2010 - Present Wine

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2022 

James Suckling 92 Points |  Rich and expressive, with blackcurrants, black cherries, mocha, cedar and hints of spices. The full-bodied palate is deep yet bright and focused with a supple texture and lingering ripe berries and savory nuances. Refined and already attractive, but better from 2027.

Decanter Magazine 92 Points | A blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec, 3% Petit Verdot, and 2% Merlot. Half the wine was barrel-fermented in 50% new French oak, while the rest was fermented in stainless steel, then aged for 18 months in 30% new French oak. Fragrant and packed with sweet red berry fruit, strawberry preserves, and cherry compote, it features gentle, soft tannins that make it very approachable from the pull of the cork. The tannins do build, however, becoming more drying and overarching on the finish, with some of the bright fruit character fading slightly. Nevertheless, this is a lovely wine, best enjoyed with well-salted meats.

Winemaker Description

This wine’s aroma has it all: plums, incense, tobacco leaf, violets, and exotic spices. Zero racking and extended lees contact has given the 2011 FUTO a satisfying balance of creamy richness and superb freshness. Generous and inviting flavors of black-skinned fruits, cappuccino, citrus and cloves work in harmony with the sweet tannin and well integrated oak. While texturally approachable now, the inner density and complexity of this wine will continue to unfold with cellar age.

Expert Reviews

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 97 Points: The 2011 Proprietary Red Estate is a blend of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 9% Petit Verdot and 6% Merlot. It offers sweet blackcurrant and blueberry fruit intermixed with hints of toast and white flowers, beautiful body and a savory personality. A top success for the vintage, it should drink well for 10-12 years.

Winemaker Description

Intense garnet red color. Very classic and traditional with a robust structure and intense tannins. Bouquet takes a little time to show itself with slight hints of yeast. It opens slowly in the glass touch of spice and menthol. In the final, the powerful structure and concentration soften the tannins potential. Pairs well with game, red meats, and cheeses.

Expert Reviews

Wine Advocate 95 Points | The Vietti 2020 Barolo Ravera offers dark fruit cherry and blackcurrant enhanced by soft spice. You also get a sun-kissed note of eggplant tomato leaf and ferrous earth. Ravera displays strong lines with good acidity and firm tannic backbone. It closes dry and ages in large oak botte only. This is one of the most eyeballed MGAs sites. Ravera with its open mountain skyline and cool temperatures is seen as one of the best sites in the appellation especially as the climate changes. This vintage produced exactly 10026 bottles.

Vinous 94 Points | Picked on October 9 and 10 the 2020 Barolo Ravera has plenty of Ravera classicism and tension but also feels a bit light in the mid-palate. Ravera is never a huge wine in body but the depth is often there even if expressed in an understated and more linear manner. The 2020 lacks that depth. Red-toned fruit blood orange mint spice and white pepper lend brilliance throughout.

Expert Review - Vintage 2017

Vinous 93 Points | The 2017 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru, which is as usual, an exchange with Jean-Michel Chartron, has a crisp and precise bouquet with touches of yellow flower and crushed stone complementing the citrus fruit. The palate is very well balanced with beautifully integrated oak (one-year old rather than new), leading to a precise, almost Meursault-like finish. Superb. 

Winemaker Description 

It has a very detailed, slightly flinty, perhaps reserved bouquet that opens reluctantly in the glass. The palate is taut on the entry, hints of white chocolate infusing the citrus fruit, nicely balanced with a harmonious and elegant finish. 

Winemaker Description

An intense red-purple colour. Potent and elegant on the nose with a great complexity of aromas (jams, minerals, menthol, spices, wild herbs, toffee and cacao).

Great harmony in the mouth with very marked sweet tannins, very complex and full of flavours of black fruits, raisins, liquorice, coffee, ink and aromatic herbs. Persistent lingering finish. Excellent wine for aging.

Expert Reviews

Burghound Allen Meadows 95 Points | A subtle touch of wood serves as a suitably discreet backdrop for the exceptionally floral-infused and perfumed nose that offers up additional notes of spice, red currant and pekoe tea. The round, refined and lilting if impressively intense flavors are blessed with excellent punch and power while exhibiting a lovely salinity on the built-to-age finish. This refined effort is very classy, indeed the word Zen comes up mind.

Neal Martin of Vinous 95 Points | The 2016 La Grande Rue Grand Cru has a very pure, almost pastille-like bouquet with copious red cherry fruit mixed with crushed strawberry and a little cassis. La Grande Rue? [Post script: Bingo!] The palate is very pretty with fine-grain tannin. This is surfeit with freshness and vitality, although it does not quite have the depth and structure of other Grand Crus from the appellation. It does fan out towards the finish. The persistence, and the saline aftertaste are very appealing. Excellent. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting.

Jasper Morris 94-97 Points | A little more density to the colour. Impressive intensity of floral notes, even some slightly darker fruit notes for a change. Fine density to this, as discreet as you want up front, but nonetheless more detail than the earlier wines, very silky texture across the middle, not an extra burst of intensity but still a thread of velvet which endures for much longer. Red fruits, not quite the blood orange I have noted in some vintages, and certainly the exquisite elegance that Nicole is searching for. Very classy, is it quite intense enough? The little traces of acidity are entirely woven in, a faint sign of whole bunch in the final texture. Fruit comes back behind. You could miss the point of this or adore it. Tasted: October 2017

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2019

Burghound 92 Points | A much earthier, riper and more deeply pitched nose speaks of black cherry, cassis and humus nuances. There is strikingly good volume and mid-palate concentration to the dense, serious and powerful flavors that conclude in an austere, balanced, very compact and sneaky long finish. This is a big Clos de Vougeot that isn't particularly refined, but it is undeniably impressive.

Decanter 93 Points | In a warm, dry year like 2019, the results are delightful, with bright red fruits and a silky, subtle texture. Lighter than the offerings from Vosne but also very worthy.

Winemaker Description

Black fruits, leathers, licorice, aromas of roasting and oriental spices. Notes of eucalyptus. Very powerful aromatic intensity. A lot of richness and structure on the palate. Very strong expression of the terroir which expresses itself by the elegance and the power of its tannins.

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2013 

Wine Spectator 97 Points | This is intense, as dense ganache, espresso, roasted juniper and alder notes form an impressive frame around an equally ornate core of steeped fig, blackberry and black currant fruit flavors, all while maintaining terrific cut and drive despite the heft. A mouthwatering iron accent at the very end seals the deal. Best from 2020 through 2040.

Wine Advocate 97 Points | This was another excellent showing for the 2013 Hermitage Ex Voto and this elegant, medium to full-bodied release offers straight-up textbook notes of crème de cassis, vanilla bean, crushed rocks, graphite and spice. It lacks the mid-palate density of the 2009 and 2010, but is impeccably balanced, elegant, and offers considerable charm. Range:94-97

James Suckling 94 Points | A big, bold dark plum, chocolate and roasted coffee nose with dark stones and a swathe of fragrant baking spices. The palate has a succulent and powerful feel. Dark ripe cherry fruits and toasty oak are well matched. Drink now.

Vinous 94 Points | (aged in new oak for 40 months) Glass-staining ruby. Deep-pitched cassis, cherry liqueur, incense and candied violet scents, along with hints of olive paste and Moroccan spices. Sweet, broad and energetic on the palate, offering alluringly sweet black and blue fruit, floral pastille and spicecake flavors underscored by an intense mineral quality. Unfolds very slowly with air and finishes impressively long, featuring youthful tannins and outstanding energy.  Drinking 2023 - 2033. -- Josh Raynolds.

Winemaker Description

Red fruits, blackberry and floral aromas of vio- let. The wine is silky, velvety and voluptuous, with intense aromatics. An oustanding wine to enjoy with exceptional meals, especially game birds.

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2012 

Wine Spectator 96 Points | This has a brooding feel, with layers of warm tobacco leaf, roasted alder and juniper, and sweet tapenade leading the way, backed by a dense core of macerated plum, black currant and raspberry fruit. The long, smoldering finish shows terrific latent grip. Best from 2018 through 2030. From France.-J.M.

Wine Advocate 97 Points | The 2012 Côte Rôtie La Mouline reminds me of the 2011 with its upfront, incredibly perfumed nose of spring flowers, cured meats, roasted herbs, olives and sweet cassis fruit. Full-bodied, beautifully textured, mouth-filling and already impossible to resist, it expands on the palate and I guarantee this beauty will put a smile on your face anytime over the coming two decades. Drinking 2016 - 2036.

Decanter 95 Points | Immediately more mature and developed than the 2017 and 2016 which were tasted alongside - more developed than I was expecting at nine years old. The acidity however is well balanced, the tannins a little dry and leathery. Porcini mushroom and a touch of graphite on the finish.  Drinking Window 2021 - 2033 — Tasted by Matt Walls(at England, 29 Nov 2021) Part of Decanter at Home masterclass: Tasting the La Las with Philippe Guigal

James Suckling 95 Points |  Super peppery, very, very concentrated and immaculately fragrant Côte-Rôtie here. There's plenty of oak in the mix, too. It shows entrancing brown-spice aromas across red plums and darker black fruits. The palate's layered, smooth and supple, pitching concentrated flavors against precise, dense and very powerful tannin. Finishes on a smooth edge as its softens slightly, leaving a trail of spiced-custard and dark-plum flavors. Exceptional wine. Drink 2020-2030.

Vinous 94 Points | Lurid ruby. Heady, intensely perfumed aromas of red fruit preserves, incense, smoky minerals and lavender, accompanied by an Asian spice flourish that builds as the wine opens up. Stains the palate with sweet, seamless raspberry liqueur, spicecake and floral pastille flavors that are lifted and given spine by core of juicy acidity. Puts on weight and spreads out slowly on the strikingly long and precise finish, which features resonating mineral and floral notes.  Drinking 2021 - 2030. -- Josh Raynolds

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2011 

Wine Spectator 96 Points | Very dense, dark and brooding in feel, with a thick coating of Turkish coffee and bittersweet ganache over the copious blackberry and fig flavors. The long finish is studded with charcoal and smoldering tobacco hints. Patience is required. Best from 2018 through 2030. From France.

Wine Advocate 98 Points | Starting out the single vineyards and bottled in February (after over four years in new oak barrels), the 2011 Cote Rotie la Mouline is as slutty, sexy and seamless as they come. Full-bodied, thrillingly concentrated and unctuous, it offers classic Mouline notes of cured meats, violets, black raspberries, espresso and hints of vanilla bean. Philippe Guigal commented that the worst thing about 2011 was the it came after 2010, and while the previous two vintages will get all of the attention, this 2011 will deliver almost as much pleasure, and do it right from the start as well. It needs 3-4 years of cellaring and will drink sensationally through 2041.

Vinous 96 Points | (aged in new oak barriques for 42 months): Deep ruby. Sexy mineral- and spice-laced black raspberry, cherry compote and floral pastille aromas are complemented by notes of Asian spices, cola and smoky oak. Spicy and precise on the palate, offering vibrant, spice-accented red and dark berry and cola flavors and an undercurrent of smoky minerality. Fine-grained tannins sneak in very slowly and meld seamlessly with the energetic fruit. Clings with fantastic tenacity and focus, leaving behind vibrant spice, berry liqueur and mineral notes.

Expert Review 

Wine Enthusiast 95 Points | This delicately perfumed wine opens to reveal power combined with elegance. The wine has great ripeness—a soft texture on the surface masking the severe tannins at the center.

Winemaker Description 

A fragrant aroma of well ripened fruit; supple and polished tannins give structure and length on the palate, with a rich sweet flavour and crisp mineral freshness. Herbal and dark fruit notes on the aftertaste. Winemaker Description.

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2013 

Wine Spectator 98 Points | A thunderhead of dark ganache and espresso notes slowly rolls through, while fig paste, melted licorice, warm plum and blackberry compote flavors follow. A massive beam of graphite drives the finish to a crescendo, with the fruit echoing. 

Wine Advocate 95+ Points | La Landonne is never destemmed and is always the last of the single-vineyard wines to be picked. Philippe Guigal calls it “the most Pauillac of the Cote Roties,” and the 2013 Cote Rotie La Landonne bears that out. It’s slightly austere and firmly tannic, with attractive floral aromas and layers of dark fruit that will require time to fully emerge.

James Suckling 97 Points | The most brooding nose of the trio of La La's with dark coal smoky aromas and dark stones, graphite and cocoa powder. Fruits are in the very dark plum and blackberry spectrum but flavors are held in a more savory mode with assertive, powerful clean-cut tannins that hold endless length. Truly a masterpiece. Best from 2022 and for two decades or more.  

Winemaker Description

Deep ruby red with dark tints. Small red fruit, blackberry, morello cherry Intensely aromatic, powerful and elegant. Supple attack with a balanced supple structure, concentration and elegant tannins. Fully expressive of the terroir. With all the virility of the Cote Brune, La Turque also has all the subtlety and femininity of the Cote Blonde.

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2013 

Wine Spectator 98 Points | A stunning, modern-styled version, with scintillating raspberry puree, plum confiture and blackberry reduction flavors gliding over velvety but copious tannins. Alluring warm ganache and fruitcake accents gild the finish, which sails on and on. Best from 2020 through 2045.

Wine Advocate 98 Points | A stunning, modern-styled version, with scintillating raspberry purée, plum confiture and blackberry reduction flavors gliding over velvety but copious tannins. Alluring warm ganache and fruitcake accents gild the finish, which sails on and on. Best from 2020 through 2045.

Decanter 95 Points | Tasted after the spicy, ethereal La Mouline 2013, this is more earthbound - deeper, darker and fruitier, with more bass notes, as you might expect from a wine sourced from 25 year old vines on schist soils with limestone and clay (versus the gneiss of La Mouline). It too spent 42 months in new oak barrels. This has a pretty, cedar-flecked red berry fruit nose, tightly swaddled in oak. Full-bodied and mouth-coating, it shows great purity and salinity on the palate - it is fresh, piercing and powerful, but balanced and light on its feet, with deep veins of oak spice running through it. Drinkable and fresh.  Drinking Window 2018 - 2035 — Tasted by Matt Walls(at E.Guigal portfolio tasting, London, 12 Jun 2017)

Jeb Dunnuck 95 Points | A step up over the La Mouline, the 2013 Côte Rôtie La Turque is concentrated, full-bodied, and structured, with lots of minerality, chocolate, and pepper nuances in its darker berry fruits, cassis and bacon fat aromas and flavors. With a great mid-palate, building tannin, and the more tight, austere style of the vintage, give bottles another 4-5 years and enjoy over the following two decades.  Drinking 2022 - 2042

James Suckling 96 Points | An air of deep-set complexity. Plenty of baking spices and toastiness with blackberry, pepper, wet stones and concrete. Extremely complex and fragrant. The palate delivers a supple, plush and luxuriant texture with masses of sweet spices and succulent blackberry fruit. Dark chocolate finish that's elegant and concentrated. Drink now and for two decades at least.

Vinous 95 Points | (made with 50 percent whole clusters) Inky ruby. Bright, intensely perfumed aromas of red and blue fruits, Indian spices and potpourri are energized by a smoky mineral quality. Juicy, focused and pure, displaying deeply concentrated but lively boysenberry and cherry liqueur flavors, along with hints of candied flowers and five-spice powder. Echoes the floral and spicy notes on the strikingly long, penetrating finish, which features harmonious tannins and a hint of bitter chocolate.  Drinking 2023 - 2032 

Winemaker Description

Red black with deep dark tints. Small black fruits, liquorice and roasted notes and oriental spices. Powerful and intense aromas. Powerful attack with important tannic structure. Rich and concentrated. Fully expressive of the terroir. Great ageing potential, structured and concentrated with a rare intensity of flavour and colour.

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2012 

Wine Spectator 92 Points | Intense, with a serious iron spine that drives from start to finish, while the core of dark currant, bitter plum and black cherry fruit is held in reserve. The grippy and mineral-driven finish sports loads of tobacco, warm iron and dark earth notes, while displaying terrific cut and drive. A formidable wine. Best from 2020 through 2040. 1,000 cases made.

Winemaker Description

La Landonne displays red/black color with deep dark tints with aromas of black fruits, licorice and roasted notes and oriental spices. Powerful and intense aromas. Powerful attack with important tannic structure. Rich and concentrated. Fully expressive of the terroir. Great ageing potential, structured and concentrated with a rare intensity of flavor and color.

Côte-Rôtie La Landonne completes this famous trilogy. An immense and pure wine with intense flavours and deep colour, this is the perfect wine for ageing.

The treasures are born in the very heart of the most legendary of the illustrious plots of the Maison Guigal. These precious bottles are as coveted as they are rare and have benefited from extreme care at every stage of the process, from the vine to the cellars. They are the sole incarnation of the inspiration and inheritance of centuries of viticulture in an exceptional terroir.

Expert Reviews- Vintage 2011 

Wine Spectator 98 Points | This delivers wave after wave of sensational raspberry pâte de fruit, plum reduction and boysenberry coulis flavors, backed by mouthwatering anise and blackberry cobbler hints. A massive bolt of iron and charcoal is deeply embedded in the fruit and lurks through the long, authoritative finish, keeping all the elements riveted together. Best from 2018 through 2030. 600 cases made. — JM.

Wine Advocate 99 Points | A step up over the other two single vineyard releases, the 2011 Cote Rotie la Landonne is an incredible wine that knocks it out of the park in the vintage. Its inky purple/ruby color is followed by to-die-for notes of cassis, black olives, truffles, graphite and crushed rock. Full-bodied, massively concentrated, thick and unctuous, it has the vintage’s flamboyant fruit profile, yet backs it up with a stacked mid-palate, serious amounts of tannin and a finish that just won’t quite. It’s relatively approachable now due to its glycerin and fat, yet needs a decade of cellaring and will knock your socks off over the following two decades or more. 

Vinous 95 Points | (raised in new oak for 42 months): Glass-staining ruby. Powerful, expansive aromas of black and blue fruit liqueur, smoky Indian spices, sandalwood and olive, and an exotic floral nuance that gains strength with air. Deeply concentrated but surprisingly lively, offering palate-staining dark fruit and violet pastille flavors and a strong, building spicy quality. Velvety tannins add grip to a strikingly long, sappy and penetrating finish, which clings with noteworthy tenacity. Drinking 2020 - 2030. -- Josh Raynolds

Winemaker Description

Our 2011 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is an elegant representation of Napa Valley Cabernet from a cool vintage. It presents an opaque garnet hue in the glass and reveals aromas of sandalwood and roasted meats.

Flavors of vanilla, coffee beans and raspberries are buttressed by dusty tannins, firm acidity and a mouth-coating texture. Given proper cellaring, this wine should provide drinking pleasure through 2029.

Winemaker Description

The 2018 Blank has a beautifully layered dark nose of black cherry, aromatic black tea, blackberry bramble, rose oil, black licorice, and violet candies. The silky entry opens to flavors of black fruit, culinary bay, and bakers’ chocolate seamlessly underpinned by velvety tannins and lovely texture through to the finish. This wine will age effortlessly for at least 20+ years. 

Expert Reviews

Jeb Dunnuck 95 points | I was able to taste two wines from Grace Family both made by the incredibly talented Helen Keplinger who has been at this estate since 2014. The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Blank offers a beautifully pure elegant style in its darker currant and blueberry fruits as well as notes of iron minty herbs tobacco and lead pencil. Soft supple medium to full-bodied and as seamless as they come drink this singular beauty any time over the coming 20 years. I love its mid-palate as well as its tannins.

James Suckling 98 points | So much graphite and dark fruit here with some iron and spice. Lead pencil, roses and light mint, too. Full-bodied and wonderfully seamless with dusty tannins and a lightly balsamic finish. Drinkable now, but better after 2025. 

Wine Spectator 93 | A nice burst of mulberry and loganberry fruit leads the way, with licorice, black tea and violet notes playing supporting roles. Sleek and refined through the finish, with sneaky depth. Drink now through 2033

Expert Reviews 

Decanter 92 Points |  The oldest part of this vineyard was planted in 1935 but the average age is 34 years. It's located at 400 metres – Ravera is one of the highest MGAs within the communes of Barolo and Novello, which it straddles. This 2019 is intensely perfumed, with dried fruits soaked in blood orange, strawberry jam and a suggestion of grace. The attack confirms this lightly extracted style, with ripe tannins, still sticky at the moment, and long, refreshing acidity leading to a good finish.

Vinous 100 points | The 2019 Barolo Ravera is the most intensely mineral and saline of the Barolos. Crushed rocks, white pepper, flowers, orange zest, red berry fruit and bright acids all run through this finely sculpted, chiseled Barolo. Readers who enjoy Barolos of energy and tension will adore the Ravera. I have always had a soft spot for this Barolo. The 2019 is another magnificent dimension of Vietti's dark horse, a wine that over the last 10-12 years has routinely challenged for the crown here, and often won!

Expert Reviews

Wine Advocate 92 Points | The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Suscol Springs is blended of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot. Deep garnet-purple in color, exuberant notes of fresh blackberries, boysenberry preserves and blackcurrant pastilles rocket from the glass, followed by hints of sautéed herbs, forest floor and black olives. The medium to full-bodied palate is intense and energetic, featuring finely grained tannins and a refreshing backbone, finishing long and lifted.

James Suckling 93 Points | Ripe blackberries, cassis, chocolate, mocha and sweet spices on the nose with some tobacco leaf. Full-bodied with fine-grained tannins and fresh acidity. Polished and well-balanced. Drink from 2023. 

Winemaker Description 

Le Berceau de Fees" by Domaine Aux Moines is a lovely and juicy Chenin Blanc from young vineyards of famous Roche-aux-Moines grand cru. It opens on the nose to clean and straight aromas of fruit, flowers and aromatic herbs, surrounded by sharp saltiness. The sip is fresh and direct, animated by great acid shoulder and long mineral persistence. 

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2021 

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2020 

Wine Spectator 93 Points | The 2020 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts opens in the glass with notes of plums and wild berries mingled with aromas of orange oil, exotic spices, smoked duck and loamy soil. Medium to full-bodied, layered and muscular, it's finer-boned and less overtly powerful than its 2019 and 2018 predecessors, even if it's still a serious, structured, concentrated wine.

Barrel Sample: 93-95 Burghound 93 Points | This is the first wine to show any appreciable reduction though the whole cluster vinification does peek through the funk. Once again, the bigger-bodied and much more muscular flavors possess a highly attractive texture thanks to the generous dry extract that partially buffers the prominent tannic spine supporting the robust, powerful and gorgeously complex and persistent finish. This is a classic Malconsorts which is very much built to reward longer-term cellaring.

Barrel Sample: 93-95 Decanter 96 Points | A dense, almost creamy, concentrated cassis fruit, adorned with notes of smoke, spice and salt. Focused, with plenty of tannin and extract, this is a wonderful wine. 2020 saw tiny yields from Dujac's 1.55ha in Malconsorts - no more than 10-15 hl/ha. The fruit was partially destemmed and fermented slowly prior to ageing. The wine gets the same 16 months in 70% new casks that the grand crus receive. 

Expert Reviews

Burghound 93 Points | A slightly riper nose features notes of poached plum, black raspberry, violet, lavender and a hint of Asian-style tea. The palate soaking broad-shouldered flavors possess outstanding density, which is a good thing considering that the supporting tannins are very dense on the massively persistent finish. This austere and compact effort is going to need a very long snooze in a cool cellar before it even begins to reach its apogee. *Don't Miss!*

Decanter 97 Points | Bruno Clair has a large plot in Bonnes-Mares (1.63ha), with most of it on the Morey-St-Denis side of the vineyard, and largely on the white marl soils called terres blanches. These give a very expressive wine, with a lovely, high-toned raspberry and rose petal nose shot through with notes of mineral and smoke. The wine is done with 30% whole clusters in the ferment and is aged over two winters in cask (30% new) to deliver a wine of purity and elegance. (Charles Curtis)

Vinous 95 points | The 2020 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru is surprisingly backward on the nose with tightly-wound blackberry, redcurrant and cranberry fruit with sea spray and light pine cone aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy redcurrant and strawberry fruit. This is a solid Bonnes-Mares, correct, not flashy but serious and as such, it deserves several years in bottle. It has the substance and complexity to reward those with patience. (NM)

Expert Review - Vintage 2019

Burghound 94 points | There is just enough wood and menthol elements present to be worth noting surrounding the citrusy apple, pear and exotic tea-scented nose. The bigger, richer and more sophisticated medium weight plus flavors possess evident power as well as a lovely sappiness that coats the palate on the delicious, highly complex and strikingly long finale. Like the Bâtard, this beauty is built for the long haul though it could actually be approachable after only 7 to 8 years. In brief, this is extremely promising. 

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2020 

Burghound 93 Points | A brooding and densely fruited nose grudgingly reveals its array of dark berries, poached plum, warm earth and a soupçon of wood. The supple but mouth coating and velvet-textured larger scaled flavors that coat the palate with sappy dry extract while delivering excellent persistence on the youthfully austere, powerful and balanced finale. This excellent effort is very firm and should age accordingly; indeed two decades is not out of the question.

Decanter 94 Points | Flamboyantly fruity and very approachable, the wine has an expressive cherry and rose petal fruit, with a hint of exotic spice. The texture is powerful, yet fresh enough to retain a compelling vivacity. Grivot owns a large parcel of 1.86ha in Quatorze Journaux along the bottom of the Route Nationale. The quality of the wine belies the received wisdom about this location. The grapes are destemmed and gently fermented, with the must lightly pumped over after a few initial punch-downs before ageing. (CC) 

Vinous 92 Points | The 2020 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru came across a little backward and surly on the nose compared the the Vosne-Romanées despite coaxing. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, fine definition, taut and fresh with a well-defined finish. Here, I actually find more in the mouth than on the nose, at least at the moment. Hopefully the aromatics will kick on during élevage. (NM)  

Expert Review - Vintage 2020 

Burghound 95 Points | A wonderfully spicy and beautifully layered nose offers up notes of citrus confit, acacia blossom, anise, jasmine tea and an interesting hint of clove. Much like the Bâtard, the mouthfeel of the broad-shouldered flavors is sleek and intense with impressive reserves of sap buffering the hugely long finish. Like several of the wines in the range, this will need to add depth with time in bottle, but the Blain Montrachet has a fine track record in that regard. I

Expert Review

Vinous 97 Points: The 2019 Barolo Lazzarito continues a trend seen in recent years in which the focus has been more about finesse than raw power. Intense red fruit, iron, dried herbs, chalk, dried rose petal and white pepper all run through this deep, virile Barolo. The power and intensity of Serralunga really come alive on the heady, explosive finish. Bright saline notes linger on the deep, resonant finish. A Barolo of raw, unbridled power, the Lazzarito demands patience.

Expert Reviews

Wine Advocate 94 Points  | The 2020 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru wafts from the glass with aromas of wild berries and plums mingled with peonies, orange rind and exotic spices. Full-bodied, rich and muscular, it's deep and powerful, with imposing reserves of concentration, while remaining vibrant, even fine-boned despite its substance and plenitude.

Burghound 95 Points | Markedly floral-suffused aromas are comprised by notes of more distinctly spiced and earthier plum and black cherry where a hint of the sauvage lurks in the background. The equally sleek though notably more voluminous and powerful if less mineral-driven flavors coat the palate with dry extract while offering excellent depth and persistence on the beautifully balanced finale. This is one of the best Mugnier Bonnes Mares in recent memory. 

Expert Reviews 

Burghound 91 Points Discreet but not invisible wood influence can be found on the ripe aromas of various dark berries prominent earth and violet scents. Somewhat surprisingly in the context of the reported yields the mid-palate is not especially dense though I very much like the beguiling texture that is at once caressing yet powerful before culminating in a precise serious and equally austere if notably longer finale. This is an opulent and refined Clos des Epeneaux. (Drink starting 2030)Vinous

92 Points Vinous | The 2020 Pommard Clos des Epeneaux 1er Cru was a blend of two instead of four cuvées this year due to the depleted production. It has a precocious bouquet with black cherries raspberry menthol and blood orange scents that gather momentum in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannins taut and fresh lightly spiced with hints of allspice and tangy quince. It displays fine composure towards the finish with impressive length. This is a superb Clos des Epeneaux though will it surpass the 2019? I?m not sure. (Drink between 2026-2050)

Expert Review - Vintage 2015

91 Points Robert Parker | The 2015 Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche Grand Cru was stubbornly backward and broody on the nose: hints of yellow flower and struck flint. Nosing this felt like I was disturbing its prenatal slumber. The palate had more to say. It is well balanced with a brush of honey on the entry, a keen thread of acidity, a hint of spice with a composed yet straight-laced finish that I find less expressive than the Corton-Charlemagne at the moment. Let’s see how this turns out in bottle. It’s a Montrachet, though that does not necessarily mean it is Drouhin’s finest white this vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2038.

Winemaker Description

Like all great white wines, Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche deserves to accompany the best fish and shellfish dishes, such as lobster or crabmeat in a light wine sauce; salmon, trout or Dover sole simply grilled or poached. The wine should be served no colder than 13°C (57°F).