France

93 Points! The 2018 Château de la Dauphine was a knockout when I tasted it from barrel. Now in bottle, it has a very clean, precise bouquet of shimmering blackberry and wild strawberry aromas, underlying blood orange notes coming through with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, plenty of graphite-tinged black fruit and a very elegant yet long finish. Superb! - Neal Martin, Vinous Media

93 Points! A delicious wine that has been well handled comprising vibrant fruits with brambles and hedgerows keeping things on the right side of slick. A good job done here with the estate retaining biodynamics even through a tough vintage. Drinking Window 2022-2032 - Decanter Learn More

95 Points! Rocking amounts of red and black currants, chalky minerality, violets, camphor, new leather, and violets emerge from the 2018 Château Moulin Du Cadet, a rich, medium to full-bodied, concentrated, beautifully balanced Saint-Emilion. With ripe tannins, plenty of mid-palate depth, and a great finish, this is another remarkable wine from the Lefévère family that's well worth snatching up. The wine is 100% Merlot brought up in 80% new French oak. It's going to benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and will keep for 15+. - Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com

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97 Points! Blueberries, blackberries, elderberries, mushrooms and earthy notes. Spices as well. It’s full-bodied with an unctuous texture. Balanced and savory with a fine, chewy tannin structure. Flavorful finish with length. One of the best ever from here. Try after 2025. - JamesSuckling.com

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93 Points! The 2018 Viré-Clessé Quintaine is showing beautifully, wafting from the glass with a lovely bouquet of honeyed citrus fruit, fresh pastry and orange blossom. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and supple, it's elegantly textural and refined, with a fragrant core of fruit and a long, penetrating finish. Even though it will reward a bit of bottle age, it's slightly finer-boned than the more concentrated, muscular 2017, so I would opt to drink this immensely charming wine before its older sibling. - William Kelley, robertparker.com Learn More

The 2018 is a ripe, incredibly sexy, seamless Castillon from the Thienpont family that's based on 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Deep plum/ruby-hued, with a ripe, sexy, Saint-Emilion-like nose of black cherries, chocolate, truffle, and leafy herbs, it offers medium-bodied richness, a round, supple, elegant texture, and a great finish, it's ideal for drinking over the coming 7-8 years, if not a decade. - Jeb Dunnuck Learn More

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The Champagne rose shows an orange salmon color coming from the red wine base. The pinot meunier brings red fruit aromas of strawberry and raspberry with hints of spices. The palate is juicy and harmonious with good depth and minerality. A delicate balance between Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir. It is a blend of 93% White (made from 33% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Meunier and 33% Pinot Noir) and 7% Pinot Noir red wine. Learn More

92 Points! Paillard's NV Bouzy Grand Cru Les Terres Roses XIX, a rosé Champagne composed of 64% Chardonnay and 36% Pinot Noir, includes 6% red wine (from 2018) sourced from the lieu-dit Les Mignottes in Bouzy. Based on the 2019 vintage, it was disgorged in May 2023 without dosage (though it retains 1.5 grams of residual sugar). The wine wafts from the glass with a beautiful bouquet of wild strawberry, red apple, cowberry and brioche. On the palate, it's full-bodied, pillowy and textural, with a crisp core of red fruit, succulent but racy acidity and gently phenolic grip, concluding with a precise, lingering finish. - Kristaps Karklins, robertparker.com

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91+ Points! Charming and demonstrative, the 2018 Beaune 1er Cru Les Theurons (Domaine Gagey) wafts from the glass with lovely aromas of cherries, berries, sweet soil tones, licorice and spices. Medium to full-bodied, this is a fleshy and enveloping wine, with an ample core of fruit, succulent acids and fine, powdery tannins that assert themselves on the youthfully chalky finish. This is a fine effort that will require a bit more patience than I perceived in barrel. - William Kelley, robertparker.com Learn More

93 Points! The 2018 Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Ursules (Domaine des Héritiers Jadot) is showing very well in bottle, unwinding in the glass with a pretty but youthfully reserved bouquet of sweet red berries, plums and cassis, mingled with hints of dark chocolate, warm spices and coniferous forest floor. Medium to full-bodied, supple and enveloping, it's elegant—even polished—with a succulent core of fruit, lively acids and a nicely defined finish. At maturity—which will demand a decade's patience, even if this can be approached sooner—this will be an especially sumptuous Clos des Ursules. - William Kelley, robertparker.com Learn More

92 Points! Well-knit and minerally, with a crisp texture and flavors of ripe raspberry, poached apricot, tangerine peel and biscuit. Chalky finish. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Disgorged December 2022. Drink now. - Wine Spectator

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98 Points!This is a compact cylinder of ripe and fresh fruit with currant, fresh-herb and dry-earth character on the palate. So solid. Full-bodied yet refined and checked in every way. Well-defined, formed and perfect. Just a hint of volcanic salt and iron. Contemplate this one. Try after 2026. - JamesSuckling.com

96+ Points! The 2016 L'If, 100% Merlot in this vintage, is going to need a number of years to be at its very best. The allure the 2016 showed as a young barrel sample has been replaced with huge structure and prominent yet well balanced tannins that both give the wine its strong-voiced personality. Readers should be prepared to be patient with the 2016, as it is going to need a number of years to be at its very best. Even so, the 2016 is super-impressive in the early going, not to mention a fabulous wine in the making. Cyrille Thienpont gave the 2016 14 months in French oak, 50% new. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

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93-95 Points! Matured with 20% whole bunch and the same level of new oak, the 2018 Pommard Les Rugiens 1er Cru has an elegant, refined bouquet that gradually unfurls to reveal blackberry, briar and light wild strawberry scents, the stems lending a little pepperiness. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins and very well-judged acidity. Delivers impressive tension and structure toward the linear, very persistent finish. This is an outstanding Les Rugiens, one of the best you will find this vintage. - Neal Martin, Vinous Media Learn More

95 Points and Dunnuck's #4 Wine of the Year! From a picturesque vineyard on the east side of Saint-Emilion, not far from Chateau Barde-Haut the 2017 Chateau Tour Saint Christophe checks in as a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc that was brought up in a mix of new and used barrels. This inky purple-hued beauty boasts stunning notes of blue fruits, crushed rocks, violets, and spring flowers. Medium to full-bodied, beautifully concentrated, and with remarkable purity as well as finesse in its tannins, this is another remarkable wine from this estate, which has been turning out brilliant wines in every vintage now. Don't miss it. Tasted twice. - JebDunnuck.com

93+ Points! The 2017 Tour Saint Christophe is a dense, richly constituted wine loaded with tremendous energy and pure power. It is also a bit shut down; so I would prefer to give it a few years in bottle to be at its best. Black fruit, chocolate, leather, licorice and spice build into the potent, virile finish. This is a wine with tremendous promise. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

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93 Points! From the talented Nicolas Thienpont, the 2019 Château La Prade sports a deep ruby/purple color to go with a great nose of spicy dark fruits, damp earth, and violet. Wonderfully pure, medium-bodied, elegant, and seamless on the palate, it's easily the finest vintage of this cuvée I've tasted. It's going to drink brilliantly for 10-12 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

92 Points! An intense, aromatic red with notes of ripe plums and blackberries, spices, chocolate and tar. Polished and refined with an array of fine-grained, chewy tannins and a velvety mouth-feel. Full-bodied, compact and long. Impressive power and depth. Drink in a year or two or hold. - James Suckling, jamessuckling.com

 

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96 Points! The 2019 Château Croix De Labrie is gorgeous and jumps out in the vintage. Almost all Merlot brought up in new barrels, it offers a beautiful bouquet of red and black currants, spicy oak, dried herbs, and flowers, with a beautiful loamy earth and chalky minerality emerging with time in the glass. With remarkable purity and finesse, it's full-bodied, has a great mid-palate, silky tannins, and a great finish. It could be drunk today with a decant but will ideally be given 4-5 years of bottle age. I suspect it will have 20-25 years of overall longevity. - Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com

98 Points! Fabulous aromas of blackberries, blueberries, pine needles and spices, such as nutmeg and allspice. White pepper, too. Full-bodied and very tight with a solid core of fruit and ultra-fine yet powerful tannins. It’s got so much energy and drive. Vibrant at every level. Precise and not overpowering, yet so structured. 97% merlot and 3% cabernet sauvignon. Made from biodynamically grown grapes. This needs time to soften. Try after 2026. - James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com

 

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97 Points! I love this château, and the 2019 Château Soutard-Cadet is another brilliant wine that's in the same ballpark as the 2018. Sporting a deep purple hue as well as a rich, powerful nose of ripe black fruits, scorched earth, spicy oak, graphite, and damp earth, it's rich and concentrated, yet the purity is brilliant, it has silky and perfectly ripe tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. As I wrote from barrel, it's going to benefit from just 2-4 years of bottle age and, I suspect, have 20, 25, if not 30 years of overall longevity. - Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com

 

 

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94 Points! Such a beautiful red with currants, blackberries and some walnut and stone undertones. It’s medium-bodied with a creamy texture and a long finish. Hints of dried citrus. Drinkable now, but better in a year or two. - JamesSuckling.com

92 Points! This first vintage under the new name, a slightly traumatic change (for me at least!) from Château Lalande Borie because I was a big supporter of the previous incarnation. This remains largely grapes from a 25ha plot on west side of St Julien, together with young vines from the Ducru estate (hence no longer qualifying for the château designation). Having said that, the quality is still brilliant, and it offers a clear reason to choose this wine as an approachable St Julien before heading upwards to Madame de Beaucaillou. Black fruits smothered in liquorice, dark chocolate shavings, cocoa beans, espresso, cassis. It has a clear link to Ducru, you get the shot of sexiness, the feeling that you are being invited in to the party. 30% new oak for 12 months. - Jane Anson

 

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98 Points! Another stunning vintage from this brilliant estate that is just delivering hit after hit. Concentration and intensity right from the initial aromatics, damson, cassis and blackberry fruits that you could almost drink now until the tannins build up across the palate and remind you that this is built to last. Velvety texture, black chocolate and crushed stone minerality on the finish. One of the wines of the vintage. Tasted twice, one week apart. 60% 1st wine. A yield of 45hl/ha. -Jane Anson, Decanter Magazine

97 Points! The 2019 Beausejour Duffau-Lagarrosse is deep garnet-purple in color. It slowly expands on the nose to deliver impactful scents of blackberry preserves, Morello cherries, and warm black plums, followed by suggestions of Ceylon tea, iron ore, tilled soil, and fallen leaves. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has exquisitely ripe, silt-like tannins and energetic, nuanced black fruits, delivering a fine backbone of racy freshness and tons of mineral sparks on the very long finish. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent

96+ Points! From one of my favorite châteaux on the Right Bank, the 2019 Château Beauséjour (Duffau-Lagarrosse) is 86% Merlot and 14% Cabernet Franc brought up in a mix of new and used barrels. It's a tighter, more closed 2019, yet it offers beautiful purity and focus in its cassis and black raspberry fruits as well as notes of tobacco leaf, graphite, chocolate, and chalky minerality. Rich, medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced, and again, with this remarkable purity and precision, it has enough tannins to warrant 4-6 years in the cellar and will be incredibly long-lived. It's a beautiful Saint-Emilion. It’s worth pointing out that the 2019 is the vintage bottled by Nicolas Thienpont and starting in 2021, the estate is in the hands of Josephine Duffau-Lagarrosse. - Jeb Dunnuck

 

 

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