Wine Ratings

wines

A meaty and decadent Lynch with very ripe currant aromas on the nose. Full body, velvety-textured tannins and a powerful finish. It shows so much structure and fruit yet remains polished and focused. Lovely now to drink but better in 2017.James Suckling | 96 JSTextbook, with mouthfilling and slightly gutsy black currant, fig and blackberry fruit flavors bound together by singed cedar, iron and tobacco notes. Features a tug of loam followed by a second wave of fruit through the finish. This is just starting to stretch out.—Blind ’01/’03/’05 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2017). Best from 2020 through 2040. 35,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSClassic Lynch-Bages with just a bit of extra power and richness. While the tannins are structured, it is the velvety fruit that rolls around the mouth that is the most dominant character. It is coming together into a wine that will be big and dense, but never over the top.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThe 2005 Lynch-Bages is a surprising wine. Whereas so many 2005s have begun to enter their first plateau of early maturity, the 2005 comes across as still young and in need of further cellaring! The purity of the fruit is striking. Readers who want to get the full Lynch-Bages experience will have to wait at least a few more years. The 2005 is a wine of substance and depth, with all of the raciness that is typical of this wine. It is one of the dark horses of the vintage, and still has room to go. Impressive.Antonio Galloni | 95+ AGAlmost forward but still young; spicy cassis lifts and lengthens its rich dark berry flavours. One of the best Lynch-Bages ever.Decanter | 94 DECAs for the 2005 Lynch-Bages, it is a sexy, surprisingly soft and accessible style of wine, with a deep ruby/purple color, loads of crème de cassis, cedar wood and forest floor notes, medium to full body, ripe tannin and a long, fleshy finish. Drink it over the next 15+ years.Robert Parker | 92 RP

The 2005 Rieussec is a blend of 90% Semillon, 8% Sauvignon Blanc and 2% Muscadelle picked between 23 September and 27 October. It has a fabulous bouquet that is mineral-rich and tensile. The palate repeats its performance from last year: focused, tense, laden with botrytis-rich fruit with a crystalline and sorbet-fresh finish that seals the deal. One of the best releases from the estate in recent years. Tasted April 2016.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 97 RP-NMShows enticing aromas of toffee, cream, dried apricot and caramel. Full-bodied, very sweet and thick, with honey and caramel flavors. Long and rich, oozing with sweet, ripe fruit, this is like liquid candy. Best after 2016.Wine Spectator | 96 WSYou get both apricots and honeyed botrytis aromas that are followed through by a dry core, very full-bodied with richness, the sweetness of the yellow jam fruits, apricots and mangoes gliding over the palate. Delicious, and certainly ageworthy.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEFull yellow-gold. Expressive aromas of pineapple, coconut, sweet vanillin oak and spices. Then wonderfully thick, fat and sweet, with the exotic coconut character carrying through in the mouth. Finishes saline and powerful, with palate-staining flavors of pineapple, coconut and spicy oak. Conveys a strong impression of solidity.Vinous Media | 93 VMWhat a balance in this wine, notes of apple pie, honey, and spiced lemons. Full-bodied and sweet, with a bright acidity and dried citrus with honey and orange marmalade. 140 grams of residual sugar, but very fresh still. Beautiful now, but wait to pull the cork in 2012.James Suckling | 93 JS

The 2009 Guiraud is one of the gems of Sauternes this vintage, one of the finest offerings in recent years. It has a wonderful, beautifully delineated bouquet with expressive scents of wild honey, orange pith, Seville orange marmalade and just a hint of pineapple. The palate is beautifully defined with pure botrytised fruit, supremely well balanced with a vivacious, ginger and white pepper tinged finish that lingers long in the mouth. Outstanding...Vinous Media | 97 VMGorgeous aromas of dried apricots, apple pie crust and pineapple. Full-bodied, with medium sweetness. Dense and layered. Beautiful now but will improve with age. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 96 JSThis is a bird of a different feather, with an exotic, vibrant aroma of toasted coconut, followed by an almond cream note that gives way to the core of green fig, papaya, Cavaillon melon and honey. There’s stunning richness and mouthfeel, with the power to be one of the longer-lived wines of the vintage. Very impressive. Best from 2015 through 2040. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 11,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSPale to medium gold colored, the 2009 Guiraud comes sashaying out of the glass with a wonderfully floral nose of jasmine and peach blossoms with an undercurrent of potpourri, dried mango, honey nut, baked pineapple and preserved ginger. The mouth is completely coated with concentrated baking spice and savory layers countering all the rich sweetness, finishing long and layered.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPThis is a smoky, rich wine that shows evident wood aging. This feature adds weight, though the sweetness is currently muted. It is a wine with potential intensity; the fruit and acidity will emerge in several years.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WE(Château Guiraud (Sauternes)) The 2009 Guiraud is a terrific wine in the making, as it has perfectly captured the potential to make an elegant, refined and long-lived wine in this vintage. The bouquet is deep, complex and quite esthery in its mélange of bee pollen, pears, apples, delicate notes of pineapple, complex soil tones and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, pure and shows great mid-palate depth, with bright acids, lovely, nascent complexity and outstanding length and grip on the elegant and focused finish. A superb Guiraud. (Drink between 2016-2040)John Gilman | 92-93 JG

The 2010 Rieussec is slightly more backwards on the nose. It is very focused with almond, saffron, orange pith and dried honey aromas that gain intensity with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with a harmonious entry. Impressive depth with lovely vanillary new oak, it is long and pure towards the finish. A Sauternes with pedigree. Superb. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 96 VMStructured firm, very spicy, while also showing fresh pineapple acidity. Concentrated and packed with botrytis.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEA muscular version, with dacquoise and marzipan notes leading the way for creamed orange, white peach, ginger, mirabelle compote and tangerine accents that pump through the piecrust-filled finish. Has the vintage’s raw oomph, as well as range and cut for balance. Best from 2018 through 2035. 6,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS(Château Rieussec (Sauternes)) Château Rieussec has turned out one of the most elegant and refined examples of the 2010 vintage and this wine is an unqualified success. The nose is a bit less obviously botrytized than many of its neighbors this year, as the wine offers up scents of tangerine, pineapple, bee pollen, lovely, chalky soil tones and a very suave base of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, fullish and dancing, with fine mid-palate intensity, excellent focus and a really impressive lightness of step on the long, complex and tangy finish. In a vintage prone to heavy-handedness, the ethereal quality of the 2010 Château Rieussec is most impressive. (Drink between 2015-2035).John Gilman | 93 JGThis is so delicious and fruity with loads of intense dried pineapple and apples. Full body, lightly sweet. It shows bright acidity and a wonderful finish. Hints of cream and vanilla. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 92 JSPale to medium lemon-gold in color, the 2010 Rieussec is evolving at a good clip, boasting roasted nuts, toffee apples and dried apricots scents with hints of beurre blanc, manuka honey and candle wax. The palate is a powerhouse of sweetness, with soft acidity and loads of savory/nutty layers, finishing on a praline note.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RP

The 2010 Suduiraut has an attractive bouquet with notes of Mirabelle, jasmine and saffron infusing the upfront honeyed fruit. This is no shy retiring wallflower. The palate is well balanced with a viscous opening, lightly spiced with a pleasant bitter note that lends tension on the finish. Good length, this is a very fine 2010 Sauternes. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 95 VMTropical fruit flavours on the nose, caremelised pineapple with bright candied lemon alongside wonderfully sweet floral notes and a hint of burnt edges running through the wine from start to finish. This has a really characterful flavour with orange marmalade and a touch of enjoyable bitterness on the finish giving depth and roundness. Strong and robust, definitely a wine to enjoy with food be it sweet or savoury. A blend of 90% Semillon and 10% Sauvignon Blanc, aged 50% in new barrels, 50% from barrels of one vintage for 20 months. Drinking Window 2021 - 2048.Decanter | 95 DECExpressive fruity nose in this top Sauternes with ripe orange, apricot and pineapple. Candied orange peel, white peach and orange blossom. This Sauternes is elegant and with wonderfully balanced sweetness on the palate. Good structure and length. Vibrant acidity and lots of spice in the excellent finish. Excellent. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSThis is a gorgeously ripe, opulent wine that shows a rich fruit-salad ripeness, as well as darker notes of botrytis. The wine is full and very ripe with flavors of honey, fennel and lemon, with sweetness balanced by acidity. This is a wine that could be drunk soon but will age magnificently. Drink from 2016.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEPale to medium lemon-gold colored, the 2010 Suduiraut features quite a savory nose with notes of lightly browned toast, salted almonds, nutmeg and cinnamon over a core of crème caramel, pear tart and peach cobbler. The palate is decadently sweet, concentrated and unctuous with soft acidity and a spicy finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPA powerfully rendered Sauternes, with apricot, ginger cream, marzipan, creamed peach and melon fruit, featuring a long, heather honey-filled finish. Shows polished edges already, but will need some time to unwind. Best from 2018 through 2030.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

Tasted blind at the Southwold Bordeaux 2010 tasting. A strong performance from Batailley under blind conditions, easily surpassing its showing at the UGC in London last year. The 2010 has a very elegant bouquet with blackberry, cedar and leather, well defined and very nicely focused, though not the most vigorous amongst its peers. The palate is very well balanced with filigree tannins, perfectly judged acidity and a very appealing "classic" style of Pauillac very the top drawer. What a superb Pauillac - a benchmark Batailley. Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RP-NM(Château Batailley, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, Red) Well-integrated 55% new oak and a great vintage from this 60ha estate, reflecting the precision in vineyard selection and winemaking that has only improved as second and third wines have been introduced. Fresh and refined, evoking subtle power, yet with a smooth texture, like satin. Sensual cassis, kirsch and forest strawberry jam aromatics. Try with roast quail in rosemary and thyme. (Drink between 2021-2050)Decanter | 95 DECAromas of freshly sliced mushrooms and dark fruits. Full body, with an incredible depth of fruit and finesse here. The tannins are amazing quality. Love the texture. Give it four to five years of bottle age.James Suckling | 94 JSThe 2010 Batailley has a vivacious, outgoing and quintessentially Pauillac nose with blackberry, mint and graphite bursting from the glass and demanding attention! The palate is medium-bodied with ample black fruit laced with graphite, sage and cracked black pepper. Wonderful depth and grip here, fanning out nicely towards the finish where there is a soupçon of oak still to be subsumed, therefore give this another three or four years. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 94 VMWith advice from consultant and Bordeaux University professor Denis Dubourdieu, Batailley has improved immensely in the past few years. This 2010 reinforces that trend, revealing a wine that is structured with Cabernet Sauvignon and is attractive with black currant fruitiness. Age for the medium-term.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThis sports suave, mocha-infused toast, showing notes of dark plum, blackberry sauce and steeped fig. The dense, cocoa-coated finish has a smoldering tobacco note in the background. Rustic and slightly chewy in the end, but a bit of cellaring should tame this easily. Best from 2014 through 2026.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

A big, broad, powerful style, with piecrust, roasted almond and hazelnut cream notes framing the core of apricot, creamed peach and dried mango. Picks up extra fig and pear details through the toasty finish. Needs a bit of time to finish sorting itself out. Best from 2017 through 2030. 5,415 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSThe dried-mango and pineapple character is so delicious in this wine. It’s full-bodied and medium-sweet, with a pretty density and a fruity finish. Wonderful balance to this super Sauternes. This is a little in reserve now, with so much for the future. Try in 2017.James Suckling | 96 JSTasted blind at the Sauternes 2011 horizontal tasting. The Château Suduiraut 2011 has a muffled nose at first: dried honey and quince, wet wool and marzipan scents that gradually open up with aeration. Coming back after 10 minutes there is a heartwarming gingerbread note. The palate is viscous on the entry and full of tension. There is a keen line of acidity here, quite linear at first, but it fans out nicely toward the finish and offers notes of honey, mandarin and even a touch of rhubarb! This is a class act, a Sauternes that does not need to shout about its inherent qualities.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 93 RP-NMHeady apricot and mango nose. Concentrated and creamy, with density and weight of fruit. The oak is integrated and the wine is harmonious in a rich rather than racy style. Long. Drinking Window 2016 - 2050.Decanter | 93 DEC(Château Suduiraut (Sauternes)) The 2011 Suduiraut is one of the most delicately styled and dancing wines of the vintage in Sauternes. The deep, pure and very clean nose soars from the glass in a classically glazed mélange of bee pollen, pear, fresh pineapple, honeycomb, chalky soil tones, apple blossoms and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, very pure and crisp, with very good mid-palate depth, fine focus and balance and a very long, light on its feet and complex finish. I really like the elegant style and shape of the 2011 Suduiraut. (Drink between 2016-2040)John Gilman | 93+ JGVery fresh and strongly fruity, with just the right amount of dry botrytis, this is already approachable. However that botrytis does promise aging, with peach and ripe orange flavors pushing forward. Drink this attractive wine from 2019.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEThe 2011 Suduiraut, picked from 12 September to 5 October in three tries through the vineyard, has an intriguing bouquet. It does not possess the thrilling intensity of the 2014 and 2015 tasted alongside, replicating the wet wool, almost Loire-like bouquet that I picked up upon in previous encounters. The palate is well balanced with a slightly viscous texture. This is a gentle Suduiraut, missing the complexity of a top vintage but fresh and generous. It is linear in style, some might say conservative with just a touch of gingerbread on the finish. Fine. 148gm/L residual sugar, 13.5% alcohol. Tasted at the Suduiraut vertical at the château.Vinous Media | 92 VM

Massive, concentrated and powerful, this offers lush, heady flavors of dark plum, blackberry and cherry tart, with touches of anise. Shows plenty of grip as well, with a long, rich finish of dark chocolate, toffee and cream. Best from 2040 through 2060. 2,190 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 98 WSA powerful, spicy wine, luscious in its peppered berry fruits and sweet tannins. The structure is dramatic, offering a smooth texture as well as a drier core. With its weight, density and dark, final character, this is a wine for serious aging.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEBright, saturated dark ruby. Spectacularly multifaceted nose combines high-pitched medicinal cherry, briary black raspberry, pungent menthol, dried herbs, incense, Indian spices and a whiff of passion fruit. Boasts great creamy depth and vinosity to its black raspberry and licorice flavors, with huge sweetness buffered by spicy minerality. The note of passion fruit carries through on the palate. Really reverberates on the back end, finishing with powerful tannins and a rising whiplash of flavor. This got better and better with extended aeration, with the tannins making it obvious that it will be extremely long-lived.Vinous Media | 96+ VMVery grapy and leafy with hints of spices on the nose. Full body, medium sweet with fine, chewy tannins. Powerful, long finish with nuts and shaved chocolate. This young Fonseca has grip. 6,000 cases produced of this foot-trodden wine. Try in 2022.James Suckling | 95 JS David Guimaraens blends this wine from three vineyards, the style focused on Cima Corgo suppleness from fruit at Panascal in the Távora Valley, along with Cruziero and Santo António in the Pinhão Valley. The 2011 is hugely powerful, presenting a solid wall of schist tannins with the gentleness of perfect ripeness. The wine shows no seams, just a vast, dynamic blackness, a meaty, tarry, berry fruit drama that will play out for decades.Wine & Spirits | 95 W&SThe 2011 Late Bottled Vintage Port is an unfiltered field blend that comes with a bar top cork. It comes in at 108 grams per liter of residual sugar and was bottled in 2016, according to the label. Rather gorgeous, this fresh, tight and powerful Fonseca is perfectly focused, extracted and tightly-wound, finishing with intensity of flavor laced with some herbs and a hint of garrigue. Yet, everything is always in a very controlled fashion brilliantly supported by its structure. This is a beauty, another super 2011 LBV.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RP

This is a superb sweet wine from America with candied apples, pears, pineapple, and hints of spices. Some flint. Dense and spicy. Really sweet and flavorful. Dried apricot at the end. The real deal. Drink now.James Suckling | 97 JS

Characterful, luscious and deftly balanced, this terrific, unfiltered LBV – ’the little brother of Vintage Port,’ says Dirk Niepoort – is irresistible now but will age brilliantly. Black pepper, esteva, bitter chocolate and spicy gingerbread bring lift and layer to the velvety sweet plum, cherry frangipane and kirsch palate. Ruffled tannins make for a long, controlled finish. Bottled with a driven cork after four- to six-years in large wooden vats.Decanter | 97 DEC

The 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape from Laurent is the usual blend of 82% Grenache and the rest nearly equal parts Syrah, Mourvèdre, Vaccarèse, and Counoise that was brought up all in concrete tank. It shows the sunny, spicy, Provençal style of the vintage beautifully while still having incredible freshness in its red and black fruits as well as garrigue, ground pepper, spring flowers, and incense aromas and flavors. Gorgeous on the palate as well, this medium to full-bodied Châteauneuf du Pape is balanced and has terrific tannins, no hard edges, and a great finish. Rhône lovers need to have this beauty in their cellar, and it’s going to offer pleasure for a solid two decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDThe 2019 Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a success. A Grenache-led blend with some Mourvèdre, Syrah, Vaccarèse and Counoise, this 2019 aged for 21 months in concrete tanks. It bursts from the glass with a fragrant perfume of rose petal, blood orange, ripe forest strawberry, raspberry compote, dried herbs and hints of mint. Firm tannins structure the full-bodied palate, kept in check by fresh acidity. Laurent Charvin crafted a splendid wine, which demands a few more years in bottle to allow the tannins to soften.Vinous Media | 94 VMA ripe and almost opulent Chateauneuf-du-Pape with very ripe plum and blackberry aromas, plus notes of old balsamic vinegar and savory. The serious tannin structure holds it on track and keeps the palate decisively dry. Builds to an impressive crescendo at the ample dry finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 94 JSFresh aromas of berries, herbs, anise with aromatic violets and lilies. Elegant on the palate, with firm tannins and a medium body, fresh yet concentrated.Decanter | 93 DECCharvin’s gorgeously aromatic 2019 Chateauneuf du Pape—sourced from the sectors of Cabrières (Nord) and Maucoil—features scents of lavender, garrigue and purple raspberries. In the mouth, it’s full-bodied and concentrated, with ample, ripe tannins, then seems a bit warm and rough, with a wooly-tannic finish. Give this tank-aged blend of 82% Grenache, 5% each Mourvèdre and Syrah and 4% each Counoise and Vaccarèse a few more years to come together and settle down.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92+ RP

It’s hard to put the glass down while exploring the depths of raspberry compote, dried orange peels, roses, exotic spice and a dusting of cocoa that form the absolutely stunning bouquet of the 2019 Carmignano Riserva Piaggia. This is pure elegance. It’s silky and refined as liquid violet florals and ripe red and black fruits easily rush across the palate. Its vibrant acidity maintains exceptional finesse despite the massive primary concentration slowly taking hold. The 2019 finishes long with a coating of sweet tannins and balsamic-tinged cherry. The balance here is amazing, which might trick readers into finishing their bottles far too quickly, but trust me, the best is truly yet to come. This is Rock Star juice.Vinous Media | 96 VMBlackcurrants with crushed-stone and lavender undertones. Medium to full body, slightly chewy tannins and a clove and dried-flower aftertaste to the dark fruit. Drink after 2023.James Suckling | 92 JS

One of the most elegant Cabernets of the 2019 vintage. Sourced from various Coombsville sites, this blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot, and 2% Merlot is teeming with minerality, baking spices, toasted cedar and rich red berry aromas. Impressively vibrant, unfolding with fragrant rose petal contrasted by fresh gravelly tones. A dusty tannin backbone is framed by firm acidity, while the round fruit profile is almost buoyant. This will develop lovely complexity over time.Decanter | 96 DECFresh, with eucalyptus and menthol to the blackberries and raspberries. Medium-bodied, bright and crisp with fine tannins and pretty length. Cabernet sauvignon with 10% cabernet franc and a touch of petit verdot. Drink now.James Suckling | 94 JSThe 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon (Coombsville) is a fabulous introduction to the range. This is the first vintage the Napa Valley Cabernet becomes a pure Coombsville AVA wine from the Nathan Coombs Estate. Dried herbs, coffee, chocolate, spice and new leather add layers of nuance to a core of dark-fleshed fruit. The 2019 is beautifully done. Dollops of Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot round out the blend, with the Franc and PV very much in evidence.Vinous Media | 93 VMRipe and vivid, revealing a long beam of açaí, blueberry and blackberry puree flavors that are polished in feel, with subtle cast iron and savory accents through the finish. A light hand with the toast allows the fruit to sing in this version. Drink now through 2035. 6,083 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThe second vintage of this wine, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville comes entirely from Hobbs’s Nathan Coombs Estate. A blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8.5% each Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot and 2% Merlot, it offers dark fruit notes of blackberry and blueberry, plus hints of graphite and cedar. Full-bodied and rich, it has enough soft, dusty tannins to make it a solid steakhouse option, while the finish is long and tinged with licorice. With just over 6,000 cases produced, it’s the one consumers are most likely to encounter in the market.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92+ RP

Gaja’s 2019 Barbaresco was bottled only a few days before this tasting but it already has sweet roses and red fruits on the nose with very subtle, gentle spice notes. It has a great texture and flows gracefully across the palate. It feels very harmonious with plenty of refreshing acidity and finely integrated tannins. Sublimely elegant with a fine, silt-like texture to the tannins, it is poised, beautifully understated and charming. Keep for 2 years and drink for up to 20 plus.The Wine Independent | 97 TWIHeady aromas of rose, violet, forest berry and a whiff of oak-driven spice shape the nose. Smooth and full-bodied, the elegantly structured palate delivers crushed raspberry, licorice and coffee bean set against taut, fine-grained tannins and fresh acidity. Drink 2025–2034.Kerin O’Keefe July 2022 | 96 KO(Gaja Barbaresco Red) Gaja’s 2019 Barbaresco is gorgeous. Bright and nervy, with fabulous balance, the 2019 captures all the best this tricky vintage had to offer. Gaja did not bottle any other Barbaresco crus, opting to use the best lots for this bottling. That decision paid off in a 2019 that sizzles with tension. The aromatics alone are captivating. Bright acids lend vibrancy to a core of beautifully delineated Nebbiolo fruit. I can’t wait to see how this ages. (Drink between 2025-2039)Antonio Galloni | 93+ AG

A masterclass in purity and delicacy for this 2020 vintage which manages to convey the beauty and allure of Yquem in a toned down, subtle and beguiling way. Aromas of white blossom and honeysuckle, gently caramelised Mirabelle plums and fresh apricots with flecks of clementine and grapefruit pith abound on the nose - richly scented in their individual aspects but delivered quietly, almost sultry and shy. Immediately mouthfilling and unctuous, streamlined and fresh with a sugary hit hitting first before mouthwatering acidity follows giving sumptuous succulence and vibrancy. Apricot, peach, fleshy mango and sharp pineapple give the exotic fruit zing balanced by a salty, flintiness that adds faint angles to the expression. Juicy, bright, clean and complete with hints of cinnamon spice and just-toasted bread providing the frame and structure reminding you that this is built to last. It’s not as opulent as some vintages, much more understated and relaxed - and coincidentally one of the lowest in residual sugar at 135g/l - but this is a wonderful expression with control and confidence on show. It also has supreme drinkability even now with tension, clarity and energy so don’t be afraid to open and enjoy this in its joyful youth. The 2020 is the smallest production since 2000 with an equivalent of 35,000 bottles made. All stock will be released for sale on 23rd March with only a small number of bottles kept back for the estate’s library collection. 3.79pH. The vintage was challenging in terms of viticulture with tropical spring-like weather delivering early budburst and high mildew pressure, especially given it was the estate’s first year of official organic conversion. June was wet and cool followed by a hot, dry summer. Botrytis arrived in mid-October but there was only a small window of five days and two separate passes to harvest grapes with perfect noble rot.Decanter | 96 DECVery transparent and elegant with white peaches, lilacs, and light caramel. Medium-bodied, sweet and agile with salted caramel and dried orange character. Spicy botrytis at the end. Give this three or four years to come together.James Suckling | 96 JSThis has a broad and unctuous feel, with nectarine, apricot and mango notes creating an opulent feel, while racy bitter almond, orange blossom and elderberry accents add contrast and range. The lush finish is carried by notes of mango and piecrust. Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc. Best from 2028 through 2040.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

The wine has impressive ripeness, with a rich plum fruit and an earthy edge. There is a lovely intensity on the palate, which shows a concentrated extract, fresh acidity and firmish tannins, giving the wine good complexity and lead to a lingering finish. Jessiaume has almost a quarter of the vines in this preeminent premier cru of Santenay, right under the iconic windmill. Just over 4ha are planted to Pinot on the oolitic limestone soils. Picking started on the 23rd of August, the grapes were destemmed and fermented on native yeasts before ageing in cask (20% new).Drinking Window: 2025 - 2040Decanter | 95 DECWafting from the glass with aromas of sweet red berries, rose petals, dark chocolate and sweet soils tones, the 2020 Santenay 1er Cru Les Gravières is medium to full-bodied, layered and fleshy, with succulent acids, powdery tannins and an attractively seamless profile.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RPThe 2020 Santenay Les Gravières 1er Cru has an open nose with red berry fruit, leather and truffle scents, a little rustic in style. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannins, nicely balanced yet I feel it is closing up on the finish and will need time.Vinous Media | 90 VM

...The complexity and richness of Special Cuvée is unparalleled among the entry non-vintage blends of every Champagne house, short of ascending to the mesosphere of Krug. Its grand recipe explains why, built on incredible depth of 50%-60% reserves. Triumphant complexity is a given at Bollinger, but it’s the dynamic freshness and vitality that really set it apart as one of the most affordable Champagne benchmarks.Decanter | 96 DECBollinger’s NV Special Cuvée knocks it out of the park. Made from 60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay and the rest Pinot Meunier, with 30% of the blend brought up in barrels, it boasts a rich, deep, medium to full-bodied style as well as terrific notes of lemon curd, crème brûlée, caramelized stone fruits, and hints of toasty nuttiness that develop with time in the glass. It’s a big, rich Champagne that stays balanced and pure. Beautiful stuff.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDBollinger’s NV Special Cuvée knocks it out of the park. Made from 60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay and the rest Pinot Meunier, with 30% of the blend brought up in barrels, it boasts a rich, deep, medium to full-bodied style as well as terrific notes of lemon curd, crème brûlée, caramelized stone fruits, and hints of toasty nuttiness that develop with time in the glass. It’s a big, rich Champagne that stays balanced and pure. Beautiful stuff.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDRestrained and very pretty aromas include those of yeast, Meyer lemon, petrol and green apple where the latter element is picked up by the utterly delicious, vibrant and detailed flavors that possess fine complexity on the agreeably dry but not austere finish. The supporting mousse is dense but fine and overall, this is a wine that could be enjoyed now or held for up to a decade. Excellent. (Drink starting 2024)Burghound | 93 BHOne of Bollinger’s great assets is a massive stock of reserve wine, including 600,000 magnums held under cork. Gilles Descôtes tends those reserves, working with the blending team to subsume the variations of the current vintage into Bollinger’s Special Cuvée by using a majority of reserve wines in the blend. The result is a rich and harmonious Champagne with deep reserves of flavor. Its substantial, formal structure feels polished, its flavors balancing the cool earthiness of a limestone cave and the sunnier, bright floral notes of fresh cream. Built for food, whether emphasizing the freshness with lobster bisque, or the depth with beef Wellington and chanterelles.Terlato Wines Int’l., Lake Bluff, ILWine & Spirits | 93 W&S Like its rosé counterpart, the latest release of Bollinger’s NV Brut Special Cuvée is showing especially well, bursting from the glass with aromas of honeyed apples, crisp stone fruit, buttery pastry, ripe lemons and fresh walnuts. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and vinous, with a deep core of beautifully ripe fruit, racy acids and a pillowy mousse, it’s a charming, characterful wine that proves that Special Cuvée is firmly back where it belongs.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPThere’s a pleasing, snappy quality to the acidity framing this elegant Champagne, enlivening accessible flavors of currant, Marcona almond and orchard blossom, with a minerally touch of saline-laced oyster shell that lingers on the finish. Drink now through 2022. 11,000 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WSLots of biscuit aromas and a wide spectrum of fresh-citrus, candied-citrus, red-apple and red-berry notes. Mouth-filling creaminess, plus quite an imposing presence and powerful structure for an NV Brut. Long, citrus and chalky finish that’s very clean and properly dry. 60% pinot noir, 30% chardonnay, 10% pinot meunier. Almost 20% barrel fermented and 62% reserve wines. Based on the 2017 vintage and disgorged July 2021. Drink now.James Suckling | 92 JSFine bubbles combine nicely with the cooked apples, pie crust and lemon rind. Some biscuit, too. Full body. Layered and creamy with a crisp finish. Always delicious. Drink now.James Suckling | 92 JSDominated, as always, by Pinot Noir and with wood fermentation and aging, this Champagne has a great poise between freshness and richness. It is intense and ripe, with apple and minerality coming together. The bottling is ready to drink.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WE (60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunier; 8 g/l dosage; L1403801): Pale yellow. Toasty aromas of apple and pear nectar are complemented by hints of toffee, honey and orange zest. Full and expansive on the palate, offering ripe orchard and pit fruit flavors and an undercurrent of smoky minerals and buttered toast. Smooth and gently spicy on the clinging, nicely focusd finish.Antonio Galloni | 91 AG(NV Bollinger “Special Cuvée” Brut NV (Aÿ)) The current release of Bollinger “Special Cuvée” is composed of its customary blend of sixty percent pinot noir, twenty-five percent chardonnay and fifteen percent pinot meunier. It was finished with a dosage of eight grams per liter and offers up is classic pinot-shaded bouquet of white peach, apple, bread dough, a beautiful base of soil tones, a touch of hazelnut and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and complex, with a fine core of fruit, a good spine of acidity, elegant mousse and a long, well-balanced and classy finish. This is still a young wine and I would tuck it away in the cellar for at least a few years and let its acids relax a bit and its secondary layers of complexity emerge. (Drink between 2020-2040).John Gilman | 91+ JGNotes of flowery beeswax, white fruit, and quince on the nose. The palate has a flinty austerity with Braeburn, white pepper and subtle spice followed by yeasty richness and brisk finish. Drinking Window 2020 - 2025.Decanter | 90 DEC

A very complex nose here with ripe, deep lemon and grapefruit aromas on offer plus some restrained chalky elements, biscuit, some roasting herbs, hints of pepper, then a little tobacco too. Very complex and full of fresh characters. The palate has a wealth of different fruit flavors like lemon, peach, nectarine, and plums. The finesse in terms of structure, detail and precision is staggering; sherbet-like elegance with immense concentration and power. A great Grande Cuv‚e. Incredibly satisfying. Based on 2006.Krug ID 14024.James Suckling | 96 JSThis mouthwatering Champagne shows a lovely sense of finesse, with firm acidity deftly married to a rich profile of crème de cassis, toasted brioche and lime blossom, accented by hints of café au lait, singed orange peel and exotic spice. Long and plush on the finish. Disgorged 2014. Drink now through 2024.Wine Spectator | 95 WSA distinctive nose with honey, toast and cashew leads to a palate that’s just as powerful and pronounced, with an exotic, dry, umami richness comprising dried crystalline fruits, peach, biscuit and cream, and a touch of well-executed oak. Good acidity and terrific length. Drinking Window 2019 - 2028.Decanter | 95 DEC(NV Krug “Grande Cuvée” Brut NV (Reims) ID #212018 Base Year 2004) This release of Grande Cuvée was disgorged in the spring of 2012 and is comprised of a cépages of forty-four percent pinot noir, thirty-three percent chardonnay and fully twenty-three percent pinot meunier, making this blend one of the highest in pinot meunier in the last decade of Grande Cuvées. As is the case with the blends from the base years of 2006 and 2005, the oldest reserve wine used here was from the 1990 vintage (though of course, this does not mean that each of these blends included the same reserve wine from 1990!) and the wine shows the racy precision of the best wines from this excellent Champagne vintage of 2004. The bouquet is flat out gorgeous and really at a fine moment in its evolution, as it soars from the glass in a constellation of tangerine, white peach, hints of lavender, stunning spice tones, brioche, a complex signature of soil, gentle smokiness and a topnote of fresh almond. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and utterly refined, with a rock solid core, seamless structure, elegant mousse and outstanding length and grip on the complex, vibrant finish. One of the finest recent releases of Grande Cuvée. (Drink between 2015-2040)John Gilman | 95 JGThe NV Grande Cuvée is absolutely stellar. This is one of the very best Grande Cuvées I can remember tasting. The flavors are bright, focused and beautifully delineated throughout, all of which make me think the wine will age well for many, many years. Lemon peel, white flowers, crisp pears, smoke and crushed rocks race across the palate in a vibrant, tense Champagne that epitomizes finesse. This release is based on the 2005 vintage and was disgorged in winter 2012/2013. The blend is: 44% Pinot Noir, 37% Chardonnay and 19% Meunier. Krug ID: 113001.Vinous Media | 94 VMWith its minimum of six years’ bottle aging, this is a beautifully integrated, mature wine. It has a wonderful toast character, layered over sliced pears and ripe acidity. With its complex poise between lightness and richness, this remains an intensely impressive wine.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEA brisk and powerful release of Grande Cuvée, this has the masculine charm of a linebacker as it pummels the palate with lime and seashells, lemon and tangerine flavors. The wine’s intensity and richness has a mouthwatering effect in the finish, lasting in resonant layers of flavor—powerful, yet gracious in the end.Wine & Spirits | 94 W&SOddly, the most consistent Krug wine I have been tasting lately is their non-vintage Brut Grand Cuvee, a big, boldly styled Champagne with smoky, earthy, pear, apple, and spicy aromas as well as flavors, loads of effervescence, and fine body and depth.Robert Parker | 93 RP(NV Krug Brut Grande Cuvée Champagne/Sparkling) Strong petrol aromas presently largely dominate the background notes of citrus, yeast and apple. The relatively full-bodied flavors possess admirable richness and solid power while displaying a moderately fine mousse shapes the dry but not austere finish. Some may find the distinct petrol character of the nose more than they like though I suspect that with age it will dissipate. (Drink starting 2020)Burghound | 90 BH