Jeb Dunnuck (98-100)

The same 60/40 split of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, brought up in new oak, the 2018 Tench Vineyard EE Red Wine is another incredibly pure, complex, yet powerful 2018. Rocking levels of crème de cassis, spring flowers, chocolate, and graphite give way to a full-bodied, pure, and seamless wine that has incredible potential.

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.

Vinous (88-90)

The 2018 Chambolle-Musigny Village, matured in 30% new oak, has a generous bouquet of red berry fruit, plus touches of brown spice and light loamy aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and lightly spiced red berry fruit mixed with white pepper and sage, dovetailing into a slightly compact but fresh finish. Fine.

Wine Advocate (91-93)

Notes of cherries, raspberries and cassis mingle with hints of forest floor and spices in an incipiently complex bouquet, introducing the 2018 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Lavrottes, a medium to full-bodied, rich and structured wine that Felettig observes is always one of the slowest-evolving wines in the cellar. Mineral and youthfully firm, this is promising for the future.

James Suckling (99)

This is luxurious red for the vintage with velvety tannins that give it superb depth and richness. Lots of tile, dry earth, clay and chocolate. Full-bodied, but almost weightless in the sensibility of the wine. It goes on for minutes. Lovely dried oranges and savory, fruity and forest-floor character at the end. 80% cabernet sauvignon, 14% cabernet franc, 4% petit verdot and 2% merlot. Unfined and unfiltered. Drink in 2025.

Vinous (90+)

The 2018 Chambolle-Musigny Village is positively bulging with black and red fruit on the nose of dense blackberry and bilberry; a light marine influence surfaces with time. The palate is well balanced with firm, grippy tannins that feel more robust and slightly drier than the 2019 compared alongside. A little brusque on the finish at the moment; this will require time.

Wine Advocate (88-90)

Produced from purchased fruit and vinified with one-third whole clusters, the 2018 Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes (négoce) bursts with aromas of raspberries, berries, woodsmoke and sweet soil tones. It's medium to full-bodied, succulent and fine-boned, with a delicate core of fruit framed by powdery tannins.

Tim Atkin MW (93)

Not currently available.

Decanter (95)

This is a classic 'cuvée ronde', combining fruit from six different Premiers Crus to produce a stylish example of what Véronique Drouhin calls the 'cashmere of Burgundy'. Scented, balanced and ethereal, it's a transparent expression of Chambolle's range of terroirs, with sweet summer berry flavours and fine, velvety tannins. Accomplished stuff.

Burghound (91-94)

A notably fresher nose offers up notes of various red berries along with a plentitude of floral nuances. There is also better energy on the palate of the medium-bodied flavors that exude evident minerality on the saline and lingering if again mildly rustic finish. With that said, this is much better-balanced.

Burghound (92)

A fresh and ripe nose combines notes of plum and dark cherry with those of earth, subtle wood and a cool spice wisp. There is excellent underlying tension to the more mineral-driven medium-bodied flavors that are at once sleek and detailed before culminating in a sappy, austere and built-to-age finish. Excellent.

Burghound (94)

(Outstanding) Here too there is a discreet application of wood setting off the beautifully layered aromas of poached plum and spicy dark berries. The generously proportioned and appealingly refined medium weight plus flavors possess a suave and seductively textured mouthfeel while displaying outstanding length on the balanced and mildly austere finish where the only nit is the barest trace of warmth. This is arguably a bit more 2018 in style and a wine that should age gracefully for 15 to 20 years. In a word, terrific.

Burghound (94)

(Outstanding) Here too there is a discreet application of wood setting off the beautifully layered aromas of poached plum and spicy dark berries. The generously proportioned and appealingly refined medium weight plus flavors possess a suave and seductively textured mouthfeel while displaying outstanding length on the balanced and mildly austere finish where the only nit is the barest trace of warmth. This is arguably a bit more 2018 in style and a wine that should age gracefully for 15 to 20 years. In a word, terrific.

Burghound (95)

(Outstanding) A cooler and more elegant nose is dazzlingly pure with its elegant aromas of anise, essence of violet and rose petal, black cherry and an interesting hint of Asian-style tea. There is excellent power and underlying tension to the large-scaled flavors that possess a positively gorgeous mouthfeel while exhibiting stunningly good length on the stony, detailed and compact finale. This is picture perfect Rugiens.

Burghound (95)

(Outstanding) A cooler and more elegant nose is dazzlingly pure with its elegant aromas of anise, essence of violet and rose petal, black cherry and an interesting hint of Asian-style tea. There is excellent power and underlying tension to the large-scaled flavors that possess a positively gorgeous mouthfeel while exhibiting stunningly good length on the stony, detailed and compact finale. This is picture perfect Rugiens.

Wine Advocate (98+)

A blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 Oakville Estate Proprietary Red Wine was aged for 22 months in French oak barrels, 55% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, it sashays out of the glass with flamboyant scents of candied violets, red roses, black raspberries and fragrant earth over a core of cassis, wild blueberries and Morello cherries with a waft of pencil lead. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is an exercise in poise, featuring beautifully balanced velvety tannins and seamless freshness framing the opulent black and red berry layers, finishing very long and perfumed. 670 cases were made.

Wine Advocate (100)

Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Screaming Eagle soars out of the glass with vibrant notions of ripe blackberries, black cherries and fresh red and black currants plus wafts of licorice, candied violets, cedar chest and clove oil with a beguiling touch of sea spray. Medium-bodied with jaw-dropping elegance, the palate is finely textured and yet built like a brick house with a super taut backbone and exquisitely knit acidity. The intense black and red fruit flavors are accented by layers of mineral and floral notions, finishing with incredible length and depth. Undeniably stunning. “I loved it!” winemaker Nick Gislason told me when I asked him for his thoughts on the 2018 vintage. “Everything is just really perfumey with a lot of verve and a lot of freshness. It’s a wholesome vintage, if that makes sense? The canopies were big and healthy; there was a lot of life in the vineyard. After 2017, it felt like the bloom that comes afterward.” He went on to say, "We made a little 2017 red. Only four barrels of the Cab! Ten barrels of The Flight. Only from grapes that came in before the fires—mainly Merlot and a couple of blocks of Cabernet." Whereas Screaming Eagle is mainly sourced from Cabernet Sauvignon grown on the western side of the estate, there is one plot of old Merlot (1980s plantings) on the eastern side of the vineyard that continually makes the backbone of this Second Flight/The Flight. This is planted on very gravelly, well-drained soils. Gislason explained, “The Cabernet Sauvignon for The Flight is always about being fresh, light and perfumey, without the firmer tannins that Cabernet can sometimes give. There is a ‘fresh’ end of the property that this tends to come from. There is some other Merlot on the other side of the property that doesn’t have the acidity, perfume or brightness we’re looking for. We don’t use this in The Flight.”

James Suckling (100)

This is an incredible wine with such depth and energy and ethereal, mind-blowing sensibility. It sent shivers down my spine tasting it. It just shines on the nose, like bright sunlight breaking through a dark sky. Aromas of raspberries, citrus, violets and dark earth. Full-bodied with extremely fine tannins that go vertical and endless, from top to bottom. A monument for merlot-based wines. Drinkable now, but needs six to eight years to come around.