(96-98 points) Deep purple-hued, the 2025 Château Pontet-Canet showed beautifully both times I tasted it, with incredibly classic Pontet-Canet notes of cassis, violets, iris, and gravelly earth and graphite. Based on 56%...

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...

Even better from the bottle, this is a spell-binding sweet wine that lovers of this genre cannot be without. Intense, electric, and packed with ripe and overripe, honey-slathered tropical fruits, cashews, white peaches...

(97-99 points) A Merlot-heavy blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the 2025 Château Larcis Ducasse sports a dense purple hue as well as incredible aromatics of ripe currant and black cherry fruit intermixed with...

One of the best Sauvignon Blancs in the world, the 2023 Château Couhins Blanc is based on 90% Sauvignon Blanc and 10% Sauvignon Gris and was aged eight months in 25% new French oak with the balance in neutral barrels and...

The 2018 Blancs de Blancs is a Champagne of total pleasure. Citrus peel, orchard fruit and floral notes are very nicely delineated. The 2018 is an airy, breezy Champange, very much in the style of a vintage in which so...

(97-99 points) Crème de cassis and black raspberry fruits intermixed with spring flowers, graphite, tobacco leaf, and spicy wood all emerge from the 2025 Château Gruaud Larose, a deep purple-hued Saint-Julien based on 77%...

This pure Merlot, unusual for Saint-Émilion, is powerful and one with great elegance and style. It has structure and a spicy aroma that shows the wine's richness. On the slopes of Saint-Emilion, this 26-acre estate makes...

Aromas of wild herbs, walnuts, sweet tobacco and a gentle earthy note. Medium- to full-bodied with delineated dark fruit and integrated tannins. Elegant and precise, offering wonderful depth. Approachable now, but its...

(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...

(97-99 points) Cassis, currants, smoky tobacco, chocolate, and graphite all define the 2025 Château Cos D'Estournel, a powerful, ripe, concentrated beauty based on 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot...

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

(96-98 points) Currants, smoky oak, chocolate, and hints of violets all define the 2025 Château Lynch-Bages, a remarkably balanced, elegant Pauillac from this estate that has more than a passing resemblance to the 2019...

Even better from the bottle, this is a spell-binding sweet wine that lovers of this genre cannot be without. Intense, electric, and packed with ripe and overripe, honey-slathered tropical fruits, cashews, white peaches...

(96-98 points) Checking in as 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot that's resting in 90% new French oak, the 2025 Château Lafite Rothschild sports a classic, deep ruby hue as well as a complex and...

A vibrant Champagne, with a firm frame of acidity well-meshed with flavors of crushed white cherry, tangerine peel, oyster shell and blanched almond. Fine and creamy. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Disgorged September 2024...

The wine's richness is concentrated into dark black fruits and spicy wood polish. It is a dark wine, ripe with berry flavors and concentration, Drink from 2026. ROGER VOSS

The NV Champagne Le Rose, which pours a medium salmon color, is a benchmark wine in the range and classic for a reason. Medium to full-bodied, with intertwining notes of flowers and spice, it boasts notes of cherry...

95+ The 2018 Pichon Baron has a deep garnet-purple color. It starts off with savory notes of black olives, sauteed herbs, chargrill, and beef dripping, over a core of crème de cassis and stewed plums. Medium to...

The NV (2022) Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Latitude 1er Cru is stellar in this range. Broad and ample, the Latitude is so impressive. Lemon confit, marzipan, tangerine peel, mint and chalk are dialed up. More than anything...

The 2019 Belair-Monange is made from 96% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs a lot of coaxing to unleash aromas of baked black plums, blackberry compote, and dark chocolate, leading to...

(94-96 points) Tasted twice with consistent results, the 2025 Château Laroque is a gorgeous wine in the making based on 99% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc that will spend 16 to 18 months in a mix of new barriques...

Attractive nose of minerals, wet stones, orchard fruit and yuzu zest. Pure and zingy, with a medium body and a linear feel to the center palate. Long and quite saline and stony in nature. Very mineral, uncompromising and...

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...

A 20-acre property has produced a ripe and structured wine. A spicy aroma and smoky flavors add an exotic edge to the wine. Drink from 2028. — Roger Voss

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...