France

91 Points! The 2021 Chablis Mont de Milieu ler Cru comes from 65-year-old vines, sees no wood contact and is aged in stainless steel for 15 months. It has an attractive nose: crushed limestone commingling with sea spray and hints of praline. The palate is taut and fresh with a fine bead of acidity, much more elegant than many of its peers, with lovely white peach and nectarine notes on the finish. Recommended. - Neal Martin, Vinous Media

The oldest vines at Château du Mourre du Tendre is a Grenache vineyard planted in 1925 on gravelly clay soils in the Côtes-du-Rhône appellation. These vines were supplemented in 1969 with the addition of Mourvèdre, bringing the site’s total size to 7 hectares. This is the source of the estate’s Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Vieilles Vignes cuvée. It is darker, earthier, and more somber than the regular Côtes-du-Rhône, undoubtedly due to the Mourvèdre. Still, it retains the intensity and charming rusticity that is the hallmark of this estate. Like its siblings, it is fermented whole-cluster with indigenous yeasts and aged for three years before release.

100 Points! The 2018 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a rock star of a wine and is based on a unique blend of 37% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 29% Merlot that was brought up in 80% new French oak. Offering a deep ruby/purple color as well as a thrilling bouquet of blackcurrants, smoked tobacco, chocolate, violets, damp earth, and truffle, it hits the palate with a full-bodied yet almost understated, building style that carries ripe, supple tannins, gorgeous amounts of smoky black fruits, and an endearing, layered, multi-dimensional texture that keeps you coming back to the glass. A dead ringer for a great vintage of Haut-Brion, it is far from unapproachable today yet needs 7-8 years of bottle age for the fireworks to develop and will have 50-years or more of longevity! Hats off to Guillaume Pouthier for a magical, seamless, singular beauty! - Jeb Dunnuck

96 Points! This has a rich and ripe dark-fruit nose with a wealth of stony attraction and a lighter, floral edge. The palate has a very rich core of deeply ripe, fleshy fruit, framed in cedary oak. Really impressive clarity and web-like tannins. Superb finish. Try from 2023. - JamesSuckling.com

94 Points! This incredibly beautiful estate was purchased by Peter Kwok, a Hong Kong-based financier, in 2012. The estate covers a tiny 6.5 hectares (some terraced) just down from Château Barde-Haut, and it remains one of the hidden gems in just about every vintage. The 2016 Château Tour Saint Christophe is another winner. Composed of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc that spent 18 months in 40% new French oak, this concentrated, structured 2016 is one for the cellar. It offers a deep ruby/purple color and a powerful array of black fruits, graphite, and earthy minerality as well as a hint of salinity and spring flowers. It has fine tannins (but plenty of them), beautiful balance, and a straight, focused texture, all pointing to the cellar being your friend. Hide bottles of 4-5 years and enjoy over the following 15-20. Tasted twice. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! The 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape Les Trois Sources comes from a terroir similar to the Reserve and is based on 70% Grenache, 10% Cinsault, 5% each Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Counoise, and the rest a mix of varieties. Ripe blackberries, roasted garrigue, loamy soil, licorice, and a kiss of graphite all emerge on the nose, and this beauty hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a layered, seamless mouthfeel, beautiful yet building tannins, and a great finish. It's slightly more open and expressive than the Les Hauts-Lieux, yet I suspect both of these cuvées will cruise for two decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

98 Points! The 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape Les Hauts-Lieux is based on 65% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, 10% Cinsault, and the rest Counoise and comes from vines just in front of the estate as well as the slightly higher elevation Brusquière plateau, which is a later, cooler terroir. Its deep ruby hue is followed by a killer nose of ripe red and black fruits, peppery herbs, leather, and graphite. With medium to full-bodied richness, it's concentrated, has a deep, layered mouthfeel, beautiful mid-palate density, and one hell of a great finish. It's one of the wines of the vintage. - Jeb Dunnuck

Pernand-Vergelesses comes from the lieux-dits of Sur Herbeux and Sous Le Bois de Noel et Belles Filles (.8 hectares in total) — vines were planted in the 1980s.

Domaine Cornu-Camus is now run by their daughter Lydia, a trained oenologist with a Master’s in Biology. She joined the effort in 2007, followed a couple years later by her husband, Christophe Pertuzot, who brought both some Chorey-les-Beaune “Les Beaumonts” as well as experience with the esteemed Domaine Leroy. Embracing sustainable and organic farming principles within a lutte raisonnée framework, they take a low-intervention tack in the cellar, allowing the inherent qualities of the fruit and the nuance of the terroir to shine in finessed Pinot Noirs.

Monthelie "Vieilles Vignes" is drawn from three parcels amounting to 1 hectare of vines planted in 1976. Among Garaudet's holdings is a plot in Les Toisières. This lieu-dit abuts Meursault Premier Cru Les Caillerets. The soils are of clay-limestone loam composition over a limestone substrate. 12 months aging in 30% new oak.

The finets version of this iconic cuvee we've ever tasted...

92 Points! The excellent 2019 Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuvée Fleuron, sourced from eight lieux-dits in Cramant, Chouilly and Cuis, was disgorged in October 2023 with five grams per liter dosage. Soaring from the glass with aromas of green apple, lemon zest, elderflower and toasted bread, it is full-bodied, textural and intense, supported by bright acids and chalky extract that provide a sensation of freshness. In short, it reflects identity of the northern Côte des Blancs with a signature touch of Gimonnet, of course. - Kristaps Karklins, robertparker.com

93 Points! This new multi-vintage cuvée feels very at home in Laurent-Perrier's lineup, displaying some density and concentration evident in the choice of the reserve wines from all around Champagne which constitute the blend from 2019, 2018, 2016 and 2014. Led by 55% Chardonnay, with the balance Pinot Noir, there's a super-ripe, juicy orange fruit and tropical lilt to the profile here, with succulent apricot, pear and lemon peel pulled into quite a firm, tightly bound coil of structure. It's detailed with an energising, super subtle twist of quinine-like bitterness and some richer roasted almond notes hinting at maturity. For now it feels complete, yet not fully unwound. There's fine, compressed intensity here that will emerge beautifully with a little time on cork or, failing that, enough time to warm up in the glass. - Decanter Magazine

92 Points! The NV Brut Héritage, blended exclusively from reserve wines with half from Grand Crus, consists of 55% Chardonnay and 45% Pinot Noir and spent at least four years on lees. Lemon oil suffused with smoke and rye bread rind creates a subtle but enticing scent on the nose. Frothy, lively bubbles on the palate somewhat detract from the wine's underlying smoky nuance, which shimmers between smoky plum, sponge cake and lemon. This lovely wine will benefit from a little more bottle age. Dosage is 6 grams per liter. - Vinous Media

96 Points! Oh yes was the first words that came to mind once this spicy wine hit my palate. With good concentration of flavor, you find opulent, silky red fruits and spice that perfectly combines sweetness and purity on the palate. This is one of the more successful wines of the vintage. The wine was produced blending 98% old vine Grenache, with 1% Cinsault and 1% Clariette. - Wine Cellar Insider

94 Points! I think the star of the show in 2018 is the 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape A La Gloire De Mon Grand-Père, which is almost all Grenache. It reveals a medium ruby color as well as a beautiful bouquet of black raspberries, dried flowers, incense, and Provençal spice to go with a medium to full-bodied, downright sexy style on the palate. With silky tannins, plenty of mid-palate depth, and a great finish, it's another 2018 that's loaded with charm and is going to drink nicely for 10-15 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! Deeper, earthier and spicier than the other bottlings, the 2018 Châteauneuf du Pape A la Gloire de Mon Grand-Père is essentially all old-vine Grenache from the La Gardiole lieu dit. Dustings of cinnamon, allspice and clove accent black cherries and loam on the nose, while the full-bodied palate is rich and velvety, ending long and softly dusty. It should be the longest-lived of the magnificent trio of 2018 reds produced at Bosquet des Papes. - Wine Advocate

90-92 Points! Audoin's 2022 Marsannay La Charme aux Prêtres Blanc reveals attractive aromas of green apple, pear, white flowers, citrus zest and freshly baked bread. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and racy, with good cut and tension, it's one of the domaine's livelier whites. - William Kelley, robertparker.com