France

90-92 Points! Audoin's 2022 Marsannay La Charme aux Prêtres Blanc reveals attractive aromas of green apple, pear, white flowers, citrus zest and freshly baked bread. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and racy, with good cut and tension, it's one of the domaine's livelier whites. - William Kelley, robertparker.com

100 Points! Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Lafite Rothschild is a little mute on the nose at this stage, opening to reveal warm blackcurrants, baked plums and boysenberry scents with hints of chocolate mint, violets, cedar chest and pencil lead. Full-bodied, rich and densely packed with perfumed black fruit layers, it has a rock-solid backbone of fantastically ripe, grainy tannins and beautiful freshness, finishing very long and minerally. Still very youthful! - Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, robertparker.com, 2020

100 Points! Almost black in color, this stunning wine is gorgeous, rich and dense. It's grand and powerful, with a strong sense of its own importance. The beautiful tannins and the fragrant black currant fruits are palpable. It's a great wine, with huge potential. - Wine Enthusiast

100 Points! The 2018 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a rock star of a wine and is based on a unique blend of 37% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 29% Merlot that was brought up in 80% new French oak. Offering a deep ruby/purple color as well as a thrilling bouquet of blackcurrants, smoked tobacco, chocolate, violets, damp earth, and truffle, it hits the palate with a full-bodied yet almost understated, building style that carries ripe, supple tannins, gorgeous amounts of smoky black fruits, and an endearing, layered, multi-dimensional texture that keeps you coming back to the glass. A dead ringer for a great vintage of Haut-Brion, it is far from unapproachable today yet needs 7-8 years of bottle age for the fireworks to develop and will have 50-years or more of longevity! Hats off to Guillaume Pouthier for a magical, seamless, singular beauty! - Jeb Dunnuck

90 Points! A destemmed blend of 60% Grenache, 25% Syrah, and the rest Carignan, the 2023 Côtes Du Rhône is ruby/plum-hued and offers a beautifully pure, medium-bodied, elegant profile in its red and black fruits, peppery herb, and leather-like aromas and flavors. This juicy, vibrant, balanced Côtes Du Rhône will drink well for at least 4-5 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

90 Points, Wine Spectator's #29 Wine of the Year 2025! A fragrant, floral rosé, with a burst of watermelon and strawberry lemonade notes. Maintains vibrant energy from start to finish, with a saline mineral foundation offsetting the creamy fruit. Balanced and delicious, showing a waft of smoke on the well-meshed finish. Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Rolle. - Wine Spectator

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95-96 Points! Very good poise, tension and depth, with a light peppery, mineral and citrusy touch to the fruit. Good fruit here, with medium to full body and elastic, chalky tannins. There is something quite pure and transparent in the middle. So elegant, al-dente and long. An excellent wine from this difficult vintage. 70% merlot, 10% cabernet franc and 10% cabernet sauvignon. Picking between September 26 to October 8. - Zekun Shuai, James Suckling

92-94+ Points! A blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2024 Château Bellefont-Belcier is deep purple-hued and opaque, showing remarkable purity in its black and blue fruits, graphite, crushed stone, and violet notes. Medium-bodied and concentrated on the palate, it has a pure, layered mouthfeel, beautiful tannins, and integrated acidity. This château continues to never put a foot wrong, and their 2024 will absolutely be worth your time and money. - Jeb Dunnuck

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95-96 Points! A dense wine with good richness and concentration. Slightly chewy, with an almost full body and a tight-grained finish. Long, structured and powerful. Not a lighter year for Pichon Baron, thanks to the low yield of just around 20 hectoliters per hectare. 87% cabernet sauvignon and 13% merlot. - Zekun Shai, James Suckling

94-96 Points! Beautiful stuff, the 2024 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron has ripe currant and cassis fruit intermixed with classic lead pencil, graphite, and tobacco nuances. It's medium-bodied, with a pure, layered, and elegant mouthfeel, notable tannins, and outstanding length. The 2024 is based on 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Merlot, hitting 12.7% alcohol with a pH of 3.71. - Jeb Dunnuck

90 Points! The 2022 Cairanne Vieilles Vignes is incredibly floral, with notes of rose, red fruits, raspberries, spice, and some minerals all defining its aromatics. Medium-bodied and elegant on the palate, if a touch mid-weight, it’s nevertheless nicely balanced and seamless. This 50% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 15% Mourvèdre, and 10% Carignan blend was aged 18 months in concrete vats and will drink well for 5-7 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

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92-94 Points! The 2024 Smith Haut Lafitte was picked from September 18 to October 9 and matured in 60% new oak. It has an understated bouquet that I appreciate, with scents of blackberry, raspberry, light rose petal and India ink that gradually unfurl in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, extremely well balanced and very refined, with a linear and correct finish. This is a classy Smith Haut Lafitte that will provide up to 20 years of drinking pleasure. - Neal Martin, Vinous Media

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97 Points! A hidden gem of a wine that doesn't get the recognition it deserves, the 2022 Château Couhins Blanc is 93% Sauvignon Blanc and 7% Sauvignon Gris brought up in 18% new barrels, with the balance in used oak and tank. Bright citrus, honeyed lime, mint, sappy flowers, and chalky minerality all define the aromatics, and it's medium to full-bodied and concentrated on the palate, with gorgeously clean acidity and a great finish. Savvy readers should snatch up this ripe, voluptuous, sensationally layered, textured, complex white. It's always hard to predict how these concentrated dry whites will age, yet this should benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it still drinking beautifully at age 20. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! Clear, pure and mineral with sour cream, white fruit and a touch of gooseberries. Medium-bodied on the palate, this has fresh medium acidity. Dissolved yet grainy in texture with a lengthy finish. Drink now. - Zekun Shuai, James Suckling

94 Points! The 2022 Couhins Blanc is superb, especially in the way it balances its brisk, saline character with notable mid-palate depth. White flowers, citrus peel, white pepper, sage and mint are all beautifully delineated. Intensely saline, mineral undertones support the persistent finish. This is commendable. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

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100 Points! One of the greats in the vintage, the 2022 Château Montrose is deep ruby/purple-hued and has a massive perfume of sweet crème de cassis, sappy tobacco, and freshly sharpened pencils. With incredible purity and precision in its aromatics, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a layered, powerful, yet still somehow elegant mouthfeel, ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. Based on a classic blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, it spent 18 months in 60% new French oak. As I wrote during En Primeur, it has the essence of a Montrose-like character. While it’s not a massively backward or austere example of the château, it nevertheless deserves 10-12 years of bottle age and should have at least half a century of longevity. It is, without a doubt, in the same league as the 1989, 1990, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2018, and 2020. - Jeb Dunnuck

100 Points! From barrel, I wrote that 2022 Montrose was so compelling that assigning it a bracketed score seemed a mere formality, and so it has proven. Unwinding in the glass with a deep and brooding bouquet of cassis, wild blueberries, violets, pencil shavings and burning embers, it's full-bodied, deep and dense, somehow marrying all the tannic authority that has long been such a signature of Montrose with a suavity and purity that represents the quintessence of contemporary Bordeaux. The broad, palate-staining finish lasts for more than a minute. This is a profound young wine that readers aren't going to want to miss. - William Kelley, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

100 Points! The 2022 Montrose is insanely beautiful. That much is obvious. When it might be ready to drink is another question. In recent years, Montrose has acquired notable finesse in its tannins, so that is not an issue. But the 2022 is packed with tremendous density and concentration that will need time to soften. Blackberry, graphite, licorice, lavender and chocolate stain the palate in a stunning, riveting wine of the very highest level. I can only hope to be around when the 2022 starts to drink well! Montrose is without question one of the wines of the vintage. Unforgettable. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

100 Points! Deep garnet-purple colored, it charges out with powerful notes of crème de cassis, preserved plums, and garrigue, giving way to nuances of candied violets, Sichuan pepper, and mossy tree bark, plus a touch of iron ore. The full-bodied palate is densely laden with black fruit preserves layers, supported by super-firm, super-ripe tannins and bags of freshness, finishing on a lingering ferrous note. Epic. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW

99 Points! Great depth in the nose, taking you into its core of blackcurrants, pencil shavings, graphite, tar, inkpot and cassis. Full-bodied and very tight, this flexes its polished muscles, showing form and tension. Compacted. From organically grown grapes. 66% cabernet sauvignon, 25% merlot, 8% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot. - JamesSuckling.com

98 Points! The 2022 Montrose was picked 2 to 22 September comprising all four grape varieties and all the Cabernet Franc, with 13% pressed wine, matured in 60% new oak. There is 14.5% alcohol this year, which is less than 2018. It has an extremely pure nose with black cherries and blueberry. Quite floral in style with hints of blood orange percolating through with time. The palate is very precise with exceptional mineralité and tension. Very focused, superb concentration, with what is becoming Montrose's trademark sense of symmetry and sustained aftertaste, this could be the finest Saint-Estèphe in 2022. – Neal Martin, Vinous Media

100 Points! This is extraordinary. There has never been a wine like this here since the famous 1990 or underrated 1989. Violets, flowers, stones and limestone. Oyster-shell undertones. Full-bodied, muscular and so structured. A phenomenal wine that reminds me of the great Bordeaux of the 1950s. - JamesSuckling.com

100 Points! The 2015 Canon was a benchmark wine that seemed to revitalize this historic estate. I was crossing my fingers that it would not disappoint in bottle and I am glad to say that it delivers the goods. It has a very intense bouquet (just as it showed out of barrel) with laser-like precision offering wild strawberry, raspberry preserve, wet limestone and hints of truffle. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, clean and fresh with pure black and red fruit whose every atom appears infused with minerals. The mouth is tingling long after the wine has exited and your brain is thinking … when is the next sip coming? It is frankly heads and shoulders above almost every Saint Émilion this vintage, to reaffirm, a benchmark for this historic estate that will give pleasure to many over the coming years. Astonishing. - Neal Martin, robertparker.com

100 Points! From the very beginning, the 2015 Canon has made an eloquent case for itself as one of the wines of the vintage. Multiple tastings from bottle only confirm what several early tastings hinted at: the 2015 Canon is simply extraordinary in every way. Sumptuous and exotic, with no hard edges and exceptional balance, the 2015 grabs hold of all the senses and never lets up. A rush of red fruit intermingled with floral notes, spice and smoke notes effortlessly runs up the wine's vertical structure as the 2015 thrills with every twist and turn. The 2015 Canon is a rare wine that is both hedonistic and intellectual - well, maybe it is a bit more hedonistic-leaning. It doesn't matter. Don't miss it. This 2015 is masterpiece from General Manager Nicolas Auderbert and his team at Canon. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

100 Points, James Suckling's #1 Wine of the Year 2018! Seductive. The nose draws you in deep: It’s like staring into a well of pristine dark cherries, dark plums, blackberries and mulberries. All the oak is perfectly subsumed. The palate’s flawless with immense depth and power and it’s so balanced as to appear to float. Immaculate fresh dark-berry and plum flavors. Silky and deep, ribbon-like finish. Perfect. - JamesSuckling.com

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100 Points! Even better (as well as a perfect wine), the 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape Collection Charles Giraud checks in as a nominal blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Mourvèdre that was brought up in demi-muids. It reveals a deep purple color as well as heavenly notes of blackberry and currant fruits intermixed with loads of cured meats, spice box, Asian spices, and a distinct loamy soil and minerality. Always more structured and powerful than the Reserve Auguste Favier release (no doubt due to the Mourvèdre component), it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, building yet polished tannins, flawless balance, and a great, great finish. Pure perfection in a glass, it’s as good as wine gets. Give bottles 2-4 years and enjoy over the following two decades. Hats off to winemaker Isabelle Ferrando for yet another thrilling wine! - Jeb Dunnuck

90 Points! Mainly Grenache, with the balance a blend of Mourvèdre and Syrah, the 2019 Cotes du Rhone offers up notions of ripe cherries, garrigue and even a few modest hints of pine sap. Medium to full-bodied, it's concentrated and ripe yet silky and reasonably elegant. Drink it over the next several years. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

100 Points! Off the charts in every way (if I had to pick a desert island wine, this would be in the top handful), the 2000 Château La Mission Haut-Brion is deep, rich, layered, multi-dimensional, and full-bodied, with a sensational perfume of currants, tobacco, roasted herbs, graphite, and some iron nuances. Powerful and concentrated on the palate, it's nevertheless weightless, with silky, pure, graceful tannins and not a hard edge to be found. Just absolutely sensational, and if this doesn't do it for you, nothing will. Count yourself lucky if you have bottles in the cellar, as it's going to continue drinking amazingly well for another 30, 40, 50+ years. Drink 2026-2076. - Jeb Dunnuck, April 2026

100 Points! One of the wines of the vintage, the 2000 has barely budged in its evolution since it was bottled and released in 2002. After ten years in bottle, it still reveals a dense opaque purple color along with a potentially sensational bouquet of blueberries, black currants, graphite, asphalt and background oak. Extremely powerful, full-bodied and superbly concentrated with good acidity and high but round tannins, this massive La Mission-Haut-Brion should take its place among this estate’s most hallowed vintages when it hits full maturity in another one to two decades. I was surprised by just how youthful this wine tasted at age 12. If tasted blind, I would have guessed it to be around 4 to 5 years old. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2050. - Robert Parker, robertparker.com, 2012

100 Points! One of the great wines of the vintage, and the last produced under the ownership of the Woltner family, the 1982 La Mission Haut-Brion remains remarkably youthful, exhibiting a saturated ruby-black hue. Unfurling in the glass with rich aromas of black fruits, cigar smoke, loamy soil, black truffle, peat and pencil shavings, it's full-bodied, broad and concentrated, with a deep core of fruit, ripe tannins and a long, expansive finish. Over the last decade, the wine has become increasingly seamless and elegant, without losing any of its vitality, and it is now clear, if it were ever in doubt, that this wine can stand alongside vintages such as 1961 and 1955 as one of the great La Mission Haut-Brions of the 20th century. Readers should note that the La Tour Haut-Brion of the same vintage performs at a very similar level of quality. - William Kelley, robertparker.com

100 Points, Wine Spectator's #1 Wine of the Year 1993! This is one of my favorite wines ever. Full-bodied, with layers of silky fruit and masses of currant, mineral and berry character. Amazing. It's a wine with perfect structure, perfect strength. It's 1961 Latour in modern clothes. It's hard not to drink it now. '89/'90 Bordeaux non-blind horizontal. - Wine Spectator, 2005