3 | Wine | 95 or higher, 2010

"Full-bodied in texture, it offers up loads of blueberry, blackberry and raspberry fruit intermixed with some cedar, vanilla and a touch of spring flowers. Impressively built, with good acidity and light tannin, this is a superb example of wine that reaches its prime in 3 or 4 years and lasts two decades. It’s right up there with their brilliant 2005." -Robert Parker

"More backward and concentrated, the 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape exhibits a dark ruby/purple color as well as dense, black raspberry, black currant, garrigue, licorice and lavender characteristics. Full-bodied with undeniable elegance, minerality and precision, it needs 2-3 years of cellaring and should keep well for 15-20." -Robert Parker

"In this vintage, the 2010 Esprit de Beaucastel is decidedly huge. An exciting array of dark red fruit, black cherries, incense and tar come together beautifully. At first large-scaled and sweeping in personality, the wine finds more refined registers on the finish, where floral notes add a measure of lift and finesse. Today, the 2010 is a baby, though."

"Another blockbuster is the 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Les Origines...exhibits an opaque purple color as well as a sweet bouquet of blackberries, espresso roast, ink and graphite. While clearly a modern-styled Chateauneuf du Pape, it retains plenty of the region's typicity and authenticity. It should drink well for 15+ years." -Robert Parker

"Deep purple, with loads of bouquet garni, beef blood, blackberry, kirsch, smoke and truffle, this wine is full-bodied, rich and showing even better than it did last year. I still think it needs 3-5 years of cellaring, and it should last for 25-30 years, as most of the top vintages of Beaucastel do." -Robert Parker

"Dense purple, with classic notes of cedar and lead pencil shavings as well as gobs of back currants and licorice, the wine has a full-bodied mouthfeel with fabulous precision and density. It also possesses a long, silky finish with moderately high tannins, but they are ripe and well-integrated. The wood is clearly pushed to the background in this dense, full-bodied Pauillac, which should drink beautifully for 30+ years." -Robert Parker

"Full-bodied in texture, it offers up loads of blueberry, blackberry and raspberry fruit intermixed with some cedar, vanilla and a touch of spring flowers. Impressively built, with good acidity and light tannin, this is a superb example of wine that reaches its prime in 3 or 4 years and lasts two decades. It’s right up there with their brilliant 2005." -Robert Parker

"Smoke, tar, incense and licorice are some of the many notes that emerge from the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon. This is an especially dark, brooding vintage for Bryant. Cassis, pencil shavings and melted road tar emerge later, adding further complexity and nuance. Unlike the 2009, there is little in the way of early appeal. On the other hand, I see the 2010 drinking beautifully for many, many years. There is an underlying vein of minerality that gives the 2010 a sense of energy and focus."

"Bright, pale green. Subtle, delicate aromas of white peach, mint, crushed stone and chlorophyll. Less complex today than the Preuses but this is still an infant. All about white peach lifted by white pepper. Fine-grained, silky and utterly vibrant wine, delivering outstanding density and fullness without weight. Great slowly mounting finish promises much more to come."
Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar - 95 pts

"The 2010 Chablis Les Clos is all about understatement and balance. White floral notes meld into white stone fruit in this utterly gracious Chablis. Clos can at times be fleeting and elusive, and there is certainly some of that in the 2010. Still, it is impossible to miss the wine’s textural finesse and sheer overall balance. I will not be surprised if the 2010 continues to get better in bottle."