Wine Producing Countries

wines

An intense, focused white, with crushed stone and chalk dust framing green apple, lemon and greengage flavors. Balanced and long, with a steely finish. Drink now through 2028. 1,750 cases made, 175 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 91 WSNice density and concentration on the palate, with green apple acidity underneath. Suspect this will be a good Vaudevey, but being a tank sample will need to be re-tasted in bottle.Decanter | 91 DECAnother typical lemon and lime colour. Pleasing and perfumed nose with some steel behind, plus something of the grassy character of this vineyard. A lemon infusion to bring up the finish. Tasted: July 2021.Jasper Morris | 89-92 JM

Graphite, blackberry and plum aromas and flavors highlight this juicy red, which is balanced and plushly textured, with just the slightest hint of oak. Drink now through 2025. 18,000 cases made, 8,000 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

The 2020 Meursault Les Tillets opens with notes of crisp green apple, freshly baked bread, white flowers and crushed mint. Medium-bodied, satiny and elegant, it’s lively and precise, with a pretty core of fruit and a mouthwatering finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RPThis too is quite firmly reduced and unreadable today. More interesting are the delicate but punchy flavors that evidence plenty of minerality on the vibrant, focused and beautifully well-balanced finale. Once again, more depth would be beneficial, but this wine has an excellent track record in that regard. Worth checking out.Burghound | 89-91 BH

Here there is less citrus and more floral influence on the white pepper and mineral reduction-inflected nose. The sleek, intense and attractively textured medium-weight flavors possess a bracing salinity on the agreeably dry, chiseled and well-focused finale that is just a bit firmer. Lovely.Burghound | 91 BHThe 2020 Chablis Vaillons 1er Cru has a flinty, focused, energetic nose that feels more harmonious than the preceding Côte de Léchet. The palate is taut, fresh and saline in the mouth, showing great depth and concentration toward the finish. This will be worth looking out for.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2020 Marjosse comes barreling out of the glass with rambunctious scents of cassis, crushed blackberries and black plum preserves, followed by hints of dark chocolate, anise and tar, plus a fragrant waft of lavender. The medium-bodied palate is soft, juicy and wonderfully refreshing, delivering wonderful poise and expression with a fun burst of pure black fruit on the finish. Delicious!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93 RPA touch of reduction on the nose which clears as it relaxes in the glass. This is well put together, has definition and finesse, and is punching above its weight in the appellation. Ambitious, well managed tannins and juicy red fruits; 2% Malbec completes the plantings. I don’t have the 2020 blend.Decanter | 91 DECThis shows notes of ripe berries, vanilla, licorice, crushed walnut and cocoa. Medium-bodied with ripe, supple tannins and a creamy texture. Fruit-forward and flavorful. Drink now, but better give a year or two.James Suckling | 90 JSThe 2020 Marjosse sports a nicely defined nose of blackberry, undergrowth and light mushroom-like aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, a crisp line of acidity and a precise, focused finish. There is pleasing salinity here, and it feels tender from start to finish. Promising.Vinous Media | 89-91 VM

There’s a new aromatic and showy 2020 Pour Ma Gueule Pinot Noir produced with grapes from a vineyard planted in Aconcagua Costa in 2007 with 10,000 plants per hectare on sandstone and calcium carbonate soils. It has a bright ruby color and a varietal nose of red berry fruit and flowers, with 13.8% alcohol, possibly reflecting a warm and dry year. The palate is medium-bodied, serious, with fine, chalky tannins. 18,846 bottles were filled in March 2021 after it matured in concrete with lees. A superb value, it’s one to buy by the case!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

The 2021 Meursault Les Vireuils Dessous has quite a strict nose at the moment. The 20% new oak well is integrated (Chassin cooperage), opening with bruised apple and Williams pear notes. The palate is well balanced with fine acidity, slightly resinous in texture and Chassagne-like finish. Saline and more-ish.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM

15% whole bunch vinification. The colour is noticeably more robust than the preceding wines, as too is the bouquet, backed a little by new oak (30%) but showing a good intensity of robust raspberry fruit on the nose, which carries through across the palate. This has a good balance between fruit and structure. Drink from 2025-2030. Tasted Dec 2022.Jasper Morris | 90-92 JM

Brisk fresh pale yellow. There is a fine floral quality here too. Then almost a touch of super-ripeness with a bit of bacon fat, followed by a more saline finish. Interesting and high quality in its style. Drink from 2024-2029. Tasted Oct 2022.Jasper Morris | 91-93 JMHere too there is noticeable petrol character to the floral, mineral reduction and green apple-suffused aromas. The middleweight flavors don’t possess the same density but they are markedly finer and much more mineral-driven on the linear, youthfully austere and crisp finale. This could also use more depth but the underlying material and balance should allow that to occur if given a chance.Burghound | 90-92 BH

From the upper part. More sensual perfume here despite the altitude. Fuller white fruit with salinity, tis sufficiently ripe but with a fresh edge. Quite nuanced at the back and with good persistence. Drink from 2025-2030.Jasper Morris | 90-92 JM

Pale colour. A light and elegant nose, some marine notes behind, gentle but showing well, with a little more volume behind, a wave of white fruit and an attractively nuanced finish. Drink from 2025-2028. Tasted Jul 2023.Jasper Morris | 91 JM

This delightful white from a single lieu-dit in Rully is a marvelous example of the solid quality possible in the Côte Chalonnaise. It boasts ripe apple and linden flower aromas with a hint of butter and spice. The fresh acidity feels fairly chiseled, yet there is enough extract to give the wine a rich texture and lingering finish. Chartron farms three hectares here on the border with Mercurey; the grapes are pressed as whole clusters and run into cask (10% new) for fermentation.Decanter | 91 DEC

Droin’s Vaudésir comes from just over 1ha with vines planted on both north- and south-facing slopes. A little subdued on the nose and palate, this is a subtle grand cru with plenty of definition, and will blossom with two to three years additional bottle age. No oak.Decanter | 92 DECThe 2021 Chablis Vaudésir Grand Cru has a taut and fresh bouquet, wonderful mineralité with a hint of smoke and flint coming through. The palate is well balanced with a saline note, fine depth, lemon and a little more lime. Builds nicely in the mouth, a lovely Vaudésir.Vinous Media | 91-93 VMHere too moderate wood sets off the overtly spicy and ripe aromas of white and yellow peach, iodine and hints of seashore. The sleek, delicious and intense flavors are just a bit more refined, indeed they are almost delicate, while still delivering excellent length on the citrus-tinged finish where a bit of wood slowly emerges.Burghound | 91-94 BH

The Menetou-Salon from Kevin and Karine Lauverjat is a fine bottle that really shows the bright, cooler vintage characteristics of 2021. The bouquet offers up a complex blend of limepeel, gooseberry, fresh-cut grass, a lovely base of flinty minerality and a topnote of citrus blossoms. On the palate the wine is vibrant, full-bodied, complex and nicely grassy in personality, with a lovely core of fruit, fine soil signature, a good spine of acidity and impressive length and grip on the well-balanced finish. Good juice. (Drink between 2023 - 2030)John Gilman | 91 JG

Cool and herbal nose with excellent freshness and a hint of smoke. Clean and rather crisp for this appellation. From three parcels of vineyards on the Volnay side of Meursault’s vineyards, the oldest of which was planted in the early 1960s. Matured in small oak barrels, of which 20% were new. Drink now.James Suckling | 90 JSPretty fresh green tint. The nose is quite strict, not demonstrative, while the white fruit fleshes out quite nicely on the palate. Medium bodied and some length. Drink from 2026-2030. Tasted Nov 2023.Jasper Morris | 89-91 JMThe 2022 Meursault Les Corbins has a well-defined, quite minerally bouquet that opens nicely in the glass, even though it is not the definition of complexity. The palate is well-balanced with a texturally waxy opening. Quite a pithy Meursault with good extract, though it just needs a little more persistence on the finish. Fine.Vinous Media | 88-90 VM

Mid crimson purple. The nose is quite discreet, though a mix of strawberry and raspberry fruit then starts to sing out on the palate, along with a little vanilla from the oak. 25% whole bunches adds a little bit of zest. Drink from 2027-2033. Tasted Nov 2023.Jasper Morris | 90-91 JMDerived, as its name suggests, from 10 lieux-dits dispersed around the appellation that together represent fully four hectares, the 2022 Gevrey-Chambertin 10 Climats is medium-bodied, pretty and giving, evocative of sweet berries, spices, petals and orange rind. It will offer a broad drinking window.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 88-90 RPRipe aromas of plum, dark cherry and a distinct earth character gives way to solidly concentrated and voluminous flavors that manage to be at once caressing and punchy, all wrapped in a youthfully austere and lingering finale where the only nit is a touch of warmth.Burghound | 88-91 BH

The 2022 Mâcon-Uchizy Les Maranches has a more austere bouquet demanding some coaxing from the glass. The palate is well-balanced with a saline entry and fine weight in the mouth. Not complex per se, yet it feels quite long and spicy on the finish. Fine.Vinous Media | 90 VM

Pure and airy aromas of mineral reduction, essence of pear, just sliced apple, acacia blossom and a whiff of spice are trimmed in admirably subtle wood. The lively and overtly stony medium weight flavors are sleek to the point of being almost glossy on the youthfully austere, compact and built-to-age finale. This is really quite classy.Burghound | 91 BH

The 2022 Sylvaner is coy in the glass, evolving with a delicate bouquet of candied citrus offset by wild herbs and crushed rocks. It’s soft and soothing with ripe orchard fruits propelled by zesty acidity as a savory spiciness mounts toward the close. The 2022 tapers off with unexpected depth and youthful tension, leaving a tinge of sour lime and saline flourish to fade slowly.Vinous Media | 91 VM

The wide spectrum of citrus, crisp pear and stone fruit aromas announces a remarkable achievement for an entry-level wine. Excellent depth on the racy, medium-bodied palate where the chalky minerality beautifully counterpoints the cool fruit. Crisp, long finish with so much vitality. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold. Screw cap.James Suckling | 92 JSThe 2022 Riesling is from countless vineyards between Scherwiller in the north and the Vallé Noble in the south and mainly based on marl limestone soils. The nose is clear, fresh and intensely aromatic and even displays some Muscat and herbal/stony aromas, which makes it more than just Riesling. On the palate, this is a dry but round and textured, quite rich, intense and powerful yet certainly elegant, savory and stimulating Riesling with food-friendly grip, salts and tension on the crisp finish. 12.8% alcohol. Screw-cap closure. Tasted at the domaine in April 2024.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RPTrimbach’s basic Riesling shows the producer’s long experience and know-how with the grape variety. After being handpicked, the grapes were vinified in stainless steel and bottled quickly under screwcap. The wine then aged for a year in bottle before release. It’s a classic expression, youthful and fresh but with a hit of petrol on the nose as the wine starts to mature and evolve. Aromatic with juicy and tangy lime zestiness, bone dry and very moreish. Very well priced too.Decanter Magazine | 91 DECThe 2022 Riesling is blended from the estate and bought fruit from across Alsace with a sizeable portion of Grand Cru vineyards, plus the fruit from young estate vines and Grands Cru fruit that was brought in, mostly from limestone soils, but with some sandstone and volcanic elements. A lovely crackle of flint blends with a touch of chamomile and radiant dried lemon notes, making for an aromatic nose. The palate is juicy, bouncing with energy, with a slight astringency as of citrus peel and pith that bundles this exuberance. The 2022 shows gorgeous tension, lovely dryness and oh so much energy. (Bone-Dry)Vinous Media | 90 VM

The 2022 Viré-Clessé Breillonde is aged two-thirds in demi-muids and the rest in stainless steel. This has a slightly cooler and more malic bouquet than the regular Viré-Clessé. There’s some reserve here, so it will demand more coaxing. The palate is well balanced with a dab of dried honey and stem ginger on the entry. Quite a pithy Viré-Clessé complex with a very keen line of acidity that cuts through the waxy finish. There’s a hint of Muscat on the aftertaste. This is a great wine, and it should age well over the next 12-15 years.Vinous Media | 91 VM

"The Chatin family purchased Château de Respide in 2021. Amelie Chatin is originally from the Champagne region and worked as an oenologist for Dom Ruinart for nine years prior to travelling and eventually settling here in Graves. Her regular bottling of Graves Blanc is made from a fifty-fifty blend of sauvignon blanc and sémillon, with the vines generally planted on gravelly or sandy soils, though some plots are on chalk. The wine is fermented and raised in stainless steel tanks. The 2022 version offers up a deep and complex bouquet of fresh fig, gooseberry, a lovely base of soil, gentle notes of fresh-cut grass and a topnote of lime zest. On the palate the wine is vibrant, focused and full-bodied, with lovely depth at the core, fine soil signature and grip, bouncy acids and excellent balance on the long, complex and very serious finish. This is outstanding white Graves."John Gilman | 91 JG

With only a tiny proportion of oak (8% of the volume), the 2022 Sauvignon Blanc Batch 111 The House features classic grapefruit and grassy aromas, plus hints of snow pea and pineapple. It’s medium to full-bodied, plump, round and easy to drink, with enough citrus zest on the finish to keep me coming back for additional sips.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RPFruity and herbal influences vie for dominance in this full-bodied, relatively crisp wine. Opening with cut grass and parsley aromas, the wine moves to vivid lemon and grapefruit flavors on a lively texture. Wine Enthusiast | 90 WE

A blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Nascetta and Riesling, the Luigi Baudana 2022 Langhe Bianco Dragon makes a very pretty appearance in the glass with brilliant luminosity. The wine plays its cards well with complexity, a tropical side with star fruit, minerality and sliced honeydew melon (the ripe side of the cut).Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP