Jancis Robinson (17.5)

Full bottle 1,350 g. Cask sample taken 26 April. 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 13% Petit Verdot. Merlot was picked 16 to 24 September, Petit Verdot was picked 23 September, Cabernet Sauvignon was picked 24 September to 1 October. Cold soak and some malo took place in new barrels. Matured in barriques (35% new). Dark, lustrous crimson. Really very glamorous indeed. Ripe but fresh nose with an interesting balsam note. Smooth as satin initially on the palate with the savoury tannins (actually there in abundance) just nudging onto the palate at the end, which is dry but not drying. Very long and rather splendid on the finish with St-Estèphe’s stoniness evident. Very smart indeed with no concessions to simple sweetness.

Jancis Robinson (17)

Cask sample. Excellent depth of flavour and ripeness. Sappy with no skinniness. Really no sign that this was a difficult vintage. Complete. Fresh with ripe tannins dominated by vibrant, ripe fruit. It even has some impressive persistence. It’s not super-ripe but is certainly ripe enough.

Jeb Dunnuck (94+)

While I wasn't able to taste the 2022 Château Meyney En Primeur, it's a beauty now from bottle. Needing air to show at its best, this deep purple-hued Saint-Estèphe has a ripe, powerful nose of darker currants, chocolate, smoked tobacco, and cedar pencils. This carries to a full-bodied Meyney that has a broad, layered mouthfeel, ripe, velvety tannins, beautiful overall balance, and a great finish. It's accessible even today with a decant, but it's going to take a decade to hit maturity and will age gracefully on its concentration and depth.

Jeb Dunnuck (94+)

While I wasn't able to taste the 2022 Château Meyney En Primeur, it's a beauty now from bottle. Needing air to show at its best, this deep purple-hued Saint-Estèphe has a ripe, powerful nose of darker currants, chocolate, smoked tobacco, and cedar pencils. This carries to a full-bodied Meyney that has a broad, layered mouthfeel, ripe, velvety tannins, beautiful overall balance, and a great finish. It's accessible even today with a decant, but it's going to take a decade to hit maturity and will age gracefully on its concentration and depth.

Jeb Dunnuck (94+)

While I wasn't able to taste the 2022 Château Meyney En Primeur, it's a beauty now from bottle. Needing air to show at its best, this deep purple-hued Saint-Estèphe has a ripe, powerful nose of darker currants, chocolate, smoked tobacco, and cedar pencils. This carries to a full-bodied Meyney that has a broad, layered mouthfeel, ripe, velvety tannins, beautiful overall balance, and a great finish. It's accessible even today with a decant, but it's going to take a decade to hit maturity and will age gracefully on its concentration and depth.

Jeb Dunnuck (94)

Always a classic Saint-Estèphe (and I think the quality here has stepped up a notch recently), the 2023 Château Meyney comes from a mix of gravelly and clay soils and is based on 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, and 12% Petit Verdot, aged 18 months in French oak barrels. It sports a deep purple hue as well as beautiful cassis, graphite, smoky tobacco, and crushed stone-like minerality. Medium-bodied on the palate, it has a pure, focused, layered mouthfeel, ripe, polished tannins, and a great finish. It's beautifully done and is going to evolve nicely over the coming 25-30 years if well stored. Drink 2029-2053.

Indulge your palate with the exquisite Miani Friuli Colli Orientali Refosco 2018, a meticulously crafted Italian fine wine. Produced in the renowned vineyards of Miani, an esteemed vineyard in Friuli, North-Eastern Italy, this exceptional Refosco blend unearths a unique symphony of flavours.

A homage to the winemaker Enzo Pontoni’s vision, this vintage conserves an unswerving commitment to quality and authenticity. Expressing a richer, well- structured character, it offers an elegant balance of fruit and minerality. It's designed for longevity, with Pontoni preferring picked the grapes later than usual, ensuring an intoxicating depth of flavour.

The Miani Friuli Colli Orientali Refosco 2018 is a true masterpiece, bursting with plush dark fruit flavours, layered with earthy undertones and subtle spice. Savour this complex and beautifully concentrated fine wine that displays an enduring, graceful finish. For those desiring utmost refinement and full-bodied richness, this top-tier Italian offering is a befitting choice.

Miani Friuli Colli Orientali Rosso 2020, a spirited reflection of Italy's rich winemaking heritage, is a grand offering from the house of Miani. Exemplifying meticulous craftsmanship, this wine is carefully nurtured in the Colli Orientali del Friuli DOC region—a distinguished appellation known for its unique microclimate. Enzo Pontoni, the master vintner of Miani, exercises strict control on the yield to maintain an unparalleled quality.

Vinification involves spontaneous fermentation in wooden vats followed by maturation in barriques, resulting in a wine characterised by its refined complexity. This stellar red presents notes of ripe fruit augmented by undertones of earthy spice, all cloaked in silky tannins. The Miani Friuli Colli Orientali Rosso 2020 boasts an unforgettable finale—long, lingering, and grand.

Be it a special occasion or a quiet evening, this fine wine always promises a satisfying experience for the discerning palate, marking its indelible stamp of class and sophistication.

Wine Advocate (95)

The largest cuvee (20,000 bottles) is the 2010 Cote Rotie Classique, Stephane Ogier’s “greatest vintage to date.” Seventy percent of the fruit comes from their holdings on the Cote Brune. It boasts a dense purple color along with a sweet nose of asphalt, licorice, forest floor, blackberries, cassis and bouquet garni, sensational concentration and sweet tannins. The structure, freshness and minerality suggest another 3-4 years of cellaring may be beneficial. It has 25 years of potential evolution.

Wine Advocate (95)

The largest cuvee (20,000 bottles) is the 2010 Cote Rotie Classique, Stephane Ogier’s “greatest vintage to date.” Seventy percent of the fruit comes from their holdings on the Cote Brune. It boasts a dense purple color along with a sweet nose of asphalt, licorice, forest floor, blackberries, cassis and bouquet garni, sensational concentration and sweet tannins. The structure, freshness and minerality suggest another 3-4 years of cellaring may be beneficial. It has 25 years of potential evolution.

Wine Advocate (98)

Even better (yet we split hairs here), the 2011 Cote Rotie La Belle Helene, which comes all from the Cote Rozier lieu-dit, possesses a liquid rock-like minerality to go with notions of black raspberry, smoked meat, graphite, black olive and underbrush. The most masculine, firm and concentrated in the lineup, it has full-bodied richness, rocking concentration and masses of ultra-fine tannin that build on the palate. It’s approachable now due to the overall quality of the fruit and tannin, yet it will be better in another couple of years, and drink well for two decades.

Wine Advocate (98)

Even better (yet we split hairs here), the 2011 Cote Rotie La Belle Helene, which comes all from the Cote Rozier lieu-dit, possesses a liquid rock-like minerality to go with notions of black raspberry, smoked meat, graphite, black olive and underbrush. The most masculine, firm and concentrated in the lineup, it has full-bodied richness, rocking concentration and masses of ultra-fine tannin that build on the palate. It’s approachable now due to the overall quality of the fruit and tannin, yet it will be better in another couple of years, and drink well for two decades.

Wine Advocate (96+)

The inky-colored 2013 Côte Rôtie Belle Helene is another beautiful wine that shines more for its purity and elegance than overt power and richness. Black fruits, wood smoke, caramelized meats and hints of beef blood all flow from this full-bodied, mineral-laced, focused and chiseled Côte Rôtie that needs 5-7 years of cellaring and will keep for another 15+ years.

Wine Advocate (96+)

The inky-colored 2013 Côte Rôtie Belle Helene is another beautiful wine that shines more for its purity and elegance than overt power and richness. Black fruits, wood smoke, caramelized meats and hints of beef blood all flow from this full-bodied, mineral-laced, focused and chiseled Côte Rôtie that needs 5-7 years of cellaring and will keep for another 15+ years.

Wine Advocate (96+)

The inky-colored 2013 Côte Rôtie Belle Helene is another beautiful wine that shines more for its purity and elegance than overt power and richness. Black fruits, wood smoke, caramelized meats and hints of beef blood all flow from this full-bodied, mineral-laced, focused and chiseled Côte Rôtie that needs 5-7 years of cellaring and will keep for another 15+ years.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

One of the wines of the vintage, the 2015 Côte Rôtie Belle Helene is up there with the handful of greatest young Syrahs I've ever been lucky enough to taste. Coming all from the Côte Rozier lieu-dit in the northern portion of the appellation, just above Guigal's la Landonne lieu-dit, this majestic wine offers incredible blue fruits, liquid violets, olive tapenade, and aged meats. Full-bodied, ultra-fine, deep, concentrated, and as seamless and pure as it gets. It's already approachable (which is rare for this cuvée) due to its perfectly ripe tannin, yet will need 7-8 years of bottle age and keep for 2-3 decades.