Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Notes of smoked duck, plums, Asian spices, rose petal and orange rind introduce the 2017 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts, a medium to full-bodied wine that's the deepest, densest premier cru in the Dujac cellar this year, though it retains the suppleness and elegance that characterizes the vintage at this address. While its firm back-end structure will require some bottle age, I suspect it will always be more accessible than the 2016 and 2015 renditions.

Aromas of plums, cherries, raw cocoa, espresso roast and grilled meats introduce the 2017 Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru, a medium-bodied wine with tangy acids and a succulent core of fruit that largely conceals its fine structuring tannins.

The 2017 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Aux Combottes is showing well, offering up an appealing bouquet of dark wild berries, raspberries, warm spices, sweet soil tones and a subtle framing of cedary wood. On the palate, the wine is medium-bodied with an expansive attack, sandy structuring tannins and juicy acids. It's a charming, supple Combottes which will offer a broad drinking window.

Pure and fragrant, the 2017 Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru unfurls in the glass with a seductive bouquet of rose petals, dried flowers, violets, sweet red fruits and orange rind, delicately framed by a judicious touch of new wood. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, silky and succulent, its structuring tannins concealed in a vibrant core of fruit, concluding with a long and fragrant finish.

The 2017 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru is an excellent wine in the making, offering up a complex bouquet of orange rind, warm spices, red cherries, rose petals, espresso roast and rich soil tones. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied with excellent depth and dimension, velvety textured after the satin of the Clos Saint-Denis but similarly supple and elegant, with juicy balancing acids and a sapid finish. While this remains a charming, giving vintage, there's enough structural tension here to suggest the wine will be sneakily long lived

The 2015 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru is superb, opening in the glass with a beautiful bouquet of yellow orchard fruit, tarte tatin, toasted nuts, orange zest and honey, framed by a deft touch of new oak. On the palate, the wine is broad, deep and very powerful, with almost chewy structure and a long, penetrating finish. This is more blocky and foursquare than the Bienvenues, with perceptibly racier acidity, and it will require more time in the cellar.

The 2018 Vieux Château Certan is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc. Yields were 40 hectoliters per hectare. The wine has a pH of 3.78, 14.4% alcohol and an IPT (total polyphenol index) of 77. Medium to deep garnet-purple—it has a very vibrant color—it drifts effortlessly out of the glass with wonderfully intense, beautifully delineated scents of red roses, black raspberries, kirsch and Darjeeling tea before the powerful, profound black fruits kick in: baked plums, wild blueberries, molten licorice and mulberries with touches of cigar box, cinnamon stick, tapenade and truffles.

The 2018 Vieux Château Certan is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc. Yields were 40 hectoliters per hectare. The wine has a pH of 3.78, 14.4% alcohol and an IPT (total polyphenol index) of 77. Medium to deep garnet-purple—it has a very vibrant color—it drifts effortlessly out of the glass with wonderfully intense, beautifully delineated scents of red roses, black raspberries, kirsch and Darjeeling tea before the powerful, profound black fruits kick in: baked plums, wild blueberries, molten licorice and mulberries with touches of cigar box, cinnamon stick, tapenade and truffles.

The 2018 Figeac is composed of 37% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Cabernet Franc, harvested September 17 to October 12 with a 3.7 pH and 14% alcohol. Deep purple-black in color, it charges out of the gate with vivacious black and red cherries, cassis, warm plums and wild blueberries scents plus fragrant hints of violets, star anise, tilled soil and forest floor with wafts of Ceylon tea and chocolate box.

The 2018 La Conseillante is a blend of 83% Merlot and 17% Cabernet Franc, with a 3.65 pH and 14% alcohol. Yields were 32 hectoliters per hectare; Merlot was harvested September 19 to October 1, and Cabernet Franc was harvested on October 4. Very deep purple-black colored, it comes charging out of the gate with energetic notes of wild blueberries, chocolate-covered cherries and warm black plums plus hints of lilacs, damp soil, cardamom and cloves with gentle wafts of cast iron pan and fragrant earth.