FRENCH WINE

WINE SPECTATOR 97 POINTS - "Contains some exotic fruit--blueberry paste, boysenberry and raspberry confiture, and pastis-soaked currant--but it's a brick house too, with Turkish coffee, bittersweet chocolate and lots of singed wood spice notes fanning out on the finish. A great spine allows the elements to echo through the finish without faltering. Best from 2015 through 2030."

JEB DUNNUCK 95 POINTS - "A blend of mostly Grenache that is aged for 18 months in 1-5 year-old French oak barrels, the 2010 Domaine de Beaurenard (Paul Coulon et Fils) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Boisrenard is knockout stuff! Deep, layered, and gorgeously pure, with crème de cassis, blackberry, graphite, and licorice showing at first, it develops additional southern Rhône flair with garrigue and floral aromas all emerging with air. While full-bodied, rich, and concentrated on the palate, it is nevertheless elegant and seamless as well, with superb purity of fruit, beautiful freshness, and an energetic, vivid texture that carries masses of finely polished tannin. It needs a minimum of 4-5 years of bottle age, and will drink well for upwards of two decades."

WINE ADVOCATE 95-97 POINTS - "Another in a string of top vintages, Beaucastel's 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape was produced from Grenache yields of only eight hectoliters per hectare ("normal" is about 28 hectoliters per hectare, according to Marc Perrin). The final blend I was shown is almost candied in its fruity intensity of raspberries and cherries, yet it has a potent underpinning of more savory elements, like tapenade, grilled meat and dried spices. Full-bodied, with fine, silky tannins, this shows tremendous length, reverberating with hints of crushed stone on the finish."

DECANTER 95 POINTS - "A tight and compelling tannic structure, muscular and knitted down at this stage, rich and concentrated with blackberries and olive paste. Needs a few years, but already you can discern the floral aromatics that overlay the core, and this is going to evolve into a beautiful Beaucastel."

JEB DUNNUCK 94 POINTS - "Moving to the reds, the 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape showed nicely with a deep ruby/purple color as well as classic Beaucastel aromas and flavors of darker currents, blueberries, smoked meats, black licorice and roasted herbs. With medium to full-bodied richness, a pure, clean, elegant texture, sweet tannins, and a great finish, this seamless, elegant Beaucastel will be approachable in its youth, yet still have 20+ years of prime drinking."

JEB DUNNUCK 98-100 POINTS:-"On another level, and unquestionably the best of the three vintages, the 2015 Côte Rôtie La Mouline sports an inky purple color as well as an off-the-charts bouquet of black currants, smoked herbs, spring flowers, gamey meats, and acacia flowers. Massively concentrated, opulent, and as sexy as wine gets, it reminds me of the 1978 La Mouline and has perfection written all over it. If you can afford it, this is a magical, legendary wine in the making that will keep for 4-5 decades."

ROBERT PARKER 97-99 POINTS:-"Full-bodied and powerful yet elegant, the 2015 Cote Rotie La Mouline is potentially close to perfect. Espresso, grilled meat, caramelized plum and cassis pick up hints of vanilla and herbal-floral notes on the nearly limitless finish. I can’t wait to try this again next year."

ROBERT PARKER 98-100 POINTS:-"The potentially perfect 2015 Cote Rotie La Turque takes all of this vineyard’s exotic floral and herbal notes, red raspberry fruit, spice shadings and meaty complexity and compresses them into an incredibly dense, powerful and intense package. Full-bodied, rich and velvety yet ethereal at the same time, this incredibly long wine should prove to be a legend."

JEB DUNNUCK 97-100 POINTS:-"The 2015 Côte Rôtie La Turque (93% Syrah and 7% Viognier) is straight-up thrilling stuff and offers a massive, full-bodied style that stays seamless, incredibly elegant, and perfectly balanced. It doesn’t have the sheer weight or exotic quality of the La Mouline, yet gives up textbook crème de cassis, crushed rocks, violets, and graphite aromas and flavors. With fine tannins and a stacked mid-palate, it’s going to require 5-7 years of bottle age."