Wines with Age

wines

The 2018 Chablis Vauprin comes from 1.7ha of 25-year-old vines and is raised for 12 months in 50% oak barrels and 50% stainless steel. It has a very harmonious bouquet of yellow flowers, mirabelle, crushed rocks and light hazelnut aromas that attain impressive intensity with aeration. The palate is very well balanced with a fine bead of acidity; there is real tension and race here. The finish fans out wonderfully and its persistence deserves applause considering the relatively unknown location of this vineyard. Highly recommended.Vinous Media | 93 VMResonant notes of roasted hazelnut on the nose of this wine sit well with the lemon brightness. The palate carries the same nuttiness but puts lemon freshness center stage. This slightly smoky combination is bedded on a smooth but cooling, yeasty texture, with beautiful length. Wine Enthusiast | 92 WE

(Guigal Hermitage Blanc) Plenty of quince, crushed stone, and white flower notes emerge from the 2018 Hermitage Blanc, a rich, medium to full-bodied white Hermitage. It has a kiss of toasty, nutty notes, but otherwise has completely absorbed its time spent in barrel. Beautifully done, this textured, layered white is going to evolve for two decades or more. (Drink between 2020-2042)Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JD(E Guigal, Hermitage, Rhône, France, White) Extremely full-bodied, possessing touches of dried pear, almond and an inner sweetness to the fruit. Delicious salinity and pleasing acidity, it does finish quite robust and oaky, but it’s not overly powerful and works well. 18 to 24 months in second-fill barrel. (Drink between 2021-2029)Decanter | 94 DEC(Hermitage Blanc- E. Guigal) The Guigal family’s bottling of Hermitage Blanc is almost entirely composed of marsanne, with ninety-five percent of the blend being this grape variety and the other five percent being roussanne, with the vines ranging from thirty to fully ninety years of age! The wine is raised for two years entirely in oak barrels, with the casks all “one wine barrels”. The 2018 version is a lovely young wine, coming in at fourteen percent alcohol and offering up a youthful bouquet of nectarine, pear, a superb base of soil tones, a touch of raw almond, white lilies and just a whisper of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, focused and rally has excellent structure for a 2018 white wine, with a rock solid core, excellent soil undertow and grip, very good acids for the vintage and a long, complex and very well balanced finish. This is excellent juice. (Drink between 2021-2040)John Gilman | 93 JGFull-bodied and expansive on the palate, Guigal’s 2018 Hermitage Blanc exhibits scents of toasted marshmallow, grilled pear, candied citrus and fennel fronds. Round and mouthfilling, it may be drunk now with considerable pleasure for its weight and sheer lusciousness, but lovers of aged Rhône whites will want to set aside a bottle or two for 10 years or so.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPFresh and rounded in feel, with melon, pear and heather honey notes backed by a lemon curd hint on the finish. Bring on the langoustines and saffron aïoli. Drink now. 100 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

Pale, shimmering yellow. Fresh pear, honeydew, tangerine and pungent flowers on the mineral-inflected nose. Offers lively, sharply focused orchard and citrus fruit flavors that are complemented by emerging ginger and white pepper notes adding back-end lift and cut. Silky and impressively lithe, delivering solid mineral thrust and repeating florality on the long, incisive finish.Vinous Media | 93 VM

Aromas of guava, dried lemon zest and pear skin with hints of cedar and crushed flint. It’s medium-to full-bodied with tangy acidity. Flavorful and concentrated with a smooth, waxy texture. Mineral finish. Second wine. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 94 JS

Light, bright yellow. Heady, mineral- and spice-accented aromas of ripe citrus and pit fruits and pungent flowers are complemented by a suave, building floral element. Silky and penetrating, offering intense white peach, tangerine and pear flavors that fan out through the mid-palate. Shows impressive energy and spicy cut on a long, smooth finish that echoes the floral note emphatically.Vinous Media | 94 VMSpicy gingerbread tones and bright, luminous white peach and tangerine extend from nose to finish in this glossy, concentrated Condrieu. True to form, it’s a classically zaftig sip packed densely with honeyed tropical fruit flavors and silken skeins of cream. Stunning in youth but structured enough to age beautifully through 2035 and likely further.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThe 2018 Condrieu Chery from Niero is a solid effort that leans toward the more fresh, racy side of the spectrum while still holding onto plenty of fruit. Spiced citrus, honeyed limes, spice, and a touch of sappy floral notes all flow to a medium-bodied, mineral-laced Condrieu that stays tight and compact on the palate. It’s going to benefit from a year in bottle and keep for 2-3 years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 91+ JD

The NV Extra Brut Sous Bois (base 2017) is creamy and quite generous in the glass. Dried pear, chamomile, passion fruit, spice and crushed flowers build nicely in the glass. There is a very slight suggestion of botrytis that adds character. I would choose to serve this at the dinner table with suitably rich fare, given its body and slightly phenolic edge. This release is based on 2017, with 34% reserve wines. Dosage is 5 grams per liter. Disgorged: June 2023.Vinous Media | 92 VMCrafted around the 2018 vintage, the NV Champagne Le Sous Bois is a blend of 33% Meunier, 39% Chardonnay, and the remainder Pinot Noir, with 37% reserve wine, the oldest part from 2006. A copper straw color, entirely barrel-fermented in cask, it reveals notes of smoky wet stones, toasted croissant, orange citrus, baked peach, almond, frangipane, and salty earth. Full-bodied yet savory, it offers a mouthwatering and brothy character while remaining fresh and youthful, without transitioning into oxidation. It’s very appealing now but should have no problem showing its best over the coming 10 years. 3 grams per liter dosage.Jeb Dunnuck | 92 JDHeavily based on the 2017 vintage (with 34% reserve wines dating back to 2006), fermented at low temperatures and entirely vinified in oak, the NV Le Sous Bois blends fruit from vast areas of Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne and Côte des Blancs (notably Oger, Chouilly and Cramant). Disgorged with a dosage of five grams per liter in spring 2023, after five years of lees aging, it reveals aromas of green apple, vanilla, peach and toasted nuts, mingling with hints of caramelized sugar. On the palate, it is medium to full-bodied, precise and fine-boned, featuring a youthful fruit core supported by vibrant acidity, with subtle bitter phenolics asserting themselves on the finish. Given the challenges of the growing season, it incorporates a higher proportion of Chardonnay than usual.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

This great rosé combines texture with bright fruit and a bit of age. It is poised between a ripe dosage and a crisp texture, with red fruits and toastiness marking the flavors. It is a fine bottling to enjoy now. Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEFragrant wafts of smoke and spice accent the steeped raspberry and mandarin orange peel flavors of this tightly meshed rosé Champagne, which is backed by a vivid spine of mouthwatering acidity and is silky on the palate, with hints of dried herb, licorice and toasted almond playing on the finish. Drink now through 2025. 9,000 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WSA rich rosé Champagne, offering seamlessly woven flavors of baked black cherry, candied pink grapefruit peel, brioche and pastry cream. Vibrant acidity and a finely detailed mousse send this dancing across the palate. Drink now through 2024...Wine Spectator | 93 WS(NV Laurent-Perrier Brut Rosé NV (Tours-sur-Marne) American Cuvée) I am not sure that there is any difference between cuvées for this bottling on each side of the Atlantic, but as there has been some history of this being the case with several Grandes Marques, I figured that I would post notes on examples tasted both here and in France. As readers may already be aware, Laurent-Perrier’s Brut Rosé is made up entirely of pinot noir and is produced in the saignée method, where the wine’s color is produced by a short maceration period on the skins- in this case from forty-eight to seventy-two hours. The new release here in the states is superb, offering up a beautifully vibrant nose of cherries, strawberries, rye bread, a very complex base of soil, rose petals and a gently smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and very refined, with a lovely core, elegant mousse, crisp acids and outstanding length and grip on the focused finish. I do love this bottling! (Drink between 2013-2025)John Gilman | 93 JGThe latest iteration of Laurent-Perrier’s NV Brut Cuvée Rosé is showing brilliantly, bursting from the glass with notes of smoky red berry fruit, apples, blood orange, pomegranate and warm biscuits. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, broad and vinous, with a delicate mousse, good depth at the core and ripe acids, concluding with a sapid, gently phenolic finish. This is a sophisticated, gastronomic rosé that would work well at table.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RP(100% saignée Pinot Noir): Vivid orange-pink. An expressive, spice-accented bouquet evokes fresh raspberry, orange pith, white flowers and ginger, with a hint of rhubarb adding an earthy flourish. Sappy and broad in the mouth, offering intense red fruit and bitter citrus flavors underscored by chalky mineral and white pepper notes. Rich yet lively rosé with excellent closing thrust and floral persistence.Vinous Media | 92 VMThe latest opus of Laurent Perrier’s non-vintage Brut Cuvée Rosé offers elegant and fresh aromas of red berries, blood orange, pomegranate and pastry. With ripe acids, the palate is tense, fine and chiselled, with a vinous texture with iodine and a salty finish. Dosage: 7g/L. Disgorged spring 2020. Drinking Window 2021 - 2025.Decanter | 92 DECShows a linear line of crisp acidity and vivid fruit of dried strawberries and orange peel. Full-bodied, tight and focused with a bright finish. Fruity yet vivid. Commanding. Drink now.James Suckling | 92 JSIntensely floral, this wine has a copper-pink color that’s reflected in the coppery and salty edge of its raspberry and mineral depths. It’s ripe, savory and clean, and hard to resist if there are duck rillettes nearby.Wine & Spirits | 92 W&S

(roughly 55% chardonnay and 45% pinot noir, from three different vintages that the producer won’t disclose; L13PZ109360): Bright yellow-gold. A heady, mineral-tinged bouquet evokes dried pear, buttery brioche, lemon curd and anise, plus a smoky topnote. Chewy and expansive on the palate, offering concentrated orchard and pit fruit flavors and a touch of bitter quinine. The smoky note repeats on the finish, which shows impressive clarity and mineral-driven persistence.Vinous Media | 93 VMThe brioche and cooked-apple and cream character really comes through here. Full-bodied and round with fine bubbles. Flavorful and intense. Vivid, bread-dough finish. This is four years on lees. 55% chardonnay and the rest pinot.James Suckling | 93 JSThe latest rendition of Laurent-Perrier’s NV Brut is showing nicely, wafting from the glass with scents of almond paste, iodine, white peach, warm biscuits and mandarin. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, with an elegant, lively profile, displaying a youthfully frothy mousse, good tension at the core and an attractively chalky finish. This is an excellent non-vintage wine that seems to reflect the maison’s efforts to improve their grape sourcing over the last few years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RPA delicate Champagne, with a refined mousse and finely honed acidity, this offers a subtle range of black currant, lemon zest, toast and chalk flavors that linger on the lightly spiced finish. Drink now through 2020.Wine Spectator | 91 WSThis is smooth and softly textured wine. With its relatively high dosage and creamy texture, this standard nonvintage cuvée is immediately accessible and delicious. Great fruit makes it a great aperitif style of Champagne.Wine Enthusiast | 90 WEThis wine’s fresh fruit and firm structure match bright lemon zest flavors with limestone severity. The fine bubbles add to the clean sensation of the finish. It’s spicy, tight and formidable, a wine to kick-start a dinner party. Best Buy.Wine & Spirits | 90 W&S

This is the 245th blend of Roederer’s non-vintage Champagne. It is a fine wine, highlighting the blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, bringing in reserve wines to give richness and balance. It is fresh, beginning to show signs of maturity, with an apple aroma and a ripe palate. Drink now.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThe bright straw-colored NV Champagne Collection 245 is juicy and ripe, revealing notes of ripe, fresh peaches and bread, with a chalky, elegant texture and a pinpoint, refined mousse. This medium-bodied Champagne continues to impress and is an outstanding value to drink now or over the next 10-15 years. Drink 2025-2040.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDRestrained green apple, lemon bush and lime, plus light brioche and chalk. Medium to full body with fine, nicely persistent bubbles and good substance on the mid-palate. Almost biting yet polished at the end, with long, refreshing acidity. Lacks a bit of complexity at the moment, but fresh. Best from 2025.James Suckling | 93 JSThe newly-arrived release of the Louis Roederer “Collection 245” is from the base year of 2020, which comprises fifty-five percent of the blend this year. The remaining forty-five percent of the cuvée this year is split between wines from the solera started by Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon in 2012 for this bottling and which constitute thirty-five percent of the blend. The remaining ten percent made up of reserve wines that the maison has in the cellar for their other non-vintage cuvées. The final cépages ended up being forty-one percent chardonnay, thirty-five percent pinot noir and twenty-four percent pinot meunier. The wine was aged sur lattes for just under four years and finished with a dosage of seven grams per liter. Only twenty-two percent of the vins clairs this year went through malo for the wine. The bouquet is pure, precise and still youthful, offering up scents of apple, fresh apricot, lemon, bread dough, chalky minerality, dried flowers and the first hints of smokiness in the upper register. On the palate the wine is crisp, full-bodied, mineral-driven and beautifully zesty, with a superb core of fruit, elegant mousse, a lovely spine of acidity and fine focus and balance on the long, complex and elegant finish. This is a beautiful wine and if any other Grandes Marques is making non-vintage Brut at this quality level these days, I am unaware of it! Fine juice. (Drink between 2025-2055)John Gilman | 93 JGBased on the 2020 vintage, Louis Roederer’s NV Brut Collection 245 is stylistically somewhat comparable to the two previous editions, which were based on the 2018 and 2019 vintages. Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon explains that the personality of the wine will change depending on the base year. By identifying the wine with a number, they do not intend to produce the same profile year in and year out, but rather, they will embrace the singularity of each vintage, accepting the different personalities of the base year. It is complemented by a perpetual reserve initiated in 2012, which is stored in large tanks without lees; the reserve provides balance to the warm years like this, as the perpetual component did not go through malolactic fermentation. While a considerable portion of the fruit comes from Louis Roederer’s own estates, for this bottling, the blend incorporates purchased fruit as well, particularly Pinot Meunier, which they do not own. Including approximately 43% Chardonnay, the new Brut Collection offers notes of pear, peach and candied orange zest. On the palate, it is medium to full-bodied, textural and fleshy, laden with vibrant acidity and concluding with a nicely defined, delicately saline finish, even with 7.5 grams per liter dosage.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPA mineral-driven version, with an airy, chalky-textured mousse. Deftly integrates hints of smoke and oyster shell with flavors of yellow plum, Gala apple, honeysuckle and salted almond. Refined and persistent on the finish. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier. Drink now. 15,000 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

An elegant Champagne, with a smoky, minerally underpinning and subtle flavors of poached pear, toast, candied lemon zest and ginger riding the finely detailed bead. Harmonious, and hard to stop sipping. Drink now through 2020. 10,000 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WSOne of the great signatures of the region, its calligraphy flowing with elegance, panache and balance, the last reflected in the equal proportions of the three great varieties of Champagne. A flamboyant straw gold lustre, and an immediately seductive nose, encyclopaedic in its indulgence. Nougat, praline, white pepper, spice and nectarine were first to the page for this taster, but there is much more behind that, the sugar discrete yet edifying, the long yeast ageing responsible for a happy and altogether luminous marriage of power and finesse. Consistently excellent. Drinking Window 2020 - 2025.Decanter | 92 DECThis has impressively energetic style with bold lemon, peach and berry aromas, in quite pure mode. The palate delivers a boldly vinous impression with a succulent drive of citrus and hazelnut flavors. Drink now.James Suckling | 92 JSI put this bottle of Pol Roger non-vintage Brut in my cellar in the spring of 2015, so this is from the base year of 2010, as Pol Roger aged their White Label cuvée three and a half years sur latte at this time. This bottling usually receives a dosage of eleven grams per liter for the American market, so it is interesting that even with extended bottle age, the rather generous dosage does not stick out at all. The wine is aging beautifully, offering up a deep and still quite vibrant bouquet of apple, white peach, warm biscuits, a complex base of soil tones, plenty of smokiness and a topnote of dried flowers. On the palate the wine is vibrant, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a fine core of fruit, lovely soil inflection, still excellent mousse, lovely balance and grip and a long, complex and classy finish. I have been working through a case of this wine over the last three or four years and the bottle seems fresher and more structured today than it did a couple of years ago! It will have no trouble cruising along another fifteen-plus years, for those so inclined to let it get to its nutty tertiary stage of development. (Drink between 2024-2040).John Gilman | 92 JGA great disgorgement of Pol Roger’s basic Brut, a blend that includes 25 percent reserve wines, this is a gracious, red-fruited Champagne. Though the wines go through malolactic, this emphasizes freshness, with a tingle of ginger and mineral acidity lifting the flavors in the finish.Wine & Spirits | 92 W&SOffering up aromas of pear, peach and freshly baked bread, the new release of Pol Roger’s NV Brut Reserve is medium to full-bodied, fleshy and charming, with a generous core of fruit, lively acids and a saline finish, complemented by an elegant pinpoint mousse. It’s a demonstrative, expressive Brut Reserve that will pick up additional complexity with more age on cork.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RPThis is a well-balanced, ripe wine in the producer’s rich house style. A brighter, more mineral crispness and acidity also come through strongly in this bottling. The aftertaste brings together a mineral texture and full yellow and apple fruits.Wine Enthusiast | 90 WE

Lemony richness on the nose, a struck match character that falls in with lemon vanilla note. Toffee apple allure on the palate with chalky coolness & savoury nutty finish. Drinking Window 2020 - 2025.Decanter | 94 DECToasty and generous with lemon freshness, this also has quite some dried-pear and peach aromas from mature elements of the blend, plus a touch of spice at the long, structured finish. The cuvée is based on 2015 and is 50% pinot noir, 30% chardonnay and 20% pinot meunier. Reserve wines make up more than one third of the blend. Drink now.James Suckling | 92 JS(roughly 50% pinot noir, 30% chardonnay and 20% pinot meunier; Lot 14009913): Light gold. Musky orchard fruits and dried fig on the mineral-accented nose. Fleshy and broad on the palate, offering smoky pear and nectarine flavors and a hint of honey. Finishes on a gently spicy note, with very good cling and a touch of bitter lemon pith. Things have definitely begun to turn around for this bottling, which had been lagging behind the winery’s vintage offerings for some time.Vinous Media | 90 VMThis fresh and balanced Champagne is lightly toasty, with snappy acidity and a lively, creamy mousse carrying flavors of white cherry, pickled ginger and Marcona almond. Offers saline-laced minerality.Wine Spectator | 90 WSOne of the most popular of all Champagnes, this is now showing a freshness that wasn’t always there. The crisp texture and green-apple flavors give it an immediate drinkability as well as perfumed acidity and a vibrant aftertaste. Drink this bottling now.Wine Enthusiast | 90 WEBrisk lemon-lime flavors and floral apple clarity lend this wine its freshness and mineral-tinged refreshment. It smells like chalk, then the flavors are enriched by toasty brioche and spiciness from the lees aging. Simple and saturated, finely made in a grand-marque style.Wine & Spirits | 90 W&S

Lemony richness on the nose, a struck match character that falls in with lemon vanilla note. Toffee apple allure on the palate with chalky coolness & savoury nutty finish. Drinking Window 2020 - 2025.Decanter | 94 DECLike Moet & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot is also owned by LVMH, but no-one would suggest this has led to any confusion between what are radically different styles. Most obviously, a few extra years of bottle-age for the Veuve allows the wine to add nuances of toast or biscuit. This bottle is halfway, so it seems, with lots of citrus and stone fruit, backed by good acidity, and a hint of toast.James Halliday | 94 JHThe non-vintage edition of Veuve’s rosé Champagne has a bright-strawberry and raspberry-fruit thread on the nose with a gently spicy edge too. The palate’s big on flavor and really exuberant thanks to expressive strawberry and hints of pink grapefruit. Drink now whilst it is on the fruit.James Suckling | 92 JS(roughly 50% pinot noir, 30% chardonnay and 20% pinot meunier; Lot 14009913): Light gold. Musky orchard fruits and dried fig on the mineral-accented nose. Fleshy and broad on the palate, offering smoky pear and nectarine flavors and a hint of honey. Finishes on a gently spicy note, with very good cling and a touch of bitter lemon pith. Things have definitely begun to turn around for this bottling, which had been lagging behind the winery’s vintage offerings for some time.Vinous Media | 90 VMThis is tightly knit and racy, with a spicy underpinning and a clean-cut mix of poached pear, grated ginger and pink grapefruit zest. An aperitif style, showing a crisp, lacy finish. Drink now.Wine Spectator | 90 WSOne of the most popular of all Champagnes, this is now showing a freshness that wasn’t always there. The crisp texture and green-apple flavors give it an immediate drinkability as well as perfumed acidity and a vibrant aftertaste. Drink this bottling now. Wine Enthusiast | 90 WEBrisk lemon-lime flavors and floral apple clarity lend this wine its freshness and mineral-tinged refreshment. It smells like chalk, then the flavors are enriched by toasty brioche and spiciness from the lees aging. Simple and saturated, finely made in a grand-marque style.Wine & Spirits | 90 W&S