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All desert island wines by any measure, it’s hard to go wrong with any of these 2018s from Brad Grimes. The 2018 Las Posadas offers a monster bouquet of ripe black fruits, chocolate, graphite, and scorched earth and is dense, full-bodied, and insanely concentrated on the palate. It’s a big, monster of a wine yet, the purity of fruit is extraordinary, and it has loads of tannins, perfect balance, and a great finish. I finished my notes with "awesome."Jeb Dunnuck | 99+ JDFrom a slightly cooler vintage, the 2018 Las Posadas Proprietary Red comes across as slightly fresher than the 2017, with notes of sage and bay leaf accenting its blueberry and cassis fruit. But while it’s fresher, it appears just as concentrated, with ample richness on the full-bodied palate and a long, velvety textured and tannic finish. Give it a few years—or two decades—in the cellar, depending how mature you like your wines.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPThis has a lot going on, with a deep well of warmed black currant preserves, licorice root, menthol, sweet bay leaf, road tar and roasted apple wood. There’s burly grip running underneath, which winds up providing laser-sharp focus for everything as this carries on through the finish. An extreme mountain Cabernet for deep cellaring. For tannin lovers only. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Merlot. Best from 2025 through 2040. 162 cases made.Wine Spectator | 98 WSThe 2018 Las Posadas is inky, powerful and deep. It also comes across as quite closed in this tasting. Then again, this is Howell Mountain. Time in the glass brings out all the aromas and flavors that make Howell Mountain Cabernets so appealing. There’s plenty of lavender, spice, menthol and licorice to play off the dark blue/purplish-hued fruit. All the 2018 needs is a few years in bottle.Vinous Media | 96+ VM

This has a fresh, floral aroma, with honeysuckle and elderflower notes leading the way, followed by a rather creamy, refined palate of kiwifruit, makrut lime and verbena flavors. As the finish glides through, this offers hints of quinine, acacia and white peach. Shows beautiful range and definition, with serious length. Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. Drink now through 2026. Wine Spectator | 95 WSFor the third time in its history, this was entirely harvested in August (mainly 23 to 28, but the first berries were picked on August 13 - the earliest date ever). Rich fruit, lovely acidity and salinity on the finish, shot through with honeysuckle and clear citrus. They harvest Y in the same way as Yquem, where it is grape by grape rather than vine by vine, and sometimes grapes from the same bunch goes on to make Yquem later. 3.15pH. Also tasted September 2020; same score.Decanter Magazine | 94 DECWhite pear, honeysuckle, elderflower, quince, rich lemon, with a bitter edge of orange peel. This is starting to deepen at three years old, and show a richer texture than when I last tasted it in November 2020. It’s unquestionably one of the great whites of Bordeaux, although extremely low yields in 2018. Harvest began on August 13, the earliest date ever, with the majority of the whites coming in from August 23 to 28, harvested grape by grape as per the main sweet estate wine - meaning that grapes from the same bunch can later go on to make Yquem. 3.15ph. Jane Anson | 94 JAThe 2014 “Y” has 5 grams per liter of residual sugar and a pale lemon-yellow color. Citrus aromas of lime leaves, fresh grapefruit, and lemon zest shoot from the glass, followed by gentle wafts of crushed stones and coriander seed. The medium to full-bodied palate gives a very dry impression, with a laser-precise line of freshness cutting through the intense, youthful, citrus layers and with a silkiness to the texture, finishing with loads of zesty and mineral sparks. Impressive!The Wine Independent | 94 TWIThe 2018 Y de Yquem is a blend of 75% Sauvignon Blanc and 25% Sémillon bottled at the end of August. It offers light grass clipping and green apple scents on the nose, the Sauvignon Blanc defining the aromas. The palate is fresh on the entry, light and crisp with touches of pineapple and dried apricot, a hint of grilled walnut towards the finish. This actually improves with aeration, gaining some delightful praline and subtle white chocolate notes.Vinous Media | 91 VM

Aged 48 months in new barrels, never racked, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Deep Time is another singular beauty that tops out my scale. Showing a touch more classy oak as well as complex cassis, crème brûlée, new leather, and sweet tobacco, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a round, seamless, sexy mouthfeel, ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. Despite its four years in barrel, it hasn’t lost any sense of freshness and has vibrancy, purity, and structure. It too will evolve for 20 years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDDeep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Deep Time explodes with savory/meaty notes over a core of plum preserves and cassis with hints of tar, black olives, blackberries, and smoked meats. The full-bodied palate is rich and bright, with amazing tension, minerals, and black fruits, finishing long. There’s loads of tertiary goodness here!The Wine Independent | 99 TWIThe 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Deep Time is a selection of barrels from all three single vineyards, held back for extended maturation. This year, the wine aged in wood for 48 months. Marked by typical cigar box aromas, it also delivers plenty of cherries, vanilla and a hint of cassis. It’s full-bodied, rich and undeniably woody, yet still retains ample freshness and length. It reminds me a bit of some Riojas, for its wood presence and elegance, but with more power and fruit weight, like some of Chris RIngland’s long-aged releases of Barossa Shiraz. Idiosyncratic but delicious, it’s another top-class effort from proprietor Jayson Woodbridge.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RP

I loved the 2018 Echezeaux Grand Cru, which has the tight, structured, backward style of the vintage front and center. Ripe red and black fruits, spring flowers, and spice, as well as hints of black herbs, all show on the nose, and it’s medium to full-bodied, with great concentration and a focused, vibrant profile that’s mostly potential at this stage. In comparison to the 2019, it’s made in a much more classic, balanced, vibrant style and will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and cruise for 20-25 years or more. It’s a gorgeous 2018.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDEchézeaux is frequently regarded as the least exciting of DRC’s array of Vosne Grands Crus, but the 2018 is a delight that has the concentration to age. Fermented with 90% whole bunches and aged in new wood, it’s spicy, subtle and white pepper scented, with impressive texture and palate-coating opulence, racy acidity and floral top notes.Decanter Magazine | 95 DECThe colour is more purple than black. Powerful dark roses start the bouquet with some little tints of raspberry beneath. This has fully harnessed all its Echezeaux character, advancing in detail on the palate. There is a dark ripe character, no feeling of heat, and there is even a certain intellectual austerity after the Corton, and not to be displayed by Grands Echezeaux either. On the other hand, the very slightest touch of over-ripeness flattens the finish. Tasted Nov 2020.Jasper Morris | 95 JMSubtle but perceptible wood toast frames the very ripe yet again quite fresh aromas of poached plum, dark currant and a broad array of spice elements. There is fine density to the bold medium weight plus flavors that brim with dry extract that buffers the beautifully long and youthfully austere finish that flashes a touch of sweetness. This is a big and highly complex Ech, indeed the word robust applies but I very much like the evident development potential, and speaking of which, this is also going to need extended patience.Burghound | 94 BHThe 2018 Echézeaux Grand Cru has a very deep hue. The extraordinarily pure bouquet features black cherries intermingling with blueberry and oyster shell, and later a hint of potpourri. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, edgy and stony, with dark berry fruit and a little spicier than I recall apropos of previous Echézeaux at this stage. It might just need a little length, but otherwise it is a wine determined not to be outshone by its Grand Cru siblings.Vinous Media | 92-94 VM

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard was aged for 19 months in French oak barrels, 100% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, it sashays out of the glass with flamboyant scents of redcurrant jelly, Black Forest cake, blackcurrant pastilles and rose oil with suggestions of cast-iron pan, pencil lead and tilled soil plus a waft of fragrant earth. Full-bodied, rich and concentrated with firm, exquisitely ripe, fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness, it delivers an incredible mineral and perfumed red fruit firework display finish. Fans of Dr. Crane are going to LOVE this expression, masterfully crafted by Russell Bevan—an absolute must-try!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPI always seem to compare great wines from this site with Haut-Brion, and I think the comparison holds here, although it’s a Haut-Brion on steroids! The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Dr. Crane Vineyard reveals a dense purple color as well as a powerful nose of ripe black fruits, tobacco leaf, earth, coffee beans, and gravelly earth. All of these carry over to the palate, where the wine is full-bodied and has a deep, layered mid-palate, sweet tannins, and a blockbuster of a finish. Hats off to the talented Russell Bevans for another brilliant, singular wine that’s going to keep for 20-25 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDThe 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard is sensual, silky and nuanced, as wines from this site tend to be. Floral overtones and generous red/purplish fruit all run through this wonderfully open-knit Cabernet. If I were going to drink any of the Bevan 2018s on the young side, I would start here, with the fabulous Dr. Crane.Vinous Media | 96 VM