) Discreet but not imperceptible wood and menthol characters set off very ripe liqueur-like aromas of black raspberry, cassis, floral and plenty of sauvage nuances. The sleekly textured and impressively intense large-scaled flavors possess evident power on the dusty, serious and palate coating finish that is definitely quite grippy and a bit coarse, indeed even a bit chewy. I like the overall fruit/tannin/sap balance and while it will take extended bottle age, this borderline massive wine should eventually mature into a magnificent CdlR. (Drink starting 2038).Burghound | 95 BH(Clos de la Roche- Domaine Dujac) The 2018 Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche is another gorgeous example of the vintage. The nose is pure, complex and already beautifully refined, offering up a mix of plums, red and black cherries, a refined base of soil tones, gamebird, cocoa powder, mustard seed and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, pure and full-bodied, with a sappy core of fruit, great backend mineral drive, suave, seamless, but firm tannins and a very, very long, vibrant and promising finish. A great vintage of this iconic cuvée. (Drink between 2032-2085).John Gilman | 95 JG