Wine Enthusiast (95)

Powerful and structured, this wine is dark with black fruits. The rich fruit and acidity are surrounded by firm tannins provide a solid scaffolding. With acidity and tannins at the end, this complex wine will age slowly, so don't drink before 2022.

Vinous (93-96)

Bachelet's 2013 Charmes-Chambertin is striking. Translucent and pulsating in the glass, the 2013 possesses notable energy and fabulous overall balance. Dark red cherry, violet, leather and smoke gradually unfurl in a mysterious, beguiling Charmes that will provide fabulous drinking for many years.

Vinous (95-97)

The 2019 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru has an airy and generous bouquet with lifted black fruit, hoisin and light roasted chestnut aromas, all well defined. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, a beautiful line of acidity, svelte and harmonious with a slightly grainy-textured finish. I adore the discrete crescendo in this Grand Cru and the unimposing but long aftertaste. "It’s been growing in stature over the last 10 to 15 years," remarked Alex Seysses. Proof of that is evident by tasting this superb Charmes-Chambertin.

Decanter (97)

Sourced from what Burgundians often call 'Charmes-Charmes' to distinguish it from the Mazoyères part of this extensive Grand Cru, this cuvée uses fruit from five different parcels, all but one of which is 40 years' old. Floral and intense, with 20% whole bunches adding some freshness and spice, this is a serious, well-upholstered Pinot Noir showing fine tannins and appealingly understated oak.

Vinous (96+)

The 2019 Chambertin Grand Cru, under the négoce label, is a debut release from just 500 square meters of ancient vine acquired from a distant relative of the family; Pierre Duroché manages the vineyard and harvests the crop. This is aged in one new 150-liter barrel. It has a really entrancing bouquet that soars from the glass, offering pure red cherries, crushed strawberry, minerals and rose petals. The palate is medium-bodied with supple, filigreed tannins. There is an unerring symmetry about this Chambertin, which is one of the best you will find in 2019. The persistence is astounding, though that is partially driven by the new wood. This will be fascinating to taste in bottle.

Jancis Robinson (17.5)

Barrel sample. Mid crimson. Less sweet-smelling than the Clos de Vougeot, with plenty of open, dark-red fruit and also a light herbal note, which lifts it and adds freshness. Firm and dry on the palate, dry yet elegant, the fruit filling out the core. Chalk-fine texture. A little constrained at the moment.

Wine Advocate (93-95)

Aromas of cassis, orange rind, smoked meats and loamy soil introduce Faiveley's 2019 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru, a medium to full-bodied, layered and demonstrative wine that's concentrated and succulent, with an ample core of ripe fruit framed by velvety tannins and lively acids. This is another especially fine cuvée this year.

Wine Advocate (96)

The 2017 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru Très Vieilles Vignes has turned out even better than I anticipated, unfurling in the glass with a magical bouquet of cassis, plums and blackberries mingled with dark chocolate, spices, sweet soil tones, licorice and black truffle. Full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, it's extraordinarily sumptuous and concentrated, framed by velvety tannins that caress the palate, and underpinned by lively acids, concluding with a long and expansive finish. Pierre-Jean Roty compares it to the 2012 and 2009 renditions, which readers who follow this domaine will know is high praise indeed.

Burghound (92-94)

This is cool and pure to the point of being almost timid with its restrained array of red currant, pomegranate, earthy and softly sauvage-inflected nose. There is fine intensity to the sleek and satin-textured flavors that are muscular yet dance across the palate on the saline and wonderfully refreshing finish. This is clearly built-to-age yet it's already inviting.

The Stephane Magnien Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2017 is the epitome of fine Burgundy wine, crafted by the fourth-generation vintner, Stephane Magnien. Cultivated in the renowned vineyards of Gevrey-Chambertin, this luxurious Grand Cru elegantly embodies the region's famed terroir. The wine’s cultivation is traditional, with the vineyards possessing an average age of 65 years, ensuring deep root growth and contributing a distinctive complexity to the wine.

The vinification processes involve thoughtful, gentle extraction techniques to preserve the wine's unique, full-bodied flavour. Matured in oak barrels for 15 to 18 months, it develops an irresistible blend with notes of wild berries, earthiness and compelling spices.

The Stephane Magnien Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2017 is an exceptional representation of Magnien's commitment to authenticity and his ability to subtly translate the vineyard's specificity into this spectacular cuvée. This collectable wine brings together tradition and sophistication, offering connoisseurs an extraordinary tasting experience.

Wine Advocate (93-95)

The 2015 Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru has an expressive bouquet with redcurrant, raspberry coulis, a touch of honey and a hint of Seville orange marmalade. It opens nicely in the glass, though does not slip into fifth gear at the moment. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, cohesive in the mouth and quite saline and spicy. There is generosity here, a trait of Charmes-Chambertin, with the mineral core surfacing right at the finish as it fans out. This is an impressive follow-up to the superb 2014 and it should give 20+ years of pleasure.

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (93-95)

Rich, exuberant purple. A cheerful nose, flamboyantly perfumed which is as Charmes should be. I very much like the balance of this, which is all in red fruit, succulent strawberry and raspberry, good acidity, no feeling of excess heat. 14.1% but holds it without difficulty. Tasted: December 2021

A collaboration between winemakers Jess Jackson and Pierre Seillan, Vérité was launched with the aim of creating wines from Sonoma that could rival that of Pétrus. Since its inaugural vintage in 1998, Vérité has achieved colossal success, including being awarded seven 100 point scores from Robert M. Parker Jr. Guided by Pierre Seillan’s micro-cru philosophy and over 50 years of experience, Vérité produces 3 blends – La Joie, La Muse and La Désir, from a myriad of over 50 distinct plots spread across 4 appellations across Sonoma - namely Knights Valley, Alexander Valley, Chalk Hill and Bennet Valley AVAs.

It contains one bottle of each:

1x75cl La Joie 2013 - 100 Points | Robert M. Parker, Jr. (Wine Advocate)

1x75cl La Muse 2013 - 100 Points | Robert M. Parker, Jr. (Wine Advocate)

1x75cl La Désir 2013 - 99 Points | Robert M. Parker, Jr. (Wine Advocate)

A collaboration between winemakers Jess Jackson and Pierre Seillan, Vérité was launched with the aim of creating wines from Sonoma that could rival that of Pétrus. Since its inaugural vintage in 1998, Vérité has achieved colossal success, including being awarded seven 100 point scores from Robert M. Parker Jr. Guided by Pierre Seillan’s micro-cru philosophy and over 50 years of experience, Vérité produces 3 blends – La Joie, La Muse and La Désir, from a myriad of over 50 distinct plots spread across 4 appellations across Sonoma - namely Knights Valley, Alexander Valley, Chalk Hill and Bennet Valley AVAs.

It contains one bottle of each:

1x75cl La Joie 2015 - 99 Points | Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Wine Advocate)

1x75cl La Muse 2015 - 97 Points | Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Wine Advocate)

1x75cl La Désir 2015 - 100 Points | Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Wine Advocate)

Jeb Dunnuck (La Muse) (100)

Including the highest percentage of Merlot (at the moment anyway), the 2016 La Muse checks in as 93% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Malbec that spent 15-16 months in roughly 90% new French oak. This magical wine shows how good Merlot (and Sonoma) can be and offers extraordinary notes of crushed violets, spring flowers, scorched earth, graphite, black cherries, and crème de cassis. As elegant and seamless as they come, it’s full-bodied, perfectly balanced, has an incredible spine of acidity and tannins, and a finish that won’t quit. It has the class and purity to drink well even today, but it’s not going to hit prime time for at least another decade and will keep for 3-4 decades. Bravo!

Containing 1 bottle each of:

Vérité La Muse 2018 | 100 WA, 99 JD

Vérité La Joie 2018 | 98 WA, 98+ JD

Vérité Le Désir 2018 | 97+ WA, 98+ JD

Wine Advocate (100)

The 2012 La Joie, which is a blend of 76% Cabernet, 12% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot, blew me away. A profound effort, with 55% of it coming from Hillsides in Alexander Valley, 31% from Knights Valley and the balance from Chalk Hill, the wine shows great minerality, oodles of crme de cassis fruit, incense, licorice, crushed rock, and a provocative full-throttle mouthfeel. A wine of great intensity, purity and equilibrium, this definitely begs for 4-7 years of bottle aging and should drink well for at least 30+ years.

Wine Advocate (100)

The 2013 La Joie, which is 46% from Knights Valley, 32% from Chalk Hill and 22% from Alexander Valley, is a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. Showing loads of graphite, cedar wood, charcoal, crème de cassis and forest floor, this may well turn out to be a 50+-year wine. It tastes like a great first-growth Pauillac and has an amazing amount of complexity and richness.

Wine Advocate (100)

The 2014 La Muse (2,800 cases ) is a legendary effort. The wine offers an opaque purple color and a gorgeous nose of lead pencil shavings, blackberry, incense, Asian spice, cocoa, plum, and a touch of chocolate and barrique. On the palate, more cassis and blackberry come to the forefront. The wine is unctuous, with adequate acidity and a stunning energy underneath the massive fruit and body. This is a spectacularly fragrant and, at the same time, dense wine, with enough structure (somewhat surprising in this vintage) to last 35-45+ years. The final blend was 88% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec.

Wine Advocate (100)

The 2012 Le Desir (64% Cabernet Franc, 24% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Malbec) reminds me of a young vintage of Ausone, such as 2005. The wine has amazing minerality and an explosive blueberry nose intermixed with blackberries, new saddle leather, charcoal and camphor. It is full-bodied, with espresso notes emerging on the palate. There are 1,900 cases of this super-endowed, prodigious wine that should drink well for 35-40 years. How fun it would be for mega-millionaires to put this in a blind tasting of a great vintage of Ausone in 10, 20 or 30 years from now.

Wine Advocate (98)

The 2014 Le Désir (53% Cabernet Franc, 21% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Malbec) has an inky purple color and a sweet kiss of chocolate, black truffle, forest floor, black raspberry and black currants. Opulent, but again structured and super-dense and pure, this is another massively concentrated wine meant for the long haul (and for our grandchildren). Give it 4-6 years of cellaring and drink it over the following 35-40 years. Remarkably, Pierre Seillan told me that 2014, while a drought year, was not actually that hot in the micro-terroirs he was working, but in terms of quality, it turned out to be the most surprisingly positive vintage he’s ever witnessed.

Wine Advocate (95)

The 2009 Charmes-Chambertin Les Mazoyeres comes across a big, powerful and super intense. It bursts from the glass with huge dark fruit, freshly cut flowers, tar and licorice, all of which come together with notable intensity. The 2009 shows off superb textural richness all the way through to the finish. The Charmes is young, young, young. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2039.

Wine Advocate (93)

The 2015 Charmes Chambertin les Mazoyeres Grand Cru offers up notes of red and black fruit, beetroot, earth and whole cluster spice. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, rich and silky, with an expansive attack, a layered mid-palate and a long, saline finish. This is quite stylized, marked by whole cluster fermentation which seems to give it a high pH feel, but for admirers of this particular aesthetic—a perspective my score reflects—this should offer two decades of rewarding drinking.