Wine Ratings

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Aromas of nashi pear, orange peel, vanilla pod and flint preface the 2024 Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre, a medium- to full-bodied, taut and racy wine that is considerably concentrated for the vintage, culminating in a long, oak-inflected finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RPProminent petrol nuances are present on the ripe and smoky mix of mineral reduction, acacia blossom, lemon-lime and ocean breeze are trimmed in subtle but not invisible wood. There is both better volume and a bit more punch as well to the utterly delicious flavors that deliver fine length on the balanced, dry and sleek finale. While this could use better depth, it’s very stylish, indeed the word classy comes to mind.Burghound | 90-93 BH30% oak component. A lively fresh lemon. Immediate personality without the super-succulence of the hotter years. A little smoky reduction. White orchard fruit with good energy behind, attractive kimmeridgian texture behind. Fine persistence. Drink from 2028-2033. Tasted Jun 2025.Jasper Morris | 90-93 JMThe 2024 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre 1er Cru takes its time to open in the glass. Eventually, there’s more green fruit here, with touches of gooseberry, Conference pear and crushed stone. The palate is medium-bodied with a more delicate style. It’s quite strict, though a little spice emerges toward the finish. This is understated for a Montée de Tonnerre.Vinous Media | 88-90 VM

Delivering aromas of pear, almond paste and orange peel, the 2024 Chablis 1er Cru Montmains is medium- to full-bodied and bright yet giving, concluding with a saline finish. It derives from a clay-rich site that is typically harvested a week later than Vaillons, 40% of which is vinified in wood. This year, it appears less successful when tasted alongside Vaillons.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RP40% oak. Glowing pale lemon and lime in colour. The Droin holding in Montmains is in a cooler spot than Vaillons, so picked a week later. Some flesh but matched by a little tension at the back. Attractive in its balance. Drink from 2027-2031. Tasted Jun 2025.Jasper Morris | 90-91 JMThe 2024 Chablis Montmains 1er Cru offers lilting apricot and clementine scents on the pretty nose, which is perhaps what I was expecting from the Vaillons! The palate is very well balanced with more body and slightly less tension than the Vaillons. This is more approachable with its open-armed, tropical-tinged finish. The 2024 will be difficult to resist!Vinous Media | 89-91 VMHere the wood treatment is no longer subtle though it stops short of being intrusive on the more floral-suffused nose that offers enough Chablis typicity to be convincing. The sleek and delicious, if less concentrated, medium-bodied flavors that possess a lovely texture that is also true of the clean and dry finale. This could also use better depth so again, a few years of forbearance are advised.Burghound | 89-91 BH

The 2024 Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons, 30% of which is vinified in wood, wafts from the glass with aromas of orange zest, pastry and honeysuckle, followed by a medium- to full-bodied palate with a crisp yet demonstrative core of pure, open-knit fruit. Sourced from a warm site of higher maturity—where Droin typically begins the harvest—it has, unsurprisingly, turned out very well this year.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RPThe 2024 Chablis Vaillons 1er Cru has a comparatively strict and correct nose for this vineyard. It’s stonier than I expected. The palate is more generous with hints of fresh apricot and peach. This is well balanced, pretty and quite persistent. Give it 18 months in bottle for the aromatics to open up.Vinous Media | 90-92 VMModerate wood serves as the backdrop for the more floral-suffused aromas of sea breeze, white orchard fruit and a touch of citrus confit. The caressing but punchy middle weight flavors possess a succulent mid-palate texture before concluding in a youthfully austere and attractively dry finale. This could use better depth so a few years of keeping are recommended.Burghound | 89-91 BH30% oak in the blend. A little more yellow in the colour, and a softer more opulent yellow fruit on the nose. Power up front, lighter behind, with lemon notes to finish. Drink from 2027-2030. Tasted Jun 2025.Jasper Morris | 89-91 JM

The 2024 Chassagne-Montrachet Village is Niellon’s largest cuvée, around 20,000 bottles, representing the entire appellation—10 different climats from 15 parcels. This is quite forward on the nose, with perfumed fresh lime scents intermixed with a touch of apricot. It is very… giving. The palate is actually more complex than the nose: fresh and quite edgy, well-integrated oak, nicely focused with a touch of pepperiness towards the finish. Well worth seeking out.Vinous Media | 90 VM

They were thinking about pulling this plot out but it has come through the wetter conditions of 2024 very well, so they may keep it going. Clean pale lemon. The bouquet is quite reticent. Concnetrated white fruit, plenty of energy here, the fruit well married with the oak, fair length. A little extra here in 2024. Drink from 2029-2033. Tasted Oct 2025.Jasper Morris | 91 JM

The NV (2020) Brut Blanc de Blancs Coulmet, from vines in Sézanne, is soft, open-knit and gracious, all of which make it a fine choice for drinking now and over the next handful of years. Baked apple tart, apricot, dried flowers and spice are all beautifully laced together. This is such a pretty and alluring Champagne. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. Disgorged: May 2025; multiple disgorgements throughout the year.Vinous Media | 91 VMThe NV Champagne Blanc De Blancs Coulmet Brut has a bright pale yellow hue and is entirely crafted from Chardonnay around the 2020 vintage. A classic and very charming Blanc De Blancs, it’s refreshing and approachable, with notes of powdery fresh flowers, lemon-lime citrus, fresh green apples, and bread dough. Medium-bodied, it’s pure and fresh with clean citrus flavors and a delicate, elegant mousse. Drink now or over the next few years to preserve its freshness. Disgorged in May 2025 with 7 grams per liter dosage.Jeb Dunnuck | 90 JDThe Coulmet bottling of Blanc de Blancs from Nicole Moncuit just arriving in the market is from the base year of 2020 and was disgorged in March of 2024, after three years aging sur latte. The vins clairs are fermented and raised in stainless steel and go through full malo. The wine offers up a lovely nose of pear, raw almond, chalky soil tones, bread dough and a topnote of white flowers. On the palate the wine is bright, zesty and full-bodied, with a good core of fruit, fine mineral undertow, elegant mousse, brisk acids and fine length and grip on the complex and well balanced finish. The fruit from this hails from vineyards in the Côte de Sezanne, rather than from the family’s home village of Mesnil. Good juice. (Drink between 2024 - 2045)John Gilman | 90 JG

The NV (2021) Brut Blanc de Blancs Delos Grand Cru is terrific. The extra touch of dosage vis-à-vis the Extra Brut version helps soften the edges, something that is a big help in this 2021-base release. White flowers, spice, pastry, mint and dried orchard fruit are front and center. What a charmer. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. Disgorged: May 2025; multiple disgorgements throughout the year.Vinous Media | 91 VM