Vinous - Neal Martin (98)

I have been fortunate to taste and drink the 2015 La Tâche on multiple occasions, and it has never been anything less than profound. Bright and beautifully focused with tremendous purity of fruit, the 2015 is so dynamic, so compelling. Is it ready to drink? Not for readers who enjoy fully mature Burgundies. But there is something thrilling about catching a wine like this in its youth, when it is still so vibrant and fresh.

Burghound (99)

This is unusually cool and airy in the context of what is typical in 2018 with its restrained and beautifully layered nose of rose petal, violet, lavender, lilac, sandalwood and soy nuances that add incredible breadth to the mostly red berry-suffused aromas, all of which is trimmed in very subtle oak influence. There is outstanding volume to the big, muscular and robust flavors that also possess focused power where the intensity does a slow build from the mid-palate to the explosively long and decidedly austere finish that just lasts and lasts. This is somewhat less 2018 in style than the prior wines though it is clearly quite ripe. It is also a bit less refined than it usually is, at least at this early stage, though to be fair it is still in its formative stages so we will see how it comes along with more aging. I would observe though that it is already abundantly clear that this is a stunningly great LT; indeed it may well rival the 1999 in time, is going to develop quite slowly over a very long period.

Wine Advocate (94)

The 1971 Richebourg Grand Cru from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti was poured from magnum. It had a powerful, almost burly bouquet as you would expect from this vineyard—perhaps autumnal, brown leaves and a cold Sunday afternoon, touches of Earl Grey infused the dark berry fruit (darker than the 1971 Grands Echézeaux tasted alongside incidentally). The palate is medium-bodied with a fine line of acidity, hints of dried orange peel infusing the black and red fruit, all with impressive energy considering that this is now the same age as yours truly. Perhaps I found more breeding on the aforementioned Grands Echézeaux, and yet this is still a gorgeous mature Burgundy that will continue to give immense pleasure over the next decade for those privileged with the experience. Tasted November 2016.

Vinous - Neal Martin (97)

The 2017 Richebourg Grand Cru is a fitting end to a vertical that several attendees voted wine of the night. It has a riveting bouquet, very harmonious with Earl-Grey-tinged red fruit, forest floor and hints of crushed stone. Wonderful delineation. The palate has exquisite balance and poise, a little powdery in texture with gentle grip. Layered dark berry fruit with hints of bay leaf and cola build towards the finish. Yes, it does need time, but I would not begrudge anyone giving into temptation in the near future. Tasted at the Richebourg vertical dinner in Taipei.

Vinous - Neal Martin (97)

The 2017 Richebourg Grand Cru is a fitting end to a vertical that several attendees voted wine of the night. It has a riveting bouquet, very harmonious with Earl-Grey-tinged red fruit, forest floor and hints of crushed stone. Wonderful delineation. The palate has exquisite balance and poise, a little powdery in texture with gentle grip. Layered dark berry fruit with hints of bay leaf and cola build towards the finish. Yes, it does need time, but I would not begrudge anyone giving into temptation in the near future. Tasted at the Richebourg vertical dinner in Taipei.

Wine Advocate (100)

The 2016 Romanée-Conti Grand Cru is a worthy successor to the profound 2015, wafting from the glass with aromas of wild berries, violets, peony, dark chocolate, cinnamon and exotic spices. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, ample and satiny, with an ineffable sense of completeness, searing concentration without weight, a vibrant, indeed animating line of acidity, and a long, expansive finish that concludes with a judicious touch of mouthwatering bitterness. Wines like this are the foundation of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti's reputation.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (98)

The 2014 Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru offers a stunning mix of RSV finesse and ripe, generous fruit. Dark red-toned fruit, blood orange, pomegranate and spice lend an exotic flair. Still quite young and wonderfully deep, the 2014 is magnificent. It's a Burgundy that offers a warm embrace. The 2014 can be enjoyed now, but it also has the depth and pedigree to develop beautifully in bottle for many years to come.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (90)

The NV Extra Brut L.P.M. is a pure Pinot Meunier from the Massif de St. Thierry. Base wines were fermented and then aged in oak for 11 months before tirage. The wine then spent 18 months on lees before disgorgement and still smells immensely youthful, like tart, fresh red-green apple with an overtone of moss. The palate, with its fine but youthful mousse, is beautifully aromatic, showing that same mouthwatering tart apple note on green plum. Gentle smokiness appears on the finish. Give this a little bottle age and drink from the second half of 2026. Dosage is 2.5 grams per liter. Disgorged: August 2025.

Jeb Dunnuck (97)

Coming from a tiny 1.5-hectare portion of clay and limestone soils and all old vine Grenache, the 2018 Gigondas La Colline is another gorgeous wine from this estate that strikes a balance between richness and elegance. More ruby-hued (these wines are never the deepest hued in Gigondas) and with a killer perfume of kirsch liqueur, framboise, herbes de Provence, chocolate, roasted herbs, and chalky minerality, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, ultra-fine tannins, no hard edges, and a gorgeous, heady finish. This cuvée is almost always the more powerful and concentrated in the lineup, yet in 2018 it shows the more elegant, seamless style of the vintage beautifully. It’s going to benefit from a year or two of bottle age and drink fabulous well for a decade.

Wine Spectator (96)

This is nicely packed, with a range of dark plum, boysenberry preserve and cherry pate de fruit flavors pumping through, all carried by fine, racy and thoroughly imbedded chalky minerality. The structure lets the fruit play out while additional floral, tea and anise notes swirl in on the finish. A beauty. Drink now through 2036.

Vinous (97)

Lurid ruby. Hugely perfumed, mineral- and spice-accented red berry liqueur, cherry-cola incense and garrigue qualities on the sharply delineated nose. It offers vibrant, palate-staining cherry preserve, Chambord, boysenberry, floral pastille and Moroccan spice flavors that show uncanny energy for their depth. The spice and floral notes dominate a strikingly long, sappy finish framed by silky, finely polished tannins.

Wine Advocate (95-97)

More finesse-oriented than the blockbuster style La Colline release, the 2015 Gigondas le Lieu Dit is another Grenache-dominated wine that comes from a cooler, late parcel of sandy soils located just beside the estate. Notes of strawberries, raspberries, crushed flowers, kirsch and spice all emerge from this full-bodied, utterly seamless, pure and gorgeously balanced beauty that doesn’t have a hard edge to be found. It will drink well for 10-15 years or more.

Jeb Dunnuck (97)

Coming from a sandy parcel just beside the winery and all old-vine Grenache, the 2018 Gigondas Le Lieu Dit makes the most of this vintage and is a classic example of this cooler terroir. Gorgeous notes of kirsch liqueur, rose petals, strawberries, spring flowers, toasted spices, and peppery herbs all give way to a full-bodied, beautifully textured, elegant Gigondas that has a wonderful sense of finesse, classic southern Rhône power and richness, flawless balance, and a great finish. It’s one of the wines of the vintage. While it’s not the biggest wine in the lineup, it has incredible finesse and elegance.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

The 2019 Gigondas Le Lieu-Dit is as good as it gets – hats off to the young Julien Brechet for one of the finest Gigondas ever made. Coming from a cooler, sandy terroir next to this estate and all Grenache, it was 70% destemmed and spent 18 months in used demi-muids before being moved to concrete tanks prior to bottling. A Grand Cru Red Burgundy-like array of wild strawberries, framboise, flowers, sappy green herbs, and spice all emerge on the nose. This is followed by a seamless, full-bodied, incredibly pure Gigondas that’s more about finesse and elegance than sheer power. I love it today, yet it has the balance, as well as structure, to benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and keep for two decades if stored properly.

Jeb Dunnuck (96+)

All Mourvèdre brought up in old demi-muids, the 2018 Gigondas Le Plateau is a stunning example of this variety that does everything right. Classic Mourvèdre notes of blueberries, mulberries, new leather, lavender, and ground pepper give way to a full-bodied, beautifully balanced, elegant 2018 that has stacked mid-palate, flawless balance, silky tannins, and a great finish. It shows more tannins and structure with time in the glass, so give this beauty 2-3 years of bottle age, it should have 15-20 years of overall longevity.

Wine Spectator (96)

This shows a prominent leather-wrapped and cassis-soaked rosemary flavor profile, while bitter cherry and plum fruit notes make a bid for attention. The finish is paved with warm stone and smoldering garrigue accents, along with a long, lingering tobacco edge. A Bandol-esque version of Gigondas. Mourvèdre, Syrah, Cinsault, Grenache and Clairette. Best from 2025 through 2040.

Wine Advocate (95-97)

There's no doubt that this cuvée is among the very best Syrahs bottled in the Southern Rhône. The 2018 Gigondas les Routes (from a vintage that favored Grenache) is perfumed and floral, with prominent violet notes joining hints of potpourri, garrigue and licorice. Blueberries and mint appear on the full-bodied palate, which delivers concentrated fruit flavors without any sense of excess weight, finishing long, lively and silky.

Decanter (95)

The original blended Domaine des Bosquets Gigondas is now available in two cuvées: Font des Bosquets (young vines, shorter ageing, no oak) and Réserve (older vines, 14 plots vinified separately including fruit from the top single vineyard sites, maturation in different types of oak for 18 months depending on the variety). The result is an extraordinary exercise in elegance, beautifully silky tannins and deeply vinous fruit. This is long, shapely and tapered with depth, freshness, elegance, and a seamless character. If the alcohol was marginally better integrated this would possible score higher. It's quite an expressive, almost showy wine, but it will be excellent when it's ready. Not as strongly characterful as each of the single vineyard expressions, but better balanced, and more quintessentially Gigondas. In organic conversion.

Decanter (95)

A full-bodied, harmonious blend, not quite as aggressively concentrated as his single-vineyard wines this year. Very tannic still, and well balanced despite its enormous size. Long finish, saturated with thick, fine tannins. The oak is quite prominent for now, but there's enough fruit to match it. Will be good when it's ready. 70% destemmed, then vinified plot-by-plot. The Syrah is aged in recent-use (but not new) barriques, the Mourvèdre in old barriques and the Grenache in larger barrels (mostly old) and concrete. Then the wine spends six months in concrete tanks after blending.

Tucked within the Burgundy's prized Côte de Beaune, the Croix Beaune Tuvilains 2019, from the sacred plots of Domaine Croix, is a fine testament to the opulence of the 2019 vintage. This Pinot Noir is grown in limestone-rich soil and harvested in small, meticulously manicured parcels to preserve the integrity of each grape. Its vinification in traditional Burgundian open-top wooden vats, followed by ageing in French oak barrels, ensures a harmonious balance between fruit and oak nuances.

A sip of Croix Beaune Tuvilains 2019 reveals complex layers of ripe red fruits, elegantly underpinned by earthy notes and a subtle spiciness. The wine's delicate tannins and balanced acidity make for a seamless finish, capturing the essence of French wine-making sophistication.

The impeccable craftsmanship of winemaker David Croix indubitably shines through in this vintage, making the Croix Beaune Tuvilains 2019 an invincible selection for the discerning wine lover.

Vinous (96-98)

The 2019 Chevalier-Montrachet Demoiselles Grand Cru is beautifully defined on the nose, featuring wonderful crushed limestone and gunflint scents that permeate the green apple aromas. Very focused and intense. The palate is extremely well balanced with a powerful opening, very saline and so full of energy. Enormous weight and presence toward the finish. This is an outstanding Chevalier-Montrachet from Jadot.

Wine Advocate (95-97)

The king of the cellar on the white side of the ledger is the 2020 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru Les Demoiselles (Domaine des Héritiers Jadot), a striking wine that unfurls in the glass with notes of citrus oil, white flowers, buttered popcorn, chalky soil tones, beeswax and spices. Full-bodied, multidimensional and layered, it's muscular and concentrated, with racy acids, an abundance of structuring dry extract and a long, resonant finish. It is worth a special effort to seek out.

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (93-96)

Clean mid yellow. Fine and discreet, a bit of weight, not too austere a limestone character, but this is Demoiselles. More weight shows through on the palate, some greengages, good tension, with some persistence. Drink from 2028-2035. Tasted: October 2022

Wine Enthusiast (95)

Gleaming black-cherry and plum flavors pulsate through this rich, penetrating blend of Grenache (70%) and Syrah (30%) sourced from rocky limestone and marl soil. It's a dark, sultry wine offset by tangs of salty minerality and firm, gripping tannins. This vibrant red should improve through 2030 and hold further.

Wine Enthusiast (95)

Gleaming black-cherry and plum flavors pulsate through this rich, penetrating blend of Grenache (70%) and Syrah (30%) sourced from rocky limestone and marl soil. It's a dark, sultry wine offset by tangs of salty minerality and firm, gripping tannins. This vibrant red should improve through 2030 and hold further.

Vinous (96)

Inky violet color. Pungent, mineral-tinged aromas of ripe black and blue fruits, candied flowers and olive paste turn spicier as the wine stretches out. Densely packed and expansive on the palate, offering bitter cherry, blackberry, fruitcake and espresso flavors that slowly turn sweeter on the back half. Tightens up on the impressively long, penetrating finish, which features chewy tannins and an echo of dark berry preserves.

James Suckling (98)

Stare into the abyss and it will stare back at you! This has such an incredible depth of dried-flower and fresh-herb notes that you could get lost in the bouquet, before reaching the sleek and enormously mineral palate. So pristine and dazzling at the super long finish. Drink or hold.