Composed of 53% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot, the 2017 Alter Ego de Palmer is deep garnet-purple in color and springs from the glass with vivacious black raspberries, black cherries and crushed blackcurrants... Read More
A blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, this is clearly the greatest Angelus until the 2000, 2003 and then the perfect 2005. Beautiful, sweet plum, blackberry and blueberry fruit soar from the glass of this opaque, purple... Read More
In the new classification of St.-Emilion, justice was certainly served with the elevation of Angelus to premier grand cru classe status. No Bordeaux estate has been making as concentrated and consistently high quality wines as... Read More
In the new classification of St.-Emilion, justice was certainly served with the elevation of Angelus to premier grand cru classe status. No Bordeaux estate has been making as concentrated and consistently high quality wines as... Read More
A dazzling effort, the 1998 boasts an opaque purple color in addition to an exceptional bouquet of smoke, licorice, plums, black raspberries, and blackberries. As the wine sits in the glass, coffee and chocolate also emerge. Full-bodied,... Read More
A dazzling effort, the 1998 boasts an opaque purple color in addition to an exceptional bouquet of smoke, licorice, plums, black raspberries, and blackberries. As the wine sits in the glass, coffee and chocolate also emerge. Full-bodied,... Read More
One of the top wines of the vintage, the 2004 Angelus (a 7,500-case blend of 62% Merlot and 38% Cabernet Franc with a natural alcohol of 13.5%) is a classic, tannic, structured wine exhibiting a saturated dense purple color as... Read More
The Château Angelus 2014, a blend of 50% Cabernet Franc and 50% Merlot was picked between 2 and 22 October over a 3-week period. It has a surprisingly bashful nose at first, not one that comes racing out of the blocks to greet... Read More
One of the handful of candidates for wine of the vintage is the 2006 Ausone. In fact, while tasting it, I was thinking, is there any estate in Bordeaux that, since 1998, has made as many legendary wines as proprietor Alain Vauthier... Read More
One of the handful of candidates for wine of the vintage is the 2006 Ausone. In fact, while tasting it, I was thinking, is there any estate in Bordeaux that, since 1998, has made as many legendary wines as proprietor Alain Vauthier... Read More
The 2007 Ausone is a candidate for one of the wines of the vintage, rivaling Pavie and Lafite Rothschild. Its deep ruby/purple hue is accompanied by a beautiful nose of spring flowers, raspberries, black currants, and crushed... Read More
While no one will confuse the 2005 with this estate's prodigious 1990, it is an outstanding effort from one of St.-Emilion's finest terroirs. In terms of potential, the vineyard is exceeded only by Ausone, Pavie and Belair... Read More
The 2014 Beausejour (Duffau Lagarrosse) was an intriguing and quite mercurial Saint Emilion when I tasted it from barrel. Now in bottle, it has developed a quite compelling bouquet, very pure with black cherries, iodine, potpourri... Read More
The 2015 Beausejour (Duffau Lagarrosse) is a blend of 90% Merlot picked between 25 September and 5 October, 10% Cabernet Franc picked on 5 and 12 October. It was cropped at 34 hl/ha. It has a very intense, quite opulent bouquet,... Read More
The 2015 Beausejour (Duffau Lagarrosse) is a blend of 90% Merlot picked between 25 September and 5 October, 10% Cabernet Franc picked on 5 and 12 October. It was cropped at 34 hl/ha. It has a very intense, quite opulent bouquet,... Read More
This was the breakthrough vintage for this fabulous terroir that had been under-exploited for so many years. A collaboration between Nicolas Thienpont and Stephane Derenoncourt, this medium to full-bodied, pure blend of 80% Merlot... Read More
This is a wine that I appear to have badly misjudged when tasting out of barrel. I had the bottled 26 Bellevue several times, and it was consistently hard, austere, and lean. Generally I love what this great terroir, surrounded... Read More
This tiny, 5-acre vineyard with nearly 50-year old vines produces only 4,000 bottles from a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. The broodingly tannic, backward 2006 is remarkably concentrated, pure, and deep. It is an... Read More
Very little wine is produced (about 400 cases) from this tiny 5-acre vineyard, but it is always among the most concentrated and richest of Bordeaux. The inky/purple-colored 2007 offers sweet cassis fruit notes interwoven with... Read More
One of the best bottles from Beychevelle in a long time. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and aromas of raspberry and mint with a hint of violet. Lead pencil and fruit appear on the long aftertaste.--1988 Bordeaux horizontal. Best... Read More
Deep ruby/purple in color, with a sweet nose of black currants, earth, licorice, and mineral, the 2000 is relatively powerful and dense for the normally restrained and elegant Beychevelle. Medium to full-bodied, dense, and chewy,... Read More
The finest Beychevelle since the 2003 and probably since the 1982, Beychevelle's 2009 is opaque purple in color, with a beautiful, floral nose intermixed with black currant fruit, licorice, cedar wood and Christmas fruitcake.... Read More
The grand vin, the 2012 Beychevelle, is one of the stars of St.-Julien. Opaque purple, with beautiful crème de cassis notes, the wine has floral underpinnings, sweet tannin and a nice layered, multi-dimensional mouthfeel. This... Read More
Branaire-Ducru has consistently been one of the finest 1975s. I have come to the conclusion that it will never resolve all of the tannin, but the wine has such a large-scaled, muscular, rich, concentrated personality that the... Read More
Branaire-Ducru has consistently been one of the finest 1975s. I have come to the conclusion that it will never resolve all of the tannin, but the wine has such a large-scaled, muscular, rich, concentrated personality that the... Read More