Wines

93 Points! The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Champoux Vineyard is the most expressive of the Cabernets. Opaque purple, it has a superb bouquet of toasty oak, smoke, spice box, black currant, blackberry, and plum. Full-bodied and layered, it will develop for another 4-6 years. It, too, combines power with elegance. - Jay Miller, robertparker.com

94 Points! Even better is the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Champoux Vineyard, perhaps eastern Washington’s finest site for this varietal. Purple/black in color, it sends up a soaring nose of pain grille, pencil lead, espresso, licorice, violets, black currant, and blackberry. Full-bodied, dense, smooth-textured, layered, and plush, the tannins and oak are totally integrated, and there is at least 7-8 years of aging potential. Give this large-scaled offering 5-7 years of cellaring, and drink it through 2032. - Jay Miller, robertparker.com

93 Points! The purple-colored 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Champoux Vineyard is a step up, not surprising given this vineyard’s track record. Exotic spices, incense, violets, earthy minerals, black currant, and blackberry aromas inform the nose of a rich, plush, dense offering with enough fine-grained tannin to evolve for another 3-4 years. It is likely to see its 20th birthday in fine form. - Jay Miller, robertparker.com

92+ Points! The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Ciel du Cheval Vineyard offers similar aromatics but more structure. This dense, full-flavored wine will offer peak drinking from 2015 to 2030. - Jay Miller, robertparker.com

A blend of Cinsault, Grenache, Mourvedre and Syrah that falls out of the classified zone in the southern Rhone. This wine is made from three sources: 0.6ha situated near a site south of town and outside any appellation (Syrah and Grenache) 0.5ha in Orange situated in AOC Cotes du Rhone (Mourvèdre) and a portion of the wine is declassified Chateauneuf-du-Pape. The vineyards are worked with the same care as those of Châteauneuf du Pape and the vinification is similar. Grapes are hand harvested and fermented in cement vats or stainless steel.

95 Points! The tannic, full-bodied 2018 Hermitage Les Dionnieres boasts ebullient aromas of blueberries and boysenberries, leavened by hints of peppery herbs, black tea and star anise. Expansive on the palate but structured and dusty, with a lingering finish of salted licorice and blackberry pastilles, it ideally needs a few years to settle down, but it should then drink well for more than a decade. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

95+ Points! Recently bottled, the 2021 Hermitage Blanc is a brilliant wine that shows a fresher, more mineral-driven style while still clearly being in the classic Jean-Louis concentrated, textured style. White currants, crushed citrus, flowers, green almond, and a kiss of reductive-like minerality all define the aromatics, and if you called this a great Grand Cru White Burgundy in a blind tasting, I wouldn't hold it against you. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated, and beautifully balanced, with a terrific salinity on the finish, it's going to benefit from a year or two of bottle age and I suspect evolve for 20-25 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

93 Points! A tasting of the various constituent lieux-dits revealed that the Bachesson parcel had a peppery side and its characteristic rose scent, and an unmistakably granitic texture. The Chalaix lieu-dit was precise, fine, with no huge concentration but good balance. Lieu-dit Dardouille was looking promising, with good weight and length. The finished blend of the domaine’s St-Joseph is likely to be neat, precise and fresh, with a distinct mineral side, one to drink relatively young. There will be no separate bottling of Clos Florentin this year due to frost. - Decanter Magazine

93 Points! The 2021 Saint Joseph is absolutely brilliant and, given the difficulties in the vintage, has no business being this good! Sporting a deep ruby/purple hue as well as brilliant aromatics of ripe darker fruits, some meaty, bloody nuances, graphite, and ground pepper, with a beautiful floral character emerging with time in the glass, it's medium-bodied, has a seamless, elegant mouthfeel, no hard edges, and outstanding length. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! A tasting of the four main parts (Les Challaix, Le Clos, La Dardouille and Bachasson) suggests that this will be a vintage that combines power – black fruits and thick tannins from La Dardouille – and more lifted, fleshy, fragrant, low acid elements from Les Challaix, plus Bachasson's rose and raspberry. A little richer and more velvety than a typical year. - Decanter Magazine

94 Points! Leading off the 2022s, gorgeous red and black fruits, spice, pepper, and bouquet garni define the 2022 Saint Joseph. Very focused and layered on the palate, it shows medium to full-bodied richness and elegant tannins. It's very much in the sunny yet structured style of the vintage and will have 10-12 years of prime drinking. Drink 2025-2037. - Jeb Dunnuck

92-94 Points! I tasted numerous components that will form the final blend of the 2022 Saint-Joseph. Ripe red and blue fruits usher in, complemented by licorice, violets, cedar and pencil shaving elements. Medium-bodied, juicy and refined, all 2022 samples display wonderful freshness within an intricate web of polished tannins. If all continues down this path, this will be a terrific Saint-Joseph. - Nicolas Greinacher, Vinous Media

From 70 year-old vines. Wines aged on fine lees in 5-7 year-old oak Burgundian barrels for 6-8 months. 

92 Points! Bottled in September, the 2021 Côte Rôtie reveals a healthy ruby hue to go with a beautiful and classic Jamet nose of ripe red and black fruits, peppery herbs, menthol, spring flowers, and subtle meaty nuances. Fermented with 90% whole clusters, it's medium-bodied, has a focused, elegant, seamless texture, and outstanding length. This delicate, seamless, perfumed Jamet will benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and evolve gracefully over the following 10-15 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! A texturally beguiling red, with a chewy, creamy stream of dark chocolate, perfumed lavender, plum paste and warm spices framed by alder and camphor. Large in scale yet not heavy, with a supporting beam of iron, plus an energetic through line and prettiness from start to long, captivating finish. Stunning and hard to resist drinking immediately. - Wine Spectator

96 Points! A tasting through the different terroirs in this wine revealed a fresh, intense, highly structured year; not as generous as 2019 or 2020, certainly more austere, and will take longer to come round. Many of the samples had an appealing floral expression, occasionally with herbal nuances from the use of whole bunches, and often really quite dark, dense black fruit on the palate. Tannins, while not green, are decidedly tight and will take time to finesse. A vintage where patience is required and which I suspect will shut down shortly after bottling. - Decanter Magazine

95+ Points! Just bottled, the 2022 Côte Rôtie offers a beautifully classic Jamet perfume of red and black fruits, crushed stone, and sappy flowers. It's medium to full-bodied on the palate and has a broad, layered mouthfeel, building tannins, and a great finish. It needs 7-8 years of bottle age and will see its 30th birthday in fine form. Drink 2031-2052. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! The 2022 Les Inseparables is based on 43% Grenache Blanc, 30% Roussanne, and the rest Viognier, from vineyards throughout California. Its medium gold hue is followed by a medium-bodied, elegant, yet richer wine from Cohn that has a gorgeous nose of ripe lemons, honeysuckle, toast, and white flowers. It brings some classic Cohn richness, but this stays pretty and elegant, with a terrific sense of freshness. It's going to shine on the dinner table for 2-3 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

95 Points! The 2017 Syrah Rockpile Vineyard is another huge success in the vintage. From a great site in the Rockpile AVA of Sonoma County, its deep purple color is followed by a great bouquet of blueberries, iron, crushed rocks, ground pepper, and hints of smoked game. Structured and tannic on the palate, it reminds me of a young Cornas and needs 4-5 years of bottle age. It’s seriously impressive, though, and should have 15 years of overall longevity. - Jeb Dunnuck

Crazy value here. 80% Meunier and 20% Chardonnay from 40+ year-old vines in the Marne Valley with 2018 as the base wine. A joy to drink!

From the importer: Nuits-Saint-Georges famously possesses no grand cru vineyards, but Les Vaucrains is widely considered one in all but name. Always the most complete of Chezeaux’s premier crus, Vaucrains rumbles with tension—an authoritative wine that exudes an impression of depth and solidity. Here, the fruit, mineral, and savory elements bind together more tightly, more seamlessly. Jérôme owns just over a quarter-hectare of east-facing vines in Vaucrains, and his conservative oak regimen—never more than one-third of the barrels are new—highlights the power of the terroir itself.