Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

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2022 Chateau Clerc-Milon, Pauillac, France 750ml

The 2022 Clerc Milon is beautiful, offering up aromas of cherries, raspberries and plums mingled with hints of pencil shavings and rose petals. Medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, it's taut and lively, with a vibrant core of fruit framed by fine, chalky tannins. Its clay-limestone terroir lends it a distinctive signature that sets it apart from the rest of the portfolio. (WK)

2012 Figli Luigi Oddero Vigna Rionda, Barolo DOCG, Italy 750ml

Here's a beautiful late release from Oddero. The 2012 Barolo Riserva Vignarionda has been softened and chiseled down with time, and the mellow contours of the once-hard edges are coming out. The wine offers lots of dark and rich fruit, with dried blackberry, tar, leather and cured tobacco. There is a point of subtle sweetness on the close. All of these lovely sensations settle slowly onto the palate, imparting extra density and richness with each step. The 2012 vintage appeared monotone to me when I first tasted it upon its release years ago.

2022 Chateau Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Pessac-Leognan, France 750ml

The remarkable 2022 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a strong candidate for the title of wine of the vintage. It's also one of the most singular, characterful wines being produced in the region today. Unfurling in the glass with complex aromas of blackberries and cherries mingled with notions of exotic spices, orange zest, pencil lead, rose petals and vine smoke, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a velvety attack that segues into a layered, seamless and multidimensional mid-palate framed by rich, powdery tannins.

2022 Chateau Beychevelle, Saint-Julien, France 750ml

Unwinding in the glass with aromas of dark berries, cherries and cassis mingled with hints of violets and licorice, framed by creamy new oak, the 2022 Beychevelle is medium to full-bodied, velvety and layered, with a fleshy core of fruit framed by rich, unusually suave and polished tannins in the context of recent vintages at this address. It's a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot, with a pH of 3.85, quite typical for this address. (WK)

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