Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (92-94)

Solid deep crimson purple. Magnificent deep rich imperial purple and feels much the same way on the nose. The fruit profile is a fraction darker than the estimable Boucherottes and perhaps with even more intensity, less heart on the sleeve, more wait for me in twenty years’ time. Tasted: November 2021

Tim Atkin MW (94)

A solidly constructed Gr ves, this showcases pure red fruits, savory spice, good refreshment, nicely corralled tannins and a minerally finish. It is a bit four-square now but has all the stuffing and structure to settle down nicely in a few years. 2024-28

Vinous (91-93)

The 2020 Beaune Les Theurons 1er Cru has a much more introverted bouquet compared to the Grèves, with an attractive marine element, hints of kelp and shucked oyster shell percolating through the red fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, a fine line of acidity, lightly spiced with a detailed and quite peppery finish. Excellent.

Jancis Robinson (17)

Cask sample. Pale garnet. Slightly smudgy nose. Still quite chewy with fine tannins and marked but not excessive acidity. Needs time but should be a vigorous pleasurable drink eventually.

Vinous (92-94)

The 2020 Beaune Cras 1er Cru includes 30% whole bunch as a trial for Jadot whose policy has always been to de-stem. To be honest, if I had this blind, I would not have said there is stems in this blend, which I see as a good thing. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, a fine bead of acidity, taut and fresh and I do think those stems lend more freshness on the finish. Excellent.

Decanter (96)

Open and pleasant nose showing pretty floral and ripe red berry fruit along with spicy oak. The palate is elegant and juicy with red apple, beetroot and dried cranberry flavours, crunchy, ripe tannins and a chalky undertone. Very fine, tasty and well handled.

Decanter (96)

Open and pleasant nose showing pretty floral and ripe red berry fruit along with spicy oak. The palate is elegant and juicy with red apple, beetroot and dried cranberry flavours, crunchy, ripe tannins and a chalky undertone. Very fine, tasty and well handled.

Wine Advocate (92+)

Opening in the glass with aromas of sweet berries, cherries and plums framed by a deft application of toasty new oak, the 2018 Beaune 1er Cru Célébration (Maison Louis Jadot) is medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with a fleshy core of fruit structured around rich tannins and succulent acids. It's a hearty, generous wine that should evolve nicely in the cellar. As usual, it's a blend of more than a dozen Beaune premiers crus.

Wine Advocate (92)

There are some 3,500 cases of the 2020 Beaune 1er Cru Célébration (Maison Louis Jadot), a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and seamless wine evocative of smoky berries, spices and licorice, framed by creamy new oak. More polished and elegant than the muscular 2018, the last rendition of this bottling (which blends more than a dozen of Beaune's premiers crus), it will offer a broad drinking window.

Wine Advocate (92)

The 2017 Beaune Village really over-performs this year, bursting with aromas of cherries, raspberries, licorice, orange rind, grilled ceps and peonies. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, succulent and enveloping, with fine depth and concentration, powdery structuring tannins and a long, sapid finish. Combining substance with structural charm, this will offer a broad drinking window. As ever, this cuvée is a blend of premiers crus Boucherottes and Epenottes with the lieux-dits Prevolles and Beaux Fougets, so the raw materials are unusually serious for a communal bottling.

Wine Advocate (91+)

Opening in the glass with aromas of sweet berry fruit, raw cocoa, woodsmoke and plums, the 2018 Beaune Village is medium to full-bodied, layered and charming, with an ample core of fruit framed by bright acids and powdery tannins that assert themselves on the youthfully chalky finish. Charming and refined, this will nevertheless merit more patience than the irresistible 2017.

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 Spectator (94)

'#1 in Wine Spectator Top 100 2022' - Packs in generous steeped plum, boysenberry and mulberry flavors backed by a broad swath of roasted alder and bittersweet cocoa. Brimming with dense fruit, and is squarely in the not-shy style. The long finish has a serious loamy tug, too. Best from 2023 through 2035. 10,000 cases made.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

The 2015 Screaming Eagle is another monumental wine from this address, and it's one of those cases where if you afford it, you should buy it. A blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc, this magical elixir boasts a deep purple color as well as a blockbuster bouquet of blueberries, creme de cassis, violets, incense, and cedarwood. Reminding me of the 2015 Château Margaux with its off the charts class and purity, it’s full-bodied, thrillingly textured, and has a finish that just won't quit. This legendary wine is going to keep for 30-40 years.

Wine Advocate (97+)

Beautiful floral notes intermixed with creme de cassis, licorice and charcoal jump from the glass of this dense purple-colored 2002. Opulent, broad, full-bodied and more mature than I expected given how this wine showed in its youth, this deep, rich Cabernet Sauvignon is exceptional. However, in this vintage it has to take a back seat to a number of other cuvees. The final blend was 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc.

James Suckling (100)

The subtle and nuanced aromas to this are so enticing with perfumed, floral, blackcurrant and blackberry character. Roses, too. Some lavender. Full-bodied yet so refined and polished with the most transparent and polished texture. Firm and seamless. So beautiful now. Give it three or four years to come around, but this already sings.

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.”

Wine Advocate (98)

The 2017 Sauvignon Blanc is 100% Sauvignon Blanc, coming from a small section of estate vines closer to the Napa river. It is entirely fermented in French oak, but only about 5% is new. The grapes are pressed straight to barrels and kept on their gross lees. The wine is fermented using native yeasts. This vintage, the nose is not at all shy—it comes bounding out of the glass with exuberant scents of ripe peaches, passion fruit and musk perfume plus wafts of honeycomb, elderflower, ripe gooseberries and lemongrass with a waft of Bosc pears. The palate is super intense and yet ethereally weighted, light-bodied and oh-so-fine, elegant and refreshing, featuring a whole array of chalk and sea spray sparks, creating a shimmer to all the many citrus and stone fruit layers, finishing with great length and energy. There is a truly interesting phenolic texture to the palate that reminds me of some Chardonnays, particularly Burgundian examples. Winemaker Nick Gislason commented that the gross lees contain a lot of phenolic content, which is where the wine picks up that textural component. Love it!

Vinous (98)

The 2016 The Flight is gorgeous. Dark, brooding and closed in on itself, the 2016 is going to need a number of years to be at its very best, but it is incredibly beguiling today. Plum, black cherry, lavender, blood orange menthol, and a host of more mineral-driven notes punctuate this super-expressive wine. This is a decidedly tannic and powerful edition of The Flight. I can't wait to see how it ages. Bottled just six weeks before this tasting, the 2016 appears to have a very bright future. Time in the glass brings out some of the softer edges that will almost surely emerge with cellaring. The Flight is built on a core of older Merlot vines from the southeast corner of the estate. It is an absolutely riveting wine from Screaming Eagle.

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.

James Suckling (99)

Extremely floral and aromatic with violets and lavender throughout. Black olives, too. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, very fine-grained tannins that run the length of the wine. Goes on for minutes. A greenish undertone comes out at the end with some spearmint, green tea and green olive. About two-thirds merlot. Best after 2028, but already stunning.

Vinous (91-93)

The 2019 Beaune Clos du Roi 1er Cru I includes 50% whole bunch and 30% new oak. Pascal Marchand said that this is an example of "infusion" winemaking, not seeing many punchdowns during cuvaison. The bouquet is very perfumed; cracked black pepper and tertiary aromas slightly occlude the red berry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, leading to an elegant, peppery finish. Very much a lighter style from Tawse. I am not sure it has long-term potential but that is a moot point as it is so delicious.

Vinous (91-93)

The 2020 Beaune Teurons 1er Cru contains 25% whole bunch with 20% new oak. There was a bit of reduction on the nose here, but the palate is lively and expressive with candied red berry fruit, orange zest and fine mineralité. This should turn into a very delicious Beaune but it will need time.