New Arrivals

Perfumed, composed and pure, this is a heady medley of intense fruit, bay, lavender and savoury spices. The palate pulses with energy and tangy charm, with notes of dried roses and creamy espresso. The finish is long, mouth-coating and mineral. This is unmistakably Santa Restituta. It’s a triumph, testament to the legendary vintage – but it needs time.

Drink 2024 - 2040

Davy Żyw, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd (Feb 2022)

We usually struggle with tasting Montrose this early on in its life. It’s not only because it is the most Northerly “Super Second” and really tends to need that shot of Indian Summer to finish it off, but you also try a couple of their other wines first, which are ok but very firm, structured, tannic and ungenerous affairs and when you come to taste La Dame and the Grand Vin your mouth is coated with high levels of tannin and acidity.

However, this year, the Grand Vin brushes away everything in its path with its rich, multidimensional, complex, and, honestly, glorious weight, power and fruit. The team was a little split on this, but this Montrose, for me is more subtle and refined and consequently far more rewarding than the dynamic duo of 2009/2010. It may also surprise us with a reasonably affordable price. Fabulous.

Simon Staples, Asia Wine Director, Berry Bros. & Rudd

The 2017 Saint-Véran is showing nicely, wafting from the glass with a pure and expressive bouquet of dried white flowers, honeycomb, fresh peach and ripe lemons, much as it did when I tasted it last year. It's medium to full-bodied, bright and incisive on the palate, with super depth at the core, racy acids and a long, electric finish. Pure and precise, it will reward some bottle age.

Drink 2022 - 2040

William Kelley, Wine Advocate (June 2020)

Les Longays Pouilly-Vinzelles comes from an east facing vineyard on clay limestone, and a small portion spends time in oak. Bright and nimble, with lemon pith, lemon peel tightening a lightly creamy / silken palate, framed with toasted wood, and finishing with a twist of lemon pith and a swath of reduction. 

Through their contract with Marquis de Laguiche, Drouhin manages an astonishing 2.1 hectares of Montrachet (out of eight hectares), which means they have a mind-boggling 28 barrels this year. As usual at this level, words fail: the dial is on 11 for richness, intensity and voluptuous freshness. Drink 2030-2050.

An extensive tasting with Jérôme, who has been at Drouhin 14 years, gave a very useful insight into the style and developments here. In particular, the reds are moving towards a riper, more succulent style, driven by a high level of grape sorting, including an optical sorter, and the ambition to use 25 to 30 percent wholebunch, or more if the vat needs filling. The wines go to barrel turbid and are not racked until the end of their time in bottle. They are also harvesting later. The Clos des Mouches was not harvested until 20th September, long after their neighbours.

Production is 11,000 bottles, 1,500 magnums and 200 Jeroboams.

Packaged in its distinctive red label, the 2016 Barbaresco Riserva Asili is a rich and profound wine with incredible depth and dimension. Bruna Giacosa skipped over the 2015 vintage because she felt that the fruit was not poised for long aging. From the 2014 vintage, we jump to this 2016 expression, a wine that Bruna says reminds her of the epic 2001 and 2004 vintages. She also loves the 2017 vintage, which I look forward to tasting next year.

This wine is incredibly precise and sharp; however, the volume and generous fruit weight promises a long aging future. The aromas veer toward red berry, cherry and cassis, and the darker black fruit tones that you might expect are less prominent in the Asili. The wine majestically captures the elegance and the power of this iconic vintage.

Drink 2025 - 2050

Monica Larner, Wine Advocate (September 2021)

Very exciting life and lift and race. One of Grivot's liveliest '05s! Dry finish but great race and length.

Drink from 2012 onward

Jancis Robinson MW, jancisrobinson.com (August 2007)

Sandwiched between Romane-St Vivant and Echzeaux, this brilliant wine epitomises the proverbial iron fist in velvet glove.Drink from 2010.

One vintage missing from my extensive vertical earlier this year was the 2001 Léoville Las Cases, and when curiosity got the better of me, I opened a bottle from my cellar. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of cassis, cigar wrapper, pencil shavings and classy new oak, it’s medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a layered core of vibrant fruit, ripe structuring tannins and a long, penetrating finish. Youthful and aloof, it’s a classic Las Cases that is just at the beginning of a long drinking window. It would be fascinating to compare the 2001 directly with the much-lauded 2000, as the two are very close in quality to my palate.

Drink 2025 - 2065

William Kelley, Wine Advocate (December 2023)

This is from 0.27 hectares, from Dessous and between Clos de la Perrière and the Puligny border. François is not afraid to let the wine express its power. The 2019 was deeply textured but the ’20 feels more composed, without losing its charisma. This has a clear and palpable equilibrium and should make fabulous old bones. Drink 2028-2045. 

From the small block separated from the main vineyard, immediately above Le Cailleret from which it was created in 1955, and the most northerly plot of Chevalier. This is buzzing: Chevalier often feels tighter and less opulent than Le Montrachet, as is the case here, but the vintage’s freshness gives an irresistible dynamism to match the wine’s intensity. Drink 2028-2045. 

Mâcon-Prissé is situated in the southern part of Burgundy, known for producing high-quality Chardonnay wines. The "En Chailloux" vineyard is likely a specific plot or lieu-dit within the appellation, where the grapes for this wine are sourced.

At Ch. Figeac, production is down by almost half but we still think the quality is high and under the guidance of Frederic Faye it continues its upward trajectory. A blend of 43% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc, it has a deep purple colour with charming aromatics of small, red berry fruits, violets and liquorice. Once in the mouth, there is a silky, mouth-filling texture with a graphite and a mineral note finishing with a pleasing graphite grip. It has a long, persistent finish. Less density and opulence than 2015 or 2016 but it is pure in tannin and focus. A truly great Cabernet Sauvignon wine.

Berry Bros. & Rudd

Mild and refreshing and exciting with real raciness and freshness. Lovely balance and a dry finish. Lip-smacking, great fruit and purity.

Jancis Robinson MW, jancisrobinson.com (May 2017)

An exuberantly spicy nose features additional aromas of black cherry, plum and sandalwood. There is a velvety and highly seductive character to the wonderfully rich and generous middle weight flavors that also brim with palate coating dry extract before culminating in a seriously long anise-infused finish. Textbook Suchots.

Drink 2019+

Allen Meadows, Burghound (January 2014)

Aromas of orange oil, wheat toast, pear and white flowers preface the 2018 Bourgogne Blanc Murgey de Limozin, a new lieu-dit bottling from Pierre Boisson that's medium to full-bodied, layered and enveloping, with a fleshy and generous profile reflecting its location not far from Meursault Charmes.
- Wine Advocate, Jan 2021

Boillot's 2015 Volnay 1er Cru Frmiets is excellent, wafting from the glass with a lovely bouquet of wild plum, black cherry, musk, incense and rich soil tones. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, deep and seamless, layered and rich but remaining succulent and controlled, its finish long and sapid.
William Kelley - 27/04/2018

A wine which exudes elegant notes of dried flowers, Mirabelle plum, pastry and hazelnuts on the nose. It has medium density on the palate, but there is excellent vinosity as well as a chiselled precision. Endowed as it is with a compelling mouthfeel brimming with tactile tension and mouthwatering salinity, this is a gastronomic Champagne that cries out for a dish to pair with. Bravo for this exceptional bottling! Disgorged: March 2022. Dosage: 8g/L.

Yohan Castaing, decanter.com (November 2022)

The 2000 Grand Puy Lacoste is even better than such recent vintages as 2005 and 2009. A broad, classic, large-scaled effort, it boasts a deep blue/purple color as well as tell-tale notes of creme de cassis, subtle smoke, flowers, and unsmoked tobacco. Powerful, full-bodied flavors have shed a lot of tannin, but they remain relatively youthful. This is a young adolescent, broadly flavored Pauillac with an enticing texture as well as abundant richness and fruit. It can be enjoyed now, and last for two decades.
Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - June 2010

Unlike the previous 2007 vintage, Mascarello Bartolo’s 2008 Nebbiolo fruit was harvested with more bunches (as no hail damage), more acidity, a lower pH and a lower level of alcohol. In 2008 Maria Teresa held her nerve until after the September rains and harvested the rewards under the October sun. Almost ruby in colour, there is emphatic loganberry and currant fruit, ripeness, distilled kirsch and griottine fruit.
(David Berry Green, BBR Italian Buyer)