The Wine Independent (100)

The 2019 Cheval Blanc is a blend of 58% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Franc, and 8% Cabernet Sauvignon. 41 out of 53 blocks have had a part to play this year, representing 10 different soil types. The Grand Vin in 2019 represents 82% of production. Deep purple-black in color, it needs a lot of swirling to shake loose fragrant scents of Indian spice, potpourri, star anise, and cardamom, over a core of preserved plums, boysenberries, and charcoal with touches of wood smoke and cracked black pepper. Full-bodied, rich and immediately impactful in the mouth, the layered nuances slowly expand, beautifully framed by ripe, rounded tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with cascading savory and earth flavors and lots of lingering mineral notes.

The Wine Independent (100)

The 2019 Cheval Blanc is a blend of 58% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Franc, and 8% Cabernet Sauvignon. 41 out of 53 blocks have had a part to play this year, representing 10 different soil types. The Grand Vin in 2019 represents 82% of production. Deep purple-black in color, it needs a lot of swirling to shake loose fragrant scents of Indian spice, potpourri, star anise, and cardamom, over a core of preserved plums, boysenberries, and charcoal with touches of wood smoke and cracked black pepper. Full-bodied, rich and immediately impactful in the mouth, the layered nuances slowly expand, beautifully framed by ripe, rounded tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with cascading savory and earth flavors and lots of lingering mineral notes.

The Wine Independent (100)

The 2019 Cheval Blanc is a blend of 58% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Franc, and 8% Cabernet Sauvignon. 41 out of 53 blocks have had a part to play this year, representing 10 different soil types. The Grand Vin in 2019 represents 82% of production. Deep purple-black in color, it needs a lot of swirling to shake loose fragrant scents of Indian spice, potpourri, star anise, and cardamom, over a core of preserved plums, boysenberries, and charcoal with touches of wood smoke and cracked black pepper. Full-bodied, rich and immediately impactful in the mouth, the layered nuances slowly expand, beautifully framed by ripe, rounded tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with cascading savory and earth flavors and lots of lingering mineral notes.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

The Grand Vin 2020 Château Cheval Blanc checks in as a blend of 65% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon that was raised, as always, in 100% new French oak. As usual with Cheval Blanc, it's primarily about finesse and elegance, as well as complexity, and exhibits a deep purple hue as well as a kaleidoscopic bouquet of sweet red and black fruits, spring flowers, spicy incense, loamy earth, and smoke tobacco. Absolutely flawless on the palate, it's full-bodied, has perfectly integrated oak, ripe, silky tannins, and a gorgeous finish that keeps you coming back to the glass. This powerful, concentrated Cheval Blanc offers pleasure even today (needs lots of air) but warrants 7-8 years of bottle age and will see its 40th birthday in fine form.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

The Grand Vin 2020 Château Cheval Blanc checks in as a blend of 65% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon that was raised, as always, in 100% new French oak. As usual with Cheval Blanc, it's primarily about finesse and elegance, as well as complexity, and exhibits a deep purple hue as well as a kaleidoscopic bouquet of sweet red and black fruits, spring flowers, spicy incense, loamy earth, and smoke tobacco. Absolutely flawless on the palate, it's full-bodied, has perfectly integrated oak, ripe, silky tannins, and a gorgeous finish that keeps you coming back to the glass. This powerful, concentrated Cheval Blanc offers pleasure even today (needs lots of air) but warrants 7-8 years of bottle age and will see its 40th birthday in fine form.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

The Grand Vin 2020 Château Cheval Blanc checks in as a blend of 65% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon that was raised, as always, in 100% new French oak. As usual with Cheval Blanc, it's primarily about finesse and elegance, as well as complexity, and exhibits a deep purple hue as well as a kaleidoscopic bouquet of sweet red and black fruits, spring flowers, spicy incense, loamy earth, and smoke tobacco. Absolutely flawless on the palate, it's full-bodied, has perfectly integrated oak, ripe, silky tannins, and a gorgeous finish that keeps you coming back to the glass. This powerful, concentrated Cheval Blanc offers pleasure even today (needs lots of air) but warrants 7-8 years of bottle age and will see its 40th birthday in fine form.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

The Grand Vin 2020 Château Cheval Blanc checks in as a blend of 65% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon that was raised, as always, in 100% new French oak. As usual with Cheval Blanc, it's primarily about finesse and elegance, as well as complexity, and exhibits a deep purple hue as well as a kaleidoscopic bouquet of sweet red and black fruits, spring flowers, spicy incense, loamy earth, and smoke tobacco. Absolutely flawless on the palate, it's full-bodied, has perfectly integrated oak, ripe, silky tannins, and a gorgeous finish that keeps you coming back to the glass. This powerful, concentrated Cheval Blanc offers pleasure even today (needs lots of air) but warrants 7-8 years of bottle age and will see its 40th birthday in fine form.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

Another perfect wine from this brilliant estate is the 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which matches the otherworldly 2007. A classic blend of 60% Grenache, 30% Mourvèdre and 10% Syrah brought up all in old foudre, this beauty's deep purple color is followed by a mammoth bouquet of kirsch liqueur, black currants, blueberries, Asian spices, and garrigue. Full-bodied, concentrated, and powerful, it nevertheless is as graceful as a ballerina on the palate and has ultra-fine tannins, a silky, seamless texture, and a finish that just won't quit. Hats off to vigneron Paul-Vincent Avril!

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

Another perfect wine from this brilliant estate is the 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which matches the otherworldly 2007. A classic blend of 60% Grenache, 30% Mourvèdre and 10% Syrah brought up all in old foudre, this beauty's deep purple color is followed by a mammoth bouquet of kirsch liqueur, black currants, blueberries, Asian spices, and garrigue. Full-bodied, concentrated, and powerful, it nevertheless is as graceful as a ballerina on the palate and has ultra-fine tannins, a silky, seamless texture, and a finish that just won't quit. Hats off to vigneron Paul-Vincent Avril!

Wine Advocate (100)

The best bottle of this I've ever had, the 2005 Châteauneuf du Pape Reserve was utter perfection on this occasion. Made from a blend of 70% Grenache and 30% Mourvèdre that was raised mostly in demi-muids, it exhibits awesome notes of blackberry, licorice, smoked herbs, graphite and tinges of minerality. Decadent, massively full-bodied and with sweet tannin, this thrilling Châteauneuf is hard to resist now, yet should continue to knock it out of the park for another decade or more.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

Lastly, and a perfect wine, the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Reserve is a 60/40 split of Grenache and Mourvèdre that’s brought up in demi-muids. It shows the vintage’s ripe, sexy, yet also concentrated and powerful style, offering full-bodied aromas and flavors of red and blue fruits, Provençal herbs, pepper, and violets. Possessing sensational elegance, perfect balance, and ripe, polished tannins, it’s always the more aristocratic, classy, seamless wine compared to the more exuberant, overflowing with character Les Quartz release. This matches the otherworldly 2001, 2007, 2010, and 2016.

Wine Advocate (100)

I’ve been lucky enough to have the 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Deus ex Machina numerous times over the past year, and while still youthful, it’s starting to shows hints of evolution and secondary nuances. Cassis, crushed rocks, graphite, beef blood and iron-like aromas and flavors are all present here, and it offers incredible depth and richness on the palate, with gorgeous purity, masses of tannin and a rock-star finish. A wine that could make you run out of adjectives, it too is another wine that goes flying off the scale.

Wine Advocate (100)

Deeper and richer, the 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Deus ex Machina has been nothing short of perfection on the 3-4 times I’ve been lucky enough to try it. Muscular and powerful, with a serious, full-bodied profile, it gives up incredible aromas and flavors of creme de cassis, licorice, graphite, beef blood and loamy earth. Like most 2010s at this stage, it’s backwards and dense, and needs to be forgotten for another couple of years. This beauty will have 2-3 decades of overall longevity.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

More cured meats, spice, loamy soil notes, and an incredible core of kirsch and currant fruits emerge from the 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Deus Ex Machina. Deep, incredibly concentrated, multi-dimensional and long, it reminds me of the 2007 at this same point in time. This cuvée is always a 60/40 split of Grenache and Mourvèdre, brought up in tank and new demi-muids, and in top vintages, needs 2-5 years of bottle age to really shine, yet I always also fine a certain accessibility given its balance and purity. It’s capable of lasting for two decades.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

Starting off a trio of truly magical wines, the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape La Combe Des Fous checks in as 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and the rest Vaccarèse and Cinsault raised in tank and demi-muids. Sensationally pure cassis and blackberry fruits as well as complex notes of lavender, Provençal garrigue, ground pepper, and flowers all define this full-bodied 2019, which displays the vintage’s ripe, perfumed style while bringing more finesse, elegant, and purity than just about every other wine out there. It’s the finest vintage of this cuvée I’ve tasted and has another 15-20 years of prime drinking ahead of it.

Wine Advocate (100)

More flamboyant, open and exotic, with notes of kirsch liqueur, cassis, toasted almonds, sandalwood, lavender, and crushed flowers that you can smell from across the room, the 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape Sanctus Sanctorum expands on the palate, with incredible concentration, building, sweet tannin and a finish that just won’t quit. Where the 2010 cuts a more focused path, this puppy is overflowing with fruit and texture. It too is a perfect wine that will evolve for another couple decades, yet given this showing, don’t hesitate to crack bottles over the coming couple of years.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

One of the greatest young wines I’ve ever tasted is the 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Sanctus Sanctorum which is 100% old vine Grenache sourced from a single parcel in the La Crau lieu-dit. Lighter in color than both the Combes des Fous and Ex Machina, it offers a heavenly perfume of kirsch liqueur, crushed rocks, exotic spices, and graphite. This beauty hits the palate with an incredible display of opulent, decent fruit paired with an elegance and seamlessness that needs to be tasted to be believed. With building richness, no weight, ultra-fine tannins, and a finish that won’t quit, it’s released only in magnum, so it will take upward of a decade to hit maturity and will keep for 20+ years. Hats off to the Maurel family and their consultant Philippe Cambie!

Decanter (100)

Enjoyed over dinner in Burgundy after tasting many truly lovely wines, this wine could erase your memory of anything else. It is a riveting tour-de-force, with a medium lemon-yellow colour and heady, incredibly forward aromas of ripe orchard and stone fruit with exotic spices, butter, and a bit of oak. There is fresh acidity, plenty of body and extract, and incredible finesse and elegance as well. The combination of youthful fruit, fresh acidity, and robust density carry this wine to an interminable finish.

Decanter (100)

Enjoyed over dinner in Burgundy after tasting many truly lovely wines, this wine could erase your memory of anything else. It is a riveting tour-de-force, with a medium lemon-yellow colour and heady, incredibly forward aromas of ripe orchard and stone fruit with exotic spices, butter, and a bit of oak. There is fresh acidity, plenty of body and extract, and incredible finesse and elegance as well. The combination of youthful fruit, fresh acidity, and robust density carry this wine to an interminable finish.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

Another magical wine from this property, the 2009 Château Cos D'Estournel reminds me slightly of the 2005 with its incredibly rich, powerful, opulent style married to stunning finesse and elegance. Still youthful yet with a touch of maturity, its deep ruby/plum color is followed by classic Saint-Estèphe notes of blackcurrants, dried tobacco, loamy earth, Asian spices, and licorice. Deep, full-bodied, and massive on the palate, it's flawlessly balanced and has building tannins hiding under its wealth of fruit, with no hard edges and a great, great finish. This tour de force is still 5-7 years away from maturity and is a legendary wine to follow over the coming 40-50 years.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

Another magical wine from this property, the 2009 Château Cos D'Estournel reminds me slightly of the 2005 with its incredibly rich, powerful, opulent style married to stunning finesse and elegance. Still youthful yet with a touch of maturity, its deep ruby/plum color is followed by classic Saint-Estèphe notes of blackcurrants, dried tobacco, loamy earth, Asian spices, and licorice. Deep, full-bodied, and massive on the palate, it's flawlessly balanced and has building tannins hiding under its wealth of fruit, with no hard edges and a great, great finish. This tour de force is still 5-7 years away from maturity and is a legendary wine to follow over the coming 40-50 years.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

Another magical wine from this property, the 2009 Château Cos D'Estournel reminds me slightly of the 2005 with its incredibly rich, powerful, opulent style married to stunning finesse and elegance. Still youthful yet with a touch of maturity, its deep ruby/plum color is followed by classic Saint-Estèphe notes of blackcurrants, dried tobacco, loamy earth, Asian spices, and licorice. Deep, full-bodied, and massive on the palate, it's flawlessly balanced and has building tannins hiding under its wealth of fruit, with no hard edges and a great, great finish. This tour de force is still 5-7 years away from maturity and is a legendary wine to follow over the coming 40-50 years.

The Wine Independent (100)

Deep garnet in color, the 2016 Cos d'Estournel is quite closed to start, requiring a lot of coaxing to bring out profound notions of creme de cassis, wild blueberries, black cherry compote, and rose oil, leading to suggestions of Indian spices, crushed rocks, and dried lavender. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is both opulent and energetic, revealing loads of perfumed black fruit layers and a plush, polished texture, finishing with epic length and depth.

The Wine Independent (100)

Deep garnet in color, the 2016 Cos d'Estournel is quite closed to start, requiring a lot of coaxing to bring out profound notions of creme de cassis, wild blueberries, black cherry compote, and rose oil, leading to suggestions of Indian spices, crushed rocks, and dried lavender. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is both opulent and energetic, revealing loads of perfumed black fruit layers and a plush, polished texture, finishing with epic length and depth.

The Wine Independent (100)

Deep garnet in color, the 2016 Cos d'Estournel is quite closed to start, requiring a lot of coaxing to bring out profound notions of creme de cassis, wild blueberries, black cherry compote, and rose oil, leading to suggestions of Indian spices, crushed rocks, and dried lavender. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is both opulent and energetic, revealing loads of perfumed black fruit layers and a plush, polished texture, finishing with epic length and depth.

The Wine Independent (100)

Deep garnet in color, the 2016 Cos d'Estournel is quite closed to start, requiring a lot of coaxing to bring out profound notions of creme de cassis, wild blueberries, black cherry compote, and rose oil, leading to suggestions of Indian spices, crushed rocks, and dried lavender. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is both opulent and energetic, revealing loads of perfumed black fruit layers and a plush, polished texture, finishing with epic length and depth.

The Wine Independent (100)

Deep garnet in color, the 2016 Cos d'Estournel is quite closed to start, requiring a lot of coaxing to bring out profound notions of creme de cassis, wild blueberries, black cherry compote, and rose oil, leading to suggestions of Indian spices, crushed rocks, and dried lavender. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is both opulent and energetic, revealing loads of perfumed black fruit layers and a plush, polished texture, finishing with epic length and depth.

The Wine Independent (100)

Deep garnet in color, the 2016 Cos d'Estournel is quite closed to start, requiring a lot of coaxing to bring out profound notions of creme de cassis, wild blueberries, black cherry compote, and rose oil, leading to suggestions of Indian spices, crushed rocks, and dried lavender. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is both opulent and energetic, revealing loads of perfumed black fruit layers and a plush, polished texture, finishing with epic length and depth.

Wine Advocate (100)

It's an historical wine, a one-off, semi-sweet white produced at the end of the Spanish Civil War, a wine impossible to replicate, fruit of impossible circumstances, a wine I've had the luck to drink and share with many people on a number of occasions and which never fails to impress everyone. The perfect 1939 CVNE Rioja Blanco Semi Dulce Corona is a mythical wine! 1939 saw the end of Spain's Civil War, and the country was upside down. There were some major battles fought in Rioja, and by the time they had to harvest the grapes, there were not enough men in the village. They must have focused on the best parcels, surely giving priority to red grapes. Some vineyards were overlooked, as happened with the whites that eventually produced this wine. These grapes were harvested extremely late, into November, close to December and their health was not optimal, they had developed some botrytis and were clearly rotten. The people in charge of making the wine surely didn't know about botrytis cynerea, or noble rot, and were surely afraid their grapes were rotten and they would not be able to produce any decent white. So they did the best they could, but the fermentation never finished completely and there was some residual sugar in the wine. So, as they did with all their wines, they put it in oak barrels to mature and kind of put it in a corner hoping nobody would notice its shortcomings. We have to realize that CVNE was already producing quite a lot of wine at the time, so it's not unusual to have a few stray barrels here or there that nobody pays attention to. What is not that normal is that the wine was REALLY forgotten and was "found" during a stock take for an audit in 1970! So the wine aged slowly in barrel for some 30 years! Once found, nobody saw any reason to keep the wine in barrel any longer, so they decided to bottle it. Not knowing quite what to do with it, the bottles were stacked somewhere and the same story was repeated, as the stash was forgotten and basically untouched until thirty something years later: thanks to the daughter of one of the family owners (the winery is still in the hand of the same family that created it back in 1879). The proud father had a vague idea about a somewhat sweet wine that could be served at his daughter's wedding and asked to get some bottles to taste. They uncorked it, tasted it and found a complex, subtle white with great balance between alcohol, acidity and a little bit of residual sugar (around 20 grams), which took the edge off the acidity and made the wine rounder, as old Viura can be too austere. The slow aging, first in an oxidative way during the years in oak provided some nuttiness, and spicy aromas, while the botrytis added some of those dry apricot, beeswax and pollen notes, hinting on honey, but also the long reductive period in bottle made it very elegant and polished, with infinite nuances of white pepper, quince, faint smoke, walnuts, petrol...This redefines complexity, elegance and slow aging. The palate is prodigious, with a gobsmacking (literally!) balance, pungent flavors, freshness, acidity, very faint sweetness and length like only something which has slowly evolved over 70 years can be. The aftertaste should not be measured in seconds, but in minutes, and the empty glass keeps changing and giving different tones for hours. If you leave a little bit in the bottle for the day after (yes, it's difficult, I know!) the wine is even better on the second day. There is no reason to believe that if the wine is as good as it is today it is not going to reach its one-hundredth birthday. The wine is mainly Viura, but there might have been a little bit of the white Garnacha Blanca in the blend. At this stage nobody really knows (or cares). This is simply otherworldly, superb, perfect wine, whose only improvement would come if they had bottled some magnums! A dream. A unique, historical wine. If there is a perfect white Rioja, this is surely it. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2039.

Vinous - Neal Martin (100)

Just weeks after tasting the 2001 Château d’Yquem at the estate, another bottle was served at a lunch in London and it was perfection. The aromatics are practically identical and likewise the palate, but this bottle, which had been decanted, displays a scintilla more tension, perhaps more "vibrancy" that so effortlessly counterbalances the richness. Irrespective of points, it is simply one of the most magnificent wines of any kind that can pass your lips.