France

99 Points! This is incredibly complex, with all the cabernet descriptors, from mint and lead pencil to blackberry, blackcurrant and menthol. It changes all the time in the glass, just as in the nose. Yet, it remains cool and classy. Full-bodied with very fine, tight tannins that run the length of the wine, carrying on and on and on. Well-framed and compact wine. Never-ending procession of currant, berry and black cherry fruit, together with licorice, earth and just a hint of black truffle. 90% cabernet sauvignon, 9% merlot and 1% petit verdot. Give this until 2028 to show its true greatness. - James Suckling, jamessuckling.com

98+ Points! The 2019 Mouton Rothschild is the most dramatic of the Médoc first growths, soaring from the glass with aromas of cassis, blackberries and violets mingled with rich aromas of cedar, cigar wrapper, licorice, loamy soil and spices. Full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, it's deep and powerful, with huge levels of concentration and an ineffably complete, seamless profile, concluding with a long, resonant finish. Plenty of ripe tannin is hidden by its ample core of fruit, and despite its youthful polish, this will require plenty of bottle age to realize all its potential. This blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot tastes in many respects like the 2016 Mouton's more sun-kissed cousin. - William Kelley, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

98 Points! A deep intense nose, this is another brilliant Pauillac First Growth in 2019, all different in style and true to themselves. The tannins are ripe and fleshed out, taking a confident hold around well-textured blackberry and cassis fruits that are fluid, supple and frankly delicious. This is pure Mouton, you couldn't mistake it, with its touch of mocha and chocolate, and its core of freshness. Has a feel of the 1996 about it. - Jane Anson, Decanter

90-92 Points! Blackberries, spicy garrigue, herbes de Provence, and some peppery nuances all emerge from the 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape Les Sinards, a medium-bodied, supple, elegant red with tons of character. - Jeb Dunnuck

90-92 Points! Lots of black and blue fruits, burning embers, and candied flower notes all emerge from the 2020 Crozes-Hermitage. Medium to full-bodied, it has a pretty, elegant, seamless texture, ripe tannins, and a great finish. - Jeb Dunnuck

ETA: Early Winter 2026

Jeb Dunnuck, 100 Points Deep purple in color, offering a powerful and complex array of pure Pauillac cassis-like fruit, lead pencil, graphite, chalky minerality, truffle, and espresso. Medium to full-bodied, with ripe, sweet tannins, classic Latour regalness, concentration, structure, and class, with just a hint of its normal youthful austerity. This flawless, balanced, structured, insanely good Latour will be drinkable in just 7 to 8 years but evolve for 40 to 50 years in cold cellars.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent, 100 Points Deep garnet-purple in color, coming barreling out of the glass with powerful notes of blackcurrant jelly, blackberry pie, and plum preserves, followed by suggestions of pencil shavings, cast-iron pan, and charcoal. The medium to full-bodied palate is exquisitely constructed with a myriad of very fine layers, supported by ripe, grainy tannins and beautiful tension, finishing epically long and mineral-laced. Still very tightly wound and will require at least 5 to 7 more years in cellar, then should age gracefully for 50-years+. Drink 2027-2077.

Georgina Hindle, Decanter, 100 Points Dark blackcurrants with smoky tobacco, liquorice and slate. Cool straight away, fresh but so perfectly mouthfilling. Blue fruit, black cherry, fleshy like fruit skin texture. This is how a great Pauillac can taste: serious, deep, classic Cabernet markers, lots of minerality in the flint and stony aspects, strong tannins and a powerful, muscular structure with minty sides. An amazing Pauillac. This will last forever.

ETA: EARLY WINTER 2026

100 Points! The 2023 Suduiraut is a model of modern Sauternes. Orange peel, burnt sugar, crème-brûlée, tangerine peel, and wild flowers inform a Sauternes of total finesse and silkiness. Yields were a measly 12 hectoliters per hectare. The 150 grams of residual sugar are not especially evident. Everything about the 2023 is perfectly judged. It can be enjoyed with minimal cellaring or cellared for decades. The 2023 is a timeless wine that is among the most notable successes of the year. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous

ETA: EARLY WINTER 2026

100 Points! The 2023 Suduiraut is a model of modern Sauternes. Orange peel, burnt sugar, crème-brûlée, tangerine peel, and wild flowers inform a Sauternes of total finesse and silkiness. Yields were a measly 12 hectoliters per hectare. The 150 grams of residual sugar are not especially evident. Everything about the 2023 is perfectly judged. It can be enjoyed with minimal cellaring or cellared for decades. The 2023 is a timeless wine that is among the most notable successes of the year. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous

100 Points! Rose petals, sandalwood and currants with some plums and fruit tea. Full-bodied, tight and focused. Incredibly straight and minerally. Toned muscles here. Tannic. Traditional and unwavering. Try in 2024. - James Suckling

ETA: EARLY WINTER OF 2026

100 Points! With 153 grams per liter of residual sugar—placing it among the 10 most concentrated vintages in the château’s history—the 2023 d'Yquem ranks among the finest wines bottled here under Lorenzo Pasquini’s direction. It unfurls from the glass with a complex, vibrant and remarkably pure bouquet of pineapple, guava, mango, confit citrus, beeswax and spices. Full-bodied, dense and concentrated, it combines formidable depth with perfectly judged control, built around a fleshy core of fruit, framed by lively acidity and a crystalline texture and culminating in an endless, refined and ethereal finish. Yquem’s natural power is here masterfully harnessed by the vintage’s freshness and tension, revealing an aesthetic of precision and vibrancy encountered only in the estate’s greatest years—made all the more remarkable by the fact that the château now achieves even higher levels of concentration than a decade ago, without any perceptible increase in sweetness on the palate. - Yohan Castaing, RobertParker.com

100 Points! Power, freshness, depth — after the extremes of 2021 and 2022, this walks the line between the two, exceptional. Mandarin, quince, mirabelle plums, white truffle, fresh fruit and confit fruit, a vibration of slate and steel, opulent but slices closed on the finish. The botrytis came early and quickly in 2023. Francis Mayeur in final vintage as consultant, after many years as inhouse winemaking team, Lorenzo Pasquini director. 154g/l residual sugar, 3.85ph, harvest September 14 to October 11. - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

100 Points! Perfect aromas carry through to every milliliter of this wine, showing intense orange peel, honey, butterscotch, saffron, smoke and peat, with hints of coffee and dried apples. Full-bodied but weightless and silky, with an excellent balance of fruit, sweetness and spices. Some peanut brittle, dried oranges and lemons at the end. I can’t get over how wonderful this is now, but it can age forever. 154 g/L residual sugar. Drink or hold. - James Suckling

ETA: EARLY WINTER OF 2026

100 Points! With 153 grams per liter of residual sugar—placing it among the 10 most concentrated vintages in the château’s history—the 2023 d'Yquem ranks among the finest wines bottled here under Lorenzo Pasquini’s direction. It unfurls from the glass with a complex, vibrant and remarkably pure bouquet of pineapple, guava, mango, confit citrus, beeswax and spices. Full-bodied, dense and concentrated, it combines formidable depth with perfectly judged control, built around a fleshy core of fruit, framed by lively acidity and a crystalline texture and culminating in an endless, refined and ethereal finish. Yquem’s natural power is here masterfully harnessed by the vintage’s freshness and tension, revealing an aesthetic of precision and vibrancy encountered only in the estate’s greatest years—made all the more remarkable by the fact that the château now achieves even higher levels of concentration than a decade ago, without any perceptible increase in sweetness on the palate. - Yohan Castaing, RobertParker.com

100 Points! Power, freshness, depth — after the extremes of 2021 and 2022, this walks the line between the two, exceptional. Mandarin, quince, mirabelle plums, white truffle, fresh fruit and confit fruit, a vibration of slate and steel, opulent but slices closed on the finish. The botrytis came early and quickly in 2023. Francis Mayeur in final vintage as consultant, after many years as inhouse winemaking team, Lorenzo Pasquini director. 154g/l residual sugar, 3.85ph, harvest September 14 to October 11. - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

100 Points! Perfect aromas carry through to every milliliter of this wine, showing intense orange peel, honey, butterscotch, saffron, smoke and peat, with hints of coffee and dried apples. Full-bodied but weightless and silky, with an excellent balance of fruit, sweetness and spices. Some peanut brittle, dried oranges and lemons at the end. I can’t get over how wonderful this is now, but it can age forever. 154 g/L residual sugar. Drink or hold. - James Suckling

98 Points! A bigger, richer wine based mostly on Grenache from a single parcel around the estate on the lower plain of Gigondas, the 2023 Gigondas La Louisiane shows darker blackberries and kirsch intermixed with ground pepper, sappy garrigue, and some meaty, spicy nuances that give this an ultra-classic Gigondas style. It's medium to full-bodied on the palate and has a pure, focused mouthfeel, ultra-fine yet building tannins, and integrated acidity. It's a brilliant effort that will stand toe to toe with anything in the vintage and should drink well over the coming 15+ years. - Jeb Dunnuck

#SAINT-DAMIEN

98 Points! Based on 80% Grenache and 20% Mourvèdre and aged 12 months in foudres, the 2023 Gigondas Les Souteyrades is possibly the most exotic of the lineup from Saint-Damien. Kirsch liqueur, blackberries, exotic flowers, and sappy, garrigue-like nuances all define the bouquet, and it's medium to full-bodied, has a pure, layered, seamless mouthfeel, an incredible mix of richness and elegance, and a gorgeous finish. It's another absolutely riveting Gigondas from this estate that readers should snatch up! - Jeb Dunnuck

#SAINT-DAMIEN

98 Points! Originally a part of the legendary Piper-Heidsieck Champagne house, Rare is moving their Champagne Millésime to a new brand and want it to stand alone. (Think Delamotte and Salon.) The 13th vintage for this cuvée, the 2013 Champagne Millésime is a blend is 70% Chardonnay with the rest Pinot Noir, with the majority of the blend coming from the Montagne de Reims Grand Cru and Premier Cru. A bright yellow hue, its aromatics are exquisite and well-balanced, with fresh notes of key lime, candied apple, fresh croissant dough, fresh pineapple, and honeysuckle. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the palate with a rounded and supple texture and a pillowy mousse. It’s long on the palate and has a silky personality as well as a long, pristine finish. It has fantastic balance of decadence and freshness, and I could drink this all day. It’s going to have a long drinking window. Drink 2024-2044 and beyond. Disgorged December 2022. - Audrey Frick, JebDunnuck.com

#PiperRare

98 Points! In spite of its extreme youth, this great Chateuneuf-du-Pape leaps out at you with its depth of wet-earth, ripe red-berry and dried-flower aromas. Rich and concentrated, but so suave and refined. Incredible length! Already delicous, but this has a great future ahead of it. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! A classic blend (yet with a touch more Mourvèdre due to tiny yields), the 2023 Châteauneuf Du Pape is based on 65% Grenache, 15% each Syrah and Mourvèdre, and 5% Cinsault and other varieties, aged 20-22 months in 60-hectoliter French oak foudres. A gorgeous wine, it shows the ultra-classic style of this domaine perfectly with ripe red and black berries, peppery garrigue, flowers, and an undeniably mineral character. Medium to full-bodied, with a fresh, focused mouthfeel, ripe and building tannins, and outstanding length, it offers pleasure today yet will benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age and keep for 20-30 years if you're so inclined. - Jeb Dunnuck

91 Points! A fruity and delicate red with sour cherries, blueberries, violets, black pepper and hints of smoke. Medium-bodied with finely grained tannins. Precise and fresh with crunchy berries towards the salivating finish. From organically grown grapes. - JamesSuckling.com

90 Points! This savory, gentle-styled red shows the hallmark of the leaner vintage. Wild berry and smoked meat notes cruise alongside dried herbs, crushed iron and white pepper. Harmonious and elegant, with well-integrated, salty tannins and a floral perfume. - Wine Spectator

96-98 Points! Displays potent, mineral-accented dark berry preserve, olive paste and incense aromas that are complemented by floral oil, pipe tobacco and exotic spice flourishes. Chewy, densely packed and sharply focused on the palate, offering intense, spice-laced blackberry, blueberry, bitter cherry, violet pastille and smoky bacon flavors that turn livelier with air. Closes on an emphatic mineral note, with solid thrust, gripping tannins and superb, floral-tinged persistence. - Josh Raynolds, Vinous Media

90 Points! Juicy red berries, herbes de Provence, pepper, and a hint of sandalwood lift from the 2023 Côtes Du Rhône Mon Coeur. Medium-bodied and nicely balanced, with savory tannins and tons of personality and charm, it's perfect for drinking over the coming 4-6 years. Drink 2025-2031. - Jeb Dunnuck

98 Points! Tasting this very powerful and concentrated Cornas is like listening to a piece of organ music when the bass kicks in. Very meaty. A wealth of blackberry aromas unfurls as it aerates in the glass. More than enough fruit and flesh to wrap around the imposing core of beautifully crafted tannins. The deep bass notes echo on and on in the compelling finish. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! No Renaissance was produced in this vintage. Reminding me of the 2017, the 2022 Cornas reveals gorgeous red and black fruits, violets, bouquet garni, and gamey, iron-like nuances. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has fine tannins, beautiful overall balance, plenty of mid-palate depth, and a gorgeous finish. This is well worth your time and money, and I'd be thrilled with bottles in the cellar. Hide bottles for 5-7 years and enjoy over the following two decades. This is another beautiful lineup from the Clape family. The 2023s are supple and upfront, with terrific depth of fruit. Due to tiny yields, no Renaissance cuvée was produced in 2022, and the Grand Vin is brilliant stuff, with a sunny yet concentrated, structured style that reminds me of the estate's 2017. These are beautiful, classic Cornas that readers will love. In addition, don't miss their Saint-Péray, a fresher, crisp, absolutely delicious white. - Jeb Dunnuck

96 Points! A tasting of various barrel samples suggests that the 2022 vintage here will be very good, if not necessarily the most powerful year. The fruit is quite dark in character and there's a good sense of purity if not the same freshness as 2021 or 2020, or the grandeur of 2019. Nonetheless, an excellent wine and a fairly typical expression of Clape Cornas. Tannins are ripe and elegant. - Decanter Magazine

98 Points! Tasting this very powerful and concentrated Cornas is like listening to a piece of organ music when the bass kicks in. Very meaty. A wealth of blackberry aromas unfurls as it aerates in the glass. More than enough fruit and flesh to wrap around the imposing core of beautifully crafted tannins. The deep bass notes echo on and on in the compelling finish. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! No Renaissance was produced in this vintage. Reminding me of the 2017, the 2022 Cornas reveals gorgeous red and black fruits, violets, bouquet garni, and gamey, iron-like nuances. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has fine tannins, beautiful overall balance, plenty of mid-palate depth, and a gorgeous finish. This is well worth your time and money, and I'd be thrilled with bottles in the cellar. Hide bottles for 5-7 years and enjoy over the following two decades. This is another beautiful lineup from the Clape family. The 2023s are supple and upfront, with terrific depth of fruit. Due to tiny yields, no Renaissance cuvée was produced in 2022, and the Grand Vin is brilliant stuff, with a sunny yet concentrated, structured style that reminds me of the estate's 2017. These are beautiful, classic Cornas that readers will love. In addition, don't miss their Saint-Péray, a fresher, crisp, absolutely delicious white. - Jeb Dunnuck

96 Points! A tasting of various barrel samples suggests that the 2022 vintage here will be very good, if not necessarily the most powerful year. The fruit is quite dark in character and there's a good sense of purity if not the same freshness as 2021 or 2020, or the grandeur of 2019. Nonetheless, an excellent wine and a fairly typical expression of Clape Cornas. Tannins are ripe and elegant. - Decanter Magazine 

98 Points! The 2020 les Clos from Monsieur Dauvissat is every bit as brilliant as the les Preuses. The nose soars from the glass in a blend of apple, pear, lime zest, a stunning base of flinty, chalky, wet stone minerality and oyster shell, vanillin oak and a topnote of fruit blossoms. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and shows off a gorgeous core of fruit, but the real beauty here is in the stunningly complex base of minerality, coupled with vibrant acids, impeccable focus and grip and a very, very long, dancing and seamlessly balanced finish. - John Gilman, View From The Cellar