2017 Wine from France

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.

TheWineCellarInsider.com, 93 points: If you're not familiar with this wine in its current incarnation, you're missing out. Starting with 2009, this wine has been on a tear, progressing and improving with every vintage. Even in a difficult year of...

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...

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...

Wine Spectator, 95 points: A mix of cherry, black currant, iron, cinnamon and cardamom flavors highlight this dense red, with plenty of fruit to balance the assertive tannins. Just a bit compact on the finish today, yet shows fine promise. Best...

jebdunnuck.com, 95 points: (93-95+ points) The flagship cuvée, which comes from older vines on the lower plateau around the estate, the 2017 Gigondas Hautes Garrigues has a big chunk of Mourvèdre in 2017 (60% Grenache and 40% Mourvèdre brought up...

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...

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...

Decanter, 92 points: From Caroline Frey, also of Bordeaux’s Château La Lagune, this has a savoury nose and a lively blackcurrant and berry palate boasting black pepper spiciness. Serious, but smooth and supple, and ever so easy to drink.

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...

jebdunnuck.com, 99 points: Reminding me of the 2009 La Chapelle (which is a personal favorite), the brilliant 2017 Hermitage La Chapelle knocks it out of the park with its massive, opulent personality. Notes of smoked black fruits, scorched earth...

Wine Spectator, 90 points: A broad-shouldered, chunky red, this displays black cherry, iron and earth flavors. A bit rustic, with ample fruit and a saturated, black cherry aftertaste. Drink now through 2025. 1,250 cases made, 400 cases imported. — BS

Wine Spectator, 90 points: This is pretty, packing cherry, raspberry and spice flavors on a lively frame. Not that intense, yet finishes with grace and harmony. Drink now through 2024. 700 cases made, 220 cases imported. — BS

Decanter, 96 points: Fresh cassis bud, blueberry and liquorice root showing ripeness was full but not overdone. This is a definite break with the older Troplong style (also Aymeric de Gironde's first vintage as director, arriving just in time...

Burghound, 92 points: (90-92 points) Aromatically this is similar to the regular cuvée with two exceptions, which are that the mildly exotic aromas are riper and are trimmed in enough wood to merit mentioning. As is always the case there is...

Decanter, 96 points: The Ponsots' 3.5ha holdings here are divided between the Monts Luisants and Clos de la Roche grand cru climats, producing a fine, elegant, floral cuvée with no new oak, plenty of precision and freshness and a sweet core...

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...

Wine Spectator, 93 points: Pure, evoking black cherry, black currant and floral aromas and flavors. Rich and dense, yet set on a lithe frame, with fine grip to the aftertaste of lingering fruit, mineral and spice. Shows lovely harmony. Best from...

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.

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...

Burghound, 93 points: (91-93 points) The wood is a bit more obvious though not intrusive on the green fruit, white flower and iodine-scented aromas. The exceptionally rich full-bodied flavors also possess fine density thanks to the abundant...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 90 points: There are 13,000 bottles of Cognard's delicious 2017 Montagny 1er Cru Les Bassets, a pretty wine that wafts from the glass with scents of honeysuckle, peaches and pears. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, satiny...

TheWineCellarInsider.com, 99 points: Truffle, Cuban cigar wrapper, exotic spice, licorice and lilacs create the complex set of aromatics. Powerful yet poised, rich and fresh, dense and velvety, the finish remains with you for close to 60 seconds. The end...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 90 points: One of Monnot's most successful reds, the 2017 Beaune 1er Cru Les Cents Vignes bursts with aromas of ripe cherries, cassis, licorice and spices. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, ample and richly layered...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 96 points: Old-vine Grenache (80+ years of age) from sandy soils in the named lieu-dit has been translated into a remarkably elegant 2017 Chateauneuf du Pape La Crau Ouest. Lively strawberry and raspberry fruit almost vibrates with...

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...

jamessuckling.com, 92 points: Ripe fruit with chocolate, spice and hints of raisins. Full body, round and juicy tannins and a flavorful finish. Really delicious. Drink now.

jamessuckling.com, 94 points: A very impressive array of peaches and lemons with wet stones and flinty, minerally notes, offering plenty of interest. The palate has a sleek and composed shape with a central focus of fresh, fleshy fruit and a...