95 VM / 95 JD Shimmering garnet. Vibrant red fruit, floral and exotic spice scents, along with hints of incense and musky earth. Sappy, energetic and penetrating on the palate, offering intense raspberry and cherry flavors...
98 VM / 97+ WI / 97 WS / 97 JA / 97 DE Owners LVMH took the decision to delay the release of the 2019 Yquem until spring 2022. It was tasted with winemaker Sandrine Garbay in London. After the summer drought when Sauternes...
100 JD / 97 VM / 18 JR Lastly, the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Reserve is another magical wine, and I might have rated this cuvée a perfect score more than any other Southern Rhône. Unquestionably in the...
98 JS / 97 WA / 96 DE #5 James Suckling Top 100 Wines of Chile 2020#74 James Suckling Top 100 Wines of 2020 A complex, structured young chardonnay and clearly the best in Chile. It shows lavender, sliced green apples,...
97 JS / 96 WA It’s hard to imagine a more attractive and enticing dry riesling than this cornucopia of peach, apricot and mandarin that’s so curvaceous and seductive. However, behind all this extravagance is a...
89 BH / 16 JR Lightish crimson. Sweet cherry fruit, open. Chewy chocolate-smooth tannins. Firm yet harmonious. --Julia Harding MW, Jancis Robinson Note: from Les Chaumes, Champs de Morjot, La Goujonne and La...
97 JD / 94 VM I loved the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc, which is one of the finest versions of this cuvée I can recall. Rich stone fruits, apple blossom, melon, crushed stone, and white flower notes all...
97 WS / 97 JD / 97 WE / 96 VM This is packed together, with taut iron cables providing a platform for mouthwatering bitter plum, cassis and blackberry reduction flavors. Sage, bay tobacco and warm earth notes play equally...
91 WA A beautiful wine, Moreau's 2019 Chassagne-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes bursts with aromas of rose petals, spices and sweet berry fruit. Medium-bodied, lively and perfumed, it's supple and melting, with succulent acids...
96 WA Molitor’s golden-colored 2019 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Beerenauslese * is concentrated, deep and complex on the flinty, fresh and lemon-scented nose. Juicy-piquant, with precise and piercing acidity on the first...
94 DE / 91 WA Forget baby Nebbiolo! This assertive wine from Vietti is a stylish Langhe with a sleek nose and bracing palate. Bright ruby in the glass, it has telltale Nebbiolo aromas of rosehip and orange peel. Strawberry...
91 BH A moderately herbal and wood-suffused nose is comprised mostly of various red berries and just turned earth. There is excellent detail and punch on the lighter weight mineral-driven flavors that terminate in a...
99 JD / 98 JS / 98 WI / 97 VM / 97 JA / 97 DE / 96 WE / 18 JR #2 Jeb Dunnuck's Top 100 2023 #86 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of France 2023 Gold-engraved bottle to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Michel...
97-98 JS / 95-97 WA / 94-96 JD / 92-94 VM / 93 DE Wow. This is very chalky and salty with lots of mineral character. It shows lots of purple fruit and firm tannins. Racy and bright. Chewy yet fine tannins. Gorgeous. Gets...
93 JS / 93 JD / 93 DE / 93 WE / 92 AG / 91 WI / 89-91 WA / 90 WS / 17 JR Fresh blackberries, blackcurrants, graphite, chocolate and spearmint on the nose. Medium to full body, with sleek and well-integrated tannins. Fruity...
98 JS / 97 VM / 96 JD#73 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of France 2023#97 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of 2023 This is one of the most structured L’Ifs I have had with currants and cherries, and chalk and salt...
98 JS / 95 VM / 94+ JD / 93 DE / 93 WA #92 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of France 2023Lots of violets, blackberries, bark and iodine. Oyster shell. Full-bodied. Firm and velvety tannins with a long and satisfying...
98 JS / 95 VM / 94 JD / 94 JA / 94 DE#44 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of France 2023#62 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of 2023 So much black mushroom to the dark fruit, such as blackberries and brambleberries...
95 WI / 94 JS / 94 WA / 94 JD / 93 DE / 93 WE / 93 JA / 92 WS / 92 VM / 17 JR Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2020 Berliquet, a blend of 69% Merlot and 31% Cabernet Franc, needs a fair bit of coaxing to bring out notes of...
97 JS / 94 WE / 17 JR Wow. This has such attractively pure fruit with flinty nuances, across ripe peaches, nectarines and grapefruit. The off-dry palate has a flinty and gently smoky edge with a very fresh, concentrated...
96 VM This is the third bottle of 1945 Cheval Blanc that I have tasted, and to be frank, I have never rated it equal to vintages such as 1934, 1948 or 1949. The bouquet is a bit too loose-knit and lacks the cohesion and...
98 WA / 97 JS / 97 DE The 2018 d'Yquem is all lime cordial, grapefruit oil and mandarin peel to begin. With a little coaxing, the fireworks really begin, letting off a whole array of honeysuckle, candied ginger, dried...
99 DE / 96+ WA / 95+ VM / 95 JS / 17+ JR Lots of lean muscle converts into flavour power: pure blackcurrant and chocolate, sage, plum and espresso, all bound in a graphite tannic grip. Coming from a drier vintage, the...
100 WI / 99 JS / 99 AG / 98+ WA / 98 JA / 98 VM / 98 WS / 98 JD / 98 WE The 2019 Mouton Rothschild is a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it...
94 JD / 94 JS / 93 VM / 93 JA / 93 DE / 16 JR I continue to love this wine, and I think it's undervalued in the market. Coming from a walled vineyard near Libourne and managed by the incredible team at Cheval Blanc, the...
100 JD / 99 WA / 99 JS / 98+ WI / 98 VM / 97 JA / 97 DE / 95-97 WE / 17.5 JR #30 James Suckling Top 100 Wines of France 2022#41 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of 2022 An utterly...
96 JS / 95 WE / 94 VM / 94 WI / 93 WA / 17 JR Such pure and beautiful aromas of blackberries and black cherries with violets and red roses. So aromatic and enticing. Full-bodied with extremely integrated tannins that are...
96 JS / 95 WA / 95 DE / 95 JA / 95 WI / 94 VM / 94 WE / 93 JD / 93 WS / 17+ JR Aromas of crushed stone, blackcurrants and blackberries. Full-bodied with extremely well-crafted tannins that are chewy and layered, yet...
94+ WA / 94 JS / 94 JD / 94 DE / 94 VM / 93 WS / 93 WE#77 Jeb Dunnuck Top 100 2021 Only 1,000 magnums have been packaged with this unique, hand-numbered label, packed in especially screen-printed single...
99 JD / 98 WA / 98 JS / 95 VM Reminding me of the 2009 La Chapelle (which is a personal favorite), the brilliant 2017 Hermitage La Chapelle knocks it out of the park with its massive, opulent personality. Notes of smoked...
96 WI / 95 VM / 94+ JD / 94 DE / 94 JS Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Saint-Pierre rockets out of the glass with bombastic notes of creme de cassis, black cherry compote, and juicy black plums, plus touches of...
93 JS / 16.5 JR Plum, ripe-blackberry, tar, chocolate and walnut aromas. It’s medium-to full-bodied with sleek, round tannins and a creamy texture. Delicious. Nicely done for the vintage. Rich and layered. 100% merlot...
97-98 JS / 96-98 WA / 95-97 JD / 94-97 WS / 94-97 VM / 95 DE This is very structured and powerful with bright and electric acidity and fine-grained yet muscular tannins. Full-bodied yet compact and focused. Greatly formed...
95 BH / 95 WS Tasting note: A distinctly earthy and very ripe nose flashes notes of plum, dark currant, violet, mocha and discreet but not invisible wood. The rich, full-bodied and powerful big-bodied flavors terminate in...
100 WA / 100 JS / 100 DE / 100 WE / 99 JD / 98 VM / 19 JR #53 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of 2018 When I asked winemaker Olivier Berrouet about his greatest challenges in 2015, he replied, “Our biggest challenge...
97 WA / 97 JD Coming from the Beckstoffer Georges III vineyard, the very deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon GIII bursts forth with an outrageously spicy nose of Chinese five spice and aniseed with a core of...
94 VM / 93 JS / 93+ JD / 92 DE / 92 WS The 2017 Haut-Batailley is powerful, dark and racy. Dark cherry, gravel, smoke, menthol, licorice and spice all pulse with notable energy and tons of Cabernet Sauvignon savoriness. For...
91 VM / 90 WE (33% new French oak) Bright red. Ripe red berry, cola and mocha scents are sharpened by a suggestion of white pepper. Appealingly sweet and energetic on the palate, offering nicely concentrated raspberry...
95 RP / 95 WA / 95 VM / 18 JR The 1998 Yquem is a great success. Made in an elegant style, it is not a blockbuster such as 1990, 1989, and 1988. It is well-delineated, with wonderfully sweet aromas of creme brulee,...
100 WA / 100 DE / 100 VM / 100 JS / 100 WE / 98+ JD #55 Wine Enthusiast's Top 100 Cellar Selections of 2019 The 2016 Haut-Brion is blended of 56% Merlot, 37.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6.5% Cabernet Franc. Medium...
97 JS / 96+ WA / 96 DE / 93 VM / 93 WS So much botrytis on the nose with spice, dried mushrooms and nutmeg. Dried lemons and mangoes. Full-bodied and medium sweet with density and, at the same time, lightness. I like that...
91+ VM Full yellow-gold. Musky oak spices complicate but do not overwhelm aromas of lime and white flowers. Smooth and perfumed, offering an attractive light touch to the flavors of peach oil, clove and minerals. Doesn't...
100 WA / 100 FS / 98 VM / 97 WCI / 96 WS / 17 JR Taylor's 1992 Vintage Port is unquestionably the greatest young port I have ever tasted. It represents the essence of what vintage port can achieve. The color is an opaque...
91 WS Wonderfully rich and still holding back. Beautiful plum, toasted oak, berry and tobacco character. Firm with a full body. - Wine...
100 JS / 97 WS / 96 FS Wow. Fabulous aromas of currants, rosemary, mint and orange peel. Perfect nose. Full body with perfectly integrated tannins. Its long and incredible with tangerine, toasted-oak, berry, terracotta and...
100 JS / 100 WA / 100 JD / 99 VM / 99 DE / 98 WI / 97 WS The nose on this seems more concentrated than the 2000, and the purity of fruit is stunning, with blueberries, raspberries, fresh flowers, and hints of licorice. This...
100 VM / 100 JS / 100 WI / 99 WS / 99 JD / 98+ WA / 98 RP/ 98 JA / 19 JR The 2005 Latour was mind-blowingly profound in two recent tastings for this report. Deep and sensual to the core, the 2005 is utterly captivating...
100 RP / 100 JS / 98 WS / 97 ST / 97 WE “Administrator Frederic Engerer says the 2003 is “the sexiest Latour ever made.” He also described it as “the 1990 without any brettanomyces.” I loved...
94 RP / 93 WS / 92 VM Readers looking for a modern day version of Latour's magnificent 1962 or 1971 should check out the sensational 1999 Latour. It is a big, concentrated offering, exhibiting a dense ruby/purple color, and...
100 DE / 99+ WA / 98 VM / 98 JD Is this as good as the 1989? Certainly it is lush and powerful, lingering and expanding in the mouth with sweet tobacco and cigar box notes, along with still young blackcurrant and...
100 JS / 100 WS This is in total balance now with such harmony. What amazing aromas of berry and flowers. Full and sweet, the tannins are complete dissolved. The fruit is perfect. This goes on for minutes. Drink now. But it...
97 JD / 96 WA / 95 VM / 95 WS / 18.5 JR I loved this bottle of 1982 Cos d'Estournel, and it was easily the best bottle I’ve had of this wine...It shows classic, even youthful notes of lead pencil, currants and saddle...
96 WA / 94 WS / 18 JR Tasted at Chateau Climens. A slightly lighter colour than the 2007. The nose has a tightly-coiled bouquet of tinned apricot and orange-blossom, with a hint of tangerine in the background. The palate...
97 RP / 96 WS / 18.5 JR Space limitations preclude including tasting notes. 2003 is a rich, sweet vintage of powerful, full-bodied wines that possess huge levels of glycerin, alcohol, and residual sugar. - Robert...
93 JS Blackcurrants, chocolate and violets follow through to a full body, round and silky tannins and a flavorful finish. Beautiful merlot from old vines. Needs two or three years to soften. Drink in 2020. - James...
97 DE / 97 WA / 97 JD / 95 VM / 17.5 JR Iacopo Mori described the 2019 vintage as ‘perfect, no disease...lots of fantastic grapes,’ when he visited Decanter in December 2023. Indeed, 2019 is looking superb...
92+ WA / 90-92 VM Now included within the appellation of Marsannay, the 2021 Marsannay Le Chapitre exhibits aromas of cherries, wild berries, cinnamon, orange zest and peonies. Medium to full-bodied, ample and layered, it's...
94 WS / 93 JD Big in stature and scale, with creamy pear and pureed melon backed by stylish oak, flinty minerality and a saline beam of acidity. Decadent and rich, with the energy to keep perfect pace. Reveals dried thyme...
94 WA / 93 VM / 16.5 JR Disgorged with two grams per liter dosage, Billecart-Salmon's 2009 Extra Brut Vintage is more giving and demonstrative than its 2008 counterpart, offering up inviting aromas of crisp stone fruit,...
97 WA I love the 2021 La Vizcaína La Vitoriana, where they use the westernmost part of the vineyard with more sand in the soils, mostly north facing. It's a wine with a floral nose that is aromatic and perfumed,...
96 DE / 93 WS / 17 JR Intense violets on the nose, this is hypnotically aromatic. Very full-bodied and generous, with delicious peach fruit. Has a sense of sweet ripeness on the palate that's balanced by acidity and salty...
95 JS / 17.5 JR Fantastic nose of ginseng, dried apricots, yellow plums, brown sugar, honey, lemons and tangerine peel. Honeyed and smooth with layers of dried fruit and subtle earthy elements. Excellent balance and...
96 JD / 96 DE / 95 WA / 94+ VM A deep jeweled ruby hue, the 2021 Pinot Noir Sojeau Vineyard is lush with floral aromas of crushed flowers, raspberry coulis, a hint of blue fruit, and fresh sage. The most full-bodied wine in...
97 WE / 94 WS / 93 VM #17 Wine Enthusiast's Top 100 Cellar Selections of 2023 Following an outstanding 2020 vintage, the '21s are, remarkably, even better. Coddington is the richest in the Kumeu Chard stable. Concentrated...
96 VM / 95+ WA The 2022 Chardonnay Hunting Hill is an impressive, focused style. It has a sense of energy, being almost buoyant with the movement of a skimming stone across your palate. There's a powerful core of fruit here...
Chateau Bel Air la Royere has 22 hectares of vines. The vineyards are planted to 55% Merlot and 45% Malbec. The terroir is clay and limestone soils. They began planting more Malbec in the Chateau Bel Air la Royere vineyard...
91-94 BH / 90-93 JM Tasting note: Here too moderate reduction renders the nose difficult to assess. The relatively delicate and refined middle weight flavors possess no lack of punch that carries over to the youthfully...
96-98 WA / 96 JS / 95 WS / 17+ JR#46 James Suckling's Top 100 Spanish Wines of 2023 The more backward of the 2021s was the 2021 Finca Dofí, which was very primary and smelled almost like the fermentation...
Vines on limestone soils from the villages of Fèrebrianges, Congy, Etoges, and Sézanne. A perpetual search to express a terroir through a viticulture that is respectful of nature. Blend: 100%...
95 KO / 95 WE / 94 WA / 93 JS #71 Kerin O'Keefe Top 100 Italian Wines of 2023 Camphor, iris, spice and flinty aromas shape the nose. Elegant and linear, the lithe, fresh palate offers ripe cranberry, blood orange and star...
97 WA The 2021 Garnacha de Viña Bonita is pure Garnacha from a plot of very old vines planted in 1929 on very shallow and compact granite soils at 735 meters in altitude with north-facing exposure. It is always...
96 JS / 95 WA / 95 DE / 17 JR Striking, fresh mineral aromas, lemon peel and lemon curd with a lightly toasty edge, too. The palate is so concentrated, with powerful lemon and stony-mineral flavors. Long, dry and really...
91 BH Note: from a parcel of vines planted in 1988; the .45 ha vineyard is a monopole and the smallest 1er in Gevrey Producer note: Philippe Harmand has assumed full responsibility for this 9 ha domaine that owns the tiny...
98 JS / 96 WS / 96 DE / 96 JD / 96 VM / 95 WA / 18 JR Artist Joseph Kosuth was invited to interpret the character of the 2020 vintage for the Vendemmia d’Artista project. In addition to creating a site-specific work,...
93 VM / 92 WA / 92 FS / 91 WE The 2020 Nebbiolo d'Alba Valmaggiore is gorgeous. Crushed red berry, spice, leather, mint and rose petal all grace this exquisite, silky Valmaggiore. The aromatics alone are so beguiling, but...
98-100 JA / 97-99 WI / 97-98 JS / 96 -98 JD / 95-97+ VM / 94-96+ WA / 96 DE Intense and concentrated, with fennel, aniseed and liqourice root. Where Chapelle d'Ausone celebrates a wave of opulence in the vintage, this...
Georges Noëllat was the nephew of Charles Noëllat, who was once the proprietor of one of Vosne’s greatest domaines—a domaine who made important contributions to Domaines Jean-Jacques Confuron and...
94 WA / 93 BH As was the case in 2017, the 2020 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos Saint-Jean has turned out especially well this year. Bursting with aromas of pear, freshly baked bread, orange oil and beeswax and framed by...
95 VM / 95 DE / 95 JM The 2017 Richebourg Grand Cru has a deep, broody nose of dark berry fruit, crushed stone, espresso and touches of allspice. Aeration really benefits these aromatics and allows them to open and gain...
91-93 VM The 2020 Meursault Perrières 1er Cru is well-defined with attractive hazelnut and walnut scents combining with the citrus fruit. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, taught and fresh with...
97 WE / 96 JS / 95 VM / 94 WA The nose is dark yet polished, like a new leather jacket, with aromas of blackberry, black olive, wet stone, dirt and playful violets. The palate mixes a more pronounced, sweeter streak of...
94 JS / 93 VM / 93 WA Fresh raspberries and blackberries with smoke and asphalt. Medium-to full-bodied. Tight and focused. Creamy and very fine tannins. Give it two or three years to open but already delicious. -James...
This tiny estate is situated in the village of Morey-Saint-Denis and run by Phillipe Jouan, the fifth generation of his family to make Pinot Noir here. With only 3 hectares of vines being farmed, Henri and Philippe Jouan fly...
95 WA The 2020 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru has turned out brilliantly and ranks as the finest since 2017. Wafting from the glass with aromas of citrus oil, crisp stone fruit, white flowers, toasted almonds and light...
Vine Age: Planted in 1933, 1955, 1979, 1987, 2005 Terroir: Near Couchey, mid-slope, limestone and marl A type of limestone rock that contains a significant percentage of clay. The term marl (marne in...
92-94 JM / 16.5 JR 5 Star Wine. Two plots to the north and two to the south, vinified together, make up Quatrain. Similar lively vibrant deep purple. This has a magical heart to it, fully ripe but with zest and energy,...
98 JS / 95 WS #55 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of France 2023#73 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of 2023 Here's a giant Chateauneuf that miraculously manages to remain vibrant and uplifting in spite of the enormous...
100 JS / 98 WA / 98 WS / 98 DE / 18.5++ JR This is the second 100-point Vigna Le Rocche, following the 2015. What the former had in intensity of fruit and transparency, this has in structure and power. The purity of fruit...
2020 is a solar vintage yet the wines show a lot of freshness. The yields are low but the quality is excellent with a perfect degree of ripeness. The harvest was early in the year under scortching weather and came to an end...
92-93 JS / 90 WA / 90 JD / 90 JA / 90 DE A tight, linear red with lots of currants, salt and cloves on the nose and palate. Really spicy. Medium-bodied with firm, polished tannins and a flavorful finish. A new wine from the...
95-98 JM/ 96 DE / 95 BH Pale lemon and lime. The bouquet shows all the majesty of this vineyard without the over-ripeness which I have found in some past vintages. 29 hl/ha. Superb intensity with a measured ripeness...
92 WS 500 Cases Produced A brisk, energetic style, with densely packed flavors of lemon curd, jasmine, gooseberry and verbena coiled around a firm spine of minerals and tangy acidity. An invigorating wine, with notes of...
100 WE / 99 VM / 99 JS / 96 DE Cellar Selection. Ethereal aromas of peach nectar, apricot preserves, orange zest and candied almonds waft from the glass. Full texture and luscious flavors of caramelized pineapple, orange...
99 WA / 99 JS / 96 VM#2 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of Argentina 2022#21 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of 2022 The nose of the 2020 White Bones Chardonnay is an explosion of thyme and rockrose, aromatic, open,...
99 JD / 98 DE / 96 WCI / 96 FS / 95 VM / 16.5 JR I was blown away by the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Chaupin, a 100% Grenache release that comes almost exclusively from the Chaupin lieu-dit in the northern part of the...
96 JS / 95 JD / 94 VM / 16+ JR This youthful 2020 Chateauneuf is enormously spicy, the red fruits character coming through more prominently on the generous and precisely contoured palate. Deep fine tannins are married to a...
90 DE Initially a bit restrained on the nose, on the palate it opens to show no lack of substance and structure, with subtle, waxy aromas of ripe apple touched with honey. From just over 0.25ha in the lieu-dit Les...
98 JS / 96 WA / 96 DE#11 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of Australia 2021 A pristine nose of ripe and intense blackberries, blueberries and redcurrants, as well as some sanguine, rust-like notes. This is an excellent...
99 TA / 98 WA / 97 JS / 97 VM / 96+ WI / 96 DE / 96 JA / 95 WE#62 Wine Enthusiast's Top 100 Cellar Selections of 2023#6 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of Argentina 2022 The 2019 Cheval des Andes, a blend of 50% Malbec...
98 JS / 98 JA / 98 WI / 98 WS / 97 WA / 97 VM / 97 DE This has a complex array of blackberries, black cherries, cocoa, dried herbs, slate, tobacco, olives and charred bark. Some dried roses and iodine, too. Medium-to...