White and Rosé Wines for Spring

wines

Lemon zest and crushed green apples come together with a whiff of spring flowers as the 2023 Orvieto Classico Superiore San Giovanni della Sala blossoms in the glass. It opens with a pleasant inner sweetness matched by masses of citrus-tinged orchard fruits, all balanced by a core of saline minerals and juicy acidity. The 2023 cleans up beautifully, both long and potent yet remarkably fresh. Sour melon hints slowly fade.Vinous Media | 92 VMWell-cut acidity defines aromas and flavors of white peach, pomelo, spring herbs and white blossoms in this light-bodied, lithe white, with a salty finish. Grechetto, Procanico, Pinot Blanc and Viognier. Drink now. 840 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

The most impressive aspect of the Castello della Sala ethos is its ability to reinvent itself. This latest edition of Umbria’s headline white is a true delight. Renzo Cotarella and his team have created an Italian masterpiece that is reminiscent of the great whites of Burgundy. The 2023 Cervaro della Sala opens to an elegantly reductive note of flint or crushed granite before sliding gracefully into silky fruit sensations, breakfast pastry and crème fraîche. It offers carefully balanced richness and textural importance...Part of the Chardonnay does malolactic fermentation, but the Grechetto does not. This gives energy and verve to the final results. Castello della Sala has recently planted more Chardonnay (now totaling 80 hectares) for flexibility in choosing the best clusters. Throughout its many reinventions, this is the best Cervaro della Sala I have tasted.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPClassic Burgundian style. On the nose white chocolate, pink grapefruit, lemon zest and white flowers. Full-bodied, it shows weight, vibrancy and tension, with a silky texture and a salted citrus finish. Amazing balance in this vintage, with lemon peel bitterness in the aftertaste adding an extra dimension. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 97 JSYouthfully coy, the 2023 Cervaro della Sala blows off an air smoky reduction to reveal depths of crushed yellow apples, sesame seeds, pine shavings and nuances of vanilla custard. This is pure elegance in the glass, as silken textures envelop the palate. A bump of residual acidity maintains energy throughout, even as the 2023 tapers off tannic and potent, with a resonance of mineral-infused apricots. This is a suburb rendition of Cervaro della Sala.Vinous Media | 95 VMA vibrant white, with pleasing buoyancy to the acidity as it carries a finely woven range of poached apricot, toasted hazelnut, passion fruit and persimmon, with accents of vanilla, lime blossoms and mineral. There’s good tension and focus but also a sense of finesse as the profile waltzes across the palate and expands on the lasting, well-spiced finish. Chardonnay and Grechetto. Drink now through 2036. 21,669 cases made, 3,000 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

The 2023 Meursault 1er Cru Charmes is the richest, broadest wine in the range, bursting with aromas of honeyed pears, white flowers, freshly baked bread and beeswax. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and enveloping, it’s layered and textural, with a sweet core of fruit that’s balanced by good energy and grip.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP

The 2023 Meursault 1er Cru Les Cras is pretty, wafting from the glass with notes of pear, confit lemon, orange zest and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, mineral and chalky, with a sweet core of fruit girdled by bright acids, it’s pure and precise.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPHere too there is a suggestion of the exotic to the aromas of white peach, tangerine, mineral reduction and once again, a hint of phenolic character. This medium weight flavors aren’t quite as dense though they are just a bit finer while offering fine length and an almost palpable sense of minerality on the balanced and youthfully austere finish that, interestingly enough given that this is a premier cru, isn’t quite as structured.Burghound | 91 BH

Aromas of grilled pineapple, kaffir limes, flint and lemon pith. The palate is light-bodied with bright acidity, giving flavors of guavas, lychees and grapefruit. Vibrant and fresh. Drink now.James Suckling | 91 JSAromas of fresh, lively citrus, kumquats, and passionfruit, notes of various layered mint herbs and chamomile tea intertwine with flavors of melon, tangerine, and sedimentary rock roll into a juicy sun-kissed finish. Pair with the beach and friendsWine Enthusiast | 91 WE

The grapefruit and honey aromas of this wine are echoed in its crisp and rounded textures. It is ripe with apple and spice flavors, the wood aging subtly in the background. Drink from 2027. Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEWith its lemon rind and grassy notes, this Sauvignon Blanc dominated wine - ever reliable - continues to appeal in 2023, although it does have some varietal aspects that come across as less nuanced when compared to some of its peers. Nonetheless, this is excellent white wine, with grip, juiciness, depth and freshness. To be served confidently with fish in a cream sauce.Decanter Magazine | 93 DECVery bright and mineral with lively citrus-fruit, ginger, white-flower and crushed-stone character. A hint of seashell, too. It’s medium-bodied, fresh and focused with tense acidity and a firm, lightly phenolic finish.James Suckling | 93-94 JSA blend of 65% Sauvignon Blanc and 35% Sémillon, the 2023 Carbonnieux Blanc exhibits elegant aromas of pear, white peach, spring flowers and herbs, followed by a medium-bodied, satiny and long texture enhanced by bright acids and a lively mid-palate. It concludes with a long, delicate, mouthwateringly mordant finish, making it a classic white wine from this estate.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90-92 RPThe 2023 Château Carbonnieux Blanc is light gold-hued and offer terrific aromatics of ripe citrus, minty herbs, and a kiss of grapefruit. These carry to a medium-bodied white with a round, supple texture, nicely integrated acidity, and outstanding length.Jeb Dunnuck | 90-92 JDThe white 2023 Carbonnieux leaps with notes of lime leaves, Granny Smith apples, and grapefruit, plus touches of white pepper and wet slate. Medium-bodied, the palate is zippy and crisp, with a zesty finish.The Wine Independent | 88-90 TWI

The village-level Chablis from Billaud-Simon is a classic expression of the terroir, with aromas of lemon peel and white flowers and a fine, silky texture. The acidity is balanced if not pronounced, giving the wine finesse without a lot of tension. Régisseur Olivier Bailly notes that this final year of organic conversion was a struggle with the weather, but he is pleased with the final blend, which included 25% cask-fermented wine.Decanter Magazine | 92 DEC

This is a blend of Le Charlemagne, and Hautes Mourottes, which from 2024 Pierre-François will make separately, calling the former Charlemagne and the latter Corton-Charlemagne. In 2023 there are eight barrels worth, made in two new barrels, two older barrels and a concrete egg. These have been racked to tank since just after the harvest. Pale in colour, stony with a little toast also. Crisp white orchard fruit with a little flesh behind, and good tension. Nicely balanced at 13.5% alcohol. Drink from 2029-2038. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 93-96 JM

The 2023 Les Boucauds is a rounded, full style from a clay-chalk parcel. This is open and approachable from the off, with a touch of alcohol-tinged heat. The richness of the clay provided a sense of volume on the palate but it’s not loud. There’s lovely richness of texture after spending 14-16 months on lees. The 2023 has fine talc and floral perfume lingering on the long finish.Vinous Media | 92 VMA richly styled version, with hints of warm hay and beeswax atop a core of apple and preserved lemon. Waxy in feel, with real weight to the lush palate. Savory, succulent acidity slices through, maintaining balance and tension. Delicious through the long, mineral-rich, salty finish, where there’s a hint of blanched almond. Drink now through 2030. 3,500 cases made, 700 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

Lush and seductive on the nose, this wine teases with layers of lemon cream, ripe orange and brown butter, all wrapped in an exotic, musky mango allure that feels almost decadent. On the palate, it glides across the tongue with juicy citrus and white flowers. It has a buttery richness and a delicious mouth-watering mineral edge that begs for another sip that leads to a long lingering finish that has echoes of orange zest. Sokolin Tasting Panel | 94+ SP

Mid lemon and lime. A richer soil here than most Puligny, explains the weight. Several layers to this, a fine thread of acidity running through the middle alongside fresh peaches and more classical orchard fruits. Purchased 50 years ago by grandfather Jean because nobody else wanted it! How times have changed.Jasper Morris | 91 JM

The 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet Clos Saint-Jean 1er Cru was picked a couple of days earlier than the Clos des Murées. Despite being opened the evening before my visit, there is still some reduction on the nose. The palate is taut, fresh, quite nutty and Meursault-like in style with an energetic, persistent finish. Give this a year or two in bottle—it is very promising.Vinous Media | 91+ VM

The 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeots 1er Cru has a little more mineralité on the nose than the Vergers. Its bouquet contains light hints of clementine and beeswax aromas. The palate is well balanced, fresh and concentrated with a slightly viscous opening. It just needs a little more terroir to shape the finish.Vinous Media | 90 VM

Starts off fluid in feel, offering a silky profile of star fruit, peach, waxy pear and white blossoms, with good ripeness and a hint of blanched almond set against a racy beam of succulent acidity. Its steely spine of flint is pronounced and builds in intensity toward the finish, lined in river stone and smoke notes. Drink now through 2029. 1,000 cases made, 458 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

The power in this wine is all about minerality and phenolics, providing incredible depth and endless length. The raw beauty and intensity leaves me breathless and humbled. It’s full-bodied yet weightless. It tantalizes your palate with sea salt and cloves. A phenomenal young white. Only three barrels made. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 100 JSSmoky aromas of mineral reduction, crushed anise, petrol and Granny Smith apple are trimmed in admirably discreet wood influence. Like the Montrachet, there is impressive density to the powerful tension-filled larger-scaled flavors that display an overt stoniness on the youthfully austere and impressively persistent finish. This too offers excellent development potential.Burghound | 92-94 BH

A wine to seek out. Racy and very fine, the grapes come from the very top of the slope, and offer forward aromas of lime peel and gooseberry with a flinty, mineral edge. Marvellous acidity and great depth of flavour on the palate, along with a pleasantly silky texture. Although this will be attractive when bottled, it can also be aged.Decanter Magazine | 94 DECGrapes from less vigorous plants, situated on the limestone upper hillside. Very pale, stones in whitewash on the nose. Classy and classical, with an extra kick of fresh white fruit and lemon acidity at the finish. Persistent, more my style of wine. More nuanced at the finish. Drink from 2027-2031. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 91 JM

This lovely, powerful wine offers aromas of greengage plum, Williams pear and apple. The texture is rich, but the wine is still elegant and not at all hard to love. This vintage is the first bottling of a white Boudriotte, as far as I can tell – it used to get blended into the broader Morgeot appellation. Like Morgeot, Boudriotte can be a blend of several different lieux-dits; for this wine, a new 0.26ha vineyard in Chaumes is blended with 0.11ha of Champs Jeandreau .Decanter Magazine | 94 DECFrom Champ Jeandreau and a more recent planting in Chaumes. Clean fresh fruit, not too powerful. Quite lean and tense, a little bit more citrus. A suggestion of some light peach behind, but adding a dimension rather than denaturing.Jasper Morris | 91 JM

This village-level terroir produced an arrestingly good wine in 2023, offering aromas of ripe pear, hazelnut and a crisp, linear tension on the palate, tempered by enough ripeness and the density given by the clay soils. The grapes are from the domaine-owned parcel in the valley leading to La Rochepot in a cold, windy spot at 430m elevation. Although this should drink well on release, it is eminently suited for mid-term ageing.Decanter Magazine | 93 DEC

Displays a bright lemon peel and green apple fruit, with a bottom note of flinty minerality and just a hint of smoky reduction. The texture, however, is richer than the aromas would lead one to think – it is supple and approachable, with a hint of hazelnut on the agreeable finish. The domaine farms slightly more than a quarter-hectare near the base of the slope.Decanter Magazine | 93 DECPale colour, a softer white orchard fruit on the nose, there being more clay in the soil here. The mouth retains a certain juiciness, with the apples expanding towards the back of the palate. Clean and correct. Drink from 2027-2030. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 90 JM

Because it is blocked by the peak known as the Roche Dumay, this south-facing slope overlooking the hamlet of Gamay does not get the sun until after 10am, but it has light into the evening, lending the fruit a slightly exotic passion fruit character. The texture is not heavy, however, and winemaker Sébastien Caillat manages both elegance and finesse, although he notes that the ripeness can jump quickly at the end of the season.Decanter Magazine | 93 DECIn the hail corridor. .En Créot does not see the sun until 10am so harder to do the treatments when there is still dew. Pale in colour with a light white fruit. Some ripe apples, middleweight, a little more mineral tension than the village wine, with good length. Drink from 2027-2030. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 90 JM

A dizzying array of aromas range from green apple and peach to soft white blossoms and spice. The texture is dense, but surprisingly good acidity for the vintage deftly balances the richness and carries the wine to a solid finish. Grapes from the best village-level sites throughout the appellation are fermented in stainless steel tanks and large casks (15%), then the wine aged for six months on its fine lees to give a bit more depth. Will drink well on release and represents fantastic value in Chablis.Decanter Magazine | 92 DECReserved aromas of yellow apple, forest floor and pear blossom open on the nose. Steely in texture the palate is well served by chalk-dusted acidity that brightens the finish with an added twist of lemon peel. Pair with langoustines, mussels and goat cheese.Wine Enthusiast | 91 WE

Mid lemon yellow. Grilled almonds Marjolaine suggests, and I agree. Once more the flesh and the oak on the nose are apparent. All the requisite weight and white fruit, silky length, a little salinity, understated but very long indeed. Rather hidden at the moment. Drink from 2030-2040. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 93-96 JMThe 2023 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, from vines planted in 1996, had quite a bit of that matchstick reduction on the nose when I tasted it from barrel, but you can discern the concentration here. The palate is well balanced with a slightly honeyed opening. Acidity counters its richness as hints of ginger and white pepper emerge toward the finish. Powerful compared to its peers, this Grand Cru will require two or three years in bottle.Vinous Media | 91-93 VM

More yellow in the colour, a waxy flesh, slight evolution in the sample, I cannot quite see the stones up front. They do appear on the palate and the wine extends very well through to a flinty finish, with some saline notes right at the back. Drink from 2028-2034. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 91-93 JMThe 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet En Cailleret 1er Cru has a strict, almost sullen nose that demands coaxing from the glass, with hints of chamomile interlacing the orchard fruit, though I seek just a little more mineralité. The palate is well balanced with tropical notes of passionfruit and guava on the entry. Smooth in texture with countervailing acidity, the 2023 finishes open and easy-drinking. Drink just a year after bottling and enjoy this in its youth.Vinous Media | 89-91 VM

The 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet Les Houillères is a level up from the regular Village, with more mineralité and terroir expression. The palate is well balanced and linear in style, with a keen line of acidity, fine weight and a sapid, chamomile-tinged close. Maybe the 2022 had a touch more depth on the finish, but this is worth seeking out.Vinous Media | 91 VMOld vines with a younger plot as well. Mid lemon yellow. The bouquet has a discreet distinction, more in minerals than flesh, one jar again. Tighter and more precise on the palate, with a light ripe citrus note added to the orchard fruit. In bottle. Drink from 2027-2030. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 91 JM

The killer 2023 Condrieu La Doriane boasts gorgeous orange blossom, honeyed flowers, toasted spice, and grilled peach aromatics that build incrementally with time in the glass. Medium to full-bodied, focused, and pure, this brilliant effort spent 9 months in 100% new French oak and represents the crème de la crème of the vintage. I’d recommend drinking bottles over the coming 7-8 years, although it will keep longer. Drink 2025-2033.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDHow can you resist the fresh honeycomb, honeysuckle and toasted brioche aromas and controlled extravagance of this high-end Condrieu? Rich stone fruit aromas on the expansive, medium- to full-bodied palate, where the freshness of the vintage deftly lifts the long, generous finish. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSMatured for 9 months in 100% new French oak, the 2023 Condrieu La Doriane takes off with toasty subtleties, mingling pristine white peach, apricot and jasmine with a touch of honeysuckle. Packing elevated flavor concentration on the dense palate, the 2023 is an outgoing, articulate La Doriane. Round and complex, it walks off the stage with a touch of lemon flesh and wet stone on the long, nuanced finish.Vinous Media | 94 VM