Admittedly, the selection has a red wine emphasis. This is due to my second focus in Paris, champagne, which was given a separate article. There are three countries or regions in particular on which I centred the selection. Bordeaux, because this year I wanted to compare the presentation of the Union des Grands Crus in Bordeaux with that in Paris. The USA, because its traditionally strong presence in Düsseldorf now extends to Paris. And Italy, which shone this year with its own hall. And then there was a German high-flyer …
1 Château Canon Saint-Emilion 1er Grand Cru Classé 2022
Château Canon is located on the famous plateau to the south-west of the historic centre of Saint-Emilion. The estate comprises a good 18 hectares of a contiguous vineyard, which sits above an old limestone quarry. It was here that the Girondists sought asylum during the French Revolution. There are only a few centimetres of soil above this bed of solid limestone, just enough to make viticulture possible. Legendary wines rich in finesse have always come from here, such as the 1929 vintage. Since the vineyard became the property of fashion and perfume manufacturer Chanel in 1996, the wines seem to have become even more fragrant. Since 2015, there have only been great wines here. Last year, Canon 2021 was already in my top ten at ProWein. The more powerful 2022 is even greater. Among its peers, it appears almost slender. With floral aromas on the nose and unprecedented elegance, making it multi-layered and incredibly long (98p.). The aesthete among the Premier Crus!
2 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac Grand Cru Classé 2022
Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande was long considered a ‘feminine’ wine. This in addition to the name and the (often female) owners, was probably also due to the higher proportion of Merlot compared to its neighbours. However, it was the brothers Édouard and Louis Miailhe, owners of the vineyard since 1925, who expanded the Merlot areas because they were convinced of the round nature and regular yield of the variety. Since 2007, the 2ième Cru has been a jewel in the Rouzaud family’s collection, which also includes Champagne Roederer. Like the Maison in Aÿ, the ‘Comtesse’ has also been gradually converted to biodynamic viticulture. A long-term project, which shows already impressive results. In any case, 2022 is a monumental wine. With lots of roasted and coffee notes on the nose, dense, powerful and multi-layered on the palate and with powerful tannins (98p.). Certainly a ‘modern’ Pauillac and perhaps not for the feint-hearted, but undoubtedly of great class.
3 Château Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan Premier Grand Cru Classé 2006
One of the best places at Wine Paris or ProWein to taste really great wines – some of them matured and in large bottles – is the joint stand of Primum Familiae Vini. Unfortunately, at least for ProWein, the PFV has decided not to come to Düsseldorf in 2025. In Paris, all the member families were present in person, if I can see that correctly. And they had brought some impressive wines with them. This year, the Dillion family celebrated their 90th anniversary as owners of Château Haut-Brion, historically the first Grand Cru of Bordeaux. Today, Haut-Brion is located in the urban centre. This reminds us that the Graves region is the real cradle of Bordeaux wine. Whereas the Médoc is actually a newcomer.
In any case, the family opened the 2006 vintage, a direct hit in what was not an easy vintage. Already with a mellow, brick-red colour in the glass, the wine also shows noticeable aromatic notes of maturity with undergrowth, leather and black truffles. Medium-bodied and with earthy flavours on the palate, plus some robust tannins (96p.). Old school in the best sense!
4 Memento Mori Cabernet Sauvignon Napa 2022
For years, the Napa Valley vintners were the ambassadors for the best cuvées from the ‘American Eden’ at ProWein. Now they also prefer Paris to Düsseldorf. They certainly made a very strong showing at Wine Paris 2025. For example, the Scala Wine Group presented its portfolio, a high-end wholesaler from St Helena that represents the wineries of cult winemakers such as Andy Erickson, Helen Keplinger and Sam Kaplan. The latter has been winemaker of Arkenstone in Howell Mountain since 2006, but also works as a consultant in 2010.
His first and perhaps most important client was Memento Mori. The founders of the Calistoga-based project have access to some of the most exclusive and expensive sites in Napa Valley, notably Beckstoffer Dr Crane Vineyard, Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard, Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard, Weitz Vineyard, and Oakville Ranch Vineyard. Normally the top single-vineyard bottling in any winery’s portfolio, Memento Mori’s Cabernet Sauvignon blend from all of these vineyards is the non-plus-ultra. In any case, the 2022 vintage just presented shows enormously finely polished tannins, great depth and complexity. The somewhat low acidity is due to the extreme heat of the vintage (97p.).
5 Grace Family Vineyards St. Helena Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Cornelius Grove Vineyard 2021
Since my 2017 report for FINE – The Wine Magazine, I have had a special relationship with Grace Family Vineyards. In perhaps one of the world’s most beautiful wine locations, meeting founder Dick Grace reminded me that wine is by no means the most important thing in the world. The winery itself became one of the first cult wineries in Napa Valley by combining minimal production with the very highest standards. For a few years, the classic style ensured that things became quieter around Grace. In 2014, Dick Grace made a splash again with the appointment of ‘Wonder Woman’ Helen Keplinger as winemaker.
In 2019, Grace finally sold the winery to the married couple Kathryn and Jeremy Green, who had already been producing wine in Napa for several years. They also acquired Cornelius Grove Vineyard in Heath Canyon Ranch to the west in the foothills of the Mayacamas, which also belongs to St Helena. Here, the Corbett family cultivated 0.4 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon vines planted in 1957. These are among the oldest in Napa and have been bottled at Grace as Cornelius Grove Vineyard since 2016. The 2021 from a classic Napa vintage is of spectacular quality. Black berries, graphite and five spices on the nose, dense but not opulent, with a refined texture thanks to silky tannins and structuring acidity (98p.). Incidentally, Kathryn Green presented the wine herself in a charming and committed manner!
6 Heitz Cellar Oakville Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Martha’s Vineyard 2018
A second reunion took place at Demeine Estates. This is a wine import and production company from Napa Valley founded by the Lawrence family and Carlton McCoy Jr.. They exhibited wineries that agricultural magnate Gaylon Lawrence had bought together in recent years. In addition to Château Lascombes, these include Stony Hill and Ink Grade – but above all Heitz Cellar. It was here that Joe Heitz produced Martha’s Vineyard, the first single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa Valley, in 1966. Today it is the most famous single-vineyard wine in the USA. I wrote the story of the connection between the Heitz and the May families, the owners of Martha’s Vineyard, for FINE – Das Weinmagazin in 2016. My encounter with Joe’s daughter Kathleen Heitz Myers and Thomas May in the vineyard was an unforgettable moment. Even at that time, the uncertain future weighed heavily on the family, so I was not surprised by the news of the sale in 2018.
Now, in Paris, the bottle from that very same 2018 was standing in front of me, the current vintage on sale. Lots of cassis and herbal spice in the glass – albeit still without that eucalyptus note that makes old vintages so spectacular. The wood still masks the fruit somewhat, but the warmth and generosity of the wine are already noticeable (96p.).
7 Parusso Barolo Bussia Vigna Munie Riserva 2015
A successful trade fair includes horizontal tasting – the current Bordeaux vintage, the top cuvées of the Napa Valley – as well as vertical tasting. In other words, getting to know the entire production of a winery, ideally presented by the owner himself. In this case, it was Marco Parusso. He took over his father’s business 35 years ago together with his sister Tiziana. Barolo was bottled here for the first time in 1971. The actual history of the winery only began in 1990 under the name Parusso Armando di Parusso Fratelli. Marco Parusso is a winemaker who pays enormous attention to every difference in the terroir and every detail of production, and also takes unconventional approaches. When it comes to rotofermenters, for example, he embarks on a 15-minute passionate digression.
The wines from Parusso are aromatically very expressive, elegant and extremely drinkable despite their complexity. This is despite the fact that the winery in Bussia is located between the municipalities of Monforte and Castiglione Falletto, which are known for their powerful wines. The fruit takes centre stage in the Langhe Nebbiolo 2022 and the rather light colored Barolo blend Perarmando 2021 also shows attractive cherry aromas alongside smoke and dried herbs. The three crus Bussia and Mosconi (both from Monforte) and Mariondino (Castiglione Falletto) each shine in their own way with an exceptional texture. Parusso bottles the Munie parcel from the Bussia vineyard as a Riserva with a golden label after several years of ageing. The 2015 vintage is very dense, packed with almost sweet fruit and exotic spices. This is perhaps not very typical, but still very individual (95p.).
8 Vietti Barolo Villero Riserva 2016
If there was a ‘Wine Paris 2025 Collection’ award, I would have given it to the Vietti without hesitation. The wines presented to me by Urs Vetter, the winery’s export director, were of excellent quality across the board. The whites not only shone with an expressive Arnëis – the winery had bottled the first single-varietal Arneis in 1967. But above all with a complex Timorasso Derthona from the Colli Tortonesi. A single vineyard from 2020 will soon be released here for the first time. This should set a new benchmark for this rare but characterful grape variety. The Barberas are also in a class of their own, especially the Crus La Crena (Asti) and Vecchia Scarrone (Alba). These come from plots with some very old plantings and display an unusual silkiness and verticality for this grape variety. Barbaresco Roncaglie 2021 is also impressive.
The winery was sold in 2016, a novelty in Piedmont, to the US Krause family from Iowa. They purchased a number of crus, including some of the best single vineyards in the Barolo region, and added them to Vietti’s portfolio. The Nebbiolo Perbacco (made from Barolo base wines that are not bottled as such) and the basic Barolo (formerly Castiglione) are now topped by six single vineyards (MGAs). Brunate, Cerequio, Rocche di Castiglione, Lazzarito, Ravera and Monvigliero are each more beautiful than the next. They all come from the 2021 vintage, perhaps the greatest of recent decades. What is particularly fascinating is that some come from great ‘classic’ terroirs. Others, however, come from peripheral sites such as the Ravera from Novello or the Monvigliero from Verduno, which have benefited enormously from climate change.
Of course, the Riserva Villero from the equally great 2016 vintage towers above this sextet. It is a legacy of the former owners Luca and Elena Penna-Currado and a Barolo giant. Powerful and with a dark, complex aroma that is only just beginning to develop thanks to the powerful tannins and striking acidity. It is a wine that develops over hours in the air and requires long ageing (98p.).
9 Lucien Le Moine Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 2021
At the end of the fair, I was granted an unexpected tasting. Mounir and Rotem Saouma, the owners of the cult wine estate Lucien Le Moine from Burgundy, were actually standing in a small booth pouring their wines to a hand-picked crowd. A few years ago, the couple expanded their micro-négoce project from Burgundy to the Rhône. The tasting course for the whites: Pouilly-Fuissé 2021, Chablis Grand Cru Preuses ‘36 mois’ 2020, Meursault Les Gouttes d’Or 2021 and finally a powerful Châteauneuf-du-Pape Arioso 2019. For the reds: the Châteauneuf-du-Pape Omnia and Arioso 2020 as well as a powerful, wood-accentuated but not over-extracted Pommard Les Grand Epenots from 2021. Finally, the crowning glory was a Bonnes Mares Grand Cru from 2021, which in comparison to the competing Bonnes Mares tasted shortly before was more expressive than the Comte de Voguë, but lacked the elegance of Georges Roumier. Nevertheless, an impressive wine of some class (95p.).
10 Weingut Egon Müller zu Scharzhof Scharzhofberger Auslese GK 2007
The second winery to make it from last year’s ProWein selection to this year’s Wine Paris. As last year, the wine was tasted at the Primum Familiae Vini (PFV) stand. This time, however, it was not a Kabinett (which was also available), but an Auslese Goldkapsel from 2007, perhaps because Isabelle Müller was present. The winery only compares the 2007 vintage with the ‘very best’. ‘As the proportion of noble rotten grapes was rather small and the acidity levels remained high despite the high ripeness, we are thinking of 1997 or 1971.’ I was unable to solve the little enigma of the bottling number. It was 3 567 142-R-08 and the bottle bore the VDP eagle as well as the PFV seal on the label. So a special bottling for the PFV, where R stands for Reserve? Even in this extraordinary context, the wine proved to be in a class of its own: I noted ‘enormous complexity, outstanding length, great expression and presence’ (99p.).
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