The 2020 La Gaffelière is superb. Rich, dense and explosive. Black cherry, gravel, licorice, grilled herbs and menthol race out of the glass. Deep, pliant and explosive, the 2020 is magnificent. At this stage, the 2020 is...

The black olives and dark fruit come through on the nose with violets and wet earth. Full and very chunky and powerful. Yet it’s lively and vivid with excellent energy. Fantastic. Pure merlot. Leave it until 2030.

A seductive Margaux with an intense nose of black fruit and red plums. Some herb and wood notes, too. It’s full-bodied with pretty, pure-berry flavors with some crushed stones and cement. The texture is silky and...

From old vines planted in a single vineyard, this is a spectacular red. It has the crisp acidity of the cool-climate Sancerre, but it also has the weight and ripeness of a fine Burgundy. The wood aging has left a spicy...

Tight and closed but clearly going to power out of the gate in five or six years. Shows depth and persistency, with precision and balance to the fruit flavours, feels like every base is covered, laced through with...

Quite possibly the finest vintage of this cuvée I've tasted, the 2020 Château Canon-La-Gaffelière offers that rare mix of richness and elegance that makes this vintage so compelling. Classic notes of cassis, ripe black...

(VN 93-95 points) Full, bright-rimmed violet. Highly fragrant cherry and black raspberry scents, along with suggestions of pipe tobacco, olive, peony and baking spices. Juicy and energetic in the mouth, offering...

Really smoky, coffee bean aromas on the nose with ripe blackcurrants. Great texture and flavour here, it's full of herbs and liquorice-tinged black fruits (cherries mainly) but really well integrated so that no one aspect...

I loved the 2019 Château Latour-Martillac, and I under-rated it from barrel. Revealing a dense ruby/plum color as well as a gorgeous bouquet of blackcurrants, black cherry, smoked tobacco, gravely earth, and chocolate, it...

(JS 98-99 points) This is incredibly classic in style with so much currant, lead pencil, crushed stone and sweet tobacco. It’s full-bodied with minerally, stoney and powerful tannins. It goes on and one. Real Las Cases...

Another head-turning vintage from this château, the 2020 Château Sansonnet is based on 95% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc, from yields of 36 hectoliters per hectare, that was raised in 80% new...

Subtle and complex aromas of dried flowers, berries, blackberries and black olives. Minerals, limestone and rust to boot. Full-bodied, layered and tannic, yet the phenolic structure is all about strength with finesse. It...

Aromas of currants, walnuts and blackberries follow through to a full-bodied palate with fine, chewy tannins and a linear finish. Shows polish and beautiful length. Lovely second wine. Try after 2025.

A knockout example of the wine, one to track down and grab hold of. This showcases the fresh lift of Siran, the depth of expression, but it is also so finessed and elegant, inching forward in power through the palate...

(92+ points) Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 La Rose Perriere hits the ground running with a gorgeous perfume of Black Forest cake, ripe, juicy plums, blackberry preserves and lilacs, plus suggestions of licorice...

(94-97 points) Gorgeous deep fresh yellow, picked on 28th August, 13.85% already, it was time to do it! Very high-class nose, full of complex options. Benjamin didn’t like the new wood component so quickly took it out...

A mentholated top note is present on the notably spicy aromas of poached plum, black raspberry and warm earth. Once again, the palate impression of the medium weight flavors is supple and pliant yet there is good...

(91-93 points) A blend of close to equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon (it was a great vintage for the Merlot in this cuvée), the 2018 Les Griffons De Pichon Baron is aging in 60% new French oak barrels, where it...

The tiny production 2018 Châteauneuf du Pape Sanctus Sanctorum comes from a single parcel in the famed La Crau lieu-dit and is brought up in demi-muids. Released only in magnum, it’s consistently been one of the most...

The 2018 Clos de Tart Grand Cru was wonderful from barrel but now it seems to have gone up another level. It has an exquisite bouquet with wonderful mineralité infusing the brambly red fruit. Wonderful focus and quite...

The perfumes to this red are fantastic with dried strawberries, violets and dried ginger. Full body, a dense center palate and a cord of fruit and ripe tannins. Gorgeous now and delicious but will be even better in 2021.

This has an array of very assertive dark berries and plums with graphite and cedary oak. The palate is more muscular here. More assertive firmness to the tannins. Give it time. Try from 2023.

(91-94 points) Subtle wood influence easily allows the ripe and very earthy cassis, spice and black raspberry aromas to be appreciated. The rich, full-bodied and enveloping middle weight plus flavors possess a suave yet...

(96-98 points) The 2020 Clos de Tart Grand Cru contains around 55% whole bunch this year with 65% new oak. It has a very limpid hue in the glass. The bouquet takes time to open but my word, it is beautiful...

Gorgeously aromatic and concentrated nose, rich with wild flowers and bramble fruits. Lovely cool blue fruits on the palate, blueberries, plums and black cherries with lashings of graphite, slate and liquorice giving a...