Dive into the elegant world of French wines with the Guiberteau Saumur Les Moulins Blanc 2020. A masterpiece from the Loire Valley, this white wine is a true testament to Romain Guiberteau's exceptional viticulture savoir-faire, hailing from his biodynamic vineyard renowned for its limestone-rich soils. Steadfast attention to traditional wine-making methods, low-intervention approach and strict yield control results in wines of phenomenal depth and exquisite purity.

Guiberteau Saumur Les Moulins Blanc 2020, a Chenin Blanc varietal, exudes a vibrant array of aromas from orchard fruits to minerality, perfectly encompassing the characteristics of Saumur's unique terroir. On the palate, this wine dances with balanced acidity and profound complexity. A pristine expression of Loire Valley Chenin Blanc, this wine is noted for its age-worthiness, and rewards patience with developing finesse over the years.

Relish in the refined pedigree of Guiberteau Saumur Les Moulins Blanc 2020, a wine that radiates charm, luxury and an authentic taste of France.

Jeb Dunnuck (99)

Just about pure perfection and one of the finest Condrieu to pass my lips, the 2020 Condrieu La Doriane offers an insane bouquet of grilled pineapple, charcoal, crushed stone, acacia flowers, and white peach. It picks up an incredibly sense of salinity on the palate and is full-bodied, has blockbuster concentration, remarkable purity and focus, and a great finish. I like this beast/beauty today, but it will keep for a decade.

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (97-100)

First picked, 100% decorticated. “This is the best wine I have made in my life”. Rich noble imperial purple. All right, team, this really is it! “Tu le bois avec le nez, you drink it with your nose”. No question here. This completely works as there is not the slightest sensation of cooked fruit. No spitting. I don’t know what to say. Actually I was just formulating the words that this is the finest Echezeaux I have tasted in my life when Jean-Pierre interrupted to say that Michel Bettane thought the same! An intensely seductive lush red velvet fruit covering an entirely perfect bone structure. One of the wines of the vintage. Could be THE wine of the vintage. Tasted: November 2021

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (96)

The 2020 Haut-Bages Libéral is exceptionally beautiful and vivid. Hard candy, kirsch, rose petal, cinnamon and blood orange are some of the many notes that race across the palate. A wine of magnificent purity and silkiness, the Haut-Bages Libéral is simply captivating in its intensity. Bright acids punctuate the articulate, persistent finish. Magnificent.

James Suckling (99-100)

This shows very intense, old-vine character with bark, black mushroom and dark fruit. Full-bodied and creamy with unique flavors of earth and fruit. Layered and soulful. The best Hosanna ever? Merlot and cabernet franc. 45% from old vines, dating from the late 1950s.

Vinous (90-92)

The 2020 Chambolle-Musigny Village has a vivid bouquet with red cherries, cranberry and violet scents, actually, quite Vosne-like in personality. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, fine acidity, quite poised and tense with a dash of spice on the finish. This is a delicious Chambolle that should give 12-15 years' drinking pleasure.

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (93-95)

Excellent fresh lemon and lime colour. Relatively stern on the nose. This is backward, and very striking but not quite in place yet, very backward, all the intensity for sure. Stony white fruit as you would expect. How far does it stretch out. Youthful tension Tasted: October 2021.

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (92-94)

An agreeable colour with a pale green tint. This has energy on the nose, not one of the riper examples (and I mean that as a stylistic rather than a qualitative comment). The fruit is more complete on the palate, predominantly white, perhaps some greengage, good grip at the back, and all the length it should have. Tasted: October 2021

James Suckling (95)

Racy wild strawberries and raspberries with white pepper, agave and dried herbs. Fresh, medium-bodied palate with silky, refined tannins spreading evenly across the palate. Juicy and bright finish with lovely, herbal allure. Extremely drinkable now, but will hold, too.

Burghound (89-92)

(from 8 different vineyards the most important of which is Aux Ormes). Here the nose is firmly reduced today though there is good freshness and verve to the intense, sleek and beautifully defined medium weight flavors that possess very fine concentration that helps to buffer the moderately firm but fine tannic spine supporting the balanced and impressively persistent finish. This too is a very good wine in the context of its level. (89-92)/2027+

Tim Atkin MW (94)

Most of this fruit comes from domaine-owned parcels, but some is purchased. Six parcels in total contribute to this pretty, floral and silky-textured Chambolle. Sweet red fruits spread gently across the mid-weight palate before a light ganache note joins in and brings the wine into a gently fading finish. 2022-34

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (91-94)

Full pale lemon. The bouquet is attractive with an intriguing note of liquorice. Quite full on the nose, with a little warmth as well as body, then brought back in to a beautiful finish. Good acidity. A little tension behind, needs time. A wine currently showing in two halves, but which may very well develop positively from here. A conservative score for now. Tasted: November 2021

Vinous (95-97)

The 2020 Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru is beautiful on the nose with harmonious, very pure dark cherries, violet and peony, blackcurrants and touches of rosemary. You could just inhale this all day. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent ripe tannins, fine acidity, taut and fresh with just the right amount of spice towards the finish. So much energy here, this will be difficult to resist in its youth.

James Suckling (98-99)

Wonderfully bright, floral aromas with so much violet character. Such purity and focus. Ethereal on the nose already. Full-bodied, but very polished and deep with finesse and beauty. Incredible structure that fills the mouth.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (92)

The 2020 La Chenade is rich, sumptuous and super-expressive right out of the gate. All of the exuberance of the year comes through loud and clear. A burst of black cherry, plum, mocha, licorice, lavender and spice infuses the Chenade with tons of complexity. Broad and creamy, with fine balance, the Chenade is showing so well today. The combination of fruit density and energy is compelling.

Wine Advocate (99)

One of the wines of the vintage, but likely to prove slower evolving and more introverted than its 2019 counterpart, the 2020 Lafleur unwinds in the glass with aromas of cherries, raspberries, kirsch, black truffle, orange zest and vine smoke. Full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, it's deep and concentrated, with a tightly wound core of fruit framed by rich, powdery tannins, concluding with a long, saline finish. This is another magical bottle from an estate that just seems to do everything right.

Jeb Dunnuck (96-99)

A wine that’s going to flirt with perfection is the 2020 Château Larcis Ducasse. It’s a Saint-Emilion with an almost Pomerol-like depth and power paired with classic Saint-Emilion aromatics and minerality. Incredibly pure notes of black cherries, blackberries, white flowers, truffle, and leafy herb notes all emerge on the nose and it’s full-bodied, with a layered, multi-dimensional texture, thrilling tannins, and a finish that won’t quit. If you get a chance, buy it. The blend is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, aging in 55% new French oak.

The Wine Independent (97)

A blend of 99% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc, the 2020 Laroque is deep garnet-purple in color. A little subdued to begin, offering subtle notes of crushed rocks and damp soil, it opens out to a core of ripe black and red plums and fresh blackberries, plus a fragrant waft of lilacs. The full-bodied palate is bursting with taut, muscular black fruits and amazing tension, framed by ripe, rounded tannins, and finishing with great length and depth.

Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux (95)

Rch layer of damson and black cherry, raspberry coulis, saffron and white pepper, concetrated fruit while retaining the salinity of limestone, with grip and clear ageing-ability. 60ha estate with old vines on clay-limestone slopes, Nicolas Seillan winemaker, promoted in the 2022 ranking and this is the first vintage able to use it on the label. 52% new oak barrels (from 15 different forest. 3.6pH.

James Suckling (96-97)

Very plush and tannic with full body and lots of structure and intensity. Top second wine. Very solid and quite muscular with fine tannins and texture.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (94)

The 2020 Le Petit Smith Haut Lafitte is a gorgeous second wine. Dark cherry, grilled herbs, menthol, licorice, plum, spice and tobacco infuse the 2020 with striking aromatic nuance. Cabernet Sauvignon drives the blend, and that is very much in evidence in the wine's flavor profile and overall structure. There's terrific depth and density here, not to mention tons of character.

Jeb Dunnuck (93-95)

Moving to the reds, the 2020 Definitely Red is still resting in barrel, and it’s 100% Grenache that was not destemmed, most of which comes from Châteauneuf du Pape. This deep purple-hued beauty has a gorgeous bouquet of black raspberries, peppery garrigue, spice, and violets. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it’s another wonderfully elegant, polished, flawlessly balanced Grenache in the making.

Jeb Dunnuck (98+)

The Grand Vin 2020 Château Léoville Poyferré, which is released in a stylish black bottle commemorating a century for the Cuvelier family, is reminiscent of the 2016 with its powerful, concentrated, yet vibrant and inward style. Pure crème de cassis, melted chocolate, loamy earth, graphite, and some spicy nuances all define the aromatics, and it's full-bodied, with a stacked mid-palate, nicely integrated oak, ripe tannins, and one hell of a great finish. This is another utterly brilliant wine from this team, which has been producing First Growth quality wines for many years now. The blend of the 2020 is 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, aged in 80% new barrels, hitting 13.58% natural alcohol and a pH of 3.81. It will benefit from just 5-7 years of bottle age and will evolve for 50 years or more if well stored. Bravo. Tasted multiple times with consistent results.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (100)

The 2020 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a total stunner. For the first time I can remember, Les Carmes Haut-Brion marries all of its elements so well that nothing stands out. In the past, the high percentage of Franc and/or the whole clusters were evident. The 2020 is the first modern vintage in which all the elements are so well balanced. Dark red/purplish fruit, rose petal, mint, lavender, dried herbs and incense all build in a ravishing Pessac-Léognan that will take your breath away.

Decanter (94)

Stands out from La Chenade in the vintage, with its velvet texture and a more serious sculpted feel overall. Tobacco and liquorice notes besides black cherry and raspberry fruits, good tension, serious but with Lalande-de-Pomerol unfussy appeal. 3.72pH. A yield of 38hl/ha.

Vinous - Neal Martin (92-94)

The 2020 Les Perrières from limestone soils is the first vintage with massal-selection Merlot (from Lafleur). It has an exceptionally pure bouquet of intense black berry and blueberry fruit, crushed stone and touches of Japanese nori. The medium-bodied palate is structured, tensile and very saline, with taut tannins and that limestone-driven pixelation clearly apparent on the finish. Vibrant, almost steely, this will require 2–3 years in bottle.

Blend:
100% Chenin Blanc
Tasting notes:
Deep nose of verbena and fresh apricot. The fresh and slender mouth stretches with a saline persistence and a slightly brioche finish.

James Suckling (94-95)

Very fine, well integrated tannins with blackberry, dark chocolate and blackcurrant. It’s full and extremely racy. One of the finest second wines.

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (90-92)

Fine deep crimson colour, the thicker style of a Morey-side Chambolle, both on the nose and the palate. Quite firm tannins, a fair acidity and a mixed dark fruit which returns behind. Sound, though some other wines offer more joy. Tasted: November 2021

James Suckling (97-98)

Solid red with blackberry, blueberry, chocolate and spice. Lots of hazelnut, too. It’s full-bodied with chewy, polished tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Best of the trilogy vintages?