2017 Wine from France

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 97 points: 97+ Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Smith Haut Lafitte charges out of the gate with bold expressions of warm redcurrants, baked blackberries and crème de cassis with hints of spice cake, dried roses...

Decanter, 95 points: Enticing candied citrus fruit and spice with an exquisite mineral undertone; super clean and tense with a sumptuous texture and a long, harmonious finish.

jebdunnuck.com, 96 points: Moving to the two 2017s, the 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape Vieilles Vignes checks in as 100% Grenache coming from a single parcel in the Cristia lieu-dit, in the heart of the appellation and was brought up mostly in old...

TheWineCellarInsider.com, 97 points: Garrigue, pepper, black cherry and kirsch are impossible to ignore. Layers of sweet, supple, silky-textured, elegant fruits with an incredible sense of purity, this is a fabulous expression of Gigondas. The approximate...

jebdunnuck.com, 94 points: This terroir always delivers a wild, opulent, gamey style of wine, and the 2017 Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert doesn’t disappoint. Loads of chocolaty black fruits, ground pepper, truffle, and smoked game, as well...

Wine Spectator, 92 points: Ripe, with an earthy cast to the black cherry, black currant and sweet spice flavors. Rich and pliable in texture, this is harmonious, building to a lingering, mouthwatering finish. Best from 2022 through 2036. 500 cases...

Burghound, 95 points: (92-95) This too is quite firmly reduced and unreadable today. Otherwise there is a bit more size and weight to the broad-shouldered flavors that possess even better mid-palate density before terminating in a markedly...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 98 points: Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 L'Eglise Clinet begins a little closed and broody, soon unfurling to reveal powerful notes of baked black plums, chocolate-covered cherries and blueberry preserves with hints...

Vinous, 94 points: (92-94 points) Tasted from tank just prior to bottling, the 2017 Chablis Vaillons 1er Cru shows why this vintage is so compelling. Apricot, peach and tropical fruit give the 2017 a decidedly exotic flair, and yet bright...

jebdunnuck.com, 95 points: (95+ points) The 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape Renaissance from Cristia is a beauty! A normal blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Mourvèdre that comes from old vines planted in sandy soils, it reveals a medium ruby/purple color as...

Vinous, 93 points: (91-93 points) The 2017 Chablis Vaillons Vieilles Vignes 1er Cru is pretty, gracious and lifted, with a real sense of vertical expansiveness. In this vintage, the Vieilles Vignes is wonderfully lifted in feel. Sweet...

Vinous, 94 points: (92-94 points) The 2017 Chablis Les Sechets 1er Cru is gorgeous. Apricot, hazelnut, crushed flowers and herbs give the Sechets a savory character that is beguiling and undeniably attractive. Light on its feet, perfumed...

Wine & Spirits, 92 points: Seuvrées lies just below Mazoyères-Chambertin at the border between Gevrey and Morey, where Frédéric Magnien tends 60-year-old vines, his farming certified biodynamic since 2015. The site produced a muscular, grippingly...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 95 points: Comprising of the estate's oldest vines—a mix of Grenache and Mourvèdre from the le plateau in front of the village—the 2017 Gigondas Les Hautes Garrigues features subtle hints of smoke and crushed stone on the nose...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 96 points: Composed of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, the medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Pontet-Canet gives up beautifully fragrant notes of rosehip tea, lilacs, cinnamon stick...

jebdunnuck.com, 99 points: From a higher, east-facing vineyard, the 2017 Saint-Joseph Le Clos is almost black and is the most concentrated, powerful Saint Joseph in the vintage. Blackcurrants, cassis, kirsch, ground herbs, beef blood, burning...

Wine Enthusiast, 96 points: This wine is structured, with dense tannins as well as impressively ripe black fruit. Showing lifted acidity, succulent blackberry flavors and elegance, it has a good future and will be ready from 2025. - ROGER VOSS

Decanter, 99 points: Rich and opulent on the nose, with yellow peach and honeycomb. Very full bodied, with that immediate internal sweet ripeness of fruit that often marks out this cuvée. Good balancing acidity here, with real intensity of...

Vinous, 92 points: The 2017 Chablis Vaillons Vieilles Vignes 1er Cru is another super-appealing wine in this lineup. Floral overtones work so well to play off the natural richness these old vines confer. White flowers, mint and tropical...

Vinous, 94 points: The 2017 Latour à Pomerol is a gorgeous wine that is at once deep and yet also super-expressive in its bouquet. Sweet tobacco, dried herbs, mint, pepper and spice give the 2017 striking aromatic presence to play off a...

Vinous, 94 points: (92-94 points) The 2017 Saint-Aubin Le Charmois 1er Cru matures in 20% new oak, has a slightly more introspective but quite compelling bouquet with dried honey, hazelnut and light oyster shell aromas that just need some...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 92 points: Aromas of white currants, pear, dried white flowers and wheat toast introduce the 2017 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts, a medium to full-bodied, satiny and enveloping wine underpinned by racy acids, concluding with...

jamessuckling.com, 92 points: This is warm and round with soft and velvety tannins. Medium to full body, round and juicy tannins and a flavorful finish. Shows density and potential for the vintage. Better in 2020, but already fun to taste.

jamessuckling.com, 96 points: This is a wine that is showing lots of structure with tightly wound tannins that spin through the center palate. Full-bodied, intense and beautiful. Pure and real. Drink after 2025.

View From The Cellar, 92 points: 92+ The 2017 Gravains from Monsieur Camus was raised in fifty percent new oak this year, which is higher than normal for this bottling, but all of the new wood was the aforementioned five hundred liter barrels, so the...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 96 points: The 2017 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Cuvée Vieilles Vignes is also showing very well from bottle, unfurling in the glass with a deep bouquet of sweet red berries, plums and cassis, complemented by sweet soil tones and...

jamessuckling.com, 93 points: The crushed-berry, smoke and stone aromas are appealing. Medium to full body, round and chewy tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Shows depth and structure. Give it a year or two to soften and come together. Drink in 2022.

Vinous, 92 points: The 2017 Chablis Montmains 1er Cru is forward, open-knit and very easy to enjoy. Passionfruit, mango, white flowers and mint all grace this silky, sumptuous 1er Cru from Samuel Billaud. Soft contours, forward fruit and...

Decanter, 96 points: The older vines in de Vogüé's extensive 7.2ha in Musigny date back to 1953 and make a wine that's considerably weightier than the young-vine cuvée. This is very deep and intense in colour, exhibiting layers of dark...

Wine & Spirits, 90 points: With all of its supple black cherry and sweet plum brightness, this lasts on smoky, spicy tannins. It’s powerful, a little syrupy in its ripeness, ready to bring its fruit to roast duck.