Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Diamond Creek’s 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill is a bit more open than the Red Rock Terrace. The blue and black-hued fruit is deep, rich and enveloping, while firm, focused tannins provide the backdrop. The Volcanic Hill has power to burn. With time in the glass, hints of smoke, crushed rocks and tar come to life, adding even more intensity and grip. The Volcanic Hill is always likely to be bombastic, but it is also compelling. Anticipated maturity: 2023-2048.  

The J. Davies 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon brings together a juicy, generous expression of fruit allied to the underlying structure of the vintage. A beautifully balanced, totally harmonious wine, the 2010 stands out for its impeccable balance. All the elements are simply in the right place. Wild flowers, mint and sweet herbs ring out on the vibrant, beautifully delineated finish.

This wine remains one of the legends of Bordeaux. It has thrown off the backward, youthful style that existed during its first 25 years of life, and over the last 4-5 years has developed such secondary nuances as cedar and spice box. The creme de cassis, underlying floral note, full-bodied power, extraordinary purity, multilayered texture, and finish of over a minute are a showcase for what this Chateau accomplished in 1982. The wine is still amazingly youthful, vibrant, and pure. It appears capable of remaining fruity and vibrant in 2082!

A barrel sample made up of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 3% Malbec to be aged for 24 months in 100% new French oak, the 2016 Insignia Proprietary Red Wine has a deep garnet-purple color and is a little reticent at this still nascent stage (to be bottled in January 2019), opening out to reveal chocolate-covered cherries, wild blueberries and black raspberries with touches of underbrush, cedar chest and bouquet garni plus a hint of grilled meat.

A blend of the 2013 and 2012 vintages that was disgorged in March, the NV Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs La Colline Inspiré opens in the glass with aromas of almond paste, citrus oil, crisp green apple and pastry cream, gently framed by its élevage in barrel. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, vinous and concentrated, with an immensely incisive spine of ripe but bracing acidity, a fine mousse and a long, electric and searingly saline finish. This bottling is produced from several parcels in Montgueux, and all the vins clairs are now fermented and matured in barrel.

"Blended of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec, the Opus One 2014 Proprietary Red Wine sports an inky purple color and nose of crushed black and red currants, black cherries and mulberries with touches of underbrush, sautéed herbs and pencil shavings plus a waft of spice box. Medium-bodied, finely crafted and with an energetic line lifting the red and black fruits, it has a bold frame of grainy tannins and a very long, earth and spice-layered finish."

This famous wine, first created by the late Baron Philippe de Rothschild and the late Robert Mondavi, started off life as a very good, but rarely exceptional wine. Over the last ten or more years, the administration at Mouton Rothschild, particularly the team led by Philippe Dhalluin, has truly pushed the level of quality to the point where this is clearly one of the great wines of Napa. And after so many years, it represents the pinnacle of French viticultural knowledge combined with that of California and Napa’s Shangri La-like microclimate.

A cuvée which sees no new wood, the 2017 Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru La Grand Montagne wafts from the glass with aromas of lemon oil, white flowers and crushed chalk. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, tight-knit and searingly mineral, with considerable concentration and chalky dry extract, underpinned by a racy line of animating acidity and concluding with a long, tongue-tingling finish. This is a superb wine that will appeal to Burgundy purists.

A cuvée which sees no new wood, the 2017 Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru La Grand Montagne wafts from the glass with aromas of lemon oil, white flowers and crushed chalk. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, tight-knit and searingly mineral, with considerable concentration and chalky dry extract, underpinned by a racy line of animating acidity and concluding with a long, tongue-tingling finish. This is a superb wine that will appeal to Burgundy purists.

Another of the range's high points is the 2017 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Grandes Ruchottes, a stunning wine that unfurls in the glass with a classic bouquet of pear, iodine, green apple, waxy lemon rind and wet stones. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, satiny and limpid, with a pure, elegantly textural profile, succulent acids and a long, lingering finish. Grandes Ruchottes is never the most incisive site out of the blocks, but it retains its freshness and energy with bottle age to a remarkable degree.