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After 18 years of buying spirits for K&L, this special parcel may be my crowning achievement. Just a few years ago, it would have been nearly unfathomable that we could gain access to stocks of this quality at such low prices. We have, of course, bottled similar whiskies before. Years back, we secured a 1991 version from Hunter Laing, and only last year we offered a Faultline barrel from 1998 that sold out almost immediately. Now, we bring you another "Single Vintage Blended Malt" a full decade that barrel's senior for exactly the same price. It is an absolute coup and, if I’m honest, may get me in a little trouble, but that surely will not stop me. My style has always been to ask forgiveness rather than permission. The true challenge with stocks like this is how you label them. We cannot, under any circumstances, place the distillery name on the label, even though it is beyond doubt where the whisky comes from. The once-accepted trade name Burnside belongs to our dear friends at Cadenhead, and out of respect (and good sense, given their well-known litigious nature) we would never infringe on it. So the question becomes, what do we call this whisky? Our friends at Duncan Taylor sold us that wonderful barrel for our Faultline label that they dubbed “The Huntley,” a reference to their hometown. That option was off the table for us. After some consideration, we settled on a playful nod to our friends in Campbeltown: “The Sideburns.” We are not the first to use the name, but ours is plural, because who on earth needs just one Side-burn? Needless to say, this is one of the most outrageous deals I have ever had the honor of brokering for our shop. It represents the pinnacle of my ongoing effort to push back against one of the most damaging trends in our industry: the erosion of value for the end consumer. If you destroy the primary market for great whisky by pushing prices beyond reason, you eventually destroy the market itself. Too many producers have forgotten the first rule of selling anything: give customers what they want at a price they can afford. Start with the customer’s experience and build the system backward from there, rather than forcing corporate projections and marketing jargon down their throats. What do customers want? Great old malt whisky. But in today’s marketplace, finding a bottle over 25 years old that delivers real value in the glass is nearly impossible. Certainly there are other ways brands create value for their customers through lifestyle, image, luxury packaging, or grand storytelling. But if the true measure is taste—and for me it always is—you will struggle to point to a single product that offers what this whisky does at anywhere near this price. This parcel is, without exaggeration, one of the finest opportunities ever presented to lovers of Scotch worldwide. I hope this is only the beginning. If we can continue to secure parcels like this through new channels, then perhaps we can begin to chip away at the barriers keeping customers from enjoying extraordinary old whisky rather than just looking at them. For now, I am confident in saying this is easily the greatest Scotch deal K&L has offered in its 40-plus year history.

The precision, hewn and cut tannins, wet stones, black tea, anis, liquorice root, bilberry and blackcurrant fruit, juicy tannins, understated power, settling in to itself at 10 years old, a superb wine that captures Margaux finesse with the more blunt power and concentration of the year.

The wild success of the Sideburns 35 Year has rattled the cage of more than one large company in Scotland. If you haven’t seen my review of that product, I highly recommend taking a look: https://shop.klwines.com/products/details/1918829 . The short version is this: we may be on the precipice of a new golden age of Scotch, and K&L is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the market asymmetry. While our marketing of the previous batch was met with side eyes and raised eyebrows from the original owners of the stocks and trademarks, other suppliers with similar inventories saw it as a signal. This was an opportunity. It would seem our prayers have been answered. Another incredible value in old malt has landed in our lap, and this time the deal is even more impressive. There are, of course, differences in the stock. This distillate comes entirely from November 1989 and was matured in refill hogsheads, rather than the first-fill sherry hogsheads of Batch #1. The proof is slightly lower, but still a robust 47-48% for a whisky of such advanced age. Remember, Scotch typically loses up to 1% ABV per year and enters the cask around 63%. So yes, older, slightly lower in proof, and without the fashionable sherry influence, yet 25% cheaper. If you ask me, old malt like this absolutely thrives in refill hogsheads. While I often insist on first or second fill for younger whisky, at this age the nuance of second or third fill can be profoundly beneficial. In any case, if it’s not already clear, this malt is drawn almost entirely from one of Speyside’s most beloved distillers. Search “Burnside,” the Cadenhead/Springbank-owned blended malt, if you want clues to the source. We’re being intentionally careful about naming names, but suffice it to say this parcel comes from the cellars of one of the industry’s most powerful blending houses. Whether it was once destined as a top note for premium blends or simply forgotten stock, it now stands as perhaps the greatest value I’ve ever offered. Twice in six months. It really does feel like the start of something bigger.

The 1946 Don PX Convento Seleccion produced with Pedro Ximenez grapes dehydrated under the sun at the time of the Second World War, was only bottled in September 2011. This is an extreme wine, my first descriptor was ultra-mega-super concentrated. It is unbelievably powerful, both in the nose and the palate, full of umami, with sweet cinnamon, Christmas cake, camphor, petrol, lemongrass, Belgian chocolate and butter. Incredibly complex and rich, sweet, balanced and smooth in the palate, it is both very sweet and somehow salty, and with time it develops a black olive note. It combines the texture of the 1962 and the elegance of the 1949. It is as decadent as it gets. 825 bottles were produced. This wine will survive all of us. These wines are kept for generations and offered in very small quantities, but it’s amazing that you can still buy and drink something so old, and I’m even tempted to say that it might represent good value for what it is. A real tour de force sweet wine. (LG)

Aromas of dried lemons, grapefruit, beeswax, seaweed and pears. Excellent focus, with a compact, driven and mineral palate. Biscuity touches, evolving to hints of pie crust, too, on a long finish. Drink or hold.

Pierre Ramonet arrived in Chassagne-Montrachet in the late 1920s with, as the family tells it, a knapsack and not much else, bought grapes and made wine until he could afford vines, and in 1934 made his first purchase in Les Ruchottes, the premier cru that would make his name. Frank Schoonmaker found him early and sent the wines to America, and Pierre never stopped buying: Bâtard and Bienvenues from Domaine Coquet in the 1950s, and in 1978, at 72, a quarter hectare of Montrachet paid for with his savings. He died in 1994 at 88, having handed the work to his grandsons Noël and Jean-Claude a decade earlier. Since 2013 the labels have read Jean-Claude Ramonet, and Jean-Claude now runs the domaine with his daughter Anne-France. The holdings are what every white Burgundy lover dreams about: Montrachet, Bâtard, Bienvenues and a sliver of Chevalier, plus Ruchottes, Caillerets, Morgeot, Boudriotte, Vergers and Chaumées in Chassagne, with Saint-Aubin and Puligny alongside. The cellar is old-fashioned and unhurried, with fermentation on native yeasts and 12 to 15 months in barrel, new oak kept to a modest share even for the grands crus. Decanter calls Ramonet one of the best white wine producers on the planet, and we’re not inclined to argue: these are the Chassagnes we buy whenever we can, with the Ruchottes and the Morgeot the ones that turn up most often on our own shelves.

Pierre Ramonet arrived in Chassagne-Montrachet in the late 1920s with, as the family tells it, a knapsack and not much else, bought grapes and made wine until he could afford vines, and in 1934 made his first purchase in Les Ruchottes, the premier cru that would make his name. Frank Schoonmaker found him early and sent the wines to America, and Pierre never stopped buying: Bâtard and Bienvenues from Domaine Coquet in the 1950s, and in 1978, at 72, a quarter hectare of Montrachet paid for with his savings. He died in 1994 at 88, having handed the work to his grandsons Noël and Jean-Claude a decade earlier. Since 2013 the labels have read Jean-Claude Ramonet, and Jean-Claude now runs the domaine with his daughter Anne-France. The holdings are what every white Burgundy lover dreams about: Montrachet, Bâtard, Bienvenues and a sliver of Chevalier, plus Ruchottes, Caillerets, Morgeot, Boudriotte, Vergers and Chaumées in Chassagne, with Saint-Aubin and Puligny alongside. The cellar is old-fashioned and unhurried, with fermentation on native yeasts and 12 to 15 months in barrel, new oak kept to a modest share even for the grands crus. Decanter calls Ramonet one of the best white wine producers on the planet, and we’re not inclined to argue: these are the Chassagnes we buy whenever we can, with the Ruchottes and the Morgeot the ones that turn up most often on our own shelves.

Exuberantly aromatic with sweet black plums, forest berries and violets. Juicy and vinous, this has vivacious, refreshing acidity and succulent, seamless tannins. The two-thirds new oak offers light espresso tones. The panache is bewitching. This is equally intellectual and pleasurable. One of the wines of the vintage.

The 2024 ranks among the best vintages of Leflaive's Bâtard I have tasted. There is a lovely freshness without sacrificing the richness that is the charm of a proper Bâtard. The wine surprises with profuse aromas of ripe pear, acacia flower, chalk and spice; the texture is dense but very fine, bringing impressive persistence to the finish. The wine is completely, convincingly delicious. The difficult 2024 vintage required extensive sorting, but the team did what was necessary to produce a truly memorable result.

A perfumed and highly expressive nose freely proffers its aromas of the essence of white fleshed fruit, green apple, wet stone, petrol and a plethora of floral elements. There is again excellent mid-palate density to the sappy and powerful medium-bodied flavors that possess an almost aggressive minerality on the superbly long finale. This is a knockout and it's extremely rare to find this level of quality at the villages-level - if you can find it, buy it.

As is often the case when young, the nose closely resembles that of the Pucelles with just a bit more layering. By contrast, there is definitely more size, weight and power to the bigger-bodied still yet refined and wonderfully energetic flavors that coat the palate with dry extract while delivering outstanding persistence on the compact, balanced and Zen-like finale. This is gorgeous and equally classy though it's also very much a buy and forget you own it wine. *Don't miss!*

Stunning aromas of blackcurrants, dark mushrooms and black cherries with forest-floor notes. Full body that fills your mouth with fine, caressing tannins and dark, flavorful fruit. The tannins are very intense and structural, spreading across the palate in layers and giving intensity and energy. Plenty of energy and verve here. This has gravity, too.

Once again there is a coolness to the airy, even wafting, nose of wet stone, citrus and exotic tea. The sleek, intense and beautifully delineated, even chiseled, flavors brim with minerality on the lilting, focused, balanced and lightly austere finale. Villages-level Meursault doesn't get a lot better and this is pretty much textbook Tillets. *Outstanding* *Top Value*

Restrained, fresh and sleek, showing watermelon, mints, potpourri and deep embers with vibrant strawberries and blood oranges. Incredibly elegant on the palate, with smooth, graceful tannins despite the full body, density and tense acidity. Dried-flower flavors are persistent and savory. Harmonious. October 2026 release. Drink then or hold. (AF)

Note: from 60+ year old vines and the vineyard is a whopping 4 ha monopole within Perrières. Here too the lightly wooded nose displays a panoply of floral nuances that include rose petal, lilac and acacia blossom with additional notes of just grated zest, spice and green apple. There is almost painful intensity to the slightly more concentrated and more mineral-driven flavors that conclude in a chiseled, youthfully austere and sneaky long finale that seems to go on and on. The Clos de la Mouchère is always excellent but in 2024, it is genuinely stunning.*Burghound Outstanding!*

The 2022 Château La Gaffelière comes from a mix of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc that's from 22 hectares of classic Saint-Emilion limestone soils. The élevage spanned 19 months in just 50% new French oak. Its deep ruby/plum hue is followed by a stunning nose of ripe red and black fruits, spring flowers, spicy wood, and crushed stone-like minerality. With flawless balance, a pure, full-bodied, seamless mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and a great finish, it's the finest vintage of this cuvée I've tasted and will most likely warrant a perfect rating in a decade. This is pure Saint-Emilion brilliance! Give bottles 4-6 years, count yourself lucky, and enjoy over the following 20-30 years.

Pure class, the 2019 Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse De Lalande is another brilliant wine from director Nicolas Glumineau that checks in at the top of the vintage. A blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet Franc that was harvested from mid-September through October 8th. Brought up in roughly 60% new French oak, it hit 14.1% natural alcohol with a pH of 3.7. More elegant and poised from bottle than barrel, it offers a brilliant perfume of crème de cassis, lead pencil shavings, tobacco leaf, damp earth, and graphite. Deep, full-bodied, and pure perfection on the palate, it has this incredible marriage of Latour-like stature and regalness buffered by wonderful, sexy, seamless fruit, which no doubt comes from the higher Merlot content and makes Comtesse de Lalande so singular and unique. It builds slowly with time in the glass and has remarkable purity of fruit, ultra-fine tannins, perfect balance, and a finish that just begs you to pour another glass. It has a seductive, seamless profile that offers pleasure even today (although it needs lots of air to show at its best) yet needs 7-8 years of bottle age to hit the early stages of its prime drink window and will evolve for another 40-50 years if stored properly.

From the only producer to use the AP Charlemagne label, this shows a lovely citrussy nose with hints of mineral and hawthorn flowers. The texture is compact but not heavy; there is abundant acidity to balance the impressive level of extract, and an immensely satisfying finish. It is produced from two parcels totalling 0.5ha. One faces south on the Aloxe side, and one faces west on the Pernand side. The combination is compelling and should not be overlooked. (Drink between 2025-2040)

The 2020 Brunello Di Montalcino has a beautifully inviting, multi-dimensional nose, with black raspberries, tea leaf, violets, rosemary, and subtle smoky accents that give way to brighter red cherry fruit with air. Medium to full-bodied, it comes across as one of the more approachable, immediate vintages from the estate in a relative sense, offering more early charm while still staying true to Biondi-Santi’s signature tension and freshness. It has ripe tannins, a sense of quiet structure, and a savory youthful grip on the finish that keeps it honest and age-worthy. This is a wine I would love to revisit with more bottle age. Drink 2027-2047. (AF)

The killer 2023 Condrieu La Doriane boasts gorgeous orange blossom, honeyed flowers, toasted spice, and grilled peach aromatics that build incrementally with time in the glass. Medium to full-bodied, focused, and pure, this brilliant effort spent 9 months in 100% new French oak and represents the crème de la crème of the vintage.

The aromas to this are really amazing, with a potpourri of spices and dried flowers, as well as redcurrants, sweet plums and even some peaches. Full-bodied with layers of ripe fruit and ultra-fine tannins that spread across the palate in an encompassing yet always elegant and pure way. It’s succulent and unadulterated. Like crushed, perfectly ripened grapes. The length is rather endless. The tannins build. Fabulous young red. 35% in amphora and the rest in 50% new oak and 15% one-year oak. 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot, the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. From biodynamically grown grapes. Try after 2028, but an absolute joy to taste now.

The 2016 Château Mouton Rothschild is nothing short of magical. It instantly begins to impress as it opens to seductive aromatics of blackberries and black currants woven together with espresso, charcoal, spring flowers, leather as well as hints of spice and gravel all taking shape in the glass. This continues to impress on the palate with its remarkable overall balance, concentration and silky, polished texture, which is beautifully underlined with a lovely trace of acidity. It shows wonderful precision and finesse through the finish, which leaves behind a long lasting impression. Overall, this is everything you want in a first growth Pauillac and it already showing exceptionally well. This is a simply breathtaking wine that should go down as one of the greatest vintages of Mouton ever made. (JD)

The 2019 Château Lynch-Bages is stunningly good, and it's going to be interesting to compare this to the 2018 over the coming decades. Based on 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, and the balance Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, brought up in 75% new French oak, its dense purple hue is followed by an incredible bouquet of pure crème de cassis, freshly sharpened cedar pencil, spring flowers, smoke, and graphite, with an almost liqueur of rocks-like minerality. A massive, incredibly concentrated Lynch-Bages, Jean-Charles has hit a home run in the vintage, and this sensational wine has building, perfect tannins, insane purity, and a finish that won't quit. It has the purity, finesse, balance, and depth to offer pleasure not only today but to evolve for 40 to 50 years. Smart money will hide these for a good 7-8 years, but wow, what a wine. Bravo.

The precision, hewn and cut tannins, wet stones, black tea, anis, liquorice root, bilberry and blackcurrant fruit, juicy tannins, understated power, settling in to itself at 10 years old, a superb wine that captures Margaux finesse with the more blunt power and concentration of the year.

Even better than the 2022 release - and that’s saying a good deal - this is a superb iteration of luxury group LVMH’s iconic Argentinian red. Dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, with support from 40% Malbec and 3% Petit Verdot, it’s dominated by fruit from Las Compuertas, with 20% from cooler Paraje Altamira. Matured in 50% new French oak, it’ a wine that’s approachable young but will reward patience, with sculpted tannins, seamless layers of cassis, bramble and green herbs, a touch of cigar box and a fine, tapering finish. World class,

Pure class, the 2019 Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse De Lalande is another brilliant wine from director Nicolas Glumineau that checks in at the top of the vintage. A blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet Franc that was harvested from mid-September through October 8th. Brought up in roughly 60% new French oak, it hit 14.1% natural alcohol with a pH of 3.7. More elegant and poised from bottle than barrel, it offers a brilliant perfume of crème de cassis, lead pencil shavings, tobacco leaf, damp earth, and graphite. Deep, full-bodied, and pure perfection on the palate, it has this incredible marriage of Latour-like stature and regalness buffered by wonderful, sexy, seamless fruit, which no doubt comes from the higher Merlot content and makes Comtesse de Lalande so singular and unique. It builds slowly with time in the glass and has remarkable purity of fruit, ultra-fine tannins, perfect balance, and a finish that just begs you to pour another glass. It has a seductive, seamless profile that offers pleasure even today (although it needs lots of air to show at its best) yet needs 7-8 years of bottle age to hit the early stages of its prime drink window and will evolve for another 40-50 years if stored properly.

They are Chassagne end, homogenous plot. Pale lemon colour. Here the nose has a sense of lifted energy alongside then weight of Morgeot. Quintessence of Chassagne for Bastien and consistent every year. Ripe grapefruit and a texture which makes one salivate. Finesse too. Pretty spectacular potential. *5 Stars*

The 2019 Château Lynch-Bages is stunningly good, and it's going to be interesting to compare this to the 2018 over the coming decades. Based on 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, and the balance Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, brought up in 75% new French oak, its dense purple hue is followed by an incredible bouquet of pure crème de cassis, freshly sharpened cedar pencil, spring flowers, smoke, and graphite, with an almost liqueur of rocks-like minerality. A massive, incredibly concentrated Lynch-Bages, Jean-Charles has hit a home run in the vintage, and this sensational wine has building, perfect tannins, insane purity, and a finish that won't quit. It has the purity, finesse, balance, and depth to offer pleasure not only today but to evolve for 40 to 50 years. Smart money will hide these for a good 7-8 years, but wow, what a wine. Bravo.

Stunning aromas of blackcurrants, dark mushrooms and black cherries with forest-floor notes. Full body that fills your mouth with fine, caressing tannins and dark, flavorful fruit. The tannins are very intense and structural, spreading across the palate in layers and giving intensity and energy. Plenty of energy and verve here. This has gravity, too.

Giuseppe Quintarelli’s estate lies in the hills of Negrar, in Veneto’s Valpolicella zone. Primofiore—Italian for “first flower”—combines local Corvina and Corvinone with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, bringing together the region’s native grapes and international varieties in a distinctive expression of the estate’s range.

Memorable, complex, aromatic and explosively deep, with a mix of palo santo, dark chocolate, black olive, espresso and hazelnut butter. The pure fruit at the core is a mix of ripe huckleberry, boysenberry and wild blackberry, with dense but polished tannins. Savory notes of dried rosemary and sage, cigar box, dried apricot and sandalwood linger on the epic finish. *Collectible* (MW)

The aromas to this are really amazing, with a potpourri of spices and dried flowers, as well as redcurrants, sweet plums and even some peaches. Full-bodied with layers of ripe fruit and ultra-fine tannins that spread across the palate in an encompassing yet always elegant and pure way. It’s succulent and unadulterated. Like crushed, perfectly ripened grapes. The length is rather endless. The tannins build. Fabulous young red. 35% in amphora and the rest in 50% new oak and 15% one-year oak. 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot, the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. From biodynamically grown grapes. Try after 2028, but an absolute joy to taste now.

A true superstar that flirts with perfection, the 2009 Clos L'Eglise checks in at the top of the heap of great vintages, including 1998, 2000, 2005, and 2016. Still youthful ruby/plum-hued with a spectacular bouquet of chocolatey black cherry and currant fruits, graphite, leafy herbs, unsmoked tobacco, and a kiss of earth, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness as well as an incredible sense of opulence with no weight or heaviness. The usual blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, it has ripe, polished tannins, stunning purity of fruit, a great mid-palate, and is just a magical, heavenly Pomerol to enjoy over the coming 15-20 years.

The intensity and perfumes on the nose are extremely impressive, offering pure blackberries and violets, as well as bark, wild-mushroom and raw-tile notes. It’s full-bodied with creamy tannins that envelop the wine and a gorgeous, subtly complex center palate with all the flavors found on the nose. Endless finish. Love the finesse and length to this. Greatest ever.

The aromas to this are incredible with blueberry, minerals, dried flowers, and stones. It goes to dried meat and spices. Full body and incredibly integrated with blackberry, licorice, and minerals. There's a wonderful purity to this. It goes on for minutes. The quality of tannins is amazing. Seamless. There's an amazing transparency that shows you all the elements of the wine's unique terroir.

Picked on the 2nd September (Le Charlemagne) and 6th September (En Charlemagne). A fine bright full lemon yellow. The nose is very complete, not especially mineral, but with a fine suggestion of density which materialises on the palate, plus an excellent integrated acidity at the back. Now the stones with their traditional lemon rinse come into play, without forgetting the flesh of the white fruit. Very promising

A strikingly pure nose of cassis, violets and blueberries gracefully gives way to rich, full, sweet and mineral-infused middle weight flavors that have cut-like-a-knife delineation as well as a very firm tannic spine that will also see this through well past its 25th birthday. While the Champans presently has a bit more flesh around the structure, this is a classic Taillepieds built on its minerality and is best cellared by those blessed with ample patience as this is the most backward wine in the range today. *Don't miss!, Outstanding*

The more elegant nose is cooler and also overtly floral with its aromas of apple, pear, spice and just sliced citrus. There is excellent energy and delineation to the slightly more mineral-driven and gorgeously textured middle weight flavors that display fine length on the comparably complex finale. This too is lovely and I particularly like the balance.

The 2022 Cabernet Franc Gran Enemigo Gualtallary includes 15% Malbec. This fermented with 40% whole bunches, harvested in stages across 1.5 months and aged for 15 months in concrete. Intensely complex, it opens with aromas of mountain herbs—huacatay and heterotheca—along with redcurrant, violet and red fruit. This is a dry, vibrant and fruit-driven expression. It offers chalk, airy concentration, juicy texture and a core of ash. This is weightless, stretching the flavor with crystalline definition. It is a site-driven Cabernet Franc that is shaped by its terroir and polished by the vintage. The 2022 is magic. (JH)

The 2021 Barolo Ginestra Casa Mate displays a bit more ruby and deeper pigment in the glass and has notes of raspberry liqueur, sweet sage, pressed flowers, cedar, and licorice. It’s very pretty on the nose and carries more sapidity to the palate while also retaining lovely purity, with ripe tannins, slightly broader shoulders, and a long finish. Both of the Barolo have a tremendous amount to offer, but with distinctive personalities, and for my taste, this one has a slight edge. (I also wouldn’t be surprised if that were to flip with a different mood and tasting.) The perfumes of both the wines are exceptional in this fantastic vintage. Drink 2027-2057. (AF)

A voluptuous wine, this is rich and fruity yet properly balanced by a magnificent structure. Pure, crisp and packed with a black currant flavor, this will be a remarkable wine as it develops. Still young, it needs many years to develop. *No. 2 Top Cellar Selections of 2019* (RV)

This has attractive, glossy, ripe red-plum and licorice aromas with cedar, flowers and red berries, as well as a stony edge. A very fragrant, cabernet-driven nose. The palate has elegance and grace with sleek and charming, balanced style and a discreet tannin structure that holds the finish long and fresh. A blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot. Try from 2023.

Rich, deep, powerful, still just at the start of its life. This is a stunning wine, the standout in the vertical. Luscious black fruits, with a careful climb of freshness and acidity through the palate, carefully placed and so delicious, waves of subtle cumin, cocoa and liquorice spice, cassis, cedar, mint leaf, smoked tea, oyster shell, slate tannins. Can easily hold for another few decades, but honestly it is tasting so good right now, you might want to at least open one bottle so you can begin to follow its progress.

This is what the Medoc is all about. The freshness and delicacy of this wine in combination with its serious concentration and firm core are totally stunning. Time has already worked its magic and this is already delicious, but has decades in front of it.

Arnoux-Lachaux has been in Vosne-Romanée since 1858, when Charles Arnoux and Renée Salbreux put two village families together. Robert Arnoux took over in 1957, started estate bottling, and spent four decades adding parcels, including the 0.35 hectares of Romanée-Saint-Vivant he bought in 1984. His son-in-law Pascal Lachaux worked beside him from 1987 until Robert’s death in 1995 and ran the domaine with Florence Arnoux afterward, renaming it Arnoux-Lachaux with the 2007 vintage. The reason the wines are talked about the way they are now is Charles Lachaux, the eldest of their three sons, who joined in 2011, made his first wine in 2012 and has run both vineyards and cellar since 2015. He raised the trellising to about 1.7 meters, stopped leaf-pulling and shoot-trimming, converted to certified biodynamics with grass cover and sheep grazing, gave up ploughing in 2020, and moved to whole-cluster fermentation across the range with short, gentle macerations. Since 2022 some of the wine is raised in sandstone amphorae rather than barrels. The 14.5 hectares cover 15 appellations, including Romanée-Saint-Vivant, Échezeaux, Clos de Vougeot and Latricières-Chambertin, with Vosne premier crus Suchots, Chaumes and Reignots and a run of Nuits-Saint-Georges. Charles has said the changes took about three years to show in the glass, and his own word for the result is precision.

This is really luxurious, showing blackcurrants and orange peel with cedar and dried-mushroom aromas following through to a medium to full body that grows on the palate. This has crunchy and lightly chewy tannins that are slightly austere but in an elegant, classical Bordeaux way. Chewy at the end. So much energy and vibe. So complex. Probably the greatest wine ever from here. *#1 Wine of the Year*

A stunning example, with finesse allied to power. Real tension and energy here. Will be approachable quite young, but really should be aged for over five years for the best result. Fèvre has 2.24ha within Montée de Tonnerre. Plots are located in Pied d'Aloup (facing east) with profound Kimmeridgian soils bringing freshness, Chapelot facing south on deep soil adding richness, and Côte de Brechain facing west on top of the hill with the oldest plots dating back to 1936.(AH)

St-Julien lovers are going to be happy to see how Gloria has developed over the past decade. Cinnamon and black pepper, slivers of olive paste and crushed smoked rosemary. I love this wine; this was the time when it was starting to receive well deserved recognition after years of being in the background; and well done those who bought in En Primeur. Just coming in to its drinking window, but no rush. (JA)