Wine Magnums

This 525-case blend of 90% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon shows notes of white chocolate, mocha, black cherry, and new barrique smells. It is well-made, still somewhat oaky, with medium to full-bodied... Read More

The second release from Andremily's Jim Binns, the No 2 is an utterly profound blend of 85% Syrah, 11% Mourvèdre and 4% Viognier that saw a touch of whole cluster fermentation and 23 months in 62% new French oak barrels. Its... Read More

Blended of 89% Syrah, 8% Mourvèdre and 3% Viognier using 54% whole cluster and spending around 22 months in French oak (60% new), the 2014 No 3 has a deep purple-black color and nose of blueberry preserves, spiced black berries... 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

A spare, faintly dank and decidedly sour - though, for all that, not uninteresting - non-dose blend tasted alongside could scarcely have contrasted more vividly with Lenoble's NV Brut Intense Disg. 2/2013, which is as immediately... Read More

The apple-scented NV Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs (L-231-323-01) is a highly focused, delineated, and pure sparkling wine filled with zesty apple and floral flavors. It has outstanding length yet lacks the friendly, expansive nature... Read More

Attractive toffee and caramel notes on the nose with pear tart, apple crumble, praline, chalk and nougat. Rich, creamy and delicious with soft and rounded bubbles. Well integrated. Caressing and delicious finish. Chardonnay from... Read More

The 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard (a 1,750-case blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot, and 3% Merlot) boasts explosive aromas of incense, creme de cassis, minerals, and flowers. It is medium... Read More

The 2003 Solengo, a blend of equal parts Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah, opens with a huge, brooding nose followed by masses of super-ripe dark fruit, cassis, licorice, earth and black pepper nuances that coat the palate with notable... Read More

The 2013 Pinot Noir UV-SL, primarily made from Calera and Vosne-Romanée clonal material, boasts a dense ruby/purple color as well as a big, sweet nose of blackcurrants, black cherries, forest floor and beet root. The complex aromatics... Read More

Two bottles were badly corked, which is certainly a scary situation for a wine where only 1,000 or so cases were produced. However, a third bottle was magical and just short of perfection. Its saturated purple color was followed... Read More

One of the vintage's most compelling wines (what's new about that?), Alain Vauthier's beloved 2004 Ausone has closed down considerably since I tasted it out of barrel, but it remains among the most concentrated wines... 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

A masterpiece in the making, proprietor Alain Vauthier's 2009 Ausone boasts a dense purple color along with notes of powdered chalk, crushed rocks and wild blue, red and black fruits. Extravagantly rich with great minerality,... Read More

The 2010 Ausone struck me as another brilliant, potentially perfect wine, which should come as no shock to people who have been following Vauthier's work over the last decade or more. Backward and intense, this wine offers... Read More

The 2015 Ausone is a blend of 50% Cabernet Franc and 50% Merlot this year, cropped at 30 hl/ha between 29 September and 2 October for the Merlot and 8-10 October for the Cabernet Franc. Matured in 85% new oak, it has a very intense... Read More