France

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

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

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

93 Points! Dark chocolate and floral notes on the nose. This has an appealing density on the palate, lovely weight, with a sculpted feel to the softly chewy tannins and dark fruit. Less immediately lively, bright and accessible than the 2018 but still stylish with a sense of character. Cool blue fruits meld with mint, liquorice, flint and touches of toast. A blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in ex-Lafite barrels as well as stainless steel and cement vats. - Decanter Magazine

93 Points! The 2022 Morgon Corcelette Vieilles Vignes Cailloux exudes charm from the outset, captivating the senses with enticing notes of blackberries, licorice, figs, lilac petals and hints of black pepper intertwined with nuances of balsamic reduction and grilled meats. While boasting a sturdy structure underpinned by chalky tannins, this cuvée presents as the most open-knit among its counterparts, such as the younger-vine or Sable cuvées. The rich black-fruited flavors expand on the mid-palate, revealing deeper layers of ripeness in a savory guise, characterized by flavors of grilled meats and balsamic reduction, followed by a cut of wet-stone salinity that persists with the chalky tannins to guide a mouth-watering finish. - Kenna Wells, robertparker.com

94-96 Points! Broader and more flamboyant than the Chapelle-Chambertin, the 2020 Echézeaux du Dessus Grand Cru bursts with aromas of plums, wild berries, exotic spices, orange rind, peonies and smoked meats. Full-bodied, ample and perfumed, it's layered and concentrated, with a fleshy, multidimensional core of fruit, lively acids and a long, expansive finish. - William Kelley, robertparker.com

95 Points! It’s really hard to believe that this is a 2020, such is the youthful energy of this extraordinary wine. I love the intense lemon blossom aroma in the nose. Concentrated, creamy and very elegant, this high-end Savennieres isn’t difficult to understand. Less fundamentally mineral than the very best, but still plenty of wet stone at the long silky finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.- JamesSuckling.com

Planted mostly in the 1940's, the mix of vineyards comes mostly from Douby, a zone on the north side of Morgon between the famous Côte de Py hill and Fleurie, and the lieu-dit, Courcelette, a parcel completely made of soft, coarse beach-like sands. Much of these vineyards are on softly sloping aspects ranging from southeast to southwest. There are rocky sections also, but generally the vineyards are sandy, leading to wines led by elegance and subtlety, but endowed with great length and complexity from their very old vines. The climate here is a warm by contrast to those further uphill.

97 Points! This is a stunning new release from Fleur de Miraval. The best year. Aromas of peaches and flowers with cotton candy and citrus. Hints of cherries and other berries. It’s full-bodied with very fine bubbles and a creamy texture. It’s fluffy on the palate, like feathers floating through the air. Salted caramel and sweet pastry in the aftertaste. Some earthy, soil character, too. So complex. This has been made from a base of the 2018 vintage. 25% pinot noir and 75% chardonnay grand cru (50% is proprietary reserve blends from 2007 onwards, and 25% is from opened bottles of blanc de blancs Champagne, dating back to 1998) This is really unique. Dry at the end with 4g dosage. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! This offers a gorgeous kaleidoscope of fruit -- kumquat, yellow plum, starfruit and quince -- atop a bed of silky-fine mineral notes and subtly bitter tannins. Honeyed, full and rich, with a refined texture and a very long finish edged in piecrust and toast, showing acid verve and impressive structure. Drink now through 2030. 130 cases made, 50 cases imported. - Wine Spectator

94 Points! I loved the 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape Vin De La Solitude Blanc, an exotic, floral white based on 30% Clairette, 20% each Roussanne and Grenache Blanc, and the rest Clairette Rose, Picpoul, and Bourboulenc. Ripe melon, honeyed orange, toasted bread, and minty herbs all emerge from this complex, nuanced, medium-bodied beauty, and it has good depth and richness, a great sense of freshness, and outstanding length. - Jeb Dunnuck

95 Points! This offers a gorgeous kaleidoscope of fruit -- kumquat, yellow plum, starfruit and quince -- atop a bed of silky-fine mineral notes and subtly bitter tannins. Honeyed, full and rich, with a refined texture and a very long finish edged in piecrust and toast, showing acid verve and impressive structure. Drink now through 2030. 130 cases made, 50 cases imported. - Wine Spectator

94 Points! I loved the 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape Vin De La Solitude Blanc, an exotic, floral white based on 30% Clairette, 20% each Roussanne and Grenache Blanc, and the rest Clairette Rose, Picpoul, and Bourboulenc. Ripe melon, honeyed orange, toasted bread, and minty herbs all emerge from this complex, nuanced, medium-bodied beauty, and it has good depth and richness, a great sense of freshness, and outstanding length. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! A real sleeper effort from the Perse family, the 2004 Pavie has a dense, bluish purple color and a wonderful, sweet kiss of blackberry, licorice, spice box and roasted herbs. The wine is rich, deep, full-bodied and absolutely remarkable for the vintage. This is certainly a candidate for one of the wines of the year and seems still relatively youthful and promising. Drink it over the next 20 years. - Robert Parker, robertparker.com, 2015

95 Points! This is a beauty, with the singed apple wood and juniper notes fully melded with the core of lush raspberry and blackberry confiture flavors. The edges are rounded off but the spine still drives through. Ends with graphite and ganache accents and a mouthwatering hint. - Wine Spectator

92 Points! This wine has a very youthful color and seems to be close to full maturity, without the density of the 1998, or its successor, the perfect 2000. It has abundant foresty notes, plenty of spice box, blackcurrant and black cherry fruit, some background toasty oak, medium to full body and sweet tannin. A very delicious wine, it offers a complex and fragrant style. It should be drunk over the next 12-15 years. - Robert Parker, robertparker.com, 2015

95 Points! The 1995 Léoville Las Cases is a blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc. Medium garnet colored with a touch of brick, it needs a fair bit of swirling to unlock the intense notes of baked plums, dried mulberries and boysenberry preserves with hints of black truffles, Chinese five spice, unsmoked cigars and dusty soil, plus wafts of beef drippings and cast-iron pan. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers good weight and generous fruit, supported by plush tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with loads of earth, sautéed herbs and mineral-inspired flavors. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, robertparker.com, 2021

95+ Points! The 1986 Lafite Rothschild unfurls in the decanter and glass with aromas of earthy blackcurrant fruit mingled with notions of cigar box and red berries. Richer and darker in profile than the 1975 drunk alongside, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and concentrated, displaying a velvety attack and a lively core of fruit, with just a touch of the tannic asperity that often defines this vintage in the Médoc making itself felt on the finish. As it approaches its 40th birthday, the 1986 Lafite still needs several hours' decant to show its best. - William Kelley, robertparker.com, 2022

93 Points! A brilliant effort for the vintage, this muscular, dense purple-colored, powerful, rich 2008 offers notes of graphite, truffles, black cherries and blackberries along with moderately high tannins, full-bodied richness, impressive purity and a multidimensional mouthfeel. Give it 2-3 years of cellaring and enjoy it over the next two decades. It should prove to be one of the longer lived wines of the vintage. - Robert Parker, robertparker.com

95 Points! Intense aromas of violets, berries and spices follow through to a full-bodied palate, with layers of supersilky tannins and a long, long finish. Very classic in style. All in elegance and length. I like it better than the 2000. Best after 2009. - Wine Spectator

94 Points! Haut-Brion’s 2001, which was bottled late (the end of September, 2003), possesses an unmistakable nobility as well as a burgeoning complexity. Plum/purple to the rim, this blend of 52% Merlot, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 12% Cabernet Franc is playing it close to the vest, having closed down considerably after bottling. Nevertheless, it reveals pure notes of sweet and sour cherries, black currants, licorice, smoke, and crushed stones. Medium-bodied with excellent purity, firm tannin, and an angular, structured finish, it requires 5-7 years of cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2020+. - Robert Parker, robertparker.com

93+ Points! I have been drinking this wine out of half bottle, and this was the first regular bottle I have had over recent years. While this Pomerol is loaded, it remains extremely backward - hence the lower score. I would not touch a bottle for another 5-8 years. The half bottles are tasting at least 4 to 5 points better, and are obviously much more evolved. The full bottle exhibited a dense plum/purple color along with notes of cedar, forest floor, sweet jammy plums, black currants, licorice, and tobacco leaf. Full-bodied and powerful with high tannins as well as a rustic, massive mouthfeel and finish, it should be fully mature by 2015, and keep until 2030+ - Robert Parker, robertparker.com, 2009

94 Points! Mostly Chardonnay, the 2020 Limoux Blanc is a terrific white that has real class in its aromatics as well as texture. Light gold-hued, with a great nose of poached pears, honeyed citrus, crushed stone, toasted hazelnuts, and white flowers, it hits the palate with medium-bodied richness that carries terrific mid-palate depth, bright, racy, yet brilliantly integrated acidity, and a crisp, clean, lengthy finish that brings an undeniable sense of salinity. A seriously good white, it deserves 2-3 years of bottle age (it needs a decant if drinking any time soon) and will evolve for over a decade. Bravo. - Jeb Dunnuck

93 Points! This has very pretty energy and focus with sliced melon, pears, stone and fresh ginger. Dried flowers. Citrus, too. Medium-bodied with a solid density of fruit with white peaches and honey. Tangy and flavorful. Drink or hold. - James Suckling.com