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Lastly, the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape XXL is pure magic and one of the most singular wines out there. Based on 65% Grenache and the rest Syrah and other varieties, it was only 30% destemmed and brought up all in demi-muids. Where previous vintages of this beauty were almost over the top, the 2019 shows a more elegant, pure, balanced profile as well as incredible aromatics of ripe red and black fruits, herbes de Provence, ground pepper, violets, and other notes of Southern Rhône-like goodness. Incredibly powerful and opulent, it somehow manages to stay perfectly balanced, has a wonderful sense of freshness, silky yet substantial tannins, and an awesome finish. Unfortunately, there are just over 300 cases produced, so it won’t be easy to find, but this ranks with the all-time greats. It deserves 4-5 years of bottle age and should evolve for 30 years if well-stored.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JD

The 2019 Barolo Castiglione is elegant, translucent and classy. Crushed red berry fruit, orange peel, mint and cinnamon all grace this elegant, wonderfully nuanced Barolo from Vietti. I especially admire the energy here. In many vintages, the Castiglione is easygoing and quite accessible, but I see the 2019 needing a few more years to come into its own. I especially admire its focus and cut.Vinous Media | 94 VM

The 2019 Barolo Lazzarito continues a trend seen in recent years in which the focus has been more about finesse than raw power. Intense red fruit, iron, dried herbs, chalk, dried rose petal and white pepper all run through this deep, virile Barolo. The power and intensity of Serralunga really come alive on the heady, explosive finish. Bright saline notes linger on the deep, resonant finish. A Barolo of raw, unbridled power, the Lazzarito demands patience.Vinous Media | 97 VM

Enormously complex nose that marries so many flinty, savory and citrus aromas. Astonishing texture on the rich but precisely delineated palate, the concentration creeping up on you, building and building to a great crescendo. Enormously mineral aftertaste. Drinkable now, but best from 2023.James Suckling | 98 JSThis is also aromatically cool and restrained with its combination of essence of white orchard fruit, especially pear, along with hints of wood, spice, mineral reduction and rose petal. There is excellent intensity to the textured, concentrated and quite powerful big-bodied flavors that exude evident minerality on the focused finish that is quite tightly wound. This is going to need at least 6 to 8 years of bottle age first.Burghound | 93 BHThe 2019 Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles Grand Cru opens in the glass with notes of crisp orchard fruit, white flowers, orange oil, almond paste, pineapple and fresh pastry. Full-bodied, satiny and textural, it’s rich and expressive, with lively acids and a charming, demonstrative personality.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93 RP

This has chocolate, cedar and walnuts as well as some currant aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied with some lovely fruit and juiciness. 55.8% cabernet sauvignon, 38.8% merlot and 5.4% petit verdot. Attractive now but another year or two will make it even better.James Suckling | 94 JSThe 2019 Pauillac is a serious wine. Dark cherry, plum, gravel, incense, licorice and pomegranate are all dialed up in this wonderfully deep, fleshy Pauillac. Deep and resonant, with fine balance, the 2019 captures all the natural radiance of the year. This is really quite stellar and delicious. A recent bottle of the 2009 reminded me how pleasurable the Latour Pauillac can be.Vinous Media | 93 VMA rocking little Pauillac, the 2019 Le Pauillac De Château Latour has ripe, upfront aromatics of red and black currants, smoke tobacco, and spicy wood that carry to a medium-bodied, supple, layered, nicely balanced wine that has enough tannins to evolve for 20 years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 92 JDThe 2019 Le Pauillac de Château Latour is another impressive rendition of this bottling from Latour. Offering up notes of sweet berry fruit, plums, spices and pencil shavings, it’s medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy, with a ripe core of fruit, lively acids and powdery tannins. This year, it includes some declassified lots from Les Forts de Latour. I’m sure it will show even better when it’s released in a few years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90+ RPEvident ripeness to the fruits here, giving pretty high open berry aromatics even at this early stage. This is a frank and gourmet style of Pauillac de Latour and will be an early-to-medium term drinker with excellent potential for getting a taste of one of the few unquestionably good quality 3rd wines of Bordeaux. The hot summer meant there were patches of water stress on the sandier soils outside of the main L’Enclos de Latour, leading to more 3rd wine than usual, and it accounts for 25% of production in 2019, from unusually high yields of 44.7hl/ha. 72IPT.Decanter | 90 DEC

Exquisite aromas of lavender, cigar ash and Spanish cedar with dried citrus follow through to a medium body and a solid palate with powerful, ultrafine and linear tannins. The muscle and long finish are so beautiful. Give it two or three years but already a solid wine. Drink after 2028.James Suckling | 97 JSComposed of 65.8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31.9% Merlot, and 2.3% Petit Verdot, the 2019 Les Forts de Latour is deep garnet-purple in color. It opens with classic scents of cedar, cassis, and plum preserves, followed by suggestions of bay leaves, lavender, and crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate is tight-knit, bright, and refreshing, with fine-grained tannins and a mineral-laced finish.The Wine Independent | 95 TWIThe 2019 Les Forts de Latour appears to have tightened up a little since I last tasted it a few years ago. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of sweet cassis fruit mingled with hints of cedar, iris, orange zest and new oak, it’s medium to full-bodied, lively and nicely concentrated, with a ripe core of fruit underpinned by chalky structuring tannins. While it’s approachable after a decant, it certainly merits additional patience. As readers will remember, this bottling mostly derives from dedicated parcels located further inland from Latour’s famous "Enclos," next to Château Haut-Batailley.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94+ RPThe 2019 Les Forts de Latour has an open nose, strangely perhaps a little more expressive than the 2020 Pauillac de Latour at the moment. Scents of blackberry, cassis and iris flower unfold in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with crushed stone infusing the black fruit. This has attained more linearity since I encountered it in January 2023. The 2019 will give two or three decades of pleasurable drinking.Vinous Media | 94 VMA captivating nose of milk chocolate, cola, cherries, and violets, offering a soft and inviting bouquet. The palate is fully textured, opening gradually to coat the cheeks and tongue in a fine layer of chalky tannins. Juicy and succulent through the mid-palate, it bursts with citrus zest, orange and lemon pith, cranberries, and red cherries. There’s a beautiful interplay of bite and tension, with a sapdi freshness and a mineral core of crushed stones and iron. The finish ends bright, minty, and herbal, delivering great drive and persistence. 3.60pH.Decanter Magazine | 94 DECThe 2019 Les Forts De Latour is more open, expressive, and complex, with a medium to full-bodied style as well as terrific aromatics of ripe currants, leather, graphite, and cedary spice. I love its overall purity, and it has fabulous balance and outstanding length. Coming from slightly less ideal parcels (those farther from the Gironde estuary), it doesn’t have the density of the 2020 or 2022 but shines for its overall equilibrium and elegance, while still bringing some solid Pauillac power.Jeb Dunnuck | 93+ JD

The best Cavallotto Vignolo Riserva I’ve had to date, the 2019 is staggeringly stunning, starting with its heady aromas of pine forest, cedar, ripe red berry and spice. All about finesse and showing elegant restraint, the full-bodied, delicious palate delivers succulent Morello cherry, truffle, orange zest and pomegranate accented by white pepper and star anise. Tight, taut but fine-grained tannins provide great support while bright acidity keeps it balanced and fueled with vibrancy. What an absolutely gorgeous wine. Drink 2029–2049. Abv: 14.5% Kerin O’Keefe | 100 KOThe Cavallotto 2019 Barolo Riserva Vignolo (a certified organic wine) shows an earthy and savory side with the extra texture and concentration that is characteristic of this warm vintage. With fruit selected from a 1.96-hectare site with 40-year-old vines, the wine reveals a core of black and purple fruits, with dried plum and blackcurrant. It closes with powdery tannins. This Riserva ages for a long 60 months in 20-hectoliter and 50-hectoliter Slavonian oak casks. Production is limited to 6,566 bottles.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThe 2019 Barolo Riserva Vignolo is a deep, sensual wine. Dark red cherry, kirsch, cinnamon, blood orange and pomegranate all race across the palate. The aromatics are especially alluring, even if the Vignolo remains a bit less forthcoming on the palate. Kirsch, rose petal and mulling spice explode on the back end. This is the sort of Barolo that is a total turn-on with a bit of age. Actually, it already is.Vinous Media | 95+ VM

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard is the crown jewel in this year’s collection of Bevan releases. Hints of green coffee bean and sage accent hugely ripe flavors of black cherries and cassis on the nose, while the full-bodied palate is impossibly plush, wonderfully supple and richly textured, leading into a decadently long finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPDeep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Dr. Crane Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon prances out with flamboyant notions of creme de cassis, blueberry compote, and dark chocolate leading to hints of violets, crushed rocks, charcoal, and fragrant soil. The full-bodied palate is so gracefully knit together, with super fine-grained, beautifully ripe tannins and electric tension supporting the vibrant black and blue fruit layers, finishing on a lingering mineral note.The Wine Independent | 99 TWIThe 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard offers lots of classic Cabernet herbalness and pyrazines in its profile. Blackcurrants, green tobacco, chocolate, cedar pencil, and sappy flower notes give way to a full-bodied, seamless beauty with terrific tannins, a layered, balanced mouthfeel, and a great finish. There’s certainly a greener edge to it, but it handles it nicely, and it will be interesting to see how this evolves.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDAlluring, vivid herbal aromas are tinged with brown baking spices, red berry fruit and new wood cedar. This Cabernet is remarkably plush, with soft, warming flavours of cherry cobbler and overripe plums that turns to blueberry and black cherry. Chocolate hints emerge with tobacco and vanilla. The tannins are so long and seamlessly integrated as if they’re non-existent. This will impress over the long haul.Decanter Magazine | 96 DECThe 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard is silky, precise and nuanced, yet it has all the richness Bevan fans have come to expect. Silky tannins and expressive floral notes seem to coax unreal finesse from the red/purplish berry fruit. All the Dr. Crane characteristics come through in this vivid, arrestingly beautiful Cabernet from Bevan. Best of all, the Dr. Crane is one of the more immediate Cabernets in this lineup.Vinous Media | 95 VM