January 2020 Issue
Blessed with a succession of fine harvests and constant refinement by vintners and growers of the winemaking art, 2019 proved to be a banner year as your trusty editors tasted through thousands of wines for Connoisseurs’ Guide. As is our custom as we look back over the past twelve months, we take a moment to give special mention to those that have left indelible and enduring impressions as the very best of a remarkable lot, and we once again humbly offer our thoughts on those that stood out as the most memorable wines of the year.
Selections by Stephen Eliot
2017 Les lecons des maîtres – 94 points
The white wines of Bordeaux are the avowed model for this impeccably crafted, multi-layered wine that offers a much different perspective on fine Sauvignon Blanc than its slightly brighter and racier cellarmate. Combining grapefruit, pineapple, minerals, sweet oak and a touch of fresh grass, it is full, fleshy and quite firm in feel with a sensationally long finish, and its considerable richness does not rely upon pushy ripeness. It will be prove be every bit as long-lived as its somewhat leaner sibling, and the two rank among the more serious and collectable Sauvignon Blancs to be had.