95 Jonathan Choukroun - Vert de Vin

The nose is fruity, fresh, complex and reveals nice concentration of freshness/finesse, a certain intensity of finesse/delicacy/freshness. There are notes of fresh cherry, violet and, to a lesser extent, bright blackcurrant, combined with hints of fresh saffron, lilac and graphite, as well as fine hints of balsamic, a very discreet touch of timut pepper, vanilla and toast. The palate is fruity, balanced and reveals freshness, a nice acidic structure, minerality, a nice definition, elegance, some volume, a nice work of bitters, lightness in the sense of delicacy/subtlety. On the palate this wine expresses notes of fresh/crisp blackcurrant, pulpy/acidic blackberry and more lightly small red berry, crunchy cherry combined with hints of tonka bean, lilac, fine hints of tobacco as well as a subtle hint of cardamom, a very discreet hint of cocoa bitterness, toasted/roasted almond, roasted/charcoal (in the background). Good length.

92-94+ Antonio Galloni - Vinous

The 2021 Fleur Cardinale is an unqualified success for the Decoster family. Dense, rich and beautifully layered, the 2021 offers up copious dark plum, chocolate, spice and licorice, deftly balancing its extroverted personality with the vibrancy of the year. The 2021 was gorgeous both times I tasted it. Sadly, yields are down a startling 50%.

93-94 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

A refined and linear wine with blackberry and blueberry aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied with fine tannins and a racy finish. Classy.

94 Georgina Hindle - Decanter

Intensely perfumed on the nose, so expressive and aromatic with dark chocolate and blackcurrant liqueur aspects. Juicy, fresh, playful, lifted and upfront - this has a lot going on. It's lightly framed with a lifted nature on the palate, the flavours all vertical and expansive but not heavy. It's a delicate style in terms of structure but the flavours are persistent and really fill the mouth with a brightness as well as minty, chocolate, liquorice fresh tannins. I love this one - a real success of the vintage. Usually 70-75% Merlot, so this is a new Fleur Cardinale, the' kind of blend we'd like to have in the future' says Ludovic and Caroline Decoster, with increased plantings of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon taking place at the estate. Consultants Jean Philippe Fort - Michel Rolland Laboratoire. First year of conversion to organic, 2021 saw a loss of 50% production - 20% to frost and 30% to mildew. A fine effort.

89 Wine Enthusiast

Aromas of currant, cranberry and sage waft from the nose of this blend. The palate displays a powerful tannic structure and flavors of cherry pie, quince paste, sage and caramel. Before a rich and warming finish.

97 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

Winemaker Josh McDaniels continues to fashion brilliant wines under the Doubleback label. The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon checks in as 89% Cabernet Sauvignon and tiny amounts of Merlot, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. Its deep purple hue is followed by a great bouquet of crème de cassis, graphite, liquid violets, sage, and crushed stone. One of the top wines in the vintage, it has remarkable purity, full-bodied richness, ripe tannins, and a great finish. Drink this utterly brilliant 2020 over the coming two decades.

96 Anthony Mueller - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Made with 6% Merlot, 3% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot, the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon opens with a rich, lively, expressive nose of black raspberry, oak and red florals that sway with sweet herbs and elegant baking spices. Full-bodied, fresh and still tannic, the wine will take a couple more years to come around but will be a juggernaut once it picks up momentum. After spending almost two years in 87% new French oak barrels, it will need some time, so be patient.

94 Sam Kim - Wine Orbit

It's intensely aromatic on the nose, showing green apple, fig, fresh herb and lime peel characters, leading to a wonderfully flavoursome palate offering excellent fruit purity with crisp acidity, finishing splendidly long and lively. A gorgeous rendition of the variety, offering fabulous drinking. At its best: now to 2029

92 Erin Larkin - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

This 2022 Sophia's Godmother Sauvignon Blanc in blessed with a gorgeous nose: juniper, cassis, sugar snap pea, talc and crushed shells. In the mouth, the wine is tight as a drum, delicate and totally focused. Quite different from the Sauvignon Blancs from elsewhere, this is possessed of a distinctly powdery character (I'm not hinting at anything: it is airy, breezy and fine); I often write poudré, a reference to finely milled face powder. This has that inflection. The acid is a high point, and although there are things about the wine that suggest it will age several years with grace, I would be inclined to drink it in its extreme youth, such is the prettiness of the fruit.

91 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

The 2021 Barbera d'Alba Serra is an absolute delight. Pliant, silky and creamy, the 2021 offers terrific depth and tons of character. Vibrant red berry fruit, spice, mint and orange peel are some of the many notes that come together in this very pretty, articulate Barbera. I love the freshness and vibrancy here. What a beautiful wine this is.

92 Wine Enthusiast

Refreshment is the name of the game at this North Canterbury winery, located in the Waipara Valley, just north of Christchurch. The nose is heady and perfumed: vivid cherries, strawberries and florals, with whispers of white pepper, river stones, and vanilla bean. The medium weight palate is similarly vibrant, leading with fresh, silky red berries framed in savory tannins. Not the world's most complex Pinot but totally delicious nonetheless. Drink now slightly chilled.

95 Eric Guido - Vinous Media

The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino VV bursts from the glass with a mentholated freshness, as dusty dried flowers and red currants are offset by a mineral thrust of crushed ashen stone. This is soft and enveloping, yet nearly juicy in feel, with depths of dark wild berry fruit and exotic spices that slowly saturate. A twang of savory herbs and sour citrus defines the finale, balancing the grippy tannins that are left to linger, as the 2018 finishes classically dry under an air of rosy inner florals. This is, yet again, another excellent example of the energetic nature of the vintage, yet the VV also possesses the potential for medium-term cellaring.

96+ Antonio Galloni - Vinous

"The 2019 Syrah Californio Hyde Vineyard is gorgeous, but it is also an infant. The purity of the flavors is remarkable. Bright dark fruit, flowers, spice, mint and leather are all finely knit in a Syrah that impresses with its delineation and total class. The 2019 is such a sensual wine that it will be tempting early, but I have seen these Syrahs blossom with time. I expect that will be the case here as well. Today, the 2019 is incredibly primary."

93 Wine Spectator

"Sleek and savory in style, with tiers of licorice, black raspberry, smoked meat and cracked pepper flavors that build richness toward snappy tannins. Drink now through 2030. 365 cases made. -TF"

95-98 Jasper Morris, MW - Inside Burgundy

A noble imperial purple robe, heavenly perfume, just grows. This is ripe but absolutely balanced. Healthy sweet generous fruit yet still with some delicacy and comes in to a drier finish on the oak – which we know at this domaine will integrate without difficulty later on. Jean-Nicolas feels that Echezeaux really needs to be aged as much as Clos de Vougeot does. Tasted: November 2019.

94-96 Neal Martin - Vinous Media

The 2019 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru is the usual blend of vineyards: two-thirds in Charmes-Chambertin itself and one-third in Mazoyères. It contains 60% whole bunch and 66% new oak. Very generous and opulent on the nose of dark cherries plus hints of baked gingerbread and clementine; this is very intense. The palate is medium-bodied with a structured opening. The Mazoyères component feels more influential than the Charmes, and the grippy, overtly saline finish does not want to let go. This will be fascinating to watch develop. I love the sense of control throughout.

96 Allen Meadows - Burghound

A markedly floral nose is quite pretty with its array of earth, liqueur-like dark berries and lovely spice wisps. There is again outstanding volume to the beautifully textured large-scaled flavors that exude a bracing salinity on the sneaky long and well-balanced if overtly austere finale that displays absolutely stunning length. Here too plenty of patience will be required.

95 William Kelley - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Aromas of orange rind, red cherries, plums, licorice, spices and peonies introduce the 2019 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru, a full-bodied, ample and layered wine that's deep and concentrated, with a generous core of fruit, melting tannins and a long, rose-inflected finish. As ever, this is the domaine's most immediate, sensual grand cru.

94 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

"Aromas of blackberry, dark chocolate and cedar yet bright and fragrant. Full body yet tight and polished. It starts off and then slowly grows on the palate with wonderful dimension of complexity and polished tannins. Better in 2022 but already so impressive."

93 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"Composed of 95.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4.4% Merlot and 0.4% Petit Verdot, the 2013 Latour offers an open-knit, fragrant nose of licorice, sandalwood, rose petals and cigar box over a core of Black Forest cake, stewed plums, mulberries and redcurrant jelly, plus a waft of cast-iron pan. The elegantly styled, medium-bodied palate (13% alcohol) fills the mouth with intense red and black berry preserves layers, framed by evolved, soft-textured tannins and well-knit freshness, finishing long and spicy. This vintage does not have the power and backbone of an outstanding vintage of Latour, but it is aging gracefully and, still possessing a lot of discernible fruit with plenty of tertiary pizazz, is absolutely delicious to drink right now. This sweet-spot stage is likely to continue for another 5-7 years, before the wine plateaus at a maturity peak and holds for a further 15+ years."

92 Wine Spectator

"This delivers a very tightly focused beam of red currant, pomegranate and bitter plum fruit flavors that streak along thanks to finely beaded acidity, showing a hint of graphite through the finish and a beguiling black tea accent. Reveals a lovely sense of precision, maintaining cut through the sneakily long finish. Best from 2017 through 2025. 5,625 cases made. — JM"

100 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

The black cassis comes out of the glass, together with iodine, sandalwood and subtle moss and wet-bark undertones, then turning to violets. The palate is mind-blowing, with a cashmere texture that unravels on the palate and continues on for minutes. It’s full of superbly complex, ethereal character and mouth-feel, One of the wines of the vintage. As glorious as it may be to taste now, this is one for your deep cellar. Try in 2029.

100 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Independent

Composed of 48.7% Merlot, 43.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 8.1% Cabernet Franc, the 2019 Haut-Brion is deep garnet-purple in color. It waltzes out with flamboyant scents of wilted roses, star anise, mossy tree bark, and kirsch, leading to a core of blackcurrant pastille and stewed black plums. The full-bodied palate has a rock-solid structure of firm, grainy tannins and lively acidity supporting the densely packed, muscular black fruit, finishing incredibly long and with a spicy lift. Give it 5-6 more years in bottle to really hit its stride and drink it over the next 40-years+.

99 Neal Martin - Vinous Media

The 2019 Haut-Brion has an ethereal degree of transparency on the nose, perhaps the most delineated of all the 2019s, fabulous precision and detail considering the growing season. The palate is medium-bodied with fine bone tannins, unerring symmetry and poise. Cohesive from start to finish with an extraordinarily persistent and compelling closing. Off the charts

98 Georgina Hindle - Decanter

Liquorice and graphite touches on the nose with black fruits, even some blueberries and pomegranate. Great intensity, power and muscle here – this is full of life with layers of complexity you can feel from the beginning. It's not as immedaitely plump or round as some but this has clear power and generosity. Gentle persistence with so many nuances of flavour, but you get the impression its hiding all it's best features just showing the barest hint of fruit, spice and savoury aspects. Definition, precision and wonderful freshness. You have to work a little harder to understand this, but it has such potential. 48.7% Merlot, 43.3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8.1% Cabernet Franc.

98 William Kelley - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Wafting from the glass with aromas of blackberries and plums mingled with notions of pencil shavings, burning embers and creamy new oak, the 2019 Haut-Brion is full-bodied, rich and fleshy, with a textural attack that segues into an ample and enveloping core of fruit, concluding with a long, expansive finish. Broad-shouldered and muscular, its rich, powdery tannins are already seamlessly integrated; and though it's labeled at 15% alcohol, far higher than the great vintages of yesteryear, it avoids any sense of over-ripeness.

94 Eric Guido - Vinous Media

Truly exotic, the Amabile del Cerè tempts the imagination with a wild bouquet of tropical citrus, melon, vanilla bean and confectionary spice. It's silky and seamless on the palate, with juicy acidity guiding stimulating notes of kiwi and tangerine. For all of its depth, this tapers off remarkably fresh yet still long and potent, leaving a staining of dried nectarine and a flourish of sweet, autumnal spices that lingers on and on. Once again, I'm amazed by how Quintarelli has managed to find such balance, as the Amabile del Cerè finishes at 130 grams-per-liter of residual sugar but doesn't come across as sweet or cloying. Well done.