Burghound (98)

Here too there is just enough wood in evidence to mention on the gorgeously spiced and intricately layered aromas of essence of red currant, floral, plum, earth and a whisper of the sauvage. Once again the mouthfeel of the notably more imposingly-scaled flavors is sleek with excellent minerality that really comes up on the super-saline finish that goes on and on. But what I really admire about the '16 Bèze is the texture because it's at once muscular yet highly seductive and refined. This is a very, very powerful wine that is seriously impressive in every respect. In a word, brilliant.

Vinous (96)

The 2016 Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze Grand Cru has a generous and pleasing nose with scents of strawberry preserve, crushed stone, rose petals and subtle orange-blossom. This is refined and transparent. The palate is medium-bodied with chalky tannins. Beautifully balanced, this has a symmetry that is beguiling and classic. A little austere finish suggests it will benefit from several years in bottle. Utterly beguiling with enormous ageing potential. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting.

Wine Advocate (93)

The 2019 La Bruja de Rozas was one of the few 2019s already bottled when I tasted the whole range in November 2020. This is a village Garnacha from Las Rozas de Puerto Real, their first approach to the grape, trying to capture the essence of the fresh fruit and the fluidity of the wine. 2019 is a ripe vintage, and the wine is a little more powerful, juicy and balanced, with rich aromas and flavors. It comes from different plots of old vines ranging from 40 to 65 years of age and planted at some 900 meters in altitude on sandy granite soils in a zone that has plenty of rain, averaging 800 liters per year. Like all of their vineyards, these plots are worked organically and biodynamically. Each vineyard fermented separately in oak vats with indigenous yeasts with a soft maceration. The wine matured in oak vats of different sizes, ranging from 1,500 to 6,000 liters. The 2019 effect seems to be quite mild here; the wine follows the profile of the 2018, despite being a little riper, and it's still very balanced. There are notes of flowers, basil and a touch of bacon intermixed with the wild berries and herbs. There's a little more concentration, and the tannins are a little chalkier and more austere. But there is no excess ripeness or anything out of place, and it has acidity and length and finishes dry and mineral. 41,853 bottles produced. It was bottled in August 2020.

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.

Unveiling an exceptional vintage, the Comando G Navatalgordo 2022 is a masterful representation of Spain's finest viticulture. This remarkable wine is hailing from the harsh, mountainous terrains of Sierra de Gredos, a region celebrated for its unique granite soils. The two youthful vintners, Daniel Landi and Fernando García, behind Comando G harness the potential of these surroundings, employing biodynamic principles, rigorous selection, and old vine Grenache clusters to render this majestic libation.

Comando G Navatalgordo 2022 epitomises the quintessence of a classic Grenache, boasting an intriguing amalgamation of red fruit notes underpinned by an alluring minerality. The craftsmen used whole-bunch fermentation, and an extended maceration process with gentle punch-downs, followed by 14 months maturation in large French oak foudres to confer this wine its unassailable complexity and depth.

Tasting Comando G Navatalgordo 2022 is akin to savouring the essence of Navatalgordo terroir, a wine elegantly enveloped in its unique geographical narrative.

Experience the pure essence and seasonal rhythm of the Spanish terroir with Comando G Rozas 2022. Cultivated in the elemental wilds of the Sierra de Gredos mountains, this robust Grenache breaks conventional norms through meticulous vinification, resulting in a characteristically vigorous and complex spirit. Crafted by Fabio Bartolomei and Daniel Landi, the guiding hands behind the revolutionary Comando G winery, this wine embodies their rebellious spirit and reverence for native soil.

Comando G Rozas 2022 is marked by vibrant minerality, framed within lively strawberry and thyme aromas that adorn a poised, profound palate. A meticulous whole-bunch fermentation process ensures the integral preservation of the grape's character. Organic viticulture and an unhindered respect for seasonal variations in the vineyard augment the wine's authentic expression of place. Experience Comando G Rozas 2022 – a triumphant anthem to nature and the art of winemaking.

Burghound (93-95)

A ripe but brooding nose features aromas of spiced black raspberry, red currant and floral notes. The powerful, concentrated and distinctly earthy broad-shouldered flavors possess plenty of muscle as the dense and firm mouth coating tannins will require at least 15 years to resolve. I very much like this very rich effort as it's a Bèze of imposing size and weight along with explosive length yet it retains a fine sense of harmony and balance. Once again, note well though that patience is necessary.

Vinous (92+)

Bright medium red. Strong oak tones partly mask aromas of red berries, rose petal and medicinal menthol. At once dense and taut, with savory, firm-edged flavors of cranberry, minerals and white pepper giving the middle palate an incisive character. Not a fleshy wine--in fact a bit youthfully compressed today--but finishes perfumed, focused and long, with pepper and saline mineral notes displaying a slightly tart edge.

Wine Advocate (93-95)

The 2015 Chambertin Clos de Bèze Grand Cru is raised in 80% new oak with 20% whole bunch. It has a very detailed and focused bouquet with precise blackberry, raspberry and morello cherry aromas neatly infused with mineral scents. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, powerful without losing control and building towards a very structured, spicy finish. Whilst I would still dial down the oak to 50-60%, nevertheless it remains a very well-crafted Chambertin with plenty of substance and ambition, and that ain't a bad thing when you are a Clos-de-Bèze.

Vinous (95-97)

The 2018 Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze Grand Cru includes 30% whole-bunch fruit, though this is the one grand cru where you cannot detect the stem addition, just the copious dark cherry, raspberry, cedar and undergrowth aromas that gain intensity in the glass. The palate is supple on the entry, the acidity neatly counterbalancing the intensity of the fruit. This Clos-de-Bèze has real grip and an arching structure on the finish, suggesting that it will be a seriously long-lived wine. Excellent.

Vinous (94+)

Bright medium red. Deep, musky nose combines cranberry, raspberry, cardamom, faded rose and crushed stone. Sweet, seamless and energetic, offering almost painful cut to the tart red berry, spice and musky underbrush flavors. Outstanding savory lift in the middle palate. Wonderfully lightness of touch here. Very backward wine with all the Cos de Bèze food groups: red fruits, minerals, spices, flowers, crushed stone. Stains the palate and leaves the taste buds quivering on the very long, firm finish. But still a baby today and in need of a decade of cellaring.

Vinous (94-96)

The 2017 Chambertin Clos de Bèze Grand Cru comes from two parcels. It has a charming bouquet of ebullient raspberry and wild strawberry aromas; hints of vanilla pod and rose petal lend complexity. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, gentle grip and a saline, oyster-shell-tinged finish that lingers in the mouth. This is one of Faiveley’s most impressive offerings in 2017. Superb.

Vinous (94-97)

(made from same plot of 60+-year-old vines on the Chambertin side of this grand cru as in the past; 100% destemmed): Bright dark red. Raspberry and a touch of reduction on the nose. Then dense, sappy and high-pitched in the mouth, with terrific intensity and saline complexity to the intense red berry flavors. Notes of menthol and crushed stone contribute to an impression of youthful tightness. Harder to taste today than the classic Clos de Bèze, which is showing more energy and salty minerality in the early going. But this is subtler and longer on the aftertaste, with a distinctly floral, feminine character that reminded me of a great Chambolle-Musigny. Very different in style from Faiveley's basic Clos de Bèze, but is it better?

Vinous (95-97)

The 2020 Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze Grand Cru has a very delineated, quite floral bouquet with rose petal infusing the mixture of red and black fruit. There is a touch of sous-bois that become accentuated with time. The palate is fleshy and almost confit-like on the entry, but the acidity keeps this on an even keel. Plush, luxuriant...almost sexy (I dislike the word apropos Burgundy) but there is something very sensual about this wine. Very long in terms of length. Superb.

Wine Advocate (96)

The 2015 Clos Santuy is produced with the grapes from an ungrafted, head-pruned 1.12-hectare vineyard in the village of Piquera de San Esteban in the province of Soria, just outside the limits of Ribera del Duero, so it’s sold as Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León. The vineyard is planted at some 968 meters in altitude on shallow sandstone soils and is enclosed by a dry stonewall. Bougnaud has been working and vinifying this plot separately since 2010 and noticed its personality and aging potential, but this 2015 is the first vintage to be released. This is a textbook elegant and fresh Ribera from the cooler part; it’s ripe and powerful but really in balance and includes some 10% of white Albillo grapes that surely add to the silky texture and the fresh sensation on the palate. What a portfolio Galia showed in 2015, and this jewel of the crown filled some 1,073 bottles in September 2017. Bravo!

Wine Advocate (96)

The nose of the 2016 Clos Santuy was a little more discrete and reticent than the 2016 Villages. This comes from a 1.2-hectare plot of ungrafted vines in the village of Piquera de San Esteban that somehow was left out of the Ribera del Duero appellation. There is a sense of harmony and depth unlike that of the Villages, which felt more open and immediate. The palate is pure rock, austere and chalky, with a sense of minerality that was striking. It's approximately 80% Tempranillo and 20% Albillo fermented together with 20% full clusters and indigenous yeasts and matured in one 225-liter barrel and one 600-liter demi-muid for 22 months. 1,095 bottles were filled in September 2018.

Wine Advocate (95)

The nose of the 2016 Villages was stunning. It's a blend of Tempranillo with 9% Garnacha and 4% white Albillo from vineyards in Piquera de San Esteban, Fuentelcésped, Hontangas, Cuevas de Provanco, Quintanilla de Onésimo and Trigueros del Valle. It fermented by soil types with indigenous yeasts and some 20% full clusters (the Garnacha was 100% whole clusters) and matured in a mixture of 225-liter barriques, 600-liter demi-muids and 1,200-liter foudres for 21 months. The élevage was very respectful with the wine, which comes through as floral and terribly aromatic, ripe without excess and with a medium to full-bodied palate, pungent flavors and great length and persistence. The tannins are round and velvety, and there is a sense of integration and balance that I liked very much. 16,140 bottles and 230 magnums were filled in July 2018.

James Suckling (96)

Perfectly ripe strawberries with raspberry and citrus undertones. It’s medium-to full-bodied with really fine tannins that are nicely wrapped in ripe fruit. There’s a savory, lightly meaty highlight to the flavors. It’s long and complex in the finish. Really balanced and attractive now, but will deliver even more in the future. Better after 2023.

James Suckling (96)

Perfectly ripe strawberries with raspberry and citrus undertones. It’s medium-to full-bodied with really fine tannins that are nicely wrapped in ripe fruit. There’s a savory, lightly meaty highlight to the flavors. It’s long and complex in the finish. Really balanced and attractive now, but will deliver even more in the future. Better after 2023.

Vinous (94-97)

Good medium red. Extravagantly complex nose combines raspberry, wild rose, crushed rock, clove, mocha and wild herbs. Wonderfully subtle, spherical and nuanced, communicating an almost 3-D texture to the flavors of red berries, spices, licorice, herbs and flowers. The wine's firm spine of tannins is utterly covered by lush, fleshy fruit today. The thick, slowly rising finish washes over the palate like a wave.

Wine Advocate (96)

Jadot's 2015 Chambertin Clos de Bèze Grand Cru is stunningly good in the 2015 vintage, bursting from the glass with a primary bouquet of candied red cherry, plum, rose petal, coniferous forest floor and a hint of the black truffle to come, judiciously framed by new oak. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, ample and deep, with wonderful concentration and depth, its generous core of ripe fruit underpinned by bright, racy acids. This still need time to come together—15 years, ideally—but its potential is immense.

Wine Advocate (96+)

Tasted from bottle, the 2016 Chambertin Clos de Bèze Grand Cru (Domaine Louis Jadot) is showing marvelously, unfurling in the glass with a deep bouquet of juicy cherries, cassis, blood orange, violets and rich spices, its framing of new oak already almost entirely integrated. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, multidimensional and utterly complete, with a bottomless core of cool, sappy fruit that entirely conceals its supple but abundant tannins. Immensely concentrated and strikingly structurally refined, this is a brilliant Clos de Bèze that's more classically balanced than the more overtly ripe 2015.

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (95-98)

Lovely dense mid purple, the nose has massive energy but not yet much detail. Then such an explosion of riotous fruit, joyously ripe pinot but still pure pinot. A little touch of menthol behind the ripe cherry notes with raspberry chaser. Amazing length. Very fine indeed. Tasted: November 2021