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 - This may be the finest d’Armailhac I have ever tasted. Made in a textured, full-bodied, sumptuous style, it is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and the balance primarily Cabernet Franc with a tiny dosage of Petit Verdot. It exhibits a deep ruby/purple hue along with floral, red and black currant, cedar, and spice characteristics. Deep, medium to full-bodied, and impressively pure as well as long,

From the Mouton Rothschild stable!

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!

BATAILLEY
Pauillac

Wine Spectator - Nicely firm, with a bold iron streak and lots of cedar embedded into the core of red and black currant fruit and tobacco notes. Focused and long, with a pure beam of fruit driving through the grippy finish.

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.

GRAND PUY LACOSTE
Pauillac

RP - Unsmoked cigar tobacco intermixed with plums, red and black currants presented in an evolved style characterize this dark plum/garnet-coloured effort. Medium-bodied, delicious and evolved.

ECHO de LYNCH BAGES
Pauillac

2nd  Wine of Lynch Bages
The estate's top wine from the excellent 2008 vintage currently sells for  £112 a bottle! - so this represents real value!

Wine Spectator - Sweet berry and currant on the nose and palate, with hints of mint. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a long finish. This is like Lynch from the 1980s. This is made with more Cabernet Sauvignon than the old second wines of Lynch, and shows more class.

ECHO de LYNCH BAGES
Pauillac

2nd  Wine of Lynch Bages
The estate's top wine from the excellent 2008 vintage currently sells for  £79 a bottle! - so this represents real value!

Wine Spectator - Currant bush and mint aromas follow through to a full body, with chewy tannins and a medium finish.
 The second wine of Lynch-Bages. Name change from Haut-Bages-Averous with the 2008 vintage.

LYNCH BAGES
Pauillac

RP - The black/purple-tinged 2009 exhibits a glorious perfume of graphite, black currants, and subtle smoke, powerful, thick, unctuously textured flavours, huge yet sweet tannins, fabulous purity, and a finish that lasts 40-45 seconds. Five to eight years of patience will be required, but this is a 30-40-year wine from this popular estate run by the affable and highly respected Cazes family.

LYNCH BAGES
Pauillac

RP - A big, fruity effort, the 2007 Lynch Bages offers lots of crème de cassis, damp earth, and subtle background oak. It is a deep, layered, lush, forward, evolved wine that will offer hedonistic drinking over the next decade.

BIN END PRICE

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.

BIN END PRICE

PEDESCLAUX
Pauillac

 Decanter Magazine, July 2008 - Very pure cassis. Hidden depths - unevolved but self-assured. Terrific intensity of flavour, power and length. Ripe fruit, supremely well-integrated tannin and acidity.
Awarded 5 Stars!

R&B Wines Recommendation: The 2005 represents excellent value compared with other Pauillac wines; this wine is really succulent, round with excellent body.

La RESERVE de la COMTESSE
Pauillac

2nd  Wine of Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
The estate's top wine from the excellent 2009 vintage currently sells for  £150.00 a bottle! - so this represents real value!

RP - The finest second wine they have made, the 2009 Reserve de Comtesse is composed of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc. Flavourful and full-bodied with loads of texture and opulence, it offers up aromas of forest floor and black fruits. The surprisingly high tannin level is barely noticeable given the sweetness of the fruit and abundant glycerine.

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  £89.00
 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 -  The 2008 is a beauty in the style of the 1988. Although not performing as well as I predicted last year, it is unquestionably an outstanding effort as well as one of the better values from Pichon Lalande in many years. Its dense plum/purple hue is accompanied by sweet aromas of red and black currants, charcoal, herbs, underbrush and a hint of truffles. This medium-bodied, rich, concentrated blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc is an elegant, supple Pichon Lalande that can be drunk now or cellared for 15-20 years.

PICHON-LONGUEVILLE
COMTESSE de LALANDE
Pauillac

RP - Pichon Lalande’s 2007 is a seductive, dark ruby/plum-tinged wine displaying sweet cocoa, white chocolate, black currant, and foresty notes, medium body, a velvety texture, and a delicious style. The final blend is 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.

BIN END PRICE

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.

BIN END PRICE

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

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.

BIN END PRICE

LES HAUTES de PONTET CANET
Pauillac

2nd  Wine of Pontet Canet
The estate's top wine from the excellent 2008 vintage currently sells for  £96 a bottle! - so this represents real value!

Wine Spectator - Bright and plummy on the nose, with a hint of raisins. Full-bodied and very ripe, with firm tannins and a medium finish.

LES HAUTES de PONTET CANET
Pauillac

2nd  Wine of Pontet Canet
The estate's top wine from the excellent 2000 vintage currently sells for  £80 a bottle! - so this represents real value!

Wine Spectator - Bright and plummy on the nose, with a hint of raisins. Full-bodied and very ripe, with firm tannins and a medium finish.

PONTET CANET
Pauillac

RP -  A candidate for the “wine of the vintage,” Pontet Canet’s 2008 boasts an opaque purple color as well as copious aromas of sweet blueberries, blackberries and black currant fruit intertwined with lead pencil shavings, subtle barbecue smoke and a hint of forest floor. Full-bodied, with fabulous richness, texture and tremendous freshness, this first-growth-like effort is more developed than the uber-powerful 2010. Give it 5-8 years of cellaring and drink it over the following three decades. Bravo!

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.