The 2022 from Alexander van Beek and the team at Giscours is a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 3% each Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. I find a real sense of fragrant harmony but also bright energy here...

Elegant, sweet, juicy, and fresh, there is a purity to the sweet kirsch that defines the wine. The finish focuses on its mineral characteristics that accompany the raspberries, kirsch, and cherries. This is a knockout...

The 2016 Champagne Cristal is chalky and pristine, with a crystalline nature and notes of white peach, fresh citrus blossoms, and bright salinity. Tasted for the first time last year, it captures a precise and focused...

This vintage has a lean structure with firm tanins, ripe plums and truffle; the oak dominates from start to grippy finish. - SUZANNE MUSTACICH

The 2020 Le Pauillac de Chateau Latour is a blend of 53% Merlot, 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 4% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple colored, it springs from the glass with vivacious notes of stewed blackberries, raspberry...

This has good concentration and energy to the dense core of dark fruit and bitter cherry, with great poise and elegance despite its ripeness (an impressive feat for the vintage). Guided by finely crushed mineral accents...

A bird of a different feather, this marries a polished feel with the nervy, underlying zip of sel gris and quinine notes, while its core of green almond, star fruit and white peach opens slowly. Shows subtle accents of...

Shy at first, this unfolds in spectacular fashion with gorgeous notes of blood orange and mandarin. On the sleek palate this vivid citrus streak turns into full-on tangerine, delivering not only flavour but also delicious...

Crunchy bright fruit, delicious brambled griotte cherry and violet flowers, pulses of white pepper, sage, slate, crayon, black tea. Depth and character, easy to love, ready to drink. Stainless steel ageing, unoaked...

Deep rich plum in colour, spiced cumin, loganberry, blood orange, cranberry and white pepper, there is the austerity here which was true even during En Primeur, now elongating into finesse and consistency of delivery...

(95+ points) One of the greatest hits from Rare Champagne, the 2012 Rare Millésime is produced from fruit harvested between September 10 and 26. Disgorged in November 2023 with a dosage of eight grams per liter, it is a...

(95+ points) The 2020 Cos d'Estournel has a more understated bouquet than its peers, demanding more coaxing from the glass to reveal its gravel-tinged black fruit—quintessential Saint-Estèphe, really. The palate is...

An enticing rosé Champagne, with a core of ripe and juicy raspberry, white peach and cherry, fragrant anise, cardamom and cumin, plus accents of slivered almond, candied ginger, blood orange peel and white blossoms...

Beautiful stuff and one of the gems in the vintage, the 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape Cuvée Réservée shows ripe black cherries, scorched earth, sandalwood, and incredibly peppery garrigue and spice. It's medium to full-bodied...

From the 2019 vintage and disgorged in September 2024 with a dosage of four grams per liter, the latest rendition of Geoffroy’s NV Rosé de Saignée Cumières Premier Cru—as always—derives exclusively from Cumières. The only...

A deliciously inviting nose, with dark and perfumed fruits, blackcurrant, blackberry and damson, with smoky crushed chalk, rose petal and toast, as well as a touch of honeyed oak. The palate builds on this start with a...

The same blend as the Blanc but including 5% red wine from their La Côte aux Enfants parcel, the 2015 Champagne La Grande Année Brut Rosé is a lovely wine on the nose, and I think I might like it more than the Blanc in...

Another St Estèphe which was blighted by hail in the vintage, reducing yields by 30%. dark and smoky nose, with sweet black cherry, coffee bean and toast draped over black cherry. There follows a sweetly poised palate of...

Deep garnet in color, the 2012 Canon storms out of the glass with powerful notes of baked blackberries, prunes, and scorched earth leading to hints of sandalwood and tobacco with a waft of dried herbs. The medium to...

The 2019 Malescot St. Exupery has a deep garnet-purple color. It is a little broody and subdued to start, opening out to notes of tar, fragrant earth, and crushed rocks, over a core of fresh blackcurrants and stewed...

The 2014 Clinet is rich and round but slightly more refined than the 2012, which is arguably its qualitative peer. Lots of black cherry fruit but with that beautiful elegant Pomerol charm. Plush and plump and will age...

Seductive. Picked just before the Yquem harvest, ripe grapes on the cusp of noble rot, delivering crisp acidity and juicy fruit, a voluptuous mid palate, and a touch of bitterness at the finish, linking back to Yquem. An...

A reductive style with grapefruit, limes, yellow plums and broom flowers. Vinous. Fine mousse with zesty acidity, very light body and a leaner finish. A bit more complexity expected. Drink now.

Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Poesia rolls out with ready-to-go notes of fresh blackberries, red currant jelly, and juicy black plums with hints of rose oil, dried lavender, and tar. The medium to...

(JD 95-97 points) As to the Grand Vin 2023 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion, this beauty checks in as 50% Cabernet Franc, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 20% Merlot that was fermented with 60% whole cluster, brought up in 70%...

Glass-staining ruby. Hugely perfumed, mineral-accented black and blue fruit preserves, floral oil, olive paste, pipe tobacco and exotic spice aromas show superb clarity and pick up a hint of smokiness with air. Juicy and...

The 2017 Brut Blanc de Noirs Empreinte is a super-classy wine. Pear, crushed flowers, brioche, cinnamon and a kiss of French oak infuse the 2017 with notable depth. Although not the most complex wine in this range...