Wine Varietals

wines

Here the equally cool, airy and elegant nose reflects citrus and floral scents that are liberally-suffused with a similar dose of borderline pungent wet stone nuances. There is both excellent volume and focused power to the dense and intense medium-bodied flavors that exude an almost palpable minerality on the superbly long finish that comes close to etching itself on the palate. This is an absolute knockout and a clear candidate for the best premier cru of the vintage.Burghound | 96 BHGuillaume Boillot continues to work his nearly four hectares of old vines in the Clos de la Mouchère in several parcels; we tasted each section separately. The vines near the wood surrounding Clos de la Garenne have bright citrus notes with hints of flint and mineral. Those near Clavoillon have more of a ripe pear and marzipan aroma; they are less focused but have more density, elegance and depth. The combination makes a superb wine that is one of the delights of Boillot’s cellar.Decanter | 95 DECMid yellow, with a biscuity touch. Seems unsubtle until you get to the palate which is super powerful but also with subtlety. This Monopole vineyard comprises four distinct terroirs though they are always assembled. An electric backbone stops the power overturning the balance. Yellow fruit, and then an extraordinary, indeed grand cru, weight. Incisive white fruit finish. Drink from 2030-2038. Tasted: December 2023.Jasper Morris | 95-97 JMThe 2022 Puligny-Montrachet Clos de la Mouchère 1er Cru is one of the most shut down of the whites in this vast range. Mineral and savory notes abound, but fruit is decidedly pushed into the background. Citrus confit, crushed rocks, mint and white pepper all race across the palate. There’s quite a bit of youthful austerity at this stage, but this should come together in time. A whole range of complex floral and tropical nuances linger. - Antonio GalloniVinous Media | 93-95 VM

Quite subtle and restrained on both nose and palate. Plenty of warmth of fruit, but as yet quite restrained. Lovely, salty, zesty notes promise a lot in the future. Ripe peach fruit characters develop with a few minutes in the glass. This will be a great example of Les Clos once in bottle. Tank sample.Decanter | 95 DECQuietly powerful, with subtle fruit flavors, a full body (for Chablis) and layers of fruit, minerals and toast that build on the palate and linger in the finish. Grown on a south-facing slope in clay-based but stony soil. 30% was barrel-fermented, and it shows an opulent, rich expression underlain by a minerally, saline character. Drinkable now, but will develop much more complexity with time. From organically grown grapes. Best from 2029.James Suckling | 94 JSA rich style, exhibiting peach and canteloupe flavors, with a hint of vanilla. Balanced and refreshing, this firms up, with a tactile sensation on the extended finish. Needs time to fully integrate. Best from 2026 through 2032. 1,812 cases made, 110 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WSBright full lemon colour with greener notes behind. Floral though with more latent power than that suggests. There is no doubting the intensity of white fruit across the palate, lemons and apples joining the white fruit at the finish, then a more headily perfumed note at the very end, muscat and passion fruit, which suggests that it was time to pick these grapes. Drink from 2028-2035. Tasted: October 2023.Jasper Morris | 92-95 JMGenerous wood and vanilla nuances wood frame cool and exuberantly fresh aromas of citrus, apple and ocean brine. There is borderline painful intensity to the imposing and tautly muscular larger-scaled flavors that retain a lovely sense of refinement on the powerful, balanced, bone-dry and built-to-age finale. As is usually the case with this wine, it’s going to require at least a few years of patience to develop better depth and better integrate what at this point is a borderline annoying level of wood.Burghound | 91-94 BHThe 2022 Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru is two-thirds aged in stainless steel and the remainder in wooden barrel for nine months, plus five months, whereby the entire blend is raised in vat. The nose has good intensity: green apple and light kiwi fruit, leesy at the moment but well defined. The palate is taut on the entry with fine depth, well-judged acidity, and smooth in texture with hints of Conference pear mixed with quite spicy peppery notes towards the finish. Good potential.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM

Restrained and with notable concentration, this is an intense premier cru with great potential. Notes of peach fruit cut with zesty lime citrus. Very fine. From 68-year-old vines on very dense, white clay soils which are like concrete when dry, heavy when wet.Decanter | 94 DECThe 2022 Chablis Butteaux Vieilles Vignes 1er Cru comes from vines around 70 years old, only slightly older than the regular cuvée, but on different soils (white clay rather than brown with high fossil content). It is usually bottled slightly later. The nose is a little more expressive with hints of red cherries and peach skin - very well defined. The palate is well-balanced with more harmony than the regular cuvée, a crisp line of acidity and touches of oyster shell on the saline finish. Great persistence here. Excellent.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMSmall millerand crop that ripened early. Pale in colour without too much nose. Nicely balanced on the palate though, a more tightly knit white fruit than the regular bottling, with a little lemon zest, and a balanced long finish. Picked at the right moment I suspect. Drink from 2027-2035. Tasted: June 2023.Jasper Morris | 91-94 JMThis is similar to the regular cuvée except that it seems ever-so-slightly riper. By contrast, there is better concentration and power to the medium-bodied flavors and, somewhat unusually, the mouthfeel is finer as well, particularly on the more complex if also more austere finale. Lovely.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

All domaine fruit now, from Les Chevalières, Luraule. Pelles, Casses Têtes, Petits Charrons. Pale to medium lemon yellow. A generous bouquet speaking clearly of Meursault. A broad bench of ripe white apple fruit with excellent energy, good acidity behind, and notable persistence. Very Meursault and quite delicious. Drink from 2027-2034. Tasted: December 2023.Jasper Morris | 91-93 JMThe 2022 Meursault is a rich, opulent white. Lemon confit, marzipan, spice and crushed rocks are all amplified. Clean mineral notes extend the finish while also providing a counterpoint to all the textural richness. The Meursault is a blend of parcels (including En Luraule, Petits Charrons, Casse-Têtes, Les Pelles), all estate, high up on the slope. The 25% new oak is nicely judged. - Antonio GalloniVinous Media | 90-92 VM

This beautiful Puligny-Montrachet 1er cru has a subtle nose of bergamot and orange zest with notes of wild herbs. Excellent tension on the generous but focused palate, driving the very long, structured finish, which has a serious stony minerality. From a high-altitude site that may well become better known due to climate change. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSThis white is creamy, with ample baking spice, butterscotch, peach and lemon cake flavors. Shows latent power yet remains fresh and long on the complex finish, where the fruit and spice elements echo. Drink now through 2030. 1,250 cases made, 350 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WSA discreet application of wood frames the pretty aromas of the essence of pear and apple compote, carnation and crushed fennel. The sleek and intense middleweight flavors possess both good richness and a subtle minerality that adds a sense of lift to the markedly zest-inflected finale that exhibits solid length. Once again there is enough gas to notice so a few minutes in a decanter would be helpful.Burghound | 91 BH

Plenty of red currant, cedar, iron and terra cotta aromas follow through to a medium to full body with graphite, sandalwood, red currants and fresh Mediterranean herbs such as thyme and rosemary. The tannins are chewy but polished in texture. This is a Sassicaia that needs three or four years of bottle age to come together and soften. A structured wine for the cellar. Try after 2029.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2022 Sassicaia is simply brilliant in this vintage, showing a remarkable level of poise and freshness. It opens with a captivating bouquet of ripe blackberries, plum, florals and subtle herbs, underscored by a touch of spice, tobacco and minerals. On the palate, it is medium to full-bodied and well-structured, with velvety tannins and a lively acidity that provides perfect balance. Rich flavors of red/dark fruits, tobacco and spices unfold beautifully, leading to a long, persistent finish that is both refined and elegant. A stunning example of Sassicaia’s pedigree and resilience to thrive year after year.International Wine Report | 98 IWRThe Tenuta San Guido 2022 Bolgheri Sassicaia reveals a beautiful fruit profile with fresh blackberry, tart cherry and Mediterranean tones of blue rosemary blooms and lavender sachet. I tasted this wine several times over the course of a few months, and it has already shown a happy evolution coming into slow focus like the faint colors that emerge from a Polaroid photograph. Indeed, the bouquet appeared more closed just a short while ago. The wine’s strongest suit is its elegantly streamlined mouthfeel and its contained 13.5% alcohol content. These qualities add to the silky cleanness of the mouthfeel and the accessible freshness of this vintage. I am confident that this bottle will improve with time. It requires patience.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97+ RPThe wine is tightly coiled and concentrated. It feels almost cinched at the waist, with a fascinating tension between the weight of raspberry, blackberry and strawberry coulis fruit and the wine’s verticality, as if it’s trying to burst out. Lovely mid-palate sapidity is allied to fresh acidity and fine but dense tannins, making for a dark horse of a Sassicaia that isn’t giving much away today but will greatly reward those who can cellar it for 12 years and more. ‘What is sure is that 2022 will need a lot of time, but will also have a long life,’ said Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta. A hot vintage, 2022 caused the team to work in the newly completed refrigerated warehouses in San Guido, even moving the sorting table inside. Shorter macerations and 23 rather than the more typical 24 or 25 months of ageing in wood helped to maximise the freshness.Decanter Magazine | 97 DECOpening with aromas of menthol, dark spice, blue flower and dark-skinned berry, the 2022 Sassicaia is impressive and defied my expectations. Hailing from what was a notoriously hot, dry year, the estate’s location, including its hillside vineyards, vicinity to the woods plus much-needed rain in August preserved freshness and aromas as did harvesting somewhat earlier than usual, shorter skin maceration and slightly less time in oak. Showing elegant restraint, it’s balanced and tense, delivering flavors of ripe blackberry, wild cherry, licorice and mint. It’s still quite tight and youthfully austere, with a backbone of firm, refined tannins and fresh acidity. Give it time to fully unwind. Drink 2030–2042. Abv: 13.5% Kerin O’Keefe | 97 KOThe 2022 Sassicaia is a very pretty, expressive wine. There’s a bit more Cabernet Sauvignon (and less Franc) in this year’s blend, and that really comes through in the wine’s flavor profile and slightly bruising tannins. Dark cherry, plum, leather, licorice, graphite and incense give the 2022 striking aromatic presence to match its rather brooding personality. There’s a bit of tension in the tannins that needs time to resolve. Yields were down about 20% because of intensely cold weather in spring, variable conditions during flowering and set, and then searing heat and drought throughout the summer.Vinous Media | 94+ VM

The 2022 Pinot Noir Outcrop is fantastically spicy! Raspberry and strawberry jam, orange peel and candied violets are accented by wafts of resinous herbs, white pepper, lavender and bitters on the nose. The light-bodied palate is silky and vibrant, its concentrated flavors focused on bright citrus and floral perfume at this early stage. As it airs in the glass, it reveals even more nuance and detail, and it has a hauntingly long finish. It will be long lived in the cellar.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPOwn-rooted, Wadenswil vines from a northern exposure produce wines of savoury structure in the Eyrie Vineyards Outcrop. Fruit character predominates the aromatics, with a spicy blood orange melding with notes of sweet strawberries and savoury dried lavender. The palate goes savoury immediately with tea leaves, fresh mint, and a melange of white and green peppercorns. Structure, texture and, ultimately, longevity will win out.Decanter Magazine | 96 DECThe 2022 Pinot Noir Outcrop is a pale ruby hue and is pretty and floral with notes of ripe candied raspberries, pretty flowers, and sweet herbs. Medium-bodied and well-defined, with a really mouthwatering structure, it’s the most savory of these wines from Eyrie, with notes of tea leaf and mountain herbs. Drink 2025-2040.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDOutcrop is five acres of the Wadenswil clone planted with a northern exposure between 1982 and 2000. The wine’s ripe blackcap raspberry, Stargaze lily ad orange zest aromas make an arresting perfume. The Outcrop’s tart blackberry, black tea and earthy, plum -like dried ancho chile flavors seal the deal. This is beautifully balanced, with lemony acidity and silky tannins. Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEA savory, textural and vibrant red with notes of wild strawberries, dried roses, wild herbs, crushed stone and white pepper. It’s medium-bodied with bright acidity and character. Silky texture with an ethereal character. Refined and infused with a long, textural finish. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 94 JSLavender and violet tones give way to wet stone and hints of blackberry as the delicate 2022 Pinot Noir Outcrop slowly blossoms in the glass. Silky-smooth and pliant, it sweeps across the palate with tart red and blue fruits, taking on a spicy tension toward the close. While not overly tannic, the 2022 finishes remarkably long and potent, with a flowery concentration that lingers on.Vinous Media | 93 VM