Fine Wine > 95-99 Pts > France

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"This is initially very muted on the nose, but it unfurls seductively with subtle, perfumed aromas of lime leaf, white peach, fresh apricot and touches of white flowers: very pretty and well defined. The palate is beautifully balanced, so pure and succinct with wonderful precision towards the..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
A flamboyant St.-Emilion, this largely-Merlot blend displays notes of Christmas fruitcake, cedar wood, tobacco leaf, and loads of black currant and blackberry fruit. A showy, extravagantly concentrated, hedonistic style of St.-Emilion, with some wood smoke and roasted herbs adding nuance to the..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"The minerality and stoniness really comes through on the nose of this Rieussec, more than the 2007. The palate is very well balanced with superb acidity, real tension, steely with great precision with notes of apricot, white peach and honey on the beautifully defined finish. Probably the best..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"Soft and generous fruit, its tannins enveloped by a warm and ripe juicy fruit layer. The wine is already delicious, showing sweet tannins and a subtle touch of wood."

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"A candidate for wine of the vintage, the 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape (a tank-aged blend of 90% Grenache and the rest Mourvedre, Syrah and Cinsault from 80+ year old vines) is a naked expression of Chateauneuf du Pape that is pure fruit and complexity. Its dense purple color is followed by aromas of..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
An enormously appealing style of wine with a dark plum/purple color to the rim, its sweet kiss of subtle oak intermixed with Asian spice, plum sauce, black cherries and black currants pushes some of the oak to the background. Plump, opulent, low in acidity and very sexy, this wine can be drunk over..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
The soft, sexy 2009 exhibits a dense plum/purple color along with a big, sweet bouquet of raspberries, black cherries, black currants, smoke and forest floor. Opulent and round with an attractive viscosity as well as outstanding purity, depth and length, it should drink well for two decades. While..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"More backward and concentrated, the 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape exhibits a dark ruby/purple color as well as dense, black raspberry, black currant, garrigue, licorice and lavender characteristics. Full-bodied with undeniable elegance, minerality and precision, it needs 2-3 years of cellaring and..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"Resplendent in its new shiny gold label, Krug is a majestic Champagne. Its velvet texture, dominated by mature flavors, is toasty and rich, dense and complex. In the mouth, its beautiful roasted almond, spice and ripe pears all balance impressively. Could the wine be getting even better? No..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
The palate is impressive: tightly coiled, honeyed fruit, very fine acidity, linear at first then fanning out across the finish with notes of dried apricot, nectarine, a touch of almond and a faint hint of spice. With good length and unctuous on the finish, this Guiraud is impossible to ignore.