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Bottled in July 2017 and composed of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc, the Dominus 2015 Proprietary Red Wine leaps from the glass with notes of fresh wild blueberries, crushed blackberries and black currant juice with touches of wild thyme, underbrush, iron ore and aniseed with wafts of lavender and pencil lead. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has incredible energy and vivacity, with the firm, pixelated tannins and lively backbone skillfully framing the muscular fruit, finishing with wonderful length and depth.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPThe 2015 Dominus is a flawless, perfect wine as well as a legend in the making. A blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot and the rest Cabernet Franc, from dry-farmed vines and brought up in just 40% new French oak, its ruby/purple color is followed by an extraordinary bouquet of blackcurrants, crème de cassis, damp earth, smoke tobacco, and spring flowers. Reminding me of the 2015 Château Margaux with its incredible mix of elegance and power, this beauty hits the palate with full-bodied richness, stunning purity of fruit, building tannins, and awesome length. This sensational textured and voluptuous Dominus drink well today yet will evolve for 25-30 years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDA blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 9% Petit Verdot, the 2015 Dominus has a deep garnet-purple color. It needs a little coaxing to unlock scents of redcurrant jelly, warm cassis, wild blueberries, and forest floor, followed by hints of graphite, red roses, and allspice. The full-bodied palate is full-on seductive, featuring firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness to compose the opulent, perfumed black and red fruit layers, finishing with incredible length.The Wine Independent | 100 TWISuper savoury and terrifically precise aromatics reveal capsicum and dried sage, bay leaf and blood orange citrus, cocoa nibs and dried violets dusted with white pepper. Plump and unabashedly full-bodied, with voluminous and creamy black fruit atop super-fine-grained tannins that are seamlessly integrated. A host of savoury spices build intrigue with black olive, liquorice, and cured meat.Decanter Magazine | 98 DECA phenomenal red from the vintage with sandalwood, roses, currants, blackberries and blackcurrants. Full-bodied, extremely structured and intense with a great finish. The tannins are so polished and poised. Shows tension and beauty throughout. Straight and focused. Drink in 2022.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2015 Dominus is fabulous. Explosive and alluring on the palate, the 2015 possesses stunning texture and intensity. Blueberry jam, cloves, menthol, licorice and graphite are some of the many nuances that develop over time. In 2015 Dominus artfully balances the richness of the year with the classic structural elements that are such a signature of this wine.Vinous Media | 97 VMThis is packed with juicy, vibrant currant paste and blackberry pâte de fruit notes, all intertwined with apple wood, warm earth and anise accents. Reveals a deeply buried cast iron edge, with a tantalizing savory flicker at the very end. Ultimately, it’s the fruit that holds sway throughout this very expressive version, which is a stark contrast to the brick house ’13. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. -- Non-blind Dominus retrospective (August 2022). Best from 2026 through 2038. 3,800 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

The 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape XXL has only been made previously in the 2007 vintage, and there are around 400 cases of this beauty in 2016. Coming from old vines near Beaucastel, La Crau, and Saumade, which are all rolled stone terroirs, it’s mostly Grenache (there’s 10% Mourvèdre) brought up primarily in demi-muids. This incredible wine is deep ruby/purple-colored with a massive nose of black fruits, scorched earth, graphite, incense, and pepper. Deep, hugely concentrated, pure, fine and yet still elegant, it's a magical, heavenly wine that's going to keep for 3-4 decades. While the style at Janasse has shifted to one of slightly more freshness and elegance since 2007, this is much more in the style of the old days and is guaranteed to make your blood pressure jump about 10 points or more!Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDOnly the second vintage of this cuvée ever to be produced (the other is 2007), the 2016 Chateauneuf du Pape XXL is about 75% Grenache, with the rest a mix of permitted varieties. It incorporates "a lot" of whole clusters and matured in demi-muid. It was bottled in May but will likely only be released in November, says Christophe Sabon. Classy aromas of crushed stone, pencil shavings and baking spices start it off on a terrific note, while ripe raspberries and stone fruit unfold on the full-bodied palate. Contrary to the implications of its name, this wine boasts incredible finesse, elegance and length and is in fact more impressive for those qualities than its overall size, power and richness. It will certainly open a few eyes.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RP

The 2016 Les Forts de Latour is the clear highlight among these new releases from Latour. The first thing that is evident about the 2016 is the pedigree of the vintage. Undisputedly great. Readers will find a potent, dark Forts de Latour endowed with massive concentration and tons of depth. The 2016 won’t be ready to drink anytime soon, but it holds tons of promise. Hints of gravel, sage, licorice and pencil shavings linger. The 2016 was impressive a few years ago. It is even better today.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGLots of blueberries, ripe blackberries, violets, peppercorns, olives and cloves on the nose. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, fleshy tannins. Beautiful blue fruit and flowers. Layered and long. Drink after 2023.James Suckling | 96 JSThe 2016 Les Forts de Latour is superb, unwinding in the glass with notions of blackcurrants, wild berries, sweet loamy soil, cigar wrapper and English walnuts. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it’s concentrated and tightly wound, with superb depth at the core, lively acids and ripe, powdery tannins. This is an impeccably balanced, utterly classical Forts de Latour worth a special effort to seek out.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThe second wine of this great château, the 2016 Les Forts De Latour continues to impress. I commented on release that it was the best wine in the vintage, and my opinion hasn’t changed. This beauty offers plenty of classic Latour character as well as notes of blackcurrants, saddle leather, lead pencil shavings, and dried flowers. Full-bodied, concentrated, and perfectly balanced, it’s just now starting to round into form and will no doubt continue drinking well for another 2+ decades. It’s a gorgeous Pauillac.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JD(Château Latour, Les Forts de Latour, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, Red) Violet scented dark black cherries and figs on the nose, quite powerful. Tannins are generous but they’re juicy and plump, soft almost chalky, they have a really great impact, filling the mouth together with the fruit. Everything has melded together, super balanced and all very harmonious - still clearly powerful with precision and sculpting of the fruit and a long finish with the flavours going on and on. Good acidity gives freshness and a real rush of strawberry and cherry juice on the first sip lifts and sustains the palate the whole way. Such a charming wine with great impact and presence. (Drink between 2021-2030)Decanter | 95 DECThis is a great wine, with superb tannins and rich fruit flavors that are in balance. Made from 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, the palate is dominated by black-currant flavor and a pleasant structure from the very fine tannins.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEA bit fleshier and more caressing than a typical Pauillac, this has flavors of warm fig, currant and blackberry preserves inlaid with charcoal and smoldering tobacco notes. There’s grip for sure and a twinge of warm cast iron on the finish, but the fruit detail keeps the upper hand throughout, showcasing the purity on the finish. Very, very solid. Best from 2023 through 2035.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

The 2016 Carmes de Rieussec is absolutely gorgeous. Hints of passionfruit, pineapple and mint all run through this gracious Sauternes. Medium in body, open-knit and accessible, the 2016 is easy to drink and enjoy right now. The 2016 Carmes is an absolutely delicious second wine from Rieussec that emphasizes freshness and immediacy. Residual sugar is relatively modest at 120 grams per liter.Vinous Media | 92 VMPale lemon in color, the 2016 Carmes de Rieussec features notes of candied orange peel and honey-drizzled peaches with touches of beeswax and lemon curd. The palate is rich with a lovely line of freshness cutting though the stone fruit layers, finishing on a spicy note.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RPSweet honey, lemon rind and cooked pineapple. Medium sweet, medium-bodied and an easy finish with toffee and caramel undertones to the cooked fruit. Second wine of Rieussec. Drink in 2021.James Suckling | 91 JSPacked with ripe, honeyed Sémillon, this wine has richness while also keeping plenty of freshness. Acidity and a crisp edge are balanced with the intense orange marmalade and spice flavors that will make this wine develop well. Drink from 2022.Wine Enthusiast | 91 WENot yet bottled, the 2016 Carmes de Rieussec offers a medium to full-bodied, ripe, sweetly fruited, moderately honeyed style. This was a good, not great year for Sauternes due to the difficulty in the development of botrytis, but this has good purity, impressive balance, and is certainly delicious. Drink it over the coming 7-8 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 90-92 JDA quince and pineapple nose is followed by passion fruit and white peach flesh in the mouth. It’s a lovely fresh and floral Sauternes.Decanter | 90 DEC

The 2016 Las Posadas is a stunning Howell Mountain wine. Inky, rich and hedonistically beautiful, the 2016 is simply magnificent. Crème de cassis, chocolate, menthol, licorice, lavender, cloves, mint, graphite and crushed rocks are all amped up in the glass. Unctuous, creamy and super-expressive, the Posadas captures the opulence of Howell Mountain. It is simply magnificent in every way.Vinous Media | 100 VMA blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, the 2016 Las Posadas Proprietary Red is an amazing effort that’s just entering what will be an extended drinking window. Gorgeous notes of blueberries, black cherries and mulberries appear on the nose, joined by a subtle leafiness (tobacco? bay?) that helps to temper the sweet nature of the fruit and bring a more savory, food-friendly quality to the wine. It’s full-bodied, rich and concentrated, with a stunningly long finish that manages to be both velvety and vibrant.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPBlueberries and blackberries with fresh herbs and hints of walnuts and almonds. Some crushed stones. Full body and tight, chewy tannins. Dark fruit and resin and cedar undertones. Extremely long and flavorful. Finely crafted. Drink after 2022.James Suckling | 99 JSFeatures seemingly endless waves of steeped blackberry, warmed fig and cassis flavors rolling through, supported by graphite girders and ornately laced with charcoal, dark bay leaf, alder and tar notes. The fruit and earth elements meld seamlessly through the rock-solid finish. As beautiful as it is large-scaled, this is built for cellaring. Next level. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Merlot. Best from 2022 through 2042. 319 cases made.Wine Spectator | 98 WSThe 2016 Las Posadas comes from a higher elevation site on Howell Mountain and has an undeniable mountain fruit structure as well as intensity. Stunning notes of pure crème de cassis, hot asphalt, bay leaf, black olives, and a touch of beef blood all emerge from this big, rich, full-bodied powerhouse. It’s loaded with potential, has huge tannins, a mountain of fruit, and a great, great finish. It’s almost impenetrable, though, and needs a solid 7-8 years or more of cellaring.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JD

This is an absolutely gorgeous expression, very full and generous. The 2016 Syrah Per Sempre spent a little less time in oak compared to other vintages, just 16 months, and the results are excellent. This area’s Syrah always does best in hot years, such as 2009 and 2007, and this vintage is reminiscent of the latter. There is lovely black fruit, surrounded by milled black pepper and hints of charcuterie. The key to hot-vintage Syrah is to keep the extraction low: This wine saw a 20-day maceration period, but still, the Syrah Per Sempre is thick and highly concentrated, and the 15% alcohol content is unmistakable. This would be a perfect accompaniment to a filet mignon and potatoes au gratin. This Syrah is a true standout.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPTua Rita’s 2016 Syrah Per Sempre is fabulous. Crème de cassis, lavender, licorice, plum and blueberry jam are all beautifully delineated. Savory, powerful and also structured, the 2016 has plenty of intensity, but it also is not as dense or obvious as has been the case in the recent past. Readers should be prepared to cellar the 2016 for at least a few years.Vinous Media | 97 VMThis is very exotic and seductive with dark berries, incense, citronelle and hints of sandalwood. Full-bodied, chewy and intense with a powerful palate and a long finish. Very fresh and muscular syrah. Needs three or four years to come around.James Suckling | 96 JSFocused flavors of black cherry, blackberry, licorice and black pepper are wrapped in toasty oak, but this intense red remains balanced and on the elegant side, with a long, fresh and spicy aftertaste. Decant now, or give it a year or two to absorb the oak. Syrah. Best from 2022 through 2032. 250 cases made, 15 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

Another perfect wine is the 2016 Thorevilos, and my notes on this beauty were laced with expletives. Full-bodied, mammoth-sized aromas and flavors of cassis, crushed flowers, dark chocolate, rare meat, and Asia spices all emerge from the glass. With incredible mid-palate depth, building tannins, and a seamless texture, it has flawless integration of its fruit, tannins, and acidity, no hard edges, and that rare mix of power and elegance. It’s already hard to resist yet will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for 20-30 years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDPhenomenal aromas of blackberries, fresh lavender, orange peel and hints of asphalt. Walnut shell, too. Full-bodied, firm and super structured with wonderful, chewy tannins and purity of fruit at the end. A joy to taste, even drink now, but needs time to come around. Try after 2023.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2016 Thorevilos has developed into a very sexy, racy wine. I don’t remember a young Thorevilos being this approachable. Rose petal, mint, sage, dried flowers and mint are some of the many notes that open up with a bit of time in the glass. This is such a gorgeous and totally compelling wine. In a word: superb.Vinous Media | 98 VMThis vineyard lies east of the St Helena AVA, but it isn’t high enough in elevation to be considered part of the Howell Mountain AVA. Don’t let the Napa Valley AVA fool you—this vineyard, now rechristened as Ecotone, is a top site, with lots of rock and white soils derived from volcanic ash. The 2016 Thorevilos Proprietary Red features scents of pine needles and rosemary accenting mixed berries and cassis, plus darker notions of chocolate and French roast. Full-bodied, rich and velvety in texture, it finishes long, smooth and savory, adding notes of black olives and earth.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPA stunner, with a seriously deep, dark core of warmed blackberry, black currant and fig paste flavors coursing along, laced with bay leaf, cassis bush, roasted alder, smoldering charcoal, cast iron and stone notes. The tarry structure will carry this through what should be a very slow evolution. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Merlot. Best from 2024 through 2040. 317 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WS

The 2017 Maya is a blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon and 33% Cabernet Franc and was bottled one week before I tasted it. Very deep purple-black in color, it opens with profound earthy notions of truffles, damp soil, crushed rocks and tar over a core of Black Forest cake, black raspberries, blueberry compote and aged meat plus touches of wilted roses and unsmoked cigars. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is solidly structured with firm, fine-grained tannins and wonderful freshness lifting the multilayered blue and black fruits with a long, perfumed finish. Stunning.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97+ RPThe tiny production 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Maya is another thrilling wine. The normal blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Cabernet Franc that was brought up in two-thirds new French oak, it offers a full-bodied, concentrated, yet sensationally elegant style as well as fab notes of crème de cassis, chocolate, graphite, and scorched earth. It’s a primordial example of this cuvée that has ripe tannins, a stacked mid-palate, and a great, great finish. Do your best to give bottles 4-6 years of bottle age.Jeb Dunnuck | 97+ JDThe 2017 Maya is not only gorgeous, it also appears to have handled the rigors of the growing season more successfully than the others. Ripe red cherry and plum fruit, blood orange, pomegranate, mint and spice all build as this racy, sumptuous wine shows off its considerable allure. Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc are just magic here.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGTiny production from the eastern hills of Oakville. If you love Bordeaux wines it’s such a treat to taste a blend of just Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, something that you rarely see in the Médoc. It works extremely well, with an aromatic kick of raspberry leaf and violet flowers but the key to the body is coffee, bilberry, rosemary, mulberry and cloves. Great acidity set against power and concentration. The savoury edge that makes Cabernet such a delicious food-friendly wine is here, and is extremely elegant and refined but with a punch and undertow. Good stuff, with long ageing potential. 75% new oak. Drinking Window 2022 - 2042.Decanter | 95 DECThe plum and chocolate, as well as hazelnut and dried-flower character is prevalent here. It’s full-bodied, yet very refined with lovely, polished tannins and a long, crisp finish. Balanced and focused. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSSolidly built, with ganache, plum, fig paste, smoldering tobacco and loam notes rolled together, ending with a muscular feel on the dark finish. Reveals a strong tug of terroir. Will need some time to stretch out fully. Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2022 through 2035. 800 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

This is one of my happy wines from Italy. You take three things—Syrah, sunshine and Tuscany—and fit them magically together to create the 2017 Syrah Per Sempre. If I am happy with this wine, so is its creator Stefano Frascolla, who was downright giggly as he presented it to me. This vintage puts it all out there and misses nothing. There is dark, exuberant, rich black fruit followed by carefully measured concentration and velvety richness. Both the 2003 and 2009 vintages were similarly hot years, but those editions showed a hardness or roughness, especially within the first few years of their release. This wine is quite the opposite, showing seamless transitions with layers of spicy softness, velvety richness and supple fruit definition. This wine is a true beauty with a more immediate style that will reward those who chose to drink it in the medium term, or those who prefer to wait longer. This is also one of the highest scores I have awarded to any Italian wine from the 2017 vintage thus far. Bravo!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPWonderful aromas of blueberries, black olives, dried meat, and dried flowers. Iodine and peppercorn. Full body, firm and chewy tannins, yet always polished and refined. Shows a compact and silky texture. Needs two or three years to come around.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2017 Syrah Per Sempre is aromatically deep and so expressive. As always, what comes through is a heady wine that captures the personality of Syrah on the Tuscan coast, and yet the 2017 also possesses quite a bit of nuance. Black pepper, lavender, spice and chocolate wrap around a core of inky dark Syrah fruit.Antonio Galloni | 94 AGWell-marked by spicy, toasty oak, this red is opulent and powerful, with blackberry and boysenberry flavors that are submerged for now. Balanced, yet needs time to tame its youthful exuberance and absorb the oak. The long finish echoes vanilla and toast notes. Best from 2022 through 2032. 300 cases made, 15 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

A blend of 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 0.8% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2017 Les Forts de Latour is deep garnet-purple in color and strides confidently out of the glass with classic notes of plum preserves, warm cassis and pencil shavings with nuances of mulberries, pencil lead, Indian spices and forest floor. Medium-bodied, the palate packs a lot of fruit into a very elegant, tightly knit palate, delivering expressive blackberry and spicy flavors with a firm frame of grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing long with a peppery kick.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPSmells lovely, really aromatic and shining out of the glass, forward and expressive with clarity and precision on the nose full of red fruit and floral scents. Sleek and crisp, this has energy and lifeforce, I love the shape and straightforwardness but it’s the texture that’s so captivating - slightly firm but dense and chalky tannins give the bounce and cushioning on the palate while the fruit is lean and well defined. So well worked, feels careful, controlled, refined and polished. Sophisticated and just so seamless. Extremely young right now, coiled and tense still, direct from start to finish, it needs to slow down and soften and relax. Lovely pure and perfumed red fruits raspberry and blueberries alongside a slightly sharp, bitter grapefruit edge to the tannins as well as graphite and slate which lingers on the tongue and gives the mighty grip that doesn’t let go. Stylish and enjoyable. 64 PIT, 6.7% press wine. 45.4% production. Harvest 11 September to 4 October. Technical director Hélène Genin. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend.Decanter | 94 DECThis is really minerally with crushed stones and dark berries. Some licorice. Medium to full body, firm and silky tannins and a beautiful, tight and focused finish. Such energy, delivered down a straight line.James Suckling | 94-95 JSThis bold, structured wine is packed with blackberry fruits and ripe tannins. Freshness and structure from the Cabernet Sauvignon are very present, giving a crisp edge to the solid backbone. This is a wine for aging. Don’t drink before 2023. ROGER VOSSWine Enthusiast | 94 WEBright and fresh, featuring floral, cassis and plum aromas and flavors allied to a sleek, iron-tinged frame. Racy tension through the finish lets the fruit play out while the minerality blossoms. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2022 through 2038.Wine Spectator | 93 WSA step up, the 2017 Les Forts De Latour includes more Cabernet Sauvignon and is 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, and the balance Petit Verdot and a splash of Cabernet Franc. Creme de cassis, unsmoked tobacco, damp earth, and a touch of cedar pencil all emerge from the glass, and it’s beautifully textured and medium to full-bodied, with terrific purity and a great finish. While it’s a second wine, I suspect it will evolve for 20-30 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDThe 2017 Les Forts de Latour conveys airiness on the nose, reflecting the relatively lightest vintage in recent years. Graphite and sous-bois infuse black fruit, offering a slightly welcome herbaceous/undergrowth tincture. The palate is very well-balanced and will appeal to those seeking a sleeker, lighter style of Pauillac. Not lean by any account, but this Les Fort de Latour is understated, with appealing black pepper and tobacco notes emerging on the finish. Fine.Vinous Media | 92 VM

Ripe and very powerful aromas of black licorice, currants and violets. Full-bodied, dense and flavorful with lots of very new, flashy wood. Sexy and gorgeous. Round and polished tannins. Superb wine for the vintage. Try after 2028.James Suckling | 99 JSA blend of 92.1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7.8% Merlot, and 0.1% Petit Verdot, the 2017 Latour has a deep garnet-purple color. It sashays out with showy notes of warm cassis, mulberries, and Morello cherries, followed by emerging tertiary hints of unsmoked cigars, rose oil, cardamom, and star anise, with a waft of iron ore. The medium-bodied palate is elegantly styled and mineral-laced, featuring loads of exotic sparks and velvety tannins, finishing on a lingering anise note. Beautiful! While it’s in a nice place right now, another 2 to 4 years in bottle should allow for even more of this gorgeous, emerging perfume. It will easily cellar for another 30 years beyond that.The Wine Independent | 98 TWIThe 2017 Latour is just starting to open aromatically. Medium in body, with tannins that have begun to soften, the 2017 is super-expressive and inviting today. It’s a charming, relatively accessible young Latour that is all about finesse and understatement. Bright saline notes and lifted floral top notes convey class.Vinous Media | 96 VMA complex, layered, incredibly impressive Latour, the 2017 Château Latour is based on 92.1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7.8 % Merlot, and a splash of Petite Verdot that spent 16 months in new barrels. It’s medium to full-bodied, has a ripe, round, beautifully balanced mouthfeel, classic notes of sweet red and black fruits, tobacco, graphite, and crushed stone, ultra-fine tannins, and a gorgeous finish. It’s actually much more accessible than I’d imagined a few years ago, and this beauty clearly offers incredible pleasure today, as well as some classic Latour character. It should continue showing well for another 30+ years if well stored.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDThe just-released 2017 Latour is surprisingly accessible by this estate’s standards, offering up expressive aromas of crème de cassis, cigar wrapper, pencil shavings, burning embers and creamy new oak, followed by a medium to full-bodied, rich and layered palate that’s fleshy and complete, with lively acids and a long, vanillin-inflected finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RP

Showing a deeper colour than the other wines in his cellar, as it always seems to do, this serious, well-structured Nuits from Emmanuel Rouget shows bramble and black cherry fruits, some subtle oak spice, vivacious acidity and good underlying grip.Decanter | 92 DECThe 2017 Nuits Saint-Georges Village, matured in 30% new oak in order to preserve freshness, according to Rouget, has quite a generous bouquet of blueberry and black cherry fruit, the oak nicely integrated. The palate is bright and fresh with violet-tinged blue fruit, almost Vosne-like in style, leading to a silky-smooth, very classy finish. Excellent.Vinous Media | 90-92 VMThe 2017 Nuits-Saint-Georges Village exhibits aromas of sweet Morello cherries, cassis, violets and rose petals. On the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied, satiny and expressive, with a layered core and fine stony tannins, combining richness of structure, with lightness of touch.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 89-91 RPThis is at once more deeply colored and more deeply pitched with its fresh and restrained nose of plum, dark currant, violet and newly turned earth. There is notably better concentration to the muscular and punchy medium-bodied flavors that flash a mild rusticity on the mouth coating though not particularly austere finale. This well-made effort is very Nuits in character and should age well over the mid-term.Burghound | 89-91 BHFrom the northern side of Nuits, in Les Lavières and Argillats. The colour is a rich imperial purple but with a little bit of reduction. More masculine in this vintage, says Emmanuel. Pretty powerful on the nose, but nutty too. Ultra- intense even at the back of the palate, this one has rolled up its sleeves and settled in for a long evening. If you are happy with the power, this could be your wine. Tasted: November 2020.Jasper Morris | 89-92 JM

The 2017 Vin Santo del Chianti Classico is a gorgeous, exotic wine. Hazelnut, orange peel, spice and light caramel inflections all grace this elegant, floral Vin Santo. Bright acids perk up the finish nicely. Shortening the drying period slightly to compensate for grapes that were already high in sugar worked so well. This is classic as classic gets when it comes to Vin Santo. I would love to have a few bottles in the cellar. Residual sugar is 270 grams per litre.Vinous Media | 96 VMFully rancio and citrusy, with candied orange zest, nuts and dried figs. This old-fashioned style shines on the palate, with elegance, depth, a silky texture, weight, balanced sweetness and a super-tense finish. Lacks impressive length, but is an outstanding vin santo. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSRich and creamy, boasting vanilla, honey, caramel, dried apricot and roasted nut flavors. This version is cut by balancing acidity, with a slightly cloying finish. A clean, hedonistic style. Malvasia, Trebbiano and Sangiovese. Drink now through 2045. 1,000 cases made, 325 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WSAvailable in a 375-milliliter bottle, the Fèlsina 2017 Vin Santo del Chianti Classico shows a glossy amber appearance with rich aromas of dark honey, maple syrup and brandied fruit. Despite the intensity of the bouquet, the wine is actually quite streamlined and immediate in terms of mouthfeel.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPGolden brown in the glass, and tangy, fresh and spirited on the nose, with aromas of pennies, citrus blossoms, lemon candy and apricot. The palate is slightly denser, but cohesive, with notes of dried apricot, candied lemon peel, macadamia nuts and sugar cookies. Wine Enthusiast | 90 WE

Exquisitely fine tannins to the currant, lead-pencil and chocolate character. The palate is full, yet very refined and linear with a long, lingering finish. Such polish and tension. The tannins are intense, yet so fine, giving almost a powdery texture. So Lafite-like. Best Carruades ever? 56% cabernet sauvignon and 38% merlot, the rest cabernet franc. Drink after 2026.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2018 Carruades de Lafite is a blend of 56.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot and 5.5% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple colored, it comes skipping out of the glass with bright, cheery scents of redcurrant jelly, blackcurrant pastilles and Morello cherries with hints of candied violets, pencil shavings, menthol and crushed rocks. Medium-bodied and elegantly styled, with layers of crunchy red and black fruits, it has a beautifully ripe, fine-grained texture and loads of freshness, finishing long and mineral laced.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPSeductive, with mulled plum and black cherry fruit that is infused with dark tea, singed cedar and bay notes. Iron note nicely imbedded through the finish, which has a subtle tug of earth. Very restrained in feel, but with some seriously sneaky length. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2025 through 2038.Wine Spectator | 94 WSWhile a lot of estates’ second wines can have a distinctly different style than their Grand Vins, that’s not the case with Lafite. Their 2018 Carraudes De Lafite has a beautiful Lafite-like elegance and sense of nuance that’s always present in the Grand Vin. Based on 56.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, its ruby/purple-tinged hue is followed by a beautiful nose of cassis, lead pencil, black cherries, tobacco leaf, and forest floor. With medium to full-bodied richness, it has a layered, elegant mouthfeel, ripe yet present tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. This juicy, textured, balanced 2018 can be drunk today or cellared for 15-20 years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDThis is a ripe, juicy wine that’s rich and generous in texture, with light touches of spice and fine tannins. It has both weight and freshness, giving a wine that is elegant and ripe.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThe 2018 Carruades de Lafite is delicate, sensual and elegant, with a striking interplay of finesse and power. A wine of total allure and translucence, the 2018 Carruades is so silky, so finessed, so classy. Sweet red/purplish fruit, lavender, rose petal and spice are all finely knit in a Pauillac of tremendous class. Harvest started on September 17 and wrapped up on October 5 for the Cabernets.Antonio Galloni | 93 AGAn understated and enjoyable Carruades, which has that sense of Lafite effortlessness, with a mouthwatering finish. Dark spice and great balance, where you see the beginnings of acidity, tannin and fruits but you don’t see their end as they meld into each other. Savoury Cabernet fruits abound. This is hugely elegant, with smoky notes that come out more obviously as the wine opens up. Drinking Window 2024 - 2038.Decanter | 93 DEC

One of the blockbusters in the vintage is Denis Durantou’s 2018 Château L’Eglise Clinet, which is a normal blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc brought up in 70% new French oak. This deep purple-hued beauty boasts an awesome, full-bodied, opulent personality as well as classic Pomerol notes of blackcurrants, black cherries, damp earth, chocolate, tobacco, and flowers. Rich, concentrated, and sexy, yet not over the top in any way, it expands on the palate, has sweet tannins, background oak, and a great, great finish. It already offers pleasure yet won’t hit prime time for another 7-8 years and is going to evolve for 25-30 years or more, and probably have a gradual decline after that.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDIncredible purity of fruit here with blackberry, black olive, concrete, stone and violet in the nose. It’s full-bodied with a powerful palate of fruit that shows a wet-earth and black-truffle undertone. The tannins are intense and chewy, yet wonderfully polished and poised. Superb length in the finish. One built for long cellaring. Try after 2027.James Suckling | 99 JSA blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 L’Eglise Clinet has a 3.63 pH and 14.5% alcohol. It was aged in 70% new barriques. Deep garnet-purple in color, it opens with a stunning fragrant-earth perfume, accented by notions of wild mushrooms, mossy tree bark and crushed rocks, giving way to a core of black raspberries, plum preserves and fresh blueberries, plus wafts of lavender and clove oil. Medium to full-bodied, the palate shimmers with energy, delivering slow-releasing black fruit and earthy layers, framed by very ripe, finely grained tannins and fantastic tension. It finishes with epic length and subtlety. It is already so evocative and beautifully expressed at this youthful stage that is tempting to broach straight away, but give it another 5-6 years to really fan its feathers, and drink it over the next 40 or more years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPThe 2018 L’Eglise-Clinet is insanely beautiful and vivid, not to mention one of the wines of the vintage on the Right Bank. Vertical and explosive in feel, the 2018 is rapturous from the very first taste. Inky dark red and purplish fruit, mocha, lavender, crushed rocks and rose petal are some of the many aromas and flavors that build through to the exceptionally long, vibrant finish. But L’Eglise-Clinet is so much more than that. It’s a Pomerol of tremendous distinction and class. Give it a few years in bottle and then enjoy over the next several decades.Antonio Galloni | 98 AGThis is plush, with touches of chocolate shavings, olive paste, clove, rosemary and sage right from the opening beats. Blackberry and raspberry layer up flavours that lift out of the glass, then the aromatics take over with soft smoke and grilled almonds. Seductive, a reminder of Durantou’s ability to tease layers and nuances out of even warm vintages. Austere on the finish, with chalky tannins at this stage - this is knitted down and will reward patience. Low temperature fermentation at around 22C. A yield of 45hl/ha. Drinking Window 2027 - 2044.Decanter | 97 DECLush in feel, with boysenberry reduction and crushed plum flavors, carried by a polished, solid structure. A mineral hint filters through on the finish, adding length and cut. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Score rangeWine Spectator | 95-98 WS

Tasted out of bottle, the 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape Prestige Blanc offers a more Burgundian, chiseled, mineral-laced style to go with beautiful notes of caramelized peach, white flowers, crushed stone, and charcoal. Medium to full-bodied, beautifully textured, and elegant on the palate, it still packs plenty of oomph and has incredible length on the finish. Give bottles 2-3 years and enjoy over the following two decades or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDA rich, alluring style, with a brioche note leading the way for creamed yellow apple, candied lemon peel, white ginger and quince notes. An accent of acacia honey lines the finish, where the brioche edge takes an encore. Showy and delicious. Roussanne, Grenache Blanc and Clairette. Drink now through 2023. 56 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 95 WSThis is outrageously flamboyant but hard not to like. There’s great concentration and it’s highly expressive already showing some complexity. It has a nutty macadamia note and a subtle flinty reduction with rich pear fruits that shoot through with oak spice, but it’s the fruit that has the upper hand. It’s very full-bodied but has enough pep and acidity to keep things upright and rolling. A cuvée that can be overly marked by malolactic fermentation, but not this year. Grown on sandy soils, 80% fermented in concrete, 20% in new barriques. It’s matured for 14 months in old barriques, concrete and 20% new barriques. Drinking Window 2019 - 2024.Decanter | 95 DECThe brassy-hued 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc Prestige shows ample oak on the nose and palate, allied to ripe, luscious fruit. Predominantly Roussanne, fermented and aged in one-year-old demi-muids, it has developed hints of sweet corn and notes of grilled pineapple during its elevage. Opulent and lush, it’s enormously seductive now, although I suspect it will drink well for at least 4-5 years based on its impressive concentration and length.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP

Blackberry and spice character – white pepper to be precise. Full-bodied, layered and chewy with a dusty texture and a black-olive undertone. It’s rich and chewy. Drink after 2022.James Suckling | 95 JSA blend of Petit Verdot and Merlot, the Tua Rita 2018 Lodano Rosso is another wine that I had tasted in a preview capacity at the beginning of this year. The wine is seamlessly integrated with dark fruit, blackberry and plum that is rounded off nicely by the smoke and tobacco from French oak and a smaller part of American oak. The Merlot is sourced from the estate’s celebrated old vines, and a theme of flashy or contemporary concentration and richness is found in this wine and throughout the estate portfolio. This vintage was cool and wet during the spring months but turned much warmer and drier toward the end of the growing season.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPThis is one of the best expressions of Petit Verdot I have tasted in a long time. While always intriguing, the variety is often very linear and structural whereas here it has some richness, roundness and charm. It opens slowly to reveal dark fruits, gunsmoke and spice, with finely textured, silty tannins. Perhaps the old-vine Merlot helps coax this more edgy variety into showing its more sensual side. Drinking Window 2022 - 2028.Decanter | 94 DEC

Extremely perfumed and floral with lavender, lilacs and violets to the sweet, ripe berries, such as blackberries and blackcurrants. Some slate and graphite, too. It’s full-bodied, yet ever so balanced and refined, with super fine tannins that last for minutes. Fresh herbs, such as bay leaf and lemon grass highlight the dark fruit. The quality of tannin is exquisite with wonderful polish and refinement. Lasts for minutes. So wonderful to taste now, but better after 2026.James Suckling | 99 JSVery deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Opus One soars out of the glass with bright, bold boysenberries, warm cassis and ripe, juicy black plums notes, plus emerging nuances of lilacs, oolong tea, cinnamon stick, tilled soil and black truffles. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with tightly wound layers of crunchy black fruits, supported by firm, grainy tannins and fantastic freshness, finishing with lifted fruitiness and on a lingering mineral note.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPPower and concentration from the start but with a lovely vein of cool blue fruits and an invigoratingly fresh core. Dark chocolate, coffee, blueberries and pomegranate combine to give a seductive nose and follow through on the palate with an immediate burst of juicy acidity and plush tannins. Layered and nuanced, the texture is striking, elegant and precise with juice that his the side of the mouth supported by oak spice that gently frames the overall feeling giving balance. Abundant in a sense but also reigned in making you want another glass straight away. 80% wild yeast fermentation for the first time as of the 2018 vintage. Drinking Window 2024 - 2040.Decanter | 98 DECThe 2018 Opus One is a blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot, and the rest Merlot and Cabernet Franc. This deep purple-hued effort leans to lively, fresher side of the vintage but has a brilliant, utterly classic style in its crème de cassis and blue-tinged fruit as well as notes of lead pencil, candied violets, damp earth, and chocolate-like nuances. With a Pomerol-like elegance and purity, it’s medium to full-bodied and has wonderful tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. It plays in the finesse-driven end of the spectrum yet is concentrated and seamless, with serious length. It offers pleasure today but should benefit from 4-5 years in the cellar, and my money is on it evolving for 30 years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDThe 2018 Opus One is absolutely exquisite. Bright red berry fruit, crushed flowers, mint and spice are all finely cut. The 2018 impresses with its energy and focus. It’s a gorgeous wine, and is also showing especially well today, with all of the potential I first saw in barrel very much on display. Bright acids linger on the persistent finish. The 2018 is supremely elegant.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGThe fruit is decidedly restrained in style, without the vivid punch typical of the vintage, but the gently mulled currant, cherry and bitter plum flavors are well-delineated and persistent, while notable savory, thyme and tobacco leaf notes play a prominent role alongside. There’s a racy beam of acidity piercing through it all and a lingering iron note on the finish. An excellent example of the style. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. Drink now through 2036. 32,400 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

Blackberry and blueberry aromas and flavors with some conifer and stone. Full-to medium-bodied with firm, dusty tannins that are fine and intense. Clarity to this wine. Try after 2024.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2018 Quella is rich, ample and beautifully resonant in the glass. There’s terrific depth here and tons of class. Blood orange, game, licorice, tobacco, lavender and dried herbs give the Quella beguiling aromatic presence to play off its muscular, brooding personality. The 2018 needs a few years to soften, but it is already compelling, to say the least.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGFirst made in 2006 and coming from more sandy, coarser soils, the 2018 Quella is incredibly exotic, with red and black fruits, wildflowers, sandalwood, candied violets, and flowery incense notes as well as medium to full body, a layered, ultra-fine, pure mouthfeel, silky tannins, and a great finish. It’s incredibly elegant and polished in 2018, with a chalky minerality as well as gorgeous complexity and length. It’s another 2018 that has plenty of up-front charm and accessibility yet is going to age gorgeously for 20-30 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDBoasts black currant, fig and loganberry fruit flavors that are tightly packed yet nicely expressive already, while the backdrop of signed alder, juniper, bay leaf and warm loam adds extra dimension and length through the finish. Not shy on power, but everything is in proportion. Best from 2024 through 2040.Wine Spectator | 96 WSA barrel sample, the 2018 Quella has a deep garnet-purple color and opens with the most gorgeous perfume of violets, red and black plums, Morello cherries and cassis plus hints of iron ore and crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers lovely energy and tension, framed by fine-grained tannins and finishing with beautiful purity.Quella comes from a steep, southwest-facing vineyard in the eastern Vaca hillsides, just up from Joseph Phelps’s winery and Denali Estate.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95-97 RP

This is a dense and lively La Mission white with lemon, lime and cream character and a light mineral and salty undertone. White pepper and salt at the finish.James Suckling | 97-98 JSThe La Mission Haut-Brion 2018 Blanc is a blend of 57.4% Sauvignon Blanc and 42.6% Sémillon. It sashays out of the glass with gregarious notes of white peaches, fresh pears and pineapple with nuances of lime blossoms, crushed rocks and sea spray, plus a waft of beeswax. The racy, medium to full-bodied palate is charged with energy, delivering vibrant citrus and tropical fruit layers with a satiny texture and fantastic length. Completely exceeding my barrel tasting expectations, this promises to be an earlier drinking style, albeit multilayered, dripping with class and, yes, it’s downright sexy. Give it just a few more months in bottle and then it should offer decadent drinking for the next 15+ years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPSeriously dark and winey, showing a deep core of black currant preserve, warmed fig paste and plum reduction flavors inlaid with racy graphite, mouthwatering tobacco and enticing singed alder, bay leaf and freshly plowed humus. Delivers density, grip and definition on the long finish. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2025 through 2040. 2,880 cases made, 262 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 96 WSA richer, more textured wine than the Haut-Brion Blanc, no doubt due to its larger Sémillon content, the 2018 Château La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc reveals a medium gold hue as well as beautiful pineapple, honeyed lime, star fruit, and floral aromas and flavors. Nicely concentrated on the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied and offers beautiful acidity, plenty of depth and richness, and a great finish. A slightly softer wine, it doesn’t have the precision of its counter mate yet brings more texture and opulence. It’s another brilliant white that will benefit from short-term cellaring and evolve for 15+ years or so.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDThe white 2018 La Mission Haut-Brion explodes with notes of guava, pineapple, and ripe peaches, plus touches of honeyed toast and cedar. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is taut and layered, with lovely zesty sparks and a long, spicy finish.The Wine Independent | 95 TWIA serious wine that is just beginning to show its white flower and honeysuckle notes. A vintage that shows its warmth in a slightly lower acidity, but it is still an impressive textured white. 3.27pHDecanter | 94 DECThere is a light herbal touch to this wine that comes from the Sauvignon Blanc. However, it also has concentration and weight, offering a texture that brings freshness to balance the ripe fruits. The wine will age well. Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThe 2018 La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc has really come together nicely since I last tasted it. Bright and finely cut, with terrific creaminess, the 2018 is already very easy to taste, and, I imagine, drink. Lime, lemon peel, mint, white pepper and jasmine give the 2018 striking effusiveness.Vinous Media | 93 VM

The Tua Rita 2018 Syrah Per Sempre is another monumental achievement from this iconic Tuscan estate. Stefano Frascolla and his team have slouched into a very cozy and comfortable relationship with the Syrah grape, and this wine registers marked exuberance, generosity and quality with each vintage that I taste. I had previewed a sample of this 3,500-bottle release earlier in the year but did not give the wine a definitive score. Now on the market, Per Sempre boasts solid footing, rich density, ample fruitiness and pretty notes of spice and charred meat, thanks to 17 months in new French oak. The tannins are especially well managed, soft and integrated.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPThe 2018 Per Sempre is one of the best examples of this wine I have tasted. The combination of freshness and elegance of the 2018 vintage combined with the powerful expression of Tua Rita’s Syrah has created something magical: it has a dense, complex nose with liquorice, blackberry, flint, smoke and roasted meat notes. Big, bold flavours of blackberries, wood smoke and liquorice lead to a juicy, bright, savoury finish. It’s concentrated but still manages to be light on its feet.Decanter | 97 DECAromas of blue fruit, white pepper, dried flowers and stone. It’s full-bodied and grows on the palate, showing blue fruit, black tea leaves and chocolate. Bitter orange at the end. This is a baby. Solid and tight. Needs two or three years to come together.James Suckling | 95 JS

The very deep, purple-black colored 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. It takes a fair amount of swirling to unlock an incredibly intense nose of dark chocolate, warm cassis, baked plums and Morello cherries plus touches of red roses, violets, pencil shavings, cinnamon stick and dusty soil with a hint of iron ore. The full-bodied palate is so exquisitely elegant, charged with electric black and red fruits and a firm frame of super-ripe, grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing very long and very perfumed. This is pure energy in a glass!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RP(Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, Red, United States) Blackberry, dried-blueberry, bitter-chocolate and some volcanic-ash and burnt-orange aromas. Crushed stone and subtle vanilla notes, too. It’s full-bodied with firm, chewy tannins framing a deep core of dark fruit. Dense, muscular and firmly structured. So long. Goes on for minutes. Elegance with power. Really love the beautiful refinement and integrity to this. Captures the essence of the vintage. Try from 2025.James Suckling | 99 JSA benchmark for the vintage, thanks to its gorgeous display of warm cassis, mulled plum and macerated blackberry fruit stitched with subtle loam, juniper and bay leaf accents, in a reserved style. Warm earth tones reverberate through the lengthy finish, dovetailing perfectly with the suave fruit. A real beauty. Best from 2023 through 2040. 1,790 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WS

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