93 Wine Spectator

Powerful and pure-tasting, with plush dark plum, cherry tart and dark currant flavors. Refined and minerally on the finish, with dried mint accents and plenty of chocolaty richness. Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenère. Drink now through 2025. 150 cases imported.

94 Wine Enthusiast

"This might be the best vintage yet for this exciting white wine brand, which is showcasing SLO Coast's potential like few others. Aromas of honeydew, kiwi, grass and rainy cement make for a detailed nose. The fun but serious palate sizzles with acidity and clings with texture, showing green apple, pomelo and margarita flavors. -MK"

95 Decanter

"Absorbing herbal cassis, tobacco and mocha notes trail from the nose and linger over the stately oak-led structure. Long and engaging and full of well-honed varietal character."

91 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

The 2022 Côtes Du Rhône Les Claux Blanc is based on 30% Grenache Blanc, 30% Clairette, 30% Roussanne, and 10% Bourboulenc, and this cuvée is always a rock-solid white. Golden apples, honeyed flowers, blanched almonds, and some subtle, richer, creamy nuances all define this beautifully textured, medium-bodied, balanced white that’s superb on its own yet will absolutely shine on the dinner table. It should have 2-4 years of prime drinking if well stored.

85 Wine Enthusiast

"Sweet is the name and sweet the taste of this soft wine. However, the crisp acidity typical of Vinho Verde gives the wine a lift. A fine aperitif wine, it's ready to drink now. -RV"

100 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

The 2020 Pavie Macquin is sensational. Rich, dark and explosive, the 2020 balances the natural richness that is such a signature of the estate with a level of energy and vibrancy I have not seen here in the recent past. The result is a towering, imposing Pavie Macquin that hugely delivers. In this vintage, regisseur Nicolas Thienpont did not use the Cabernet Sauvignon, so the blend is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, with the Franc lending aromatic presence, energy and depth. What a total knock out!

98 Jeff Leve - The Wine Cellar Insider

Deeply colored with a showy nose packed with smoke, espresso bean, flowers, licorice, black cherries, plums and chocolate. The wine is rich, full-bodied, deep and concentrated with layers of sensuous, flamboyant, silky fruits that express purity, depth and complexity. The lingering finish builds in intensity finishing with intriguing touches of citrus peel, red pit fruit, and dark chocolate. In a few years, this could be even better. Drink from 2025-2055

98 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

I have never had a Pavie Macquin like this. It’s so fresh and vivid with black cherry, currant and raspberry character, as well as citrus. Some mineral and spice. Salt, too. The palate is full and linear with a verticality that takes you so deep and long. Endless. Transparent. Drink after 2028.

97 Georgina Hindle - Decanter

Vivid and vibrant nose, full of rose petals, lilac floral edges, strawberries and black cherries. Forward, expressive, perfumed, alive. Sensual on the palate, smooth, velvety soft, intense but well balanced with a gorgeous plush, mouthful of ripe tannins. Really very good with the right intensity, structure and push. Powerful but controlled, poised yet plush, wild and raw yet pretty too with tons of energy and St-Emilion glamour. Has a core of juicy, bright red fruits with a grainy, herbal edge to the strawberries, a lovely bitterness, and edges of liquorice, slate and wet stone - nuanced and aromatic. I love this, they haven't pushed too far and the acidity is brilliant. Clean and precise.

97 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Independent

Composed of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, the 2020 Pavie Macquin is deep garnet-purple in color. It bursts with bold notions of baked plums, boysenberries, and fresh, juicy blackberries, plus hints of Indian spices, violets, and clove oil. The full-bodied palate explodes with vibrant black and blue fruits, supported by super-soft tannins and a lively backbone, leading to a long and perfumed finish on this beautiful wine.

96+ Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

The dense purple-hued 2020 Château Pavie Macquin checks in as a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc from yields of 31 hectoliters per hectare and a selection of 85% of the production. Incredibly pure cassis and blueberry fruits as well as complex spring flowers, liquid violets, white truffle, and a liqueur of limestone-like minerality define the aromatics, and it's medium to full-bodied on the palate, with ultra-fine tannins, the vintage's pure, focused, structured profile, and a great finish. As in most vintages, this beauty is not for instant gratification and needs 7-8 years, if not a decade of cellaring to show its potential. It's another true vin de garde from the team of Nicolas Thienpont (Stéphane Derenoncourt also consults) that readers will love to have in their cellar.

83 Cellar Tracker

Based on 6 notes and 5 scores from 6 users. As of 5/17/15

97-98 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

This is always an idiosyncratic wine. This year it’s stunning, with a unique floral aspect and excellent depth of pure blue fruit, mulberries, dried herbs and white pepper. So juicy and mouthwatering on the palate, with a medium to full body and fine tannins. There is a crystalized mouthfeel, but the tannins are fresh and well knit. This is already delicious, which indicates its superb balance. 48% cabernet franc, 29% cabernet sauvignon and 23% merlot.

94-97 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

The 2024 Château Carmes Haut-Brion comes from 7.8 hectares of vines in the heart of Pessac and is 48% Cabernet Franc, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the balance 23% Merlot that was vinified with 52% whole clusters and will spend two years in 70% new barrels as well as smaller portions in vats and amphora. It's one of the darker-hued wines in the vintage and has a terrific nose of ripe black fruits, smoky earth, violets, crushed stone, and hints of lead pencil. It's medium to full-bodied, has ultra-fine tannins, a layered, seamless mouthfeel, and a great finish. I think it's clearly one of the top wines in the vintage

95-97 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

Seamless and silky in the glass, with superb balance, the 2024 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is one of the wines of the vintage. All the elements are so well balanced, always a sign of a superior vintage at this address. Floral notes, spice, leather and mocha run through a core of layered, beautifully persistent dark red fruit. Harvest took place between September 17 and 25, during one of the rare windows with little rain. As always, Les Carmes is done with a high percentage of stems (52%), specifically 100% for the Cabernet Franc, 50% for the Merlot and 20% for the Cabernet Sauvignon. Aging is 70% new oak barrels, 19% 18HL foudre and 11% amphora. New oak is already very nicely integrated, another sign of a superb vintage. The 2024 is a brilliant effort by the team led by Technical Director Olivier Pouthier.

95-97 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Independent

Deep garnet-purple colored. Slowly unfurls to reveal classic Franc notes of red currant jelly, fresh blackberries, and pencil shavings, followed by hints of rose oil, fragrant soil, and crushed rocks. The light to medium-bodied palate shimmers with electric red and black berry flavors, framed by firm, grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing on a lingering ferrous note. Nice!

96 Georgina Hindle - Decanter

This wine presents a perfumed, floral nose with red and pink flowers, transitioning to dark fruit with a pink-purple rim. Cool blue fruit and inky tones define the aromatics. Chalky and bright, it exhibits racy acidity and vibrant energy although remains relatively compact with firm, appealingly grippy tannins. The fruit is pure - cranberry, strawberry, and raspberry - lacking excessive ripeness but offering clarity. Notes of iodine, ink, salt, black pepper, liquorice, and graphite add complexity. Structured and intense yet refined, it avoids heaviness, with fine tannins forming a robust frame. The finish is long, clean, and slightly creamy, with enduring flavours. This really embodies Les Carmes’ chiselled character. With time, it gains sweetness, chewiness, and density, revealing greater depth. 52% whole bunch fermentation. Ageing occurs in 70% new barrels, 19% 18hl vats, and 11% amphorae, with a 3.61pH. Complex, structured, and profound.

94-96 Jeff Leve - The Wine Cellar Insider

Showing one of the deepest colors of the vintage, the wine pops with flowers, black cherries, licorice, smoke, chocolate, and plums in the aromatic profile. The wine is supple, spicy, and fragrant in the mouth, leaving you with sweet, spicy, peppery, black cherries, marine influences, and crushed rocks which come through in the mid-palate, through to the finish. The wine was made using 52% whole bunch clusters, blending 48% Cabernet Franc, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 23% Merlot, 13.2% ABV, pH 3.6. The wine is aging in a combination of 70% new, French oak, 19% foudres and 11% amphora. Picking took place September 17- September 27. Drink from 2027-2047.

96 Sam Kim - Wine Orbit

This is precise and brilliantly detailed, showing lime sorbet, fresh fig and delicate floral notes on the nose, followed by a superbly concentrated palate offering excellent fruit purity and finesse. It’s wonderfully supported by elegant texture and lively acidity with a sustained, structured finish. At its best: 2028 to 2044.

95 Jane Anson - Inside Bordeaux

Tasted at the Palmères de Castillon event, where I was a jury member, and this was one of the wines picked out blind. I checked it against a different bottle at home later, and suggest that it is given at least half an hour in a carafe, as it remains fairly closed, but once again this is proof of the quality of 2022, and it's a seriously impressive wine that offers wonderful value. I'm always a fan of Clos Puy Arnaud, and you get the deft precision of the winemaking here, coupled with ripe blueberry and raspberry fruits, liquorice, black tea, pomegranate and slate-scrape tannins.

94 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

The 2022 Clos Puy Arnaud is a dense, extroverted wine. Inky dark fruit, licorice, menthol and cloves are all amplified. Usually Clos Puy Arnaud is more refined, but in 2022, the vintage dominates and speaks loudly. Even so, this is a compelling offering. I look forward to tasting it with bottle age.

93 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

Pleasing aromas of rich black soil and figs. The juicy palate has complex layers of red and black fruit, dried herbs and rose petals. A full-bodied wine that is very drinkable now, but will have more to reveal in two years.

93 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Moon Mountain District includes two blocks from Monte Rosso in this appellation blend. In the glass, it pours a saturated, youthful purple color and is ripe in this vintage, with pretty and pure aromas of fresh lavender perfume, blackberries, wet stones, mountain herbs, and some red-fruited highlights. It’s full-bodied, approachable, and well-defined in its structure, and it retains refreshing acidity, ripe tannins, and an even feel through the finish. It’s an impressive and well-balanced wine in this hot vintage, with a wide drinking window to enjoy over the coming 10-12 years.

93 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

Vibrant red, the 2022 Rosso Di Montalcino takes on aromas of grenadine, apricot, tangerine, and pressed flowers. This medium-bodied Rosso remains pure and focused, with lovely balance in its fruit. It has fine tannins and is graceful, with a refined texture on the palate. Harmonious in its feel, it is fantastically balanced and is going to have a wide drinking window over the coming 10 years. Approximately 10,000 bottles were produced."

94 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

Very open and aromatic, with dark currant, graphite and dried lavender aromas that follow through to a medium body with fine tannins and a savory finish. Hints of cedar and dried citrus at the end. Firm, integrated tannins that are caressing and fine. Second wine of Brane Cantenac. Drink now and enjoy.