Vinous (93-95)

The 2021 Chambertin Grand Cru offers a touch more complexity and nuance than the Clos-de-Bèze with red berry fruit, orange rind, crushed stone and wilted rose petals. It's a little more delineated and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, again, quite creamy in texture with a bit of new oak on the finish (though there is a prudent use of new wood - one new barrel out of three). Quite seductive, this should age well in bottle, though afford it four to five years at least.

Vinous - Neal Martin (92-94)

Due to the small market, the 2021 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru is a blend of Poissenot, Les Cazetiers, Combe Aux Moins and Lavaux Saint-Jacques. This still amounted to just three casks! It has a well-defined, fragrant and floral bouquet that blossoms in the glass with hints of orange rind in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with a fine-boned structure. It's well-balanced and focused with a very harmonious and poised finish. Blending these vineyards together was the logical decision, but it has resulted in quite a wonderful wine.

Wine Advocate (97-100)

I also tasted the very young barrel sample of the 2021 Quiñón de Valmira, a year with stress and small berries with a very mild summer that resulted in a wine with great concentration and finesse, with a pH of 3.46 and six grams of acidity (higher than the average). The wine is still a baby (six months old!), but it feels quite balanced and is not oaky at all; it is harmonious, clean and quite expressive, even if it has lots of concentration and a big structure. This is a great vintage of Valmira in the making, super balanced, perhaps the finest ever? They expect to fill some 4,300 bottles around April 2023.

Wine Advocate (96-98)

The more backward of the 2021s was the 2021 Finca Dofí, which was very primary and smelled almost like the fermentation vessels, and it took time in the glass to open up. The blend is higher in Garnacha, and they couldn't use the Picapoll as it didn't work well that cool year, so it's 90% Garnacha, 9% Cariñena and 1% white grapes. It achieved 14.5% alcohol but kept better freshness than in 2020, a constant in the 2021 wines. Very promising. They expect 24,000 bottles. It should be bottled around April 2023.

Wine Advocate (94-96)

The blend of the 2021 Gratallops was higher in Cariñena than in the 2020 (25%), which resulted in a wine with a lower pH (3.37), the tendency that makes the 2021s more vibrant. They used some 40% full clusters for the fermentation (rather than adding the stems like in the past). The wine has acid berry freshness; and right now it's a bit difficult with the tannins and the acidity, but one more year of élevage should make it more polished. It should be long-lived and fresh. The expect some 17,300 bottles to be filled around April 2023.

Wine Advocate (99-100)

The 2021 L'Ermita is a legend in the making, with 13.9% alcohol, the lowest ever, mind-boggling finesse and detail, purity, symmetry, elegance and great freshness that makes it vibrant with a low pH of 3.31 and 6.18 grams of acidity. These parameters should make it long-lived, and the wine is always going to be vibrant and develop citrus nose of grapefruit and orange peel. It's a powerful wine with plenty of energy, abundant tannins, even more fine and elegant than those from the 2020 I tasted next to it, and with great balance. It has a high percentage of Cariñena, much higher than the 2020, and comes down to 75% Garnacha, 24% Cariñena and 1% whites. Prices will be increased around 16%. They expect to produce some 2,800 bottles of this 2021 in April 2023.

Jancis Robinson (17.5)

Cask sample. Very inviting nose, liquorice, dark crushed cassis, leather, strawberry jam – earthy dark spice. A supple and ripe palate with good freshness and acidity throughout. Tight and fine, firm tannins, dark fruits, liquorice, thyme and a ripe savoury-tinged finish. Wonderful.

Famille Perrin Tasting note: A fabulous year for the reds of Coudoulet of Beaucastel. Full-bodied, lush, velvety in texture, featuring notes cherry and plum paste, laced with stony minerality and garrigue accents. Very balanced wine with beautiful tannins. The finish has great length and very complex.

Vinous (91-93)

Shimmering violet color. Primary red and blue fruit aromas, along with suggestions of olive, smoked meat and cracked pepper. Offers fleshy, appealingly sweet cherry and blackberry flavors that turn spicier and firm up through the back half. Subtly chewy tannins add grip to a long, smoky finish that leaves cherry and spice notes behind.

Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux (100)

Just love this wine, the lyricism and the generosity of it, and its always vivid depiction of fruits and stones. So juicy, so drawn out, works with the vintage, leans into its low yields, with greengages, raspberry, plum, gentle spices, lemongrass, minerality studded with mandarin peel and sage. Translucent and yet full of flavour, once again it begs you to draw up a chair, gather friends, and enjoy. What a brilliant wine and a brilliant winemaker in Bibi Graetz. From a 58ha estate, Colore comes from the oldest vineyards of Sangiovese that range up to 135 years old.

Distinguished by its eloquent expression of the Beaune terroir, the Boris Champy Beaune 1er Cru Aux Coucherias 2021 is a testament to fine French winemaking. Boris Champy, renowned agronomist and oenologist, meticulously harvests from the partially historic limestone-clay vineyards of Coucherias, in the heart of Burgundy's Beaune appellation. The wine displays the unique characteristics of biodynamic viticulture with sustainable vineyard management.

Hand-harvested grapes are vinified naturally, giving rise to a dazzling Pinot Noir unencumbered by excessive oenological intervention. The sublime balance of ripe fruit, integrated tannins and vivacious acidity render the Boris Champy Beaune 1er Cru Aux Coucherias 2021 an epitome of elegance. Its ageing potential, refined by 18 months in oak barrels, suggests a promising evolution. This wine delivers a brilliant representation of the vintage's idiosyncrasies, showcasing Burgundy's signature complexity and depth.

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (93-95)

This is all on the red soil part of Bonnes Mares, vinified with 100% whole bunches. Pretty lighter brighter colour, some reduction, then whole bunch strawberries. Generous fruit on the palate, quite complex, very stylish and with fine promise. A fine long aftertaste.

Vinous (89)

The 2021 Pelaverga Verduno is classy and elegant to the core. Crushed red berry fruit, sweet floral notes and a kick of citrus are all laced together. Burlotto's silky, polished Pelaverga is about as good as it gets for this quirky variety. Aging in steel helped preserve quite a bit of freshness.

James Suckling (98)

Perfumed and floral aromas of rose petals, rose hips, wild strawberries, raspberries, sliced mushrooms and orange zest. Bright and succulent with a medium body and very fine, firm tannins. Delightful citrus and crunchy red-fruit character with pretty rose-petal notes throughout. Drink from 2024. From biodynamically grown grapes.

Wine Advocate (94)

Fans of old-school Beaujolais will adore the 2021 Fleurie Cuvée Tardive from the Clos de la Roilette. Bursting with aromas of crunchy red berries, peonies, spices and plums, it's medium-bodied, ample and enveloping, with succulent acids, melting tannins and a pretty, perfumed finish. Despite the challenges of the year, the Coudert family have produced a lovely classic, and it's a wine that's much more drinkable and vibrant than some of the recent banner vintages at this address.

Wine Advocate (95)

The 2021 La Bruja de Rozas is their edgiest and most austere mineral and soil-driven version of their entry-level red. It's herbal, with no concession for fruit, and it has electricity and grip. It's a good preview of what's to come from 2021. It has a lot of 2018 and 2016 characteristics, a cool summer, a year with rain and even some during harvest that complicated matters and made them lose some grapes, but there's more grip, more minerality, more depth, layers and subtleness. It needs time in the glass, and my guess is that at age eight it's going to reach an outstanding level. A grown-up Bruja, it’s more for soil fanatics than the general public, and it’s one to lay down in your cellar (by the case) while you drink your 2020s. There were 55,184 bottles produced. It was bottled in August 2022.

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (88-89)

12 barrels here, so not so bad. The usual almost purple-black colour of this cuvée offers plenty of energy. Dark berry fruit, with a rather stricter finish, and reasonably prominent acidity. Drink from 2026-2030. Tasted: November 2022

Vinous (91-93)

The 2021 Pommard Clos des Epeneaux 1er Cru, the crown jewel of the Domaine, has an intense nose with black cherries, raspberry coulis, white pepper and bay leaf. Lovely definition with a subtle briny note that emerges with time. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, a firm grip and moderate weight, though it is missing some amplitude towards the finish due to the severely reduced volume. Yet it has plenty of freshness and length, so afford it five to six years in the cellar.

Vinous (91-93)

The 2021 Volnay Les Frémiets 1er Cru has exquisite definition on the nose: a mélange of red and black fruit, allspice and light iris flower scents. The palate is medium-bodied with lithe tannins, more red fruit developing laced with clove and a touch of cooked meats, quite complex towards the finish that lingers in the mouth. Classy and certainly with the substance to age.

Tim Atkin MW (95)

Jacob's Vineyard on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge - also the source of Crystallum's Clay Shales Chardonnay - supplies the grapes for Cuvée Cinéma, which sits mid-way between Bona Fide and Mabalel in style. Perfumed, intense and grippy, with orange zest, cranberry and forest floor notes and well-handled 20% new oak.

The de Lorient Cornas La Cabane des Chasseurs 2021 is a quintessential French wine, originating from the revered Rhône region. Renowned for its robust, full-bodied taste, this fine wine provides a distinguished combination of red fruit layers, underscored by subtle smoky and earthy undertones. An expression of the traditional winemaking techniques, the wine is matured in French oak barrels for peak refinement.

Produced by the distinguished de Lorient estate, a trusted standard-bearer in Cornas, a commitment to quality is conceptualised in every bottle. Notably, the de Lorient Cornas La Cabane des Chasseurs 2021, is made from 100% Syrah grapes, hand-picked from the estate's vineyards. Nestled on the steep slopes, the vineyards' granite-rich soils and optimal sunlight exposure influence the grapes' defining characteristics.

As an epitome of expert craftsmanship and Rhône tradition, the de Lorient Cornas La Cabane des Chasseurs 2021 adds a deserving jewel to any restricted wine collection.

James Suckling (99)

Expressive, scented and nimble on the nose with refined mineral and a hint of white sesame-like reduction. Subtle white pepper, herbs and red berries extend to a extremely mineral-textured palate full of tactile allures, which makes it even more engaging. I love the subtle delineation from this vintage, which is elegant, dialed-back and soft-spoken, full of etherealness and cohesion. A vintage where La Faraona delivers more austere minerality and verticality over the more perfumed, precise Las Lamas. From organically grown grapes. Delicious now, but will hold, too.

James Suckling (98)

Delineated, precise and elegant berries with subtle white pepper funk, mineral and white sesame characters make this so attractive. Nimble and almost “Atlantic” with fresh, tangy fruit that follows through to a textured, medium-bodied palate full of silky, mineral-textured tannins. The long, even and cohesive finish is persistent and ethereal. From organically grown grapes. Delicious now, but don’t underestimate its potential for aging, as balance is the key.