The medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Malescot St. Exupery leaps from the glass with expressive scents of baked blackberries, Morello cherries and boysenberries with hints of blackcurrant cordial, dark chocolate, licorice... Read More
Tasted blind at the 2012 Southwold tasting, the 2012 Château Margaux has a taut, linear, pencil lead-infused bouquet with pure blackberry and boysenberry scents, an undercurrent of tobacco that surfaces after five minutes... Read More
Like Chateau Margaux, but to a lesser extent, Pavillon Rouge 2018 is powerful, silky and long, and delicately tannic throughout. Although it has the highest level of tannins of any Pavillon Rouge, there is not the slightest hint... Read More
Given that Margaux's second wine contains plenty of fruit that made it into the grand vin just a decade or two ago, great things are to be expected from this bottling. Yet I was nonetheless taken aback by the quality of the... Read More
Solidly built, with a dark and juicy core of currant, plum and blackberry reduction flavors, inlaid with charcoal and smoldering tobacco notes. Offers a pleasant loamy tug through the finish. Gutsy wine. The better of two bottles... Read More
Delicately whiffs of sun-scorched sage and thyme lend a sultry flair to ripe, lush black cherry and berry. A blend of primarily Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre matured in a small proportion of new oak, it's an intensely... Read More
Even better than when I tasted it the previous year, Mont Redon's 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape has turned out remarkably youthful, bursting with scents of purple raspberries, sherbet, violet and cassis. It's full-bodied, supple... Read More
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate opens with profound black and red currant cordial notes over an undercurrent of Indian spices, chargrill, scorched earth and bay leaves. Medium-bodied with wonderful... Read More
The 2014 Mouton-Rothschild was closed at first when I tasted the wine in bottle with winemaker Philippe Dhalluin. But as it transpires, this First Growth is just toying with you. Initially quite understated, it responds to aeration... Read More
The 2015 Mouton Rothschild has a deep, almost opaque color. The nose is very intense and extraordinarily backward: blackberry, graphite (in fact, more like a big box of pencil shavings), hints of blueberry, violet and a splash... Read More
Aromas of raspberries, cassis and cherries mingle with hints of violets, raw cocoa and hints of truffle in a perfumed bouquet. The 2020 Palmer is a full-bodied, layered and seamless wine that's deep and concentrated, with... Read More
The 2020 Alter Ego de Palmer has turned out beautifully, bursting with aromas of violets and rose petals mingled with notions of sweet dark berries and baking chocolate. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and seamless, it's vibrant... Read More
The 2016 Arômes de Pavie has a deep garnet-purple color and is a little closed to begin, slowly revealing notes of crushed red and black cherries, raspberry preserves, plum pudding, blueberry pie and prunes with touches... Read More
The 2016 Pavie a blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc. Very deep purple-black in color, it needs a little coaxing to begin, slowly unfurling to reveal a fragrant perfume of violets, chocolate-covered cherries, crushed blueberries... Read More
The 2020 Phélan Ségur is rich and generous, unwinding in the glass with aromas of sweet berries, cherries and plums mingled with hints of violets and spices and framed by creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy... Read More
Aromas of cassis, raw cocoa, licorice and loamy soil introduce the 2020 Pibran, a medium to full-bodied, layered and velvety wine framed by powdery tannins that assert themselves on the finish. Read More...
Composed of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, the medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Pontet-Canet gives up beautifully fragrant notes of rosehip tea, lilacs, cinnamon stick, cloves,... Read More
Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2020 Prieure-Lichine offers up notes of fresh redcurrants, blackcurrant pastilles, boysenberries and dried Provence herbs, plus wafts of tobacco leaf and pencil shavings. Medium-bodied,... Read More
Deep garnet in color, the 2005 Rauzan-Ségla sings of plum preserves, redcurrant jelly, raspberry pie, kirsch and blackcurrant cordial with nuances of dried lavender, rose hip tea, hoisin and incense. The medium to full-bodied... Read More
The deep garnet colored 2014 Rauzan-Ségla reveals an open-knit, expressive nose of potpourri, unsmoked cigars, spice box and red loam with a core of plum preserves, blackcurrant jelly and bay leaves plus a touch of garrigue.... Read More
A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, aged in 60% new barriques, the very deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Smith Haut Lafitte bursts onto the scene with showy scents of crème... Read More
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Talbot features notions of baked blackcurrants, stewed plums and bouquet garni with hints of tilled soil, tobacco leaf and pencil lead. The medium-bodied palate is softly textured with bags... Read More