2023 has been a great year to enjoy wine. I was fortunate to be able to taste several wonderful, mature wines over the past 12 months. Plus, I was also fortunate to be able to experience countless young wines, especially from Bordeaux. I tasted a wealth of 2020 wines in bottle. And, this was followed by tasting wheat is sure to be considered a legendary vintage, 2022 in barrel. Normally, I would not include barrel samples, but these particular wines are of such extraordinary character and quality, I have included samples for the first time.
While much of what I tasted from Bordeaux, as you can see, I was also able to experience an incredible amount of wine from the Rhone Valley from Chateauneuf du Pape, Cote Rotie and Hermitage, along with some of the best California Cabernet Sauvignon I have ever tasted!
The wines below are not in an exact order. Being slightly tech-challenged, I could have done a better job at sorting on Excel. But, such is life. So, as you can see, the wines are sorted alphabetically in each point score. Regardless of where the wines are on this page, everything listed here provides a memorable wine tasting experience.
There are 14 wines that received 100 Pt scores this year. On the surface, that might seem like a lot of wines hitting triple digits. As always, the devil is in the details. Keep in mind, that is 14 out of close to 4,000 wines that cover an 80 year span. So, as you can see, that is not a very high percentage.
Honestly, I am sure I had more fun tasting these wines than you will reading about them. That being said, I hope you have fun and find a few tips on bottles to seek out, that are either fully mature, or young, as they are going to provide thrilling wine tasting experiences for generations to come.
It was fun looking back at all the beautiful wines I have been fortunate to have been able to and enjoy this year. Currently, my palate is purple, my teeth and tongue are stained from tasting several hundred bottles of 2021 Bordeaux. It is a a non-stop parade of bottles arriving daily. I am working as hard as I can, but just when I think I am getting ahead of everything, FEDEX is at the door with another delivery! A full report covering over 750 wines will be published in March.
On a more important, I am hoping everyone reading has also enjoyed a fabulous year of wine, food, family and friends. May the new year bring you health and happiness and all the wine you need to create new memories to savor.
The best 100 wines tasted in 2023!!!
# 1 – 2019 Château Angelus Hommage a Elisabeth Bouchet Produced from 100% old vine, Cabernet Franc, the aromas of smoked roses is what you initially notice before finding tobacco leaf, cherries, black raspberries, mint, menthol, and cigar box scents. The wine offers striking purity, similar to eating the berries off the vine. On the palate, the wine is supple, fresh, elegant, and refined, with silky textures, finesse, and depth. The red fruits continue expanding, taking on additional notes of herbs, tobacco, and cigar wrappers in the long, seamless finish. This is a benchmark wine for Cabernet Franc. 20% of the wine is aged in new, French oak barrels, with the remaining 80% aging in foudres. Only 5 barrels were produced. Each bottle is packaged in its own, numbered box. 14.5% ABV, 3.7 pH. Drink from 2030-2055. 100 Pts
# 2 – 2020 Château Ausone The captivates your focus with its showy display of flowers, crushed rocks, black, red and blue fruit, espresso and thyme. It takes a bit of coaxing and patience, but there is an incredible level of depth, purity, refinement, and vibrancy at play here on the palate as the wine gently coats your palate with its layers of salt-infused, black and dark red fruits. The deep seamless finish crosses the 60 second mark and keeps on going as it continues showing off its essence of minerals of fresh berries. This could be the longest lived wine of the vintage. Drink from 2030-2075. 100 Pts
# 3 – 1990 Château Cheval Blanc You could not ask for more in a bottle. The perfume with its blend of spices, espresso, flowers, smoke, cocoa, tobacco, wild cherries, plums, and ash instantly grabs your focus. On the palate, the wine is pure silk and velvet, which caresses you with its layers of vibrant, earthy, pure, red, and black fruits. The concentrated finish is long, deep, intense, and sensuous, gaining in opulence in the glass. Drink from 2023-2040. 100 Pts
# 4 – 2016 Château Ducru Beaucaillou Power and purity with intensity, length, volume, style, and character, this is what great wine is all about. On the palate, the wine is mouth-filling, yet, light on its feet, almost weightless. The tannins are refined, The wine is silky, The fruits, which express their purity are expansive. As good as the nose is, on the palate, the wine builds in all 4 directions. as it crosses your taste receptors and coats your palate, teeth, and gums. The finish is seamless, resonating for over 60 seconds!. The wine blends 85% Cabernet Sauvignon with 15% Merlot. Drink from 2030-2065. 100 Pts
# 5 – 1975 Château d’Yquem Deep gold in color, the attention seeking nose pops with roasted pineapple, ginger, butter, butterscotch, white pepper, flowers, cashews, caramel, vanilla, apricots, honey and cinnamon sugar. Intense, concentrated, weighty and yet fresh, vibrant and spicy, the mid-palate and finish resonates with seared pineapple, white pepper, orange, mango and a beguiling hint of cocoa powder that shines in the end of the finish. Drink from 2023-2075. 100 Pts
# 6 – 1990 Château Lafleur Wild, exotic, intense, lusty, luscious, powerful, rich, deep, long, and expansive, the non-stop layers of fruits, truffles, chocolate, spice, and tobacco are a total turn-on! The finish looks at the 60-second mark! There is no other wine like it. Drink from 2023-2050. 100 Pts
# 7 – 1982 Château Latour Grand Vin A spell-binding example of the most, consistently stunning wine from the legendary 82 vintage. Everything here is on target, in-place and balanced. There is a wall of ripe, regal, powerful, black and red fruits with a stately air of refinement and aristocracy that coat and fill your palate, leaving with a seamless, 60-second, plus finish. Drink from 2023-2060. 100 Pts
# 8 – 2009 Château LEvangile If you are a fan of L’Evangile and Pomerol, and of course, the disposable income, you cannot have enough of this magical elixir. This is bottled hedonism at its best. Opulent, expressive, aromatic, and sensuous, the wine offers layers of seductively-textured fruit, silky tannins, and a creamy, luxurious finish packed with truffles and layers of chocolate-coated plums and black cherries that seemingly do not want to quit. And this is just getting started, with its best days starting maybe5 years from now. Drink from 2023-2050. 100 Pts
# 9 – 1990 Château Montrose Bacchus was shining on us today because 1990 is either murdered by brett, or if it’s clean, the bottle can be majestic. This bottle was majestic and more. The wealth of palate-staining, perfectly ripe, sweet, regal fruit is something to behold. The finish hits the 60-second mark, crosses it with ease, and keeps right on going. However, it is imperative to keep in mind the wine is Jekyll or Hyde and there is no way to know without popping a cork. Drink from 2023-2055. 100 Pts
# 10 – 2020 Château Trotanoy As good as this was from barrel, it is even better in the bottle! The array of black and dark red fruits, with nuances of flowers, chocolate, licorice, wet earth and spice in the perfume lets you know you are in for something special. This wine is what hedonism is all about. Sensuous, silky, polished, fresh and opulent, texturally, this is off the charts. The wine tastes and feels like the fruits were drenched in velvet, infused with dark chocolate and then polished, making this effortless to drink. The seamless finish hits the 60 second mark. Clearly, this is a legend in the making. If you are a fan of Trotanoy and you have the extra income, run, do not walk and grab some, as not much was made and it is only going to become more expensive from here. Drink from 2025-2060. 100 Pts
# 11 – 2020 Domaine du Pegau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Ella This is the first and last vintage of Cuvee Ella as it was made to celebrate the granddaughter of Laurence. Deeply colored, the wine is rich, supple, elegant, fresh, long and intense. The dark berries offer length, purity and expansiveness with a seamless finish that keeps on going long after the wine has left your glass. The grapes come from 3 different vineyards including La Crau. The grapes are whole bunch vinified. There is not much made as the production is only 900 bottles. The wine blends 90% old vine Grenache with various other varieties. Drink from 2028-2050. 100 Pts
# 12 – 1990 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Absolutely mind-boggling juice! This is one of the Holy FK wines with everything you could hope for in your glass. The nose, with its display of smoke, coffee beans, pepper, strawberry, leafy herbs, and cherries lets you know you are in for a ride. And the ride kicks into high gear once the wine hits your palate with its non-stop layers of sweet, ripe, elegant, regal, and unrestrained red fruits. The silky, powerful, seamless finish is effortless to drink. Be careful with this, else it will be gone before you kow it! Drink from 2023-2040. 100 Pts
# 13 – 1983 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline This is the most remarkably consistent, mature Rhone I have ever tasted. Words do not do this justice. Majestic, flamboyant, opulent, and elegant, the fruits coat, soothe, and flow with ease coating and caressing your palate with its unique textural approach. The finish hits the 60-second mark and just keeps on going. This is what greatness in wine, with its unique character is all about. Drink from 2023-2035. 100 Pts
# 14 – 2020 Vieux Chateau Certan An extraordinary effort, the wine is almost opaque in color. The haunting perfume offers a bouquet of flowers, black, red and blue fruits, chocolate, spice, espresso and hints of truffles on the nose. Incredibly concentrated, but equally light on its feet, the wine is effortless to taste. With polished, velvet textures and fruits that express purity coupled with spice, chocolate, wet earth and sensuality, the finish crosses the 60 second mark and keeps on going! This is a youthful look at one of the future legendary vintages for Vieux Chateau Certan. If this is your thing, and if you have the extra income, buy it now as prices will only rise from here. Drink from 2027-2065. 100 Pts
# 15 – 2020 Château Angélus Everything that makes Chateau Angelus great is here in spades! The wine is almost opaque in color. In the glass, the perfume pops with its essence of black, dark red and blue fruit, smoke, licorice, flowers, espresso, chocolate and an array of spices. The wine is full-bodied, intense, silky, vibrant and concentrated with multiple-layers of perfectly ripe, sweet, cashmere textured fruits. The wine builds, expands and intensifies on your palate. The fruit offers purity and lift in the seamless finish that lingers for close to 60 seconds. Give this some time in the cellar and it will probably hit triple digits. It is that good! Drink from 2026-2060. 99 Pts
# 16 – 2022 Château Beau-Sejour Becot The bouquet of red and purple flowers stands out in the nose before you get to the sweet, red, black and blue fruits, licorice and spice. On the palate the wine is incredibly dense, sensuous, opulent and deep. Yet, with all the concentration, the wine is weightless, and effortless to drink. On the mid-palate, the waves of fruits keep coming as they coat your palate. The purity in the fruit, the energy, length, balance, and complexity is at a new level here. The seamless finish, with its ocean of berries, topped by a salty, crushed stones hits the 60 second mark. The best part of the experience is the velvet-drenched-texture that needs to be experienced. The wine blends 76% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.5%, ABV, 3.55 pH. The harvest took place, September 5 – September 26. Yields were 33 hectoliters per hectare. Make no mistake, this is the best wine ever produced at Beau-Sejour Becot. Drink from 2027-2060. 99 Pts
# 17 – 2009 Château Cheval Blanc What a wine! The nose is enough to win over any wine lover with its display of flowers, cocoa, dark red, and black fruits, earth, and spices. But, as good as the perfume is, it is on the seamless palate with its opulent, exotic, display of silk and velvet textures that is the perfect backdrop for more than 60 seconds of perfectly ripe fruits that express a sense of purity, elegance and yes, sex appeal. Still young, this is a future legend. Drink from 2023-2050. 99 Pts
# 18 – 2020 Château Cos dEstournel A gorgeous, stylish wine, here you find a series of waves packed with blackberries, black plums, black cherries, smoke, licorice, dark chocolate, soy and an array of spices. Rich, deep and intense, the wine hits all the right notes as it melds power, fruit, freshness and elegance to create an opulent, velvety, silky finish that builds and expands as it hangs with you. This is so good now, it will be hard to wait to pull a cork. But its best days are all in the future. So, wait a bit and you will be amply rewarded with an incredible wine. Drink from 2028-2060. 99 Pts
# 19 – 2020 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin Flowers, wet earth, blue fruit, licorice and dark red fruits are all over the place on the nose and palate. The wine is intense, powerful and concentrated, yet light on its feet. There is grace, elegance, and balance, with a chewy, meaty, peppery, chalky edge in the finish that holds your attention for at least 60 seconds. The wine blends 75% Mourvedre and equal amounts of Grenache and Syrah. The blend of the 2020 represents the highest percentage of Mouvedre ever used in Hommage, going all the way back to 1989. Picking on the Mouvedre began October 15, which is also the latest picking date for the Mourvedre. Like all the great vintage of Hommage, this is a wine for patient collectors as you need to give it at least 10 years of aging, and 20 would be even better! Drink from 2030-2060. 99 Pts
# 20 – 2019 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou Compelling from start to finish, the black, purple color invites you in. From there, the perfume, with its array of flowers, black, red, and blue fruit, chocolate, espresso, licorice, and liqueur lets you know you are in for a treat. And, that happens as soon as the multiple waves of fruit start coating your palate with their layers of perfectly ripe, silky, seductive, fresh, opulent, velvety, pure black, red, and blueberries. Along with 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022, this is in line to be one of the best vintages ever produced at Ducru Beaucaillou! The wine blends 80% Cabernet Sauvignon with 20% Merlot. Drink from 2030-2065. 99 Pts
# 21 – 1967 Château d’Yquem This bottle rocked it! The gold, mahogany hue brought you to the perfume, packed with marshmallows, orange rind, creme brulee, caramel, butterscotch, spice, brown butter, popcorn, roasted cashews, and pineapple coated with brown sugar. The wine is concentrated, lush, silky, sweet, vibrant, fresh, and packed with oranges, tangerines, mango, pineapple, spice, brown sugar, and almonds. The mid-palate, and finish provided a memorable experience that shows why Chateau d’Yquem is in a league all of its own. This bottle was particularly-strong, much better than any previous example I remember tasting. This is a stellar example of a mature Yquem! Drink from 2023-2067. 99 Pts
# 22 – 2020 Château Figeac The purity, elegance, refinement, and walls of perfectly ripe, sweet, sensuous fruits are almost off the charts here! Aromatically, the floral bouquet with accents of espresso, black plums, cherries, black raspberries, spice, licorice, and wet earth can keep any taster busy for ages. But the magic really hits you when the wine begins caressing your palate with its opulent, luscious, silky, velvet-drenched layers of fruit, and freshness which steals the show. The seamless, 60-second plus finish is riveting, inspiring you to go back for another sniff, swirl, and sip for the pleasure of it. I do not often drink when tasting. But we finished every drop of this bottle. This is a serious candidate for triple-digit perfection after a decade of aging. Drink from 2027-2065. 99 Pts
# 23 – 2022 Château Haut Bailly Initially, you find a display of flowers before moving on to all of its cigar wrapper, spice, blackberry, currant, black cherry, smoke, and hints of forest leaf in the perfume. Deeply concentrated, vibrant, and refined, the palate is packed with multiple-layers of perfectly, ripe, red fruits, a fabulous sense of purity, silky, soft, polished tannins, and ample lift in the finish, providing the backdrop to age, and evolve for decades. The wine blends 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Petit Verdot. 14.5% ABV, pH 3.92. Picking took place September 7 – September 27. The yields were only 30 hectoliters per hectare. This is in serious contention as the best vintage ever produced at Haut Bailly. Drink from 2027-2060. 99 Pts
# 24 – 1953 Château Haut-Brion Tasting fully mature at its best is one of the wine world’s greatest treats, and this bottle lived up to its potential. Red fruits smothered in an ocean of Cuban cigars, burning wood, spice, and tar unfold in the perfume and on the silky, long, earthy herbal, tobacco, and red currant palate. The finish starts strong and never lets up. At 70, this is an incredible tasting experience. Though, waiting to open if you have a bottle, is not your best move. 70 is a long time for even the world’s best wines to live. Drink from 2023-2028. 99 Pts
# 25 – 2020 Château Haut-Brion Concentrated, deep, creamy, supple, long, and intense, the wine is packed with notes of flowers, spice, chocolate, black cherries, plums, porcini, tobacco leaf, and white pepper. On the palate, there is a minor degree of heat, but the ample layers of perfectly, ripe, sweet, rich fruit are really what you notice as they roll onto your tongue and coat your palate. The wine has a serious depth of flavor, length, and endless waves of black with dark red fruits, finishing with a touch of chalky, crushed rocks in the endnote. The wine blends 42.8% Merlot, 39.7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17.5% Cabernet Franc, 15% ABV. Drink from 2030-2060. 99 Pts
# 26 – 2020 Château La Conseillante The showy display of violets, and lilacs that get the wine going is made even better by the accompanying notes of truffle, chocolate, black cherry liqueur, licorice, and plums. However, as good as this is aromatic, the silky, fresh, sensuous textures, and the level of purity found in the multiple layers of perfectly ripe, elegant fruits are what provide all the right stuff. The seamless finish, with its energy, concentration, and refinement seal the deal. Bottled sexiness, this is so good, I could not put the glass down without refilling it. The only reason this didn’t yet garner 100 Pts is the perfect 2016 is just a tiny bit better, for now. Don’t be surprised to see this hit 100 Pts as it ages for a bit. Drink from 2027-2060. 99 Pts
# 27 – 1982 Château La-Mission-Haut-Brion A stunning tasting experience that kicks off with a smoke-drenched perfume made even better by its tobacco leaf, wild cherry, tar, cherry, currant, herb and array of spices. Full, deep, concentrated, regal and intense, this is drinking great today. Drink from 2023-2047. 99 Pts
# 28 – 2020 Château La Mission Haut-Brion Black, red, and blue fruits, along with incense, spice box, cigar box, tobacco leaves, and flower aromatics work their way into the perfume. The wine coats your palate with non-stop layers of deep, dark, ripe, fruits that once they get started, they never stop. The fruit has depth, width, length, and complexity, leaving you with a seamless tasting experience that remains for at least 60 seconds. If you have the disposable income, and some time to wait, this is a future legendary vintage of LMHB that needs to be experienced! With time, this could easily surpass Haut Brion and hit triple digits! The wine blends 48.6% Merlot, 43.2% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8.2% Cabernet Franc, 14.7% ABV. Drink from 2030-2065. 99 Pts
# 29 – 2020 Château Lafleur Violets, lilacs, roses, cocoa, mint, licorice, dark cherries, plums, sandalwood and saffron open the wine. The wine explodes in the glass with the essence of plums, black cherries, dark chocolate and spice. It is not the fruits, it is the intensity, opulent-exotic textures, richness and multiple levels of depth of flavor on the palate that make this an extraordinary tasting experience. And if that isn’t enough, the more than 60-second, seamless, finish, with all the fruits that build in intensity seals the deal. With a bit of time to age and evolve, this could hit 100 Pts! The wine blends 53% Cabernet Franc and 47% Merlot. 14.8% ABV, 3.7 pH. Drink from 2030-2060. 99 Pts
# 30 – 1949 Château Latour Grand Vin Simply wow! I seldom get to taste 40s Bordeaux, let alone 40s Latour, but what a wine. A thrill from the initial sniff and sip. Without hesitation, the wine delivered tobacco leaf, cigar box, mint, cedar, fennel seed, smoke, currants, and cherries in the heady perfume. On the palate, the thrills continued with layers of iron-crusted, red berries leaves, cigar box, and spice. Long, vibrant, and intense, the wine blends its wild side with stately refinement, along with a touch of orange rind in the lengthy leafy finish. Drink from 2023-2040. 99 Pts
# 31 – 2020 Château LEgliseClinet A clear candidate for wine of the vintage, this show stopping gem kicks off with a vivid perfume packed with flowers, plums, truffles, chocolate, smoke, cigar wrapper, and cherry liqueur scents. The wine delivers intensity, finesse, concentration, richness, purity and complexity. The finish, with its layers of dark chocolate covered ripe plums, velvety textures, and sensuality is completely seamless, holding your palate hostage for at least 60 seconds. Give it some time and this could easily hit 100 Pts down the road, it is that good. Drink from 2027-2060. 99 Pts
# 32 – 2020 Château Les Carmes HautBrion Medium/full-bodied, concentrated, vibrant, fresh, refined, elegant, and completely focused on its purity of fruit. Initially, you find notes of flowers, tobacco leaves, thyme, red pit fruits, mint, and an array of spices. The fruit gracefully unfolds on your palate with nuances of sea salt, herbs, spices, red, and black currants, cocoa, and espresso. The long, seamless, vivacious finish, with its spicy, mint, and oceanic edge takes its time building in intensity and width as it lingers. Drink from 2027-2060. 99 Pts
# 33 – 1996 Château Margaux This could hit triple digits in a few years. It continues filing out, gaining in complexity, richness, and texturally, additional layers of silk and velvet on the palate are the order of the day. This stunning wine is showing beautifully today, and while pricey, it is the best deal for a mature vintage of Chateau Margaux in the market today. Drink from 2023-2055. 99 Pts
# 34 – 2020 Château Margaux It is the elegance of the wine, silkiness in the tannins, and the purity in the fruits that form the character in this wine. On the palate, you find layers of sweet, refined, cherries, red plums, and black raspberries tasting like they were picked at the perfect moment and eaten in the vineyard. Texturally, the wine is incredible. The fruits are velvety, creamy, fresh, long, and rich. Everything is in balance and harmony. The finish is seamless giving you a wine that is effortless to taste. The wine blends 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, and 1% Cabernet Franc, 13.5% ABV, 3.68 Ph. Drink from 2030-2060. 99 Pts
# 35 – 2020 Château Montrose This is just about off the charts, and could hit triple digits in a few years if it keeps developing. Inky black in color, the wine explodes aromatically with its blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, and tobacco, and that’s before you get to its deeper nuances of Indian spice, chocolate, and cigar box scents. But the real fireworks are when the wine coats your palate with its multiple layers of dark red fruits, blackberries, and cocoa. Even with all of its richness, there is ample lift, making it easy to get lost here with all the depth, and concentration. The wine is just about seamless on the palate, lingering, building, and expanding for close to 60 seconds. One of the great vintages of Montrose is the swansong of Herve Berland at the helm of the estate. Drink from 2029-2065. 99 Pts
# 36 – 1982 Château Mouton Rothschild Flamboyant, opulent and showy, this unique expression of Pauillac has hit its stride. It’s powerful, yet refined, and with its it’s non-stop display of perfectly, ripe currants, blackberries, cherry liqueur and array of Asian spices, this is a wine to marvel at its complexity, uniqueness of character, length and richness. Drink from 2023-2050. 99 Pts
# 37 – 2020 Château Mouton Rothschild Truffles, cigar box, cedar chest, smoke, Cuban cigar wrapper, spice and dark, almost 100% cocoa, chocolate. Perfectly perched between its elegant and showy side, the fruits are silky, ripe, spicy, and intense, but in a relaxed manner. There is purity, length, and vibrancy, giving the wine a racy, sensuous appearance. The seamless finish is perfectly balanced, with all its layers of polished, sensuous, silky fruits. The wine blends 84% Cabernet Sauvignon,13% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, 13.1% ABV, pH 3.8. Yields were low at 32 hectoliters per hectare with only 49% of the harvest going into the Grand Vin, so not much wine was made. The harvest took place September 7-September 24. Drink 2028-2060. 99 Pts
# 38 – 2020 Château Pavie With a hue so dark, it is impossible to see through, the wine grabs your senses with its aromatic profile consisting of flowers, black plums, blackberries, black cherries, crushed rocks, licorice, smoke, blue fruits, espresso, mocha and oceanic fragrances. The wine is full-bodied, concentrated, mouth-coating and palate-staining, as well as vibrant, pure and intense. The practically seamless, opulent finish with its layers of sensuous, salty fruits stick with you for close to 60 seconds. This is one of the great vintages of Pavie! Drink from 2026-2060. 99 Pts
# 39 – 2020 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande A riveting wine in every sense of the word, the perfume grabs you with its array of flowers, spices, tobacco, currants, smoke, cedar and roasted plums. There is intensity, purity, precision and length, which is perfect for allowing you to experience all the layers of silky, sensuous fruits and freshness. The finish crosses the 50 second mark with ease and never looks back. With time in the bottle, this gem could hit triple digits, it is that good! Drink from 2027-2065. 99 Pts
# 40 – 2020 Famille Isabel Ferrando Châteauneuf-du-Pape F601 Deep ruby in color, the wine opens with an array of spices, flowers, kirsch liqueur, black raspberries and herbs. The palate is full, sensuous, round, fresh and vibrant. There is length, purity, richness, balance and complexity. But, what really makes this work it its unique, voluptuous mouthfeel, that with its depth, manages to remain light on its feet. The seamless finish remains with you for 60 seconds, building and expanding. Produced from old vine Cinsault planted in 1928, in the gravel and sand terroir of Saint Prefert. The wine is aged in used demi-muids for 18 months before bottling. Only 800 numbered bottles were produced, so if you see it, buy it! Drink from 2025-2050. 99 Pts
# 41 – 2018 MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon Vibrant, pure, silky, fresh, long, and intense, this is stunning from the initial sniff and sip. Everything is in balance here, texturally, the wine feels like crushed velvet, the purity in the blackberries and currants stands out. The wine has the potential to hit triple digits in a few years. Drink from 2023-2050. 99 Pts
# 42 – 1990 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle One of the best bottles of this I have tasted in ages provides notes of flowers, spice, earth, kirsch, blueberry, and blackberry in the perfume. Lively, rich, intense, and dense, with layers of dark, ripe, powerful, vibrant, chewy red fruits, this is really in a good spot, and if well-stored, should get even better. Drink from 2023-2050. 99 Pts
# 43 – 1998 Petrus It is out of my price range, but if you have the coin or friends with the bank, if you are seeking a Petrus with some age that is really hitting all the right notes, 1998 is the wine to buy. The wine is loaded from start to finish with chocolate-coated cherries, truffles, flowers, plums, smoke, touches of blue fruits, and a mild touch of menthol. Full-bodied, rich, opulent, silky, and fresh, the wine is polished, refined, intense, and palate-coating with purity and length. Drink from 2023-2050. 99 Pts
# 44 – 2010 Vieux Chateau Certan Just starting to wake up, but still, there is no denying the incredible character of this Pomerol! Opulent, vivacious, deep, long, intense, and seamless, the wine coats and stains your palate with non-stop layers of velvet-textured, perfectly ripe, black and red, cherries and plums with background notes of chocolate, truffle, and spice that allow black raspberries to show in the back of the finish. Drink from 2024-2055. 99 Pts
# 45 – 2022 Château Beausejour Flowers, black raspberries, crushed rocks, saffron, cloves, licorice, and plum liqueur create the nose. Elegant, silky, and fresh, there is intensity along with a haunting sense of purity to the fruits. The wine is perfectly balanced between power, and refinement, which you can easily taste and feel in its layers of ripe, sweet, sensuously-textured fruits. The seamless, mineral-packed finish crosses the 50 second mark with ease. The wine blends 69% Merlot with 31% Cabernet Franc. 14.9% ABV, 3.55 pH. The harvest took place September 6 – September 23. This is the earliest harvest in the history of the estate. Yields were 42 hectoliters per hectare. Also, note, this is the debut vintage for the new label and the new name of simply, Beausejour. Drink from 2027- 2055. 99 Pts
# 46 – 2020 Château Calon Segur Powerful, rich, deep, long, and packed with layers of dark, red, and black fruits, Asian spice, boysenberry, black currants, cedar, licorice, cocoa, tobacco leaf, lead pencil, and a refreshing hint of mint in the nose. The wine offers intensity, depth of flavor, power, ripe tannins, vibrance, blackberry, and a currant lingering finish with nuances of spice, chocolate, and creme de cassis on the back end. Give it a few years in the cellar, and enjoy it for up to 3 decades after that. Drink from 2026-2055. 98 Pts
# 47 – 2020 Château Canon A stunning textural experience with its silky, velvet drenched profiled. Aromatically, you find flowers, black, red and blue fruits, licorice, and crushed rocks in the perfume. On the palate, the wine is all about its polished silk profile, which is the perfect backdrop for all of its layers of sensuous fruits, freshness and purity, finishing with a touch of salt on the backend. The seamless finish delivers length going on for over 50 seconds. Drink from 2025-2060. 98 Pts
# 48 – 2010 Château Clinet Opulent, lush, and loaded with layers of perfectly ripe, black and red plums, chocolate, cherries, flowers, truffle, licorice, smoke, and a background note of mint. The wine is concentrated, long, deep, and fresh, with silky tannins and a finish that doesn’t want to quit. Drink from 2023-2045. 98 Pts
# 49 – 2020 Château Clinet Elegance, refinement, and silky textures are the hallmarks of this wine. The perfume, with its licorice, flowers, mint leaves, smoke, cherries, and plums is what initially brings you in. But it is the purity of the fruit, the sensuous textures, and the opulent, graceful palate feeling that steals the show. The seamless, non-stop finish balances freshness with hedonism with its multiple layers of lusty fruits, and chocolate, with a touch of refreshing spearmint in the finish. The finish really sticks with you, which is a good thing because you never want this voluptuous stunner to end. As a side note, even though the wine clocks in at 15% AVB, there is no touch of heat or jammy qualities. Drink from 2026-2055. 98 Pts
# 50 – 2001 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin A true gem in the world of Grenache, the wine is simply great! Concentrated, lush, powerful, spicy, and vibrant, with layer after layer of peppery, red fruits that seem to never end. Drink from 2023-2045. 98 Pts
# 51 – 2020 Château d’Yquem On the fresh, bright vibrant, racy side of the style range with a focus on its complex core of honeysuckle, dried oranges, apricots, lemon curd, saffron, marzipan, pineapple, vanilla, and just the right drizzle of honey to top everything off. It is cut, and defined, with length, purity, lift, and ample acidities giving lift, length, and vibrancy, as well as richness, balance, and complexity. I love this style of d’Yquem because it works as a sweet wine that can be enjoyed either on its own or with a myriad of savory courses. So, if you cannot keep your hands off it, enjoy it on the young side for all its luscious, sweet, ripe, overripe, racy fruits, or age it for decades as it gains secondary nuances. Drink from 2025-2065. 98 Pts
# 52 – 2020 Château Haut-Bailly Initially, you find a display of flowers before moving on to all of its cigar wrapper, spice, blackberry, currant, black cherry, smoke and hints of forest leaf. Deeply concentrated, vibrant and refined, the palate is packed with multiple-layers of perfectly, ripe, red fruits, a fabulous sense of purity, silky, soft, polished tannins and ample lift in the finish, providing the backdrop to age, evolve for decades. Drink from 2027-2060. 98 Pts
# 53 – 2022 Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey Ripe, very ripe, and over ripe pineapples, mangos, candied oranges, apricot, flowers, honey, and marmalade create the intoxicating perfume. Perfectly perched between its decadently, sweet side, and its raciness on the other side, this is sublime. The roasted passion fruits, mangos, apricots, pineapple, roasted cashews, and saffron on the palate are all slathered with honey. This has the potential to be a future legendary sweet wine. If this is your thing, grab it as only 1,200 cases were produced. It is going to be stunning on release. But if you prefer your sweet wines with age, this will evolve for 3 or more decades. The wine blends 95% Semillon with 5% Sauvignon Blanc. Drink from 2025-2055.98 Pts
# 54 – 1998 Château Lafleur The nose is intoxicating with its wild cherry liqueur, flowers, licorice, cedar, mint, and black with red fruits. The wine is full-bodied, rich, powerful, vibrant, deep, long, and exotic, with its unique textural-experience and display of fruits. Just starting to open, the wine remains fairly-priced for a Lafleur of this quality, especially when you consider its bottle age. Drink from 2023-2050. 98 Pts
# 55 – 2020 Château Larcis Ducasse If you are seeking a masterclass in minerality, taste this wine! The nose screams crushed rocks, stones and oceanic influences before moving to its flowers, licorice, black cherries, plums, and espresso nose. Concentrated, full-bodied and intense, with layers of mineral-infused black and red fruits, the wine builds, lingers and expands, finishing with vibrancy, refinement, and elegant, sweet, ripe, luscious red fruits with a touch of salt in the tannins. Drink from 2026-2055. 98 Pts
# 56 – 1959 Château Latour Grand Vin Smoke, cigar box, herbs, black and red fruits, forest floor, leaves, tobacco, and an array of spices pack your nose. The wine manages to marry its lush, supple fruits with power, elegance, regal tannins, and austerity. In other words, this is Chateau Latour! Drink from 2023-2040. 98 Pts
# 57 – 2022 Château Leoville Poyferre Deeply colored, the floral display in the nose gets even better as you encounter black cherries, currants, licorice, tobacco leaf, cassis, and an array of spices. The palate provides layers of silky, fresh, pure, deep red berries. The wine is dense, concentrated, sweet, ripe, fresh, and polished. There is a wonderful sense of purity in the fruit. Effortless to taste, and even even easier to drink, the wine exudes sensuality, and complexity from start to finish. The wine blends 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Petit Verdot. 14.4% ABV, 3.87 pH. The harvest took place September 8 – September 28. Yields were 33 hectoliters per hectare. 75% of the harvest went into the Grand Vin. Drink from 2026-2055. 98 Pts
# 58 – 2020 Château Palmer Violets, lilacs, and roses covet their spot in the perfume before you find all of its black, and red cherries, black currants, blackberries, cigar wrapper, and earthy notes. While the perfume is intoxicating, it is on the palate where the magic happens due to its silky, sexy-textures, and layers of pure, sweet, ripe, delicate, yet concentrated layers of fruit. The tannins are the text-book description of refined, leaving you with a seamless finish showcasing its purity, and sensuality for over 50 seconds. I have a sneaking suspicion that with time, my score is going to rise, as it feels like there is a lot more going on here that is still holding in reserve. Drink from 2027-2065. 98 Pts
# 59 – 2020 Château Pavie Macquin Deeply colored with a showy nose packed with smoke, espresso bean, flowers, licorice, black cherries, plums and chocolate. The wine is rich, full-bodied, deep and concentrated with layers of sensuous, flamboyant, silky fruits that express purity, depth and complexity. The lingering finish builds in intensity finishing with intriguing touches of citrus peel, red pit fruit, and dark chocolate. In a few years, this could be even better. Drink from 2025-2055. 98 Pts
# 60 – 2020 Château Pichon Baron With an intensity of color that matches the intensity you taste, and feel, here you find a wine that coats your palate with its multiple layers of rich, dark, deep, black, and dark red fruits coupled with smoke, tobacco, Cuban cigars, spice, dark chocolate, and burning oak embers. This incredible wine is perfectly poised on the corner of power, and intensity with an almost, endless, seamless, regal, and refined finish. This is clearly going to be one of the all-time great vintages of Pichon Baron. Drink from 2028-2065. 98 Pts
# 61 – 2020 Château Rauzan Segla The complex perfume stands out with its array of flowers, cinnamon, currants, cherries, cigar box, and touch of tobacco. The wine is full-bodied, deep, sensuous, silky and yes, sexy, finishing with a wealth of expansive fruit, espresso and dark cocoa that holds our focus for over 50 seconds. Drink from 2027-2060. 98 Pts
# 62 – 2020 Roger Sabon Chateauneuf du Pape Le Secret des Sabon Dark in color, the wine pops with licorice, black cherries, black plums and flowers as soon as the wine hits your glass. On the palate, the richly-textured wine is lush, polished, deep, balanced and long. There is intensity, purity, length and depth of flavor with a creaminess to the tannins, along with chocolate, licorice and black pepper in the endnote. This will age quite nicely. The wine is produced from 95% old vine Grenache with 5% coming from various, assorted, allowable grape varieties. This is one of the wines of the vintage. Drink from 2025-2040. 98 Pts
# 63 – 2020 Château Smith Haut Lafitte The impressive dark hue provides the introduction to the equally dark-fruited profile on the nose and palate. The wine is all about its richness, intensity, length and palate presence, which somehow, remains perfectly balanced, with all of its layers of blackberries, smoke, espresso, black cherries, licorice, smoke and chocolate. What is important to pay attention to here is the purity in the fruit, the lift, balance and freshness on the palate, and of course, the length which goes on for close for over 50 seconds! The finish blends power with polished, elegance, creamy tannins and a showy display of sweet, black cherries, plums, chocolate, and spice. As I mentioned in my barrel notes, previously, in some years, it felt like you were tasting a wine made in the cellars. But that is no longer the case at Smith Haut Lafitte, as now, you are clearly tasting a wine produced in the vineyard. Drink from 2025-2055. 98 Pts
# 64 – 2022 Château Suduiraut The roasted nut profile and strong sense of botrytis is all over the place here. With another sniff and swirl, you discover roasted apricots, pineapples, tangerine, vanilla, and a plethora of spices all soaked in honey. Concentrated, fresh, spicy, chalky, and long, the orange, mango, and pineapple finish delivers its pleasures with racy assurance. The wine was made from 100% Semillon for only the third time in the history of the estate. Drink from 2025-2060. 98 Pts
# 65 – 2022 Château Troplong Mondot Deeply colored, the wine is rich, deep, full-bodied, concentrated, and intense The depth of flavor, the fullness on the palate, and the silky, lush, creamy textures come across as gentle, vibrant, and elegant, with a lot of depth and width. The lingering finish displays sweet, red, and black fruits, a salted, orange citrus tone, and a beautiful chalky character on the backend. The wine blends 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2% Cabernet Franc. 14.9% ABV, 3.48 pH. Harvesting started August 29 – September 26. Drink from 2027-2060. 98 Pts
# 66 – 2020 Château Valandraud Completely opaque in color, the nose explodes with chocolate, espresso, smoke, blackberries, black cherries, truffles, smoke and licorice. Full-bodied, opulent and intense, this hedonistically-textured thrill ride coats your palate with layers of velvety, dark red, black and blue fruits, mocha, espresso and Asian spices. The array of sensations here is exactly what the doctor ordered. This is a sublime tasting experience that while it is superb to enjoy young in its primary state, the best is yet to come with some age that will allow the wine to build, expand and gain secondary nuances. Drink from 2026.2055. 98 Pts
# 67 – 2020 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Flowers are the first thing you notice before discovering all the spice, cloves, kirsch, and dark cherries on the nose. On the palate, the wine is silky, elegant, fresh, supple, and refined. The kirsch shows a beautiful purity and spicy character, along with its refined tannins and peppery strawberries that kick in at the end of the finish. The wine is a blend of 55% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, and 10% Syrah with the remaining 5% consisting of various, allowable grape varieties. The grapes are as always 100% destemmed. The production is quite low this year at only 25 hectoliters per hectare. The wine is 15.2% ABV, but you do not sense any heat. Drink from 2024-2038. 98 Pts 98 Pts
# 68 – 2020 Clos Fourtet Scoring at the top of my range from my barrel scores, this is a majestic vintage for Clos Fourtet. With stunning levels of concentration, intensity, purity and sensuality, the wine paints your palate with layer after layer of black and red fruits. The velvet-drenched finish seals the deal with its seamless, mineral driven finish that builds, lingers and expands. Drink from 2026-2060. 98 Pts
# 69 – 2020 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve Almost opaque in color the wine is in contention for the most concentrated wine of the vintage with its multiple layers of dark, inky berries, black pepper, black plum liqueur, dark cherries, licorice, chocolate and black pepper. The wine coats your palate with its layers of richness and flesh. Full-bodied, concentrated, dense and intense with a chewy finish that does not quit. The layers of black, blue and dark red fruits are seemingly endless as they build and expand. If you are lucky enough to score a bottle or two, give it some time in the bottle as the wine needs at least 5-8 years before it really starts to show all of its stuff. The wine is usually made from 90% Grenache, 5% Syrah, and 5% Counoise. If this seems like your thing, grab a few bottles as it becomes close to impossible to find as it matures. This is a clear contender for the wine of the vintage. Drink from 2026 – 2045. 98 Pts
# 70 – 2020 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée da Capo The first vintage since 2016 is dark ruby in color. With a nose packed with spice, dark red fruits, thyme, espresso and spice. This is the most powerful wine of the vintage, yet everything is in balance and harmony with its seamless layers of deep dark red fruits, pepper and black cherries. Drink from 2028-2050. 98 Pts
# 71 – 1989 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Showing beautifully, this gem pops with its perfume of olives, herbs, peppery kirsch, black raspberries, and leafy green aromas. Full, rich, intense, refined, and yet wild, with layers of perfectly ripe, red fruits, iron, and spices. Popped and poured, the wine hit everything right. Drink 2023-2035. 98 Pts
# 72 – 2018 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc Flowers, white peaches, honey, lemon curd, ginger, orange rind, vanilla and almonds crowd into the nose. Unctuous, oily and vibrant on the palate with blend of citrus, yellow tropical fruit, spice and ginger fill out the mid-palate and the finish. Drink from 2024-2043. 98 Pts
# 73 – 1988 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne Powerful, concentrated, deep, and firm, the wine offers its smoky, charcoal, licorice, and dark red fruits with some coaxing. The masculine finish is packed with layers of dark, red berries, black pepper, salt, and dried herbs that linger. Drink from 2023-2045. 98 Pts
# 74 – 2017 Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon – Concentrated, balanced, lush, ripe, and packed with sweet blackberries, black cherries, vanilla, licorice, and cocoa. Yet, with all its layers of ripe, dark fruits, the wine remains harmonious and never swings to over the top. There is a touch of heat on the backend from the 15.1% ABV, but with all those ripe berries, it is easy to overlook that transgression. Drink from 2023-2035. 98 Pts
# 75 – 2020 Famille Isabel Ferrando Châteauneuf-du-Pape Saint Prefert 2020 marks the debut of Familie Isabel Ferrando, which is a blend of all the estates terroirs. 2019 was the final vintage of the single vineyards. The new wine is deep, ruby in color. From there you find a spicy nose with notes cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg along with all the scents of dark red fruits. On the palate, the wine is ripe, dark and plummy. You find licorice, ripe, dark fruits, chalky tannins and an opulent, rich character on the palate. One of the deepest wines of the vintage, there is a a beautiful sense of purity, symmetry, length and a touch more of all that spice in the finish. This is so easy to drink now, but you will have a much better experience if you let it age for a few years. Drink from 2025-2045. 98 Pts
# 76 – 2001 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Célestins Lush, soft, and supple, the wine offers sweet, pure kirsch, herbs, and peppery spices with a unique textural experience at every twist, turn, sniff and sip. No decanting is needed here. Just pop, pour and enjoy. Drink from 2023-2035. 98 Pts
# 77 – 2009 La Mondotte Flowers, salty oceanic scents, red and black fruits, and a background note of espresso open the aromatics. On the palate, the wine is concentrated, focused, pure, and intense. Layers of sweet, ripe fruits topped with crushed rocks, stones, and spice coat your palate in the long, opulent, finish. Drink from 2023-2045. 98 Pts
# 78 – 2020 Le Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Réserve Smoke. spices, cherries and flowers on the nose are only part of the show. It is the ripe, lush, supple-textured, sensuous, elegant red berries on the palate that own the day with their length, purity and freshness. The wine is produced from a blend of 55% Grenache and 45% Mourvedre. 98 Pts
# 79 – 1978 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle Smoked meat, black pepper, black raspberries, iron, herbs, spice, and barbeque notes hit your olfactory senses. Full-bodied, concentrated, deep, long, and intense, the sweet, and tart red berries, kirsch, pepper, spice, and earthy nuances make the blast of chewy cherry griotte in the finish stand out and linger. This is stunning to drink now and can provide at least 25-35 more years of drinking if well stored! Drink from 2023-55. 98 Pts
# 80 – 2015 Promontory – Inky in color, the wine is full-bodied, dense, and intense. Multi-faceted and multi-layered, the wine comes in waves of richly textured, ripe, sweet, lush, opulent black and dark red fruits, nuanced by espresso, tobacco, wet earth, spice, and cocoa. The finish grabs you with its length and purity. This is clearly one one of the benchmark wines for Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon today. Drink from 2022-2050.
# 81 – 2020 Tertre Roteboeuf Opulent, exotic, and sensuously-textured, the perfectly ripe, deep fruits are intense, sweet, fresh, long, spicy and earthy and opulently textured. There is intensity along with opulence and purity in every sip. This uniquely styled wine stands out in a crowd and should age and evolve for at least 2 decades or more with little effort. Drink from 2026-2048. 98 Pts
# 82 – 2020 Château Beausejour (Duffau Lagarrosse) Power, finesse, length, purity, and complexity is all over the place here. In the nose, with its elements of dried flowers, espresso, plums, cherries, licorice, spice, cocoa, herbs and crushed rocks. As good as that is, on the palate, the wine flows over your palate with its waves of vibrant, plums, cherries, black raspberries, blue fruits, salty tannins and purity. The lively, vibrant, long finish that doesn’t know when to quit. That is a good thing because you want to enjoy it again and again. Drink from 2026-2055. 97 Pts
# 83 – 2020 Château Beau-Séjour Bécot Beau-Sejour Becot is on a hot streak and 2020 shows why. Opening with a wealth of flowers before you get to all the red, black and blue fruits, thyme, spice-box, espresso beans, cocoa and licorice in the bouquet. The palate is even better with its multiple-layers of crushed stones, sensuous fruits, velvet-tannins and long, expansive, lifted finish, with its hint of salt in the endnote. As I penned after tasting a barrel sample, this is a new level of quality at Beau-Sejour Becot that embraces less volume, but more intensity, and purity in the fruit. With their new cellars about to come into use, you are looking at a new level of Beau-Sejour Becot! Drink from 2025-2055. 97 Pts
# 84 – 2020 Château Belair-Monange Spell-binding in every sense of the word, you can sense this is special from the initial sniff with its showy bouquet of white and purple flowers, black, red, and blue fruits, crushed rocks, espresso, and licorice. On the palate, the wine is concentrated and intense, finishing with a majestic combination of black plums, black cherries, chocolate, sea salt, and velvet-laced tannins. The final end note appears close to the 60-second mark. This will age and effortlessly evolve for the next 3 decades with ease. Drink from 2027-2060. 97 Pts
# 85 – 2022 Château Beychevelle Flowers, black cherries, cedar, tobacco wrapper, and blackberries crowd into the perfume. On the palate, the fruits match the nose. The wine is silky, fresh, vibrant, and concentrated. The fruits express purity, elegance and refinement. The finish delivers a wealth of sweet red, and black fruits, creamy textures and a chalky finish that sticks with you. The wine blends 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot.14% ABV, pH 3.85. The harvest took place September 12 – September 29. The yields were 36 hectoliters per hectoliter with 60% of the harvest going into the Grand Vin. Drink from 2027-2060. 97 Pts
# 86 – 2022 Château Branaire-Ducru Deep in color, the wine displays its bouquet of flowers before getting to all of its dark, red fruits, spice, mocha, nutmeg, vanilla, and black cherries. While the aromatics are enticing, it is on the palate, with all of its silky-textures, creaminess, energy and most importantly, purity of fruit and concentration that provides you with the best part of the experience. The finish has never been this defined, elegant and concentrated in any previous vintage of Branaire Ducru. This is an entirely new level of quality here. Clearly, this is the best vintage of Branaire Ducru ever produced! The wine blends 60.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31.5% Merlot, 5.5% Cabernet Franc, and 2.5% Petit Verdot. 14.3% ABV, 3.65 pH. The harvest took place September 12 – September 24. The yields were 34 hectoliters per hectare. Drink from 2027-2060. 97 Pts
# 87 – 2020 Château Brane-Cantenac With pungent notes of flowers, tobacco leaf, blackberry liqueur, creme de cassis, smoke, and wet earthy nuances, the perfume is in full force. The fruits on the palate offer purity, elegance, lift, and silky tannins, which is a good thing, because you want as much of these gorgeous, sweet, pure, red fruits as possible. The velvet and silk finish is a treat to taste and experience. This is another stellar vintage for Brane Cantenac, an estate that has been on a non-stop roll. This is a wow wine that fans of the estate should run, not walk, and buy as for now, prices are still more than reasonable. Drink from 2025-2055. 97 Pts
# 88 – 2016 Château Canon Tightening up at the moment, but with decanting and coaxing you can find the strong floral bouquet, with additional nuances of red plums, black cherries, licorice, smoke, espresso, and spice. The wine is full, deep, polished, fresh, lively, and refined, with a finish of pure elegance. However, it is resting at the moment, so it is best to wait a few years before pulling a cork. Drink from 2025-2055. 97 Pts
# 89 – 2022 Château Canon la Gaffeliere Deep, and dark in color, the wine opens with flowers, oceanic influences, plums, smoke, licorice, and black cherries. On the palate, the wine is concentrated, opulent, polished, vibrant, silky and fresh, finishing with multiple layers of chocolate-covered, plums, black cherries, espresso, crushed stones and spices. What makes everything work here is the balance, freshness, and purity in the fruits. The wine blends 50% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. 14.2% ABV. Drink from 2027-2055. 97 Pts
# 90 – 1982 Château Cheval Blanc It is always all about the bottle at this age, and fortunately for us, this was a gorgeous bottle with layers of decadently-textured, silky plums, dark red pit fruits, tobacco leaf, and hints of cocoa on the palate. There is a uniqueness of texture, that is pure Cheval. The perfume was equally alluring with all of its dried flower, cigar wrapper. spice and red fruits. Fully mature, this is a superb example of what Cheval Blanc does best. Drink from 2023-2030. 97 Pts
# 91 – 2020 Château Clos St. Martin Texturally, this is one of the sexiest wines in all of Bordeaux. The levels of opulence, sensuality and silk are almost off the hook, and they make the perfect backdrop for the layers of blackberries, black plums, licorice, chocolate, black cherries, espresso and spice. Long, rich, balanced, fresh and hedonistic, this is going to offer pleasure for the following 2 decades. Drink from 2024-2047. 97 Pts
# 23 – 2020 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Medium-bodied, fresh, meaty and spicy with a strong sense of pepper and garrigue, fresh, soft and vibrant, the wine will drink well fairly early for Beaucastel due to its freshness, balance and ripe, soft tannins. The wine blends 30% Mourvedre, 20% Grenache with the remainder blend coming from all the other assorted red and white grape varieties. Drink from 2024-2040. 97 Pts
# 93 – 1947 Château d’Yquem My first, and sadly, probably my last time tasting this beautiful, copper/amber colored, historical gem, the wine opened with creme brulee, marshmallow, caramel, butterscotch, candied orange, and mango, completed by Indian spices in the perfume. The patina of age was there on the palate, providing an exotic, soft, silky, sweet mouthful of caramel-coated orange, tangerine, and candied mango with an accent of spice and cocoa. Tasting younger than its almost 80 years of age, but without the same raciness and concentration found in years with less heat, like 1945, it was still a thrill and a treat to taste. Drink from 2023-2037. 97 Pts
# 94 – 2020 Domaine de Chevalier Showing a solid depth of color, the moment the wine hits the glass you find a wealth of black raspberries, cigar box, mint, oceanic influences, smoke, licorice, black currants, blackberries, bay leaf, and black raspberries in the nose. On the palate, the wine exudes an incredible purity of fruit, dark chocolate, and layers of ripe, dense, sensuously-textured black, red, and blue fruits that unfold seamlessly across your palate, and linger for close to 50 seconds. There is lift, energy, volume, and depth on the palate finishing with waves of dark red currants, creme de cassis, tobacco leaf, blackberry, savory herbs, and a gentle wisp of spearmint on the backend. Clearly, this is one of the great vintages of Domaine de Chevalier that fans of the estate should run, (not walk) to buy! Drink from 2026-2055. 97 Pts
# 95 – 2020 Château Grand Puy Lacoste Cassis, cigar box, dried flowers, spice, herbs and blackberries crowd into the perfume. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, concentrated and rich. There is a lushness to the fruits, along with a softness and polish to tannins that is perfect for the wine and the vintage. Length, purity, complexity and a seemingly, endless, creamy finish caps everything off. This is the finest vintage ever produced at Grand Puy Lacoste. Fans of the estate, and Pauillac should be all over this wine. Drink from 2026-2060. 97 Pts
# 96 – 2022 Château La Gaffeliere Rich, lush, deep and concentrated, the wine is fresh rich and vibrant with layers of sweet, ripe, vibrant, plums, cherries, flowers and crushed stones from start to finish. Drink from 2023-2050. 97 Pts
# 97 – 1949 Château Latour Grand Vin You never know how wines of this age are going to show, but this was a thrill-a-sip bottle! It took only one sniff and the initial sip to know this was a treat. The currants were sweet, ripe, vibrant, and fresh. There was length, refinement, elegance, and class here from start to finish. Long and complex, at close to 75 years, with more gas left in the tank, this is a perfect example of the ability to age in Latour. Drink from 2023-2030. 97 Pts
# 98 – 2020 Château Peby Faugeres Almost completely opaque in color, the wine is fully-packed with countless layers of perfectly ripe, opulently textured, deep, dark fruits. Powerful, yet balanced, with a palate-staining, seamless finish loaded with perfectly ripe, dark red, velvet-textured, pit fruits with a gorgeous sense of purity that builds, expands and lingers for over 50 seconds. This is already stunning, but its best days are yet to come. Drink from 2025-2050. 97 Pts
# 99 – 2020 Château Pontet Canet With a nose that displays truffle, tobacco leaf, cedar, licorice, and black currants, the wine is soft, fresh, refined, and focuses you on its cassis, blackberry, earth, spice, and peppery herb character. There are no hard edges in the finish, just soft, vibrant currants, herbs, and spice. The wine is a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, and 4% Cabernet Franc. 13% ABV, pH 3.8. The wine is aged in 45% new, French oak barrels and amphora. The harvest took place September 14, to September 30. Drink from 2026-2055. 97 Pts
# 100 – 1974 1974 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha’s Vineyard Tobacco, blackberry, cassis, mint leaf, cigar box, spice, spearmint, and earthy notes open to a fully mature, soft, supple, round wine with elegant tannins. There is a lot of intensity, richness, and balance in this sublime example of a fully mature California Cabernet Sauvignon that will not get better with further aging. Drink from 2023-2029. 97 Pts
