90+ Point Wines: French

Avaline Rose is light and fresh with notes of melon and zest. All Avaline wines are made from organic grapes and free from unnecessary additives such as sugars, colors, and concentrates. Avaline wines are vegan, non-GMO, and gluten-free.... Read More

Avaline Red Blend has a light to medium body with hints of cherry and the perfect touch of spice. Pair with a candlelight and a starry night.

Avaline makes clean, delicious wines with organic grapes and little else. Full of natural... Read More

This is a really beautiful, seductive wine with chocolate, walnuts, currants and some tobacco. Full-bodied, with a supple tannin texture and a flavorful finish. Succulent. Blend of 60% merlot and 40% cabernet sauvignon. Second... Read More

Polished and glossy, with supple waves of cassis and red currant flecked with a lot of spice and singed garrigue. Warm chestnut and graphite shavings move in, with loads of graphite bringing focus. A modern version, showing poise... Read More

This Champagne offers an array of flavor, including toasted brioche, Gala apple, lemon zest, graphite and ginger, with a touch of honey. Elegant, but with good intensity and a moderate, nut-tinged finish.

A well-constructed wine that is ripe with black fruits and integrated tannins, this is in a good place for aging. Black-currant fruitiness is balanced by a dry, smoky core that holds promise. Drink this wine from 2026. Editors’... Read More

A blend of 65% Sauvignon and 35% Sémillon, the 2022 Carbonnieux Blanc reveals a delicate bouquet with aromas of lemon, jasmine, linden, smoke, pear and peach, followed by a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and concentrated... Read More

A well-rounded, focused and delicious rosé showing dried raspberries, frozen strawberries and mild spices on the nose. Medium-bodied with bright acidity. Balanced and driven, with a lively center palate and a persistent,... Read More

A blend of 65% Mourvèdre and 35% Cinsault, the 2023 Bandol Rosé from Château de Pibarnon offers up a delicate, complex bouquet of spices, licorice, red berries, lemon, spring flowers and herbs. Medium-bodied,... Read More

Soft and velvety in texture, this wine is full of ripe fruit. Cushioned by the texture, the tannins are dense enough to promise aging to this wine with potential. Drink from 2024.

Owned by the Aubert family, this estate has produced a well-balanced wine. Tannins and spice lie easily with the berry fruits and final touches of dark chocolate. It will age well. Drink from 2023.

So much purity and definition, this is a beautiful wine with clarity of flavour. Touches of grilled almond and rosemary, mocha, smoke and coffee bean, there is so much freshness, with juice rushing in between the muscles and a... Read More

Juicy and compact now, with dark currant, blackberry and fig notes at the core, surrounded by lots of warm earth, singed alder and tobacco leaf notes. Cast iron note helps extend the finish, with the fruit and earth notes keeping... Read More

Perfumed and ripe, this wine shows a more tropical side of Bordeaux white. Toasty flavors mingle with yellow fruits and crisp apples. Drink from 2023.

Aromas of ripe plums and dark berries with hints of cloves, cardamom and toasted walnuts. Medium-bodied with chalky tannins that are a little grippy, but still quite velvety and polished. Juicy finish.

This wine offers rich tannins and dense black fruits in equal proportions. The structure, with the dry core, shows great promise and the wine is definitely worth aging. Drink from 2024.

At five years old, the tannins are still young and holding on tight, but the blackberry and cassis fruits have both juice and depth. This is a vintage where the phenolics are high, and there is an inky depth overall. Mint and... Read More

This 430-acre estate has produced an elegant, fruity wine. The wine comes from vines on the edge of the Pauillac appellation, with deep gravel soil that gives structure to the approachable black fruits. Drink from 2025.... Read More

The nose is open and very expressive. On swirling the glass, the wine’s rich aromas come through with ripe black fruits taking centre-stage. Discreet notes of oak integrate harmoniously in an explosion of fruit aromas. The... Read More

82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot

Intense nose, smells powerful, strong and structured. Excellent energy, this is good quality, quite bold and rich, velvety and clearly powerful with tannins that are at the fore right now and totally cover the mouth. This has... Read More

Château Lilian Ladouys 2019, a vintage that is fresh yet sumptuous. The tannins are velvety, the balance exceptional: here is a wine similar in some ways to 2016 or 2018, yet even fresher and more aromatic.

Lovely red and black fruit on the nose with charming tea leaf notes, framed by leather and coffee undertones. Nicely constructed palate, with lots of layers and fine-grained tannins. Soothing and soft, with a persistent finish.... Read More

Blend: 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot

This estate has produced a densely textured wine, rich in tannins and packed with dark, concentrated black fruits. There is a muscular character, structured and with fine promise for longterm aging.
Barrel Sample: 92-94... Read More