Pauillac
The aristocrat of the Médoc boasts 75 percent of the region’s First Growths, with Grand Cru Classés representing 84 percent of production. Pauillac's First Growths each have their own unique characteristics: Ch. Lafite Rothschild produces the region’s most aromatically-complex and subtly-flavoured wine, while – with its high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon – Ch. Mouton Rothschild can produce a decadently rich, fleshy and exotic wine.
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Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste,
Ready, but will keep,
This wine is made by the team at Fifth Growth estate Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste. Its fabulous bouquet of blackcurrant, cedar and cigar box is classic Pauillac, as are its muscular, but opulent tannins and crisp freshness. The palate boasts the hallmark of the quality and appealing nature of the 2015 vintage, with rich, ripe black-fruit flavours, framed by a hint of toasty, fine-grained oak. It has the structure and energy to age gracefully but is hugely enjoyable now, ideally with rare roast lamb or beef.
Davy Zyw, Buyer (November 2019)
Davy Zyw, Buyer (November 2019)
For laying down,
Located in the very south of the Pauillac appellation, this property shares a similar climate to that enjoyed by the Médoc: maritime, with the Gironde estuary and the Bay of Biscay combining to act as a climate regulator, while the coastal pine forests shelter the vines from the westerly and north-westerly winds.
This delightfully rewarding wine comes from a classic vintage. Cassis and cherry mix gracefully with smoke, cedar and spice. The tannins are fine-grained but offer a little grip, while the palate is fresh with a smooth, lingering finish. Drink now to 2028.
This delightfully rewarding wine comes from a classic vintage. Cassis and cherry mix gracefully with smoke, cedar and spice. The tannins are fine-grained but offer a little grip, while the palate is fresh with a smooth, lingering finish. Drink now to 2028.
For laying down,
In recent years Pédesclaux has garnered a reputation for making a more interesting, modern style of red Bordeaux. There is a lot of ripe, plump red fruit and it finishes full-bodied, still with the trademark freshness of the vintage, but there is a little more body and joy.
Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon 48%, Merlot 45%, Petit Verdot 4%, Cabernet Franc 3%
Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon 48%, Merlot 45%, Petit Verdot 4%, Cabernet Franc 3%
Ready, but will improve,
This is another wine which goes straight on to my personal shopping list this year, as it has been since 2004. It has a real elegance and precision this year, but with the weight of rich fruit so many lack. More Grand-Puy-Lacoste in Pauillac style than say Lynch-Bages, its sweet red, crunchy fruit gives the glass such a refreshing lift at the end you almost want to drink it now. Well played Claire, this 2011 is another quaffable triumph.
(Simon Staples, Berrys’ Fine Wine Director)
(Simon Staples, Berrys’ Fine Wine Director)
Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste,
For laying down,
The elegance and finesse of the vintage plays to the strengths of Ch. Grand-Puy-Lacoste and this one of the stand out wines of the vintage. Very pure and focused blackcurrant cassis fruit appears on the nose, with lighter redcurrant and cherry notes mixed with cigar box and lead pencil. A linear quality is found on the palate with some serious tannins and weight for the year. There is a creamy sweetness too, but all the while the elegance and poise of Grand-Puy-Lacoste stands out.
Hong Kong Fine Wine Team
Hong Kong Fine Wine Team
For laying down,
This wine is elegant, fine, rich, beautifully-textured and bursting with cassis, blackcurrants and intensity. The instant explosion of flavour is utterly compelling here. After several years in barrel this should add in intensity, age gracefully and develop complex, multi-layered fruit. It showcases all the hallmarks of the great Ch. Mouton Rothschild stable and could be punching above its weight this year. It will be a real treat to enjoy in several years’ time.
58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot, 1% Carmenere
58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot, 1% Carmenere
Ready, but will keep,
Belonging to the Mouton stable, and with a prestigious location right next to both Mouton and Lafite, Ch. Clerc Milon is a fresher, lighter style of 2008 which has a delicious hint of creamy raspberry fruit to the more classic blackcurrant backbone. Fine with exceptionally fine tannins this has a lovely rounded finish with more than a hint of the savoury minerality of the vintage.
For laying down,
This is the wine you taste just before Mouton-Rothschild itself - but this is by no means a Freddo to the Godfather’s mighty Don Corleone. In fact, it’s far more Sonny: masculine, cool and defined. It is a fraction of the price of its big brother and is as good, if not better, than the brilliant 1990. Try it in bottles and magnums if possible; it will be an offer you can't refuse!
(50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, 1% Carmenère)
Simon Staples, Fine Wine Director
(50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, 1% Carmenère)
Simon Staples, Fine Wine Director
Chateau Pichon Baron,
For laying down,
For many years now and since the turn of the 21st century, Ch. Pichon-Longueville Baron has been performing exceptionally well, in both the challenging and more favourable vintages. Their best Merlot plots are located next to Ch. Latour, and although this provides just 20 percent of the blend this year, it contributes a lot to the whole – providing dignified elegance and the cooling freshness we are finding in the top performers of 2014. There is a layered complexity here, fine, grainy tannins and generosity of fruit. A creamy texture fills the finish, enhanced by a prolonged, lingering, spicy undercurrent. It is a very good result.
80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot
80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot
Chateau Pontet-Canet,
For laying down,
This grand Pauillac property delivers awesome flavours in 2015. You can't help but enjoy this magnificently ripe, sturdy, smoky claret. It has the cedary Pauillac characteristic. The tannins are pleasingly silky, and there is tremendous balance. Creamy blackberries and a precise shape, lead to a fruit-dominant finish hat tingles in the mouth. It needs some bottle age, but it follows the tradition of great wine from this leading estate. It's rich and powerful, but elegant and sweet.
Blend: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot
Blend: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot
Chateau Lynch-Bages,
Ready, but will keep,
This the pure essence of Pauillac: profound, ripe cassis aromas flow from the glass and herald a palate of cool, spicy, incredibly concentrated blackcurrants, and cream, vanilla and bitter dark chocolate all tightly woven together in a precise core. Lynch-Bages has again performed as well as many of the super-Second Growths.
Chateau Lynch-Bages,
For laying down,
When I dive into a glass of wine and try to analyse it, I really try to judge it as almost an oenological graphic equaliser, replacing treble, bass and tone with tannins, acidity, fruit and alcohol. For the mighty stadium-rocking 2010 Lynch Bages you need to turn your amp up to 11 to fully appreciate this staggering wine. It’s an all singing, all dancing, high octane but perfectly balanced beauty - a race car driving just on the edge!
Masculine and for the reasonably long haul, it’s a powerhouse of sweet, ripe cool Cabernet fruit with an intoxicating minerality and literally a five minute finish. Perfection in liquidity. Brilliant.
(79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot)
Simon Staples, Fine Wine Director
Masculine and for the reasonably long haul, it’s a powerhouse of sweet, ripe cool Cabernet fruit with an intoxicating minerality and literally a five minute finish. Perfection in liquidity. Brilliant.
(79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot)
Simon Staples, Fine Wine Director
Chateau Pontet-Canet,
For laying down,
A dark, inky purple, aromas of dark fruit, plum, cedar and spice give way to a wave of sweet, blue fruit on the palate. The texture is silky and soft. There is a little crunchy fruit on the mid-palate, but it has a way to go and is packed full of sensual dark fruit. Big and high-toned, the finish is long.
Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon 60%, Merlot 35%, Cabernet Franc 4%, Petit Verdot 1%
Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon 60%, Merlot 35%, Cabernet Franc 4%, Petit Verdot 1%
Chateau Lynch-Bages,
Ready, but will keep,
This exceptional château continues to make a mockery of its 5th Growth status, and in 2003 has re-emphasised just how good the Left Bank wines are. Huge wafts of muscular, minty, cassis-laden Cabernet Sauvignon on the nose introduce a powerful structured palate with savoury hints of liquorice. This is unquestionably Lynch-Bages, and a great one at that. Displaying even more elegance than other recent vintages, this Cabernet-dominated wine (83%) will gain even more weight in barrel and looks likely to prove absolutely stunning with a bit of patience. Drink 2012-2030.
Chateau Pichon Baron,
For laying down,
2010 is certainly a great year for the Pichons. Baron has unquestionably been the most consistent in recent years and the 2010 is just a whisker away from the brilliant 2009. The usual pure, ripe, dense fruit expressions are coupled with serious weight, power and structure providing an exceptionally long, intense finish. Whilst it will not compete for wine of the vintage it is impossible to fault. This is a wondrous wine which is good enough for any cellar.
Jake Dean - Fine Wine Team
Jake Dean - Fine Wine Team
Chateau Latour,
For laying down,
The second wine, from vineyards outside of their famous walled l’enclos, the 2012 Les Forts de Latour (75% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance mostly Merlot) is a beautiful, elegant wine with a dense purple color, notes of sweet black cherries and blackcurrants, subtle background minerality and no evidence of oak. This medium to full-bodied, beautifully constructed and layered Les Forts de Latour should drink nicely for 15 or more years.
Robert Parker - April 2015
Robert Parker - April 2015
Chateau Mouton Rothschild,
Ready, but will keep,
With its ripe, intense blackcurrant nose and succulent palate, Le Petit Mouton is a great example of the exceptional quality of the second wines of the grands châteaux in 2009. This is rich and delicious with very juicy fruit and ripe tannins leading to a complex, savoury finish. This will be wonderful to drink in a few year’s time whilst waiting for the Grand Vin to mature.
Chateau Latour,
Ready, but will improve,
Tasting 2009 Les Forts de Latour was a truly exciting moment. The wine was so fantastic that we honestly wondered how on earth the Grand Vin could beat it. We were soon put right on that front - however that should not detract from the fact that Les Forts is a brilliant wine in 2009. It has a very, very complex nose with ultra-concentrated blackcurrant and blackberry fruit mingling with darker, more brooding earthy notes. Glorious fruit follows on the palate and the massive level of high, ripe tannins just seem to melt on the tongue. Not quite as ethereal as the Grand Vin, but this really isn’t far off; a fabulous second wine.
Chateau Mouton Rothschild,
Drink now,
"The 1994 appears to be the finest Mouton-Rothschild made following the 1986 and before the 1995's conception. The wine exhibits a dense, saturated purple color, followed by a classic Mouton nose of sweet black fruits intermingled with smoke, pain grillee, spice, and cedar. Medium to full-bodied, with outstanding concentration, a layered feel, plenty of tannin, and rich, concentrated fruit, this wine is similar to the fine 1988. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2025. Although Mouton-Rothschild can be among the most inconsistent first-growths, when this estate gets everything right, the wine can be as compelling as any produced in Bordeaux". (Robert Parker)
Chateau Latour,
Ready, but will keep,
A brilliant offering, which should be drinkable much earlier than the blockbuster 2000, the 2001 Latour boasts an inky/ruby/purple color to the rim as well as a glorious bouquet of black currants, crushed stones, vanilla, and hints of truffles and oak. A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance primarily Merlot with a touch of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it reveals a sweetness on the palate that is atypical for such a young Latour. The beautiful integration of tannin, acidity, and wood is stunning. The wine flows across the palate with fabulous texture, purity, and presence. This luscious, full-bodied Latour was surprisingly open-knit on the three occasions I tasted it from bottle. However, do not mistake its aging ability as this 2001, despite its precociousness, will last 20-25 years. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2025.
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 30/06/2004
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 30/06/2004
Chateau Latour,
Drink now,
An unusually high percentage of Merlot in the blend makes this a softer, more approachable Latour. It is nonetheless a powerful, intense wine that will need another 3 years before it is ready, but it will be worth the wait. You can already detect a fabulous purity of fruit and textbook cigar box and cassis; high tannins without astringency and a remarkable llength. If you can resist , it will keep until 2030.
Chateau Lafite Rothschild,
For laying down,
Ch. Lafite is back to its very best in 2016; the embodiment of elegance and finesse. Subtle aromas of redcurrant and cassis play on the nose. It is deep and rich on the palat,e but nevertheless there is an incredible, lacy freshness to the wine. Fine, svelte tannins and a ribbon of shallow acidity nit the glass together. The wine is long, as you would expect, with a cashmere finish. This is one of the most elegant and supple Lafites we have had the good fortune to taste en primeur. Sensational!
Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon 92%, Merlot 8%
Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon 92%, Merlot 8%
Max Lalondrelle, Wine Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd