The 2022 from Alexander van Beek and the team at Giscours is a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 3% each Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. I find a real sense of fragrant harmony but also bright energy here...

A good touch of ripe white fruits gives this wine, with its quince and pear aromas, a rounded character. Its red-apple flavors are cut with citrus, and perfumed from the Sauvignon Gris in the blend. Drink the wine now. —...

A thread of minerally smoke, oyster shell and saline drives this refreshing Champagne, underscoring flavors of poached apricot, tangy blackberry, lemon curd and gingerbread as they ride the refined mousse. Pinot Noir...

The 2016 Champagne Cristal is chalky and pristine, with a crystalline nature and notes of white peach, fresh citrus blossoms, and bright salinity. Tasted for the first time last year, it captures a precise and focused...

Elegant, sweet, juicy, and fresh, there is a purity to the sweet kirsch that defines the wine. The finish focuses on its mineral characteristics that accompany the raspberries, kirsch, and cherries. This is a knockout...

An assemblage of 45% Grenache, 45% Mourvèdre and 10% Syrah, the 2021 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes follows the domaine's formula of maturing the Grenache in concrete tanks, while the Mourvèdre and Syrah go into...

Made from 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc, the 2019 d'Aiguilhe is medium to deep garnet-purple colored. It needs a little swirling to reveal notes of crushed black cherries, black raspberries, and violets, plus wafts of...

The 2022 Morgon Côte du Py has another very attractive bouquet with just a touch more fruit intensity than the Côte du Py, wonderful mineralité and tension. Very composed. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, a...

The same blend as the Blanc but including 5% red wine from their La Côte aux Enfants parcel, the 2015 Champagne La Grande Année Brut Rosé is a lovely wine on the nose, and I think I might like it more than the Blanc in...

(95+ points) One of the greatest hits from Rare Champagne, the 2012 Rare Millésime is produced from fruit harvested between September 10 and 26. Disgorged in November 2023 with a dosage of eight grams per liter, it is a...

The 2020 Le Pauillac de Chateau Latour is a blend of 53% Merlot, 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 4% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple colored, it springs from the glass with vivacious notes of stewed blackberries, raspberry...

A bird of a different feather, this marries a polished feel with the nervy, underlying zip of sel gris and quinine notes, while its core of green almond, star fruit and white peach opens slowly. Shows subtle accents of...

The 2020 Marquis de Terme has a much more classical, sophisticated bouquet compared to the Marquis d'Alesme. The palate is medium-bodied, fresh and delineated with plush black fruit and a healthy dash of white pepper...

Composed of 79% Merlot and 21% Cabernet Franc, the 2017 Plince is medium to deep garnet-purple in color and rolls effortlessly out of the glass with scents of blackberry pie, plum preserves and kirsch plus suggestions of...

A fresh, pure and vibrant style, with abundant flavors of just-ripe plum and smoked cherry, bolstered by snappy, pepper-edged acidity and highlighted by beautiful violet notes. Shows a supple palate, with savory acidity...

Looking better than it did from tank, Cristina's 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape is ripe and rounded, with ample amounts of black cherries and plums, an exception to the overall red-fruited nature of the vintage. Full-bodied...

A blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2021 Pape Clement has a medium to deep garnet-purple color. It tumbles out of the glass with notions of plum preserves and Morello cherries, giving way to hints of...

Glass-staining ruby. Hugely perfumed, mineral-accented black and blue fruit preserves, floral oil, olive paste, pipe tobacco and exotic spice aromas show superb clarity and pick up a hint of smokiness with air. Juicy and...

A plush Champagne, with focus to its flavors of white cherry, blood orange pith, salted Marcona almond and pastry cream. Chiseled acidity drives the spice- and mineral-laced finish. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot...

(92 + points) La Lagune 2019 is deep garnet-purple in color. Notes of warm cassis, blackberry preserves, and fruitcake waft from the glass, leading to hints of cloves, dried herbs, and pencil lead. The medium-bodied...

The 2014 Clinet is rich and round but slightly more refined than the 2012, which is arguably its qualitative peer. Lots of black cherry fruit but with that beautiful elegant Pomerol charm. Plush and plump and will age...

Medium to deep garnet-brick in color, the 2014 Fonplegade waltzes out with showy notes of kirsch, blackberry preserves, and rosebud tea with hints of leather sofa and star anise. The medium-bodied palate is plush and...