Wines (48 View)

A Rosenthal import

96 points Wine Advocate
Youthfully lush and hedonistic, the nose loaded with wild berry jam scents and touches of iron, aniseed and orange peel. The stunning palate balances concentration and detail and is supported by powdery tannins and exuberant freshness, offering notable purity and length at this stage.

96 points Vinous
Just bottles, the 2015 Barolo Riserva Cascina Dardi is a real powerhouse. The full-bodied, potent Barolo packs a huge punch. It won't be ready to drink anytime soon, that much is obvious. Time in the glass brings out aromatic intensity and inner perfume. Spice and blood orange accents lend on exotic quality to this dark, layered Barolo. The Riserva is a wine for readers who appreciate the natural fragility of artisan wines, wines that aren't perfect but that perfectly embody the human spirit. - Antonio Galloni Nov. 2021

93 pts Wine Advocate
The Argiano 2017 Brunello di Montalcino is a wine of considerable bandwidth with lots of dark fruit, rich plum and spice. It carries medium fruit weight and concentration that proves more than enough to surround and soften the spicy oak notes and toast that also play an important role in this hot-vintage Brunello. The results are plump and slightly round, but you also get the acidity and the tannic structure of an age-worthy Sangiovese. Organically farmed fruit is selected from across the best parcels of the estate, and some of the vines are up to 55 years old. Production is 130,000 bottles, and I would recommend setting this bottle aside for near- to medium-term drinking.

92 points Wine Spectator
This delivers a pure beam of cassis, plum puree and anise notes, offering a flash of sweet spice on the finish. Moderately toasty, with a very polished mouthfeel. Crowd pleaser. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2030.

92 points Wine Spectator
Ripe, overflowing with red cherry and raspberry flavors backed by luscious acidity and medium-grained tannins. Offers kirsch and allspice notes that coat the midpalate, with chocolate mousse notes on the finish. Drink now through 2025

"Deep ruby red in color with scarlet highlights, Clark & Telephone opens with bountiful aromas of red fruits of cranberry and raspberry jam, laced with clove, cedar, and holiday baking spices. Bold and complex flavors of crushed ripe cherry, cranberry and blueberry pie linger on the palate. The texture is rich and lively and leads into a warm and structured finish." -Winemaker Note

100% Aligote

91pts- Wine Spectator:
(40% pinot meunier, 30% pinot noir and 30% chardonnay) "This bright Champagne is sleek and mouthwatering, with tightly knit flavors of glazed apricot, biscuit, nectarine and verbena. Clean-cut and lacy on the finish. Drink now through 2018."

The Brut Reserve is a light, fine and harmonious champagne. Its blend is made with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier from three different years, sourced from the best sites in the Champagne region.

Founded in the early 1990s by the Arzuaga Navarro family, the cellar stands near the Duero River, adorning a road as Castilian as the one connecting Soria and Valladolid. The building is an ode to stone, solid and rustic, forming arcades of monastic reminiscence, with towers at the sides and a belfry crowned by a weathercock at the centre. The stone in the outside and the warm elm wood inside welcome visitors, increasing the mood for special wines. Florentino Arzuaga, a great wine lover, founded Bodegas Arzuaga-Navarro after purchasing the Finca La Planta, an estate located in the town of Quintanilla de Onesimo (Valladolid), where the fauna and flora of the area coexist. With pines, oaks and Spanish cedars, wild boars and deer, Florentino realized the great potential of an estate large enough to have a horizon of its own. Then came the vines, the cellar and the wine-red wines as he liked them, with a backbone yet elegant, well-rounded yet complex. The spirit of the Arzuaga family combines an entrepreneurial tenacity with a sensibility for aesthetics and perfection.

93 points Wine Advocate
2017 was a very challenging year, as most of their vineyards in San Vicente de la Sonsierra in Rioja were affected by frost, unlike others in nearby Laguardia. Not only was it frost, but they also had hail later on in the season. Quantities suffered?€?they told me they lost 70% of the crop in Rioja that year?€?but they were happy about the quality of the 2017 Mac??n, being very careful with the fermentation and separating the press wine by quality. The 4,000-liter oak foudres helped to polish the tannins, and they used 50% new barrels. The ??levage lasted 16 moths. It's a little riper than the Cl??sico from 2018 that I tasted next to it, with a little more alcohol (14.5%) and mellow acidity. It's clearly a weaker vintage, and the wine shows it: the fruit is a little ripe and shows some tiredness, like it's evolving at a faster pace. It has abundant, slightly rustic tannins. 40,400 bottles, 2,566 magnums and some larger formats produced. It was bottled in September 2019. Quantities reflect the low yields.

The '81 Beronia is a classic expression of aged Rioja. The lavish American oak, Tempranillo's best friend, has balanced out the wine over the last thirty some years and it now shows crisp, tart cherries; Florentine leather; and unpicked wild sage. - PJ

"For the production of this Reserva the best grapes from the oldest vineyards are hand harvested. Following the harvest the best bunches are selected in the winery. The grapes then undergo a slow and controlled alcoholic fermentation with periodic pumping over to extract colour and aromas. Following this the wine remains in American oak barrels." Winemaker notes

"Aromatic, with accents of bread dough, smoked almond and creme de cassis, this creamy Champagne is lightly chalky in texture and framed by firm acidity, with flavors of glazed apricot, orange blossom and rich hints of clover honey and coffee liqueur. Drink now through 2022. 11,000 cases imported." 93pts WS

62% Pinot Noir, 24% Chardonnay, 14% Meunier Only 5 to 6% red wine added due to its power Over 85% Grands and Premiers crus. Cellar aged for more than twice the time required by the appellation. Moderate, 7 to 8 grams per liter.

The Bollinger champagne House has created prestigious champagnes with character, distinguished by their elegance and complexity, since 1829. These outstanding wines are the result of rigorous attention to detail, for Bollinger accepts nothing less than excellence. Each and every detail represents a quest for a certain form of perfection.This uncompromisingly independent spirit, dedicated to unostentatious achievement, exemplifies the inimitable elegance for which the Champagne region is renowned and which has so impressed the Court of England that the House has been awarded the Royal Warrant since 1884. In 2008, for the first time in its history, the House placed its future into the care of a Chairman who was not a family member. Their choice fell on Jerome Philipon, originally from the Champagne region, who had led an impressive career with large industrial groups. The choice might be unexpected - but Bollinger has never hesitated to reject conformity for the good of the House and its wines! With the Bollinger family?€?s support, Jerome Philipon has extended his predecessor?€?s programme of modernisation and investment. With him, the House has continued to preserve its traditional expertise while incorporating the best of new technologies for the future development of the brand, both in terms of quality and commercial growth.

Camille Saves rose Cuvee from the Bouzy Grand Cru terroir with a blend of two years. The NV Brut Rose Grand Cru is arguably the most complex wine in this range. A vinous, deeply resonant Champagne, the NV Brut Rose Grand Cru blossoms in the glass with gorgeous depth and richness. The Rose is 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir, with the Pinot driving the wine's texture and pure sense of volume. Saves's Rose is often one of the best, as it is again this year. Dosage was 8 grams/liter. Alc: 12%.

Organic

98 points Wine Advocate
The phenomenal 2020 Las Gravas was produced with 92% Monastrell from 30- to 40-year-old vines on north-facing gravel soils (hence its name) complemented with 8% Garnacha. It fermented with 30% full clusters and indigenous yeasts in underground stone lagares and matured in a combination of 500-liter barrel and 5,000-liter foudres for 16 months. It has classical parameters, 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.47 and 4.87 grams of acidity per liter. The wine is super perfumed and floral, really showy, elegant, nuanced and refined, with the notes of pine needles and wet soil much subtler than in the 2019. There is an ethereal character to the 2020s that I haven't found in any previous vintage here, but at the same time, the wines are very mineral and have lots of energy and light. There is precision, cleanliness, definition and elegance like I hadn't seen before and refined tannins with a pungent mineral sensation in the textured finish. This is an incredible wine for the price asked. 35,500 bottles produced. There was a single bottling in February 2022.

93 points Vinous
The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino keeps me coming back to the glass to take in its pretty bouquet of dusty florals, exotic spices and dried strawberries. This is like pure silk on the palate, seamless and supple, with depths of dark red fruit and mineral tones that add a more tactile feel toward the close. Balsam herbs, cedar and tobacco all resonate throughout the long and dramatic finale, as fine tannins frame the experience with youthful poise. As is often the case, Casanova di Neri is a master at creating one of the region?€?s most balanced and enjoyable ?€?entry-level?€? Brunellos.

94 points Vinous
Ashen earth and smoke give way to black cherries, incense and exotic spices as the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino blossoms in the glass. This floods the palate with rich, velvety textures and a dense display of mineral-tinged dark fruits, all offset by a stunning mix of vibrant acidity and sour citrus tones. Its tannic structure comes forward only through the finale, reminding you that this elegant beauty is still a painfully young Brunello. The 2016 is packed full of potential and really shows just how much Casanuova delle Cerbaie has upped their game over the last few vintages.

Winemaker Notes:
"Caymus has a signature style that is dark in color, with rich fruit and ripe, velvety tannins - as approachable in youth as in maturity. We farm Cabernet grapes in eight of Napa?€?s 16 sub-appellations, with diversification enabling us to make the best possible wine in a given year. Our Cabernet offers layered, lush aromas and flavors, including cocoa, cassis and ripe dark berries."

93 pts Wine Spectator
This vibrant version shows a range of toasted brioche, baked cherry, crystalized honey, grated ginger and coconut flavors, remaining light-footed and lively throughout. Beautifully balanced, with a lasting, mouthwatering finish

#11 on The Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2022.

95 points Wine Spectator
This delivers a tumble of ripe raspberry, plum and boysenberry fruit flavors, lined with violet, red tea and sweet tobacco notes that add lift and range. The long, racy, chalk-lined finish leaves a pure feel that's not easy to achieve in this vintage. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2024 through 2038

96 points Vinous
The 2019 Beau-S??jour-B??cot is a powerful, explosive wine. Dark fruit, chocolate, cured meats and earthy notes lend quite a bit of depth. Compared with its neighbors, Beau-S??jour-B??cot is dark, broad and broodingly tannic, sometimes more power than finesse. There is plenty of character, though. That much is evident. Beau-S??jour-B??cot speaks with authority as it commands attention.

"(Beau-Sejour Becot) Located opposite Ch??teau Canon on Saint-??milion's limestone plateau, there's some significant restructuring going on in the vineyards here, and in the cellar, foudres, amphorae and once-used barrels complement new oak: the result is the best wines this estate has produced in the modern era." - William Kelley of The Wine Advocate

The 2003 possesses superb ripeness as well as a stony, mineral liqueur-like intensity, a reticent but promising perfume of black raspberries, sweet kirsch, and blacker fruits, a full-bodied, powerful, concentrated attack and mid-palate, and a blockbuster, long, powerful, moderately tannic finish. It is an infant in terms of development. No doubt this site?€?s clay and limestone soils were the perfect antidote for the summer?€?s torrid heat and drought. - WA93

96 pts Vinous
The 2018 Branaire-Ducru is every bit as captivating as it was en primeur. Ripe, silky tannins give the 2018 a striking air of sensuality that only grows as the wine sits in the glass. Succulent red/purplish fruit, lavender, rose petal, mint, spice and gravel inflections all open more over time. Even with all of its natural radiance, Branaire remains a model of grace. It is unquestionably one of the under the radar wines of the year.

97 pts James Suckling
Very attractive aromas of currants, tile and sandalwood with black and red currants. It?€?s full-bodied with a tight, dense center-palate that remains closed in and tight. Yet there is underlying seriousness and length to this. Perhaps the greatest Branaire-Ducru ever made. Try after 2026.

(Pre-Arrival) Wine arrives summer 2023.

97 points Vinous
The 2019 Brane-Cantenac is wild and exotic from the very first taste. The aromatics alone are dazzling. Super-ripe dark cherry, plum, spice, tobacco, new leather, menthol and cinnamon are all kicked up in this flamboyant Margaux. The 2019 is radiant and generous, yet also retains a very classic sense of structure. The precision here is just unreal. In 2019, Brane-Cantenac is an absolute head-turner. It is the sort of wine that abounds in Bordeaux, a wine that offers tremendous quality and relative value. Antonio Galloni

97 points Wine Advocate
Derived exclusively from the chateau's holdings on the deep gravel soils of the plateau of Brane, the 2019 Brane-Cantenac has turned out brilliantly and merits a special effort to seek out. Wafting from the glass with aromas of wild berries, pencil shavings, violets, sweet loamy soil and cardamon, it's medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, with lively acids, ripe tannins and a beautifully seamless, perfumed profile. Retaining all the estate's signature elegance but with an extra dimension of depth and intensity, it's the finest Brane-Cantenac of the modern era and one of the great successes of the 2019 vintage

97 points Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Ch??teau Canon-La-Gaffeli??re is another brilliantly perfumed wine in the vintage that shines for its complexity, finesse, and nuances. Giving up awesome notes of red and black currants, tobacco, exotic flowers, cedarwood, and loamy earth, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, beautifully polished, integrated tannins, no hard edges, and a great, great finish. This is serious juice that warrants at least 4-5 years of bottle age and will evolve for 30 to 40 years. Best after 2026.

96 points James Suckling
Blackberry, chocolate and hazelnut aromas and flavors. It?€?s medium-to full-bodied with polished, juicy tannins that give a dusty texture to the intense, rich finish. A traditional, classically structured and styled red.
Barrel Sample: 95-96

96 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Canon la Gaffeli??re has turned out brilliantly, bursting from the glass with a dramatic bouquet of wild berries, blood orange, exotic spices, rose petals, violets and burning embers. Full-bodied, ample and layered, it's supple and perfumed, with a deep core of lively fruit, melting tannins and a long, saline finish. This contains the highest proportion of Cabernet Franc of any of Stephan Von Neipperg's wines, which no doubt helps to account for its singular personality. Best after 2025.

The greatest Cantenac Brown I have ever tasted, this monumental effort possesses enormous concentration, with loads of black and blue fruits intermixed with damp earth and forest floor. I have never seen a Cantenac Brown so seamless, so powerful, yet at the same time, so elegant and densely complex. They have certainly done something here that has not been accomplished over the last three decades I have been tasting this estate?????s wines. Opaque purple in color and full-bodied, this big-time sleeper of the vintage merits serious attention for the first time in my professional career. Kudos to the new ownership and team at Cantenac Brown. This wine should evolve over a 30-year period. - WA94-96*

95 points Vinous
The 2016 Cantenac Brown seems to have grown aromatically since I last tasted it a few months ago. More complex than I remember, this offers a cornucopia of scents: blackberry, briary, cedar and a lovely mintiness that recalls Palmer. The palate is silky smooth with great depth and delineation, satin-like, multi-layered, precocious black fruit laced with black pepper, tea leaves and cloves, all fanning out gloriously towards the finish. Bon vin! Tasted at the Cantenac Brown vertical at the ch??teau

Clos Puy Arnaud is nearly always a seriously made as well as potentially long-lived offering, as evidenced by the 2005. This blend of 60% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Carmenere boasts a saturated blue/purple color in addition to a sweet nose of black raspberries, cranberries, crushed rocks, and background wood. Displaying terrific old vine intensity, it hits the palate with a rush of fruit, glycerin, and tannin. With good structure, purity, and potential, it will require 2-3 years to settle down, and should last for 15 or more years. - WA(90-92)

Wine Advocate, 96pts. - "Pale to medium gold colored, the 2009 Coutet leaps from the glass with warm apple pie, dried mango, fresh straw, lemongrass, ginger and cr?me caramel notes. The rich, concentrated, unctuous flavors are lifted by amazing freshness, finishing epically long, layered and with a tantalizing nuttiness."

Decanter, 96pts. - "On clay over limestone soils, relatively cool compared to Sauternes, this has a purity and freshness that is striking . . . Full of the quince, candied orange, truffle, apricot and lemon curd that you hope for in a quality sweet Bordeaux, coupled with lime blossom, ginger and citrus zest adding poise and character."

(Pre-Arrival) Wine arrives summer 2023.

97-98 points James Suckling
Extremely floral and fruity with currants and blackberries. It?€?s full-bodied and very layered with delicious, dense character. Full-bodied with dusty, layered tannins. Rich, but not heavy. Long and chewy on the finish. (5/2021)

96 points Decanter
Wonderfully intense on the nose, so ripe and concentrated with some toasted oak aromas. Supple and vibrant on the palate, the fruit is clean and crisp with tannins that are fine but firm, just giving the expression some tension and linearity. Cinnamon and clove edge the bright blackcurrant and black cherry fruit with lovely acidity. This is plush, and firm at the same time, clean and clear, fragrant and ripe. Lots going on here with bitter dark chocolate too. It?€?s all happening. Needs time to relax but this is wonderfully nuanced and really quite captivating. Grippy and refreshing, leaves a lingering impression. (1/2023)

95 points Vinous
The 2020 d'Issan is a gorgeous, wonderfully complete wine. Blueberry, sage, dried herbs, menthol, lavender and licorice are all beautifully knit together. Medium in body, with notable depth and freshness, Issan is all class. Silky tannins round out the long, vibrant finish. The 2020 d'Issan is the first vintage that incorporates Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec to complement the traditional Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the blend. Antonio Galloni (2/2023)

93 points Wine Enthusiast
Barrel sample. A big, firm and hard wine, with solid fruits, layers of dry tannin and great power. There's an intensity to this wine with acidity adding to the complexity and structure.

Wine Advocate, 90pts. - "This beautiful, elegant 2003 is a top-notch success for Margaux. More accessible and softer than usual, it boasts a deep ruby/purple color as well as a beautiful bouquet of flowers, black currants, plums, and underbrush. Medium-bodied, velvety-textured, opulent, and complex, it can be consumed now and over the next 10-15 years." (4/2006)

(Pre-Arrival) Wine arrives summer 2023.

97 points James Suckling
Fresh currants and raspberries pop out of the glass, together with oranges and cedar. Such purity of fruit in the nose. Full-bodied, yet so refined and vertical. It goes deep and long with tight, compressed tannins that are pure and exciting. Really tight and focused. Precise. Try after 2026. (2/2022)

94-96+ points Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 D'Issan soars out of the glass with expressive scents of baked red currants, warm cassis and black cherry compote with hints of powdered cinnamon, potpourri, Provence herbs and aniseed plus a waft of fallen leaves. The medium-bodied palate is elegantly played with bags of fresh, vibrant black and red berry flavors and a firm line of ripe, grainy tannins, finishing with an invigorating lift. (LPB) (6/2020)

95 points Jeb Dunnuck
Pure cassis, graphite, violets, damp earth, and chocolate notes all emerge from the 2019 Chateau D'Issan, a richer, medium to full-bodied, powerful Margaux. It develops a gorgeous sense of minerality with time in the glass, has plenty of mid-palate oomph, integrated oak, and just terrific overall balance. It's a stunning success in the vintage in Margaux, which was one of the more challenging in the vintage. This will round into form with just 4-5 years of bottle age and cruise for two decades or more. Bravo. (4/2022)

95 points Vinous
The 2019 d'Issan was picked from September 25 to October 11 and matured in 50% new oak. This clearly has more dimension on the nose, offering well-defined blackberry and raspberry fruit; pencil shavings and undergrowth scents emerge with time. The harmonious palate is very well balanced, with pliant tannins, perfectly judged acidity, and an engaging build in the mouth. Yes, this has put on a bit of weight during its time in barrel, and it should give 30 to 40 years of drinking pleasure. Excellent. Neal Martin 2/2022)

(Pre-Arrival) Wine arrives summer 2023.

Organic / Biodynamic

97 points Wine Enthusiast
Barrel Sample. Maturing in two-thirds barrels and one-third amphorae, this wine is already beautiful. Made from 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, it shows a fine balance between dense tannins and elegant, ripe black fruit. The promise for this biodynamic wine is immense and certainly long-term.

96 points Wine Advocate
The 2019 Dufort Vivens is a brilliant Margaux, unwinding in the glass with aromas of blackberries, licorice, sweet soil tones, spices and rose petals. Full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a fleshy core of fruit, rich, powdery tannins and a lively spine of acidity, it concludes with a long and penetrating finish. The blend is dominated by fully 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, which lends the wine immense nobility. Anyone who isn?€?t aware of just how good Gonzague Lurton?€?s wines are these days should taste a bottle.

The 62-hectare estate, of which some 55 hectares are planted, has been directed by Gonzague Lurton since 1992 and farmed biodynamically since 2013. Soils are quaternary gravels, with a rather low percentage of clay when compared with the likes of Chateaux Margaux and Palmer, and Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the blend, delivering wines of perfume, intensity and concentration. Lurton finds that physiological maturity and analytical maturity are much more synchronized with the new farming methods, even if in a vintage such as 2018 he's suffered, producing a mere 6,000 bottles. Recent vintages have certainly been on a qualitative roll, and today Durfort Vivens (the winery's premier bottling) unquestionably lives up to its 1855 second growth status. Given the quality of the brilliant 2019, prices remain decidedly reasonable, and readers should take notice."

95 points Wine Advocate
The 2019 Giscours has turned out very well in bottle, wafting from the glass with aromas of sweet berries, cherries, burning embers, lilac and violets framed by a discreet patina of new oak. Full-bodied, layered and concentrated, it's polished and perfumed, with a velvety, seamless profile and bright animating acids, concluding with a long, resonant finish. Alexandre Van Beek and his team are taking this estate to heights it hasn't hit since the 1970s, and this is another of the great bargains of the 2019 en primeur campaign.

94+ Jeb Dunnuck
Checking in as a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Merlot, the 2019 Ch??teau Giscours is one heck of an impressive Margaux. Deep purple-hued, with a great nose of both black and blue fruits as well as sappy herbs, tobacco, and flowers, it has nicely integrated oak, medium to full body, ripe yet certainly present tannins, and a great finish. It's beautifully done. Hide bottles for 4-6 years and enjoy over the following two decades or so.

James Suckling, 93pts. - "This is full and powerful, with loads of fruit and a tropical undertone of berries and mango. Loads of tannins in this big wine, but still very fresh. This needs more time than the 2000."

(Pre-Arrival) Wine arrives summer 2023.

95-97 points Vinous
The 2020 Grand-Puy-Lacoste has a very refined, almost understated bouquet at first, but it opens in glorious fashion to offer precise blackberry and wild strawberry fruit, crushed stone and wild mint, gaining intensity at its own pace. The palate is beautifully balanced with fine-grained tannins, a keen thread of acidity, layers of intense black fruit and quite a spicy, vibrant and certainly persistent finish. This is a brilliant GPL from the Borie family. Neal Martin (5/2021)

96 points James Suckling
A transparent and clear young Pauillac with blackcurrant, mushroom, chocolate, and wet earth. Full-bodied, layered and flavorful with fine, velvety tannins. Plenty of graphite and blue fruit at the end. (1/2023)

96 points Wine Spectator
A nice, tightly coiled Pauillac, with a blitz of iron and savory notes wrapped around a core of cassis, damson plum and black cherry. Sleek and tightly focused, with the iron note leaving a mouthwatering echo. Plenty tight through the finish too, so patience is needed here. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. (11/2022)

Delivers lots of botrytis spice, with lemon tart and cooked apple. Full-bodied, with loads of cream and vanilla and an intense tropical fruit and honey aftertaste. Long and viscous, with a layered and beautiful spicy finish. Hard not to drink it now. - WS97

93-95+ pts Jeb Dunnuck
The grand vin 2018 Ch??teau Haut-Batailley is a beauty and is comprised of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon and 41% Merlot brought up in 60% new French oak. It's an attractive, elegantly styled wine that has lots of juicy Merlot notes of black cherries, graphite, scorched earth, and spice. Rich, medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced, and with terrific purity on the palate, this brilliant Pauillac is going to be approachable in just a few years and will evolve gracefully. This wine hit 14.3% alcohol with 3.61 pH and an IPT of 81. My money is on it being one of the best to date from this estate.

92-94 pts Wine Advocate
Blended of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon and 41% Merlot aging in 60% new barriques, the 2018 Haut Batailley is very deep purple-black in color and takes some coaxing to reveal profound notes of dark chocolate, cr??me de cassis, blueberry pie and anise with waves of raspberry pie, lavender and Indian spices. Full, very tightly would and jam-packed with layers of crunchy black and blue fruits, it has a firm line of ripe, grainy tannins and compelling freshness, finishing long with a mineral hint coming through.

92-95 pts Wine Spectator
Fresh and driven, opening with a piercing iron note that is quickly met by a core of racy cassis and damson plum flavors. Everything extends nicely through the pure finish. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Drink now. (JM)

93 points Wine Advocate
One of the most beautiful wines of the vintage, the dark ruby/purple-colored La Lagune exhibits sweet cassis, camphor, truffle and white chocolate notes presented in a dense, medium to full-bodied, silky textured personality. Filled with purity, finesse, elegance and authoritative flavor intensity, this 2008 is already drinkable and should continue to evolve for 15+ years.

91 points Vinous
The 2008 La Lagune has a forward and quite intense bouquet with blackberry, tobacco, cooked meat with hints of white pepper and then later, pressed rose petals. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, well knit with neatly integrated and judicious oak. There is a gentle but firm grip on the palate: hints of allspice and sea salt. There is a discernable a chalky texture with respect to the tannins towards the finish, suggesting that this will benefit from another couple of years in bottle. Good potential. Tasted at the La Lagune vertical at the ch??teau.

One of the better wines (and also reasonably priced) to emerge from this property over recent years, this dense ruby/purple-colored wine shows a complex nose of earth, underbrush, creosote, creme de cassis, and dried herbs. Sporting a new yellow/orange label that matches the dramatic paint job on the chateau itself, the wine has a deep ruby/purple color, medium to full body, fine ripeness as well as purity, and moderate tannin in the finish. - Robert Parker (4/23)

95 points Vinous
The 2014 L??oville Poyferr?? is gorgeous. Dark, sumptuous and ample on the palate, it possesses remarkable depth. Dark cherry, plum, smoke, scorched earth, licorice and menthol all flesh out as this radiant, deeply expressive wine shows off its considerable pedigree. The 2014 is going to need time to fully come together, but it is super-impressive. (AG 2/17)

97 points Vinous
A ravishing Saint Julien,the Leoville Poyferre is also very clearly one of the wines of the vintage on the Left Bank. Raspberry jam, blood orange, mint, spice and mocha all race out of the glass as this sumptuous, flamboyant wine shows off its exotic personality. With its vertical lift and explosive energy, the 2017 has much to offer. It has been nothing less than stunning on the three occasions I have tasted it so far. In 2017, the Grand Vin is 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Because if the late season rains, only 3 out of the 5 parcels that typically inform the Grand Vin were used. This a tremendous effort from the Cuvelier family. Don't miss it. (AG 12/19)

96 points Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Marquis d'Alesme Becker leaps from the glass with gregarious notions of plum preserves, crme de cassis and Black Forest cake with hints of potpourri, star anise, menthol and tapenade. Full, rich, firm and grainy, with fantastic freshness lifting the densely packed palate, it has a long, beautifully fragrant finish.

96 points Jeb Dunnuck
Talk about a gem in the vintage, I was blown away by the 2016 Ch??teau Marquis d'Alesme Becker on each of the three times I was able to taste it. This estate has been on an undeniable roll since the arrival of Marjolaine de Conicnck in 2009, and the 2016 is unquestionably the best yet. A blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and the rest Cabernet Franc, brought up in 65% new French oak, its deep purple color is followed by an essence of Cabernet bouquet that includes loads of cr??me de cassis, blueberries, graphite, crushed rocks, sandalwood, and violets. Almost Saint Julien in style, this beauty is laser-focused on the palate, medium to full-bodied, brilliantly textured, and has a blockbuster finish. It deserves 4-5 years of bottle age and will keep for 25-30 years. Bravo!

Winemaker Notes:
The Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon embodies the balance of Montelena, classic old-world structure with ripe California fruit. It is crafted from fruit coming from the Montelena vineyard and several prime neighboring vineyards, all in the Calistoga AVA. The Montelena Napa Cabernet is a wine that delivers immediate pleasure upon release, but in Montelena style, while age and develop beautifully.