France

99 Points! Let yourself go and sink into this deep dark chasm that will swallow you whole if you let it. Enormous concentration, but every bit as much finesse, the finish extremely long and fine. And this is just beginning to give its best! - JamesSuckling.com

99 Points! Medium to deep garnet colored, the 2009 Léoville Las Cases rocks up with a drop-dead gorgeous nose of baked blackberries, warm plums and crème de cassis with suggestions of violets, rose hip tea, dark chocolate, menthol and sandalwood. Full-bodied, rich, concentrated and decadent in the mouth, it has super ripe, fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long and exotic. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, robertparker.com, 2019

This is another stellar set of Champagne from Christophe Baron. The 2018s are simply lights out. Readers will note the addition of a new wine in this range, the Closeaux, which rounds out the collection of four pure Meunier Champagnes, all bottled in magnum only. Mignon and his cousins practice a decidedly Burgundian approach to winemaking. The wines are fermented in 600L Taransaud demi-muids (25% new), with heavy lees stirring, an approach Baron favors for building the wines, especially on the mid-palate and that allows for bottling with no dosage. As for 2018, Baron calls it a typical modern vintage for Champagne marked by climate change. “You better get used to it, because this is the future!” he told me emphatically. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

This is another stellar set of Champagne from Christophe Baron. The 2018s are simply lights out. Readers will note the addition of a new wine in this range, the Closeaux, which rounds out the collection of four pure Meunier Champagnes, all bottled in magnum only. Mignon and his cousins practice a decidedly Burgundian approach to winemaking. The wines are fermented in 600L Taransaud demi-muids (25% new), with heavy lees stirring, an approach Baron favors for building the wines, especially on the mid-palate and that allows for bottling with no dosage. As for 2018, Baron calls it a typical modern vintage for Champagne marked by climate change. “You better get used to it, because this is the future!” he told me emphatically. - Antoni Galloni, Vinous Media

92 Points! Vivid and dramatic, this is really open and giving - an explosively fruity style comprising raspberry, strawberry and violet. It’s rounded and juicy, but not terribly deep. Acidity is well balanced, and the fine tannins gently taper on the finish. Partly grown on the Cone, partly among the Dentelles, with Grenache vines up to 60-years-old. All destemmed. Matured for 18 months, partly in barrel, partly in tank. - Decanter Magazine

92 Points! Lots of redcurrant fruit, with notes of blood orange, tobacco leaf and sage. Sleek, focused and racy, this is a forthright expression of cool climate Burgundy that some may find a bit challenging, but which excites us. Lots of candied citrus and some dried cranberries at the structured finish. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

Just a great Champagne-making family turning out a superior product from Grand Cru Le Mesnil vineyards and charging a more-than-fair price for their wares. Looking to get your holiday bubbles for 2024 and beyond? Look no further. At $39.98 this is one of the finest values we have in the store, hands down.

94 Points! This traditional style Chateauneuf has a complex nose of leather, dry earth, candied orange peel and licorice. More red-berry fruit on the expansive yet delicate palate, where there’s a wonderful interplay of super-fine tannins and restrained richness through the very long, silky finish. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! Moving to the red, the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape is brilliant stuff, offering lots of kirsch, peppery garrigue, and sandalwood aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied, pure, seamless, and just classic 2020 with its soft, charming style, it’s delicious today and will be delicious in a decade as well. The blend is 65% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah, and the rest Cinsault, brought up 90% in concrete and 10% in old barrels...this is an estate I consistently purchase for my personal cellar. - Jeb Dunnuck

1 x Marie-Jeanne (2.25 Liter) 100% Cabernet Franc edition of Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion 2017

1 x L'Eau des Carmes (30ml) Limited Edition. This skin fragrance tells the story of a century at Les Carmes Haut-Brion, an original creation by Barnabé Fillion

This exceptional case tells the story of a century at les Carmes. A unique experience, a DIALOGUE between the WINEGROWERS of Carmes and BARNABÉ FILLION, perfume designer. Olfactory design, wine design, crafts that inspire each other to PAY TRIBUTE TO A CENTURY OF HISTORY. To Bijou, to the freedom of a woman who lived here for a long time, to the daring that expresses itself on a TERROIR. To the Peugue banks, where the WINEGROWERS celebrate nature and culture. To the genius of plants, and to that of CABERNET FRANC in particular, whose oldest plants have been exploring the area for over 90 years. To the next generation, grateful, brave and creative.

97 Points! From the 5.83-hectare walled vineyard in a cooler, 'classic' vintage for Champagne, giving this a finessed and charming expression. Baked pastry and soft lemon curd notes on the nose, smells inviting and softly floral - honeysuckle, jasmine, lemon and lime rind with some peach. Juicy and so zesty straight away, bright, mouthwateing, scintillatingly fresh and lively, thrilling even, with tiny persistent bubbles that instantly froth and fill the mouth. Alive and energetic with lemon rind and juice, succulent green apples and strawberries, grapefruit and ginger bitterness with touches of salinity and graphite dotting the finish. This makes you instantly want another glass, but this has structure too and such a long finish. No malolactic fermentation. Dosage 4.5g/l. Made by Charles Philipponnat and Thierry Garnier. - Georgia Hindle, Decanter Magazine

96 Points! The 2014 Clos des Goisses, 71% Pinot Noir and 29% Chardonnay, is Extra Brut at 4.5 g/L dosage and was disgorged in March 2023. It needs a little coaxing to bring out delicate scents of wet pebbles, lime blossom, and green apples plus emerging wafts of Marcona almonds, yuzu, and baking bread. Light-bodied and very dry, the palate is super-fine and delicately crafted, with a lively backbone supporting the intense flavors, finishing long and minerally. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent

96 Points! In contrast to the bigger, richer Deus-Ex Machina, the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape La Combe Des Fous is all about finesse and elegance, probably due to the inclusion of Cinsault and Vaccarese in the blend. Deeper ruby/purple-hued, it has an exotic perfume of both red and blue fruits, smoked game, spring flowers, and peppery herbs. Slightly darker fruited than past vintages were at this stage, it's medium to full-bodied on the palate, has gorgeous tannins, a layered, seamless mouthfeel, and a great finish. This beauty already offers incredible pleasure yet will evolve gracefully over the coming 15-20 years. The blend is 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and the rest Vaccarese and Cinsault, brought up mostly tank. - Jeb Dunnuck

From the lieu-dits Paton, Lys de Volan, la Bonnette, Rochecourbe, Les Rivoires, Merlant

93 Points! Ripe tangerines, honeyed flowers, spice, and a kiss of minerality all define the 2022 Condrieu, an elegant, incredibly pure Condrieu delivering classic richness and depth while staying pure, focused, and elegant. - Jeb Dunnuck

90 Points! Aromatic nose with baked lemons, spiced apples, dried herbs, dried leaves and mild spices. Medium body with texture and volume on the mid-palate. Ripe lemons and a positive bitterness dominate in the finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink now. - James Suckling

Like so many things in Burgundy, the impact in the glass is big, but the production isn’t as only a little over 200 cases of this ample Bourgogne were made. We’d normally roll out some critical acclaim about now but there was nothing on this wine and nearly nothing on the producer. We’ve also explained that while is no end to critical assessments of rare and very expensive Grand and Premier Cru bottlings, the ‘little’ wines like Bourgogne don’t get much love in this decidedly hierarchal region if they get any attention at all. Fine with us. Keeping things like this under the radar helps keep prices down. A tasty new find that’s much better and more character-filled than one can typically find at this kind of price.

94+ Points! The swan song vintage of this cuvée, Doyard's 2015 Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru mingles aromas of citrus oil with notions of buttery pastry, dried white flowers and warm biscuits. Medium to full-bodied, layered and structured, with chalky dry extract and lively acids, it's a taut, compact wine that will require a bit of bottle age to unwind. - William Kelley, robertparker.com

91+ Points! Sourced from the upper part of the vineyard, the 2014 Riesling Grand Cru Hengst Samain is rich, ripe and concentrated on the nose, though still closed. Rich, round and intense on the palate, this is a very firmly structured but also finessed Riesling that indicates an enormous ripeness and power; but it should be aged for another couple of years. Picked at the 9th of October, so a week later than the regular Hengst. - Stephan Reinhardt, robertparker.com

Benoît et Celine Blet cultivate 10 hectares of biodynamically farmed vineyards in Oiron (département Deux-Sèvres in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, about 50 kilometers south of Saumur) that are planted with Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc and Gamay de Bouze. The domaine was founded in 2004, and I am always blown away by the huge personality of the wines that will be even finer and more complex after some years in the bottle. This is one of my favorite Loire producers, but unfortunately, I have never managed to visit the domaine. - Stephan Reinhardt, robertparker.com

94 Points! I loved the 2022 Château Suduiraut Vieilles Vignes, a gorgeously complex, mineral-laced white that has classic pear and stone fruits, medium to full body, a pure, balanced, incredibly elegant mouthfeel, good concentration, and a great finish. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! Attractive fruit with gooseberries, green mangoes, star fruit and a touch of cream and guavas. Ample and textural with fine phenolics and salinity delivering the perception of freshness and harmony. Drink from 2026. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! Coming from old vines between 45 and 60 years old that are likely to have resisted the heat of the vintage better, this has both complexity and depth of flavour, with juicy white pear, saffron and mandarin zest. Still a richer expression than in fresher years like 2021, but plenty to enjoy, with oyster shell salinity on the finish. 30% in new barrels, 70% from barrels of one vintage. - Jane Anson

96 Points! Plenty of red fruit character here, plus notes of wet earth, blood orange and violets. Excellent concentration for 2022 with beautifully integrated fine tannins, the fresh acidity helping to drive the long, delicately earthy finish. Drinkable now, but best from 2025. - JamesSuckling.com