Over $1,000

Very much a young wine in its primary stage, this is silky and powerful and tasted excellent during this vertical, despite 2010 being an extremely difficult vintage for winemaker Michael Silacci. 

The year got off to a cool start, followed by a heatwave - the grapes at Opus escaped the shrivelling that much of Napa saw because of leaf cover. There are still plenty of signposts towards a hot summer - olive paste, rosemary, garrigue and liquorice notes, gorgeous ground coffee bean edging, and an excellent layer of freshness that picks things up on the finish and stops it being overly powerful. 

I like years in Napa that have a little fault in them - too much perfection with the natural generosity of Napa can make for an overly powerful wine, and I celebrate the nuances here. 

1% Malbec and 4% Petit Verdot complete the blend. 19 days skin contact.

Drink 2021 - 2040

Jane Anson, Decanter.com (September 2019)

The 2008 Cristal is one of the most complete, most dazzling Champagnes I have ever tasted. A stunning wine from any and all perspectives, the 2008 simply has it all. Spherical in construction, with superb persistence. The 2008 takes hold of all the senses and never gives up. 

One of the many things that makes the 2008 special is a combination of ripe fruit and bright, piercing acidity. Marzipan, lemon confit, dried flowers, orchard fruit build into the explosive, resonant finish. 

“We learned from the mistakes of 1996, when we picked more on acid than ripeness, as was the norm in Champagne back then,” Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon told me recently. “In 1996, the best fruit turned out to be the last picks, where the fruit was physiologically ripe. Today, we aim to pick all our fruit with that criteria.”

Drink 2020 - 2050

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (December 2019)

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.

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

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. 

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)

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)

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)

Reduction. This is completely different from the Beaux Monts, particularly in terms of size and weight as there is real muscle to the impressively concentrated and ripe medium-bodied plus flavors that culminate in a hugely long finish that coats the palate with dry extract. The supporting tannins are also markedly firmer and it's clear that this will require around 15 years to completely realize its full, and considerable, potential yet it should be approachable after 10 years or so. In a word, impressive.
Allen Meadows - burghound.com - Jan 2014

Latour is a benchmark for its unwavering consistency and exceptional quality in even the most challenging vintages. The 1996 vintage, in particular, showcases the heavenly results achieved by this renowned winery. This textbook Latour wine is characterised by its immense concentration, richness, polished tannins, and full-bodied yet not overwhelming nature. The wine's phenomenal power and balance make it an extraordinary specimen. We anticipate its continued evolution up to 2030.

Berry Bros. & Rudd

The 2016 Vosne-Romane 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts actually has a similar bouquet to the Les Beaux Monts but with heightened mineralit which is prioritized over the fruit. I was momentarily whisked back to my youth, pot-holing in the Lake District, that tang of limestone and moorland in the air. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannin. As Alec Seysses remarked, there is more wine in the Malconsorts compared to the Beaux Monts. It has brilliant delineation and a very complex finish that fans out with real confidence. This is one of the top wines from Dujac. Chapeau.
Neal Martin - 29/12/2017

An overtly floral and spicy nose is quite restrained if exceptionally pretty with its cool array of spice, Asian-style tea, and red and blue pinot fruit scents. There is a terrific vibrancy to the much more mineral-driven medium-weight flavours, which also culminate in a linear and delineated finish that really firms up as it sits on the palate. This is very much built-to-age and will need at least half a dozen years to unwind. In a word, excellent.

Drink from 2027 onward

Allen Meadows, Burghound.com (January 2018)

The nose is complex and fascinating, slightly floral, with a little bit of graphite, giving the idea that the main block of wine is not even starting to show but is just giving off a few little waves of flavour to amuse us with. Huge potential here, more acidity at the back, what a wealth of fruit! Startling stuff and really very long indeed.

Jasper Morris MW, InsideBurgundy.com (February 2022)

There is exceptional weight to the nose of this majestic Montrachet; the fruit absolutely dances in the glass, keeping the wood in check. With massive weight, real elegance and perfect balance, this is a winner!

Extremely Cabernet dominant, with savoury black fruit and a ton of Pauillac character. A fairly reserved, finely-boned Lafite, with menthol and tobacco leaf. Subdued right now but in it for the long haul. The vintage with the Chinese symbol for eight engraved on the bottle, to commemorate the planting of the Long Dai vineyard in China - a fact that made the price of this bottle shoot up when it was released. Harvest October 1 to 14. 40% of overall production.

Drink 2021 - 2038

Jane Anson, Decanter.com (February 2021)

Made from 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, the silky, incredibly concentrated and elegant brambly fruit is wonderfully fragrant with lovely minerality and hints of cedar. The super-ripe tannins are accompanied by layer upon layer of fruit alongside a freshness and firm acidity. This slumbering giant will eventually awaken and become one of the most prized of the 2005 treasures. Even so it is utterly compelling now, with each taste like a PhD of Claret, such is its complexity. It may not have the immediate appeal of the legendary 2000 but we were all agreed that it is unquestionably a better wine. One of the wines of the vintage.

Berry Bros. & Rudd

With a massive concentration of bramble fruit and a high level of firm, ripe tannins adding structure, Cheval Blanc was one of the most masculine wines we tasted on the Right Bank during the 2009 en primeur tastings. Dense and earthy with a dark olive, almost sweet ‘n’ sour twist, this was a big, complex wine with many layers of flavour rippling across the palate towards the toasty finish. Very impressive indeed, this was one of the best Merlot-dominant (60%) wines we tasted in 2009.

Berry Bros. & Rudd

Only a small holding, alas, but the wine is very grand.Thoroughly rich, robust fruit, a mix of darker fruit and pureed berries, is supported by an excellent tannic structure.This will repay keeping for a decade. Drink 2015-2020

Yellow colour with a nose showing ocean, saltiness and seaweed at first. With time in the glass, it shows tarragon and butterscotch, and at last, it offers honey and coffee. Intense palate with minerals, citrus and oxidized red apples that are starting to dry out. Nice finish showing sea buckthorn on the long-lasting finish.

Fruits of a one hectare plot in the southern Grand Cru village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Salon is the most famous statement of Chardonnay Champagne that one is likely to encounter; aged for a decade and to be kept, if one has the patience, for another decade at least. Green gold colour then intense aromas of honeydew melon, nectarine and recently  cooked brioche. The palate has a linear shard of acidity, a Keatsean composure and yet real energy and dazzling potential. From the best vintage so far this century, surely a contender for the best wine of the century...so far!

Berry Bros. & Rudd

I was a huge fan of the 2008 Sir Winston but this is certainly equally as good. The 2012 maintains the classic Pol richness and vivacity whilst also perfectly showcasing the elegance and length of the vintage. Sir Winston is all about subtle balance, never overstated but always reassuringly forthright. The elegance of the vintage comes across in the wine’s more welcoming personality, 2008 is impressively tight whilst 2012 shows generous fruit in the mouth, an open and approachable feel yet still with tremendous power and depth behind.

Red fruit crunchiness aligns neatly with impressions of brioche, baked apple and honey. The finish is long and fine, offering an uplifting combination of quince and citrus, but the standout for this year’s offering has to be its precision. Winemaking has never been better at this address and the class and finesse of the 2012 demonstrates that in spades.

Peter Newton, Account Manager, Berry Bros. & Rudd

An absolute privilege to sample the latest Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill. There is incredible precision on the nose, showing delicate notes of waxed lemon, violets and a touch of toasted almond. The palate is simply divine; ripe and opulent white peach, apricots, apple tarte tatin, freshly baked bread encompassed in a vibrant mousse. There is an exceptional backbone of minerality too, giving this Champagne superb balance. I’d put this up with the 2008 in quality, it is truly exceptional.

Paul Keating, Account Manager, Berry Bros. & Rudd

The 2002 Clos du Mesnil is wonderfully pliant and expressive in the glass. The radiant personality of the year comes through in the wine's ripe, tropically-leaning flavours and open-knit personality. 

I imagine the 2002 will develop relatively quickly by Clos du Mesnil standards. Even so, there is more than enough freshness underpinning the fruit to support at least two decades of very fine drinking. 

Drink 2019 - 2032

Ian D'Agata, Vinous.com (March 2018)

Breathtakingly complex and vibrant nose of lightly burnt creme brulee, white peaches, apricots, mustard seed and gorgeous light new oak heralds the way to the most magnificent mouth-filling essence. With the texture of melted butter and a perfect balance of precision acidity, it feels as fresh, zingy and exciting as any wine you can imagine with a concentration you can't imagine. Total nectar. If the nose and the palate aren't enough to blow you away the 30-minute (at least) aftertaste is ethereal.

A ripe and mildly exotic combination offers notes of lychee nut, white peach, spice, jasmine tea and a hint of matchstick character. There is impressive richness to the opulent, round and full-bodied flavors that coat the palate with dry extract on the bitter lemon and slightly warm but well-focused finish. This is a relatively tightly wound 2015 that should age well. - Burghound

Very smart nose with a hint of oak. Lots of race and energy though the oak is just a tad obvious. You'll need to wait quite a while for this.

Drink 2019 - 2028

A brooding yet softly perfumed nose features a pretty mix of both red and dark berry aromas that are just beginning to display some secondary development along with background nuances of spice and exotic tea. The delicious and relatively accessible medium-bodied flavors exude a discreet minerality on the complex, balanced and lingering finish. For my taste this hasn't quite yet arrived at its peak though it's not far away and could easily be enjoyed now. That said I would advise hold this for another 2 to 4 years first. In a word, lovely.
Allen Meadows - burghound.com - Oct 2014

The 2000 Cheval Blanc is a wine that I have encountered more than a dozen times. Now at just over 20 years of age (how time flies - I remember tasting this from barrel), it has a lovely, quite beguiling bouquet of brambly red berries, iron rust, Provençal herbs and clove, powerful and somehow enveloping. The peppery palate is medium-bodied with quite firm, stocky tannins and good backbone, though coming after a vertical of recent vintages, it feels more rustic and feral.

As Pierre-Olivier Clouet noted, there are fewer "pixels" in this millennial Cheval Blanc, but you can’t help falling for its charms. Ready to drink now but will age for the next 20–30 years.

Drink 2021 - 2040

Neal Martin, Vinous.com (September 2021)

Rich, elegant and generous. Lovely fruit. Harmonious and intense. Very good indeed, especially for a village 'appellation controlee'. From 2007.

Tasted from magnum, the 1985 Krug Collection is a poignant reminder of just how well Champagne ages in the big bottle. Extraordinarily complex and yet so subtle, the 1985 is utterly captivating. A slight hint of Burgundian reduction adds aromatic nuance and intrigue as this stellar, silky Champagne shows off its pure pedigree.

The 1985 is at a glorious peak of expression, but has more than enough freshness to drink well for another 10-15 years, perhaps more. What a wine.

Drink 2016 - 2026

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (October 2016)

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Opus One bursts from the glass with ripe blueberries, black cherry jam and cr?me de cassis with hints of violets, dark chocolate, cedar chest and cardamom, plus a touch of charcoal. Full-bodied, rich and concentrated, the palate delivers layer upon layer of opulent stewed black fruit with amazing tension and firm, ripe, fine-grained tannins, finishing long with a whole array of exotic spices coming through.

Drink 2021 - 2055

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate (Feb 2021)

2000 saw a warm, dry July and August with a small amount of rain from mid-September onward. Composed of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, the 2000 Latour has a deep garnet color and is showing a good amount of evolution, sporting mature notes of fried exotic spices, hoisin, unsmoked cigars and fruitcake with hints of incense, potpourri, cast iron pan and charcuterie.

Medium-bodied, soft, plush and savory in the mouth, it has a long, mineral-tinged finish. 14,000 cases were made this year, representing 48% of production.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate (February 2019)

The 1994 Masseto is not a wine I have had often, but it is so compelling tonight. The aromatics alone are totally beguiling. A whole range of floral, savory and spice notes are woven throughout a core of red-toned fruit. Delicate and nuanced, the 1994 is utterly beguiling. I absolutely loved it. Readers who own it should be thrilled. The growing season was marked by an early flowering but normal harvest time, which means the cycle was on the longer side. Maybe that explains why the 1994 is such a complete and alluring wine.

Drink 2018-2028

Antonio Galloni, Vinous (Jan 2018)

There is enough reduction to notice though not so much as to completely dominate the floral-suffused nose. This also possesses relatively fine-grained tannins though there is notably more size, weight and power as well as a bit more complexity to the mineral-driven and impeccably well-balanced finish that is both explosive and palate staining. This is most impressive as it manages to deliver stunning intensity and depth of material without any undue heaviness. Note however that this is one very structured wine that will require a lengthy stay in a cool cellar to arrive at its full peak.

Allen Meadows - burghound.com - Jan 2015