Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (96)

5 Star Wine. Very pale colour. Hyper elegant nose, impressive nervous tension, despite 13.3 alcohol and 3.15 pH, really lively, white fruit – this vineyard is really coming into its own since the vines hit 20 years old. A little touch of barrel; biscuit, but the wine is really together, beautiful texture and stretches out exceptionally well across a very long finish. Tasted: September 2018.

Wine Advocate (93)

The 2017 Meursault Clos des Ambres is also showing very well from bottle, opening in the glass with notes of green pear, oatmeal, dried white flowers and a hint of youthful reduction that dissipates with aeration. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, multidimensional and textural, with an enveloping attack that segues into a deep, muscular core, concluding with a racy finish.

Wine Advocate (92+)

A beautiful wine, Ente's 2018 Meursault Clos des Ambres unwinds to reveal aromas of pear, orange oil, wheat toast, chamomile and subtle hints of praline. Medium to full-bodied, bright and incisive, with lively acids and chalky structuring extract, it's an elegant, nicely concentrated rendition of a cuvée that I've always particularly enjoyed chez Ente. I suspect it will develop very nicely with some time in bottle.

Vinous (97)

The 2021 Chardonnay Reed Vineyard is pure, harmonious and suave, caressing the mouth with its gentle texture and purity. It's not showy but a wine worth getting to know: it provides cognitive and sensory pleasure. You can expect almond, oatmeal, smoky nuts and party popper aromas. Yes, party poppers. I really love the smell of party poppers, so I want to keep smelling this and having a little party shimmy. Pure and textural with a gourmand character that will make you want to lick your cheeks to keep tasting it. Already good; this is going to be great.

Matthew Jukes (19+)

The latest release of R.D. – Bollinger’s iconic ‘Recently Disgorged or Récemment Dégorgé’ wine is something completely out of the ordinary. My one-word description for this sensational wine is ‘controlled’. I say this because what I adore about every single vintage of R.D. which I have tasted (and there have been many – see below) is the seeming lack of control in every sip. R.D. should be and usually is an absurdly decadent and unpredictable wine, firing off ostentatious flavour and extraordinary detail in every direction. This is why I love it so much and also why I only open it on very special occasions! What is remarkable about this particular vintage is its restraint and levity coupled with the extraordinary length of finish. After 14 years on lees, this wine is as power-packed and energised as it could possibly be and with the extra edge and vivacity coming from a fulsome percentage of Verzenay Pinot fruit (29%) added to the usual heartbeat coming from the Aÿ Pinot core (26%) this is a dynamic red fruit-dominant cocktail. The overall blend is 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay coming from 14 Crus with 91% Grands Crus in this vintage. The dosage is a keen 3 grams per litre and all disgorgement is done by hand, as usual. But in 2007 the result is atypical, enchanting, surprisingly refreshing and amazingly delicious. I opened this bottle at 11.00 am and did not stopper it for a full 12 hours. I even sneaked half a glass with a chicken curry at supper time and it worked like a dream. This is not a massive firework of a wine that explodes gloriously and then is gone. Instead, it is a blazing torch of flavour with phenomenal persistence and balance and this makes it unmissable in every serious Champagne lover’s cellar.

Wine Advocate (94+)

Disgorged in May 2022, the Paillard NV Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru is superbly fresh, offering up aromas of orchard fruit, lemon, spring flowers and menthol touches. Medium to full-bodied, expressive and precise with a delicate mousse, it’s seamless, vinous, chalky and harmonious with a clean and precise finish.

Jancis Robinson (19)

Aromas of green and yellow fruit mix it with flinty minerality. The palate shows a little more fruit than the straight Marienburg, grapefruit with peel and pith, but without any tropical aspirations. Nuances of salt and quinine give an almost medicinal tang, but a generous texture makes the medicine go down without any resistance. Very cool, the essence of mineral Riesling.

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (95)

(5-Star Wine) An attractive faint green tint to the colour. The nose shows no signs of heat or heaviness. This is magical on the palate, absolutely fills the mouth, ripe lemons on top of rich pear fruit, but nothing peachy or over-ripe. A brilliant example of Charmes, as the vineyard and the vintage are completely in harmony. Drink from 2026-2035.

Tim Atkin MW (97)

Right up there with the best Chardonnays Chile, and South America, has ever produced. This stunning wine comes from five specific blocks within the Quebrada Secain Limarí. Tangy, chiselled and refined, with very stylish oak. It’s the kind of thing that could embarrass a range of Puligny-Montrachet Premiers Crus in a blind tasting. Simply stunning

Decanter (96)

Elegant perfume of lavender, wet stones and jasmine haunt the nose of this expressive and vibrant wine. With the chalky minerality and tangy finish that are trademarks of Limarí, this shows great regional typicity and is a mouthwatering wine with subtle oak integration. A complex yet elegant style.

Wine Spectator (98)

Offers precision and finely detailed form, powered by an expansive palate of flavor. The layers of ripe crushed blackberry and glazed apricot fruit complement the saline-tinged minerality and oyster shell notes, graced by hints of pastry, honeycomb and exotic spice. Mouthwatering and persistent on the zesty finish.

James Suckling (98)

A firm and vivid Champagne with a precise, focused palate. Full-bodied and dry. It’s very layered and bright with light pineapple, peach, praline, cooked-apple and stone aromas and flavors. It’s very subtle and focused at the end. Integrated with richness and high acidity. Good depth. Reminds me of the 1995. Very clean. Solid. Lovely to drink already, but will age nicely.

James Suckling (98)

This is really amazing with an exotic dried-fruit character of pineapple and mangoes. Full-bodied, rich and fruity with cream, pie-crust and caramel character. Crazy chardonnay with a little Jura style and some flor undertones. It really does have flor in the barrel when aging. Love. Get it. Drink now.

James Suckling (98)

A tight and beautiful white with a dense palate of beautiful, ripe lemons and apples. Layered and refined with phenolic tension. Complex yeast and hints of oak and flor. Full body. Great length. 80 per cent flor-growth in barrel. Drink now.

James Suckling (97)

This is another rock-star chardonnay from here with dried-apple, pear-skin, crushed-stone and peach-pit character. Full body. Creamy texture. Phenolic form and a long, flavorful finish. Drink or hold.

James Suckling (96)

A vinous Champagne with so much depth and soft power. Hazelnuts, apricots, peach pits, lemons, pomelos and seashells. Round, creamy bubbles. Complex, but with wonderful drinkability. Converges with precision at the end. Very deep. 80% pinot noir and 20% chardonnay. Blend of 2 solera systems of perpetual reserve, started in 1990. Drink or hold.

Jancis Robinson (19)

A blend of 198 wines from 11 different years, with the youngest the acclaimed 2012, back to a precious, powerfully aromatic lot of Verzenay Pinot Noir 1996. The final blend – 52% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay and 13% Meunier – was bottled in 2013 and aged for seven years in Krug’s cellars in Reims. Yields in 2012 were 20% lower than usual because of a succession of meteorological events including frost, rain, storms and hail in winter and spring 2012, followed by the driest ripening season since 1974. Notably intense aroma with crème pâtissière dominant. Masses of extract and remarkable acidity underpinned by great depth of flavour and beautiful balance on the finish. I think this is going to be a really great, glamorous Krug Grande Cuvée that will continue to develop in bottle for many years to come. I suspect it will be even more enjoyable from the end of 2020. The length on the palate is remarkable. This is magnificently precise, a great tribute to the work of the old cellarmaster Eric Lebel, who is still in the background, and a wonderful welcome to his successor Julie Cavil, who has been learning from him since 2006.

The Real Review (94)

Bright, fresh, elegant wine with oyster shell, grapefruit/citrus, green apple and spicy oak flavours with a vibrant backbone of mouth-watering acidity and peppery phenolics. High energy wine that is drinking well upon release.

Vinous (92-94)

The 2020 Chassagne-Montrachet Virondot 1er Cru, which unlike the other Premier Crus was taken from barrel, has a lovely bouquet with hazelnut, orange rind, wet granite and just a touch of praline. The palate is very well balanced with an irresistible peachy entry that segues into a gorgeous quince-tinged finish. Often one of the Domaine best offerings, this Virondot is another to add in a succession of great wines from this climat.

Wine Advocate (97)

The 2019 Burnside Vineyard Chardonnay is flinty, spicy and lean, with curry leaf, a hint of Champion Ruby (rolling tobacco in Australia—think Golden Virginia) and a bit of saltbush (local flora). It is very smart. The cooler year is moderated by the close proximity to the beach here—it is briny and so good. I could drink a lot of this. It has a beautiful clean finish. Excellent.

Scoring 98 points from the Wine Advocate's Lisa Perrotti-Brown, 97 points from Decanter's Jane Anson and 18.5/20 from Jancis Robinson MW, this 2009 "remains the benchmark Suduiraut of recent years".

 

Still taking a while to open up fully, indicting a very long life ahead, it has a "divine bouquet... building layer upon layer" (NM) that "seductively unfurls" (WA) with gorgeous notes of honey, dried pineapple, chamomile tea, yellow flowers and nectarine. The rich, viscous and satiny texture of the palate is "effortlessly" countered by a "beautiful razor-sharp line of acidity" (NM) that gives this Sauternes bags of freshness. With "epic length and depth" (WA) on the finish, this is a wine that will span generations with Neal Martin giving it a drinking window up to 2070.

Matthew Jukes (19.5++)

By contrast to the Bollinger, Comte is not a one-off, nor anything out of the ordinary. It is a label that all committed Champagne lovers adore. Predictable perhaps. But, of course, one thing does vary, and that is the vintage. The ‘worst’ Comte I ever tasted was rather lovely. The ‘best’, and there have been many (1959, 1966, 1996, 2002, 2006) are all sublime and you can now add 2011 to this list. Taittinger always seems to shun the spotlight, unlike Dom Perignon and other more attention-seeking brands and this modesty rather suits this House. I did something that I never do after first tasting my sample bottle. I was so shocked with the sheer class that I sealed the bottle with a simple Champagne stopper and then tasted it again and again over two days. The stress-testing sorts the wheat from the chaff. It is unlikely that anyone who bought a bottle would do this. Still, I like to see how a potentially great wine evolves, opens up, sometimes falls over, and sometimes blossoms over a few days because it gives me an indication of its potential and its true baseline of quality. The fruit is so tense, grand and layered it is remarkable. The flavour, the fizz, the length, the momentum and the overall halo of greatness did not change one iota over nearly 60 hours of being open with no preservation whatsoever. This is a genius, B de B and while it tastes scintillating now, I am confident that it will amaze Comte fans for decades to come.

Vinous (93)

The 2022 Sauvignon Blanc Quarz is youthfully coy, opening with an airy bouquet that mixes crushed rocks with dried flowers, hints of petrol and nectarines. This is pure pleasure on the palate, soft and round, with juicy acidity and ripe citrus-tinged orchard fruits that swirl as salty mineral tones penetrate deeply. The 2022 finishes with outstanding length and tension, leaving hints of sour melon and a tart lemon rind tinge. The 2022 is intense and built for the cellar.

Vinous (92)

The NV Brut Grand Cellier is bright, effusive and wonderfully charming. White flowers, chalk, mint and lemon confit give this mid-weight, nervy Champagne tons of energy. All the elements are so nicely put together. I especially like the energy and crystalline purity here. There are a lot of terrific wines in this range, but the Grand Cellier is quintessentially Vilmart. This release is based on 2019, with the addition of reserve wines from 2018. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. Disgorged: May 2022.

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (93-95)

From the lower part of Le Charlemagne. There is a regular cuvee too. Lively fresh primrose. At the moment the oak shows a little stronger than the wine on the first nose. The fruit is pretty substantial on the palate, starting at the front, then gracefully continues through to a stony and salty finish. Drink from 2030-2038. Tasted: November 2023.