Vinous (90-92)

The 2020 Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Blanc "Montage 382" (previously Elevation 382), matured in 20% new oak with some bâtonnage, is lively on the nose, just a scintilla of menthol here, nicely defined, quite complex compared to its peers. The palate is fresh and vibrant, a fine bead of acidity (pH 3.15) swatting away its core of richness so that it feels powerful, yet effortless and tensile. Superb

Immerse yourself in the splendour of the Domaine de Bellene Beaune Blanches Fleurs 2018. Crafted in the vineyards of Beaune, in the heart of Burgundy's wine country, France, this expression of taste and sophistication is the brainchild of famed vigneron, Nicolas Potel. This Domaine, renown for its traditional biodynamic methods, comprises old vines, averaging 60 years, assuring a remarkable depth of flavour.

The 2018 vintage exhibits an exquisite articulation of classic Burgundy, characterised by its full-bodied, refined fruit concentration, balanced by a lively acidic structure. The Domaine de Bellene Beaune Blanches Fleurs 2018 seduces with an aromatic nose of white peach and acacia complemented by a delicate touch of oak. The palate unfolds with stirring layers of citrus and stone fruit, underpinned by balanced minerality, culminating in an impressively long finish.

Sourced at the peak of maturity, the hand-picked chardonnay grapes were pressed immediately preserving their vibrancy and elegance. A true testament to Bellene's commitment to quality and expression of terroir.

Jeb Dunnuck (95)

The 2022 Domaine De Cambes is stunning stuff, exhibiting a deep ruby/purple hue as well as killer notes of blackcurrants, graphite, crushed stone, and smoky oak. Medium to full-bodied and concentrated on the palate, with serious depth and elegance, it has the depth and the structure to age beautifully 20+ years.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (96)

The 2014 Domaine de Chevalier is a total knockout. Precise, brilliant and finely sculpted, the 2014 possesses superb intensity. Freshly cut flowers, mint and sweet red berries, along with finessed but persistent tannins, give the wine its regal personality. The 2014 needs a number of years to shed some baby fat and develop the full breadth of its aromatics, but it is a fabulous wine by any measure. The 2014 is 65 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 % Merlot and 5 % Petit Verdot that spent approximately 35 days on the skins. Olivier Bernard noted that the Merlots were brought in between October 10 and 17, which is quite late by the domaine's standards. Tasted two times.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (97)

One of the stars of the vintage, the 2015 Domaine de Chevalier has turned out even better than I expected. Bright floral notes give striking aromatic lift to the rich, sumptuous fruit. A marvelously complete wine, the 2015 is racy and silky on the palate, yet also has tremendous freshness. Bright red cherry, blood orange, white pepper, spice and dried flowers build into the super-expressive finish. The 2015 has been nothing less than stunning the three times I have tasted it so far. This is a tremendous showing from proprietor Olivier Bernard and his team. The blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. Tasted three times.

Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux (97)

This is fabulous, exactly what you're looking for from a Chevalier in a year like 2016. Built, muscular but graceful and toned, full of Left Bank slate, cassis, cocoa bean and cigar box. In its drinking window but with plenty of life ahead. Carafe because those tannins are already, even at 10 years old, beginning to throw a deposit.

Jeb Dunnuck (94-97)

Tasted no less than four times, the 2017 Domaine de Chevalier is going to be up with the crème de la crème of the vintage. Based on 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot aging in 35% new French oak, its deep purple color is followed by an incredibly classic bouquet of crème de cassis, crushed rock, pipe tobacco, smoked earth, and leafy herbs. Similar in style to the 2008, yet with more generosity and charm, it’s medium to full-bodied, silky, and elegant, with ripe tannin. Give it a few years and enjoy over the following two decades or more.

James Suckling (99)

The intensity and perfumes on the nose are extremely impressive, offering pure blackberries and violets, as well as bark, wild-mushroom and raw-tile notes. It’s full-bodied with creamy tannins that envelop the wine and a gorgeous, subtly complex center palate with all the flavors found on the nose. Endless finish. Love the finesse and length to this. Greatest ever. 65% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot and 5% petit verdot. Try after 2026.

Vinous - Neal Martin (97)

The 2019 Domaine de Chevalier has a precise and complex bouquet with blackberry, cedar and tobacco scents, quite Médoc-like in style. This is thoroughly engaging. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, exquisitely integrated oak, fleshy and fine-boned with a precise finish. This is outstanding. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.

Jeb Dunnuck (98+)

The Grand Vin 2020 Domaine De Chevalier ratchets everything up another notch and will be one of the legendary wines from this address. Notes of pure cassis, graphite, lead pencil, and scorched earth define its incredible aromatics, and it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, ultra-fine tannins, no hard edges, and a great, great finish. This is pure, classic, regal Pessac-Léognan is as good as anything in the vintage. Give bottles 4-6 years and it will evolve for 50, 60, 70+ years. I absolutely love this wine. The blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, and the rest Cabernet Franc.

James Suckling (95-96)

A medium-bodied DC with a pretty core of ripe fruit that shows licorice, blackberry and some currant character. Spice box, too. Very long, with fine tannins and plenty of energy.

Jeb Dunnuck (98)

Tasted on multiple occasions, the 2022 Domaine De Chevalier is beautiful, with a 2009-like style in its spicy red and black fruits, tobacco, new leather, and graphite-driven aromas and flavors. These carry to a medium to full-bodied Chevalier that has a supple, layered mouthfeel, beautifully polished tannins, and just about flawless balance. It's not massive or over the top in any way and excels on its balance and complexity. Based on 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, drink this seamless, sexy, already approachable 2022 over the coming 30-40 years.

Wine Advocate (96)

The 2023 Domaine de Chevalier has turned out beautifully in bottle, offering aromas of sweet cherries, dark wild berries, licorice, mulberries and peony. Medium- to full-bodied, it is rich yet supple, layered and textured, framed by powdery tannins and concluding with a long, precise and perfumed finish. A blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc, it should gain an additional dimension of depth and complexity with time in the cellar.

James Suckling (98)

This is really powerful and structured with superb muscle and phenolic tension. Yet, it’s formed and polished, layered and dense. Full-bodied, but energetic and focused. Vibrant acidity. Goes on for minutes. Citrus, stone, straw, salt and chalk. Incredible. Try after 2023.

James Suckling (97-98)

This is dense and very structured with phenolic tension and depth. Full-bodied, lightly phenolic with sliced apples, cooked pears and lemons. Lively and intense. Solid as a rock. This is one to watch.

James Suckling (98-99)

This is always an impressive white, with a lengthy, layered and compact palate. Lots of dried lemon, clove, fennel, green-apple and cedar. Flint and toast, too. Medium to full body. Very long. 70% sauvignon blanc and 30% semillon.

James Suckling (99)

Very complex aromas of pears, persimmons, honey and cooked apples. Mineral undertones. Always subtle and multidimensional. Full-bodied with a tight and dense middle palate that gives a superb mouthfeel. It's lively and flavorful at the end but in a reserved way. Just a hint of bitter lemon and lilac. I really want to drink this, but give it three or four years to reach the right place.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (91+)

The 2017 Domaine de l'A is a gorgeous, but also embryonic wine from Stéphane and Christiane Derenoncourt. I have seen Domaine de l'A blossom with time, but it is also a wine that requires a bit of patience. I suspect that will be the case here as well. Time in the glass brings out striking purity in the wine's dark, layered fruit, and yet the best is clearly yet to come. The 2017 was vinified and aged in French oak, about 40% new.

Decanter (95)

At this family-owned, 26ha estate, seventh generation Alexis Depardon, at just 22, is gradually assuming charge of the domaine’s operations, currently overseeing the 3ha of Côte de Py in Morgon. He has a focus on terroir expression inherited from his parents. This cuvée is sourced from a rocky plot with blue schist soil. Rosemary George MW: Fresh red fruit aromas, and fresh on the palate with fruit and acidity in balance. Good weight and concentration. Andy Howard MW: Rounded and appealing style, lovely weight of dark berry and cherry fruit on the palate. Oak is subtle and well integrated. Freshness on the finish with acidity and a hint of graphite coming through. Fine, elegant Morgon. Dominique Vrigneau: Fresh on nose. Nice vibrant fruit in the mouth. Long clean finish and good balance. Pretty. Drinking Window 2021 - 2028

Jeb Dunnuck (94)

I loved the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape from this brilliant team, and it should be snatched up by readers looking for a classic, impeccably made Châteauneuf du Pape to drink over the coming decade or more. Ripe black cherries, blackberries, Provençal garrigue, pepper, and Southern France street market-like nuances all emerge on the nose, and it's medium to full-bodied, with a seamless, elegant texture, ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. Don't miss it. The blend is 70% Grenache and 15% each of Syrah and Mourvèdre.

Wine Advocate (96-98)

A prodigious effort, the 2016 Chateauneuf du Pape Les Hautes Brusquieres Cuvee Speciale was yet to be bottled during my June visit. It offers up sweet floral aromas, hints of thyme and rosemary and bold cherry fruit. Full-bodied and creamy-velvety in texture, it's a hugely seductive mouthful of wine that I found difficult to spit. If it emerges from the bottling process looking like this, buyers will have huge smiles on their faces.

Wine Advocate (96-98)

Superbly concentrated, the 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape Les Hautes Brusquieres Cuvee Speciale takes floral and tea-like complexities and layers them delicately over crisp raspberries and stone fruits. A blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah, it's full-bodied, velvety and long, with an attractive briny note on the finish.

Jeb Dunnuck (97)

The 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Cuvée Les Hautes Brusquières (60/40 Grenache and Syrah) comes from a cooler terroir near the Mount Redon plateau and was brought up in oak tronconique tanks and demi-muids. Its dense purple, almost opaque hue is followed by a brilliant perfume of mulled red and black fruits, peppery herbs, crushed stone, violets, and licorice. With full-bodied richness, a layered, multi-dimensional texture, and just about perfect tannins, it's another superstar wine from this estate that's up with the finest vintages to date.

Wine Advocate (96-98+)

Verging on surmaturité, the 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Vieilles Vignes turns the volume up to 11, yet I couldn't help but be captivated by its nuance at the same time. Immensely concentrated raspberries, cherries and a hint of dark chocolate emerge on the nose of this blend of 90% Grenache and 10% Mourvèdre, joined by hints of Asian five spice and salted licorice. From the lieux-dits of la Crau (sud) and Cristia, it's full-bodied and hugely powerful (16% alcohol), yet it retains a sense of freshness and elegance on the long, silky-textured finish. Wow!

Jeb Dunnuck (94-96+)

The quality of the Cuvée Vieilles Vignes has soared over the past 4-5 years, and while older vintages has a touch of austerity and rusticity, new releases show more balance, polished tannins, and finesse, while still showing classic old vine Grenache power. The 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape Cuvée Vieilles Vignes (90/10 Grenache and Mourvèdre) boasts a deep purple color to go with full-bodied richness, building tannins, lots of cassis and black raspberry fruit, and complex notes of garrigue, pepper, and violets. I’d put this up with the top wines in the vintage.

Jeb Dunnuck (97)

The 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Cuvée Vieilles Vignes (90% Grenache and 10% Mourvèdre) comes all from the stony, pebbly soils of La Crau and was brought up in tank and demi-muids. Ripe black cherry fruits, iodine, ground pepper, and bloody, meaty nuances all emerge on the nose, and it's full-bodied, with a seamless, multi-dimensional texture, ultra-fine tannins, and a rock star of a finish. It's just a brilliant, elegant, pure, lengthy wine that does everything right. Drink this classic, traditional, structured wine over the coming two decades.

Decanter (95)

The 2023 Clos de la Commaraine aromas are deep and rich, with notes of plum and blackberry, hints of earth and leather and a light floral note at the end. The texture is firm, tannic and dense, but not unyielding. The grapes are from a 3.63ha monopole clos. Farming and vinification are done parcel by parcel; the new owners, Denise Dupré and Mark Nunnelly, have hired Paul Krug as régisseur, who has undertaken the work of budding over inferior clonal selections with massal selection from vines planted in 1957.

Vinous (100)

The 2005 La Tâche is simply magnificent. There is not too much I can add. Deep, powerful and richly textured, the 2005 simply has it all. Time in the glass releases the aromatics, but it is the wine’s pure sensuality I find most enticing. A host of dark red and blue stone fruits, hard candy and wild flowers take center stage. Even with all of its intensity, the 2005 retains striking freshness and purity. Can it get better than this?