St Julien
St Julien is the smallest of the ‘Big Four’ Médoc communes although, without any First Growths, it is recognised to be the most consistent of the main communes with many châteaux turning out impressive wines year after year. The wines can be judged as much by texture as flavour, and there is a sleek, wholesome character to the best. At their very finest they combine Margaux’s elegance and refinement with Pauillac’s power and substance.
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Chateau Leoville Las Cases,
Ready, but will keep,
This is the first vintage of our own-label St Julien to be made by Ch. Léoville-Las Cases, one of the finest properties in Bordeaux. Broodingly deep, dark and glossy in the glass, it has a ripe nose of black cherries, crème de cassis and cedar wood. The full-bodied palate is laden with pure blackcurrant fruit, wood-smoke and has a long, complex finish. A blend of 63 percent Merlot and 37 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, the superb 2016 vintage will repay a year or two in the cellar, but is hard to resist now.
Chateau Talbot,
For laying down,
A very solid performer both in terms of quality and pricing. It is very difficult to find any cheap back vintage of Ch. Talbot and when we do it is always at a higher price that release. The 2014 made under the watchful eyes of the famous consultant Stephane Derenoncourt is a stunner. Blackcurrant and cherries on the nose with a touch of cedar, one of the most focused and fresh wine of the appellation, lovely concentration and depth on the palate, bags of black fruits in the middle and and excellent finish with firm but ripe tannins. Serious and structured it will provide customers with generous fresh early drinking while having all the ingredients for long term cellaring. Definitely one to watch.
Max Lalondrelle, Fine Wine Buying Director/Bordeaux Buyer
Max Lalondrelle, Fine Wine Buying Director/Bordeaux Buyer
Chateau Gruaud Larose,
Ready, but will keep,
Sarget de Gruaud Larose is the second wine of Second Growth Ch. Gruaud Larose, a property that produces some of St Julien's most full-bodied and long-lived wines. Often a staff favourite at Berry Bros. & Rudd, Sarget is capable of serious ageing for a second wine, while 2006 is a dark horse of a vintage that suffered by following the great 2005 vintage.
A textbook St Julien nose of cigar-box, pencil shaving and cedar combines with smooth cassis and spice. It’s elegant and smooth on the palate, but with good structure and composed, fine-grained tannins. This is quintessential Claret and outstandingly good value.
A textbook St Julien nose of cigar-box, pencil shaving and cedar combines with smooth cassis and spice. It’s elegant and smooth on the palate, but with good structure and composed, fine-grained tannins. This is quintessential Claret and outstandingly good value.
For laying down,
This Fourth Growth St Julien estate has been performing consistently well for the past several vintages and 2014 is no exception. The nose is pretty, attractively perfumed, fresh and expressive. The palate is dominated by rich, fleshy fruit. There is a purity here, great precision and ripe tannins which grip, and offer an intense focus. High acidity, complexity and a persistence on the finish suggest this wine has excellent potential for aging. Elegant and fine, it is a wine that the château can be proud of. Bravo indeed.
65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc
65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc
For laying down,
Ch. Saint-Pierre is one of the smaller and lesser known properties within the appellation of St Julien. The 2015 brims with juicy red and black forest fruit, while the palate has a savoury twist of graphite. Full-bodied and flavoursome, this displays ripe, firm tannins and refreshingly crunchy fruit on the finish.
For laying down,
Patrick Maroteau's excellent 2015 from this Fourth Growth estate shows a real purity, with great precision and ripe tannins that grip and offer an intense focus. The rich, fresh, spicy nose of damsons and blackberry fruit oozes class. There is precision here, a polish – quite simply harmonious.
The wine tastes glorious, just as great wine should taste: crunchy pure and fresh fruit, high acidity, silky ripe tannins and nice balance. This is a triumphant wine, with a typical and classic blend for this great estate, and phenomenal length. It is a wine that the château can be proud of. Really elegant and one of our favourites, it's a must-buy this year.
Blend: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc
The wine tastes glorious, just as great wine should taste: crunchy pure and fresh fruit, high acidity, silky ripe tannins and nice balance. This is a triumphant wine, with a typical and classic blend for this great estate, and phenomenal length. It is a wine that the château can be proud of. Really elegant and one of our favourites, it's a must-buy this year.
Blend: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc
For laying down,
Only 8000 cases a year are produced from this St Julien wine property and, for me, it is one of the best estates in this commune, just below the likes of Las Cases and Ducru Beaucaillou. From 2004 onwards this estate has outperformed most of its peers, and the last three vintages have been mesmerising.
The 2010 shows some intense cassis and plums on the nose and huge amounts of freshly-crushed black fruit on the palate. It has a remarkable balance between fruit and acidity, and the tannins stretch all the way across the palate and into the finish. This is one of the wines of the week.
Max Lalondrelle, Bordeaux Wine Buyer
The 2010 shows some intense cassis and plums on the nose and huge amounts of freshly-crushed black fruit on the palate. It has a remarkable balance between fruit and acidity, and the tannins stretch all the way across the palate and into the finish. This is one of the wines of the week.
Max Lalondrelle, Bordeaux Wine Buyer
Chateau Beychevelle,
Ready, but will keep,
The enigmatic Philippe Blanc, director of Ch. Beychevelle, was in fine humour when we visited him to taste his 2008 Grand Vin. This estate just gets better and better and Philippe’s sunny disposition was a reflection of the bright fruit shining out of his wine. The round, plump, fleshy feel of 47% Merlot certainly comes across with opulent notes of ripe morello cherries but 48% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc add to its darker side and provide an elegant backbone. This is well balanced and rewarding: a fine achievement.
Chateau Beychevelle,
For laying down,
There will be many ‘yin and yang’ statements made this year, with commentators and châteaux owners alike comparing last year with this, and nowhere is this more present and true than at Ch. Beychevelle. 2009 is soft, warm and seductive and 2010 is firm, serious, yet totally beguiling. The 2009 will drink a lot younger than the 2010 but I have a serious hunch that the 2010 will ultimately give you more. Bravo Philippe, an awe-inspiring brace from Beychevelle.
(54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc. 14.3%abv)
Simon Staples, Fine Wine Director
(54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc. 14.3%abv)
Simon Staples, Fine Wine Director
Chateau Leoville Poyferre,
For laying down,
This was, in my view, the best wine made in St Julien this year, at least until I tasted Léoville-Las Cases later on the same day, and even then it was a close-run thing. Poyferré always seems to have succulence on the palate which is almost sensual and, despite the record level of tannin, it is there again this year. The bouquet is complex, redolent of hedgerow fruits with hints of red berries alongside, and a key feature here is the wonderful persistence of flavour along with the very fine-grained tannins. It is wonderfully fresh and yet another in a long string of successful wines from this estate.
(61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc)
(61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc)
Chateau Beychevelle,
Ready, but will improve,
With its excellent terroir, Beychevelle should produce one of the great wines of the region. Well, shock horror, in 2006 it has made a big leap towards doing exactly that. With lovely unctuous fruit and silky concentration, this surprisingly powerful 2006 is a revelation. General Manager Philippe Blanc has plans to replant some of his Merlot with Cabernet in the future and it is no coincidence that the success of this focused, sexy 2006 has the lowest amount of Merlot (29%) and the highest amount of Cabernet Sauvignon (59%) ever. Snap this up before the prices start going the same way.
Chateau Leoville Las Cases,
For laying down,
One of several highlights of 2008, Ch. Léoville-Las Cases is an example of how brilliant St Julien can be in a good year. Interestingly it was also virtually the only estate in the Left Bank where Cabernet Franc really seemed to work in 2008 and the successful addition of a heady 12% in this blend adds a voluptuous perfume to the 78% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot. Intensely concentrated with dense blackcurrant cassis, vanilla, a creamy texture and tannins which are linear but softened by a massive coating of black fruit, this is most definitely a must-buy wine this vintage.
Chateau Leoville Las Cases,
Ready, but will keep,
Performing better from bottle than it did from cask, this blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, and 11% Cabernet Franc has put on weight over the last year. It exhibits the classic style of both Las Cases and St.-Julien in its deep black currant notes interwoven with sweet cherries, wet stones, and toasty vanillin. Made in a structured, medium to full-bodied style with superb concentration, beautiful purity, and admirable symmetry, this beauty is one of the strongest efforts of the vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2028. Also tasted: 2004 Clos du Marquis (88)
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 29/06/2007
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 29/06/2007
Chateau Gruaud Larose,
Drink now,
Ch. Gruaud Larose is a Deuxième Cru Classé property that produces one of St Julien's most full-bodied and long-lived wines. Sometimes tannic and ungainly in youth, with bottle-age the wines become marvellously harmonious, developing complex and beguiling characteristics of concentrated black fruits, cedar, spices and liquorice.
Deeply coloured, massively structured, with ample mature tannins, spicy oak and tobacco-scented dark berry fruit. A wine of undisputed ageing potential, this is drinking gloriously now.
Deeply coloured, massively structured, with ample mature tannins, spicy oak and tobacco-scented dark berry fruit. A wine of undisputed ageing potential, this is drinking gloriously now.
Chateau Leoville Las Cases,
Drink now,
Personifying St Julien in such a lovely way. Mature but with seductive grip this is a classic Claret lovers treat. Lovely leather and earth aromas of Cabernet dominate the palate and nose of this very classy reasonably priced Super Second growth. Needs an hour and half in a decanter and served at old fashioned room temperature 17 c. Lovely.
Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou,
Drink now,
From the bottle, it has an attractive bouquet with plush blackberry and wild strawberry fruit, indeed, showing more fruité than I was expecting. There is a roundness to these aromatics, perhaps a little more like 1985 in some ways. The palate is medium-bodied and here the seriousness and structure of the 1986 vintages shows through. There is impressive body and though it felt firm and masculine on the finish, there is clearly sufficient fruit that counterbalances the backbone. The decanted version showed a little more volatility on the nose, but here I discerned more complexity on the palate. The 1986 Ducru poured directly from bottle felt a little more savory and strangely, more cohesive, with more of the terroir coming through on the slightly loamy, brown sugar-tinged finish.
Drinking window: 2016-2036
Neal Martin - The Wine Advocate - Dec 2016
Drinking window: 2016-2036
Neal Martin - The Wine Advocate - Dec 2016
Chateau Leoville Las Cases,
Drink now,
We have managed to get our hands on a late-release, pristine parcel of 1989 Léoville-Las Cases direct from the château's own cellars. This is deeply coloured and possesses a thick velvety texture supported by good acidity levels. The fruit is super-ripe and has an almost roasted dimension to it. It is very approachable now but still has years of life ahead of it.
Chateau Gruaud Larose,
Drink now,
This two-bottle case of pitch-perfect claret will slip down alongside turkey, cheese or even less traditional red meat options. From Second Growth property Ch. Gruaud Larose and the lauded 1989 vintage, this exquisite wine is now showing complex notes of sweet, dried fruit, leather and tobacco. This is the ultimate gift for any Bordeaux aficionado.
Contains two bottles (75cl) of:
1989 Ch. Gruaud Larose, St Julien, Bordeaux
Presented in a wooden case
Chateau Gruaud Larose,
Ready, but will keep,
This has a Gruaud signature etched onto its enticing, rich and decadent nose. This is a superb example of Bordeaux and particular St Julien at its very best. Really silky and creamy on the palate with a fabulously exotic, powerful, ripe and sweet black/red fruit core. Long finish and very classy indeed.
(Simon Staples - Berrys' Fine Wine Director - 20-Feb-2009)
(Simon Staples - Berrys' Fine Wine Director - 20-Feb-2009)
Chateau Leoville Las Cases,
Drink now,
Ch. Léoville-Las Cases is one of the largest and oldest classified growths in the Médoc. It is the largest of the three Léoville properties and now without doubt the leading estate in St Julien. Léoville-Las Cases's 97 hectares of vineyards are superbly sited on gravelly clay soils with the largest plot being surrounded by a stone wall and stretching between the village of St Julien and Ch. Latour.
This grand estate is one of the great names in wine and this is one of the stars of the vintage with its ripe, open, cassis fruit, cigar-box essence and sweet and supple palate.
This grand estate is one of the great names in wine and this is one of the stars of the vintage with its ripe, open, cassis fruit, cigar-box essence and sweet and supple palate.
Chateau Gruaud Larose,
Drink now,
Fantastic! Jean Merlaut's ownership since 1997 has seen these wines get better and better, culminating in this tour de force. Smoky ripe blackcurrants and sexy integrated sweet oak on the enticing nose is followed by a dense but pure palate with full-bodied fruit and a defined linear core. It is elegant and sophisticated with great charm-one of the great value wines of the 2004 vintage.
"Intriguing, complex nose with layers of black and red fruit and toasted oak, tobacco, spice and alluring minerals. Beautifully textured with an airy lift and vitality."
Decanter-Dec 2007- Wines of the Year
"Intriguing, complex nose with layers of black and red fruit and toasted oak, tobacco, spice and alluring minerals. Beautifully textured with an airy lift and vitality."
Decanter-Dec 2007- Wines of the Year
Chateau Lagrange,
Drink now,
This third growth estate was purchased by the Japanese group Suntory in 1983. There followed a period of significant investment and now the Franco-Japanese management team have a stringent selection process that has helped restore the wines to a high standard. Following fermentation the wines spend 20 months in 50% new oak. The 1996 is a powerful, St. Julien with cedary notes and cassis aromas, concentration, robust character and length.
Chateau Leoville Poyferre,
For laying down,
Maybe, just maybe, this is the year owner Didier Cuvelier will finally see his estate get the credit he deserves. This is an exciting, exotic wine, with rich, racy, mocha coffee flavours complimenting the utterly intoxicating black fruit. Huge tannins and a firm structure make this a wine for the long term (not unusual for Poyferré), but unlike so many other wines in 2006 it has the concentration of fruit to support it. This elegant Claret is arguably the second best wine in St Julien behind Léoville-Las Cases, and certainly offers outstanding value.
Simon Staples, BBR Fine Wine Director, June 2007
Simon Staples, BBR Fine Wine Director, June 2007
Chateau Lagrange,
Drink now,
One of this estate’s superstars (only rivaled by the 1986 and 1996), the 1990 Lagrange exhibits sweet toasty oak notes intermixed with jammy blackberries, cassis, licorice, smoke, and underbrush. Full-bodied with lovely melted tannins, an opulent, fleshy mouthfeel, and loads of purity as well as depth, it has reached full maturity, but is capable of lasting another 10-15 years.
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - The Wine Advocate #183, June 2009
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - The Wine Advocate #183, June 2009
