Vinous (95-97)

The 2021 Vosne-Romanée Aux Malconsorts 1er Cru has a little more fruit intensity on the nose; it is slightly darker by direct comparison. Fine delineation, quite bold in the context of the vintage. The palate is very intense, fine acidity, very sensual with just a hint of dark chocolate and black truffle shavings on the finish. Wonderful.

Vinous - Neal Martin (97)

Now in bottle, the 2022 Vosne-Romanée Aux Malconsorts 1er Cru has a gorgeous bouquet with ebullient red cherry, wild strawberry and crushed stone scents. Hints of wilted rose petals emerge with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine balance and filigree tannins. It's very harmonious with a bravura finish. What a superb Malconsorts this will be.

Vinous (94-96)

The 2019 Vosne-Romanée Les Beaux Monts 1er Cru has a perfumed and enticing bouquet with brambly black fruit, black truffle and Earl Grey aromas gently wafting from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannins. The whole bunch influence is discrete here but lends an attractive white pepper and clove note towards the finish that fans out wonderful whilst maintaining freshness and tension. Just outflanked by the Aux Malconsorts, nevertheless, this is a brilliant Les Beaux Monts.

Jeb Dunnuck (95-97)

Coming from pure granite soils of the Patou lieu-dit, the 2019 Cornas Patou is another brilliant wine in the making from this small family estate. Revealing a dense purple hue as well as awesome black and blue fruits, ground pepper, beef blood, and spring flower-like aromatics, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a deep, layered mid-palate, building yet ripe tannins, and a monster of a finish. It might need a decade to hit maturity, but it’s a phenomenal Cornas that will evolve for 20-30 years.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (96)

The 2021 Chardonnay DuMOL Estate Vineyard is a powerful, phenolic, driving wine. Sage, crushed rocks, lemon peel, mint, white pepper and dried herbs infuse the Estate with tremendous complexity. High-density plantings of Mount Eden clone Chardonnay on this site yield a wine of tremendous distinctiveness and vibrancy.

The Wine Independent (99)

The 2021 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard needs quite a bit of coaxing to unlock notes of ripe yellow apples, grapefruit oil, orange peel, and juicy peaches, leading to wafts of wet slate, shaved ginger, and almond croissant. The medium-bodied palate has super-charged intensity, delivering layer upon layer of citrus, stone fruit, and mineral flavors with a silky texture and laser-precise acidity, finishing with incredible length and so many citrus and mineral sparks. This is phenomenal Chardonnay! These Hyde Vineyard vines were planted in 1986. "Hyde were the first to do custom growing and they do it so well," commented DuMOL's winemaker, Andy Smith. "The shoot growth in 2021 was very low and the yields were down from a typical 21 barrels to 17 barrels. But I believe this is the best quality is the best they've ever had from here." I agree. For number crunchers, the pH is 3.38, and ABV is 13.7%.

Jeb Dunnuck (98)

The upper third of the Hyde Vineyard goes into this bottling and the lower part goes into the HHS. The nose of the 2022 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard is spectacular, with notes of honeycomb, fresh pear, white flowers, and honeyed lemon. The palate offers incredible texture and vibrant fresh acidity, with an elegant feel and a long, long finish. A mouthwatering white, it’s going to be worth laying down and checking in on in a few years. Drink 2026-2038. 22 barrels produced.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (97)

Rich, heady and explosive, the 2024 Pinot Noir MacIntyre Estate is one of the highlights in this range. The purity of fruit here is just captivating. Dark red/blue fruit, rose petal, lavender, new leather and blood orange stain the palate. Unctuous and heady but not at all overdone, the 2024 is magnificent.

The Wine Independent (97)

Medium to deep ruby-purple in color, the 2022 Pinot Noir Estate Vineyard comes barreling out with bold notes of fresh blackberries and black cherries opening out to suggestions of anise, garrigue, and lilacs. The medium-bodied palate reveals impactful black berry flavors with wonderfully spicy accents supported by grainy tannins and great tension, finishing long with a minerally lift. This is an all Calera vineyard.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

Sixty percent of the 2022 Pinot Noir Finn comes from the Bressay Vineyard with Calera selection and the rest from old vines on Occidental Road, with unknown plant material (planted with eight or so clones) that they pick all at one time, which adds a lot of complexity to this wine. It opens to complex and layered aromas of kirsch, fresh violets, sweet tobacco, and mossy earth, followed on the palate by a complete wine with velvety tannins and harmonious acidity, everything coming together seamlessly. A stunning wine, it’s one of the best wines of the vintage. It’s going to be hard to hold in the cellar, but it will be worth it. Drink 2024-2050.

Greg Sherwood MW (96+)

After a bit of vintage shuffling, last years 2015 blockbuster was the last Savage Red blend to be bottled, reverting in 2017 to a pure 100% Syrah wine made from vines grown exclusively on granitic soils in both Stellenbosch and the Swartland. Farmed biodynamically, the Stellenbosch vineyard fruit makes up the lion’s share of this wine and indeed will comprise 100% of the Savage Red in 2018. The grapes spend two weeks on their skins with 50% whole-bunches used before spending 13 months in 500 litre barrels and a further 9 months in 3,200 litre conical foudre, or just under two years elevage in the cellar. A super smart and super concentrated expression, this later release allows one to revisit the fabulously complex aromatics and balance of the exceptional 2017 vintage. Loaded with piquant blueberries, saline cassis and blackberry opulence, the nose shows strikingly complex notes of pink musk, sweet grilled herbs, black peppercorn spice and is embellished with an intoxicating exotic sweet white lily blossom fragrance. The palate intensity is also tremendously impressive with a harmonious crystalline purity and classical elegance in abundance. Showing a slightly more overt, opulent personality to the broody foursquare 2015, this wine represents an evolution and growing maturity in the red winemaking of Duncan Savage. One of his best efforts to date no doubt.

Greg Sherwood MW (95+)

In 2017 the Savage Proprietary Red became a pure 100% Syrah wine and from 2018, the fruit was exclusively sourced in Stellenbosch from vineyards grown on decomposed granite soils in the Polkadraai Hills from organically farmed grapes. Always released a year behind the rest of the Savage range, this 2019 is a dense, dark, potent red from a powerful, concentrated, minerally focused vintage. On the nose the aromatics are marked by intense notes of earthy red and black berry fruits, inky saline notes of black cherries, pink musk, savoury cured meat nuances, black olives and a sappy cedary wood spice complexity. With 70% of whole clusters used in the fermentation, the palate shows pronounced chalky mineral tannins but also vibrantly fresh crunchy acids from the granitic soils. Raspberries and blueberries surge to the fore on this dense, powerfully structured wine, gaining in richness and intensity as the wine slowly unfurls in the glass. Like some of the greatest expression of Syrah in Cote Rotie, this wine shows a focused prowess and concentration together with an opulent richness framed by an underlying stony minerality. A wine with undeniable focus and structure but also a surfeit of seductive charm. Drink from 2022 to 2035+.

Tim Atkin MW (96)

The Savage Red is now a varietal Syrah from a vineyard on decomposed granite in Kuils River, right next door to the Polkadraai Hills. Peppery, pure and intense, with no new oak to occlude the flavours, lots of plum and blackberry fruit, detailed tannins and a stony, refreshing finish. Brilliant winemaking.

Tim Atkin MW (96)

Duncan Savage is a fan of the "purity and elegance" of the 2023 vintage, comparing it to 2017 and 2021. His eponymous red is now a delicious, pure Syrah from the Langverwagt farm in Kuils River on the edge of Stellenbosch, showing aromas of tobacco leaf, incense and clove, spicy 50% whole bunches and a core of blackberry, plum and tapenade.

Vinous (93)

The 2019 White Savage is hand-sorted before being processed into Nomblot concrete tanks for alcoholic fermentation; 30% of the grapes are left whole bunch. It has an intense nose, not overt fruit but rather scents of wet wool, candle wax and lanolin, all beautifully defined. The palate is very well balanced with crisp acidity, a slightly waxy texture and touches of cereal and grilled hazelnut toward the persistent finish. It is not a wine for every palate, but those who like it will love it.

James Suckling (96-97)

This is a crazy wine. Everything was done by hand, without electricity, because it was made in seven-hectoliter amphora. The grapes were hand-sorted. It’s full-bodied with tannins that are integrated so well into the wine, which gives it tension and freshness. Blackberries. Lavender. 10 hectoliters. Best Dufort ever?

Scoring double 96 points from the Wine Advocate's William Kelley and Decanter alongside double 95 points from Jane Anson of Inside Bordeaux and Vinous's Antonio Galloni, this blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot wowed Hindle so much that she 'immediately wanted another glass'. The palate is 'deep and concentrated' (WA) but with this being countered by 'so much clarity and freshness' (DC), it is 'hard not to be impressed by the balance on display here' (JA). A Margaux with serious agebility, this 2019 vintage has a drinking window up to 2065.

 

This Durfort-Vivens 2019 really is a 'brilliant Margaux' (WA). As William Kelley states, 'anyone who isn’t aware of just how good Gonzague Lurton’s wines are these days should taste a bottle' of this.

Wine Enthusiast (97)

In this wine, the tannins are velvety, with black fruits that are immensely concentrated. The texture and powerful tannins provide superb foils for the fruit. Drink from 2027. Organic and biodynamic.

Elevate your wine collection with the Durfort-Vivens Blanc de Noir 2022, a striking expression from the acclaimed Château Durfort-Vivens estate in Margaux, Bordeaux. This unique Blanc de Noir embodies the commitment to biodynamic viticulture by the Lurton family, with the bold yet elegant blend of Merlot and Cabernet derived entirely from dark-skinned grapes.

Beneath the sapphire skies of 2022, these grapes were meticulously harvested and barrel fermented, developing an opulent profile brimming with notes of dark berry, velvety tannins, and a whisper of exotic spice. The Durfort-Vivens Blanc de Noir 2022 is not just a wine; it encapsulates the rich history of Bordeaux, a testament to the estate's 19th-century origins and its unwavering dedication to produce world-class wines. Relish in the allure of this limited edition vintage, a treasure amongst wine connoisseurs.

James Suckling (97)

Smelling this great Chateauneuf is like gazing into a deep chasm. Amazing complexity with aromas ranging from black raspberries through to candied orange, but also notes of raw meat and licorice. Super-concentrated, super-structured, but also more elegant than a wine built on this monumental scale can theoretically be. Extremely long, complete finish. A cuvee of 80% grenache, 10% syrah and 10% mourvedre. Drinkable now, but best from 2025.

Vinous (95)

The 2016 Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaut Saint-Jacques 1er Cru has certainly stepped up in intensity since I last tasted it. Redcurrant, cranberry, juniper berries and just a touch of mint, fine delineation with fine focus. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins, perfectly judged acidity, a touch of allspice and white pepper, fanning out gloriously on the expansive finish. Time to raise my previous score. Tasted at Domaine Duroché.

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (90-91)

10 plots representing three of their 8.5ha. Deep purple with a lighter rim. A darker, denser fruit, less explosive than the Bourgogne. A few blackcurrants and bilberries, not quite squeezed till the pips squeak but you can see how this will become tighter later on. Two-thirds made in barrel, one third in eggs. Drink from 2028-2033. Tasted Nov 2024.

Vinous - Neal Martin (90-92)

The 2023 Gevrey-Chambertin Champ clearly has more fruit intensity than the regular village cuvée. It contains finely delineated raspberry, wild strawberry and crushed stone aromas. The palate is medium-bodied, taut and focused with lace-like tannins, plenty of salinity and an airy yet lengthy finish. This is one of Duroché's best entry-level cuvées.

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (91-93)

4 barrels were made from three quarters of a hectare, equating to 12 hl/ha. Another fine ruby colour. The nose is more flamboyant than for the straight Gevrey, red fruit with a floral edge. Delicious though on the palate with fair intensity in a lifted cherry raspberry style with excellent persistence. Drink from 2025-2030.

Vinous - Neal Martin (91)

Bottled mid-December, the 2023 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Jeunes Rois, from vines planted in 1953, is 100% de-stemmed using a pied de cuve at the start of fermentation. The nose has kicked in nicely since I tasted it from barrel. Plump red cherries and blackcurrant scents seem to have developed a little more va-va-voom. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, very pure and silky in style, just a touch of sour cherry imparting tension. With fine persistence towards the finish, this is a delightful "young king."

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (88)

The 2019 Dutruch Grand Poujeaux is an attractive wine to enjoy over the next handful of years. There is a good bit of energy to the blue/purplish fruit, lavender and spice flavors. All this needs is more mid-palate depth. As things stand, the 2019 feels a bit severe, despite its obvious charms.

The Duval Leroy Femme de Champagne Grand Cru 2002 is an exceptional indulgence for the discerning wine connoisseur. Originating from the renowned French champagne house of Duval Leroy, this prestige cuvée is meticulously crafted from the finest Grand Cru vineyards. Developing over a decade, its assembly encompasses 95% Chardonnay and 5% Pinot Noir grapes, infusing exquisite complexity.

This vintage Champagne is revered for its impressive finesse and delicate effervescence. The palate vaunts ripe, sun-drenched fruits, subtle brioche nuances, and a refined minerality that exudes elegance. Aging in chalk cellars imparts an unrivalled depth of flavour and creamy, persistent finish.

As a testament to its superior quality, Duval Leroy Femme de Champagne Grand Cru 2002 has clinched prestigious global accolades, firmly establishing its place among the finest champagnes. Toast your special occasions with this hallmark of luxury, promising a taste of ultimate sophistication.