The Real Review (96)

Light to mid-yellow hue, with a reserved, shy bouquet which has traces of lemon balm, creamy lees and pencil wood, while the flavour is tremendously intense and focused, powerful in an understated way, with lemon and grapefruit flavours, showing concentration as well as subtlety, the finish lingering on and on. Time will doubtless build that bouquet further. A smashing chardonnay.

The Real Review (97)

Medium-deep red with a good purple tint and a mossy, forest-floor/earthy undergrowth and smoked smallgoods bouquet, the palate refreshingly lively with clean acidity underlying the complex, savoury, medium-bodied flavour. Mixed spices, taut and tense, direct and piercing in its lengthy finale, which concludes with a pleasant touch of chewiness. Superb pinot.

Jeb Dunnuck (99)

The 2020 Château Calon Ségur is pure gold and another masterpiece from this estate. Harvested all in September and pulled from their 48 hectares of vines, the blend is 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot that spent 20 months all in new French oak, and it hit 13.2% natural alcohol. My notes started and ended with "wow," and this riveting Saint-Estèphe offers a heavenly bouquet of red and black currants, truffly earth, iron, espresso, and tobacco leaf. With incredible purity of fruit, full-bodied richness, and ultra-fine tannins, it's a deep, pure, layered 2020 that deserves at least 7-8 years of bottle age and will cruise for 40-50 years in cold cellars. Hats off to the team at Calon Ségur.

Vinous (90-92)

The 2020 Santenay Clos Rousseau 1er Cru includes one-third whole cluster. It has a well defined, but more introverted bouquet than the Village Cru, touches of sous-bois and tobacco. This just needs time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannins, again, very smooth and velvety in texture, very finely judged acidity with a sapid finish. Great potential.

Wine Advocate (100)

The brilliant 2020 Canon looks set to surpass both the 2019 and 2016 as this estate's finest wine since the post-war period, though like many of the best 2020s, it will require more patience than its 2019 counterpart. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of cherries and raspberries mingled with notions of exotic spices and iris, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with vibrant acids and beautifully polished, chalky tannins. Pure and precise, it concludes with a long, mouthwatering finish. This beautifully constructed wine communicates the essence of this superb limestone terroir, and it will be worth a special effort to track down and cellar.

James Suckling (93-94)

Lots of richness and fruit for this winery, showing blackberry, blackcurrant and dark-chocolate character. It’s full and layered. Well done.

James Suckling (96-97)

Fantastic depth of fruit with layers of firm, chewy tannins that are medium-grained and long in the mouth. Full and dynamic. One of the best ever.

James Suckling (96-97)

This is very classically structured with a palate that starts off slowly. Full-bodied and chewy with a soft, creamy texture and a long finish. Savory. A touch austere. 52% cabernet sauvignon, 42% merlot and 3% cabernet franc, the rest petit verdot.

James Suckling (96-97)

This is very classically structured with a palate that starts off slowly. Full-bodied and chewy with a soft, creamy texture and a long finish. Savory. A touch austere. 52% cabernet sauvignon, 42% merlot and 3% cabernet franc, the rest petit verdot.

Wine Advocate (95)

The perfect Mediterranean vintage produced an outstanding Garnacha. The 2020 El Molar fermented with 35% full clusters and matured in a combination of 500-liter barrels and 5,000-liter foudres for one year. The wine is very young and tender; it feels more delicate despite having a little more alcohol than the 2019 (it's 15%) and with a slightly lower pH (3.49). It's super aromatic, extroverted and expressive, floral, elegant and complex. There is great balance, and the wine feels fresher and less ripe; it's refreshing and has a core of minerality and super fine tannins with pungent flavors. There is precision, elegance and balance, the three words that define the vintage. All the wines are very good value, but this is a steal. 40,000 bottles were filled in March 2022.

Wine Advocate (98)

The 2020 Adrianna Vineyard Fortuna Terrae shows exceptionally well. It's still young and juicy with some baby fat that should get rendered with some more time in bottle. It's a little lighter, and the tannins gave it grip and a chalky limestone sensation. But the wine is very expressive, with purity, clean and precise and not showing any signs of coming from a warmer year like 2020. It finishes with the telltale violets from the great Malbec grape coated by chalky minerality. This plot behaves well in warmer years like this one. It was bottled in October 2021. 5,400 bottles produced.

Vinous (97)

The 2020 Chardonnay Adrianna Vineyard White Stones from Gualtallary, Uco Valley, was barrel-aged for 16 months. Greenish-yellow in the glass. The intense, layered nose presents bold aromas of green apple, pear, hints of linden blossom and ginger with touches of lemon and herbs. In the mouth, it’s concentrated, rooted in a lively, heightened freshness while maintaining the variety’s expansive flow, which also delivers salinity and long-lasting flavor. A thrilling white that defines this nook of the Uco Valley.

From the renowned vineyards of Beaujolais, France comes the exquisite Cave de Fleurie Fleurie 2020. A true testament to expert winemaking, this seductive red blend is crafted from handpicked Gamay grapes meticulously grown in granite soils. Produced by Cave de Fleurie, a revered co-operative cellar that has been preserving traditional vinification methods since 1927, this wine emanates quality. The climate, resulting from the onshore Mediterranean breeze, imbues the 2020 vintage with a unique complexity enriched by an excellent growing season.

The Cave de Fleurie Fleurie 2020 dazzles the palate with ripe red berry accents, delicate floral undertones and a velvety finish. Its well-executed balance between acidity and tannins showcases a harmony of flavours perfect for any sophisticated palate. A carefully cellared bottle of this wine reveals the time-honoured excellence you've come to expect from Cave de Fleurie. Delight in every sip of this superb wine, a fine example of French viticulture at its absolute best.

Renowned for its exceptional character, the Ceritas Bailhache Sauvignon Blanc 2020 hails from the prestigious winemaker Ceritas, set within the heart of California's esteemed Sonoma Coast. Each bottle encapsulates the ideal maritime climate and diverse soil, which culminate to produce nuanced acidity levels and complex flavour profiles. The Ceritas Bailhache Sauvignon Blanc 2020 boasts a vibrant mix of ripe citrus, stone fruits, and subtle mineral undertones, underpinned by a lively crispness that makes it exceedingly palatable.

The esteemed winemaker, John Raytek, adheres strictly to organic farming methods and minimalist winemaking; this approach lets the unique terroir of each carefully chosen vineyard express itself fully within the wine. Grown on mature vines that grace the high slopes of the Bailhache Vineyard, each grape is meticulously handpicked at peak ripeness, simultaneously ensuring the utmost quality and preserving the delicate balance of the wine.

Indulge in the Ceritas Bailhache Sauvignon Blanc 2020, an embodiment of the complexity and elegance of Californian terroir.

James Suckling (98)

Extremely perfumed and beautiful with ripe strawberries and citrus fruit, as well as aromatic flowers. Full-bodied with plenty of fruit and creamy, chewy tannins that are polished and very impressive. Long and linear. One of the best of this bottling. Drink after 2023, but already a gorgeous bottle.

James Suckling (98)

Red cherries, strawberries, spiced plums, violets, cloves, dried herbs, undergrowth and a touch of smoke on the nose. It’s medium-bodied with firm, tight-grained tannins. Firm, mineral and tea-like tannin quality. Very focused and structured. Needs time. Try after 2025. From biodynamically grown grapes.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

In the same qualitative ballpark as the Pavillon, the 2020 Ermitage L'Ermite is even tighter and more chiseled. It too is perfectly proportioned and insanely pure, with notes of crème de cassis, burning embers, blueberries, camphor, charcoal, and crushed stone. While the soils here are less granitic than from the Bessards, this cuvée always seems to show even more minerality in every vintage I've tasted. Incredibly concentrated, full-bodied, and yet still flawlessly balanced and elegant, it needs to be hidden in the back of the cellar for 10-15 years and should have 50 years of overall longevity.

Vinous (95-97)

Full purple color. Deeply pitched kirsch, cassis, licorice, olive, cured meat and floral aromas are sharpened by suggestions of black pepper and smoky minerals. Broad and weighty in the mouth, offering intense bitter cherry, dark berry compote, fruitcake and espresso flavors and a sweet hint of candied violet. Chewy tannins add grip to an impressively long, smoky finish that leaves kirsch, licorice, espresso and floral notes behind. This one is built for the long haul.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

I was blown away by the 2020 Ermitage Le Méal Blanc, which is certainly the finest vintage of this cuvée I’ve tasted. From the pure south-facing Méal lieu-dit (which is the warmest terroir on Hermitage), it was vinified and aged 70% demi-muids (10% new) and 30% in stainless steel. Straight-up heavenly notes of white currants, powdered rock, celery seed, honeysuckle, and toasted almonds all define the bouquet, and it’s full-bodied and concentrated on the palate, with that rare mix of richness and freshness. Hermitage Blanc doesn’t get any better. I love this today, yet it will certainly benefit from a year or two of bottle age, drink well for 3-5 years, at which point, it’s probably best to wait until a solid 15 years after the vintage.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

The 2020 Ermitage Le Pavillon is pure gold, and Hermitage doesn't get any better. Incredible aromatics of cassis, graphite, burning embers, and crushed stone all emerge from this beauty. Stunningly proportioned and incredibly pure, it's full-bodied, concentrated, and powerful, but as with all great vintages of this cuvée, it's going to demand bottle age. While Les Greffieux and Le Méal bring much more opulence, this is the powerhouse, long-distance candidate in the lineup. It's an incredible effort. Give bottles upwards of a decade in the cellar, and it should evolve effortlessly over the following 30-40 years.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

The Grand Vin 2020 Château Cheval Blanc checks in as a blend of 65% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon that was raised, as always, in 100% new French oak. As usual with Cheval Blanc, it's primarily about finesse and elegance, as well as complexity, and exhibits a deep purple hue as well as a kaleidoscopic bouquet of sweet red and black fruits, spring flowers, spicy incense, loamy earth, and smoke tobacco. Absolutely flawless on the palate, it's full-bodied, has perfectly integrated oak, ripe, silky tannins, and a gorgeous finish that keeps you coming back to the glass. This powerful, concentrated Cheval Blanc offers pleasure even today (needs lots of air) but warrants 7-8 years of bottle age and will see its 40th birthday in fine form.

Wine Advocate (98)

The 2020 Cheval des Andes was harvested from the last of February for the first time ever. It was Gabillet's second vintage at Cheval des Andes, and that year, he had to start without waiting for Pierre Olivier Clouet and Pierre Lurton from Cheval Blanc; when they arrived, they had finished picking the Malbec, which surprisingly was fresher in Las Compuertas (because of the higher percentage of clay?) than in Altamira (where the vines suffered more stress), saving the freshness. They now harvest using cold trucks (for the first time), and they also started earlier in the morning (six in the morning, impossible earlier in Mendoza...), which he reckons was very good for the precision of the wine. They used 40% 225-liter barrels, 40% 400-liter oak barrels and 20% 2,500-liter foudres, half of them new and with an élevage of 15 months on average, depending on the lots and varieties from 12 to 18 months. The final blend was 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot, which makes a comeback as it was not used since 2016. The key was to finish the fermentation of the Petit Verdot without skins, and that way, they have been able to use it in the blends of 2021, 2022 and 2023 in small but increasing percentages. This is slightly riper than 2019, with a little more alcohol (14.5%) and with very good structural tannins but saving the freshness, and it has the spicy side from the Petit Verdot (Gabillet talks about white pepper). The wine has the ultra sleek and polished texture and the elegance and the balance that is the signature here; the wine is very clean and precise. I see very good regularity across the three vintages I tasted next to each other—this 2020 and the 2018 and 2019. Overall, this is a triumph over the adverse conditions of the vintage. They produced their usual 100,000 bottles (since 2018), as they are renewing their vineyards and want to keep the volume stable. They produce this volume from the 36 productive hectares they have in Las Compuertas and Altamira. There are some more changes: in 2020, they went for a lighter bottle, weighing 100 grams less than the one they used in 2018 and 2019, but close to 300 grams less than the bottle from before. It's also a slimmer bottle, always thinking about the environment. They are very focused on agroecology, accelerating the regenerative viticulture and using cover crops; they have planted 1,900 trees in the last three years, creating small clusters of biodiversity for birds. They have transplanted some centenary olive trees and keep their sheep and lamas on the property. Very green-minded.

Vinous (92+)

The 2020 Sangiovese Romagna Predappio is spicy and deep, with sweet rose and dusty black cherries accentuated by hints of ash and mint. This is undeniably elegant in feel, washing silken waves of ripe wild berries across the palate that leave a mineral staining, along with sweet inner herbal tones. It finishes with a lingering concentration and super-fine tannins as tobacco and cocoa notes slowly fade. The 2020 will require a bit more time in bottle to soften its contours, but it’s packed full of potential. It’s hard to think of this as Chaira Condello’s entry-level wine.

Tim Atkin MW (95)

Christian and Fabien own an enviable three hectares that extend two-thirds of the way up the slope. This 2020 is almost cozy with concentrated extract at the core. This generous body is smartly lifted by vivid acidity. The flavors range from citrus and star fruit to roasted hazelnuts and a hint of smoke. 2024-40

Vinous (92+)

The 2020 Chablis Vaudésir Grand Cru has a backward bouquet that demands coaxing from the glass: wet pavement, pressed yellow flowers and a touch of flint. Very focused. Fresh and saline, the palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity; however, it remains quite strict and oddly like a 2021 towards the close. Give this three or four years in bottle.

Indulge in the exquisite charm of Clandestin Les Semblables Boreal Brut Nature 2020, a captivating offering from the renowned vineyards of Boreal. Crafted with supreme quality grape varietals of the 2020 vintage, this sparkling wine exudes unparalleled lure and sophistication. Its meticulously fermented in steel barrels before being aged on lees, a unique process bringing forth an impressive complexity in flavour and effervescence.

Expertly produced by Clandestin, a credited formulator of finest French wines, the Les Semblables Boreal Brut Nature 2020 is an epitome of intricate winemaking. This Brut nature style wine, known for its no added sugars, is opulent with refreshing aromas and a crisp, dry palate. Its subtle minerality and exquisite nuances of citrus and apple make it a sublime companion for fine dining experiences.

Every sip of Clandestin Les Semblables Boreal Brut Nature 2020 promises a luxurious journey, lavishly satisfying the palates of discerning wine connoisseurs across the globe.