A beam of pure cherry aromas and flavors ignites this racy, vibrant red. It's pure, yet spice, earth, licorice and sanguine notes seep in by the long aftertaste. Refined tannins grace the finish. Best from 2024 through 2043. 420 cases made, 45 cases imported. — BS

A brooding nose only reluctantly reveals its extremely fresh notes of plum, cassis, violets and pungent earth. There is a bit more volume to the powerful, concentrated and serious big-bodied flavors that evidence a lovely minerality on the mouth coating, firmly structured and strikingly long and beautifully well-balanced finish. This bad boy of a Bressandes is a knockout but one that is clearly going to require extended cellaring to soften what are presently resolute tannins.

(91-94 points) Dense and dark purple, this is a powerful beast, offering a high octane nose with oak and ripeness but I think this carries it off. Actually its really gorgeous with a sumptuous sweet rich ripe fruit, with great length.

Tollot cousins Nathalie, Olivier and Jean-Paul tend several grand crus on the Corton hill, their Bressandes powered by red-fruit freshness in 2018. Treated to 50 percent new oak in its barrel aging, the wine developed a sleekness that gives it a thoroughly modern feel, down to the charcoal-black richness of the tannins. But the oak seems to elevate the wine rather than tamp it down, as rose petal scents pour from the glass, chasing flavors of berries and red plums. Its gentle touch makes it accessible now, though the tannins are structured to shape the wine for long aging.

(90-92 points) The 2018 Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru comes from two parcels amounting to a single hectare of vines. This is more mineral-driven than the straight Le Corton, offering beautifully defined red berry fruit laced with crushed limestone and light marine aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with powerful red berry fruit. Quite heady for a Corton-Bressandes, leading to an intense finish. Perhaps this year I err toward the restraint shown by the Le Corton. -- Neal Martin