Wine Enthusiast (100)

This is a rich, perfumed wine, with dense tannins and intense layers of black plum and spice. The palate is firmly built yet broadened out by plump dark-fruit tones and honed by a solid, dry core. Drink from 2025.

Expertly crafted by the esteemed Barons de Rothschild, the Reserve Pauillac Speciale 2019 is a sublime testament to the excellence of Pauillac terroir. Sumptuously blended from the finest Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes, meticulously handpicked from the heart of Bordeaux, the Barons de Rothschild Reserve Pauillac Speciale 2019 showcases the signature depth and complexity associated with Rothschild wines. Extensively matured in French oak barrels, this masterpiece accentuates a profound, velvety palate bursting with decadent notes of dark fruit, truffle, and spices.

Committed to sustainability, Barons de Rothschild meticulously adopts Low Environmental Impact Viticulture, preserving the land for future generations. Embodying over two centuries of winemaking heritage, this extraordinary cuvée continues to uphold the Rothschild family's enduring commitment to quality. The Barons de Rothschild Reserve Pauillac Speciale 2019 is truly a rendezvous of opulence, elegance, and sophistication. Esteemed among aficionados and critics alike, this gem is an absolute must-have in any fine wine collection.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (97)

The 2020 Beau-Sejour Becot is a dense, powerful wine. A rush of black cherry, plum, chocolate, new leather, licorice, spice and sweet oak builds as this towering, vertically explosive Saint-Émilion opens in the glass. This is an especially broad, expansive Saint-Émilion, much of that attributable to the clay in these soils. The 2020 is magnificent in its intensity and overall volume. Superb.

Wine Enthusiast (100)

The Riserva 2012 is a quintessential Biondi Santi Riserva, reflecting not just the house style that made the firm famous, but it clearly shows Franco’s own hallmark of extreme elegance. The 2012 is a classic in the making, boasting enticing scents of rose, underbrush, wild red berry, new leather and underlying notes of crushed mint. It has a chiseled palate, featuring Morello cherry, pomegranate, orange zest, star anise and a hint of tobacco framed in taut, polished tannins. Firm acidity lends youthful tension and keeps it impeccably balanced.

Vinous (89)

The 2017 Barolo is a terrific choice for drinking now and over the next decade or so. In 2017, Brovia's straight Barolo is quite floral and lifted in feel. Crushed flowers, mint, spice, blood orange and sweet berry fruit are laced throughout. As a reminder, the Brovia Barolo is a blend of all four sites the family bottles as vineyard designates, with an emphasis on the Brea cru. This mid-weight Barolo is all charm.

Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux (100)

One of the most exciting wines of the September Releases, and one that captures the progress and interest around terroir in the Argentinian wine scene right now. This is set at 1,500m elevation, on limestone dominant soils, and it immediately sets itself apart by its soaring aromatics that give nuance and depth, with seductively curling peony and raspberry leaf. Powerful and full of character, somehow translates the idea of minerality that is so argued over in wine - here you feel it in the slightly chalky tannins, the pulses of electricity, and dried herb and fennel studding to the fresh raspberry and red cherry fruits. So good. Ungrafted vines, Fernando Buscema winemaker.

Vinous - Neal Martin (90)

The 2016 Croizet-Bages has an open and engaging bouquet, a mélange of red and black fruit laced with cedar and subtle mint aromas. The oak here is nicely integrated. The palate is well balanced with supple tannins matched with a fine bead of acidity. It displays a tad more “rondeur” than its peers thanks to some expressive Merlot and fans out on the finish. A Croizet-Bages that “leaves the customer satisfied.

Vinous (92+)

The 2020 Sangiovese Romagna Predappio is spicy and deep, with sweet rose and dusty black cherries accentuated by hints of ash and mint. This is undeniably elegant in feel, washing silken waves of ripe wild berries across the palate that leave a mineral staining, along with sweet inner herbal tones. It finishes with a lingering concentration and super-fine tannins as tobacco and cocoa notes slowly fade. The 2020 will require a bit more time in bottle to soften its contours, but it’s packed full of potential. It’s hard to think of this as Chaira Condello’s entry-level wine.

Jeb Dunnuck (96-98+)

I continue to love the wines from this estate, and the 2020 Château Clinet is no exception. Straight-up sensational notes of blueberries, cassis, violets, tobacco, and earth all emerge from the glass, and this beauty is full-bodied, with a rich, concentrated mid-palate, flawless balance, and a great finish. It shows the tighter, fresher, more focused style of the vintage, yet it still brings plenty of mid-palate depth as well as an expansive texture. It has enough oak to warrant short-term bottle age but will have 25-30 years of overall longevity. This is a gorgeous wine.

Jancis Robinson (18.5)

Cask sample. Quite a price! Transparent crimson. Very dense nose with more layers than most of the 2018 red burgundies I have tasted so far. Pretty rich with grand cru density. Very well done. Actually the best Clos des Epeneaux I remember tasting en primeur. Long, rich, opulent but all in a convincing structure. Very long in fact.

The Wine Independent (100)

Deep garnet in color, the 2016 Cos d'Estournel is quite closed to start, requiring a lot of coaxing to bring out profound notions of creme de cassis, wild blueberries, black cherry compote, and rose oil, leading to suggestions of Indian spices, crushed rocks, and dried lavender. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is both opulent and energetic, revealing loads of perfumed black fruit layers and a plush, polished texture, finishing with epic length and depth.

Wine Advocate (98+)

Composed of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, yields for the grand vin in 2017 were 43 hectoliters per hectare, and it was aged in 60% new oak. It came in at an alcohol of 13% and an IPT of 68. Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Cos d'Estournel needs a little coaxing to unfurl, revealing beautiful expressions of preserved plums, boysenberries, blackcurrant pastilles and wild blueberries with hints of Indian spices, menthol, lilacs and mossy tree bark plus a compelling suggestion of iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a solid backbone of firm, grainy tannins and well-knit freshness supporting the tightly wound blue and black fruits layers, finishing long and fragrant. This wine will need a good 5-7 years in bottle before it begins to blossom and should go on for at least another 40 years. I expect this wine to be a blockbuster of a head-turner when I come back and taste it at 10 years of age!

Decanter (100)

Medium-full weight. Very lovely, almost Musigny-like fruit here. Complex, concentrated and intense. Marvelous harmony. Very, very long and multi-dimensional. This is very special.

Wine Advocate (97)

Quite different from the 2015 was the 2016 Reserva, a red from a cooler year with good yields, so they were able to increase production of this wine over twofold and increase the quality! It took some seven months to complete fermentation, and the élevage in barrel lasted some 29 months. It has an incredible nose, violets and something musky, intriguing, complex and nuanced, mysterious and difficult to define, with some notes reminiscent of soy sauce. The palate is seamless and with terrific balance, a silky texture and very fine but chalky tannins. This is an amazing Ribera del Duero. 18,834 bottles and 519 magnums produced. It was bottled in April 2019.

Greg Sherwood MW (95+)

In 2017 the Savage Proprietary Red became a pure 100% Syrah wine and from 2018, the fruit was exclusively sourced in Stellenbosch from vineyards grown on decomposed granite soils in the Polkadraai Hills from organically farmed grapes. Always released a year behind the rest of the Savage range, this 2019 is a dense, dark, potent red from a powerful, concentrated, minerally focused vintage. On the nose the aromatics are marked by intense notes of earthy red and black berry fruits, inky saline notes of black cherries, pink musk, savoury cured meat nuances, black olives and a sappy cedary wood spice complexity. With 70% of whole clusters used in the fermentation, the palate shows pronounced chalky mineral tannins but also vibrantly fresh crunchy acids from the granitic soils. Raspberries and blueberries surge to the fore on this dense, powerfully structured wine, gaining in richness and intensity as the wine slowly unfurls in the glass. Like some of the greatest expression of Syrah in Cote Rotie, this wine shows a focused prowess and concentration together with an opulent richness framed by an underlying stony minerality. A wine with undeniable focus and structure but also a surfeit of seductive charm. Drink from 2022 to 2035+.

Wine Enthusiast (99)

Enticing aromas of rose, iris, wild berry and spice appear in this gorgeous red. Combining structure and finesse, the delicious palate delivers ripe raspberry, Marasca cherry, star anise and pipe tobacco set against a backbone of firm, fine-grained tannins. Bright acidity keeps it impeccably balanced while a tangy mineral note lingers on the finish. While it's still quite young, it already shows class, pedigree and excellent aging potential. Drink 2026–2046.

Vinous (100)

The 2018 Flaccianello della Pieve is another stellar wine from Fontodi. It is the richest Flaccianello ever made (in terms of dry extract), with elevated acidity that trails the 2016 by just a touch, but it does not taste like that at all. Dark cherry, violet, lavender, spice, mocha and graphite build with a bit of time in the glass. Like the Sorbo, the 2018 Flaccianello is not a wine of size, as in most previous years, but rather a wine that exudes vibrancy, energy and class from start to finish. I absolutely loved it.

Decanter (100)

Mocha notes on the nose, coffee, cola, vanilla, cinnamon and pink flowers. Fresh with a tannic hold, ample, massy and fleshy but with such clear definition - tannins are mouthfilling but detailed and nuanced so you feel the precision going on as well as the flavours themselves. Feels extremely well worked, all in its place. I love the chewiness, the concentrated ripeness and overall 'in your face' expression because you feel the detail behind it as well as the nuance ranging from primary blueberry, cherry and blackcurrant fruit to more tertiary elements of tobacco, coffee beans, leather, sweet exotic spices and peppery tones. It's lifted and sophisticated, powerful but poised. What a wine! Amazing potential here. It gives you the chills tasting a wine like this. From vines at 450m on schist-based Galestro soils.

Vinous (97)

Sweet rose petal, mint, chiseled red-toned fruit and chalk give the 2014 Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn its sculpted, brilliant personality. All the elements are in the right place. A wine of translucent energy and weightless elegance, the Sorì Tildìn is hauntingly beautiful today. A host of floral notes and red berry fruit infuse the persistent, chiseled finish in this fabulous Barbaresco. As it so often is, the Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn is a wine of pure charm and seduction.

Vinous (89-91)

The 2022 Bourgogne Rouge Les Bons Batons is the Domaine's largest cuvée from 1.8 hectares of vines. It has a well-defined bouquet with bright red fruit. The medium-bodied palate has vivid red fruit and fine structure with gentle grip on the finish. Village quality here.

Wine Advocate (96)

The 2019 Grand-Puy-Lacoste exhibits notions of minty cassis, plums, loamy soil, burning embers and cigar wrapper, followed by a medium to full-bodied, rich and velvety palate that’s deep and concentrated, its generous core of lively fruit concealing an elegantly muscular chassis of ripe, powdery tannin. Consisting of fully 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is another true classic from the Borie family.

Jancis Robinson (16.5)

Deepish cherry red. Smells riper and richer than the Bourgogne and with intense and seductive red fruit, subtly floral and so open. Not especially long but delicious in its fragrant and open Chambolle character.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

For lovers of this estate, you’re going to want to stop everything and go find the 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino Madonna Delle Grazie if you have the means. There’s simply nothing else like it, and it needs to be experienced. It pours a saturated, youthful ruby color and has an unmistakable and distinctive nose that is highly expressive, with layered aromas jumping from the glass and unfolding notes of cassis, wildflowers, orange marmalade, clove, and blackberries. (Words do this no justice.) Equally potent and layered on the palate, it continues seamlessly, with noble structure and profound concentration through a stunning and long finish that lasts for several minutes (or as long as I could give it until moving on). Remarkable and singular, it truly stands apart from the crowd, even in this phenomenal vintage, where it’s hard to do much wrong. Profound. It’s a showstopper now and will be one of the great wines of the region for decades. Drink 2028-2050.

Vinous (91-93)

The 2019 Marsannay Le Chapitre comprises a blend of 15- and 75-year-old vines. Interestingly, Laurent Fournier remarks that the younger vines performed better due to the superior rootstock. It has a gorgeous bouquet with dark cherries, blackcurrant and light violet aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, very velvety in texture with an almost crystalline finish. Just a wonderful Marsannay from Fournier this year.

The Vintage Journal (98)

Deep crimson. Complex blackcurrant, blackberry, praline, roasted chestnut mocha, marzipan notes. Richly flavoured, round and smooth with beautiful pure blackcurrant, blackberry mocha espresso flavours, fine loose-knit grainy tannins and underlying roasted chestnut, toffee notes. Finishes chocolaty and long with a long life ahead.

Wine Advocate (100)

Deep garnet colored, the 2010 L'Eglise Clinet begins unassumingly with gentle notions of fragrant dried flowers and wild sage leading to savory nut and meat characters over an expanding core of preserved plums, blueberry compote and black cherry coulis plus a waft of menthol. Full-bodied, concentrated and wonderfully decadent, the palate is absolutely packed with rich, ripe black fruit preserves and loads of spicy sparks, framed by super ripe, super plush tannins, finishing very long and decadent. I love the interplay of subtly and power here - this is truly a WOW wine!

Jeb Dunnuck (98)

The 2015 Le Chiuse Brunello is layered with black cherry, leather, sage, and forest floor. The palate is full-bodied and fruit-forward, with fresh fig, tomato leaf, warming amaro spice, and dark-mineral earth. Its structure is generous with ripe tannin and fresh acidity and does not feel weighed down by the warmth of the vintage. Another incredible, classic, and savory wine from the Le Chiuse estate worthy of enjoyment over many years. 2023-2040.

James Suckling (95-96)

This is a tighter and more compact Petit Mouton with a full-bodied, compact palate that is framed nicely by the tannins. Savory and juicy. Structured. Contained. 79% cabernet sauvignon, 12% merlot, 7% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot. Better than 2022?

Vinous - Neal Martin (95)

The 2014 Léoville Poyferré has a very complex bouquet with blackberry, bilberry, crushed stone, cedar and hints of violet. It is extremely focused, intense rather than overtly powerful. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp and generous, conveying much more tension and precision than the Léoville Las-Cases. It gradually fans out in the second half with real mineralité, quite profound in the context of the vintage. Outstanding. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

James Suckling (95)

A traditional beauty that effuses iron, warm earth and savory tobacco leaves, together with plums, spices and orange zest. This is juicy and still tight, with firm but savory tannins. Medium-weight and quite zesty in texture, as is the case with the other López de Heredia reds tasted this session. Drink now or hold.