Vibrant ripe purple. There is gentle graceful fruit on the nose then an easy going opulent fruit up front which builds beautifully behind. This is a plump and less savoury style of Gevrey-Chambertin.

Enticing inky depths to the colour, slate tannins that are fully in control, adding precision and power to the cassis fruits. As it opens, the austerity recedes and sweet blackberry and loganberry fruit appear, along with...

Pure red berry fruit leads from the glass intermixed with heady cedar spices. Full-bodied, revealing a fantastic mid-palate depth of concentration with a spectacular vein of crushed stone minerality. The ripe, bright, red...

An attractively layered nose combines notes of lemongrass, green apple, mineral reduction and a whiff of petrol. The highly energetic middle weight flavors possess an appealing mouth feel while delivering solid depth and...

94+ The 2016 Aglianico del Vulture Superiore Cruà takes things to a more serious level, as musky black currants, plums, flowery underbrush, wild scrub and herbs smolder up from the glass. This splashes across the palate...

A pristine red, displaying great clarity to the strawberry, cherry, rose and menthol flavors. By the time this evolves to the finish, the tannins make their mark, yet never overstep their bounds. In the end this is...

A prototypical Médoc wine with very good depth and beautiful harmony. I love the long, moderately dry and savory finish that pulls your hand instinctively back to the glass. A blend of 50 per cent cabernet sauvignon and...

Packed with young tannins, this wine shows the structure of the vintage as well as its fresh and perfumed fruit. The combination will develop to produce a restrained and elegant wine. Drink from 2025.

Dried cherries, tar, nutmeg, forest floor, red licorice and chili pepper all spring out of the glass. Very chewy and structured on the palate with loads of ripe but harmonious tannins and a plethora of dried and fresher...

The flagship release, the 2016 Syrah Royal City is all from the Stoneridge Vineyard on the Royal Slope (not far from the Frenchman Hills). It was not destemmed and spent 27 months in 60% new French oak. Offering a...

After falling into decline in the 1950s, Château Brown was revived after it was bought by businessman Bernard Barthe in 1994, to be taken over again 20 years later by the Mau family. Now led by fifth-generation...

A very impressive wine for a chateau that’s not so well known. Deep and rich with a ton of elderberry and bitter-chocolate aromas, but still dry and very straight, thanks to the beautiful, fine-grained and lively acidity...

Plum colour, with spiced damson and raspberry leaf aromatics. A good few years from being truly open and ready to drink, this is nevertheless superbly enjoyable, even if closed in. Unrolls to show waves of cocoa bean...

I am spellbound by the aromas of crushed blackberries, licorice, black tea and violets. It’s full-bodied yet so intense and linear. Powerful tannins with superb polish and focus give an amazing texture. Complex and...

This is a compact cylinder of ripe and fresh fruit with currant, fresh-herb and dry-earth character on the palate. So solid. Full-bodied yet refined and checked in every way. Well-defined, formed and perfect. Just a hint...

Blackberry, blueberry and floral aromas follow through to a full body, tight and chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. Drink in 2023. A château to watch in the future.

The 2016 La Closerie de Fourtet is a lovely second wine from Clos Fourtet. Pliant, supple and inviting, the 2016 offers quite a bit of near and medium term appeal. Sweet dark cherry, chocolate, spice and leather mesh...

Sun-baked garrigue and smoky notes of iron and earth accent intensely ripe black cherry and cassis in this wine. Made from 100% Syrah, it's a hulking powerhouse of black-fruit flavors but finessed by firm acidity and...

The white of the vintage is the 2016 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, which comes from a high-density planting of 30-year-old vines located west and south of the town of Léognan. A blend of 75% Sauvignon and 25% Sémillon...

The 2016 Clos Vougeot Grand Cru confirms its brilliant showing from barrel, unwinding in the glass with aromas of wild berries, orange rind and peony that mingle with savory bass-notes of espresso roast, dark chocolate...

The scents and flavors here deliciously resemble that of cinnamon- and lemon-zest-tinged, lightly singed purple plum pastry. And as is often the case with Riesling from this site, there is also a high-toned suggestion of...

Dense and rich second wine of Nenin with dark berries, chocolate and hazelnuts. Full body, round and chewy tannins, yet polished and finished. Needs two or three years to soften, at least. Try after 2023.