2000  

"Bright, deep ruby-red. Crystallized black raspberry, black cherry, flowers, espresso and bitter chocolate on the nose. Lush and silky, with compelling sweetness leavened by the wine's powerful underlying structure. This is actually a bit unforthcoming today, which I take as a positive sign for its evolution in bottle. Best right now on the remarkably long aftertaste, which features lush tannins and a strong flavor of bitter chocolate. Great wine." - 95pts Vinous

2020  

One of my most exciting discoveries in Chablis and the Auxerrois was fledgling Domaine Clément Lavallée. Clement's father is the proprietor of a substantial, modern and mechanized domaine in Saint-Bris, but Clément's aspirations were more artisanal. He started his own label in 2019, with just 3.5 hectares supplemented by purchased fruit—a surface that's grown to 5.5 hectares today. Eschewing herbicides, he cultivates the soils with lightweight tractors and keeps chemical treatments to the minimum. Working with a variety of sites and cépages, harvest lasts a full month. In the cellar, whites see a long pressing, with Clément selling in bulk any juice that doesn't please him, and reds see long macerations with a percentage of whole bunches. Élevage takes place in used wood on the lees, and the wines are never pumped. What I tasted on this first visit indicates that Lavallée hit the ground running with his very first vintage. Textural but incisive, pure and penetrating, I was immensely impressed by these young wines - from pungently mineral Chablis, to perfumed and intense reds, to Saint-Bris that's more Auxerrois than it is Sauvignon, everything here comes warmly recommended, and I encourage importers to beat a path to this new domaine's door. - William Kelley, Wine Advocate

2020  

"Taking its name from the vineyard's inclination, Lavallée's 2020 Chablis 45° reveals scents of citrus zest, white flowers, Anjou pear and fresh pastry. Medium to full-bodied, chiseled and concentrated, it's elegant and penetrating, with a satiny attack and an electric finish. It's full of promise." - 90-92pts WA

2020  Chablis

"The 2020 Chablis Les Ardillers confirms the promise it revealed in barrel. Offering up notes of citrus oil, green apple, white flowers and wet stones, framed by a hint of smoky reduction, it's medium to full-bodied, with a satiny attack and a racy spine of acidity, concluding with a saline finish. This chiseled wine is fleshier and more textural than the Chablis 45°." - 91pts WA

2020  Les Copains d'Abord

Les Copains d'Abord ---- The 2020 Saint-Bris Les Copains d'Abord is lovely, exhibiting aromas of gooseberry, pear, orange oil, mint and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and precise, with chalky grip and a penetrating finish, it transcends its cépage." - 90-92pts William Kelley, Wine Advocate ---- One of my most exciting discoveries in Chablis and the Auxerrois was fledgling Domaine Clément Lavallée. Clement's father is the proprietor of a substantial, modern and mechanized domaine in Saint-Bris, but Clément's aspirations were more artisanal. He started his own label in 2019, with just 3.5 hectares supplemented by purchased fruit - a surface that's grown to 5.5 hectares today. Eschewing herbicides, he cultivates the soils with lightweight tractors and keeps chemical treatments to the minimum. Working with a variety of sites and cépages, harvest lasts a full month. In the cellar, whites see a long pressing, with Clément selling in bulk any juice that doesn't please him, and reds see long macerations with a percentage of whole bunches. Élevage takes place in used wood on the lees, and the wines are never pumped. What I tasted on this first visit indicates that Lavallée hit the ground running with his very first vintage. Textural but incisive, pure and penetrating, I was immensely impressed by these young wines - from pungently mineral Chablis, to perfumed and intense reds, to Saint-Bris that's more Auxerrois than it is Sauvignon, everything here comes warmly recommended, and I encourage importers to beat a path to this new domaine's door.

2019  Savigny-les-Beaune

"The 2019 Savigny-lès-Beaune Les Lavières 1er Cru, grown on 30–50cm of alluvial soil over stratified hard limestone subsoil and matured in around 35% new oak, is blessed with an engaging, pure bouquet of red currant and cranberry jus, a palpable sense of minerality coming through. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and vibrant red berry fruit, the 60-year-old vines imparting wonderful complexity on the finish. An outstanding Les Lavières that comes highly recommended." - 92-94pts Vinous

2019  Savigny-les-Beaune

"A markedly more expressive nose freely offers up plenty of floral nuances on the red and dark cherry, plum and soft spice-inflected aromas. There is perfectly good if not exceptionally density to the middle weight flavors that possess a caressing but punchy palate impression, all wrapped in a lingering and balanced finish. This is sufficiently structured to reward up to a decade of cellar time and this is worth considering." - 91pts/Outstanding Burghound

2015  Vosne-Romanee

2017  Nuits-St-Georges

"The 2017 Nuits Saint-Georges Aux Thorey 1er Cru, which is matured in 55% new oak, has a very detailed bouquet of tensile black cherry and light cassis fruit, the mineral component becoming more expressive with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with broody black cherry and boysenberry fruit, a strong saline influence here and an oyster-shell-tinged finish. It will need several years bottle age but will be worth the wait." - 91-93pts Vinous

1988  

2020  Pouilly-Fuisse

"The 2020 Pouilly-Fuissé Tête de Cuvée, a blend of the various soils from 40 parcels mainly around Fuissé is aged 60% in oak and 40% stainless steel, bottled during spring 2022. The less clayey soils and younger vines are those that are aged in stainless steel. It has a well-defined bouquet with touches of grilled walnut and honeysuckle, hints of white chocolate in the background. The palate is well balanced with a hints of dried honey and slate-like notes. Fine acidity, very well balanced with good substance, there is a lovely touch of spice towards the finish that lingers in the mouth. Try and keep a few of these in the cellar." - 92pts Vinous ---- "A restrained nose is ripe but cool with its fresh aromas of white peach, apple, tangerine and lemon-lime nuances. There is very good richness to the rich and generous medium-bodied flavors that deliver solid length on the saline-inflected, clean and dry finish. This delicious effort will need to develop better depth but historically this cuvée has done just that if given a chance." - 91pts/Outstanding Burghound

2020  Pouilly-Fuisse 1er Cru

"More subtle though not invisible wood with the same hint of vanilla frames the lemon and floral aromas of essence of green apple. The sleek, intense and overtly mineral-driven flavors terminate in a bitter lemon-inflected finish that is clean dry and sneaky long. This gorgeously textured but seriously powerful effort is more refined and a wine that should amply repay mid-term cellaring. Excellent." - 93pts/Outstanding, Bughound ---- "The 2020 Pouilly-Fuissé Le Clos 1er Cru which comes from the walled vineyard, the only officially-recognised Premier Cru monopole of 2.68ha, the vines east-facing on three soils - clay at the bottom, marl in the middle and limestone at the top. It was picked on 30 August. The nose is quite reticent at first, so leaving the wine in my glass for 10 minutes, it really opens and shows its complexity thanks to the mélange of soils, honeysuckle and dried honey, lime and faint hints of liquorice. The palate is very well balanced with good depth, real weight and presence here, texturally-satisfying with impressive persistence on the finish. Excellent, but wise owls will cellar this for several years before broaching." - 94pts Vinous