Wine Ratings

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Beautifully layered aromas are composed by notes of citrus confit, white and yellow orchard fruit, dried apricot and traces of both wood and acacia. There is excellent density and richness to the powerful, palate coating and hugely long finish. This balanced but very firm effort completely transcends the rest of the range though note well that it’s going to require extended patience before it will reveal its full potential.Burghound | 93-95 BH

The 2019 Saint-Aubin Les Murgers des Dents de Chien 1er Cru has more delineation and mineralité compared to the Les Perrières, more terroir expression in situ. The palate is very well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, tropical tones such as passion fruit and mango, counterbalanced by a spicy/ginger tinged finish. It does not quite kick on as I might have hoped, yet there is still a lot of potential here. Expect this to land at the top of my banded score.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM(Jean Chartron St. Aubin "Murgers des Dents de Chien" 1er Cru White) Restrained aromas of very pretty white orchard fruit, rose petal and acacia blossom introduce intense and seductively textured medium-bodied flavors that exhibit slightly better overall depth and persistence. This is lovely and a wine that should age well over the mid-term. (Drink starting 2025).Burghound | 90-92 BHThe 2019 Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Les Murgers des Dents de Chien has turned out nicely, exhibiting notes of pear, crisp green apple, white flowers and fresh pastry. Medium-bodied, bright and precise, with tangy acids and a saline finish, it will show well out of the gates.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RP

Pale lemon colour, racy and fruity together, quite exuberant, a little warmth but the fruit is in the lead and it finishes cleanly on the minerals, with very good length. Long slow fermentation through to the next harvest. This works very well. Tasted: June 2021.Jasper Morris | 91-93 JM

This wine exhibits strength as well as richness. With a dense texture and powerful, warm yellow- and white-fruit flavors, its ripe character is supported by toast and a tight structure. Drink from 2024.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThe 2019 Chablis Les Blanchots Grand Cru is very well defined on the nose, where sea spray and oyster shell notes combine with citrus aromas. Hints of green olive emerge with time. The well-defined palate is taut on the entry, with hints of chai tea and chamomile infusing the white peach and citrus notes, and builds nicely toward a very composed finish. Superb.Vinous Media | 94 VMLaroche owns 11 acres of Blanchots, a cru named for the layer of white clay over Chablis’s Kimmeridgian limestone. That clay helps retain some moisture, which may be why this particular grand cru shows so beautifully in 2019. It’s as full as you would expect from the heat of the season, but the dynamic energy of the wine sustains freshness and buoys the broad flavors of yellow apple and puff pastry. It’s generous in spirit, without being overwhelming in alcohol. Lush and delicious, it lasts on floral apple and tangy white cranberry notes. A keeper.Wine & Spirits | 94 W&SThe 2019 Chablis Grand Cru Les Blanchots wafts from the glass with notions of crisp orchard fruit, white peach, apple blossom, toasted almonds and vanilla pod. Full-bodied, concentrated and reserved, with good cut and back-end grip, it concludes with a long, delicately honeyed finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93+ RP

The 2019 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux Vieilles Vignes is excellent, mingling aromas of pear, citrus oil and warm bread with hints of iodine. Bottled later than the younger-vine cuvée of Butteaux, it’s medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, with racy acids and chalky grip.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93+ RPLike the regular cuvée, this too flirts with volatile acidity though it is admittedly extremely subtle on the nose of essence of pear, quinine and lemon-lime scents. The texture of the slightly denser flavors is equally attractive while offering more evident power on the minerally finish that is impressively persistent, dry and youthfully austere. Once again, at least some patience is suggested. (Drink starting 2025)Burghound | 91 BH

Matured entirely in oak (20% new from François Frères), the 2019 Viré-Clessé Vieilles Vignes Sur le Chêne has a well-defined bouquet with yellow plum, honeysuckle, quince and light vanilla pod aromas that gather momentum in the glass. The palate is very well balanced with dried honey, peach skin and white pepper, good tension here with a precise finish that has more persistence than the Quintaine. Excellent.Vinous Media | 92 VM

Notes of peonies, rose petals, raspberries, orange oil and spices introduce the 2019 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Boudriotte, a medium to full-bodied, pretty and perfumed wine that’s seamless and elegant, concluding with a long, perfumed finish. It’s well worth seeking out.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92+ RPOpulent, this red features cherry, blackberry, spices and a flash of iron, with plush texture and solid structure. Revealing excellent balance, this fades gracefully with the fruit, mineral and spice notes. Drink now through 2032.Wine Spectator | 92 WSPungent aromas of matchstick, petrol and a phenolic hint precede rich, robust and concentrated medium-bodied flavors that flash evident power on the mildly warm and slightly rustic finale. This is solidly constituted and should repay mid-term cellaring out to about 10 years.Burghound | 91 BH

Here too there is plenty of petrol character to the cool and nicely layered nose of ripe yellow orchard fruit, resin and rosemary oil. The attractively textured, rich and solidly concentrated medium weight flavors exude a subtle minerality while offering outstanding complexity on the sappy, balanced and sneaky long finish. If you allow this to warm up a touch of warmth slowly emerges but it’s a non-issue if the proper serving temperature is maintained.Burghound | 93 BH

Muscular and powerful, the 2019 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Ruchottes wafts from the glass with notes of pear, orange oil, peach, nutmeg and spices. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and concentrated, it’s a rich, broad-shouldered Ruchottes that’s quite demonstrative out of the gates.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RP

The 2019 Chablis 1er Cru La Forest is the deepest and most complete of Dauvissat's premiers crus, delivering a complex bouquet of orange oil, pear and fresh bread complemented by top notes of iodine, dried white flowers and beeswax. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and enveloping, it's layered and concentrated, with superb mid-palate volume, lively acids and a long, electric finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RP(Domaine Vincent Dauvissat Chablis "La Forest" 1er Cru White) A less elegant but more complex nose reflects plenty of Chablis typicity with its nose of spiced apple, sea breeze, tidal pool, ripe citrus and a touch of the exotic. There is excellent volume to the intense and muscular flavors that brim with both dry extract and minerality before concluding in a bitter lemon and anise-suffused finish that offers just a bit more depth. Like the Montée de Tonnerre, this very powerful effort should be capable of rewarding up to a decade of cellaring. (Drink starting 2029).Burghound | 93 BHThe 2019 Chablis Forêts 1er Cru has one of the most marine-influenced aromatics from Dauvissat, well-defined sea spray and oyster shell notes emerging with time. The palate is beautifully focused and powerful, offering dried honey and light spice notes, and gradually building toward the stem-ginger-tinged finish. Excellent.Vinous Media | 92-94 VM

(Domaine Vincent Dauvissat Chablis "Montée de Tonnerre" 1er Cru White) A vague hint of the exotic is present on the wonderfully elegant lemony white orchard fruit scented nose that reflects additional notes of mineral reduction and oyster shell. The notably finer medium-bodied flavors possess excellent punch on the mineral-driven and chiseled finish that goes on and on. This is lovely and while it too will need better depth, the aging curve is sufficiently promising that I am optimistic that more complexity will develop over the next decade. In a word, terrific. (Drink starting 2027)Burghound | 94 BHThe 2019 Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre is the sixth vintage that Dauvissat has produced of this climat, and he observes that it's one of the few parcels he exploits that isn't planted with the family's proprietary massale selections. Exhibiting notions of citrus oil, fresh bread, iodine and warm pastry, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and lively, with fine tension at the core and a long, mineral finish. It's the most approachable while young of these premiers crus.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPThe 2019 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre 1er Cru comes from the domaine’s single 0.30-hectare parcel. It has a refined, very classic Chablis nose with wet pavement and light nutty aromas that remain discreetly in the background. The palate is slightly honeyed on the entry, spiced with touches of stem ginger, and delivers good depth, leading into an edgy, saline, powerful finish. You will probably have to give this 3–4 years in bottle.Vinous Media | 92-94 VM

Introducing the 2019 Chablis are aromas of beeswax, dried white flowers and oyster shell dominating youthfully discreet notions of citrus oil and fresh bread in an already complex bouquet. A medium to full-bodied, satiny and enveloping wine, this is fleshier and more textural than its Petit Chablis counterpart—though it’s just as chiseled—concluding with a long, saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPThe 2019 Chablis Village has an intriguing nutty and slightly smoky bouquet. The palate is lively on the entry, with a superb line of acidity, and quite saline in the mouth, leading to a brisk, energetic finish. Excellent.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM(Domaine Vincent Dauvissat Chablis Villages White) Here too there is very fine typicity with its ripe but cool nose of white peach, pear, iodine and pretty floral nuances that also include a whiff of citrus confit. There is equally fine volume to the rich yet well-detailed flavors that flash a lovely mineral streak on the refreshingly dry finale. Good stuff in a robust and powerful style that should repay mid-term aging. (Drink starting 2025)Burghound | 90 BH

The 2019 Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos is, if anything, more introverted than Les Preuses this year. Mingling notes of citrus oil, pear and crisp stone fruit with hints of fresh bread, vanilla pod and wet stones, it's full-bodied, layered and muscular, with huge concentration, framed by chalky extract and lively acids. Concluding with a long, saline finish, it will require considerable patience.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97+ RP(Domaine Vincent Dauvissat Chablis - Les Clos Grand Cru White) A perfumed and slightly minty nose offers up notes of green apple, lemon zest, algae and oyster shell. The sleek, delineated and powerful large-scaled flavors are shaped by a firm citrus-tinged acid spine on the exuberantly spicy, strikingly long and bone-dry finish. This brilliant youthfully austere effort is also going to require extended patience before arriving at its apogee. In sum, this is a knockout. (Drink starting 2031).Burghound | 96 BHThe 2019 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru is more strict and linear on the nose compared to Les Preuses, gradually developing some subtle grilled almond and walnut aromas. You just need about 30 seconds and you are lost in the aromas. The palate is exceptionally well balanced with a nigh-perfect thread of acidity. This Les Clos displays ethereal poise from start to finish and is blessed with a pixelated quality that distinguishes it from any other. Brilliant. Candidate for wine of the vintage.Vinous Media | 96-98 VM

The 2019 Chablis 1er Cru Séchet opens in the glass with scents of citrus oil, white flowers, beeswax, oyster shell, wet chalk and mandarin. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and strikingly intense, it’s taut and chiseled, with tangy acids and huge reserves of concentration, concluding with a pungently chalky finish. As I’ve written before, Séchet—where Dauvissat owns a 0.8-hectare parcel—is located in the Vaillons Valley, but its windier situation and soils richer in active limestone mean it’s typically more tensile and incisive than the other climats that make up Vaillons. Technically retired but very much a continuing presence at his eponymous domaine, Vincent Dauvissat—who forsook a career as a shepherd to become one of France’s most celebrated vignerons—couldn’t disguise his satisfaction as we tasted his recently bottled 2019 portfolio. After some discussion, we settled on the 1989 vintage ("but tighter and more incisive") as a possible analogy for 2019’s hyper-concentrated, ripe, but all the while classically Chablisien style. In any case, they’re some of the wines of the vintage and are well worth seeking out. Readers will remember that farming here is organic but without certification. The harvest is by hand, and the wines ferment in tank before racking to barrel with the lees (Raveneau’s Chablis, by contrast, are racked to barrel more or less without their lees), spending a second winter in wood before bottling. A first bottling, destined for the American market. | 94 RP The 2019 Chablis Séchets 1er Cru has an elegant and more floral bouquet compared to Vincent Dauvissat’s other 2019s, beautifully defined and offering baked apple, pear and white flower scents. The palate is well balanced with a spicy opening, plus hints of stem ginger and walnut. Quite tensile and full on the finish. Good potential here.Vinous Media | 91-93 VMA markedly citrusy and noticeably cooler nose combines notes of mineral reduction with those of pear and apple confit. There is again very good volume and mid-palate density on the seductively textured medium-bodied flavors that are also quite dry on the balanced finale. This is a powerful Séchet that is even more robust and one that will need to add depth with age, but it should do just that if given a chance.Burghound | 92 BH

An interesting nose of decidedly ripe citrus tart, poached pear and discreet spice nuances. There is again fine volume to the nicely detailed medium-bodied flavors that possesses good underlying tension, all wrapped in a lingering and lemony finish that isn’t quite as complex.Burghound | 90 BH

The 2019 is a fabulous wine, with ripe apple fruit showing a citrusy edge to it, balanced acidity and impressive length on the palate. Roulot now farms 5ha of vines in this appellation, located between the village and the Route Nationale, spread over eight parcels. The fruit is lightly crushed and fermented in cask (mostly used) before ageing for one year. (Drink between 2021-2029)Decanter | 92 DEC

The 2019 Chablis Blanchot Grand Cru is slightly deeper in color than the Les Clos when compared side by side. The bouquet is richer and more honeyed – in fact, more 2018 in style – with enticing orange pith and praline scents developing over time. The palate is ripe and much more intense than the Les Clos, the weight of the fruit counterbalanced by the acidity. This is a very fulfilling Blanchot that packs quite a punch and may well drink sooner than the Les Clos.Vinous Media | 94 VM(Domaine Servin Chablis - Blanchot Grand Cru White) A restrained if very pretty nose combines notes of pear and apple with those of mineral reduction, white flower and a touch of shellfish. The succulent, delicious and quite rich middle weight plus flavors possess an attractive vibrancy on the sneaky long finish that isn’t quite as precise though it is longer. We will see in time if it can catch the MdT but for now, the latter has the edge. (Drink starting 2027).Burghound | 91-93 BHThe 2019 Chablis Grand Cru Blanchots unfurls in the glass with notes of clear honey, freshly baked bread, orange zest, pear and citrus blossom. Medium to full-bodied, ample and layered, with a glossy attack and a rich, fleshy mid-palate, it’s deep and concentrated. As usual, it’s one of the more demonstrative wines in the range.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92+ RP

A ripe and beautifully layered nose consists of notes of green fruit, citrus, iodine and mineral reduction. The powerful, rich and voluminous big-bodied flavors possess fine mid-palate density that coats the palate with sap before concluding in an austere, long and vaguely rustic finale. This is an imposing Bougros that should age effortlessly over the next decade plus.Burghound | 92-94 BHAromas of aniseed and lemon rind with dried apple and pear follow through to a full body. Yet, it’s tight and layered with a compact palate and plenty of fruit. Needs time to open. Try after 2023.James Suckling | 94 JSThis is not the legendary Côte de Bouguerots bottling, but the regular Bougros – which still stood out alongside its peers. The fruit shows grand cru weight and the sunshine quality of the vintage, juicy but well balanced, while the crystalline purity of the finish sets this wine apart.Jasper Morris | 94 JMAromas of crisp green orchard fruit, clear honey, peach, mint and buttery pastry introduce the 2019 Chablis Grand Cru Bougros, a full-bodied, ample and enveloping wine that’s one of the more textural, dramatic wines in the range. Unusually deep and concentrated, its immediate, charming profile belies considerable aging potential this year.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93+ RPVibrant, this white combines green apple and citrus flavors with an iodide element. This is lean and intense, with a lingering citrus and mineral aftertaste. Drink now through 2027. 70 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

The 2019 Chablis Mont de Milieu 1er Cru has an attractive nose, more extrovert than others from this climat, displaying scents of yellow plum, pressed white flower, crushed rock and subtle Granny Smith apple. The palate is clean and fresh, a dab of bitter lemon on the entry combining neatly with the silver bead of acidity. Quite tensile toward the finish, which lingers in the mouth. This may warrant a higher score with bottle age. Very fine.Vinous Media | 92+ VM

The 2019 Chablis Vaudésir Grand Cru has a very pretty bouquet of yellow flowers, honeysuckle and light white truffle scents, plus a touch of flint in the background. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity. This is certainly one of the more elegant Grand Crus in 2019, displaying admirable poise and a touch of spice toward the lingering finish. Excellent.Vinous Media | 93 VM

At Boillot they normally make a single, 350-litre barrel of Montrachet, lightly crushing the fruit before pressing in a basket press. The results in 2019 were absolutely beautiful. Ripe pear and fresh flowers dominate the initial attack. On the palate there is a lovely intensity and richness, with a dense, creamy, buttery texture and huge reserves of substance that will keep this wine ageing for years to come. Drinking Window 2024 - 2039.Decanter | 97 DECInterestingly, here the nose resembles a grand cru Chablis with its oyster shell, iodine, quinine, lemon-lime and bee’s wax-scented nose. There is outstanding volume and concentration to the overtly powerful and muscular flavors that are supported by a citrus-tinged and markedly firm acid spine that also shapes the cuts-like-a-knife finale. As the length of my initial projected drinking window suggests, it would be pointless to open this beauty before it has at least a decade of aging as it should easily repay two of them. In sum, this is quite simply stunningly good. (Drink starting 2039)Burghound | 97 BHNotes of orange oil, pear, peach, yellow apples, fresh bread and nutmeg introduce Boillot’s 2019 Montrachet Grand Cru, a full-bodied, satiny and concentrated wine that’s textural and enveloping, with an ample core of fruit, lively acids and a long, expansive finish. More tightly wound than the demonstrative 2018, his is a superb effort that will reward bottle age.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96+ RP

The 2019 Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre unwinds to reveal aromas of citrus oil, warm pastry, crisp green orchard fruit and vanilla pod. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and precise, it’s lively and mineral, concluding with a saline finish. Tightly wound and gently patinated by its élevage, this will develop well with time in bottle.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93+ RPThe 2019 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre 1er Cru, from vines on white and blue clay, has a backward nose that mixes struck flint with Granny Smith apples, suggesting old-school Chablis. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity and beautifully composed, maybe the most harmonious of Droin’s Premier Crus. A little spiciness manifests on the finish. Superb.Vinous Media | 93 VM(Domaine Jean-Paul et Benoit Droin Chablis "Montée de Tonnerre" 1er Cru White) An equally pure and elegant nose is quite different as here there is much more smoky reduction to the citrus-inflected pear and shellfish scents. The rich yet nicely restrained medium weight flavors brim with minerality and excellent detail, all wrapped in a slightly more complex finish. This is only a touch better than the Vaulorent but overall, it’s just a bit more complete. (Drink starting 2025)Burghound | 93 BH

The 2019 Chablis Vaillons 1er Cru has a less flamboyant bouquet than its peers. This feels more reserved and flinty, though very nicely defined and focused. The palate is well balanced, with the weight and density I look for in a Vaillon, and a little spicier than the Vosgros. A touch of lemongrass and a hint of green olive appear toward the finish. Fine.Vinous Media | 91 VMAromas of peach, apricot, honey, white flowers and iodine preface the 2019 Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons, a medium to full-bodied, satiny and charming wine that’s the most demonstrative premier cru in the cellar this year.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RP