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Sourced from a north-facing site beneath forest cover with clay-rich soils, a parcel selection in Vaillons, the 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Les Lys is among the most quintessentially Chablisien wines in the portfolio and is harvested around a week later than the fruit that enters the Vaillons bottling. It offers aromas of oyster juice, white flowers, lemon oil and Granny Smith apple, followed by a medium- to full-bodied, incisive and pure palate that is elegant yet racy and fresh, concluding with a long, saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPI love Domaine Fèvre’s Les Lys bottling, year in and year out, and the 2023 is another absolutely superb premier cru in the making. The exposition of this vineyard is plain north, which may account why it acquits itself so well so often in this age of global warming. The 2023 Les Lys is a beautiful wine on both the nose and palate, offering up a complex blend of lime, pear, stony minerality, a touch of anise, dried flowers and an exotic touch of mossiness in the upper register that recall a bit the Abtsberg vineyard from Maximin Grünhaus. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, precise and complex, with a great core of pure fruit, a lovely girdle of acidity, fine minerality and a long, vibrant and impeccably balanced finish. (Drink between 2029-2060)John Gilman | 93+ JGThe 2023 Chablis Les Lys 1er Cru comes from a single hectare of vines. Lime, red apple and touches of orange pith and peach skin develop in the glass. The palate is well balanced with a taut line of acidity, silky smooth, very composed with a lot of finesse on the finish. This is one of the domaine’s hidden gems and should not be under-estimated.Vinous Media | 91-93 VMThis ripe white’s peach, apricot and melon flavors are accented by earth, citrus peel and vanilla notes. Airy in texture and mouthwatering on the finish. Drink now through 2033. 50 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 91 WSThis is also quite fresh though a bit cooler with its array of pretty floral, citrus confit, iodine and oyster shell nuances. There is unusually good richness and volume for Les Lys to the sappy and succulent flavors that terminate in a sappy, powerful and lightly bitter lemon-inflected finale. Good if not special quality here.Burghound | 90 BHClear pale lemon yellow. The nose is taking coaxing but has the precision. Very good tension, still with delicacy despite the concentration, nothing dilute here, good tension with a little bitterness at the back. Very promising. Drink from 2027-2034. Tasted Jun 2024.Jasper Morris | 90-92 JM

In the hands of Fèvre winemaker Didier Séguier, premier cru Montmains has a certain initial reserve. But with time, the green apple and gooseberry notes, touched with acacia blossoms and spice, open up on the palate. The texture is lively and fresh, yet there is substance here as well. The grapes are assembled from 10 parcels throughout Montmains, including some in Forêts and Butteaux. Séguier explains that Butteaux is deep in the valley and further from the Serein so it ripens later. The grapes are fermented in tank and older casks for 40–50% of the harvest.Decanter Magazine | 95 DECDelicate aromas of white blossom, brioche, freshly-cut golden apple and dried grass draw in the nose with feathery opulence. The palate is rich with citrusy acidity that plays second fiddle to fall-ripened orchard fruit that washes across wet stone on the finish. Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThere’s a sleek feel to this white despite its rich texture, revealing lemon, apple and flint flavors, plus a hint of honey. Harmonious and enticing, this ends with citrus and stone elements. Shows fine expression and length. Drink now through 2032. 250 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WSThe 2023 Montmains from Didier Séguier is a beautifully classic example in this vintage. The wine’s aromatic constellation is complex and refined, delivering a mix of green apple, lemon, wet stone minerality, a touch of menthol, dried flowers and a topnote of lime peel. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and precise, with a lovely core of fruit, excellent backend mineral drive, fine balance and a long, zesty and complex finish. Fine juice. (Drink between 2027-2050)John Gilman | 92 JGSourced from a large 3.8-hectare south- and southeast-facing site, where individual parcels are harvested and vinified separately, the 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Montmains reveals aromas of Granny Smith apple, jasmine, pear and oyster shell. Medium- to full-bodied, the palate is taut and racy, concluding with a saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RPAssembled earlier today, so cloudy and this procedure also masks the nose. Classic Montmains behind, with the usual reductive grip, yet also some elegance, very persistent. The lees were first class, says Didier Seguier and this certainly has the makings of a first class Montmains. Drink from 2027-2034. Tasted Jun 2024.Jasper Morris | 91-94 JMAn exuberantly fresh nose speaks of mineral reduction, prominent floral, oyster shell and essence of pear scents. There is again solid volume and richness to the seductively textured middle weight flavors that possess just a bit more finishing verve as well as more evident minerality. Here too there is a touch of warmth but it’s not really enough to materially impair the overall sense of balance.Burghound | 88-91 BH

Crushed stone and green apple mingle on the nose that rests against a wall of baby’s breath and muddled white blossom. The steely palate accentuates purity of fruit while elevating freshness on the finish that is lifted by a nervy layer of acidity. Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThe 2023 Chablis “Vaillons” from Domaine William Fèvre is another absolutely classic expression of this fine premier cru vineyard. The bouquet is bright and complex, wafting from the glass in a lovely mix of lemon, pink grapefruit, anise, citrus peel, chalky minerality, white flowers and a gentle topnote of beeswax. On the palate the wine is vibrant, full-bodied and focused, with a great core of fruit, lovely bounce and grip, seamless balance and a long, mineral-driven and complex finish. First class Vaillons! (Drink between 2028-2055)John Gilman | 93 JGSourced from a sunny, precocious site that is typically among the first to be harvested, the 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons delivers aromas of beeswax, orange oil, pear and honeysuckle. Full-bodied, enveloping and charming, it is underpinned by ripe yet vibrant acidity and concludes with a saline finish, reflecting the personality of the warm vintage. The wine is derived from 3.5 hectares, the majority of which lies within Vaillons proper.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92+ RPLinear in profile, yet with a fleshy texture enveloping flavors of lemon cake, yellow plum and apple. There’s an underlying flintiness that, coupled with the acidity, brings clarity to the citrus-tinged aftertaste. Excellent length. Drink now through 2033. 150 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WSThe 2023 Chablis Vaillons 1er Cru has much more composure than the Montmains, more harmonious and poised. Light sea spray scents mixed with Crustacea come through with aeration. The palate is well balanced with fine delineation, quite linear and malic with a concentrated finish. I prefer this to the Montmains this year.Vinous Media | 90-92 VMAn exuberantly fresh nose features notes of essence of apple, sea breeze, pink grapefruit and oyster shell. The delicious, fleshy and solidly concentrated medium weight flavors deliver good if not truly special length on the lightly stony, balanced and bitter lemon-inflected finale. This is sufficiently rich to allow for early accessibility but it also has the stuffing to repay 6 to 10 years of cellaring.Burghound | 89-91 BHMid lemon yellow. A little headier in bouquet than the Montmains, balanced by a reductive note. Richer than usual for Vaillons but still with some balance. A little youthful bitterness. Not quite in place today. Drink from 2026-2033. Tasted Jun 2024.Jasper Morris | 89-91 JM

There is a ripe apple and apricot fruit aroma, lush buttery notes and a hint of spice. The texture is very rich in a classic Bâtard style. Winemaker Lucie Coutoux explained that they did a strict green harvest in July, cutting back to five to six bunches per vine, which pushed the ripeness forward, and thus, this was harvested first. She used her usual techniques: crush the grapes and slowly press them, running the must into barrel (25% new) with all of the lees. 2023 is the first vintage for Niellon since replanting the Bâtard-Montrachet in 2016. The results are spectacular.Decanter Magazine | 96 DECHere too there is a smoky note to the spicy and markedly floral-suffused nose of various white orchard fruit aromas, especially pear, along with a subtle if still easily perceptible wood nuance. Like several wines in the range, the medium weight flavors are not monsters of concentration but they do possess a sleek texture along with a lovely sense of underlying tension on the dry and balanced finale. While not quite what it used to be, it’s good to have an old friend back!Burghound | 93 BHIts back! Very young vines, needed a green harvest, in fact twice as the grapes compensated after the first. Took off half, so the vine could look after itself. 0.1190, 2273 for Chevalier. Had to pick first, with acidity declining. Pale colour, toasty nose. A lovely quality of fruit right away on the palate, less energy behind, or indeed length, only to be expected. The barrel toast remains, so look to a promising future. Drink from 2029-2034. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 93 JMThere are three barrels of the 2023 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, whose vines were replanted in 2020 after being pulled up in 2015. Half the bunches were taken off in July before véraison to control vigor, and the pH is a little higher than other cuvées. There is some reduction on the nose, but you can feel the nascent energy. The palate is well-balanced with a richer, slightly more viscous texture than the Chevalier-Montrachet, powerful and long with a dash of spice on the finish. Of course, this is the opening chapter of the vineyard, and you can feel that it’s not full power, but it represents a promising return.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM

Chevalier-Montrachet 2023 from Domaine Michel Niellon is among the luminous successes of the vintage. The initial restraint on the nose gives way on the palate to aromas of ripe pear and quince with a hint of marzipan and fresh white flowers. The texture is generous, almost voluptuous, but there is a balance and elegance that hint at its noble origins. The grapes are from 0.22ha of 60-year-old vines at the base of the slope near the Leflaive parcel. Ideally, one would wait 10 years for this wine to show its full potential.Decanter Magazine | 96 DECOnce again there is a smoky whiff on the pretty, cooler and much more complex nose of wonderfully spicy pear and apple scents that are liberally laced with citrus and petrol nuances. The sleek, intense and more concentrated markedly mineral-driven flavors terminate in a chiseled, youthfully austere and bitter lemon-inflected finale that just goes on and on. This is a powerful but impeccably well-balanced Chevalier that should easily reward a decade plus of cellaring. In a word, terrific.Burghound | 95 BHPlanted in 1963 Lucie thinks. A bit degenerate, so lots of millerand. Picked at the start. Just as pale in colour, however the nose has more character showing the white limestone soil. Very linear, a classic Chevalier in the mouth, with warmth and energy to finish, but this is like licking the rock itself, more than eating the fruit. Quite tightly wound, so well worth longer keeping. Drink from 2030-2038. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 95 JMThe 2023 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru has an intense bouquet with crushed limestone, slightly more malic than Niellon’s Chassagnes. A touch of nuttiness develops with aeration. There is a pleasing strictness here. The palate is well-balanced with a fine bead of acidity, taut and fresh. There is a little CO2 in the barrel sample, yet the energy is palpable on the finish, and it feels long and sustained in the mouth.Vinous Media | 94-96 VM

Huia has never been one to make stereotypical Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, and the 2023 Sauvignon Blanc is no different. Under new ownership but with the winemaking remaining in the hands of former co-owner Clare Allen, the 2023 is a quiet, elegant, aromatically delicate expression. A little more than light in body, it has a rich, succulent and rounded texture, no doubt a combination of the organic vineyards, wild fermentation and use of barrel. Flavors of honeysuckle, ripe apple and lightly toasted hazelnuts linger on the mouthwatering finish.Vinous Media | 92 VM

A tightly focused beam of bitter cherry, damson plum and raspberry coulis streams through this red, with mouthwatering cut in the form of ocean breeze minerality that runs throughout. Iris and rose hip notes fill in the background as the long, piercing finish shows a remarkably pure and unadorned feel. A high-definition Pinot. Drink now through 2035. 3,650 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSThe 2023 Pinot Noir Freestone Occidental Bodega is a well of strawberry, raspberry and blackberry, plus nuances of grapefruit, tea leaves, cola and bitters. The light-bodied palate offers crunchy, perfumed flavors framed by dusty tannins and vibrant acidity, and it has a long, latent finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RP

The 2023 Langhe Bianco Dragon is mostly Chardonnay, with touches of Sauvignon Blanc, Nascetta and Riesling. Pear, white flowers and tangerine oil inflections grace this expressive, mid-weight Bianco. Creamy, silky contours wrap it all together. Baudana’s Dragon has come a long, long way in recent years.Vinous Media | 92 VM

From red slate soils and exclusively ungrafted massal selections, the 2023 Steffensberg Riesling is deep, pure, intense and refined on the nose that is fascinating in its purity and aromatic intensity that intermingles with saline notes of slate shards and herbal nuances. Lush and elegant on the palate, this is an intense yet refined, mouth-filling and textural, enormously savory and sustainable Riesling with spectacular length. 12% stated alcohol. Screw cap. Tasted in December 2024.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThis wine is young and might seem eccentric to some because the youthful and more mature elements are not yet totally integrated, but how could you not like it? The way freshness and creaminess are interwoven on the medium-bodied palate is stunning. The stone fruit and smoky aromas are fascinating. Then comes the long, silky and delicate finish. From organically grown grapes. Drinkable now, but best from 2026. Screw cap.James Suckling | 95 JS

The 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet Clos Saint-Jean 1er Cru was picked a couple of days earlier than the Clos des Murées. Despite being opened the evening before my visit, there is still some reduction on the nose. The palate is taut, fresh, quite nutty and Meursault-like in style with an energetic, persistent finish. Give this a year or two in bottle—it is very promising.Vinous Media | 91+ VM

The 2023 Gevrey-Chambertin Champerrier is very pure and sensual on the nose, with generous red cherry and crushed strawberry fruit tones that envelop the senses. The palate is well balanced with a gentle grip, but there is more energy and greater frisson toward the finish than the Vieilles Vignes, which beckons you back for another sip. This is excellent.Vinous Media | 93 VMHere too there is just enough wood to merit pointing out suffusing the compositionally similar, if less expressive, nose. The succulent and rounded medium weight flavors still manage to retain good detail on the solidly powerful, youthfully austere and moderately rustic finish that is both compact and robust. This is an excellent Gevrey villages that is worth your interest.Burghound | 90 BH

Tasted on multiple occasions, the 2023 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc is flat-out great. A blend of 70% Clairette and 30% Roussanne brought up in a mix of foudre and smaller concrete vessels, its medium gold hue is followed by a sensational perfume of stone fruits, dried pineapple, white flowers, and crushed stone. This carries to a medium to full-bodied white with an elegant, layered mouthfeel, perfectly integrated acidity, and a great finish. It’s approachable today yet will benefit from a year or two of bottle age and keep for well over a decade. If you get a chance, don’t miss this! There are a tiny 250 cases made.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDThis is a very powerful white Châteauneuf – textural and driving, with intensity and freshness. The oak is mostly present in texture and shape. It’s very ripe but not overdone; the alcohol is in balance and the driving acidity will propel it forward; it’s a savoury, saline style that will age well. Grown in lieu-dit Les Serres, mostly galets roulés with sand. Fermented in foudre, demi-muid and concrete eggs; aged in foudre and concrete egg for six months.Decanter | 96 DECThis youthful white Chateauneuf manages to be rich and creamy, but also lively with stacks of candied fruit aromas and a touch of waxiness on the full-bodied palate. Wonderful purity at the very silky finish that’s simultaneously expansive and precise. A cuvee based on clairette with a small amount of roussanne from organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSVinified in foudres, large barrels and concrete tanks and matured for six months in wooden tanks (50%) and egg-shaped concrete tanks (50%), Ferrando’s 2023 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc evokes aromas of spring flowers, herbs, spices, ripe orchard fruits and jasmine. Medium to full-bodied, charming and delicate, it’s enveloping and crystalline with bright acids and an ethereal finish enhanced by vertical energy. This blend of 70% Clairette and 30% Roussanne is one of the finest classic white wines of the appellation. Vinified with no malolactic fermentation to preserve freshness and finesse.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPBottled in January 2024, the 2023 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc is an expressive white. As usual, the malolactic fermentation was blocked to preserve the wine’s freshness. Vivid spring blossom, lime flesh, ripe pear, quince and flintstone nuances are front and center. Closing with good persistence on the sapid finale, the 2023 will provide plenty of pleasure soon after release.Vinous Media | 93 VMFragrant and bright, with notes of honeysuckle blossoms, lemon pulp and yellow apple driven by a succulent, mouthwatering acidity that cuts through. Salty, yeasty notes add savory richness to the supple palate, with well-integrated elements of acacia marking the firm, dry finish. There’s good precision, freshness, focus and length. Clairette and Roussanne. Drink now through 2028. 700 cases made, 200 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

Like the 2023 les Minots, the la Forêt chez Piuze is nicely expressive and generous right out of the blocks this year and will drink beautifully from the moment of release. The beautiful bouquet wafts from the glass in a mix of lemon, pear, chalky minerality, fruit blossoms, beeswax and a topnote of citrus peel. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and succulent at the core, with lovely mineral drive and grip, bouncy acids and a long, seamlessly balanced and zesty finish. Fine juice. 2025-2055.John Gilman | 93 JGThe more giving, fruit-forward 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Les Forêts offers a lovely contrast to the pronouncedly mineral Séchet. “It comes from the bottom of the valley, where the soils are deeper,” observes Piuze, and it’s evident in the glass, as the wine wafts with a deep bouquet of beeswax, peach skin and pear mingling with savory tones. Flamboyant, elegantly muscular and enveloping, it’s fleshy yet laden with lively acidity, concluding with a saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RP

From a site within the climat of Les Vaillons, where the vines are planted east to west and the grape skins are never kissed by the sun, Patrick Piuze’s 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Les Roncières has turned out very well. Opening in the glass to reveal a bouquet of beeswax, peach and lemon zest, it is medium-bodied, textural yet racy, with lovely tension and a long, mineral finish. It retains a classically Chablisien profile even in this warm year.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPI have never seen another vigneron who bottled their Chablis “Les Roncières” on its own. As this premier cru can also be bottled as Vaillons, most producers choose this direction for labeling of this wine. As I have mentioned before, Pat’s parcel in the les Minots section of Vaillons has a completely different exposition than his vines in Roncières, so the two are bottled separately for a very good reason. The 2023 version is lovely, offering up a complex nose of lemon, pear, a complex base of chalky soil, paraffin, orange peel, a touch of anise and a topnote of lemon zest. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and impeccably balanced, with a very good core of fruit, fine transparency and grip, zesty acids and lovely nervosité on the long and precise finish. Fine juice. 2027-2055.John Gilman | 92+ JG

Derived from over 60-year-old vines growing in very shallow soil, with limestone bedrock close to the surface, Patrick Piuze’s 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Séchet is one of the highlights of the broad 28-bottle tasting across many different climats and appellations. Opening in the glass to reveal a bouquet of oyster shell, green apple and lemon zest mingling with beeswax and iodine, it’s medium-bodied, bright and precise, with mouthwatering acidity and ample structuring extract, concluding with a searingly chalky finish. If one wants to pick a bottle that’s unmistakably (even when tasted blind) Chablisien, look no further than this beautifully defined and incisive interpretation of Séchet.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94+ RPThe 2023 Chablis “les Séchets” from Domaine Piuze is also a fine example of the vintage. The wine’s aromatic constellation delivers scents of apple, pear, lemon blossoms, a lovely base of limestone soils, beeswax and a nice touch of Chablisienne straw in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and nicely structured out of the blocks this year, with a fine core offruit, excellent mineral undertow and grip, bright acids and a long, complex and very well balanced finish. This will want a few years in the cellar before drinking with abandon. 2028-2055.John Gilman | 92+ JG

The 2023 Montmains is one of my favorite premier crus in the Piuze cellars this year. The wine’s bouquet is pure, precise and complex, offering up notes of lemon, pear, a touch of tangerine, beeswax, spring flowers, lemon peel and a beautiful foundation of chalky minerality. On the palate the wine is crisp, full-bodied and deep at the core, with great soil signature and grip, a fine spine of acidity, lovely balance and a long, focused and complex finish. Most impressive. 2028-2055+.John Gilman | 93 JGPatrick Piuze’s 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Montmains has turned out well, opening from the glass with notes of acacia, pear, peach and youthful reduction. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated and tensile, built around a chalky core, it’s laden with bright acidity and concludes with a long, saline finish. It’s produced from a parcel just next to Raveneau’s.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92+ RP

The 2023 vintage of “Vaillons” Les Minots from Patrick Piuze is excellent. The wine’s aromatic constellation offers up a superb blend of fresh lemon, pear, tart orange, chalky soil tones, anise, spring flowers and a topnote of beeswax. On the palate the wine is deep, zesty, complex and full-bodied, with a succulent core of fruit, superb mineral undertow, bouncy acids and lovely balance on the long and vibrant finish. This will drink beautifully upon release and has the balance to age gracefully for several decades. 2025-2055.John Gilman | 92+ JGDerived from one of the warmest places in the valley, Patrick Piuze’s 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons Les Minots is flamboyant and demonstrative, soaring from the glass with a bouquet of marzipan, peach and dried white flowers mingling with passion fruit. Enveloping and underpinned by racy acids, it’s full-bodied, rich and gourmand and, unsurprisingly, in the context of the warmer site, is among the first that is harvested. While it offers immediate appeal, it has proven to be an age-worthy bottling.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

The 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeots 1er Cru has a little more mineralité on the nose than the Vergers. Its bouquet contains light hints of clementine and beeswax aromas. The palate is well balanced, fresh and concentrated with a slightly viscous opening. It just needs a little more terroir to shape the finish.Vinous Media | 90 VM

With aromas and flavors of citrus pith, dried grasses and salted lime, this wine offers palate-filling flavor with a pleasing balance of texture and mouthwatering length. Deftly integrated oak brings additional complexity in good balance. Wine Enthusiast | 92 WEGroth’s 2023 Estate Sauvignon Blanc offers up scents of pink grapefruit, ripe figs and Anjou pear. Made in second-fill acacia wood, neutral French oak barrels and concrete eggs, with six months of sur lie aging, it’s just medium-bodied but nicely plump and rounded on the mid-palate, turning crisp and refreshing on the lemon-and-grapefruit finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RPShows wonderful restraint, with mandarin orange, lemon curd, salted melon, Honeycrisp apple and pear notes on a firm texture, plus a hint of beeswax and plenty of length. The acidity keeps the flavors bright. Drink now. 39,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WSNotes of sliced golden apples, candied lemons, citrus blossom and stone. Medium-bodied, sleek and polished with vivid acidity. Pretty and refreshing. Drink now.James Suckling | 90 JS

The 2023 Gewurztraminer Brand Grand Cru combines a lovely mix of nettle, rose, white summer blossom and juicy Mirabelle aromas. The palate adds sweetness to a body that is essentially taut and sleek, expressing its granite. Lovely tension pervades this and leaves a profound sense of peach, stone and citrus. (Sweet)Vinous Media | 95 VM

A fresh, linear, eye-opening young wine that’s delicious and appetizing, and will develop more complexity and nuance with time in the bottle. Stunning aromas of black cherries, vibrant raspberries and cedary spices lead to mouthwatering red cherry, cranberry, star anise and mineral flavors that expand on the palate. Drinkable now and best from 2030.James Suckling | 98 JSI tasted the 2023 Pinot Noir Le Caprice as a sample just before it was bottled. It has slowly unfolding aromas of cranberry, red cherry, tea leaves and mint, becoming more floral as it airs in the glass. The palate is layered and concentrated with woodsy, earthy flavors evocative of a forest. It’s structured by silky tannins and vibrant acidity and boasts a flourish of spicy accents on the long finish. A total of 979 cases were made, and the wine will be released in April of 2025.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-95 RP

Mid lemon yellow. Grilled almonds Marjolaine suggests, and I agree. Once more the flesh and the oak on the nose are apparent. All the requisite weight and white fruit, silky length, a little salinity, understated but very long indeed. Rather hidden at the moment. Drink from 2030-2040. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 93-96 JMThe 2023 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru, from vines planted in 1996, had quite a bit of that matchstick reduction on the nose when I tasted it from barrel, but you can discern the concentration here. The palate is well balanced with a slightly honeyed opening. Acidity counters its richness as hints of ginger and white pepper emerge toward the finish. Powerful compared to its peers, this Grand Cru will require two or three years in bottle.Vinous Media | 91-93 VM

More yellow in the colour, a waxy flesh, slight evolution in the sample, I cannot quite see the stones up front. They do appear on the palate and the wine extends very well through to a flinty finish, with some saline notes right at the back. Drink from 2028-2034. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 91-93 JMThe 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet En Cailleret 1er Cru has a strict, almost sullen nose that demands coaxing from the glass, with hints of chamomile interlacing the orchard fruit, though I seek just a little more mineralité. The palate is well balanced with tropical notes of passionfruit and guava on the entry. Smooth in texture with countervailing acidity, the 2023 finishes open and easy-drinking. Drink just a year after bottling and enjoy this in its youth.Vinous Media | 89-91 VM

The 2023 Chassagne-Montrachet Les Houillères is a level up from the regular Village, with more mineralité and terroir expression. The palate is well balanced and linear in style, with a keen line of acidity, fine weight and a sapid, chamomile-tinged close. Maybe the 2022 had a touch more depth on the finish, but this is worth seeking out.Vinous Media | 91 VMOld vines with a younger plot as well. Mid lemon yellow. The bouquet has a discreet distinction, more in minerals than flesh, one jar again. Tighter and more precise on the palate, with a light ripe citrus note added to the orchard fruit. In bottle. Drink from 2027-2030. Tasted Nov 2024.Jasper Morris | 91 JM

The most impressive aspect of the Castello della Sala ethos is its ability to reinvent itself. This latest edition of Umbria’s headline white is a true delight. Renzo Cotarella and his team have created an Italian masterpiece that is reminiscent of the great whites of Burgundy. The 2023 Cervaro della Sala opens to an elegantly reductive note of flint or crushed granite before sliding gracefully into silky fruit sensations, breakfast pastry and crème fraîche. It offers carefully balanced richness and textural importance...Part of the Chardonnay does malolactic fermentation, but the Grechetto does not. This gives energy and verve to the final results. Castello della Sala has recently planted more Chardonnay (now totaling 80 hectares) for flexibility in choosing the best clusters. Throughout its many reinventions, this is the best Cervaro della Sala I have tasted.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPClassic Burgundian style. On the nose white chocolate, pink grapefruit, lemon zest and white flowers. Full-bodied, it shows weight, vibrancy and tension, with a silky texture and a salted citrus finish. Amazing balance in this vintage, with lemon peel bitterness in the aftertaste adding an extra dimension. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 97 JSYouthfully coy, the 2023 Cervaro della Sala blows off an air smoky reduction to reveal depths of crushed yellow apples, sesame seeds, pine shavings and nuances of vanilla custard. This is pure elegance in the glass, as silken textures envelop the palate. A bump of residual acidity maintains energy throughout, even as the 2023 tapers off tannic and potent, with a resonance of mineral-infused apricots. This is a suburb rendition of Cervaro della Sala.Vinous Media | 95 VMA vibrant white, with pleasing buoyancy to the acidity as it carries a finely woven range of poached apricot, toasted hazelnut, passion fruit and persimmon, with accents of vanilla, lime blossoms and mineral. There’s good tension and focus but also a sense of finesse as the profile waltzes across the palate and expands on the lasting, well-spiced finish. Chardonnay and Grechetto. Drink now through 2036. 21,669 cases made, 3,000 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WS