Simply the Best: 100 Point Wines

It is always fascinating to taste wines awarded the maximum score by critics. What elevates these wines above their peers? We have plenty of options to allow you to judge for yourself. Bordeaux unsurprisingly dominates our list, but we also have great options from elsewhere in France and from the US.

For an affordable landing point, try St. Emilion’s Château Canon in the glorious 2020 vintage. The spectacular limestone terroir is on full display in this wine of searing mineral intensity and clarity of fruit. Down the road in Pomerol, Vieux Château Certan offers layers of velvety fruit and an aromatic spectrum to die for.

South of the city, we have two famous years from Haut-Brion: the celebrated 1989, a wine that dominates any dinner table by its exuberance and complexity; and the youthful but stellar 2020. Elsewhere in France, we can offer bottles from one of the all-time vintages for Guigal’s ‘LaLa’ vineyards: 1988. These are monumental wines that every wine lover should taste once.

From California, the Eisele Vineyard Cabernet is the product of one of this country’s greatest single vineyards; while Sloan, from a touch further south in Rutherford, has developed its own reputation since 2000 through the consistent excellence of its wines. In white, we have a few bottles of the brilliant Aubert Chardonnay still remaining. But act quickly! These will not last long.