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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 JSPower 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 DECVery 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 RPThe 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

CIX stands for 109, because this was originally called “Parcel 109” when Aubert bought the vineyard. Planted in 2008 to Montrachet clone, the 2018 Chardonnay CIX Estate is wonderfully intense, exploding from the glass with lime cordial, apricot and mandarin peel scents of citrus, followed by suggestions of jasmine, honey toast and marzipan with a touch of coriander seed. The full-bodied palate is jam-packed with expressive citrus and stone fruit layers, framed by an electric line of freshness and finishing long with amazing purity and precision.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPAnother Sonoma Coast release, the 2018 Chardonnay CIX just about knocks it out of the park, offering a medium/lighter gold hue, a huge nose of ripe pineapple, caramelized pears, flower oil, nectarines, and salty minerality, full-bodied richness, integrated acidity, and a stunning finish. It’s everything you expect from a Chardonnay from Mark Aubert – stunning purity, opulence paired with freshness, incredible length, and flawless balance. Drink it over the coming decade.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDLots of ripe-nectarine, lemon-curd, dried-mango and smoked-cashew aromas. Salted butter notes. Ash, too. It’s full-bodied, creamy and smooth with a gradual and graceful evolution of ripe fruit to stone and flint on the finish. Solid density. Agile. Better in a year or two.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2018 Chardonnay CIX Vineyard is a seamless, gorgeous beauty. Orchard fruit, mint, white pepper and floral notes all run through this super-expressive, alluring Chardonnay from Mark Aubert. In the glass, the CIX is understated and nuanced rather than overt. I find it absolutely mesmerizing.Vinous Media | 94-97 VMRestrained but immediately compelling, pretty, creamy nose. The palate dismisses the dairy notes and becomes immediately more flavourful, the acidity growing in intensity and driving through to a long, succulent finish. A beautiful dance between softness and power. This wine truly appeals to me on both a personal and professional level – well crafted and deliciously delivered.Decanter | 97 DECFeatures a steely structure, with concentrated freshly cut apple, brioche and Asian pear flavors, supported by crunchy acidity. Pure and minerally midpalate, offering a long finish that echoes with subtle sea salt and chamomile accents. Best from 2022 through 2027. 1,085 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

The 2018 Chardonnay Larry Hyde & Sons was of the last vineyards picked, in mid-September. This section of Hyde vineyard is located on the Napa side of Carneros and is planted to Corton-Charlemagne clone on St. George rootstock. It strides confidently out of the glass with a very serious nose of baked apples, pear tart, almond croissant and candied ginger with wafts of struck flint and sea spray. The full-bodied palate is impactful and yet achingly elegant, featuring loads of mineral sparks coming off the apple and pear flavors, delivering a long, satisfying, almond-laced finish. Give it a further year or two in bottle and drink it over the next 10 years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPI’d wager one of the top Chardonnays to come out of Carneros, the 2018 Chardonnay Larry Hyde & Sons just about jumps from the glass with its huge nose of buttered lemons, flower oil, nectarines, green almonds, and exotic floral notes. From one of the cooler sites Aubert works with, this medium to full-bodied beauty has an incredible sense of purity, good acidity, and a great finish.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDIntense lime-curd, smoke, dried-mango and papaya aromas. Ginger, too. It’s full-bodied and creamy with incredibly concentrated flavors. So tight and layered. Clear and focused. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2018 Chardonnay Larry Hyde and Sons is the result a larger-than-normal crop. Hyde Chardonnays are typically exuberant, but in 2018, the wine is subtle, nuanced and wonderfully understated. I don’t think I have tasted a Hyde Chardonnay with this much precision. Lemon confit and bright floral notes perk up this beautifully expressive Chardonnay from Mark Aubert. The 100% new oak is already integrated. In 2018, the Hyde Chardonnay is just sublime. What way to start this tasting.Vinous Media | 93-96 VMBroad and rich, with seductive smoky notes to the ripe apple and pear pastry flavors. Buttery accents show midpalate, leading to an intensely spicy finish. Drink now through 2025. 1,013 cases made. — KMWine Spectator | 93 WS

Incredible 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 JSOne 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 JDA 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 AGLush 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 WSThis 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 DEC

Ripe-peach, chalk, smoked-almond, matchstick and phenolic aromas. Floral notes, too. It’s full-bodied, creamy and oily. So balanced and restrained, yet dense and impressive. Minerally. Give this time.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2018 Chardonnay Hudson is sourced from Hudson selection, Old Wente clone vines that are 22 years old and planted on the Napa side of Carneros. The nose is redolent of butterscotch, baked apples, spice cake and chopped cashews with a core of baked pineapples and preserved lemons. The rich, full-bodied, decadently fruited palate offers layer upon layer of savory flavors with compelling lemony sparks and a seamless acid backbone, finishing seductively creamy and on a long-lingering honey-nut note.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPThe 2018 Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard is another superb wine in this range. Unctuous and creamy, with striking freshness, the Hudson has so much to offer. White pepper, mint, orchard fruit and lemon confit are all given an extra kick of intensity in this racy, beautifully layered Chardonnay from Aubert.Antonio Galloni | 94-97 AGConcentrated poached pear and apple pastry flavors are plush and open-textured. Shows juicy richness midpalate. Buttery pastry notes linger on the finish. Drink now through 2024. 851 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

The 2018 Barolo Sperss is a gorgeous, gorgeous wine. The aromatics alone are beguiling. Then again, that’s one of the things that makes Barolo such a totally seductive wine. Sweet black cherry, lavender, spice and leather give this unusually translucent Barolo striking layers of dimension. Potent Serralunga tannins are present, but they are beautifully woven into the wine’s fabric. Sadly, production is around 11,000 bottles, down sharply from the 18,000 or so that is more typical.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGLots of rose-petal aromas here, together with some stems and sandalwood, as well plums and berries. Medium-bodied with a tight palate and very fine tannins that run the length of the wine. Linear and focused. Hints of nutmeg and pie crust highlight the palate. Approachable. now, but needs at last three or four years to open. Try after 2026.James Suckling | 95 JS