Wine Enthusiast (96)

Iris, rose and baking spice aromas take center stage on this beautiful red. It's young and tight but already delicious, featuring ripe red cherry, star anise and ground clove set against a backbone of bright acidity and noble tannins. It will age well for years. Drink 2029–2039.

Vinous (91-93)

The 2019 Clos de Vougeot Le Grand Maupertui Grand Cru has a fragrant bouquet, maybe a little more compact than the Echézeaux. The grippy palate is medium-bodied and muscular compared to the Echézeaux, with dark berry fruit, touches of pain d’épices and a slightly savory finish. This will need time.

Vinous (92)

The 2019 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Badia a Passignano is packed with inky dark fruit, chocolate, spice, leather and incense. Opulent and flamboyant to the core, the 2019 speaks in a loud, brash voice. There's a ton of richness, but less in the way of finesse. After many years of tasting this wine, I have to conclude the Badia is never going to be a particularly refined Chianti Classico. It's just not in its DNA.

The Wine Independent (100)

The 2018 Ausone is deep garnet purple in color. There is oak to begin, giving way to a great core of baked black plums, chocolate-covered cherries, licorice, and incense, plus Indian spices and violets. Full-bodied, it is rich, concentrated, and decadent in the mouth, with a fantastic backbone of freshness and velvety tannins, finishing very long and layered.

Decanter (97)

Vibrant and intense colour in the glass, richly scented, floral and perfumed, open and inviting. Intense and concentrated, the fruit is dark and ripe but there’s no hint of over ripeness here and instead you get cool blue fruits, chalky tannins and minty freshness with accents of liquorice, coffee, tobacco, cedar spice and clove. Tannins are clearly at the fore, giving the structure and the frame while the juicy acidity gives the energy and life. Still on the serious side, not tense so much as there’s good persistence, it’s lean and streamlined, but refined in a spiced and mineral way. Gorgeous terroir markers, lovely detail and precision, you can feel they haven't worked too much or tried too hard. It carries the signature of the estate in the serious structure, it’s a big wine, there’s such power here but so well controlled and delivered. Razor sharp, focussed and persistent. A gorgeous 2022, well executed and will be a clear success.

James Suckling (99)

A stunning wine. This is the best Testamatta ever made. Fascinating aromas of red fruits, tea, bark and wet soil as well as fresh leather. Full body, silky tannins and a juicy finish. I love the tension and texture of this great red. So gorgeous to taste now but better in 2021.

Matthew Jukes (20++)

Made from 100% Chardonnay and coming from Chouilly (40%), Cramant (33%), Mesnil-sur-Oger (22%) and Avize (7%), with one-third fermented and aged in old oak barrels and a dosage of 7 g/L, this is becoming a relatively familiar recipe for this elite House and yet there is nothing familiar about the flavour of this epic new release. Billecart-Salmon’s elite Blanc de Blancs is named after Louis, the brother of Elisabeth Salmon, who co-founded this illustrious Champagne house over two centuries ago with her husband, Nicolas François Billecart. This is the third release of Louis, and it is, again, completely different in shape and size to the beautiful 2006 (19/20) and crystalline 2007 (19.5/20). The oak was enhanced from 5% in the 2006 vintage to 50% in the 2007 and now it has been knocked back a touch, and this certainly serves to enhance the splendour of the sensational 2008 vintage fruit. I didn’t note that Avize fruit was used in the 2007, but I think it was in the 2006. Either way, I am confident that this tinkering around the edges has heightened the attack of this incredible wine. The delivery here is something to behold. It is clear from the nose that this wine is made with a horologist’s precision, and while everything starts quietly, there is an uncommon determination here that keeps on coming, leaving you panting with pleasure. On the palate, 2008 Louis perfectly balances extreme tension and white-knuckle drama with the most enchanting and serene jasmine, white tea, and linden blossom notes. It seems mesmerisingly composed from one side of the glass and hellbent on rearranging your taste buds via a national grid-sized electric shock from the other. I am not suggesting that this wine is too young to approach now because, at fourteen years of age, you can drink it, just be aware that this might be one of the wines with the most potential I have ever tasted from this incredible estate. As always with Billecart, the bubbles are minuscule, and the colour is as pale as can be, so there are no particular visual clues as to the greatness in the glass, but once the perfume takes hold and it pulls you to the glass, you are entirely within its control. I venture that Blanc de Blancs fans will go gaga when they taste this wine. It further improves on the magnificence of the two preceding vintages, and whether or not this is to do with the oak regime or the exact percentage of fruit drawn from each of the Grands Crus villages, I don’t know. However, I am certain that 2008 is a jaw-droppingly serious vintage and eclipses both 2006 and 2007 in terms of sheer class. Therefore, even at this early age, I am convinced that this is the birth of another perfect wine from Billecart-Salmon, and it is certainly the finest value 20/20 from this magnificent House, too.

Vinous (96)

The 2019 Sauvignon Blanc Abstract Three Rows is a pure and sophisticated wine from, true to its name, three rows of a dry farmed parcel. It is bright and tangy yet savory. The fruit is pure and delicate, like a cloud. It is transparent and yet expansive in the mouth, having no heaviness. Light honey, nectarine, musky boxwood and oatmeal flavors abound with a light creamy character. Sensitive Sauvignon.

James Suckling (99)

Complex aromas of pie crust, iron, chalk and hints of sweet strawberries. Some ginseng. Full-bodied with very fine bubbles that give it tension and focus. Extremely fine and polished tannins that go on and on. Dried lemons and oranges. Chalk at the end. Hints of bitterness in the finish with subtle botanicals. Made from a single vineyard monopole of pure pinot noir. Drink now.

Richard Juhlin (98-99)

Tasted prerelease with Denis Bunner when he just decided to add 6 grams of sugar. I have never tasted such a freshly disgorged VVF before and was really surprised by its bright color and lively character. Even more, I was surprised by its aromatic spectrum which in many parts reminded me of Coche-Dury's most beautiful creations from Meursault. This VVF shared its high-intensity petroleum bouquet and a really ultra-strong grilled, nutty and powdery aroma. Imagine that a pure Pinot Noir can remind you so much of Chardonnay. Added to this enormous bouquet is a fabulous freshness and pure fresh fruit where floral, yes almost citrus notes dance together with the grilled notes. A different and absolutely fantastic VVF that may become more classic from a purely stylistic perspective over time, but today it stands out as both fantastic and personally unique.

Vinous (90-92)

The 2020 Santenay Clos Rousseau 1er Cru includes one-third whole cluster. It has a well defined, but more introverted bouquet than the Village Cru, touches of sous-bois and tobacco. This just needs time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannins, again, very smooth and velvety in texture, very finely judged acidity with a sapid finish. Great potential.

Vinous (98)

The 2018 Sammarco is brilliant. Bright and explosive, with tons of linear drive, the 2018 is exceptionally polished. Cabernet Sauvignon is up to 80% of the blend, and that very much comes through in a wine endowed with tremendous purity. Blue/purplish fruit, lavender, sage, mint and blood orange all race across the palate. I love the freshness here.

Decanter (97)

The 2016 vintage is a classic example, a superb blend of Cabernet Sauvignon with 31% Malbec and 8% Cabernet Franc that’s still in its infancy. Subdued aromas of cassis, black cherries and nuanced herbaceous and tobacco notes. A lovely fluid entrance builds on concentration and complexity. Malbec’s seductive juiciness joins a vertical Cabernet structure, tannins and integrated oak, with a long, lingering finish. A wine to wait for.

Vinous (95)

Opaque ruby. A powerfully scented bouquet displays mineral-accented boysenberry and Chambord scents complemented by suggestions of pungent flowers, Indian spices and incense. Intense red/blue fruit preserve, cherry cola and fruitcake flavors show superb definition and silky texture. Comes off graceful despite its depth and finishes on a repeating floral note, displaying outstanding persistence and bright, mineral lift.

Wine Advocate (92)

The 2017 Auxey-Duresses is a terrific bottle in the making, unwinding in the glass with a deep bouquet of dark wild berries, woodsmoke, incense and rich soil tones. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, ample and nicely concentrated, with a fleshy core of fruit, powdery tannins and succulent acids.

Tim Atkin MW (94)

At 13,000 bottles, Aristargos is one of the larger production whites in David and Nadia Sadie's portfolio. Based on Chenin Blanc, with the remaining 53% made up of Semillon, Verdelho, Clairette Blanche, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Colombard and Viognier, it's a layered, mealy, waxy cuvée with subtle skin contact bitterness, racy acidity and pear, quince and lemongrass flavours. 2023-29

Tim Atkin MW (97)

Hoë-Steen deserves its reputation as one of the Cape's greatest Chenin Blancs. Picked late from a south-facing, two-hectare planted on red clay soils in 1968, it's a dense, broad yet effortlessly focused white, with fennel and wild herb aromas, wonderful purity and a tapering, textured finish. 2024-30

Tim Atkin MW (98)

One of those wines that makes you want to burst into joyful song, Plat'bos hails from a 3.8-hectare vineyard planted in 1981 on decomposed granite and produces 1,400 bottles for the whole world. Early picked in a warmer, north-west facing site, this is counter-intuitively fresh and chiselled, shimmering with minerality, freshness, energy and drive. Mouthwateringly intense. 2024-32

Tim Atkin MW (95)

As vineyards go, Rondevlei sounds relatively unexciting - it's a flat, 1.7-hectare parcel on red sand, but the wine it produces is thrilling. Made with five different components, it’s what David Sadie calls a "salt-driven" Chenin Blanc, with a noticeably maritime influence. Sappy and slightly ferrous, it has notes of kelp and citrus and a focused, tangy, engaging finish. 2024-29

Tim Atkin MW (96)

Late picked from a parcel on shale and clay soils, Skaliekop is the richest and most exotic of David and Nadia Sadie's brilliant range of single vineyard Chenin Blancs. Showing some of the concentration of the 2022 vintage, it has layers of pear and stone fruit and the underlying freshness and minerality that are typical of the couple's wines. 2024-30

Tim Atkin MW (94)

This is the biggest production Chenin Blanc from David and Nadia Sadie, sourced from eight different old-vine parcels and now amounting to 16,000 bottles. Granite-based with other components on shale, clay and limestone, it's a nuanced, effortlessly balanced white with notes of aniseed, oatmeal, wet stone and pithy citrus and yellow apple fruit. 2024-29

Vinous (93-95)

The 2018 Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux Saint-Jacques 1er Cru is completely de-stemmed and raised in 70% new oak. It has a very well-defined bouquet of raspberry and wild strawberry scents, plus pressed rose petal and a touch of orange pith. The palate is very well defined with supple tannins, a perfect line of acidity and a slight confit-like finish. Understated and refined, this will give two decades of drinking pleasure.