(98+ points) The 2008 Champagne Rare Rosé is straight-up sensational. Only the second time they’ve produced this cuvée, it offers a deep, full-bodied, powerful yet chiseled and laser-focused style carrying loads of wild...

A graceful Champagne, showing a sense of finesse to the detailed intersection of bright, buoyant acidity and chalky minerality, with a fine, satiny mousse and flavors of ripe Asian pear, dried white cherry, salted almond...

Here is 2008 with a velvety texture yet the underlying bright acidity comes through at the same time. Medium to full body, firm and chewy tannins and a fresh finish. Very pretty and energetic. Just opening now.

A Chardonnay-dominated rosé, this Champagne is fruity while also textured. It is a structured wine, full of minerals and still amazingly young. With its freshness almost entirely intact and few signs of maturity, the wine...

There is a lightening in the color, giving a slight bricking effect. The wine is as concentrated as it is tannic. This is still youthful, fresh and holding on to most of what it has to offer. There is definite power here...

Tasted blind as a vintage comparison at the Valandraud vertical, the 2008 Trotanoy has an attractive bouquet with engaging clarity and purity: raspberry preserve, wild strawberry, a trace of something almost medicinal...

This stood out immediately among the five first growth wines for its floral hit right off the first nose. The epitome of elegance, as I found at the 10-year point, but it is now also starting to deepen and layer, with...

Graphite and smoke notes on the opening beats, sweet berry fruit, touch of mocha, ground coffee, liqourice, red cherry, iodine, fresh flavours coupled with ripe fruits, a lovely mix. This is a deliciously classic...

This is starting to open now with silky tannins, bright acidity and a tangy finish. Light earth, spice and meat flavors. Lots of dried citrus too. Delicious finish. Drink now.

The 2008 Angélus offers a still youthful, vibrant color as well as a classic Angélus bouquet of spice box, black currants, tobacco, and hints of white truffle. This elegant, silky effort is beautifully balanced, with...

A candidate for the -wine of the vintage- the 2008 should have been purchased before it began to soar in value because of the significance of the number 8 in the Chinese culture (denoting good luck). Representing 40% of...

Super-ripe black cherry, plum, smoke, licorice make a strong opening statement in the 2008 Pichon Lalande. The late harvest that year yielded a decidedly super-ripe, exotic Pichon Lalande with captivating inner sweetness...

Initially this was quite closed but with 45 minutes of aeration the nose opened to reveal aromas of violets, earth, stone and a mix of perfumed red and blue pinot fruit. The medium-bodied flavors were equally tight though...

Classic, balanced, restrained, everything is knitted down and concentrated, with tannins that have grain and grip and will age for decades. Liqourice, chocolate shavings, cassis, enjoyable wine with edges of gourmet...

(WE 96-98 points) Impressively balanced, with the fruit rich, intense with a golden glow. The acidity is as important as the freshness, giving a delicious lift to the core of dry, concentrated botrytis. Obviously a great...

Tasted with Baptiste Guinaudeau, the 2008 Lafleur is a wine for which I have a lot of time, and as it approaches a decade old, it is beginning to loosen up a little. There is plenty of fruit on the nose—more than I have...

Good acids along with hints of earth, buttered citrus and exotic melons are found in this cuvee. - Robert Parker

A candidate for the -wine of the vintage- the 2008 Haut-Bailly possesses incredible complexity. Tell-tale notes of lead pencil shavings charcoal damp earth black cherries and black currants intermixed with a hint of...

The 2008 La Mission Haut-Brion has an open, feisty, lively bouquet with blackberry, briary, cedar, black olive and a light seaweed (Japanese nori) aroma. This is wonderful, an intoxicating bouquet. The palate is...

A candidate for the -wine of the vintage- the 2008 should have been purchased before it began to soar in value because of the significance of the number 8 in the Chinese culture (denoting good luck). Representing 40% of...

The 2008 Mouton Rothschild checks in as a blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17% Merlot brought up in mostly new barrels. Undeniably one of the top wines in the vintage, it offers a rare opulence and sexiness in its...

Young, full bodied, rich and intense, the wine is loaded with dark fruit, which you can easily see in its color. There is intensity, earthyness, smoke, licorice, espresso and black cherry from start to finish. The wine is...

The 2008 Mareuil-sur-Aÿ Extra Brut is one of a trio of single-plot cuvées, of which 2008 is the second vintage after 2006. Grown in several upper plots of the Clos des Goisses that are entirely planted with Pinot Noir (on...

Sweet cherry, raspberry, spice and earth aromas and flavors play off the open texture and round profile of this red, with a firm structure buried underneath. Fine length. Best from 2012 through 2022. 750 cases made. — BS

An ultra elegant and refined nose is intensely floral with a densely fruited mix of red and blue pinot liqueur aromas. The textured, supple and solidly well-concentrated middle weight flavors exude a fine minerality that...