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Expert Reviews - Vintage 2021

Jasper Morris 94-96 Points | Darkish purple colour. The nose is too reduced to speak at first, but the red fruit powers on through. The palate has everything it really should, with a level of energy and waves of fruit over and above the delightful Beaux Monts. Just the right acidity to finish. Drink from 2027-2035. 

Tim Atkin 95 Points | This is the smallest cuvée of Malconsorts that Dujac has made from these vines planted in 1995, in 1976 and in the 1960s. It is a bit cranky now with notable reduction and edgy, leafy freshness. However, the structure is marvelous thanks to the tangy acidity and creamy, lush tannins. Whole cluster spice, ripe red cherries and tobacco fill up the long finish. Give this a few years.

Vinous 94 Points | The 2021 Vosne-Romanée Aux Malconsorts 1er Cru has a very appealing, well-defined and poised bouquet with slightly leafy red fruit tones and a touch of dried blood in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins. It's much more "classic" and drier in style than the 2022, yet I appreciate the structure on the finish. This doesn't quite reach the level I expected from barrel, but it will give at least a decade of drinking pleasure. 

Wine Advocate 92-94 Points | Aromas of dark berries, smoked duck, spices and petals preface Dujac's 2021 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts, a medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy wine that's structured and compact, standing out as one of the most backward, but also among the most promising, cuvées in the cellar.

Lallier Brut Réflexion R.021 — Aüy-en-Champagne, France

The Brut Réflexion R.021 is the signature non-vintage cuvée of Lallier — a grower-focused Champagne house based in Aüy-en-Champagne, one of the appellation's most prized Grand Cru villages. Blended from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Meunier, the R.021 is built on the house's philosophy of precision and transparency: each release is numbered to reflect the blend year, and each bottle is crafted to express the purity of the terroir rather than the weight of oak or dosage. James Suckling awarded it 92 points. Restrained, citrusy, and beautifully precise.

The nose opens with vibrant lime and mandarin, lifted by elegant floral touches and mature hints of brioche and fresh hazelnut. On the palate, the mousse is frothy and light-bodied with remarkable purity and freshness — a delicate salty sensation balanced by the structure of Pinot Noir and the soft roundness of Meunier. The finish is long, deep, and aromatic, with a youthful crispness that rewards both immediate drinking and short-term cellaring.

“Restrained and citrusy with lemon peel and stone fruit. Slightly toasty with a leafy touch. Quite frothy bubbles with light body, a substantial palate and a crisp finish, precise and youthful.” — James Suckling, 92 Points (2021)

• Producer: Lallier, Aüy-en-Champagne, France
• Release: R.021 (Non-Vintage)
• Appellation: Champagne AOC — Grand Cru
• Blend: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Meunier
• Style: Brut
• Size: 750ml
• Tasting Notes: Lime, mandarin, brioche, hazelnut, floral, salty minerality, crisp finish
• Best Paired With: Oysters, grilled fish, soft cheeses, charcuterie, or as a refined aperitif

A 92-point Grand Cru Champagne built on precision and terroir — Lallier's Brut Réflexion is the benchmark for what grower-focused, non-vintage Champagne can be.

Lucien Crochet · Sancerre Rosé · Pinot Noir · Loire Valley · 2025

In Bué — one of Sancerre's most celebrated villages — the Crochet family has been growing Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc on Oxfordian and Kimmeridgian limestone for generations. Gilles Crochet, who trained at the legendary Domaine Dujac in Morey-Saint-Denis before returning to the family estate in 1983, brings a Burgundian sensibility to everything he makes. His Sancerre Rosé is one of the appellation's finest: 100% Pinot Noir, hand-harvested (a rare practice in Sancerre), direct-pressed, and aged six months on fine lees in stainless steel. No shortcuts, no compromises — just the visceral salinity and mineral precision that Crochet's limestone terroir delivers vintage after vintage. At $34.99, this is Sancerre Rosé at its most serious and most rewarding.

Pale pink in the glass with a nose of stunning intensity: vineyard peach, white pepper, and a subtle spicy lift that opens with aeration into citrus zest and fresh orange. Frank on the attack, the palate is both juicy and crisp — indulgent peach fruit supported by lively citrus and a fine, freshness-driven balance. The finish is long and persistent, with a refreshing return of menthol and mineral salinity. Drink now through 2028.

“Vinous without being at all overbearing, it offers the visceral salinity of the domaine’s white wines alongside the red-fruited elegance of Pinot Noir from these distinctive soils.”
— Vinous

• Producer: Domaine Lucien Crochet
• Vintage: 2025
• Appellation: Sancerre AOC, Loire Valley, France
• Varietal: 100% Pinot Noir
• Soils: Oxfordian & Kimmeridgian limestone · Bué, Sancerre
• Vinification: Hand harvested · Direct press · 6 months on fine lees in stainless steel
• Size: 750ml
• Tasting Notes: Vineyard peach, white pepper, citrus zest, orange, juicy palate, mineral salinity, menthol finish
• Cellar Potential: Drink now through 2028
• Food Pairings: Grilled salmon, tuna tartare, chèvre, summer vegetable tart, light charcuterie

Hand-harvested Pinot Noir, Kimmeridgian limestone, and six months on lees — Sancerre Rosé as it was meant to be made.

Critic Notes

Charles Curtis MW of Decanter writes 96 Points | The Clos de la Roche from Arlaud is from the lieu-dit Mochamps; the parcel runs from the road up to Domaine Ponsot. 20% of the grapes are fermented as whole clusters, and the wine is ageing now in cask, 20% new. The wine is charmingly aromatic, with a ripe, peony-scented cherry fruit and earthy notes. The texture is silky, round, and velvety; there is more aromatic expression but less depth than the Charmes-Chambertin. The wine should start to open in five years and will continue to improve for a further twenty.

Vinous 95-97 Points | The 2022 Clos-de-la-Roche Grand Cru has all the tropes you expect from this vineyard, with exuberant wild strawberry, raspberry confit and blood orange scents bursting from the glass. The oak is very well-integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins and darker fruit than the Charmes-Chambertin, with impressive precision on the finish. This is extremely promising.

Allen Meadows of Burghound writes 93-96 Points | Note: from a .43 ha parcel in Mochamps; 75% from 25+ year old vines and the remainder are from 40+ year old vines. A discreet application of wood sets off the herbal tea and markedly floral-inflected red currant-scanted nose where a background touch of freshly turned earth lurks. I like the sense of energy and volume to the bigger-bodied and more powerful flavors that manage to be both denser and super-sleek, all wrapped in a moderately austere and very tightly wound finale that delivers simply superb length. This is flat out terrific and a wine that should amply reward extended cellaring, indeed I would suggest not even thinking of opening a bottle before 10 years have passed."
*Burghound Don't Miss!*

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2020 

Wine Spectator 93 Points | The 2020 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts opens in the glass with notes of plums and wild berries mingled with aromas of orange oil, exotic spices, smoked duck and loamy soil. Medium to full-bodied, layered and muscular, it's finer-boned and less overtly powerful than its 2019 and 2018 predecessors, even if it's still a serious, structured, concentrated wine.

Barrel Sample: 93-95 Burghound 93 Points | This is the first wine to show any appreciable reduction though the whole cluster vinification does peek through the funk. Once again, the bigger-bodied and much more muscular flavors possess a highly attractive texture thanks to the generous dry extract that partially buffers the prominent tannic spine supporting the robust, powerful and gorgeously complex and persistent finish. This is a classic Malconsorts which is very much built to reward longer-term cellaring.

Barrel Sample: 93-95 Decanter 96 Points | A dense, almost creamy, concentrated cassis fruit, adorned with notes of smoke, spice and salt. Focused, with plenty of tannin and extract, this is a wonderful wine. 2020 saw tiny yields from Dujac's 1.55ha in Malconsorts - no more than 10-15 hl/ha. The fruit was partially destemmed and fermented slowly prior to ageing. The wine gets the same 16 months in 70% new casks that the grand crus receive. 

Winemaker Descripton

Dry, sparkling. Estate grown organic and biodynamic Ellis Bitter and Bramleys Seedling varieties. This third vintage is bright and tannic.

Tasting Notes: grassy, alfalfa, dried pomelo and orange

Pairings: venison, butternut squash ravioli with browned butter

8.1% ABV>