Wines

100 Points! A meaty, savoury, spiced nose, something so welcoming about it, warm and friendly with a touch of perfume, dark chocolate, cinnamon and pink peppercorn to the blackcurrant, damsons and plums. Rich, ample and generous, yet delivered with such supple and velvety-soft tannins. This has an elegance to it, a cool sophistication in terms of the profile - neat and tidy, quite linear right now, brimming with energy, not yet fully expansive or loose, but quietly controlled and calm. It's confident though with invigorating acidity and I love the focus, detail and the purity of fruit. Sweet red fruits - strawberries, raspberries and red cherries with a slight balsamic, pomegranate edge that is so delicious. Juicy, crunchy, succulent and ripe but with an effortless edge to it. Supremely drinkable and likeable - what a gorgeous wine! A quality vintage and excellent winemaking skill on show. Ageing 18 months in French oak. - Decanter Magazine

99 Points! This has attractive dark peaches, red cherries, blood oranges and really exotic fruit aromas with such an expressive nose that is swathed in fragrant spices. The palate has strongly defined dark plums and blackberries and mouthwateringly intense dark cherries. Super succulent and deeply flavored with silky, gently sinewy, young-tannin muscle. A great Armagh for sure. Try from 2028 and drink over the following two decades. Screw cap. - James Suckling

98 Points! In the context of the four vintages tasted alongside each other here, the 2018 The Armagh Shiraz is the silkiest, the reddest fruited and the most compact. In my opinion, the best Shirazes/Syrahs in this country present (within a sensible ripening bandwidth) a complex array of both sweet and savory fruit characters, not as a result of too little hang time, or too much, but purely as a result of the interaction between the brine, the soil and the climate. This vineyard and this wine achieves that complexity. So here, while the fruit has a mellifluousness and a suppleness that make it insanely attractive, I would suggest waiting a little longer for this wine to gain the momentum that it surely will gain in another year or two. Equally, if you want to see the pristine, almost sparkling fruit on show, then buy two bottles and open one tonight. It is gorgeous. This was my favorite wine here today for its silky, delicate line of tannin and fruit. In perfect sync. - Erin Larkin, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

100 Points! In comparison to the La Mouline, the 2018 Côte Rôtie La Turque shows a darker, more Côte Brune-like character (which is where this is from) in its broody black fruits, scorched earth, smoked meats, graphite, and exotic flowers. As with the other single vineyards in 2018, the purity of fruit is off the charts, it's full-bodied, has incredible tannins, perfect balance, and a finish that won't quit. It shows that classic 2018 ripeness with no sensation of weight or heaviness. It too has some up-front appeal but won't hit maturity for another 7-8 years, if not a decade, and is a 30-year-wine. - Jeb Dunnuck

98-100 Points! Does the scale go higher than 100? Guigal's 2018 Cote Rotie La Turque is a sure candidate for perfection down the road. With more concentration and richness than the aromatic 2017, it seamlessly blends grilled cherries, espresso, black olives and even exotic hints of black truffle into a full-bodied, powerhouse that should drink well for at least two decades. Tasting at Guigal is always one of the highlights of my Northern Rhône trip. Because of the family's breadth of production and hallmark long élevage, it provides a chance to look at several vintages together, along with commentary from the knowledgeable patriarch, Marcel Guigal. This year, I was joined by Marcel, his son Philippe and Jacques Desvernois, hired away from Jaboulet in the summer of 2018, for a five-hour marathon in the chilly cellar beneath the company's headquarters in Ampuis. Despite the cool temperatures, there were smiles all around at the quality of the samples on the table. "Global warming has been fabulous for the Northern Rhône," said Marcel at one point. - Wine Advocate

98-100 Points! The 2018 Cote Rotie La Mouline is immensely seductive, offering up enticing notes of floral potpourri and red berries on the nose. Those strawberries and raspberries persist onto the full-bodied palate and through the long, lush finish, buoyed by supple, creamy-textured tannins. This is the most complete, compelling vintage of La Mouline I've tasted. - Wine Advocate

99 Points! Just about pure perfection as well as a desert Island wine, the 2018 Côte Rôtie La Mouline comes from a tiny parcel in the Côte Blonde lieu-dit and spent four years in new barrels. Incredible notes of black raspberries, spring flowers, bacon fat, smoked game, violets, and pepper all emerge on the nose. These carry to a full-bodied, round, supple, sexy Côte Rôtie offering ultra-fine tannins, an insane level of purity, no hard edges, and a monster of a finish. As with the other 2018s here, it leads with its fruit and has a supple, ethereal style on the palate... - Jeb Dunnuck

98+ Points! Just about pure perfection as well as a desert Island wine, the 2018 Côte Rôtie La Mouline comes from a tiny parcel in the Côte Blonde lieu-dit and spent four years in new barrels. Incredible notes of black raspberries, spring flowers, bacon fat, smoked game, violets, and pepper all emerge on the nose. These carry to a full-bodied, round, supple, sexy Côte Rôtie offering ultra-fine tannins, an insane level of purity, no hard edges, and a monster of a finish. As with the other 2018s here, it leads with its fruit and has a supple, ethereal style on the palate. - Jeb Dunnuck

98-100 Points!  Subtle hints of fresh pea shoots accent characteristic dark notes of roasted meat, espresso and black olives in the full-bodied 2018 Cote Rotie La Landonne. Rich, concentrated and velvety-textured, with ample length and plenty of ripe tannins on the finish, it should benefit from a decade or more of bottle age—once it gets there. It's a brooding beast of a Cote Rotie that serious collectors will want to have in their cellars. - Wine Advocate

98 Points!  Even without knowing any of the story behind the bottle, you would be hard-pressed to pass this wine by. It has obvious intensity but as you sit with it the softness and approachability of the tannins becomes apparent, helped by the inviting floral edge to the nose, adding peony and violet lift. The black fruits running through the palate are tight but silky and seductive - this has a higher Cab count than usual because the Merlots were more affected by the challenges of the vintage. The palate pulses, switching between richness and delicacy, feeling expertly handled. You get the feeling that you can relax - they've got everything covered! It will inevitably close down in a few years, but until then you could almost go for it with a good carafe. - Decanter

100 Points! This is really something. There’s purity and focus to the aromas of crushed berries, licorice and black tea, which follow through to an integrated palate of extremely fine, melted tannins that spread to the very ends of the wine. This is all about balance and length. It really is an emotional wine. Great follow-up to the 2017, which was also 100 points. Drinkable now, but better after 2024. - JamesSuckling.com