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1996 Médoc Grand Cru Classés

1996 was the first truly outstanding year for the wines of the Médoc since 1990, with many châteaux making some of the best wines in their history. The chunkier, flashier 2000s may match them, as will the near-perfect 2005s (which combine the best qualities of 1996 & 2000) but otherwise one has to look back to 1990 to find a vintage of similar quality.

The best of these wines are starting to open up and can be drunk now with some time in the decanter. That said, the inherent balance of these wines is such that they can be kept, and will develop, for many years to come. Moreover, they offer exceptional value when compared to their 2000 and 2005 counterparts.

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VINTAGE WINE BOTTLE SIZE PRICES SORT OPTIONS expand
1996
Red, drink-or-keep
Ch. Gruaud-Larose, 2ème Cru Classé, St Julien
France  »  Bordeaux  »  St Julien
75cl £ 62.13
$ 95.85
No more stock available
12 x £ 55.43
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Special case price £ 665.22
Buy 12 and save £ 80.35 (10.5%)
Medium-Full Bodied, Dry, Red, Cab.Sauvignon Blend, Ready, but will improve, 12.5% alc.

1996 has been hailed as ‘the greatest ever Cabernet Sauvignon vintage’. It’s certainly one of the great post-war vintages for the Médoc and arguably one of the top four of the last century. St Julien is one of the appellations offering the best wines from 1996 and these are now perfectly mature, offering sensational drinking now. This wine is a wonderful example of the quality that can be found in 1996 from a ‘Super-Second’ estate: one which consistently outperforms its classification and produces wines that taste instead like those of a First Growth.
Drink: 2008 -2020 .
1996
Red, drink-or-keep
Ch. Lynch-Bages, 5ème Cru Classé, Pauillac
France  »  Bordeaux  »  Pauillac
75cl £ 104.65
$ 161.45
No more stock available
12 x £ 81.43
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Special case price £ 977.22
Buy 12 and save £ 278.61 (22%)
Full Bodied, Dry, Red, Cab.Sauvignon Blend, Ready, but will keep, 13% alc.

The fleshy, mouth-filling flavours of this wine, from the exceptional 1996 vintage, leads to great finesse on the finish. With its voluptuous cassis fruit it is a blockbuster to enjoy now but will improve with age. Pauillac at its best.
1996
Red, drink-or-keep
Ch. Cos d'Estournel, St Estèphe
France  »  Bordeaux  »  St-Estèphe
75cl £ 115.74
$ 178.55
No more stock available
12 x £ 89.43
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Special case price £ 1073.22
Buy 12 and save £ 315.65 (22.5%)
Full Bodied, Dry, Red, Cab.Sauvignon Blend, Ready, but will improve, 13% alc.

Subtle spicy oak and red fruitnose, with round opulent flavours; although slightly closed on the finish, this will surely be a very good wine indeed. The complexity which was so evident from the start is now starting to unravel itself as the wine matures, promising great rewards for the patient.
1996
Red, drink-or-keep
Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou, St Julien
France  »  Bordeaux  »  St Julien
75cl £ 131.91
$ 203.50
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12 x £ 101.43
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Special case price £ 1217.22
Buy 12 and save £ 365.74 (23%)
Medium-Full Bodied, Dry, Red, Cab.Sauvignon Blend, Ready, but will improve, 13% alc.

1996 is possibly the best Cabernet Sauvignon vintage for 50 years, and this classic St. Julien is the best Ducru Beaucaillou since 1982. Exhibiting classic Bordeaux, flavours of cassis, lead pencil, toast and blackcurrant leaves with an elegant floral note, and balanced tannins that will aid a long life. We anticipate it will start drinking in the next couplle of years and last until 2030.
Drink: 2009 -2030 .
1996
Red, drink-or-keep
Ch. Palmer, 3ème Cru Classé, Margaux
France  »  Bordeaux  »  Margaux
75cl £ 131.91
$ 203.50
No more stock available
12 x £ 101.43
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Special case price £ 1217.22
Buy 12 and save £ 365.74 (23%)
Medium-Full Bodied, Dry, Red, Cab.Sauvignon Blend, Ready, but will improve, 12.5% alc.

This Third Growth property consistently outperforms its classification and is unquestionably the top estate in Margaux after Ch. Margaux. We have been very lucky to get our hands on this pristine late-release parcel direct from the château. This is beginning to drink but in an ideal world it would be cellared for another 2 to 3 years and has the potential to age a further 15 to 20 years. However, who is going to be able to resist its sweet, intoxicating aromas of ripe, cool, red fruits and rich but classically restrained palate until then? This is an unbelievably classy Palmer that will drink until 2028.
1996
Red, drink-or-keep
Carruades de Lafite Pauillac
France  »  Bordeaux  »  Pauillac
Limited Stock
 75cl £ 140.39
$ 216.58
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12 x £ 109.43
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Special case price £ 1313.22
Buy 12 and save £ 371.48 (22%)
Medium Bodied, Dry, Red, Cab.Sauvignon Blend, Ready, but will keep, 13% alc.

From a legendary vintage for Château Lafite, this is probably the finest 2nd wine of all. With only 38% of the 1996 crop at Lafite going into the Grand Vin, this Carruades is a truly exceptional wine with many of the qualities of its elder sibling, and equivalent in quality to a 2nd or 3rd growth. Fantastic value. Drink 2004-2020.
1996
Red, keep
Ch. Léoville-Las Cases, 2ème Cru Classé, St Julien
France  »  Bordeaux  »  St Julien
75cl £ 245.09
$ 378.10
No more stock available
12 x £ 188.96
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Special case price £ 2267.48
Buy 12 and save £ 673.57 (22.5%)
Medium-Full Bodied, Dry, Red, Cab.Sauvignon Blend, For laying down, 12.5% alc.

One of the best Lascases I have ever tasted.  Whilst the ripe 1990 is the more seductive wine at the moment, the 1996 has a linear class, focus and balance that is pretty much in the first-growth league.  It’s often said that there is a very strong argument for Lascases being reclassified as a first growth; in vintages such as 1996, 2000 & 2005 it’s all the more compelling.  One of the most complete clarets available.
(Joss Fowler - BBR Fine Wine Team - 10-Nov-2008)


Drink: 2010 -2040 .
Parker Score: 98 /100.
1996
Red, drink-or-keep
Ch. Mouton-Rothschild, Pauillac (Ex-Chateau)
France  »  Bordeaux  »  Pauillac
Limited Stock
 75cl £ 292.74
$ 451.61
No more stock available
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Full Bodied, Dry, Red, Cab.Sauvignon Blend, Ready, but will improve, 12.5% alc.

"...It possesses an exuberant, flamboyant bouquet of roasted coffee, cassis, smoky oak, and soy sauce. The impressive 1996 Mouton-Rothschild offers impressive aromas of black currants, framboise, coffee, and new saddle leather. This is full-bodied, ripe, rich, concentrated, superbly balanced wine..."
(Robert Parker-Wine Advocate-Apr 99)
Parker Score: 94 /100.
1996
Red, keep
Ch. Léoville-Lascases, St Julien (Ex-Château)
France  »  Bordeaux  »  St Julien
Limited Stock
 150cl £ 421.26
$ 649.88
No more stock available
0 in basket
Medium-Full Bodied, Dry, Red, Cab.Sauvignon Blend, For laying down, 12.5% alc.

One of the best Lascases I have ever tasted.  Whilst the ripe 1990 is the more seductive wine at the moment, the 1996 has a linear class, focus and balance that is pretty much in the first-growth league.  It’s often said that there is a very strong argument for Lascases being reclassified as a first growth; in vintages such as 1996, 2000 & 2005 it’s all the more compelling.  One of the most complete clarets available.
(Joss Fowler - BBR Fine Wine Team - 10-Nov-2008)


Drink: 2009 -2030 .
1996
Red, drink-or-keep
Ch. Margaux, Margaux
France  »  Bordeaux  »  Margaux
75cl £ 634.04
$ 978.14
No more stock available
12 x £ 501.43
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Special case price £ 6017.22
Buy 12 and save £ 1591.30 (20.5%)
Medium-Full Bodied, Dry, Red, Cab.Sauvignon Blend, Ready, but will improve, 12.5% alc.

For the second year in a row Paul Pontallier has produced one of the wines of the vintage at this famous estate. Immense class balancing richness with finesse, this wine is beautifully integrated with its subtle flavours of red fruits and violets and the restrained use of new oak.
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