Wines

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

94 Points! Fresh and vibrant satsuma tangerine, Meyer lemon, pear pastry and ginger notes mingle with Honeycrisp apple and lemon sherbet, with accents of brioche, sweet cream and spices on a supple, elegant frame. Drink now through 2034. - Wine Spectator

92 Points! Coming from across the neighborhoods of the Russian River Valley, the 2022 Chardonnay Russian River Valley is ripe with aromas of toasted spice, orange rind, preserved lemon, honeysuckle, and baked apples. Full-bodied, with a ripe, classic feel, it has a nice, rounded mouthfeel and offers a lovely sense of place. - Jeb Dunnuck

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

97 Points!  Pretty blackberries, blueberries and violets with some crushed-raspberry aromas follow through to a full body with wonderfully crafted and pure tannins that intertwine wonderfully with the blue fruit and blackberries. Long and endless. A triumph here. From biodynamically grown grapes. Try after 2026. - James Suckling, jamessuckling.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

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

94-95 Points! I can’t remember a Haut-Batailley this tannic, yet the tannins are savory and very ripe with beauty and purity. Full-bodied, chewy tannins and a long and intense finish. - James Suckling

94 Points! The flagship 2018 Château Haut-Batailley checks in 59% Cabernet Sauvignon and 41% Merlot that was brought up in 60% new French oak. It's another deeply hued, classic Pauillac in the vintage that has wonderful purity as well as loads of ripe blackberry and currant fruits, medium to full-bodied richness, beautiful aromas and flavors of graphite, cedarwood, and tobacco, building yet polished tannins, background oak, and a great finish. This pure, classic Pauillac needs 7-8 years of bottle age (it will certainly offer pleasure earlier) and will drink fabulously well for over two decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

92-94 Points! Blended of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon and 41% Merlot aging in 60% new barriques, the 2018 Haut Batailley is very deep purple-black in color and takes some coaxing to reveal profound notes of dark chocolate, crème de cassis, blueberry pie and anise with waves of raspberry pie, lavender and Indian spices. Full, very tightly would and jam-packed with layers of crunchy black and blue fruits, it has a firm line of ripe, grainy tannins and compelling freshness, finishing long with a mineral hint coming through. - Lisa Perotti-Brown, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

92 Points! The 2018 Haut Batailley has come together well. Plump and juicy in feel, the 2018 possesses quite a bit of creaminess in its dark fruit, chocolate, spice and leather. The new oak is prominent at this stage. Even so, this is nicely done and promising. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

93 Points! Juicy and fruity with currants and fresh tobacco aromas and flavors. Some lead pencil. Medium body. Fine tannins and a creamy texture. Lovely finish. Better after 2025. - JamesSuckling.com

91 Points! Offering up aromas of cassis, minty blackberries, lilac and pencil shavings, the 2021 Haut-Batailley is medium to full-bodied, supple and polished, with a succulent core of fruit and delicately chalky tannins. For many years, significant parts of this property were left unplanted, but as of 2022, all 41 hectares are now under vine; so, there'll be more of this Pauillac—with its new, more modern style—to go around. - William Kelley, Wine Advocate

90-92 Points! The 2021 Haut-Brisson is the product of low yields, as this site was impacted by the April frosts. Delivering aromas of sweet berry, plums, licorice and orange rind, it's medium to full-bodied, broad and textural, with a fleshy core of fruit and powdery tannins that assert themselves on the finish. - Wine Advocate

92 Points! Crushed morello cherries with crushed violets and dark olives. Juicy and nicely stemmy on the palate with medium to full body and a fluid core of fruit. Fresh, tightly wound and lengthy finish. Drink now or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! A juicy and flavorful Champagne with phenolics and a brightness and energy. Full with lots of flavors like sliced pineapple, dried peach and stone, yet it is fresh and vibrant. New label and bottle. Henri Giraud DNA in this. About 80% pinot noir and 20% chardonnay. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

92 Points! Based on the 2017 vintage (complemented with some 50% from the house's perpetual reserve) and disgorged in January 2020, the latest rendition of the NV Brut Esprit Nature is showing very well, mingling aromas of yellow orchard fruit and peach with nuances of toasted bread, candied peel, white flowers, clear honey and fresh almonds. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping, it's elegantly vinous, with lively acids and a long, delicately oak-inflected finish. Fermented in barrels, some 20% of the blend derives from domaine holdings. - William Kelley, robertparker.com

90-93 Points! from a .31 ha holding of 60+ year old vines. Moderate wood can be found on the ripe aromas of mostly plum and black currant with background hints of earth and the sauvage. There is again very good volume and solid concentration to the tautly muscular larger-scaled flavors that also coat the palate with dry extract on the youthfully austere, compact and firm finale. - Allen Meadows, Burghound #89

93 Points! Elegant, refreshing and harmonious, with a lacy mousse and notes of apricot, lime peel, quince and biscuit. Well-honed by chiseled acidity, this expands nicely through the mineral-driven finish. Drink now through 2029. - Wine Spectator