France 🇫🇷
Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Pauillac, 2018
The 2018 Grand-Puy-Lacoste is fabulous, just as it was from barrel. Strong Cabernet inflections soar out of the glass, giving the wine a compelling aromatic profile laced with the essence of graphite, dried herbs, menthol and dark fruit. One of the most classic (for lack of a better word) wines in the Left Bank in 2018, Grand-Puy-Lacoste is super-impressive right out of the gate. Grand-Puy-Lacoste is ultimately a wine of tremendous class that remains restrained and aristocratic in breeding.
Chateau Guiraud, Sauternes, 2017
First Growth. Premier Cru Classe in 1855. Every autumn a microscopic fungus called le « Botrytis Cinerea » appears and transforms the grapes. This is the famous 'noble rot' that is Nature's gift to Chateau Guiraud. In autumn the grapes take on a dark colour which can even seem austere, but this 'noble rot' is a precursor of aromatic expression. Understanding this phenomenon is essential as only the grapes that have been perfectly concentrated by the Botrytis will be picked one by one.
Château La Prade, Côtes de Francs 2015
The 2015 Chateau La Prade is a great wine to enjoy and completely over delivers for the price. Overflowing with rich, dark fruits enveloped in satiny smooth tannins, this is an easy wine to pick for your Tuesday night drinker. As you probably know by now, 2015 in Bordeaux was an exceptional vintage with well ripened fruit and exceptional balance and freshness. The beauty of the vintage is the quality extends from the higher priced Classified Growths and Grand Cru Classe's to the more reasonably priced wines. A perfect example is this wine from Chateau La Prade which received a 92 Point score from James Suckling."
Château Lilian Ladouys, Saint-Estephe, 2018
When tasted, Lilian Ladouys always reveals a rich and crisp structure with ripe tannins and refined oak which melts into an explosion of fruit. It has the opulence and length of a Saint-Estèphe fine wine. Thanks to the appellation’s limestone-clay subsoils, its power is balanced out by a wonderful sensation of freshness.
Our top wine is matured for an average of 14 months in our superb barrel store (40-60% new oak depending on the vintage). Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot make up the majority of the blend, with the proportions varying from one year to the next. They are supplemented by Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. The estate’s wines go into gravity-fed vats and undergo vinification with a partially gravity-based system, which is more sensitive to the integrity and subtleties of the grapes and the wine.
Chateau Ormes des Pez, Bordeaux
Some very old ormes (elm trees), which no longer exist, account for the name of this property, whose history can be traced back to the 18th century. The 35-hectare vineyard is located around the hamlet of Pez and is divided into two main plots, in the center and north of the commune of Saint-Estephe.
Chateau Ormes des Pez has very homogenous soil (a clay gravel mixture typical of Saint-Estephe) and many of the vines are quite old. The grapes are hand-picked. After selecting the vats and blending, the wine is aged in oak barrels for 15 months in a magnificent cellar overlooking the courtyard.The 2016 vintage was characterised by a relatively early bud break, a wet spring, ideal flowering, a hot dry summer resulting in the progressive introduction of water supply constraints and an autumn conducive to ripening, bringing just a few millimetres of necessary rainfall.
Chateau Petit Bocq, Saint-Estephe, 2020
Château Talbot, Château Talbot 4ème , 2016
Fourth Growth. Quatrieme Grand Cru Classe in 1855. Undeniably, Talbot is one of the most famous Médoc wines. Having been in the same family for more than a century, this estate with more than one hundred hectares of vines produces wine that is recognized for the consistent quality of its vintages. ‘For many, Talbot embodies the ideal Saint Julien, a generous bouquet, extremely stable and dependable during aging,’ emphasize Bettane and Desseauve in their Guide to French Wines. It’s true, Talbot is a champion of longevity; even young Talbot is pleasant and rounded, always characterized by silky, mild and very civilized tannins. Talbot possesses an expansive character. It’s never withdrawn into itself and has the courtesy of being in a good mood every day. It’s a racy wine, with complex marks of Havana tobacco and licorice, classically delicious without ever the slightest hint of austerity.
Châteauneuf du Pape, Famille Lançon, Domaine de la Solitude, Rouge, Barberini
Cuvée Barberini Red – It is a tribute to our ancestors the Barberini Family, produced when the vintage allows it from a special selection from our domaine, well known for its concentration and its opulence. The modern winemaking style, with optimization of the extraction but without excess, gives a powerful wine with silky tannins. Depending on the vintage, a part more or less is aged 16 months in barrels, and then when the blending is made, is going to spend 6 months in tanks for a perfect integration. Impressive wine, with a significant purity and density, can best be served for tasting between 4 and 15 years at least after the vintage year.
