Btls

Avail.

Btl

Size

Wine
Where available, tasting scores and notes are by Robert Parker (RP) and taken from his website www.erobertparker.com  The Wine Spectator (WS) from www.winespectator.com or Stephen Tanzer (ST) from www.wineaccess.com

Year

Price per
Bottle
including
VAT

Tasting
Score/Notes
Best Drinking

D'ARMAILHAC
Pauillac
RP - The dark ruby/purple-hued, mid-weight, elegant 2006 possesses sweet tannin as well as abundant concentration. A blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and a dollop of Petit Verdot, it is an elegant, refreshing wine offering good purity as well as the potential to keep for 10-15 years.

From the Mouton Rothschild stable!

D'ARMAILHAC
Pauillac
RP - This powerful, tannic, structured effort from Mouton-Rothschild’s stable is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Its dense ruby/purple colour is followed by an earthy nose dominated by black currants and toasty, smoky oak. Medium to full-bodied with relatively high tannin, decent acidity, and a fine finish.

From the Mouton Rothschild stable!

D'ARMAILHAC
Pauillac
RP - The deep ruby/purple-hued 2003 d’Armailhac exhibits notes of Asian plum sauce interwoven with crème de cassis, liquorice, and roasted herbs. With moderately high yet sweet tannin, an earthy character, and chewy, muscular, deep fruit as well as medium to full body.

From the Mouton Rothschild stable!

BATAILLEY
Pauillac
Wine Spectator - Has liquorice, currant and fresh cèpe on the nose. Full and silky, with lots of sweet tobacco and berry character and plenty of ripe Cabernet fruit.
Long and caressing.

CLERC MILON
Pauillac
RP - This outstanding effort displays loads of cassis fruit interwoven with notions of espresso roast, white chocolate, and menthol. It possesses a terrific front end, good mid-section, and moderately high tannin in the finish.

From the Mouton Rothschild stable!

COLOMBIER MONPELOU
Pauillac
RP - This dense ruby-coloured 2000 exhibits good purity in addition to sweet black currant fruit and hint of tobacco and spice box. Fine ripeness and medium body are offered in a style that should provide pleasant drinking for 7-10 years

LES FORTS de LATOUR
Pauillac
2nd  Wine of Chateau Latour
The 1st Growth Latour currently sells for approx. £1092 a bottle! - so this represents real value!
RP - The 2005 Forts de Latour possesses much of the same character as Latour, but sweeter tannins, more obvious and forward fruit, medium to full body, and a more seductive, plusher style, but not the great stature, richness, and architectural precision of its bigger brother. Nevertheless, it is a gorgeous Pauillac that should drink well for two decades or more.

LES FORTS de LATOUR
Pauillac
2nd  Wine of Chateau Latour
The 1st Growth Latour currently sells for approx. £780 a bottle! - so this represents real value!
RP - The 2000 Forts de Latour (a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot) elicited a big "wow" from me. Potentially one of the finest Forts de Latour ever made (clearly on a qualitative par with the 1982), it is extremely concentrated, powerful, dense.

GRAND PUY LACOSTE
Pauillac
RP - This excellent offering displays sweet black currant notes intermixed with notions of liquorice, scorched earth, and spicy herbs. Medium-bodied and elegant with abundant fruit on the attack and mid-palate, and light to moderate tannin, it should drink well for 10-15 years.

LYNCH BAGES
Pauillac
RP - This may turn out to be the finest Lynch Bages made since the 2000. The vintages between 2000 and 2006 are certainly very good, but seemingly lighter-styled in addition to being more forward and soft. The seriously-endowed, dense ruby/purple-tinged 2006 reveals a classic nose of crème de cassis, roasted meats as well as herbs, liquorice, and toasty oak. Fleshy, full-bodied, opulent, and well-endowed.

LYNCH BAGES
Pauillac
RP - Attractive cassis aromas jump from the glass of this dark ruby/purple-tinged 2004. While elegant, medium-bodied, soft, and broad in the mouth, it is slightly superficial, without the broodingly deep, backward, muscular personality of this estate’s wines prior to 2001. Given its flavour profile and softness, the 2004 will have wide consumer appeal.

LYNCH MOUSSAS
Pauillac
Wine Spectator - Beautiful aromas of blackberry, currant and light liquorice follow through to a full-bodied palate, with big and velvety tannins and a long, flavourful finish. Rich and tight wine with wonderful texture. Very well done for this estate.

MOUTON ROTHSCHILD
Pauillac
Wine Spectator - Beautiful aromas of crushed berries and chocolate, with hints of Indian spices. Full-bodied, with silky, velvety tannins and a long, caressing finish. A lovely wine for the vintage. This is the first wine from the new winemaking team at Mouton and is showing really well.

BIN END PRICE!

PEDESCLAUX
Pauillac
 This has long been an underachieving
cru classé which has been steadily improving since the 2000 vintage due to new (young) management, vineyard improvements and major investment.

The 2005 represents excellent value compared with other Pauillac wines; this wine is really succulent, round with excellent body highly recommended!

La RESERVE de la COMTESSE
Pauillac
2nd  Wine of Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
The estate's top wine from the excellent 2005 vintage currently sells for  £89 a bottle! - so this represents real value!
Wine Spectator - Floral, blackberry and mineral on the nose. Full-bodied, with super-silky tannins and a pretty finish of mineral and fruit. Very reserved and refined for a second wine.

PICHON-LONGUEVILLE
COMTESSE de LALANDE
Pauillac
RP - This gorgeous wine represents an updated version of the 1996. It boasts a dense purple colour as well as a beautiful nose of espresso roast, chocolate, crème de cassis, cedar, and spice. Full-bodied and powerful with high tannin, an attractive mouthfeel, and a multilayered texture, it will be a backward-styled Pichon Lalande.

PICHON-LONGUEVILLE
COMTESSE de LALANDE
Pauillac
Wine Spectator - Beautiful currant, berry and liquorice aromas follow through to a full body, with tar and berry character, fine tannins and a long finish.

PICHON-LONGUEVILLE
COMTESSE de LALANDE
Pauillac
Wine Spectator - Very pretty aromas of plum, blackberry, chocolate, espresso and cherry follow through to a full-bodied palate, with ultra silky tannins, refined fruit and a long, caressing finish. This is fine and refined with a wonderful texture.

PICHON-LONGUEVILLE
COMTESSE de LALANDE
Pauillac
RP - One of the best wines of the vintage, this is a classic Pauillac that is a blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Petit Verdot. Dense ruby/purple in colour with a glorious nose of melted liquorice, lavender, barbecue smoke, black currants, and graphite, the wine is tannic, classically structured with an opaque ruby/purple colour, beautiful definition, and a 1996-ish personality. This deep, full-bodied, elegant yet powerful 2002 should age handsomely for over two decades. Some patience will be required since this vintage exhibits more muscle and virility than normal.

PICHON-LONGUEVILLE
COMTESSE de LALANDE
Pauillac
RP - The 2000 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is spectacular, and certainly a noteworthy rival to the 1996, 1995, and even the extraordinary 1982. A blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, this effort has a dense saturated purple colour, a singular/distinctive yet possibly controversial aromatic smorgasbord existing of crème de cassis, vanilla, and violets, but also tapenade and tree bark. No doubt the Petit Verdot has imparted a certain almost olive-like component to the wine's aromatic profile. In the mouth, it is a wine of extraordinary density, opulence, great presence, and richness. As the 2000 sits in the glass, notes of lavender and melted liquorice emerge along with the distinctive tapenade aromas interwoven with crème de cassis, espresso roast, and cedar. The wine is full-bodied, with extraordinary purity and a tremendous texture.

PICHON-LONGUEVILLE
COMTESSE de LALANDE
Pauillac
RP - The 1996 Pichon-Lalande is just as awesome from bottle as it was from multiple cask tastings. For Pichon-Lalande, the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon is atypically high. This wine normally contains 35-50% Merlot in the blend, but the 1996 is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot. Only 50% of the estate's production made it into the grand vin. The colour is a saturated ruby/purple. The nose suggests sweet, nearly overripe Cabernet Sauvignon, with its blueberry/blackberry/cassis scents intermixed with high quality, subtle, toasty new oak. Deep and full-bodied, with fabulous concentration and a sweet, opulent texture, this wine was singing in full harmony when I tasted it in January. Given the wine's abnormally high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon, I would suspect it will close down. It possesses plenty of tannin, but the wine's overwhelming fruit richness dominates its personality.

PICHON-LONGUEVILLE
COMTESSE de LALANDE
Pauillac
RP - What sumptuous pleasures await those who purchase either the 1996 or 1995 Pichon-Lalande. It is hard to choose a favourite, although the 1995 is a smoother, more immediately sexy and accessible wine. It is an exquisite example of Pichon-Lalande with the Merlot component giving the wine a coffee/chocolatey/cherry component to go along with the Cabernet Sauvignon's and Cabernet Franc's complex blackberry/cassis fruit. The wine possesses an opaque black/ruby/purple colour, and sexy, flamboyant aromatics of pain grille, black fruits, and cedar. Exquisite on the palate, this full-bodied, layered, multidimensional wine should prove to be one of the vintage's most extraordinary success stories.

PONTET-CANET
Pauillac
RP - The 2006 is a wine to stockpile, especially for those in their thirties and forties as it needs another decade to reach maturity, after which it should keep for 30+ years. This vineyard, just south of Mouton Rothschild, has produced an opaque bluish/purple-coloured 2006 with an extraordinarily pure nose of graphite, charcoal, sweet crème de cassis, and a hint of scorched earth. Incredible concentration, stunning richness, and a 60-second finish result in a wine that transcends the vintage as well as this estate’s 1855 classification. This enormously endowed, modern day classic is a legend in the making.

PONTET-CANET
Pauillac
Wine Spectator - Shows beautiful aromas of crushed berries and currant, with hints of mineral. Full-bodied, with lovely currant, liquorice and mint. Long and caressing. Very refined and balanced. Another winner from Pontet-Canet.

LES TOURELLES de LONGUEVILLE
 Pauillac
2nd  Wine of Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron
The top wine currently sells for approx. £92 a bottle!
Wine Spectator - Lots of tobacco and berry character in this red, with a medium-bodied palate, with medium firm tannins and a curranty aftertaste.
Shows good structure.

WS88
Now-2018