Producer: Dehours et Fils
The Dehours Champagne Brut Grande Reserve is the result of an assemblage of Meunier, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with a great percentage of vin de rèserve, fermented according to Solera methods, embraced by Jerome in 1998.
Producer: Bouquin Dupont Fils
A wonderful champagne, 100% Chardonnay of Avize from vineyards more than 60 years old. A base of citrus fruit melted with the scent, and taste, of a custard where there are also two drops of lemon juice. Delicious and enjoyable.
Producer: Jacquesson
In Cuvée 748, reserve wines enrich its complexity without ever overshadowing the personality of the 2020 base vintage. The result is a refined, authentic Champagne that captivates with its depth and purity.
Producer: Dehours et Fils
The Champagne Rosè Oeil de Pedrix is the result of an assemblage of Meunier and Chardonnay from old vineyards. Flowery Champagne Rosè Extra Brut, particularly fine and fresh with a very limited production.
Producer: Podere Poggio Scalette
The 2018 Il Carbonaione is one of the most elegant editions of this flagship wine I can remember tasting. Il Carbonaione is usually a rich, bombastic wine, but the 2018 is sleek, gracious and remarkably refined.
Producer: Marion Perseval
The Brut Privilege is a standout champagne produced by the Marion Perseval, in the heart of the Champagne region of the Montagne de Reims. This producer specializes in creating fine champagnes that showcase both tradition and modernity. She combines his extensive knowledge of biodynamic viticulture and her profound respect for nature to create structured...
Producer: Marie Demets
The Champagne Tradition from Marie Demets in Cote des Bar offers a delightful sensory experience. It presents a pale golden hue with delicate effervescence dancing in the glass. On the nose, it entices with aromas of crisp green apples, ripe pear, and hints of citrus zest, complemented by subtle floral notes of acacia and honeysuckle.
Producer: Podere Poggio Scalette
The 2019 Il Carbonaione is silky and racy in the glass. Scents of new oak are a clear sign the 2019 doesn't quite have the density of the very best years, but Il Carbonaione has a brilliant track record of aging.
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Tannic and yet seductive even in its first youth, Figeac's wine then evolves a refined, silky, concentrated, rich character, with subtle aromas of cedar, black fruit and mint. This château is a favourite of Robert Parker's, who has declared himself to be a big fan of Figeac.
Producer: Pauillac
The 2011 Latour is well-defined on the nose with blackberry, bilberry, cedar, hoisin and a touch of mint. There is impressive intensity here, regal and convincing. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannins. There is a solid backbone to this wine, plenty of freshness, quite powerful towards the finish with superb persistence. Wonderful.
Producer: St Emilion
The 2016 Angélus has an intense, powerful bouquet with copious black cherries, boysenberry, orange pith and iodine scents that threaten to overwhelm the senses. The medium-bodied palate offers supple tannins, a fine bead of acidity, a dash of black pepper and impressive detail and persistence on the finish.
Producer: St Emilion
The 2016 Ausone was mightily impressive from barrel. Bottled in July 2018, it has a very intense bouquet of black cherries, cassis, cedar and light pencil box aromas emanating from the 50% Cabernet Franc. The palate is medium-bodied with supple, filigreed tannin that belies the density and structure of this Ausone.
Producer: Margaux
The 1999 Chateau Margaux is another overlooked vintage that transcends the growing season. This example, which is from an ex-château magnum, is delightful. It offers a slightly more fruit-driven, heartier bouquet than you would presuppose from a supposed mediocre season. Black fruit is laced with graphite and clove and blossoms with aeration while...
Producer: Pauillac
The 1989 Haut-Bages Liberal opens up nicely in the glass, with an intriguing combination of, juicy red-fleshed fruit underpinned by distinctly stony, chalky notes that give the wine much of its energy.
Producer: Margaux
The 1999 Chateau Palmer has a sumptuous bouquet of mulberry, fresh dates and sloes. It is certainly an excellent wine that every wine lover should have in his cellar.
Producer: Pessac Leognan
2005 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc was very closed and earthy at the beginning. Today it has a very explosive nose of peach, apricot and nut with spices and earthy smoky flavors!!! It is really complex.
Producer: Pauillac
When I tasted the 2018 Pontet-Canet in barrel I described it as a "freak of nature." The 2018 is more than that, it is a freak of nature. Made from yields of just ten hectoliters per hectare, the 2018 possesses off the charts richness, phenomenal balance and head-spinning intensity. Put in another way, if Lalou Bize-Leroy made Bordeaux, it would taste...
Producer: Pomerol
The 2020 Petrus is a wine of pure and total sensuality. Silky, creamy tannins wrap around a core of dark red and black fruit. A wine with explosive depth but no hard edges and mind-blowing balance, the 2020 is so alluring, even in the early going. Time in the glass brings out lifted floral top notes that add freshness. What strikes most is the elegance of...
Producer: Pessac Leognan
Laville Haut-Brion is arguably the greatest dry white wine in Bordeaux. Aromatically complex on the nose and almost lusciously rich on the palate, with strong mineral overtones, and with a finish to die for.
Producer: Pauillac
Deep ruby-purple. Closed but extremely pure and penetrating on the nose, offering delicate aromas of crushed blackcurrant, flint and graphite lifted by a pertumed violet topnote. Very refined and clean on the palate, with concentrated cassis, violet, ink and cedar flavors that are archetypal Lafite. Finishes with the hint of astringency that I find in a...
Producer: St Emilion
Owned by the Castéja family, Trottevieille has one parcel of some of the oldest vines in St.-Emilion. Dense purple, the 2005 has beautiful blueberry, plum and blackcurrant fruit, with an attractive underlying minerality.
Producer: St Julien
The 2009 Ducru-Beaucaillou has a killer bouquet with wonderful definition: blackberry, wild hedgerow, minerals and touches of pressed flower. This has just lost some of its puppy fat in recent years. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannin, taut and quite linear, lightly spiced with a firm grip but plenty of elegance towards the finish. This is...
Producer: St Emilion
The 2008 Ausone has a really showstopping bouquet, to wit, one of the most seductive you will find in 2008: pure red cherries, crushed strawberry and vanilla pod scents, later rose petal and an almost honeyed aroma. The palate is medium-bodied with sensual, ripe tannin that feel lavish, luxuriant.
Producer: St Emilion
A wine of sublime elegance and finesse, the 2017 Cheval Blanc is endowed with tremendous energy, precision and cut. Red fruit, mint, sage, blood orange, star anise and exotic spice notes abound in a mid-weight, finely cut Cheval that dazzles with its energy.
Producer: St Estephe
The 2017 Montrose is a very pretty, polished wine that speaks much more to finesse than power. Expressive floral and spices notes add an attractive inner sweetness to a Montrose that in 2017 leans more into the red fruit spectrum. Gracious yet deep, with terrific overall balance, the 2017 Montrose is a total winner.
Tannic and yet seductive even in its first youth, Figeac's wine then evolves a refined, silky, concentrated, rich character, with subtle aromas of cedar, black fruit and mint. This château is a favourite of Robert Parker's, who has declared himself to be a big fan of Figeac.
