Wine Ratings

wines

An extremely subtle application of wood can be found on the cool if decidedly reluctant nose of spiced green apple, beeswax and citrus zest aromas. The palate impression of the medium weight plus flavors is quite interesting in that there is excellent concentration and power yet they are not massively scaled while maintaining impeccable balance on the palate etching and stunningly long finish, indeed I could still taste this 3 hours later. This is one extremely classy Montrachet and one of the jewels of the 2021 vintage.Burghound | 97 BHBeeswax and lime blossom, especially the latter, which Guillaume finds typical of Montrachet. The Montrachet shows both class and intensity over and above the Bâtard as indeed should be the case. Brilliantly racy despite the intensity. This year there is one 228 litre barrel instead of the usual 350, and made up in zebra fashion, half new wood with alternate dowels. Drink from 2030-2040.Jasper Morris | 95 JMThere’s only one 228-liter barrel of the 2021 Montrachet Grand Cru, so Boillot asked his favored cooper to assemble a special barrel, with alternating new and used staves. Delivering aromas of pear, honeycomb, freshly baked bread, spices and toasted nuts, it’s full-bodied, rich and concentrated, with a fleshy core of fruit and a long, nutmeg-inflected finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-95 RPThe 2021 Montrachet Grand Cru is incredibly airy and nuanced. Candied lemon peel, mint, tangerine oil and white flowers show effortless grace. This is an especially restrained, super-elegant Montrachet that shows Puligny’s finesse. The 2021 is absolutely exquisite. I doubt I will ever taste it again, though. Bright saline notes punctuate the super-expressive finish. - Antonio GalloniVinous Media | 93-95 VM

Looking at the flagship estate Viognier, the 2021 Viognier Estate boasts a vibrant, medium to full-bodied, incredibly focused and mineral-driven profile that reminds me of a Condrieu from pure granite soils. Tangerine oil, honeyed flowers, brioche, and citrus notes all emerge on the nose, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a layered, seamless mouthfeel, and one heck of a great finish. I finished my note with "Love it." As I’ve written in the past, no one in the New World does Viognier better than John Alban.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDThe 2021 Viognier Estate is tremendously expressive and vibrant! It’s layered and complex on the nose, segueing from savory matchstick to exotic, musky perfume, candied peaches and tangerine oil. The palate offers flesh and unctuousness without fattiness, full flavors that are tempered by a powerful textural bite and flinty streaks and energetic acidity that combine to create an alluring, shimmery finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RP

Bright and inviting, the 2021 Chardonnay Drouhin Oregon Roserock has high-toned aromatics including loads of lime zest, honeyed apple, and a lifted note of gunflint that is well-managed. Medium-bodied and energetic, with balanced ripeness as well as loads of fresh citrus and a long finish, it has more reductive and bright-toned energy that lasts for ages through the finish. Drink 2023-2030.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDNotes of dried apples, glazed lemons, orange curd, roasted almonds and crushed stones. Hints of dried lemon peel, too. Full-bodied and broad yet it is delicate with impressive fresh acidity. Incredible minerality here with a touch of zestiness at the end. Lingering finish. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 94 JSFrom the Eola-Amity Hills, fast becoming Oregon’s best Chardonnay sub-appellation, given its windy conditions and volcanic soils. The Roserock shows flinty aromatics and laser-focused brightness with hints of cut early-season pears, white flowers and smoky minerality. The palate is balanced, bright and savoury, with minerality written all over it. Notes of crushed granite and green peppercorn complement grilled lemon peel, briny seaspray and smoky flint.Decanter | 93 DECDriven by electrifying acidity and a texture as crisp as a new dollar bill, this is a wine for fans of the lean, but hardly mean, style of Chardonnay. Pineapple and chamomile aromas are complemented by bits of fresh-cut grass and thyme. Flavors of chilled orange segments, lemon verbena and toasted filberts go on forever. Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEBrisk and fresh, with pear and grapefruit flavors accented by spice and white blossom aromatics as this glides on the steely finish. Drink now. 2,405 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

The 2021 vintage of Cape Mentelle Sauvignon Blanc includes 9% Semillon in a blend that is commonly found in Margaret River. Vibrant and piercing aromas are on display with impressive complexity including passionfruit, freshly cut grass, lanolin and hay. Exceptional purity follows on a light weight palate with juicy acidity providing energy and tropical fruit flavour impact. The finish is zesty and refreshing with impressive focus from start to finish.Vinous Media | 92 VM

A bigger, richer white, especially in the context of the vintage, the 2021 Château La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc offers up a medium to full-bodied, vibrant, concentrated style as well as classic notes of honeyed melon, crushed stone, white flowers, and dried herbs. I love its mid-palate depth, and it has beautifully integrated acidity and outstanding length. It’s another serious, age-worthy white in 2021 that will benefit from short-term bottle age and be long-lived.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDThe 2021 La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc marries the natural energy of this cool year with lovely mid-palate creaminess and texture. Understated yet persistent, the 2021 presents a gorgeous display of pear, white flowers and mint, along with a subtle touch of oak that frames the finish. Today, the 2021 is quite a bit less expressive than it was en primeur. It was also bottled in May 2022 (versus May 2023 for the reds) and may be in a closed period, which is not unusual for wines from cold years. We shall see.Vinous Media | 95 VMPeach and waxed-lemon character here. Some fennel and aniseed, too. Very fresh. Medium to full body with a round, creamy palate. A little closed for now at the end. 55.2% semillon and 44.8% sauvignon.James Suckling | 95-96 JSLa Mission Haut-Brion Blanc 2021 leaps from the glass with notes of fresh grapefruit, white peaches, and honeysuckle, leading to touches of elderflower and sea spray. The medium-bodied palate is tightly wound, with vibrant stone fruit and zesty flavors, supported by a crisp backbone, finishing long and steely.The Wine Independent | 95 TWIA fresh, incipiently complex bouquet of pear, grapefruit, freshly baked bread and wet stones prefaces the 2021 La Mission Haut-Brion, a medium to full-bodied, fleshy wine with a satiny attack that segues into a taut, structured mid-palate built around chalky dry extract, which lend this a more tightly-knit, mordant profile than the broader, fatter and more enveloping Haut-Brion Blanc.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94+ RPFloral and green fruit aromas on the nose. Juicy and upfront, lively and fun, this has zing and focus. I love the almost sherbet lemon touch to the initial expression followed by soft green fruit and some softly spiced herbal accents. It’s clear and clean, bright and focussed. Tapers a little towards the finish, just lightening, but lovely and enjoyable - very aerial in style.Decanter | 94 DEC

The 2021 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc is the white wine of the vintage, hands down. Creamy and layered, the 2021 offers all the qualities that make whites off this site so compelling, Nothing is out of place. It’s aromatic yet deep, fresh yet layered. Utterly mind-bending right out of the gate, this superb white hits all the right notes. Slate, crushed rocks, mint and white pepper linger. Magnifique!Vinous Media | 98 VMThis has so much depth and power, with complex notes of flint, oyster shell, white pepper, dried mango, lemon, papaya, apricot stone and chalk. Medium-to full-bodied. Bright, yet creamy. It’s so long and concentrated. Wait and see. 90% sauvignon blanc, 5% semillon, 5% sauvignon gris. From organically grown grapes.James Suckling | 98-99 JSThe 2021 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc (90% Sauvignon and 5% each of Sauvignon Gris and Sémillon) is similarly crisp, focused, and chiseled, yet has another level of concentration. Racy citrus, lime, and graphite fruit notes are support by beautiful minerality, minty herb, and sappy flower-like aromatics. These carry to a medium to full-bodied, concentrated white offering perfectly integrated acidity, a balanced, layered mouthfeel, and a clean, dry finish that keeps you coming back to the glass. This beauty will benefit from 4-5 years of cellaring and have over two decades of longevity.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDLemon and lime, such purity and scintillating freshness, bright and sharp, so well positioned and poised with licks of mineral salinity on the finish. Great texture, weight and sense of life. I love this wine! The juiciness is moreish and this makes you want another sip straight away.Decanter | 96 DECA blend of 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Sauvignon Gris, and 5% Semillon, the 2021 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc soars from the glass with enticing scents of nectarines, lime leaves, and fresh grapefruit, giving way to notes of cedar, jasmine tea, and yuzu zest, with a touch of chalk dust. The light to medium-bodied palate has exhilarating tension, with loads of orchard fruit and citrusy layers, finishing with fantastic length.The Wine Independent | 96 TWIThe 2021 Blanc has developed gracefully since en primeur, delivering attractive aromas of ripe pear, peach, lime tree leaves, verbena and mint intertwined with mineral, smoky nuances. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and concentrated, with a broad attack and fleshy mid-palate, it exhibits compelling purity and tension, concluding with a saline, mint-inflected finish. It has the potential to improve in the cellar over the next decade or more.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPPlump, with an enticing edge to the mix of lemon curd, jasmine, honeysuckle and white peach flavors. Shows length too, with paraffin and salted butter details filling in. A touch shy on depth and cut overall, but this is still well ahead of the pack in this vintage. Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Sauvignon Gris. Drink now through 2029. 2,400 cases made, 250 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

This estate makes a bevy of terrific dry whites in addition to an incredible Sauternes. Starting with the 2021 Lions De Suduiraut Blanc Sec, which is a blend of 52% Semillon and 48% Sauvignon Blanc, it offers subtle grapefruit and citrus notes, a kiss of minerality, and a refreshing, vibrant, wonderfully balanced style on the palate. It’s a seriously good bottle of wine to drink in its youth.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDThe 2021 Lions de Suduiraut Blanc Sec is gorgeous. Rich, creamy and expressive, the 2021 is exquisite in its balance of textural richness and freshness. Orchard fruit, white flowers, mint, lemon oil and chamomile envelop the palate, while bright floral accents perk up the finish. Lions is the new name for the Blanc Sec, which is the same wine as before.Antonio Galloni | 91 AGA tangy white with sliced grapefruit, apple and celery character. Medium body. Fresh finish. White pepper. Dry and chalky.James Suckling | 91 JS

Aromas of candied lemons, sliced dried apples and some stone. Also hints of celery. Medium body, dried pears and apples on the palate. Lots of gun metal and matchstick character. Crisp acidity. Give this time to develop in the bottle. Drink after 2027.James Suckling | 95 JSThe 2021 Pape Clément Blanc deftly marries freshness with textural richness. Apricot, mint, apple tart and tangerine peel build beautifully. Creamy and resonant in the glass, with terrific verve, the Blanc is impeccable today. Moreover, it is wonderfully delicious.Vinous Media | 94 VMExotic melon, subtle tropical fruits, spice, and some minty herb notes all emerge from the 2021 Château Pape Clément Blanc, a bright, lively, medium-bodied white hat has good overall concentration, integrated yet high acidity, and a great finish. I slightly overrated this from barrel, but this is nevertheless a beautiful Bordeaux Blanc. The blend is 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Sémillon.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDHigh toned, almost sherbet and wild honey, toasted fruit, a real combination of flavours on the palate with brightness but also quite serious toasty elements. I do love the flavours but this needs more time to come together, feels punchy and forward, expressive with lots of oak nuances still at play. Good acidity though, this should be good in a few years.Decanter Magazine | 94 DECA blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc, 27% Semillon, 2% Sauvignon Gris, and 1% Muscadelle, the 2021 Pape Clement Blanc charges out of the glass with energetic notes of fresh grapefruit, Bosc pears, and struck flint, leading to touches of white peaches, sea spray, and coriander seed. The light to medium-bodied palate is crisp and refreshing, with a great intensity of pear and cedary flavors and a satiny texture, culminating in a chalky lift on the finish.The Wine Independent | 94 TWIThe 2021 Pape Clément Blanc shows the tension and cut that this vintage could bring to dry white Bordeaux. Exhibiting aromas of gooseberries, nectarine, confit citrus and pastry cream, it’s medium to full-bodied, fleshy but incisive, with a textural attack and a bright, saline finish. It’s a blend of 72% Sauvignon Blanc, only 22% Sémillon, 5% Sauvignon Gris and 1% Muscadelle.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-94 RPAn alluring white, with verbena, Jonagold apple and quinine notes laced with a hint of singed brioche and backed by a salted butter accent on the finish. Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. Drink now through 2027.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

A bright yellow hue with green highlights, the 2022 Chardonnay Durant Vineyard is expressive in its lacy perfume of jasmine, tarragon, salty earth, and bright green apple. Medium-bodied, it offers beautiful, pristine, ripe fruit, a pithy texture, and a delicate arch to its rounded mouthfeel, with no harshness. It’s refined and graceful, with a floral flourish of lemon blossoms lasting long on the finish. Drink 2024-2034.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDThe 2022 Lark Block bottling of chardonnay from Durant Vineyard is truly one of the finest white wines I have yet had the pleasure to taste from Kelley Fox. The bouquet is very precise and has a gently exotic floral sheen to it, offering up scents of pear, casaba melon, fresh almond, a beautiful base of soil tones, lemon peel, orange blossoms and a touch of honeysuckle. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, focused and complex, with superb depth at the core lovely soil inflection, a fine spine of acidity and a long, vibrant and impeccably balanced finish. This is very easy to drink out of the blocks, but there is so much more lurking here right below the surface that I would definitely try to give the wine three or four years in the cellar to allow its secondary layers of complexity to start to emerge. It is a great wine. (Drink between 2024 - 2040)John Gilman | 94 JGThe 2022 Chardonnay Durant Vineyard blossoms in the glass as wildflowers and crushed apples give way to mint and crushed stone suggestions. This opens with a lovely inner sweetness and supple texture contrasted with zesty acids and crisp orchard fruits. It tapers off with amazing tension, grippy and cheek puckering with a citrusy concentration as savory herbs and a sensation of liquid stone fade.Vinous Media | 93 VM

The magnificent, carousel-like sweep of the hill of Corton – almost 100 m top to bottom, and revelling in every exposition save north – means that exact location on the hill is critical for quality. The white wines of Corton-Charlemagne come overwhelmingly from south-west- and west-facing vineyards, coolly exposed, so often these are among the least articulate of all Burgundy’s great white Grands Crus in their youth. Not, though, in the case of this wine from the generous 2022 vintage. It’s promisingly pale, but already compelling on the nose, with subtle oak, wild hawthorne blossom and refined grape and cool citrus. It has all the controlled breadth you’d expect on the palate with more white blossom and subtle, vinous, breath-freshening fruits. The finish is long and lingering, mingling ripe, fruit-bonded acidity with a quiet pulse of ripeness. It will, of course, be better after a decade in a cool cellar, but there’s nothing to stop you enjoying the wine soon, either. Alcohol 13.0%. (DWWA 2024). - Decanter | 97 DECFour plots all in Pernand. Pale in colour with ripe apple notes. The bouquet suggests a leaner style of wine than the palate delivers, which may be a question of being just after bottling. There is some complexity on the palate, a little lime, a phenolic touch. I don’t notice the 40% new wood, so there is clearly good fruit concentration.Jasper Morris | 92-95 JM

The 2022 Corton-Charlemagne from Rapet is magnificent – serious, but not forbidding. The aromas range from lemon peel to passionfruit and green apple, adorned with hints of hawthorn and spice and underpinned by a firm, saline minerality. The wine is slow to open on the palate, with abundant extract, lively acidity, and an interminably long finish. The grapes are from two parcels of old vines (among some replanting), totalling three hectares. The vines span En Charlemagne (Pernand) and Le Charlemagne (Aloxe), where the Ladoix limestone breaks through the surface of the thin Pernand marls.Decanter | 95 DECAnother strong performance from Rapet, the 2022 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru unwinds in the glass with aromas of pear and crisp orchard fruit mingled with toasted nuts, white flowers and waxy citrus rind. Medium to full-bodied, layered and textural, with a glossy, concentrated profile, excellent underlying cut and a long, mineral finish, it’s a very good wine that still flies somewhat under the radar.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94+ RPThe 2022 Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru has a very terse nose. It opens with struck flint—quite a bit of reduction here—and a very light fish scale scent in the background that imparts complexity. The palate is well balanced, with a slightly creamy-textured opening, flavors of chamomile and lemon curd and a fine bead of acidity. Impressive substance comes through on the finish. Give this two to three years in bottle. Tasted at merchants’ 2022 Burgundy tastings in London.Vinous Media | 93 VM90% is from the Pernand. Side, a third old vines, a third 20 year old, a third 35 year old. And guess what, the youngest are in the worst condition. Some tressed, some worked by winch. Pale colour, a beautifully mineral nose, properly shows its terroir. The wine picks up speed further back on the palate, opening out very nicely. Very attractive. Drink from 2029-2037. Tasted: October 2023.Jasper Morris | 93-96 JMThis is aromatically pretty similar to the Sous Frétille but with more citrus and slightly more evident wood influence. On the palate there is more size and weight to the rich and generously proportioned larger-bodied flavors that display solid power on the youthfully austere, balanced and very dry finale. Like several of the wines the range, this needs better depth but that’s often the case with CC in its youth.Burghound | 92 BH

This sits at the top of the Valmur slope, but it surprisingly has a vein of clay soil, too, which contributes generously to this wine’s fantastic palate density. It’s loaded up with perfectly ripe fruits yet has plenty of palate architecture to boot. The flavors start with plumcot, feijoa and star fruit. The intensity of the crunch and length attest to this wine’s ability to age to benefit. (2024).Tim Atkin | 96 TAFèvre’s Valmur plots lie over marly Kimmeridgian soils, with the emphasis here on freshness and a degree of austerity. Very dramatic, dense and concentrated on the palate, and which exudes purity and drive. A great success in 2022 and great ageing potential.Decanter | 94 DECThe 2022 Chablis Valmur Grand Cru is very closed on the nose, perhaps the most austere of William Fèvres’ cuvées, steely and almost curmudgeonly at the moment. The palate is well-balanced with a palpable saline leaning, very estuarine in style, with touches of oyster shell towards the finish. The purists’ choice. Superb.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMThe holding sits on the marly vein up top on the crest, looking east south and west. Pure light yellow, Excellent tension, crystalline fruit coats the teeth, a solid mass which is currently very much more tightly coiled than most. Really kicks on. Ten years minimum please. Drink from 2032-2040+. Tasted: June 2023.Jasper Morris | 93-96 JMHere too there is slightly more evident wood that stops short of fighting with the ripe aromas of various white orchard fruit scents that are nuanced by hints of tidal pool, algae and oyster shell. The denser, powerful and quite serious big-bodied flavors possess a gorgeous texture if not nearly the same level of refinement while displaying superb length on the robust finale. This firmly structured effort is also pretty much a textbook example.Burghound | 92-95 BH

Starts ripe and fleshy in the mouth, then the minerality comes through. Fresh and direct, a very nicely balanced wine which, although approachable now, will age. The vines here lie on very steep slopes with full exposition to the sun. Early harvesting is the key to freshness.Decanter | 93 DECA small lot so better to assemble early, which has just been done. A fresh green light shines through the clouds nonetheless. Picked among the first, a little yellow fruit plums and fresh white peaches. Salty rather than saline, with a fine firm backbone. The finish is particularly impressive, with the fruit becoming ever fresher at the back of the palate. Drink from 2030-2040. Tasted: June 2023.Jasper Morris | 93-96 JMSlightly more evident wood can be found on the cool and elegant aromas of mineral reduction, spiced pear and pretty floral whiffs along with a plenitude of classic Chablis elements. The understated, pure and borderline delicate flavors are at once supple yet beautifully detailed as well as almost aggressively mineral-driven on the superbly long finish. This is pretty much textbook Vaudésir.Burghound | 92-94 BHThe 2022 Chablis Vaudésir Grand Cru has a less immediate nose than the Bougros, with hints of lanolin and estuarine scents, lemon verbena and fern. This builds with confidence in the glass. The palate is well-balanced with fine delineation and cohesion, a welcome sour lemon edge, and salinity with a primal grapefruit finish. Again, this will require time once in bottle.Vinous Media | 91-93 VM

The domaine’s 2022 Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume, a parcel selection in Vaulorent, opens in the glass with notes of sweet citrus fruit, white flowers and oyster shell, followed by a medium to full-bodied, ample and pillowy palate that’s cool and fleshy, concluding with a saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP

Didier Séguier notes that Montmains, with it’s deep clay soil, imparts extra richness. A favourite cuvée for Séguier, this is very mineral in character, tempering the richness and power on the palate. Fèvre owns 3.8ha of Montmains, coming from 10 plots across all three sub-climats.Decanter | 93 DECClear lemon and lime colour. Just a very light coquillage reduction. Then the wine builds a beautiful level of intensity on the palate, a lime thread, very salivating for its dry finish. An impeccable balance, this is faultless. And so persistent! Nothing heavy, nothing over sunny. Drink from 2027-2035. Tasted: June 2023.Jasper Morris | 93-95 JMThe cool and almost reticent nose makes clear that it could be from nowhere but Chablis with its array of prominent mineral reduction, shellfish and iodine-scented pear and floral aromas. The more refined if perhaps slightly less generous middleweight flavors possess both good volume and vibrancy on the lightly stony, persistent and balanced finish. This lovely effort should be more than capable of delivering 7 to 10 years of cellaring potential.Burghound | 90-93 BHThe 2022 Chablis Montmains 1er Cru has a tightly wound bouquet, maybe a little reduced now, rendering it challenging to read. The palate is well-balanced with a malic entry, fine acidity, and modest depth, with a peppery touch lingering on the aftertaste. This needs a little more personality and engagement.Vinous Media | 89-91 VM

Quite an aromatic chardonnay here, with discerning notes of sliced green apples, melon and lemon zest. Round and textured, with simple apple pith and nectarines in the pristine yet flavorful palate. Lots of fruit in the round, medium- to full-bodied palate. Drink now.James Suckling | 91 JS

The 2022 Saint-Véran La Grande Bruyère is aged in foudres installed at the Domaine in 2009 and comes from marn/Silesian soils that are apparently trickier to vinify. It has a complex bouquet, well-defined, with hints of camphor behind citrus fruit, marmalade and curry leaf. It’s mercurial and involving; these are absorbing aromatics. The palate is well balanced with tremendous weight, fine acidity, a slight reduction and traces of orange rind and white pepper toward the finish. Great length. This comes highly recommended.Vinous Media | 93 VM

Pale colour. The bouquet shows a bit of white fruit but is quiet. Quite intense on the palate, more tightly wound, almost a tannic touch. Patrick says not atypical here, along with their hard pressing. Interesting complexity with length. Drink from 2027-2033. Tasted: October 2023.Jasper Morris | 92 JMA rich style, this white offers yellow plum, melon and fresh herb flavors, with an underlying mineral note. Shows fine balance and length, ending with a tangy, mouthwatering feel. Drink now through 2028. 300 cases made, 47 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 91 WSThe 2022 Chablis Fôrets 1er Cru has a more backward bouquet with touches of greengage and white flowers, later a hint of wild mint. The palate is well-balanced with a sapid entry and fine depth and acidity. It is quite strict towards the finish with a saline aftertaste. Good potential, but this will need time.Vinous Media | 90+ VMProminent smoky reduction notes dominate the nose today. More interesting are the sleek and relatively refined middleweight flavors that possess an equally lovely texture if not the same depth on the otherwise similarly long finale. Note that this should drink well on the younger side if desired.Burghound | 90 BH

An even more floral and cooler nose grudgingly reflects notes of mineral reduction, iodine and oyster shell. The ultra-sleek, vibrant and beautifully textured medium weight flavors retain excellent delineation while exhibiting outstanding length on the bone-dry, youthfully austere and sneaky long finale. Like several wines in the range, more depth would be advantageous but this is already exceptionally pretty.Burghound | 93 BHPale in colour. The bouquet is discreet at first, almost austere, but then develops some honeysuckle. Excellent tension, sun on the stones, ripe yellow fruit, very good acidity. Totally authentic Montée de Tonnerre. Drink from 2027-2035. Tasted: October 2023.Jasper Morris | 92 JM

The 2022 Chablis Montmains 1er Cru has a lovely nose that is a mixture of white and yellow flowers, wet stone and hints of chalk. The palate is very well-balanced with a slightly tangy entry, fresh and saline, with plenty of substance on the finish. There is a real panache here.Vinous Media | 93 VMThis comes from the entry to the valley where there is very little topsoil. Patrick explains the relative austerity of this wine by the proximity of the mother rock. Very pure Chablis approach here, all in white fruit, with good grip behind. Plenty to work with here, needs time. Drink from 2027-2034. Tasted: October 2023.Jasper Morris | 92 JMThe 2022 Chablis 1er Cru Montmains is a pretty, perfumed wine, bursting with aromas of peach, orange zest and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and charming, with a bright but generous core of fruit, it will make for appealing drinking out of the gates.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RPHere too smoky reduction is all that can be discerned on the nose. By contrast, and as one would reasonably expect, there is a finer texture to the lightly stony if less powerful flavors that also offer reasonable length of limited depth.Burghound | 90 BH

Aromas of pear, honeycomb and dried white flowers introduce Piuze’s 2022 Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons Les Minots, a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and charming wine that’s seamless and enveloping, offering considerable early appeal.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPThe 2022 Chablis Vaillons 1er Cru Les Minots has a lovely bouquet with orange blossom, Golden Delicious and light saffron aromas. The palate is well-balanced with a slightly honeyed opening, a little more exotic in style, yet it retains the essence of Chablis. There’s a very slight reduction that plays to its advantage on the finish. Highly recommended.Vinous Media | 92 VMMinots or Mélinots is the hottest part at the end of the valley. Mid lemon yellow. There is a clear pure ripe apple fruit, a slight marine note alongside, fresh and vigorous. A wealth of white fruit through the middle, with plenty of energy behind, and a very long finish. Drink from 2026-2032. Tasted: October 2023.Jasper Morris | 92 JMMinots is another spelling for the climat Mélinots which was originally known as Les Minos; it is generally considered to be the warmest of all of the climats within Vaillons yet curiously the wines always seem to retain good acidityBurghound | 91 BHGreen plum, Honeydew melon, peach and vanilla flavors pick up a hint of the sea in this round, open, balanced white, which ends with a moderately long finish. Drink now through 2028. 330 cases made, 83 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

Elegant and ripe yet cool aromas include those of a blend of white orchard fruit, spice, citrus confit and a hint of seaweed character. The utterly delicious bigger-bodied flavors brim with sappy dry extract that adds a sense of power to the sappy and palate coating finish that offers notably better depth and persistence. The Butteaux is quite good but the Vaulorent is at another level.Burghound | 93 BHMid lemon yellow. The nose shows evidence of the yellow fruit style of the right bank. Indeed, a very classy bouquet, while the fruit builds in volume on the palate, offering generosity without sucrosity, very digestible, excellent length of aftertaste and fine typicity. Drink from 2027-2035. Tasted: October 2023.Jasper Morris | 93 JMThe 2022 Chablis Vaulorent 1er Cru has a clean and precise bouquet with touches of nutmeg, desiccated orange peel, and chalky notes. The palate is very well-balanced with a sapid entry, quite powerful, with impressive density on the finish. Bit of a powerhouse, but a delicious powerhouse.Vinous Media | 92 VMAromas of pear, freshly baked bread, iodine and hazelnuts preface the 2022 Chablis 1er Cru Vaulorent, a medium to full-bodied, ample and layered wine that’s richer and more unctuous than normal, reflecting the warmth of the vintage. If it tightens up with some time in bottle, it will make my score look conservative.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RPGreen plum, Honeydew melon, peach and vanilla flavors pick up a hint of the sea in this round, open, balanced white, which ends with a moderately long finish. Drink now through 2028. 330 cases made, 83 cases imported.Wines Spectator | 90 WS

Shows richness and ripeness on the palate, countered by pretty strident acidity. Not quite at its best at the moment and likely needs 12 months in bottle. Should then open out and be a fine example.Decanter | 93 DECThe 2022 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre 1er Cru, matured in foudres, offers a touch of white chocolate interwoven in the citrus fruit, a subtle yeasty, bready note surfacing with time. The palate is well-balanced with lime and Granny Smiths on the entry, the foudres imparting underlying sweetness, candied orange peel and apricot towards the pretty finish. Enjoy this over the next decade.Vinous Media | 91 VMHere the cool and beautifully layered nose makes clear that it could be from nowhere else but Chablis with its array of oyster shell, brine, acacia blossom and Granny Smith apples. There is excellent punch to the classy medium weight flavors that brim with minerality on the youthfully austere and solidly persistent finale. This is perhaps not quite as refined as a classic MdT, indeed it’s borderline tannic, yet I suspect it will round out with a few years of bottle aging, in fact it will need at least some patience.Burghound | 90-93 BH

Cool, fresh and lively, yet the brisk acidity provides a great counterfoil for some succulent, juicy and ripe fruit. Clear Chablis origin, with the focus and intensity on the palate. This should have a long drinking window and is a very classy example, marrying the warmth of 2022 and the density of the premier cru.Decanter | 94 DEC

Generous but not dominant wood fights a bit with the otherwise airy aromas of Granny Smith apples, just sliced citrus and a lovely array of Chablis elements that include iodine, oyster shell, and tidal pool wisps. The racy, intense and markedly stony broad-shouldered flavors possess evident power on the firm, compact and balanced finale that is dry but not especially austere. While perfectly normal in the context of what is typical for Les Clos, this is definitely going to need at least some forbearance, both to better integrate the wood treatment as well as develop better depth. Excellent.Burghound | 93-96 BH20% new wood and 80% inox for vinification, then all to barrel, but will not be bottled until February 2024. The bouquet shows all the majesty of Clos plus some wood as well. Early days. This absolutely fills the palate but the wood has the upper hand for the moment. It cannot entirely keep the fruit out of the picture though. This will get there but you need to wait. Drink from 2032-2040+. Tasted: June 2023.Jasper Morris | 93-95 JM