Search results for: 'mostly a one plot'

96–98 Points – Jeb Dunnuck
“The 2025 Château Langoa Barton is based on 45% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 15% Cabernet Franc. Darker currants, smoky tobacco, graphite, and tons of violet and floral nuances all shine on the nose, and it has remarkable purity, full-bodied richness, a broad, layered mouthfeel, and ripe, polished tannins on the palate. The finish is a blockbuster. It's probably the greatest Langoa ever.”

95 Points – Georgina Hindle, Decanter
“Liquorice and blackcurrant aromas on the nose, smells quite dark and heady and seductive. Supple and filling with a really wide and ample expression. An impressive Langoa this year with some wood spice on the finish. Really a cool, classic, fresh, hands-off kind of style.”

94–95 Points – James Suckling
“Focused, with volume and drive, it shows aromas of berries, warm spices and some leather. Medium- to full-bodied with fine, firm tannins. Structured and compact, with bright fruit at its core. Long, focused finish.”

93–95 Points – Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
“Black currant, cigar wrappers, cedar, peppery spices and herbs are already expressive in the nose. The palate is sweet, juicy, firm, and round, finishing with ripe blackberries and cassis in an almost forward, juicy, creamy style that really works here.”

92–94 Points – Wine Advocate (William Kelley)
“Cropped at a mere 20 hectoliters per hectare, one of the lowest yields ever recorded at this address, the 2025 Langoa Barton offers up aromas of dark berries, pencil shavings, spices and new oak. Medium- to full-bodied, with bright acids and chalky tannins.”

92–94 Points – Neal Martin, Vinous
“The 2025 Langoa-Barton has a lively bouquet with blueberry and cassis scents, and just a background touch of peppermint. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, a lovely caressing texture, very well balanced with a touch of pepperiness towards the persistent finish. What a gorgeous Langoa!”

92–94 Points – The Wine Independent (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)
“Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2025 Langoa Barton comes bounding out with exuberant notes of fresh red plums and black cherries, followed by hints of pencil lead, black olives, and bay leaves. Energetic and refreshing with fine-grained tannins and a savory finish.”

94 Points! Glossy, pure fruit here showing excellent concentration of red berries, cherries, hibiscus, stones and subtle spices. Concentrated and deep on the palate with outstanding volume for this vintage. Vertical and pretty long. One of the best Corimbos here. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! 2019 was a warm year, but the style of the wines is quite balanced, and the 2019 Corimbo shows quite faithful with the character of the year. It has a contained 14% alcohol and shows balance and seriousness. The nose shows some restraint, with varietal berry fruit and measured oak. It matured for 14 months in oak barrels, 80% of them French and the rest American. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

PLEASE BE AWARE, THIS IS A PRE-ARRIVAL WINE - YOU WILL NOT BE CHARGED SHIPPING FEES UNTIL THE WINE(S) ARRIVE

97 Points! The 2022 Haut-Bages Libéral is huge and explosive right out of the gate. A rush of dark red cherry/plum fruit, rose petal, blood orange, incense, licorice and mocha saturates the palate. Saline notes extend the mid-palate and finish effortlessly. This is one of the most exuberant, ample wines I have tasted from Claire Villars-Lurton. I would give the 2022 a number of years in bottle to shed some baby fat. Today, it tastes almost like a barrel sample! The purity and primary intensity of the fruit is remarkable. The Haut-Bages Libéral was raised in a combination of 40% new oak, 40% once-used barrels and 20% a mix of concrete and amphora. This is one of the under-the-radar gems of 2022. - Antonio Galloni

96 Points! A classic Pauillac nose, showing ripe currants, graphite, pencil shavings and cocoa powder. Full-bodied on the palate, it has a seamless coating of fine, dusty tannins. The wine is broad, dissolved and long, with good drive. Approachable now thanks to its balance and complexity but will be much better after 2027. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! Round and smooth, so pure, like silk, just so beautifully textured straight away with clear bite, bright fresh upfront fruit - tangy strawberries, raspberries and black cherries with powdery, chalky, and tense tannins giving both the frame but also a charming appeal. It’s intense but controlled and finessed. Maybe lacking a touch of fruity fleshiness right now but the Cabernet is at the fore, giving the backbone and the seriousness. So well executed -a shining star of an estate with such beautiful pure wines. The pH and alcohol is low with the acidity coming from the chalk and limestone terroir, all well integrated giving an elegant, very drinkable aspect while still having underlying power and direction. Crystalline with exceptional energy. 3.54pH. Ageing: 16 months, 40% in new oak barrels, 40% in barrels of one wine, 20% in amphorae. - Decanter.com

96 Points! I loved the 2022 Château Haut-Bages Libéral, a spicy, complex, nuanced Pauillac that has both red and black currants, textbook notes of freshly sharpened pencils, leather, and flowers, medium to full body, a ripe, pure, layered mouthfeel, and remarkable length on the finish. It's beautifully done and well worth seeking out. As with many top Pauillac, I wouldn’t be surprised to see it close down in 3-5 years, only to reemerge 10-12 years after the vintage, with a solid two decades of longevity thereafter. - Jeb Dunnuck

98 Points! Cassis, tobacco, wet stones, iron and baking spices to the nose, showing class, restraint and complexity. Medium- to full-bodied on the palate with super fine tannins. Dry, super elegant and silky with a lengthy, polished finish. Really Bordeaux-like. Juicy and long. 54% cabernet sauvignon from Gualtallary, 25% cabernet franc from Altamira and 21% malbec from both areas. The highest portion of cabernet franc this year helped retain its nervy freshness! This is classy and beautiful. Harvested on March 12th and 13th. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! Wonderfully aromatic and nuanced on the nose, so alive and open. Energetic and lively on the palate, this has so much spark and brightness to it. Really compelling from the first sip, the tannins ample and cushioning the slick black fruit and accompanying savoury spices. Feels lean and taught, but with so much flair. Really a lovely expression, so generous and well defined. Youthful as you'd expect right now but when this softens it will be a beauty. Just gorgeous, with a minty fresh finish. - Decanter Magazine

93 Points! Crackling with chiseled acidity and a racy streak of minerality, this tightly meshed Champagne carries flavors of crunchy pear, white peach, oyster shell and pastry dough, plus accents of white blossoms, lemon pith and ground ginger on the refined, lively mousse. Salty on the lasting finish. Best from 2026 through 2031. - Wine Spectator (2025)

93 Points! A wonderful vintage by all accounts, the 2024 crop sizes were good, and this wine is comprised of five different blocks from throughout the estate. It spends one year in French oak, and it's fresh and juicy right out of the gates with aromas of fresh crushed strawberries, mint leaf and pine sap. - Decanter Magazine

97 Points! More minerality, graphite, and scorched earth notes emerge from the 2018 Les Pavots. Full-bodied and uber-concentrated, it reveals building tannins, awesome mid-palate depth, and one heck of a great finish. It's a serious, powerful, blockbuster beauty that also holds onto perfect balance and a beautiful sense of elegance. It will keep for two decades or more. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! Love the sweet berries, black olives, tile and fresh herbs on the nose with floral undertones. Oyster shell, too. Full-bodied with round, creamy tannins that are beautifully polished and refined. Very long finish. All about finesse and wonderful length. 68% cabernet sauvignon, 19% cabernet franc, 10% merlot and 3% petit verdot. Drink after 2023. - JamesSuckling.com

94–96 Points – Antonio Galloni, Vinous
“The 2025 Lafon-Rochet is classy and polished, as it so often is. Readers will find a Saint-Estèphe of nuance, delineation and understated class. Vibrant blue/purplish fruit, lavender, sage and menthol are some of the many nuances that begin to open with some coaxing. This is classic Lafon-Rochet all the way.”

94 Points – Georgina Hindle, Decanter
“Wonderful fragrance emitting out of the glass. Fruity and juicy straight away, clean, crisp, bright and fresh with a really cool, wet stone undercurrent. There’s firmness but also finesse with lovely structure and focus. Super long, with that cool fresh grip really extending on the finish. Joyous.”

93–94 Points – James Suckling
“A dense, chocolaty and focused red showing generous fruit and bark on the nose. Medium- to full-bodied with ripe, chewy tannins. Textural, with nice concentration and a long, vivid, flavorful finish.”

92–94 Points – Jeb Dunnuck
“A serious, focused wine from this Saint-Estèphe château, the 2025 Château Lafon-Rochet offers darker, juicy blue fruits, leafy herbs, graphite, and liquid violets and spring flowers on the nose. Medium-bodied on the palate, it's structured and concentrated, with integrated acidity and outstanding length.”

93–95 Points – Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
“Flowers, black currants, licorice, spice, mint and cedar aromatics emerge easily in the perfume. Medium-bodied, fresh, vibrant, and energetic, with chewy currants, a touch of cocoa, and classic Saint-Estèphe character on the finish.”

97 Points! A recurrent question with amply aged Italian classic reds like Barolo and Brunello di Montalcino is whether or not the extra ageing stipulations in place for the Riserva categories are truly necessary; it can often seem as if younger versions have the edge on older, 'grander' wines, since they show brighter fruit structures. This 2019 Riserva illustrates the benefits of extra age. It's pale, now, with some gentle bricking at the meniscus; the aromas are refined and harmonious, packed not just with red fruits but with autumnal warmth and oak-copse charm, as if the wine was evoking the landscape in which it came into being. On the tongue, it's still quite grandly structured and clearly has further development ahead; look behind those succulent if ample tannins, though, and you'll find beautifully articulated fruit supported by deft redcurrant acidity. Grand Barolo from this outstanding vintage. - Decanter World Wine Awards

93 Points! In the bottle with the red wax capsule, the Fratelli Serio & Battista Borgogno 2019 Barolo Riserva Cannubi shows a hint of tertiary definition with faded fruit, autumnal leaf and black tea. The wine is finely knit in terms of mouthfeel, and you get a slightly textured effect with granular tannins. Fruit is selected from one part, the Vigna Battista, of the three parcels farmed in Cannubi, with southern exposures on sand, silt and clay. That limestone sand is what adds the special finesse to Cannubi fruit, typically, although climate change has complicated things. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

100 Points! The head-turning 2022 Quilceda Creek ‘Columbia Valley’ Cabernet Sauvignon has 10% Mach One Vineyard fruit blended in, with the remainder coming from the famed Champoux Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA. The nose is beyond alluring with toasted walnut and gorgeous purple rose petals that combine with boysenberry cordial, Turkish coffee and shades of dark licorice. The crazy complex aromatics bring you back to the glass for more enjoyment. Pillowy and opulent on the mouth, the seamless texture leads alongside outstanding weight and finesse.  This is a perfect wine in a vintage that shows what can be accomplished in a slightly cooler year. Savor this remarkable achievement over the next twenty plus years to come. - Owen Bargreen

100 Points! The head-turning 2022 Quilceda Creek ‘Columbia Valley’ Cabernet Sauvignon has 10% Mach One Vineyard fruit blended in, with the remainder coming from the famed Champoux Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA. The nose is beyond alluring with toasted walnut and gorgeous purple rose petals that combine with boysenberry cordial, Turkish coffee and shades of dark licorice. The crazy complex aromatics bring you back to the glass for more enjoyment. Pillowy and opulent on the mouth, the seamless texture leads alongside outstanding weight and finesse.  This is a perfect wine in a vintage that shows what can be accomplished in a slightly cooler year. Savor this remarkable achievement over the next twenty plus years to come. - Owen Bargreen

99 Points! Lots of perfume and dark-fruit aromas with floral and burnt-orange undertones. Full-bodied and very, very refined and long. It goes on for minutes. Such subtlety and wonderful tannins. Love it. Drink in 2020. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! Also 100% Cabernet Sauvignon yet from Pritchard Hill, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Houyi Vineyard offers a massive blast of blue fruits, crushed violets, spice box, and new leather. This beauty comes from a site next to David Arthur and has a ripe, rounded, and incredibly sexy style that belies its mountain terroir. Still, it has plenty of underlying tannins, impeccable balance, and one seriously long finish. Give it a year or so and drink bottles over the following 2-3 decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! Bursts with juicy raspberry, mulberry and bitter cherry coulis flavors that stretch out lengthily, plus savory, red tea and rose petal notes that add energy and range. Shows a snap of red licorice and a singed apple wood frame on the finish while keeping its energy up. - Wine Spectator

93+ Points! The appellation wine and calling card of the house, the 2023 Chardonnay Wester Reach is fresh on the nose, with notes of light flint, lime zest, bright flowers, white pepper, and green apples. It has a compact feel but with electric energy and a fantastic oily citrus texture on the finish. It’s a blend from five vineyards and was aged for 12 months in 20% new oak barrels. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

93-95 Points! One of the highlights of the range this year is the 2020 Corton Grand Cru Les Perrières, a vibrant, mineral wine evocative of wild berries, forest floor, rich spices and rose petals. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated and vibrant, with beautifully refined tannins and a long, penetrating finish, it's well worth seeking out. - William Kelley, robertparker.com

93 Points! A beautiful shade of reddish violet in the glass, this appellation blend is clean and brisk on the nose with raspberry, pomegranate and currant aromas. It's tightly focused on the sip, where hibiscus and raspberry flavors are wrapped in chalky tannins. A lemon-rind bite adds to the palate, which is still quite young but already easy to quaff. - Wine Enthusiast

99 Points! The 2019 Château Pavie is another beauty that offers more density and sexiness than just about every other wine in the vintage, yet it is still an unnecessarily restrained expression of this terroir, which is the fad in Bordeaux these days. Based on 50% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc, and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon that was brought up in 80% new French oak, this deep purple-hued effort has a great bouquet of ripe black cherries, darker currants, tobacco leaf, violets, and graphite, with a beautiful sense of minerality and salinity on the palate. Full-bodied, concentrated, and powerful, it has plenty of background oak, a deep, layered mid-palate, terrific tannins, and a great finish. It shows the more understated, elegant style of the vintage yet is still pure Pavie. Hide bottles for 5-7 years and enjoy over the following 30+. - Jeb Dunnuck

99 Points! Pavie has finally reached its replanting goal, and the 2019 Pavie is a blend of 50% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc, and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs a little swirling before it tumbles effortlessly out of the glass with vibrant notes of cassis, fresh, ripe plums, crushed blackberries, and violets, plus suggestions of menthol, mossy tree bark, crushed rocks, and cumin seed. Full-bodied, it has a rock-solid frame of super-firm, grainy tannins and a racy backbone cutting through the densely layered black fruits, finishing with epic length and minerality. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent

97–99 Points – Jeb Dunnuck
“A Merlot-heavy blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the 2025 Château Larcis Ducasse sports a dense purple hue as well as incredible aromatics of ripe currant and black cherry fruit intermixed with smoky tobacco, graphite, and crushed stone. Deep, rich, and full-bodied on the palate, it has a broad, layered mouthfeel, ripe, velvety tannins, and a great finish. It might end up being in the top handful of wines in the vintage.”

98–100 Points – Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
“Black cherries, plums, violets, licorice, espresso, caramel, black raspberries, and a hint of mint pop in the nose. Creamy, opulent, sweet, powerful, and also fragrant, fresh, and light on its feet. The palate is drenched in fruits, accompanied by a mineral essence that adds length and vibrancy to the long, intense finish. One of the wines of the vintage, this is in contention for the best vintage ever produced in the history of Larcis Ducasse.”

95–97 Points – Wine Advocate (Yohan Castaing)
“The 2025 Larcis Ducasse reveals an elegant, vibrant and gourmand bouquet of violet, dark berries, dark cherries and flowers, accented by delicate spicy notes. Medium- to full-bodied, layered and seamless, it’s built around a ripe core of fruit framed by velvety tannins, concluding with a floral, harmonious and ethereal finish. One of the most accomplished renditions produced here to date.”

95–97 Points – Antonio Galloni, Vinous
“The 2025 Larcis Ducasse is another exceptional wine from one of the most under-the-radar estates in Saint-Émilion. Dark red-fleshed fruits, rose petal, lavender, mocha, licorice, sage and graphite are all seamless in the glass. The 2025 marries power with finesse to a degree that is exceptionally rare. This is a stellar effort.”

95–97 Points –  Lisa Perrotti-Brown
“Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2025 Larcis Ducasse prances out of the glass with showy notes of ripe, juicy plums, blueberry pie, and crushed black cherries, giving way to hints of violets, sassafras, and sandalwood. The medium-bodied palate is bright and juicy with great tension and firm yet velvety tannins, finishing long and perfumed.”

95–97 Points – Neal Martin, Vinous
“The 2025 Larcis Ducasse has a gorgeous bouquet already, with pure blackberry and cassis fruit, seamlessly integrated new oak, retaining focus and delineation. The palate is medium-bodied, with very fine lace-like tannins, perfectly judged acidity, bright acids towards the finish upholding tension and a silky texture that is totally disarming. Outstanding.”

Points – James Suckling
“Well composed, balanced, seductive and vivid. Medium-bodied with fine, firm tannins. Well shaped, with an inspired and focused mid-palate. Flavorful and lingering finish.”

97 Points! The 2012 Cheval Blanc boasts stunning power and a verticl, imposing scene of structure that is quite rare in this vintage. Dark and almost brooding in style, the Cheval is a rare 2012 that absolutely demands cellaring. Smoke, tobacco, incense and dark spices open up with time, but the 2012 is a reticent, tannic wine that is only showing the barest hints of its ultimate potential. This is a magnificent showing and one of the clear highlights of the year. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

96+ Points! A step up over the 2011, the 2012 Chateau Cheval Blanc offers a similar medium to full-bodied, elegant style yet has slightly more freshness and purity. Smoked black fruits, cassis, tobacco leaf, and sappy flower notes all emerge from this thrillingly textured, balanced, focused 2012. It opens up with time in the glass, has ripe, sweet tannins, and it’s another one of those wines that offers pleasure today yet will cruise for decades. The final blend is the usual 54% Merlot and 46% Cabernet Franc. Readers should be happy to have bottles in their cellars. - Jeb Dunnuck

95+ Points! Medium to deep garnet colored, the 2012 Château Cheval Blanc reveals lovely cassis, warm black cherries and redcurrant jelly notions with underlying hints of cedar chest, garrigue, Indian spices and damp soil. Medium to full-bodied, it possesses wonderful energy and freshness on the palate with a beautifully poised ethereal nature and long mineral-tinged finish. This elegantly crafted beauty should enter its drinking window in a couple of years and cellar gracefully for another 20+ years. - Lisa Perotti-Brown, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

94 Points! A Cheval Blanc with an impressive center palate of blueberries, chocolate, almonds and spices. Full body, a solid core of fruit and a long, long finish. Goes on for minutes. Beautiful wine. Seamless tannins. Needs a few years of bottle age. Better in 2017. - James Suckling

99 Points, Dunnuck's #19 Wine of the Year! Another wine I underrated on release, the 2020 Château Haut-Bailly is just about pure perfection, and whereas the 2018 is closer in style to the 2009, this plays things a little closer to its vest and is reminiscent of the 2010. Full-bodied, concentrated, and powerful, it nevertheless cuts a focused, precise path across the palate and brings incredible purity in its darker fruits, smoked tobacco, cedar pencil, and Asian spice-driven aromas and flavors. The tannin quality here is off the charts, and this beauty has everything you could want from wine. It needs a solid 4-6 years (if not longer) to hit the early stages of its prime drinking window, and it's going to evolve for 50+ years. - Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com

99 Points! A blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot, the 2020 Haut-Bailly is deep garnet-purple in color. It needs a bit of swirling to coax out notions of black cherry compote, blackcurrant pastilles, and blackberry preserves, giving way to fragrant wafts of violets, dark chocolate, cardamom, and sassafras, with a touch of Indian spices. The medium to full-bodied palate is an exercise in poise, delivering tightly wrapped black fruit, exotic spice and floral layers, with a super-plush texture and seamless acidity, finishing very long with loads of mineral sparks and tons of energy. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent