GEVREY CHAMBERTIN

Here too there is a touch of crushed leaf character to the markedly sauvage-suffused aromas of wild dark berries, plum and soft earth whiffs. The rich, intense and muscular larger-scaled flavors exude evident minerality on the austere and mildly edgy finish that is once again very firm. Note that my rating offers the benefit of the doubt that the mild edginess will gradually dissipate. Drinking range: 2032 - Rating: 92 Allen Meadows, www.Burghound.com (Jan 2020)

Like Les Evocelles, the 2017 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux Saint-Jacques concluded its malolactic fermentation very late, but the wine's exquisite quality was already apparent. Notes of cassis, cherries and wild berries mingle with savory nuances of coniferous forest floor, grilled meat and espresso roast in an incipiently complex bouquet, introducing a full-bodied, ample and multidimensional wine with incredible depth and mid-palate amplitude, its fine structuring tannins effortlessly concealed by a vibrant core of fruit, and concluding with a long, beautifully delineated finish. This is a cuvée that rewards time, and 2017 will be no exception, but it will likely reveal all its plenitude more rapidly than the 2016 or 2015 renditions. Rating: 94-96 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Jan 2019)

Wild, small-berried dark fruit entwined with oaky char and oak’s sweet spice. Toasty on the palate, the tannins are very fine in texture. The oak dominates at the moment but you can sense the harmony that will come. Lovely freshness on the long toasty yet cool finish. Drinking range: 2024 - 2035 Rating: 17+ Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Dec 2018)