Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Flirting with perfection, instantly impressive and marked with impeccable shine and polish, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is made entirely from Cabernet Sauvignon from Champoux vineyard (90%) and Mach One vineyard (10%). The Cabernet explodes out of a glass with exuberance and power, prancing with layers of juicy black fruit, plum compote, black raspberry jus and hints of cinnamon-spiced black cherries. Full-bodied and with a ripe attack, velvety tannins sway with a glossy mouthfeel that is seductive and hedonistic, and the wine displays a balanced structure with a generous frame.

The capsule of the 2018 celebrates the 40th vintage, otherwise unnoted specifically to keep the consistency of the label. The nose is soft and delineated with lifted dark red and black fruit essences that waft with a delicate floral lift.

Revisiting the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon at a year on, the wine remains bold and structured and has had a bit more time to come together and harmonize. The wine remains generous on the nose with sweetness of fruit and a glossy character, which offers chocolaty undertones in the glass with aromas of lavender and black cherry that are still persistent on the nose. Full-bodied, the tannins are beginning to round with an additional year in bottle.

The 2014 Meursault 1er Cru Genevrières is much more expressive than the Meursault Charmes at this stage - great minerality, a little more verve and animation. The palate is taut on the entry with a fine line of acidity, satisfying depth and grip with a persistent, walnut and sea salt finish that just goes on and on. This is one of several great wines from this premier cru in 2014, and is one of Pierre-Yves' best contributions to the vintage. (NM)

The 2009 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru is a brilliant wine that's evolving at a glacial pace. Unwinding in the glass with notes of citrus oil, crisp orchard fruit, fresh bread, struck match and beeswax, it's full-bodied, deep and satiny, with a concentrated and tightly wound core, racy girdling acids and chalky structuring extract. Long and resonant, this impeccably blanched wine is impressively youthful for the vintage, and while it's immensely compelling today, it will be even better with another decade on the clock. This is one of the wines of the vintage in the Côte de Beaune. (WK)

The Colin 2007 Batard-Montrachet -- from centrally-located 50 year old vines – positively crawls up the nostrils in its intense amalgam of pit fruit distillate; smoky black tea; lemon and grapefruit; and heliotrope. Citrus traverses the palate like an electric current, enlivening a dense concentrate of lightly caramelized peach, nut paste, and chalk, that is almost custard-like in texture. This finishes with tremendous force and grip. Like the corresponding Corton-Charlemagne, I have the feeling that it could exhibit something of a split personality on any given day in its youth.

From magnum, Pierre-Yves Colin's 2008 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru is still youthful and introverted, unwinding in the glass with notes of lemon oil, mandarin, wet stones, freshly baked bread and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, tensile and incisive, it's racy and structured, with a delicate core of fruit and a long, precise finish. This Chevalier's best days still appear to be ahead of it, especially in magnum. (WK)

Lime, grapefruit, green tea, lemon oil, and chalk dust on the nose mark Colin’s 2006 Chevalier-Montrachet as inhabiting a much cooler and more refreshing realm than his corresponding Batard. Rather than enveloping richness, this delivers a long-lined, refined, subtly yet penetratingly insistent personality. Having not finished its malo-lactic transformation until well after the 2007 harvest, this Chevalier was correspondingly in need of time when I tasted it; speaking of which, it will probably have a felicitous, ten year future. (DS)

The 2014 Siran has a very refined bouquet with blackberry, briary and light tertiary aromas. There is fine precision here, understated compared to the Sirans of old. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin and a keen line of acidity. Linear in style and a little conservative towards the finish, but showing freshness from start to finish. Edouard Miailhe, proprietor of Siran, has really upped the ante here and this 2014 is just a classic Bordeaux claret that should drink well from the start, yet has the substance to suggest it will age with aplomb.  (NM)

Aged for 14 months in 50% new and 50% one-year-old French oak and blended of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc, the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Saint-Pierre leaps from the glass with exuberant Black Forest cake, blackberry compote and cassis with hints of cigars, earth and violets with a waft of iron ore. Medium-bodied, the palate has a firm frame of grainy tannins with fantastic energy and depth, finishing on a lingering chocolaty note. (LPB_