New fine wine releases

Jean-Philippe Delmas has made a wine of extraordinary purity and elegance this year. Dark ruby in colour, the nose is delicate and reserved with notes of Morello cherry, damson and fruits of the forest. Once sipped, there is a deft, light touch to this wine. The palate is fresh, with mineral salts, ripe, crunchy tannins and smoky acidity. Bold and yet understated, this is a more gentlemanly wine than La Mission. It finishes very long, intense and persistent.

Blend: Merlot 56%, Cabernet Sauvignon 37.5%, Cabernet Franc 6.5%

One of the contestants for wine of the vintage, Palmer is one of the only Chateaux in 2014 to show this incredible level of complexity. Sweet and intense on the nose, vibrant with lots of blueberries and black cherries. Sweet and precise on the palate, with waves of concentrated black fruits. The richness is accompanied by some lovely freshness and the tannins are there to support the wines but they are ripe and supple. The finish is long and complex with some pure focused black fruits. A tour de force in this vintage.
Max Lalondrelle - Fine Wine Buying Director

Let's start describing the 2008 Cristal technically first. It is a 60/40 blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from 36 plots in seven grands crus: Verzy, Verzenay, Beaumont and Aÿ for the Pinot Noir and Mesnil, Avize and Cramant for the Chardonnay. Twenty-five percent of the wine was fermented in oak, and 16% underwent malolactic fermentation to moderate the fresh acidity of the 2008 vintage. The assemblage was bottled in May 2009. After 8.5 years on the second lees (longer than any Cristal before), the first release was disgorged in September 2017 with a relatively low dosage of 7.5 grams per liter.
Stephan Reinhardt - 18/06/2018With staggering density and impressive balance, this is one of the greatest Roederer Cristal ever made. It’s a wine for the long term, and its best to leave it for six or seven years in the cellar before drinking. However, the vibrant youth of this great champagne is hard to be patient with. Simply put, it’s great to drink anytime.
James Suckling

This is generous and very velvety, open and approachable. The complexity is still unfolding, but this has a very good, long finish. There seems already to be a bit more focus and composure under the new team. Ninety percent whole-bunch, this was raised in  50 percent new oak. Yields were 38hl/ha.  Drink 2025-2030.

This is the first solo vintage for Boris Champy and the start of a new era, as Bernard Arnault, having made his first visit to the domaine since its purchase by LVMH, has set new targets of excellence. A new cuverie is promised and a full vineyard survey has just been completed, with other luxury-brand accoutrements also promised. Boris noted that 2017 is one of the earliest at the domaine, along with 2003, 2011 and 2015, starting here on 3rd September. It’s a good, general vintage,  he feels, with lowish acidity, comparable  to 2006.

To hit the market in June, the 2016 Tignanello is a rock-solid wine and a stunning beauty. The wine offers an impeccable level of precision and laser-focus delivery of fruits, spices, tilled earth, espresso beans and Mediterranean herbs. This vintage follows the classic blending formula of 80% Sangiovese with about 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Cabernet Franc. The vines are now 15 to 20 years old. Compared to the 2015 vintage that ultimately appeared more chewy and succulent, this expression from the iconic 2016 vintage is more vibrant, nervous and jazzed. It shows more savory spice, saltiness and minerality, with a beautifully integrated quality of tannins. Some 320,000 bottles were produced. This wine is at the top of the list of some of the best Tignanello ever made, including the vintages 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2015.
Monica Larner - 31/05/2019

This has a generous, purple fruit profile with blueberry, cherry and plum perfume. The concentrated core is full of brambles and garrigue, while the powdery tannins are well-integrated, as is the alcohol. This is absolutely delicious and, despite its youth, is displaying an attractive perfume to support the wine’s tightly wound structure.
Fiona Hayes, Berry Bros. & Rudd Rhone Buyer 

In 2010, Ch. Montrose purchased 22ha of prime land from their neighbours, Ch. Phélan-Ségur. The vineyard exactly borders Montrose on its western side and is planted with 2/3 Merlot and 1/3 Cabernet Sauvignon. According to who you speak with, this may be Phélan’s best parcel and the Merlot is especially prized. This has given the Montrose team a short-term puzzle, resulting in a higher than usual proportion of Merlot in the blend for the Grand Vin. This will be adjusted over the coming years as existing Montrose Merlot on excellent Cabernet land near the river is replanted to the latter, but in the meantime there is an embarrassment of fine Merlot on the estate. Not that this is a problem: in 2012 the Merlot excelled. This wine, with 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, is dense and spicy, with the very low-yielding Cabernet fully ripe and giving an earnest backbone to some high quality Merlot. This is perhaps not a traditional Montrose, but it is certainly a beguiling one.
Mark Pardoe MW, Wine Buying Director

This product is for sale to UK customers only

There is something slightly exotic about 2015 Valbuena with its deep, intense, blueberry-blackberry nose mixing with heady Christmas spice. The palate is wonderfully sophisticated with impressive concentration; multi-layered dark fruits tumble over each other, framed and refreshed by an edge of soft raspberries. There is a real blackcurrant cassis density to this wine, yet all is lifted by a fine seam of acidity that cuts right through its core, taking away any sense of heaviness. The tannins initially feel high but then melt away, drifting off into a pinpoint, focused precision. This still needs time for the tannins to resolve fully but, even at this youthful stage, the palate is left coated with an impression of concentrated dark fruit, liquorice and chocolate on an amazingly long, mineral, powdery finish.

This is the first Valbuena vintage of which winemaker Gonzalo Iturriaga de Juan had full control and his consummate skill is ever more clear, especially in the quality of the tannins that melt effortlessly in the mouth. The mature vines here did well in the hot, dry conditions of 2015, all factors conspiring to make this a truly exceptional Valbuena; in my opinion, this is the best vintage to date. Drink 2024-2044.
Catriona Felstead MW, Spain Buyer

They’ve done it again at Baronarques with the 2017. With an arresting nose of dense, tightly packed black fruit, warm earth and liquorice, the heat of the year is tempered by crunchy red-fruit acidity and plush mouth-filling tannins. Flavours of bitter chocolate, cassis and sweet baking spices follow on the long finish. Drink 2020-2025.
Jared Ehret, Private Account Manager

This has an aromatic nose with notes of blackcurrant. It’s full-bodied with a spicy, suave texture which leaves a long, bold, persistent finish.

Blend: Merlot 90%, Cabernet Franc 10%

This ruby red liquid is such a surprise: I expected power and weight from the warm 2018 vintage, but instead found delicacy and perfume. La Nerthe has a deft touch when it comes to managing time spent in oak and the heat of region. Red fruit dominates here showing Grenache’s influence with hints of black pepper, garrigue and wood smoke from the Syrah and Mourvèdre. This is stylish Châteauneuf and with such a tight frame, this could go on and on. Drink 2025-2040. 
Tatiana Humphreys, Private Account Manager 

Like the 2018 vintage, Grenache Blanc makes up most of the assemblage, supported by Roussanne and smaller proportions of Clairette Blanche and Bourboulenc. Characteristic of La Nerthe’s whites, there is a fresh saline quality and lucid acidity which forms the backbone of this wine. Its rich, honeyed texture comes from time on lees and bâtonnage, complemented by delicate honeysuckle and tropical grapefruit aromas. Drink now to 2026. 
Daisy Gatt, Buying Assistant (November 2019)