James Suckling (98-99)

Really perfumed and complex with blackberries, blackcurrants and flowers. Gorgeous cabernet sauvignon character. Full-bodied with really fine, polished tannins. Superb length and intensity. Very compact and seamless. Ethereal. Just goes on and on.

Vinous (89-91)

The 2020 Morey-Saint-Denis Village, which was taken from tank, has a vivid blackberry and bilberry-scented bouquet with a light marine influence emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, a fine-boned Morey with an appealing strictness towards the finish. Enjoy this over the next decade.

Vinous (93)

The 2020 Cabernet Franc incorporates a 10% touch of Malbec and originates from Gualtallary in the Uco Valley. It underwent a 15-month aging process in used foudres. It's a dark and intense purple color. The nose reveals notes of ashes and herbs, interwoven with a subtle hint of jalapeño, set against a backdrop of black fruit and cedar. Dry and delicately lean, the palate is tightly structured and juicy, thanks to its fine-grained tannins. The vibrant palate concludes with a lingering thyme finish.

Wine Advocate (91)

The Fattoria le Pupille 2020 Poggio Argentato is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Petit Manseng, Traminer and Semillon, and the percentage of Sauvignon Blanc in this vintage was raised from 60% of the blend to 70%. This slight adjustment makes a big impact on the wine's perfumes, especially in a hot vintage such as this. Cold temperatures during pressing and the use of stainless steel helps to lock in tropical aromas, minty apple and crushed limestone. The Petit Manseng helps to give more vertical lift to the bouquet. Average annual production for this wine is about 40,000 bottles, but this vintage came in about 8,000 bottles short.

Vinous (97)

The 2020 Pinot Noir Block 5 offers up a mouthful of gorgeous Pinot Noir that's perfectly ripe without being overripe, blossoming in the mouth but retaining focus and shape as if it is wearing a pair of control pants. It's a wine that’s at ease with itself, offering rich red berries, fruitcake, festive spices and a subtle floral lift. There are plentiful tannins – in the context of Pinot Noir – and they coat the mouth like melted chocolate, making you want to lick your lips long after drinking. Overall, a finely balanced wine that has captured power and seduction in the same package. Lengthy, brooding finish.

Ascend to the zenith of viticultural excellence with the tantalising Giraud Chateauneuf-du-Pape Tradition 2020. This stellar vintage emerges from the esteemed house of Giraud, a family-run estate headquartered in the historic, sun-drenched vineyards of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, France. Remarkably, the Giraud siblings’ dedication to organic viticulture yields grapes of supreme quality from their old Grenache vines. Superior manual harvest and rigorous berry selection culminate in a wine that exudes impeccable purity.

Fortuitously, the 2020 vintage marks a feat in the winemaking world with its profound concentration and balance. Burgeoning with dark berry flavours and sprinkles of spice, the Giraud Chateauneuf-du-Pape Tradition 2020 tastefully acknowledges its terroir's earthy and stony streaks. Veering towards full-bodied, its palate-coating, silky tannins and vibrant acidity add to the harmony. Aged predominantly in old oak foudres, this French red encapsulates the beauty and finesse of the Southern Rhône valley, offering a wine experience par excellence in every sip.

Wine Advocate (97)

I've looked at this wine many times over the years, almost exclusively as an older/cellared wine. The impact it has made is strong, and so it is through this lens that I now view this 2020 Amon Ra Shiraz. This year's Amon-Ra is concentrated, dense and absolutely, utterly saturated with flavor. The fruit that spirals within the bounds of the firm tannins is fleshy and pure, and with the knowledge that the wine sails through the decade with noiseless grace, it is all the more impressive in its infancy now. A brilliant wine—all ductile and proud. Yes.

Jeb Dunnuck (93-96)

The deep, inky-hued 2020 Château Grand-Puy Ducasse has a seriously impressive, balanced, full-bodied, structured style that's going to reward patience. Pure crème de cassis, black raspberry, graphite, lead pencil, and spring flower notes all define the bouquet, and it has plenty of background oak, a dense, chewy mid-palate, lots of tannins, and a great finish. It's going to need to be forgotten for 7-8 years but will evolve for 30 years or more.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

Wine Advocate (93)

The Ornellaia 2020 Bolgheri Rosso Le Serre Nuove dell'Ornellaia (a proprietary blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot) is a generous and darkly toned red blend that has the extra fruit fiber, sweetness and generous plumpness of a warm vintage. The fullness of the fruit is on full display, but in a very relaxed and natural manner. The wine never feels like too much. The tannins are yielding and velvety, and this purebred Tuscan red wraps thickly over the palate. It's poised for near- and medium-term drinking.

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.

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.