2008 Wine

Decanter, 97 points: A blend of 65% Pinot Noir consisting of Premier and Grand Crus from the Montagne de Reims and the Vallee de la Marne and 35% Chardonnay from the Cote des Blancs. Significantly, this has nine years ageing on its lees...

jebdunnuck.com, 98 points: (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...

Decanter, 98 points: Departing chef de cave Richard Geoffroy quite rightly calls 2008 ‘the miracle year'. Perfect ripening allowed the longest ever harvest, with four weeks available to select when, where and what to pick. The result is a...

Tim Atkin MW, 96 points: Bosconia faces south and has plenty of fruit sweetness, even in a very cool Atlantic vintage like 2008. Combining Tempranillo with 20% Garnacha, Graciano and Mazuelo, it’s a delightfully subtle, traditional Rioja Reserva...

jamessuckling.com, 94 points: The nose features a beautiful play between grilled almonds, praline, ginger, toasted bread and then vibrant rose petals, dried citrus and strawberries. The medium-bodied palate is quite vertical at first, but then comes a...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 93 points: Tasted from the same lot as in June this year, the 2008 Cuvée des Moines Brut Millésime is very fine on the deep, ripe and elegant nose where the 31% Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier play the first guitar at the moment. This...

Vinous, 92 points: The 2008 Brut Vintage is a delicious wine with which to explore the vintage, as it offers a lovely combination of richness, energy and early approachability. There is a sense of vibrancy that is so appealing. Orchard...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 94 points: A 2700-case blend of 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc cropped at a low 27 hectoliters per hectare (compare that with 39 hectoliters per hectare in 2009 and 31 in 2010) this superb claret was aged 18 months in 75% new...

Neal Martin's Wine Journal, 89 points: Tasted ex-château and single blind in Southwold. The Le Petit Lion 2008 has a well-defined clean crisp attractive bouquet with blackberry raspberry and a faint tang of marmalade. The palate is medium-bodied with a...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 96 points: Here's another "wow wine" from San Giusto a Rentennano. The fabulous 2008 Vin San Giusto (375 ml) opens to a caramelized dark appearance and thick waves of viscous glycerine and aromatic intensity. This vintage offers...

Burghound, 90 points: 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...

Decanter, 96 points: Another hit, although this is not as glamorous as some vintages of Mouton. The expression here is just a little more Pauillac, rather than Mouton. Layers of blackberry and grilled almonds are marked by a touch of...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 96 points: 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...