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...

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...

A blend of Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine has aromas of black cherry, dark chocolate and violet candy. Flavors of blackberry, Mission fig, mint tea, anise and lavender are intertwined with velvety tannins...

Expressing notes of cherries, graphite, shaving pencil, flowers and cassis, the 2018 Marsau is medium to full-bodied with a textural attack and juicy texture that is round and pleasant on the mid-palate. However, it...

The warm, sweet nose features aromas of milk chocolate, fresh brewed coffee, vanilla bean and Luxardo cherry, while the palate is a cascade of dark, sweet berries, with a spicy, invigorating earthiness that recalls a...

Mineral and tangy nose with a minty edge to the red berries and oranges. Lightly mossy and decadent, with an impressive mineral quality on the linear, medium-bodied palate. Really refined and composed with a long, juicy...

Plum, licorice, peppercorn and a hint of salt show in the bouquet of this balanced wine. It's full bodied, with well-integrated tannins. The vibrant palate delivers bright black-fruit flavors and peppery spice. It...

A blend of 92% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 L'Esperance de Trotanoy is deep garnet-purple in color. It charges out of the gate with bold notions of baked plums, kirsch, and blueberry pie, plus suggestions of...

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...

A slight cardboardy note among very classic cherry kernel, black cherry and violet aromas. There's a cinnamon flavour, with cherry and almost blood orange ensuring complexity, while firm and crunchy tannins and crisp...

The 2018 Tenuta Degli Dei is dense, juicy and wonderfully inviting. Silky tannins wrap around a core of inky dark fruit, chocolate, spice, lavender and new leather. In the glass, the 2018 is intensely aromatic and...

Impressive linearity and salinity. For once, I notice the winemaking, with greater fruit purity such as juicy plum and ripe blackberry. Gone is the drying finish of noticeable oak tannin from earlier vintages. 'In 15...

The 2018 Champagne Starck Brut Nature exhibits notes of lemon and citrus oils, but the stone fruit has a silkiness, not the tannic side you sometimes see. It also has hints of savory toast, but it remains very elegant...

This is richly textured, velvety with dark black cherry and damson fruit character, reflecting the higher alcohol typical of the vintage. Violet floral notes add balance, and this has lenght and sllky tannins, with...

A rich red, with good cut and hints of truffle, mineral and woodsy funk shading a core of cherry and raspberry fruit. Harmonious and firm, extending on the long, iron-tinged aftertaste. Ready to enjoy, yet should age at...

I was looking forward to the 2018 Mas de Mancuso Garnacha, from one of the finest vintages in the region in recent times. It comes from a vineyard in the village of Almonacid, an old plot at 670 meters in altitude...

The 2018 Proprietary Red Paradise Hills Vineyard has really shut down since I tasted it last year. Energetic and vibrant, the 2018 sizzles with all of the energy of this cool, late-ripening vintage. Time in the glass...

Vallana's 2018 Boca is an old-school, super-classic wine. Firm tannins wrap around a core of macerated dark cherry, cinnamon, licorice, dried herbs and menthol. The 2018 needs a good decant. Readers will find a sturdy...

The 2018 La Rose Perrière has come together beautifully since I last tasted it. Rich, deep and sumptuous, the 2018 possesses terrific depth and density from start to finish. Inky dark fruit, chocolate, licorice, spice...

Brilliant ruby. Deeply perfumed red and blue fruit and floral aromas are complemented by suggestions of exotic spices, licorice and smoky minerals. Juicy and concentrated in style, offering appealingly sweet cherry and...

Among the oldest estates in St Emilion, dating back to the Middle Ages, this is pure restrained limestone, and stands as an excellent reflection of why this type of terroir worked so well in 2018. The ph for example, is...

The serious 2018 Mengoba Mencía Alicante Bouschet shows the potential of 2018 to produce very fresh reds that are both approachable and deep, complex but easy to understand. I think he has come to a blend that shows the...

(91+ points) A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot and aged in 50% new oak, the deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Fonbadet rolls effortless out of the glass with evocative scents of stewed black plums...

The Bonnies' work in the vineyard and the vines' maturity is paying off in more complexity, precision and silkier tannins, with elevated, layered aromas and flavours. The bouquet is herbs and lavender, the juicy, open and...

A wine that will take time to balance out, this has dense, dark and dry tannins at this stage. These underline the richness of the black fruits and acidity, giving a wine that will need to age to lose its firm edge. Drink...

The 2018 Pinot Noir The Settler Cleary Ranch, aged in 38% new French oak, has a pale ruby-purple color and classic scents of tea leaves, earth, underbrush and laurel with a red berry core. The light-bodied palate has a...

The 2018 Barolo Ravera is a powerful, rustic wine. Wild cherry, cedar, leather, orange zest, tobacco, herbs, menthol, iron and game race across the palate. Austere and wild, the 2018 is an assertive Barolo that will...

A domaine wine, Bouchard farms this on their 8.77 acres on the east face of the Corton hill. The hot, dry vintage played into that exposition toward the morning sun, yielding a wine with notes of licorice amped up in...