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...

Smoky sweet spice with juicy, ripe red berries on the nose. The core of liquorice and star anise is supported by plump, fleshy vibrant loganberry and raspberry fruit. Fresh, chewy fig on the finish. Youthful and classy...

Intensely aromatic, this museum release Riesling, from old vines on a cool site, deftly demonstrates how excellently this variety ages. Honey roasted almonds, kerosene, lime oil and candied ginger progress to dry...

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Perseid is deep garnet-black in color with cassis, kirsch, redcurrants and blackberries on the nose plus cedar, cigars, earth and bay leaves notes. The palate is medium-bodied and lively with...

An array of yellow orchard fruit with tropical and citrus fruit, leading to an attractive palate that has a fleshy middle section and a composed, long and concentrated finish. Fresh and linear. Equal parts sauvignon...

The quality of this 2016 just shines out. It's full of plump fruit, with great balance and plenty of Margaux typicity - plump red and black berry fruits and high floral aromatics, an exemplary second wine. And from a...

Deep red-violet in the glass, this wine has a bouquet of cherry, black currant and juniper. Durable tannins coat the palate, bearing flavors of cassis, dark plums, dark chocolate and violet that lead into the spice-filled...

The 2016 Pinot Noir The Settler Cleary Ranch Vineyard is an intriguing wine that nicely shows off the Ernest house style. Crushed red berries, blood orange, chalk and mint give the Settler its distinctive upper register...

There is enough reduction present to warrant giving the wine a thorough aeration. The richer and more powerful medium-bodied flavors possess good verve along with better depth and persistence on the relatively robust if...

(12.5% alcohol; from a steep southwest-facing slope with slightly richer soil than the Mâcon Milly-Lamartine Montagne de Cra; the vines here were planted from the late 1970s through the early '80s): Bright, full...

A full, ripe wine, this is rich in white fruits, but balanced by bright acidity. Produced in a vineyard close to Buxy, it has a taut edge, plenty of honey and lemon flavors, and a touch of toast. It's developing well, and...

A very floral and gently leafy edge with lighter red fruit, leading to a very smoothly fleshy, red-fruited palate that’s sleek, even and elegant. Drink or hold.

Currant, berry and black-cherry character here, which you might expect, as this is a blend of cabernet sauvignon, syrah and merlot. The same, pristine black fruit on the palate, too, with floral, citrus and mineral...

Concentrated but restrained with old school charm and an abundance of muscular tannins, it's easy to feel the heart of this wine, packed with liqourice, slate, black chocolate, cassis, brambled hedgerow, aniseed and...

The 2016 Troplong Mondot has a deep garnet color. It bursts from the glass with bold notions of plum preserves, blueberry pie, and Black Forest cake, leading to wafts of camphor, violets, and crushed rocks, with a touch...

The 2016 d’Aiguilhe is deep garnet-colored. It swans out of the glass with decadent scents of blackberry pie and blueberry compote, followed by hints of licorice, chargrill, espresso, and truffles. Full, rich and...

This wine is made with special vacuum technology that prevents contact with oxygen. The Dal Forno Romano 2016 Amarone della Valpolicella Monte Lodoletta has developed nicely over the years to show savory smoky notes and a...

(93+ points) The 2016 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard, a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, begins with a red-fruited nose with dusty core of mineral-rich earth and red, floral bouquet wafts. Medium to full-bodied on the palate...

All these 2016s from winemaker Graeme MacDonald are straight-up brilliant wines. Starting with the 2016 Proprietary Red, which is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, and the balance Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it...

The 2016 B 16 is a small bottling from Bollinger that takes the place of the Grand Année, as conditions did not allow Bollinger to bottle their flagship cuveé. Brisk floral top notes give this mid-weight, expressive...

The 2016 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru has a simple, red cherry and strawberry scented nose, almost as if there was a bit of carbonic maceration - Beaujolais-like. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannin on the entry...

(90-92 points) (no frost): Bright ruby-red. Sweet but lightly medicinal aromas of red and black cherry; seemed to close up in the glass. Supple and concentrated but quite primary, even a bit reduced, and distinctly less...

(92-95) Very generous wood and menthol elements aren't fully integrated with the very ripe black cherry and raspberry liqueur-like aromas that flash soft spice and floral nuances. There is a strikingly lovely mouth feel...

A single vineyard in the city of Chinon is the source for this wine. Wholly owned by this producer, the vineyard has produced an intensely perfumed wine, showing the potential of the vineyard and of ripe Cabernet Franc...

Classic Cabernet-based Médoc with dark fruit, blackcurrant and graphite. Juicy, fresh with tannic drive.