Matthew Jukes (19+)

Created in 1988 as a tribute to Elisabeth Salmon, one of the House’s founders, this is the latest release and it has already benefitted from a remarkable ten years on its lees, because my sample was disgorged in October 2020. Made from 76% Grands Crus and 24% Premiers Crus, 55% Pinot Noir comes from Bouzy, Ambonnay, Verzy, Verzenay, Mareuil-sur-Äy and Äy and 45% Chardonnay comes from Chouilly, Cramant and Mesnil-sur-Oger. 9% red wine was added from Valofroy, a parcel of particularly old vines (60+ years old in 2008) situated high up on the hill above the winery in Mareuil. And 17% of the wine was vinified at low temperature in oak barrels which are, on average, 15 years old. The dosage is 7g/L. For the very first time, Elisabeth is available in magnums. I enjoyed an energetic tasting with Mathieu Roland-Billecart and he explained that this 2008 vintage seems like it has stolen the finest parts of each of the 1996 (tension), 2002 (layers of flavour) and the 2007 (refinement) and rolled them all into one wine! In a way, this is a fabulous analogy, but there is more to this vintage than meets the eye. The freshness and acidity here are both spectacular. These notes underpin the refined flavour with jolts of electricity which gather to form bolts of lightning. This is a young wine and yet the tenderness of the fruit is perfectly counterpointed by the shocking youthfulness on the finish. I cannot believe that 13 years have passed in the blink of an eye and so this means that 2008 Elisabeth might well be one of the slowest to age and longest-lived wines under this label to date. Having said this, the fruit is already magnificent. Mathieu asked me if I was familiar with the great French dessert clafoutis! At once a cherry clafoutis aroma arose from the glass, with faint notes of ginger blossom, saffron and white pepper. This is a crystalline and yet kaleidoscopic wine with fractals of flavour which splinter and shiver on the palate. It is high-tensile at the same time as being fragile and demure. It is everything Elisabeth would have wanted in her namesake wine.

Matthew Jukes (19+)

Created in 1988 as a tribute to Elisabeth Salmon, one of the House’s founders, this is the latest release and it has already benefitted from a remarkable ten years on its lees, because my sample was disgorged in October 2020. Made from 76% Grands Crus and 24% Premiers Crus, 55% Pinot Noir comes from Bouzy, Ambonnay, Verzy, Verzenay, Mareuil-sur-Äy and Äy and 45% Chardonnay comes from Chouilly, Cramant and Mesnil-sur-Oger. 9% red wine was added from Valofroy, a parcel of particularly old vines (60+ years old in 2008) situated high up on the hill above the winery in Mareuil. And 17% of the wine was vinified at low temperature in oak barrels which are, on average, 15 years old. The dosage is 7g/L. For the very first time, Elisabeth is available in magnums. I enjoyed an energetic tasting with Mathieu Roland-Billecart and he explained that this 2008 vintage seems like it has stolen the finest parts of each of the 1996 (tension), 2002 (layers of flavour) and the 2007 (refinement) and rolled them all into one wine! In a way, this is a fabulous analogy, but there is more to this vintage than meets the eye. The freshness and acidity here are both spectacular. These notes underpin the refined flavour with jolts of electricity which gather to form bolts of lightning. This is a young wine and yet the tenderness of the fruit is perfectly counterpointed by the shocking youthfulness on the finish. I cannot believe that 13 years have passed in the blink of an eye and so this means that 2008 Elisabeth might well be one of the slowest to age and longest-lived wines under this label to date. Having said this, the fruit is already magnificent. Mathieu asked me if I was familiar with the great French dessert clafoutis! At once a cherry clafoutis aroma arose from the glass, with faint notes of ginger blossom, saffron and white pepper. This is a crystalline and yet kaleidoscopic wine with fractals of flavour which splinter and shiver on the palate. It is high-tensile at the same time as being fragile and demure. It is everything Elisabeth would have wanted in her namesake wine.

Tim Atkin MW (97)

Right up there with the best Chardonnays Chile, and South America, has ever produced. This stunning wine comes from five specific blocks within the Quebrada Secain Limarí. Tangy, chiselled and refined, with very stylish oak. It’s the kind of thing that could embarrass a range of Puligny-Montrachet Premiers Crus in a blind tasting. Simply stunning

James Suckling (97)

This is another rock-star chardonnay from here with dried-apple, pear-skin, crushed-stone and peach-pit character. Full body. Creamy texture. Phenolic form and a long, flavorful finish. Drink or hold.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (97)

One of the stars of the vintage, the 2014 Haut-Brion is an exceptionally beautiful and vivid wine. Super-ripe dark cherry, plum, tobacco and menthol are some of the notes that run through the 2014. Just as it did from barrel, the 2014 boasts tons of opulence, intensity and richness. Dried flowers, tobacco, menthol, licorice and smoke wrap around the huge, baritone-inflected finish. Readers should not be in any rush with the 2014, as it is likely to require a number of years before it even starts to drink well. The blend is 50 % Merlot, 39 % Cabernet Sauvignon and 11 % Cabernet Franc.

Wine Advocate (95+)

The 2018 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru is showing brilliantly, unwinding in the glass with aromas of crisp orchard fruit, honeycomb, white flowers, orange oil and wheat toast. On the palate, it's full-bodied, ample and muscular, with lively acids and an impressively structured, introverted profile for the vintage, concluding with a long, saline finish.

Vinous (96+)

Impressing from the first tilt of the glass, the 2018 Brunello di Montalcino makes itself known, with a heady burst of exotic spice and crushed ashen stone giving way to dried black cherries and grilled herbs. This combines the energy of the vintage with the dark balsamic-tinged fruits of Montalcino’s southern reaches, as zesty acidity maintains balance throughout, and flinty minerals saturate toward the close. It finishes long, savory and structured, yet its tannins are more rounded than anticipated, creating both a classic feel, but also leaving a mouthwatering sensation that tricks the taster back to the glass for more. Easily one of the top wines of the vintage, the 2018 is not to be missed.

Jeb Dunnuck (98)

Sourced from 39 plots, the 2014 Champagne Cristal is 60% Pinot Noir and the remainder Chardonnay, with 32% aged in oak, and it has 7 grams per liter dosage. It is highly expressive of classic elegance and purity, revealing aromas of crushed rock, almond croissant, and perfume of citrus blossoms. The palate is hyper-refined in its mousse, with pinpoint bubbles, a subtly rounded mid-palate, an irresistible chalky texture, and energy throughout its long and floral finish. Everything about this feels perfectly tailored. Drink 2024-2044.

Jeb Dunnuck (97)

A rock star Margaux that should be snatched up by readers, the 2018 Château Marquis D'Alesme reveals a dense purple hue as well as ripe, sexy notes of blackcurrants, spicy oak, tobacco leaf, earth, and cedar. Deep, full-bodied, and gorgeously concentrated, it has velvety tannins, a layered, mouthcoating texture, and a great finish. It's a baby, but wow, what a wine. Hide bottle for 5-7 years if you can (you'll be forgiven for opening a bottle early) and it's going to evolve for 30-40 years.

Halliday Wine Companion (99)

Stands proudly at the head of the Mount Mary portfolio. A blend of 44% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot, 16% cabernet franc and 5% each of malbec and petit verdot, each variety handled according to its structure. Open/static fermenters, wood/stainless steel, 10-14 days on skins, 35% new oak from a range of coopers and forests, 16-20 months in barrel. Mesmerisingly silky, with a kaleidoscope of fruit and secondary flavours.

Wine Advocate (97)

The 2018 St Henri Shiraz is a terrific effort, perhaps rivaling the top-flight wines under this label in 1976 and 1986. Remarkably fine and silky in texture yet simultaneously dense and concentrated, it showcases the amazing fruit harvested in 2018. Boysenberry, mulberry and mocha shadings all swirl together effortlessly in a whorl of full-bodied elegance, finishing long and effortless. Mainly Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale, it includes smaller amounts of fruit from Port Lincoln, Robe, Padthaway, Clare Valley and the Adelaide Hills, all aged 12 months in large old wooden vats.

Vinous - Neal Martin (93)

The 2018 Sergant, which impressed from barrel, has a captivating bouquet of precise black cherry, wild strawberry and rose petal aromas that waft from the glass. The palate is well balanced with fine-grained tannins, a silky-smooth texture and beautifully integrated oak toward the finish. This is a top-quality Lalande de Pomerol, a bit of a hidden gem. Go seek!