Wines

97 Points! Subtle and attractive aromas of blackcurrants and flowers with hints of spices. Black truffles as well. Medium to full body, with fine tannins that are nicely integrated and racy. Succulent at the end. Umami, too. Drinkable but better after 2027. - James Suckling, jamessuckling.com

94 Points! Vibrant plum colour with violet edging, glass staining and gorgeous. A serious Pavillon Rouge, as is typical of the vintage, with fleshy raspberry and bilberry fruits, espresso and cocoa bean, precise and clean-cut, taking serious aim at the tannic frame. This is even more concentrated than 2016 in terms of the analysis, and the intensity of the fruit character suggests long ageing ahead of it. The estate saw 80mm of rain on August 13 but apart from that there was almost no rain for six weeks. 36hl/h yield (compared to 55hl/h in 2016, explaining the extra concentration here), 55% new oak for ageing. - Jane Anson

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96 Points! A plush and opulent Pavillon Rouge with plums, boysenberries and hints of cedar and chocolate. Full-bodied, this has lovely powdery tannins and a long and flavorful finish. Juicy and delicious, it's so attractive now that it’s hard not to drink. Second wine of Chateau Margaux. 64% cabernet sauvignon, 24% merlot, 7% petit verdot and 5% cabernet franc. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! Bottled in July, the inky-hued 2022 Château Margaux Pavillon Rouge offers a classic nose of ripe black raspberries, cassis, spring flowers, spice oak, and graphite. This leads to a medium to full-bodied Margaux with remarkable purity, a pure, layered, elegant mouthfeel, plenty of tannins, and a great finish. - Jeb Dunnuck

95 Points!  This is a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot, and 5% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple colored, it erupts from the glass with flamboyant notes of baked plums, licorice, and boysenberry preserves, leading to hints of sandalwood, dusty soil, iron ore, and dried roses. The full-bodied palate is rich and plush, jam-packed with black fruit preserves flavors, finishing long and spicy. So gorgeous. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW

94 Points! Beautiful vivid colour, bright and intense. Dark chocolate, cherries and subtle perfume on the nose. Bright and lively thought also lean and straight on the palate. A generous weight and intense grip to the tannins. It’s on the tense side, focussed with extreme precision to the fruit profile with racy acidity unpinning the tannins which are at the fore. Feels refined and elegant, more serious than some other second wines in its construction but is classy, juicy, sculpted and softly plush. The fruit has bite and tang, with liquorice and graphite edges and spiced accents giving angles but all enjoyable and really building to the whole. Great freshness and length. 7% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 3.61pH. 84 IPT - highest IPT, highest before was 2018 which was 82. 15% press wine. 31% production. - Georgina Hindle, Decanter.com

94 Points! The 2022 Pavillon Rouge is a rich, ample wine. It is also one of the most opulent, creamy editions of Pavillon Rouge I can remember tasting. Supple and juicy, with tons of mid-palate richness and volume, the 2022 is shockingly intense in its texture. At the same time, the tannins are so polished, with no hard edges or angular contours. In 2022, Pavillon Rouge is a wine of extreme and total pleasure. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

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94 Points! The 2022 Imaginador collects the fruit that doesn't go into the five single-vineyard bottlings and presents them with the clarity and precision many producers strive for in their top cuvées. It leads with a spice-driven nose, adding flourishes of dried flowers and smoke with time. The palate embodies the weightlessly saturated profile that defines the entire portfolio, concluding with ultra-refined tannins and stony persistence. This is a superb introduction to a world-class set of wines. - Matthew Luczy, robertparker.com

93 Points! Reductive notes of racy bramble berries, pomegranates, rose hips and white pepper funk. Nice fruit on the palate, but kept nicely bone-dry, with tense, firm tannins and a fresh finish. Very slightly metallic. 100% whole clusters fermented in open steel tanks, 60% to 80% aged in foudres.- JamesSuckling.com

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98 Points! Originating from decomposed granite soils containing mica, quartz, silt and sand, the 2022 Miles holds the top position in the Pedro Parra cellar. It presents an enchanting bouquet of dark fruits, exotic spices and fresh flowers that is both commanding and elegant, focused and expansive. The silky palate merges the finest elements found throughout the collection and unites them: textural richness, vibrant energy and a gripping tannic foundation. It ends with a juicy, tense and almost sweet intensity, although it finishes bone-dry and lingers with remarkable persistence, nuance and depth. Within a cellar filled with wines intended to transcend their varieties and express only their origins, this bottling achieves that objective most clearly. - Matthew Luczy, robertparker.com

95 Points! Probably the most well-rounded or balanced Pedro Parra cru that according to Parra is the Rumbo Al Norte of Comando G. What is certain here is the complexity and depth, with subtler white pepper funkiness but a little more fruit in a complex, nuanced mode. Grapefruit, minerals, rose petals, white pepper reduction and dried watermelon. A little rounder and creaminer than Parra’s Newk, with fresh, dusty tannins that extend to the lengthy, nicely austere finish. A little richer than the 2021. Drink from 2025. - JamesSuckling.com

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93 Points! Pale ruby in color, the 2018 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley has aromas of earth, tar, black cherries and tea leaves with spicy accents. The palate is light-bodied, silky, spicy and fresh with a long finish. It's a lifted, elegant expression this vintage. - Erin Brooks, robertparker.com

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100 Points! Much anticipated vintage for Grange and it is a powerhouse of concentration and complexity. Aromas of orange and lemon peel to start, then graphite, blackberries, plum paste, black cherries, boundless sweet oak spice, fresh cedar, tar, mahogany, roasted coffee and chocolate - the list goes on. Such complexity. Classic Grange, offering such deep, dark intensity. The palate has immense richness and depth with a super succulent and very long, fleshy, deeply weighted array of dense, velvet-wrapped tannins that run so long. The fruit flavors sit in the blackberry, blood-plum and blueberry zone with succulent, long and assertive structure, carrying through in an utterly seamless mode. The finish is tightly wrenched, in spectacularly powerful style, locking this wine in for a very long haul. Best from 2030. - JamesSuckling.com Learn More

93 Points! This is the first vintage of the 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Mulino from Pertimali, a lower-elevation cru that’s noted for the high level of marine fossils found in its soils. Here I find a classic display of dried roses, black cherry, dusty earth and freshly-tanned leather. It envelopes the palate in fleshy textures offset by a mix of tart wild berries, zesty acids and savory spice, as building tension puckers the cheeks, seeding them with fine-grained tannins. This comes across as structured yet remarkably balanced, and it’s a beautiful expression of the vintage. Lose your bottles in the cellar for two to three years, and then reap the rewards. - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

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96 Points! Intense aromas of black cherries, lavender and spice, such as nutmeg. Some sandalwood and bark, too. Full-bodied with a solid core of fruit and tannins for the vintage. Rather chewy, suggesting that additional bottle age is needed. Try after 2026. - JamesSuckling.com

94 Points! Rich with compact and velvety layers, the 2018 Brunello Di Montalcino offers fleshy aromas of fig, black licorice, mocha, and roasted sage. It is full-bodied and displays more freshness and transparency on the palate, although it remains fully ripe, with black cherry, plum, turned soil, and macerated violets. It has full and present ripe tannins, a hint of crushed rock, and a saline, savory finish. With its liqueur-like richness throughout, this is a fantastic expression, but it needs a couple of years in the cellar before drinking over the following 10. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

93 Points! Ripe and juicy, this red reveals plum, cherry, earth, tobacco and menthol aromas and flavors. Well-structured, delivering dense, dusty tannins and ample fruit to match, with a long, complex finish. - Wine Spectator

 

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92-94 Points! The 2011 Pinot Noir La Caprice, which was harvested before any damaging rains arrived and is above the fog line on the Sonoma Coast, exhibits classic notes of black raspberries, graphite, flowers, red and black fruits, spice and forest floor. Not quite as rich or dense as the 2010, or as structured and chewy as the 2009, the evolved, seductive 2011 should provide enormous pleasure over the next 10-12 years. - Robert Parker, robertparker.com

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98 Points! Coming from Oakville, the 2018 Au Paradis gives up a deep ruby/purple hue as well as full-bodied aromas and flavors of blackcurrants, green tobacco, lead pencil, sandalwood, and dried flowers. Flawlessly balanced, full-bodied, with silky yet present tannins, it's one of those elegant, seamless wines that surprise you with its richness and depth. It reminds me of a great vintage from Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou and is a brilliant, elegant, complex Cabernet that will evolve for two decades or more. - Jeb Dunnuck

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98 Points! Coming from Oakville, the 2018 Au Paradis gives up a deep ruby/purple hue as well as full-bodied aromas and flavors of blackcurrants, green tobacco, lead pencil, sandalwood, and dried flowers. Flawlessly balanced, full-bodied, with silky yet present tannins, it's one of those elegant, seamless wines that surprise you with its richness and depth. It reminds me of a great vintage from Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou and is a brilliant, elegant, complex Cabernet that will evolve for two decades or more. - Jeb Dunnuck

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98 Points! The 2016 Chardonnay Ma Belle Fille slowly unfurls in the glass to reveal vibrant key lime pie, lemongrass, pink grapefruit and white peaches scents with suggestions of crushed stones, clotted cream, almond croissant and orange blossoms. Medium to full-bodied and with a fantastic intensity of citrus and stone fruit layers giving way to loads of mineral accents, it finishes long and creamy. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, robertparker.com

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98 Points! Ma Belle Fille is the highest of the Peter Michael vineyards, located at 1,200-1,800 feet. Planted to a field selection of Hudson, Old Wente, Montrachet and Calera clones, it is also the earliest ripening vineyard. The 2018 Chardonnay Ma Belle Fille comes skipping out of the glass with vibrant, youthful scents of lemon tart, mandarin peel, green mango and crystalline citrus peel with emerging nuances of wet slate, candle wax and freshly cracked hazelnut. Medium to full-bodied, the palate features a satiny sheen and a wicked backbone of freshness galvanizing the mineral and citrusy flavors into an electrifying finish. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, robertparker.com

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96-98 Points! The 2012s made from Bordeaux varietals include their flagship wine, the 2012 Proprietary Red Les Pavots, a sensational blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, 11% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. A prodigious effort, it rivals some of the fabulous past vintages such as 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2007. The inky/purple-colored 2012 boasts classic notes of crème de cassis, roasted coffee, vanilla bean, cedar, forest floor and blueberries. Full-bodied and complex with sweet tannin as well as hints of charcoal and camphor, this opulent, multi-leveled, Bordeaux-styled 2012 can be drunk now or cellared for 25-30+ years. - Robert Parker, robertparker.com

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98 Points! Incredible aromas of pine tree, mineral, cigar box and tobacco leaf but then it turns to currants and black truffle. Forest fruit and forest floor. Soya. Full body, round and decadent with a combination of ripe fruit and earth, spice and long finish. The uniqueness of Pavot is streaming here. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! The 2014 Proprietary Red Les Pavots (3,570 cases) is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, 13% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot aged in mostly Taransaud barrels with a small helping of Darnajou thrown in. This wine is fabulous in the vintage, although certainly less profoundly concentrated and extracted, as well as structured, compared to the 2013, which was off-the-charts fabulous. This is a brilliant wine, charming, with front-end loaded plum, blackcurrant and black raspberry fruit interwoven with graphite, tar and truffle notes. The wine has sumptuous texture, sweet, velvety tannin, and a long, full-bodied finish. It should drink well for at least two decades. - Robert Parker, robertparker.com

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97 Points! Intense aromas of plums, black truffles, bark and dark plums. Pine needles, too. Full-bodied, tight and polished. Extremely elegant and precise. The finish is very long and vertical. Compressed and refined. A beauty already. Drink in 2021 but already a joy to drink. - JamesSuckling.com

98+ Points! The 2015 Les Pavots checks in as 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc, 15% Merlot and the balance Petit Verdot. It offers a huge nose of blackcurrants, blackberry, scorched earth, graphite, and cedarwood. Deep, rich, supple, and sexy, with a seamless, incredibly elegant texture, it builds with time in the glass and is a monumental Cabernet Sauvignon blend from Sonoma. - Jeb Dunnuck

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99 Points! Blackberries, blueberries, raspberry kir, sweet tobacco and black truffle. Full bodied with chewy tannins and superb texture and length. Extremely poised and powerful. Finishes with so much fresh leather and blueberries. Goes on for minutes. Try after 2023. - JamesSuckling.com

98+ Points! A solid step up, the 2016 Les Pavots comes from vines planted in 1989 and is a mix of two separate sites in Knights Valley. This straight-up phenomenal Cabernet offers a powerful nose of ripe black fruits, tobacco leaf, chocolate, and spring flowers, and it has a Margaux-like complexity and elegance. Full-bodied on the palate, it has a multi-dimensional, seamless texture, building tannins, and a great, great finish. It’s a baby of a wine that needs 4-5 years of bottle age, but it will probably merit a triple-digit score in 7-8 years and keep for three decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

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99 Points! This is very perfumed with blackberry and pine-cone aromas, as well as raspberries and black cherries. Full-bodied with firm, velvety tannins that are tight-grained. Creamy and beautiful. Currant and graphite flavors come through. Lightly chewy at the end. 60% cabernet sauvignon, 21% merlot, 14% cabernet franc and 5% petit verdot. Drink after 2025. - JamesSuckling.com

98 Points! The 2019 Les Pavots is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, and the remainder Petit Verdot. It has unfolding layers of dark minerals, with graphite, boysenberry liqueur, and fresh leather. The palate is expressive of its mountain fruit, with more gripping structure but no harsh edges. This is a remarkable wine to hold a few years and enjoy over the following two decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

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