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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

The 2017 Ornellaia Bianco is a slightly tweaked blend compared to the 2016 and includes a splash of Viognier. The blend is 91% Sauvignon Blanc and 9% Viognier, which is a combination you don’t see often, yet it makes sense, and the Viognier plays the role of Semillon seen in Bordeaux Blanc releases. Coming from a dry, hot year, it has a beautiful bouquet of Meyer lemons, honeysuckle, flowers, and hints of barrique. This carries to a seamless, full-bodied white that’s flawlessly balanced, has a bright core of acidity, ample mid-palate depth, and a great finish. It’s one seriously classy white I’d be thrilled to drink any time over the coming 4-5 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDA really beautiful, layered white with sliced lemons, limes, stones and hints of steel. Some lemon curd. Tight and solid with fine phenolics that give it structure and focus. Extremely poised and dignified. Drink now or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSThe previous vintage of this wine was made soley with Sauvignon Blanc, but as expected, the Ornellaia 2017 Ornellaia Bianco sees a small percentage of Viognier added to the blend. The exact percentage of the two components is 91% Sauvignon Blanc and 9% Viognier. If you are a fan of these grape varieties, as I am, this wine will appeal to all your basic pleasure points. Showing medium rich concentration and a creamy textural fiber, it reveals some of the weight that we associated with this hot and dry vintage. However, any trace of over-ripeness is mitigated by the cool soils that, in this case, consist of deep calcarious clay broken up by rocks at a breezy 80 to 100 meters above sea level. This consistency is perfect for locking in moisture even in drought vintages. The wine is fermented in oak, but no malolactic fermentation occurs, and the wine instead rests on the fine lees with frequent stirring. Orchard fruits and Cavaillon melon give the wine a sturdy center of gravity. Some 5,000 bottles were made, and this wine was released in April 2020.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPThe 2017 Ornellaia Bianco is impressive, especially within the context of the warm, dry year. Bright and focused, the Bianco shows the natural richness of the vintage - that is impossible to escape - but it also retains quite a bit of energy. Orchard fruit, citrus and floral notes are beautifully delineated throughout. Once again, the Bianco is a wine of real distinction.Vinous Media | 94 VMSubtle peach, passion fruit, elderflower and earth flavors converge in this white. There is a touch of oak adding a vanilla accent. Though lush in texture, this is also intense and long, with an echo of passion fruit and salty elements. Drink now through 2024. 75 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

This is a great Yquem, delivering thrilling purity and intensity. The nose offers intense aromas of fresh and dried apricot and peach pastry, as well as freshly baked creme brulee, candied and fresh orange and kumquat. Some marmalade, too. Smooth, glossy texture with flavors of grilled orange, dried apricot and an exceptionally long finish with a powerful, driving push to the end. A flicker of toasty-oak influence arrives late, but this wine has completely consumed the oak. The 2017 Yquem is a very powerful wine from a very rich and exceptional vintage. The acidity has a big hand in balancing the richness. Pithy finish. The phenolics deliver some great depth. Rain at the beginning of September prompted an extensive infection of noble rot. The harvest lasted from September 26 to October 13. Great quality and one of the best since the legendary 2001. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 99 JSThere was no frost at d’Yquem in 2017, and botrytis was very regular and even this vintage. The nose opens with very pure notes of freshly sliced oranges, yuzu and lemon barley water with hints of white pepper, fresh ginger and lime cordial. The incredibly rich, unctuous sweetness (148 grams per liter of residual sugar) is beautifully marbled with bright, vivacious citrus fruit and spice flavors, while lifted by well-knit freshness, and it finishes with epic length and great depth.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97-99 RPThe 2017 Yquem is destined to be one of my favourite recent vintages. It has brilliant delineation on the nose with acacia honey, saffron, white flowers and a subtle crushed stone element. So much energy is palpable. The palate is supremely well balanced, surfeit with energy, spicy and feisty and yet paradoxically beautifully controlled and pixelated towards the extended finish. It’s not unlike the brilliant 2014 in style. Tasted at the château. Vinous Media | 97 VMVery flattering and unctuous in feel, with coconut, creamed papaya, toasted hazelnut and warmed peach and tangerine cream flavors gliding along in unison, all framed by warm brioche and piecrust notes on the finish. Remarkably rich, yet poised and pure. Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc. Best from 2025 through 2045. 4,166 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSStill very youthful with light golden colours, showing flashes of green in the glass. Intensely aromatic with tropical fruit notes, pineapple, roasted apricot, honey and lime zest. Full-bodied and rich on the palate with plenty of botrytis notes showing through. Although unctuous and weighty, this Yquem retains plenty of acidity which freshens the palate and balances the concentrated fruit. Sandrine Garbay noted that 2019 reminded her of 2017, with the 2019 showing a little more opulence. Served with a dish of roasted pollock and smoked mussels, this was a wonderful combination, showing the sweetness and purity of Yquem. Residual Sugar: 148g/L. (Drink between 2024-2050)Decanter | 95 DEC

Getting a big “Wow” in my notes, the 2017 Chateau Rieussec is an extraordinary Sauternes that has everything. Awesome notes of orange zest, honeyed flowers, ripe pineapple, peach, and spice all soar from the glass, and this beauty is already complex, has full-bodied richness and power, a great mid-palate, and a beautiful spine of acidity. It’s a brilliant, brilliant wine that can be enjoyed today or cellared for two decades or moreJeb Dunnuck | 98 JDInspirational depth with botrytis spice, toffee, dried-apricot and sponge-cake character. Full-bodied, very sweet and lively with a long, endless finish. Lively acidity balances the wine. Tight and linear. Compact column of fruit and botrytis. Give it age. Better after 2026.James Suckling | 98 JSA blend of 83% Semillon and 17% Sauvignon Blanc, the 2017 Rieussec is pale to medium lemon-gold colored. To begin, the nose blows you away with intense lemon tart, lime cordial, mango and quince notes followed by a second wave of floral, orange blossoms and honeysuckle scents, and then notes of crushed rocks, crème caramel and marzipan join the party. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is still very tightly wound with concentrated sweetness and a racy backbone to match, delivering layer upon layer of citrus and savory flavors, finishing on a persistent mineral note.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPStill in barrel, the 2017 Rieussec is just as impressive as it was en primeur. Rich, ample and voluptuous, the 2017 has all the intensity that is so typical of Rieussec, but with the extra kick of freshness that is now such an emphasis here. Candied orange peel, crême brulée, vanillin, passion fruit and pineapple emerge from the glass. I can’t wait to taste this from bottle.Vinous Media | 94-97 VMAn exceptional wine, this is just stuffed full of exotic fruits, layers of apricot, saffron, truffle and citrus, all powering through the palate with a mouthwatering finish. An early harvest - they finished picking in 2017 the same day that they started in 2018, and the crop showed unusually pure botrytis, needing less sorting than usual. Absolutely one to look out for.Decanter | 97 DECIntense and richly sweet, this wine is also balanced, with both botrytis and baked-apple acidity coming through. This essential dryness gives the wine a dense core and aging potential. A high proportion of Sémillon adds its weight at the end. Drink from 2020.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEDelivers some rare floral lift for the vintage, with a honeysuckle edge out front, pulling creamed mango and papaya notes along. Flashes of green tea, hazelnut and piecrust emerge on the finish. Showy, but with nice detail buried within. Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc. Drink now through 2035. 6,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS