France

Blend of six different parcels from a selection of old vines. Some vineyards are in the hills – Vireuils and Meix Chavaux – and contribute freshness and tension, others at bottom of hills just under the 1er crus – Marcausses, Vignes Blanches and Pellans – contribute body, and the parcel of Millerands rests on gravel and gives finesse. Vines are trained 1/3 Cordon de Royat and 2/3 Guyot. Pneumatic pressing and static settling. Aged in barrels with 20% new wood.

Made from vines over 70 years old grown on gneiss, granite, and amphibolite soils.

Hand harvested and uses native yeast to start fermentation. After resting on the lees over the winter in concrete and glass vats, the cuvées are rigorously selected before being bottled in spring. In the spring following each harvest, the wine is siphoned off from above its lees, without stirring or filtering beforehand.

94+ Points! Disgorged in May 2022, the Paillard NV Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru is superbly fresh, offering up aromas of orchard fruit, lemon, spring flowers and menthol touches. Medium to full-bodied, expressive and precise with a delicate mousse, it’s seamless, vinous, chalky and harmonious with a clean and precise finish. - Yohan Castaing, robertparker.com

94 Points! Freshly squeezed lemon, green apples, oyster shell and white apricots with subtle brioche and exquisite yeastiness. A fruity entry followed by a medium to full body where you find the fine perlage carrying the intense chalky flavors to a nicely dry but approachable finish. Lovely length with spot-on balance between chalky fruit and autolysis. Disgorged in March 2022. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

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!

A selection from three older-vine plots in Vosne: ‘Aux Raviolles,’ ‘Au Dessus de la Rivere’ and ‘Aux Ormes,’ with a mix of clay and limestone soils, mostly east-facing. Aromas of blackberry, red cherry, minerals. Juicy and spicy; lots of fresh, red/black fruit. 

94 Points! This has chocolate, cedar and walnuts as well as some currant aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied with some lovely fruit and juiciness. 55.8% cabernet sauvignon, 38.8% merlot and 5.4% petit verdot. Attractive now but another year or two will make it even better. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! Easily the best Pauillac de Latour in recent years, showing supple tannins at five years old, textured and rippling with juice, opening to show gourmet smoked plum and blueberry fruit. Has the graphite edge of the appellation, waves of cocoa bean, liqourice and smoked earth, and the balance of 2019. The structure is already welcoming, even if the fruit young, and if you like your wines on the primary side, you can get stuck in straight away and be very happy about it - this is a buy buy buy, and a good upgrade from my initial En Primeur score. - Jane Anson

93 Points! The 2019 Pauillac is a serious wine. Dark cherry, plum, gravel, incense, licorice and pomegranate are all dialed up in this wonderfully deep, fleshy Pauillac. Deep and resonant, with fine balance, the 2019 captures all the natural radiance of the year. This is really quite stellar and delicious. A recent bottle of the 2009 reminded me how pleasurable the Latour Pauillac can be. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

Eric Forest is one of the top names in Vergisson today. Heir to eight generations of family talent and trained early by local legend Jean-Marie Guffens, Eric’s wines are shining examples of the potential and serious pleasure of white Burgundy from the Mâconnais.

A unique, south-facing vineyard in which a majority of vines are 100 years old or older, ‘Le Clos des Charmes’ is more than charming; it’s a piece of both Vergisson history and Forest family lore. As a monopole (a vineyard owned by just one tenant), ‘Le Clos’ holds a special place in Forest’s portfolio. A rich, vibrant and textured white Burgundy wine.

From the importer: An even blend of Syrah and Grenache, La Tour Vieille’s rosé from the seaport town of Collioure shows some of the structure and complexity we love in our rosés from the south of France while retaining a freshness and elegance that makes it a great pairing for grilled fish or mushroom pasta.

Impressive wine from the tiny Yannick Cadiou domaine. Yannick organically farms only 5 hectares after 27 years working as the vineyard manager at Domaine Laroche.

Yannick Cadiou Petit Chablis 2022 is characterized by a bright, golden yellow color and a fresh, fruity nose with aromas of white fruits, citrus, and floral notes like hawthorn and acacia. The palate is typically described as supple and lively, with a balance of fruitiness and minerality, underscored by refreshing acidity. Some may also detect hints of peach, honey, and a subtle flinty minerality. 

50% Petit Manseng, 50% Gros Manseng, south-facing exposure. 15-year-old vines at a density of 4000 vines/hectare. No chemical products and natural grass cover for every other row. Guyot simple pruning.

Exciting find! An extremely polished, gulpable Madiran from south-facing 60+ year-old vines on clay limestone and gravel. Very refined tannins for the genre...

90 Points! Primary aromas of candied raspberries, cherries, lilacs, peonies and sweet spices introduce the 2022 Chiroubles Aux Craz, a medium-bodied wine, revealing further notes of eucalyptus, candied peel and slate on the palate. While the initial attack is more daring, the wine gracefully tapers off on the back palate, guided by an influence of fine-grained tannins. This is a suave wine that leaves you wanting more. - Kenna Wells, robertparker.com

From the importer: The Vieilles Vignes fruit comes from (a combined half hectare total) Les Malpoiriers and Les Pellans lieu-dits. The Meursault planted vines range in age of 80-85 years of age and the wine is aged 1 year in barrel, 25% of which is new oak. Fantastic wine with a long traditionally Meursault finish, with richness and vibrancy you would expect from such old vines.

92 Points! Plenty of chocolate plus some caramel and anchovy aromas. Rich and structured with ample richness wrapped around the rather fine tannins. Easy to enjoy thanks to the very good balance through the lingering finish. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

From the importer: Always one of the finest values in our entire portfolio of red Burgundy, Cornu’s Ladoix “Vieille Vigne” hails from two parcels, one planted in 1926 and the other in 1960 at the foot of the hillside of Corton. In typical Ladoix fashion, its fruit is blacker and more Côte-de-Nuits-like, with darker-toned spices that display a touch more severity than those of his Chorey-lès-Beaune and Savigny-lès-Beaune. It is also unfailingly more tannic, though the broad-shouldered fruit fleshes out the underlying structure.