Vinous (94-96)

The 2020 Grands-Echézeaux Grand Cru has a nicely-detailed bouquet: mulberry, crushed stone, rose petal and light bergamot aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannins, taut and fresh with a slightly chalky-textured but quite persistent finish. I admire the tension here and the length - a noble G.E.

Wine Advocate (95)

Disgorged in April 2019 with three grams per liter dosage, the 2012 Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Extra Brut Minéral is showing brilliantly, bursting from the glass with aromas of ripe citrus fruit, warm bread, green apples and crushed chalk. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, chiseled and incisive, with a tensile, chalky core that displays considerable concentration and structuring dry extract, as well as a racy spine of acidity. This comes warmly recommended.

Introducing the pristinely crafted Autreau Perles Dhuy 2015, an exquisite example from the reputable Champagne house of Roger Coulon. Hailing from the esteemed vintages of 2015 in the serene valley of the Marne in France, where grapes steep drenched in a unique climate and terroir, this offering raises the bar for robust champagnes. Autreau Perles Dhuy 2015's remarkable composition is a seamless blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grapes, meticulously hand-selected and aged to perfection to achieve a delectable balance of rich texture and vibrant flavour profiles.

Its unparalleled quality is testimony to the house's eight generations of expertise in crafting superior champagne using traditional and sustainable methods. Autreau Perles Dhuy 2015 will enchant the palate with an exquisite Complexity, underlined by delectable fruit notes beautifully entwined with a telling hint of minerality. A bottle of this sumptuous champagne is a testament to exceptional viticulture and winemaking prowess.

Decanter (95)

Bouchard have some of the biggest holdings of Corton-Charlemagne, at 3.9ha, all of them east-facing and high on the slope. This is perfumed and intense, with citrus rind and tangerine notes, chalky freshness and old-vine concentration. The oak is assertive but well integrated.

Vinous (96)

The 2016 Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze Grand Cru has a generous and pleasing nose with scents of strawberry preserve, crushed stone, rose petals and subtle orange-blossom. This is refined and transparent. The palate is medium-bodied with chalky tannins. Beautifully balanced, this has a symmetry that is beguiling and classic. A little austere finish suggests it will benefit from several years in bottle. Utterly beguiling with enormous ageing potential. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting.

Vinous (98)

The 2017 Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze Grand Cru has an open, generous bouquet of predominantly red fruit, a little earthier than its peers but still gaining intensity in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, saturated tannins. It’s a little creamy in texture because of the oak, but there is plenty of fruit here and an almost sorbet-like freshness on the finish. Blimey... this surpasses all expectations and is contender for wine of the vintage. Brilliant. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2017 tasting.

Vinous (93)

(13.5% alcohol; from east/southeast-facing vines with some tempering influence from the nearby woods): Bright full red. Complex, expressive scents of wild strawberry, raspberry, dried flowers, spices and earth. Dense, saline and sweet, with its strawberry, underbrush and smoky mineral flavors giving it surprising early seductiveness, but this wine has the concentration and backbone to evolve slowly. Very long and flavorful on the aftertaste.

Vinous (96)

The 2018 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru "Cuvée Classique" displays good amplitude on the nose, incense and iris flower permeating the vibrant black fruit; there is real depth and complexity here. The mineral-driven palate is very well balanced with gentle grip and a chalky finish similar to the Vieilles Vignes. Superb.

If you seek an exquisite expression of revered French terroir, discover the Claude Cazals Blanc de Blancs Clos Cazals 2002. Cultivated in the illustrious region of Champagne, this tantalising blanc de blancs is the craft of the esteemed Maison Claude Cazals. The maison boasts an illustrious history dating back to the 1890s, renowned for their meticulous viticulture.

The Clos Cazals vineyard is an enclosed vineyard, one of few within Champagne. This remarkable 2002 vintage spent over 15 years maturing on lees, rewarding the palate with an enduring complexity and richness. The wine is pure Chardonnay giving it a certain crisp character presenting resonances of ripe citrus and baked apple.

Defined by an elegant effervescence and distinct minerality, the Claude Cazals Blanc de Blancs Clos Cazals 2002 is a testament to the maison's methodical approach to winemaking. For the discerning connoisseur, this is indeed an object of adoration; a display of the mastery innate to the noble lands of Champagne.

James Suckling (96)

A very elegant and refined Echezeaux that nimbly moves over your palate. Underplayed power and very fine tannins make this a shy beauty, but if you give it time and attention then you will be amply rewarded. Very silky and delicate, long finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.

Vinous (96-98)

The 2020 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru has a powerful yet beguiling, elegant bouquet that offers layers of red cherry and blackberry fruit, the oak here seamless integrated, likewise the whole bunch. The palate is medium-bodied with supple, saturated tannins, the fleshy/puppy fat almost disguising the backbone present here. Very persistent on the finish, this is an excellent, luxurious and yet sophisticated Clos de la Roche.

Wine Advocate (98+)

A blend of the 2015 and 2014 vintages, Egly's emblematic NV Brut Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru Les Crayères was disgorged this year with only one gram per liter dosage. Bursting with aromas of mirabelle plum, Anjou pear and green apple mingled with notions of freshly baked bread, honeycomb and praline, it's full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, its satiny attack segueing into a deep, layered mid-palate of striking texture and concentration. Concluding with a long, intensely saline finish, it's another brilliant wine from a great producer at the top of his form.

Jancis Robinson (17)

A bit of apple peel. Very ‘natural’. Very pure and unadorned. All top Montagne de Reims villages. Extreme champagne. Very dry finish. Lots of potential.

Vinous (96)

The NV Extra Brut V.P. Grand Cru (Vieillissement Prolongé) is a rich, textured Champagne that expresses all of the natural intensity gained after having spent eight years on its lees. Baked apple tart, pastry, spice, chamomile and lightly honeyed notes infuse the V.P. with tremendous flavor complexity to fill out its broad, expansive frame. It is a wine of remarkable depth and vinous intensity. In a word: superb. Disgorged: July, 2020.

Vinous (95)

(25 hectoliters per hectare): Full, dark red. Tight, primary, slightly reduced aromas of blackberry, blueberry, licorice and minerals. Densely packed, rich and broad; a distinctly horizontal, pliant style of Clos Vougeot, no doubt a function of the very warm, sunny vintage. Today this is sweeter and more open-knit than the Grands-Echézeaux but both of these wines should easily age for two decades or more. (Mallard noted that on some days this wine comes across as stricter, more Cistercian.) Finishes with spicy, ripe tannins and terrific energy and length.

Vinous (94)

The 2017 Clos Vougeot Grand Cru is well defined and precise, with cranberry, raspberry and vibrant red cherry scents that soar from the glass. The oak here is very well assimilated. The well-balanced palate offers fine but firm tannins that frame the black cherry and raspberry fruit. Lovely tension and mineralité on the finish, which delivers just the right amount of spice and length. Excellent. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2017 tasting.

Wine Advocate (92-94+)

The 2017 Grands Echézeaux Grand Cru is a great success, unfurling in the glass with aromas of blackberries, wild berries, rich soil tones and espresso roast, framed by a lavish but nicely integrated touch of toasty new oak. On the palate, it's full-bodied, ample and layered, with a generous core of ripe but juicy fruit, concluding with an expansive, saline finish. While this is quite giving and charming by the standards of the appellation, it's the most concentrated wine in the Eugénie portfolio this year, and will likely prove the longest lived.

Vinous (96)

The 2017 La Grande Rue has a deep, introspective bouquet, offering more black fruit than red; touches of oyster shell and seaweed percolate through with time. The palate is where the quality shines through, in the filigreed tannins and the wonderful sense of symmetry. Fresh as a daisy without compromising intensity, especially on the pixelated finish, which seems to go on forever. Brilliant. This far exceeded my expectations. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2017 tasting.

Wine Advocate (95-97)

The 2019 Echézeaux Grand Cru is brilliant, soaring from the glass with scents of exotic spices, wild berries, plums, rose petals, raw cocoa, peonies and blood orange. Full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, it's deep and complete, with supple tannins and a gourmand, enveloping core of fruit, concluding with a long and mouthwatering finish. This is the finest Echézeaux I've tasted from Guyon.

Vinous (93-95)

(13.4% natural alcohol; this vineyard saw less frost than the Boillots' Clos Vougeot parcels but the crop is small here even in the good years, according to Guillaume Boillot, who is aging the wine in a new barrel but vinified it in a traditional cuve for 25 days): Bright dark, red. Medicinal dark fruit and licorice aromas are a bit muted today by a strong oak element. Densely packed and wonderfully tactile but also juicy and energetic, conveying a strong impression of thrust to its very intense black cherry and saline soil flavors. Very concentrated, voluminous wine with a powerful impression of terroir; altogether fatter than the Boillot's '16 from the Côte de Beaune. Really spreads out to saturate the palate and linger on the dense, spicy aftertaste. One feels the thick skins in the wine's very natural tannins.

Burghound (95)

A gorgeously spicy nose features elegant red berry, Asian-style tea and a hint of violet aromas. The succulent and seductively textured medium weight plus flavors coat the palate with plenty of sap while delivering excellent length on the strikingly long finish where the only nit is a hint of warmth. This will need a few years to develop more overall depth but this should be seriously good when it finally reaches its apogee.

Vinous (97)

The MV 16 is bright, fresh and airy and yet has the natural richness of Aÿ that Giraud fans have come to expect. Apricot, tangerine oil, nutmeg, cinnamon, chamomile and dried flowers all meld together in a creamy, ample Champagne that hits all the right notes. A Champagne of towering presence, the MV 16 is classy, understated and undeniably alluring. It is also one of the most impressive Champagnes I have ever tasted from Claude Giraud. Even in the early going, the 70% new oak is so well-integrated. This set of new releases is full of highlights, but the MV 16 is especially fine. Don't miss it! Dosage is 6 grams per liter. Disgorged: December 11, 2020.

Wine Advocate (97)

I'm increasingly convinced that Pierre Larmandier produced Champagne's wines of the vintage this year, and the 2011 Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Vieille Vigne du Levant only compounds that suspicion. Unfurling in the glass with a deep and complex nose of citrus zest, crisp yellow apples, smoke, warm bread, mandarin oil and oyster shell, it's full-bodied and fleshy but incisive, with huge concentration, bright acids and a long, intensely saline finish. Totally transcending the reputation of 2011, it has many of the textural properties of a great white Burgundy, married with the cut and chalky grip of Champagne's Côte de Blancs.

Burghound (89-92)

A moderately toasty nose reflects notes of cassis, wild red currant and soft floral wisps. The sleek, muscular and broad-shouldered flavors make quite a contrast with the slightly skinny and lean finish where the wood toast telegraphed by the nose resurfaces. Again, this may come together but that is far from a certainty.

Burghound (90-93)

Reduction knocks down the underlying fruit though wisps of spice escape the funk. More positively are the racy and highly energetic middle weight flavors that brim with minerality on the markedly firm but balanced and persistent finish that will need to add depth to reach the upper end of my projected range.

Vinous (92-94)

(from vines in both Charmes and Mazoyères): Dark red-ruby. Inviting aromas of raspberry, minerals, smoked meat and dried rose, along with a cool licorice note. Juicy, intense wine with excellent definition and lovely inner-mouth floral lift. Still a bit youthfully medicinal but already conveys an attractive texture and a harmony of elements. Finishes juicy, spicy and quite long, with suave, fine-grained tannins and a repeating suggestion of medicinal reserve. Saouma was not the only producer I visited this fall who noted that Charmes-Chambertin has benefited substantially from global warming. Not too long ago, Charmes typically had a greenness as well as underripe tannins, he said. (I will withhold early judgment on a 350-liter barrel of Griottes-Chambertin, which was fusel and extremely reduced, and still had some unconverted malic acidity.)

Burghound (88-91)

A somber nose half-heartedly offers up notes of forest floor, earth and leather on the essence of red berry fruit-scented aromas. There is better volume and muscle to the bigger and richer if decidedly grippy and somewhat short finish. This too may lengthen out but today it seems a bit clipped and compact.

Burghound (92-95)

This is very ripe, indeed to the point where the cassis, warm earth and softly floral-scented aromas exhibit hints of mocha. In much the same fashion as the Clos St. Denis there is a relatively sleek mouth feel to the solidly intense and muscular larger-scaled flavors that possess a lovely sense of harmony and excellent complexity on the lingering finish that is a bit less youthfully austere than usual.

Wine Advocate (94+)

The 2016 Echézeaux Grand Cru wafts from the glass with a deep bouquet of smoked meats, cassis, blackberries, incense and rich soil tones. On the palate, it's full-bodied, velvety and enveloping, with rich but supple tannins, a deep and concentrated core of fruit, lively acids and a long, thrillingly carnal finish. This is a beautifully made Echézeaux from this challenging frost vintage.

Vinous (93-95)

(the crop level here was barely 15 hectoliters per hectare, according to Saouma): Full, bright ruby. Higher-toned and considerably more expressive on the nose than the Echézeaux, offering aromas of black raspberry, licorice and violet along with suggestions of more exotic ripeness. Densely packed and seriously concentrated, but a bit youthfully imploded owing to its crushed-rock minerality; conveys a strong impression of dry extract but little early sweetness. As young as this wine is, it's much more harmonious today than the Echézeaux. Finishes very long, with serious but fine-grained tannins.