Discover this year’s best bottlings, selected by the editors at Robb Report Monaco & Côte d’Azur.
BEST VINTAGE BRUT CHAMPAGNE: PERRIER-JOUËT BELLE ÉPOQUE 2015
An iconic champagne known for its beautifully decorated bottle adorned with white anemones, a symbol of Art Nouveau elegance. The maison was founded in 1811, becoming known for its refined elegant style of Champagne which soon became popular outside of France, gaining royal warrants through the 19th century. In 1902, Henri Gallice, then owner of the maison, commissioned Emile Gallé, a leading figure of Art Nouveau, to create the now iconic bottle design, but these bottles were initially considered too costly to produce on a large scale and were stored, largely forgotten, in the cellars for decades. The first vintage of Belle Époque (known as “Fleur de Champagne”) was released in 1969. Since that time, Belle Époque has been produced only in the best vintages, becoming the flagship prestige cuvée of the house.
At 12.5 percent ABV, it’s aged on its lees for at least six years, with dosage at eight grams per litre. The 2015 vintage has a golden hue, white flower and stone fruit aromas, with hints of subtle sweet spices. Ripe fruit flavours with a creamy, rich mouthfeel, this is a wine to share with food. A strong backbone of mineral acidity balances out the powerful mid-palate and long finish. A sexy champagne.
ORIGIN: Champagne, France
DESIGNATION: 50 percent chardonnay, 45 percent pinot noir, and five percent meunier
RRP: €215
BEST BORDEAUX WINE: LIBER PATER 2018
As one of the rarest and most expensive wines in the world, Loïc Pasquet has created a unique Bordeaux wine that tastes very different from any other in the region. In part, this is due to the fact that he’s able to plant his vines on their original rootstock; but it’s also thanks to his use of pre-1855 Classification varietals that no longer principally exist but which accounted for the “original taste” of Bordeaux wines before phylloxera wiped them out. The 2018 vintage is a blend of 70 percent petite vidure (the original old massale selection of cabernet sauvignon), and then varying percentages of petit verdot, castets, tarnay, pardotte, Saint-Macaire and malbec, all on ungrafted vines. The wines are matured in sandstone amphora, devoid of oak. Hailing from a 2.3 hectare plot and bottled at a mere 12 percent ABV, the 2018 Liber Pater is outstanding. There are aromas of violets and wildflowers, red fruits and savoury, earthy notes. The palate is dominated by an incredible purity of fruit, elegance, freshness, silky tannins and powerful energy leading to a very long complex, fine and nuanced finish.
ORIGIN: Bordeaux, France
DESIGNATION: Blend of petite vidure, petit verdot, castets, tarnay, pardotte, Saint-Macaire and malbec
RRP: €29,000
BEST SOUTH AMERICAN WINE: VIÑEDO CHADWICK 2013
In honour of the estate’s 25th anniversary, Edouardo Chadwick is releasing three cellar-aged vintages of his renowned Viñedo Chadwick: 2010, 2013 and 2018. The estate has become world-renowned, partly due to its incredible showing in the late, great Steven Spurrier’s Berlin Tasting which first took place in 2004, and subsequently for 10 years. Against the best cabernet sauvignons of Bordeaux and Napa Valley, Chadwick shined in this blindtasting competition, often coming out on top. The pick of the bunch is 2013. At 14 percent ABV, it’s a very complex, complete and fine wine, with superb silky tannins and remarkably fresh black fruit aromas. This cool vintage wine has plenty of tingly acidity that lifts through the midpalate to a very long savoury finish. I liked it so much, I bought a case for myself.
ORIGIN: Maipo Valley, Chile
DESIGNATION: Cabernet sauvignon
RRP: €300
BEST NORTH AMERICAN WINE: BOND ST. EDEN 2020
The BOND St. Eden 2020 is a marvel. Coming from the lowest lying of the five BOND terroirs—the one closest to Screaming Eagle—the vineyard is situated on northfacing, red volcanic soils next to the Oakville Crossroad to Silverado Trail. Perched on a little knoll, the plot experiences dramatic diurnal shifts, which results in harvesting fresh, ripe and complex grapes translating into elegance and finesse in the wines. It was a tragic year of fires for Napa in 2020, but the team at BOND—by luck or judgement— had harvested all the grapes just before the blazes started to rage. With a very pure, fresh, elegant and complex nose, full of blue fruits, mint and herbal flavours, the wine is defined by its fine acidity and tannic structure, and its long desirous finish. For European palates, this is the BOND you must try, as it is characterised by panache and subtlety.
ORIGIN: Napa Valley, USA
DESIGNATION: Cabernet sauvignon
RRP: €700
BEST HUNGARIAN WINE: ISTVÁN SZEPSY ESZENCIA 2007
Szepsy is the standout star of Hungarian fine wine, even having won the Golden Vines® Best Fine Wine Producer in Europe Award in 2022. Although the estate makes dry wines, it’s world renowned for its sweet Tokaji offerings. The Eszencia is the sweetest and rarest of the estate wines, and is only made in a handful of vintages where the noble rot allows for a sugar concentration of around 570 grams per litre—2007 is only the fifth vintage the estate has produced. Eszencia is the only wine in the world that can be called wine without having at least five percent ABV: the 2007 comes in at just two and a half percent ABV. Bright amber gold in colour, the aromas are full of honeyed treacle, roasted apricots, candied orange peel and hints of white flowers. The palate is pure, concentrated honey, toffeed peaches, but surprisingly moreish as the immense acidity cuts through the sweetness making the viscous mouthfeel astonishingly palatable. The finish is long, but more delicate than expected. Although I wouldn’t suggest drinking more than half a glass at a time, you might be tempted to do so.
ORIGIN: Tokaj, Hungary
DESIGNATION: Furmint dominant blend of local grape varieties
RRP: €2,200
BEST GRAND CRU CHARDONNAY: JOSEPH DROUHIN MARQUIS DE LAGUICHE MONTRACHET GRAND CRU 2022
Marquis de Laguiche holdings are on a contiguous 2.06 hectare plot on the Puligny-Montrachet side of the Montrachet Grand Cru vineyard— the largest single holding in what is undoubtedly the world’s most famous white wine terroir. Although the Laguiche family has owned the site since 1776, it is Domaine Drouhin who have managed cultivation and vinification since 1947. The 2022 has already developed a golden luminance, with strong aromas of pineapple, honeysuckle and stone fruits. The attack on the mid-palate is superlative, full of intense flavour, fresh acidity and buttery finesse. With time in the glass, the wine is ever-changing, taking on more mineral, minty and savoury tones, while the honey has morphed into bready, brioche flavours. The finish is long, complex and moreish.
ORIGIN: Burgundy, France
DESIGNATION: Chardonnay
RRP: €850
BEST SWEET WINE: CHÂTEAU D’YQUEM 2022
Perhaps the world’s most iconic fine wine estate, dating from 1711, and the only château to be classed as Premier Cru Supérior—deeming it higher than any other wine in the Bordeaux region—at the time of the 1855 Classification. The sweetness comes not from adding sugar, but via botrytised berries (known as Botrytis cinerea or noble rot) that develop on the skins of the berries due to micro-climatic conditions in the Sauternes region. The 2022 vintage was an emotional rollercoaster. Until September, the vineyards were in a precocious mood until a period of heat and dryness risked sabotaging the potential for Botrytis to develop. Then, on October 10th, grey rot began to develop on the berries resulting in sugars going down, not up. Thankfully, on Saturday October 15th, a southeast wind dried the air, bringing hot temperatures. Noble rot started to develop quickly, increasing sugar content rapidly. In a period of eight days, the harvest was completed with the highest sugar content ever in Yquem’s illustrious history, other than for the legendary 1945 vintage. The end result is a memorable offering built for the ages. A nose full of flowery petals, honey blossoms and slightly under-ripe stone fruit aromas, the palate is elegant, medium-bodied, with a perception of restrained sweetness and incredible freshness. The finish is delicious, persistent, with a citrus bitterness and saltiness suitable for pairing with food rather than just cheese or dessert.
ORIGIN: Sauternes, France
DESIGNATION: Blend of 80 percent semillon and 20 percent sauvignon blanc
RRP: €350
BEST AUSTRALIAN WINE: HENSCHKE HILL OF GRACE 2021
One of Australia’s most iconic red wines from the winner of the 2024 Golden Vines® Best Fine Wine Producer in the Rest of the World Award, Hill of Grace is Henschke’s most revered and famed bottling. Grapes are sourced from some of the oldest ungrafted vines on the planet, including vines dating from 1860. The vineyard is arranged in blocks of 50 to 160-plus-year-old vines which are picked block-byblock to ensure optimal ripeness and complexity. The 2021 vintage is the 60th release of this legendary single-vineyard shiraz from Eden Valley. Although still young in its life-cycle, this 14.5 percent ABV wine is complex, with layered aromas of black fruits, oregano and sage dried herbs, licorice, tar and pot pourri. The palate is very intense without being heavy, full of dark plum and mulberry fruits, and dense structured tannins that line the back of the tongue; flavours of cassis and aniseed, with hints of sweet spices and rocky minerality. The finish has persistence, energy and length with strong flavour intensity. A wine to be cellared for a minimum of five plus years to appreciate its future great potential.
ORIGIN: Eden Valley, Australia
DESIGNATION: Shiraz
RRP: €700
BEST RIESLING: TRIMBACH CLOS SAINTE HUNE 2019 (100th Anniversary Bottling)
Trimbach’s Clos Sainte Hune is a legendary wine. Alongside Weingut Keller’s G-MAX, it is widely regarded as the world’s best dry riesling. The wine comes from very old vines, planted on a 1.6 hectare stony clay-limestone site. The 2019 100th Anniversary bottling— released after extended cellar ageing—is powerful, yet elegant; a fine example of the best that this iconic plot can produce. At 14 percent ABV, the 2019 has more body and power than expected, with an intense salty, chalky and herbal-tea nose; in the palate, the acidity creates a linear, fresh, clean wine with yellow stone-fruit flavours covered in a light salt dusting. The finish is long, intense and ends with a savoury, white-pepper tanginess.
ORIGIN: Alsace, France
DESIGNATION: Riesling
RRP: €340
BEST NON-VINTAGE CHAMPAGNE: KRUG GRANDE CUVÉE 173ème ÉDITION
This is the 173rd annual edition of Krug’s signature multi-vintage prestige cuvée; a crafted blend of over 150 wines from 13 different vintages, with the youngest wine from the 2017 and the oldest from 2001 harvest. The wine has spent a minimum of seven years ageing in the cellars before release. The varietal blend includes all three Champagne grapes: pinot noir (44 percent), chardonnay (34 percent), and meunier (22 percent). It has a light golden hue, with aromas of fresh yellow fruits, yellow floral notes, hints of sweet spice and light baked bread. At 12 percent ABV and a light dosage of four grams per litre, the wine is medium bodied, elegant and refined, rather than rich and overpowering. In the mouth, flavours of yet-to-be fully ripe stone fruits, elderflower, nuttiness and light honeyed notes. The finish is spectacular: long and persistent, beautifully balanced and nuanced, with a slightly sweet-salty finish. With air, there’s more brioche and riper stone fruit aromas. The cutting acidity creates a very fresh, approachable Krug defined by elegance and finesse rather than power.
ORIGIN: Champagne, France
DESIGNATION: Blend of pinot noir, chardonnay and meunier
RRP: €290 per bottle (gift box)
BEST IBERIAN WINE: BARCA-VELHA 2015
Undoubtedly Portugal’s most iconic still red wine from the Douro Superior, the highest part of the Valley, only 21 vintages have been declared since its inception in 1952. Like Penfolds Grange, Barca-Velha is not a single estate wine, but is sourced from a number of vineyards owned by Casa Ferreirinha at different elevations. The 2015 is from a vintage that was neither as cold as 2008, nor as hot as 2011, the two prior declared releases. Eighteen percent of the grapes were sourced from the estate’s highest vineyards. This wine clearly has the capacity to age for many decades thanks to its tannic structure and fresh acidity. Balanced with alcohol at 13.5 percent ABV—and bearing intense red and black fruit flavours, tell-tale balsamic notes (typical of Barca-Velha), hints of sous bois, savoury spice and a stoney character— this is a highly complex wine. Unfortunately for wine-lovers, only 16,000 bottles were produced, a record low for a declared vintage.
ORIGIN: Douro Valley, Portugal
DESIGNATION: Touriga nacional (83 percent), sezão (10 percent), tinta cão (five percent) and tinta roriz (two percent)
RRP: €700
BEST VINTAGE ROSÉ CHAMPAGNE: DOM PÉRIGNON ROSÉ P2 2000
P2 stands for the second “Plénitude” release of the maison’s prestige rosé. Whereas the blanc version of P2 are relatively rare, the rosé is rarer still and has been aged on its lees for 16 years. The 2000 vintage was notably better for pinot noir than chardonnay, so it is perhaps no surprise that this cuvee has around 70 percent pinot noir in the blend, with 20 percent red wine addition to create the rosé colour. Although it has a rather deep copper colour which might be indicative of a mature specimen, the nose and palate are remarkably fresh and youthful. This is a wine that has yet to reach anywhere near its full potential, but is still beautiful to consume now. With whiffs of seashell salinity, orange blossom, black cherries and savoury smoky notes, the mouthfeel is wonderfully balanced and vinous in quality. Delicate bubbles tingle the mouth, with a Burgundian complexity of flavours and persistence leading to a very long, mineral finish. With plenty of power, this is a serious food wine rather than an aperitif. A superb example of Dom Pérignon Rosé at its best.
ORIGIN: Champagne, France
DESIGNATION: Pinot noir dominant blend with chardonnay
RRP: €1,370 per bottle (gift box)
BEST PREMIER CRU CHARDONNAY WINE: DOMAINE VINCENT DANCER MEURSAULT PERRIÈRES 2023
Theo Dancer, who took over his family estate in 2020, must be the youngest (and one of the brightest) vignerons in Burgundy. One of the estate’s top plots is undoubtedly the Meursault Perrièrres. With fewer than 0.3 hectares of vines, young Theo is improving the quality of his wines making a series of changes. In the vineyard, this includes using the Echalas vine training system for the first time for this vintage. In the cellar, he’s keen to extract not just the grape juice, but also the skins, pips and bunches to create body in his wines. Above all, he’s focused on precision and quality. The 2023 is “too early to taste, but is one of the most accurate wines I have made so far”, Theo tells me. Indeed, it needs more time to fully develop, but it already has outstanding potential. The complex array of aromas jump out of the glass, whereas the mid-palate is full of energy and tingly acidity. The fruit flavours are not overly ripe and the mouthfeel is full but not fat. A wine characterised by linearity and precision, it’s already showing plenty of complexity and a long finish.
ORIGIN: Burgundy, France
DESIGNATION: Chardonnay
RRP: €800
