Wines

93 Points! The 2023 Etna Rosso A Rina wafts up with a savory profile, mixing woodland berry with nuances of sage, wet concrete and a burst of tangerine. This displays a lovely sweetness with its ripe strawberry and cherry fruits as rosy inner florals cascade throughout. It leaves a saturation of primary concentration as depths of tart raspberry mingle with autumnal spices through the long, refreshing finish. The product of severe selection, this is the only red from Girolamo Russo in 2023 due to the challenges of the year. It is not to be missed.  - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

93 Points! Smoky and perfumed with aromatic herbs, a bit of tar and lifted dark fruit. Medium-bodied. It shows firm, dusty, yet good tannins with crisp acidity and a tight finish. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! A refreshing bite to the fruit balances the intense lusciousness of the weighty mid-palate, full of honeyed almonds, walnuts, preserved cherry and plum. The crunchiness provides at once lift and structure to the palate, with zesty tannic grip. Savoury lining of dried sage, tarragon and mint. - Decanter Magazine

94 Points! The 2021 Grand-Puy-Lacoste is one of the vintage's successes, wafting from the glass with aromas of cassis and raspberries mingled with notions of violets, rose petals, pencil shavings and cigar wrapper. Medium to full-bodied, with a deep, layered core of pure fruit framed by ripe acids and sweet tannins, its suave, charming profile means that it will offer a broad drinking window. A slightly lower percentage of new oak, with lighter toasts, is reflected in better barrel integration out of the gates. - William Kelley, Wine Advocate

95 Points! A refined, classic Pauillac with cassis, pencil shavings, ash and cherries. Juicy and really fine on the palate with silky tannins unwound into a layered, long finish. A refined, elegant interpretation that does not fall short on intensity. Real finesse here. Already delicious, but can hold, too. - JamesSuckling.com Learn More

94 Points! A brilliant white Fronsac, the 2022 Grand Village Blanc is bright, juicy, and beautifully textured, with crushed stone, mint, lime, and chalky minerality all defining its aromatics. Medium-bodied and fresh on the palate, it shows remarkable purity and elegance, with a clean, focused finish. Its oak (one-third new) is perfectly integrated. You could drink this today or in a decade. - Jeb Dunnuck

70% Sauvignon, 30% Semillon

98-100 Points! The 2018 Cote Rotie La Mouline is immensely seductive, offering up enticing notes of floral potpourri and red berries on the nose. Those strawberries and raspberries persist onto the full-bodied palate and through the long, lush finish, buoyed by supple, creamy-textured tannins. This is the most complete, compelling vintage of La Mouline I've tasted. - Wine Advocate

99 Points! Just about pure perfection as well as a desert Island wine, the 2018 Côte Rôtie La Mouline comes from a tiny parcel in the Côte Blonde lieu-dit and spent four years in new barrels. Incredible notes of black raspberries, spring flowers, bacon fat, smoked game, violets, and pepper all emerge on the nose. These carry to a full-bodied, round, supple, sexy Côte Rôtie offering ultra-fine tannins, an insane level of purity, no hard edges, and a monster of a finish. As with the other 2018s here, it leads with its fruit and has a supple, ethereal style on the palate... - Jeb Dunnuck

93 Points! Crafted from the 2022 vintage and disgorged in August 2024 without dosage, Sergent’s NV Blanc de Blancs Prés de Dieu originates from two northeast-facing parcels: Les Prés in Vrigny and Les Vignes Dieu in Coulommes-la-Montagne, both defined by sandy soils. Vinified in 400- and 500-liter barrels, it wafts from the glass with a bouquet of grapefruit zest, white flowers and crisp green apple. On the palate, it is medium-bodied, tensile and luminous, with a piercing spine of acidity, a youthful and chiseled core and a long, saline finish. It is the tautest, most linear expression in Sergent’s range—a study in purity. - Kristaps Karklins, robertparker.com

93 Points! Readers looking for more immediate gratification should seek out the seductive, sexy 2003 The Maiden. It offers lots of cedarwood, white chocolate, black currant and damp forest notes in a medium to full-bodied, round, generous style with all the oak absorbed. The acidity provides good vibrancy, but no tartness, and the tannins are not astringent. This spicy, open-knit, fleshy 2003 is showing extremely well at present. Enjoy it over the next decade. - Robert M. Parker, Jr. , robertparker.com

93 Points! A rich golden hue with a slight haze, the 2021 Chardonnay Four Hearts Vineyards is a bit more inward aromatically at the moment but has a darker tone, with warming notes of toasted cedar, spice, and ripe, baked orchard fruits, Full-bodied, with a nutty texture and notes of ripe yellow pear, tangerine, and almond, it has a pithy texture and meatiness throughout. - Audrey Frick, JebDunnuck.com

93 Points! Another appellation wine, the 2023 Chardonnay Russian River Valley is a bright golden yellow color and offers notes of poached yellow apples, toasted spice, almond, chamomile, and lemon curd. The palate is full-bodied and elegant, as is characteristic of this vintage, and has an even and floating feel on the finish. It’s ripe and has a more pithy texture, but it’s well-detailed and more immediate. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

93 Points! A rich ruby/purple, the 2021 Pinot Noir Land's Edge Vineyards is ripe and rounded with a perfume of blackberry preserve, damp forest floor, and toasted baking spice. Full-bodied, but with clean lift and without weight, it has dark berries, candied flowers, sweet, ripe tannins, and a soft texture. This is an immediate wine, but it has good freshness and the structure to drink over the next 4-5 years. - Audrey Frick, JebDunnuck.com

93 Points! The Laguna Ridge soils have higher iron content, producing wines of great minerality. This Pinot flashes beautiful blue fruit aromatics with hints of cola and crushed slate. The palate is showy, with turned earth-based umami, fresh red berries and a spiced cassia bark undertone. Fresh, bright mint carries a finish of true elegance. - Decanter Magazine

93 Points! Pouring a deeper ruby/magenta color, the 2022 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley is ripe and layered in the glass, with a generous, inviting, pure perfume of black cherries, cola, sweet baking spice, and forest floor. Medium-bodied, it has a lot of charm and a good, weightless feel, with fine tannins and a clean finish. I love that it never feels heavy but is 100% Russian River Valley in character. Drink it over the next 5-6 years. This is a lot of wine for the value. - Jeb Dunnuck

93 Points! The 2023 Zinfandel Jolene's Vineyard was matured for nine months in 48% new French oak. It has explosive aromas of wild berries and cherries, peach and apricot, fennel and earth. The full-bodied palate is generous and expressive with layer after layer of fruit and spice. It has a powerful frame of powdery tannins, mouthwatering acidity and a long, perfumed finish. - Erin Brooks, robertparker.com

93 Points! Sleek and briary yet refined, with handsome flavors of raspberry and huckleberry accented by green peppercorn and roasted sage. Finishes with zesty tannins. Drink now through 2033. - Wine Spectator

92 Points! The 2022 Zinfandel Russian River Valley is magenta with a hint of purple. It has a more resinous feel, with notes of compote blackberries, menthol, wood spice, forest floor, and candied purple flowers. Medium to full-bodied, it brings more tension to its fresh, even acidity which propels it through the finish. It’s going to age well over the next 6-8 years. - Audrey Frick, JebDunnuck.com

PLEASE BE AWARE, THIS IS A PRE-ARRIVAL WINE - YOU WILL NOT BE CHARGED SHIPPING FEES UNTIL THE WINE(S) ARRIVE

97 Points! The 2022 Haut-Bages Libéral is huge and explosive right out of the gate. A rush of dark red cherry/plum fruit, rose petal, blood orange, incense, licorice and mocha saturates the palate. Saline notes extend the mid-palate and finish effortlessly. This is one of the most exuberant, ample wines I have tasted from Claire Villars-Lurton. I would give the 2022 a number of years in bottle to shed some baby fat. Today, it tastes almost like a barrel sample! The purity and primary intensity of the fruit is remarkable. The Haut-Bages Libéral was raised in a combination of 40% new oak, 40% once-used barrels and 20% a mix of concrete and amphora. This is one of the under-the-radar gems of 2022. - Antonio Galloni

96 Points! A classic Pauillac nose, showing ripe currants, graphite, pencil shavings and cocoa powder. Full-bodied on the palate, it has a seamless coating of fine, dusty tannins. The wine is broad, dissolved and long, with good drive. Approachable now thanks to its balance and complexity but will be much better after 2027. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! Round and smooth, so pure, like silk, just so beautifully textured straight away with clear bite, bright fresh upfront fruit - tangy strawberries, raspberries and black cherries with powdery, chalky, and tense tannins giving both the frame but also a charming appeal. It’s intense but controlled and finessed. Maybe lacking a touch of fruity fleshiness right now but the Cabernet is at the fore, giving the backbone and the seriousness. So well executed -a shining star of an estate with such beautiful pure wines. The pH and alcohol is low with the acidity coming from the chalk and limestone terroir, all well integrated giving an elegant, very drinkable aspect while still having underlying power and direction. Crystalline with exceptional energy. 3.54pH. Ageing: 16 months, 40% in new oak barrels, 40% in barrels of one wine, 20% in amphorae. - Decanter.com

96 Points! I loved the 2022 Château Haut-Bages Libéral, a spicy, complex, nuanced Pauillac that has both red and black currants, textbook notes of freshly sharpened pencils, leather, and flowers, medium to full body, a ripe, pure, layered mouthfeel, and remarkable length on the finish. It's beautifully done and well worth seeking out. As with many top Pauillac, I wouldn’t be surprised to see it close down in 3-5 years, only to reemerge 10-12 years after the vintage, with a solid two decades of longevity thereafter. - Jeb Dunnuck

92 Points! Inky colour, pencil lead and smoke concentration, where the tannins lend a sense of pressure bearing down on the fruit, keeping things moving and building in tension through the palate. Tiny edge of peony and iris flower as it opens in the glass. Harvest September 9 to 25th. Extremely well extracted, this is not a delicate wine but it is a measured one, and it has the sense of slowly building towards the close of play that is most enjoyable. 30% of overall production in HBII this year. Not vinified in the cellar, but will be aged in it. - Jane Anson, Decanter

98 Points! The Grand Vin 2018 Château Haut-Bailly checks in as 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, and the balance Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. It spent 18 months in 60% new French oak. This is a beautiful, classic expression of this terroir, and its dense purple hue is followed by gorgeous black cherry and cassis fruits interwoven with ample tobacco leaf, cedary herbs, earth, truffle, and floral nuances. While 2018 was a hot, dry year (at the end of the season anyway), this shows a mix of cooler-climate, vibrant aromatics paired with a rich, concentrated, fresh style on the palate. It has plenty of tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. A beautiful, elegant 2018, it's going to need 5-7 years of bottle age and keep for 3-4 decades. - Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com

99 Points!  Complex and expressive nose, offering red and dark fruit, spices and pepper with wood and mushroom undertones. Fresh mussel shell and a hint of ink, too. Full-bodied with a fine texture and great balance between the acidity and the controlled, tannic structure. Very long finish. Goes on and on. Tiny production, 21 hectoliters per hectare. Try after 2025. - James Suckling, jamessuckling.com Learn More

99 Points, Dunnuck's #19 Wine of the Year! Another wine I underrated on release, the 2020 Château Haut-Bailly is just about pure perfection, and whereas the 2018 is closer in style to the 2009, this plays things a little closer to its vest and is reminiscent of the 2010. Full-bodied, concentrated, and powerful, it nevertheless cuts a focused, precise path across the palate and brings incredible purity in its darker fruits, smoked tobacco, cedar pencil, and Asian spice-driven aromas and flavors. The tannin quality here is off the charts, and this beauty has everything you could want from wine. It needs a solid 4-6 years (if not longer) to hit the early stages of its prime drinking window, and it's going to evolve for 50+ years. - Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com

99 Points! A blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot, the 2020 Haut-Bailly is deep garnet-purple in color. It needs a bit of swirling to coax out notions of black cherry compote, blackcurrant pastilles, and blackberry preserves, giving way to fragrant wafts of violets, dark chocolate, cardamom, and sassafras, with a touch of Indian spices. The medium to full-bodied palate is an exercise in poise, delivering tightly wrapped black fruit, exotic spice and floral layers, with a super-plush texture and seamless acidity, finishing very long with loads of mineral sparks and tons of energy. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent

94 Points! The 2021 Haut-Bailly, a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc, reveals a complex, brooding bouquet with aromas of blackcurrant, spices, plums, spring flowers and smoke. Medium to full-bodied, it’s a lively, rather muscular wine with a fleshy, dense core of fruit, tangy acids and powdery tannins. Despite its firm character, I like its overall balance. It should age gracefully over the next 10 years. - William Kelley, robertparker.com

97 Points! The winemaker calls this wine chic, and it is, with enticing aromas of blackcurrants, chocolate, walnuts, nutmeg, bark and forest floor. Some graphite and dark mushrooms. Medium-bodied with very integrated tannins that melt into the wine, with super length and finesse at the end. It’s the subtle texture and pure and complex fruit character that impress. 65% cabernet sauvignon, 22% merlot, 10% petit verdot and 3% cabernet franc. Drinkable now, but this will age beautifully. - JamesSuckling.com

PLEASE BE AWARE, THIS IS A PRE-ARRIVAL WINE - YOU WILL NOT BE CHARGED SHIPPING FEES UNTIL THE WINE(S) ARRIVE

93-95 Points! The 2024 Haut-Bailly was picked from September 25 to October 4 and matured in 50% new oak, possibly with a shorter elevage. As usual, it deserves patience at this stage as it gradually opens and coheres with aeration. This has a perfumed bouquet built around redcurrant, cranberry and wild strawberry fruit. It's quite floral in style with finely delineated touches of freshly-rolled tobacco and wilted rose petal. The palate is creamy on the entry and velvety in texture, with finely chiseled, lace-like tannins. It is very well balanced with one of the few sensual vintages that you will find from this year. This will be much earlier drinking than other vintages, but that does not detract from what will be one of the most pleasurable 2024's to drink. - Neal Martin, Vinous Media

93-94 Points! A soft, light Haut-Bailly from this challenging year, with lots of red cherries, red berries, red bell peppers and fresh herbs. Quite approachable, with a medium body and soft-grained tannins. Well-judged soft extraction makes this likely approachable right after release. Not ambitious, but well balanced, juicy and refined. Brambly and lively. Early harvest? 58% cabernet sauvignon, 40% merlot and 2% cabernet franc. - Zekun Shuai of James Suckling