Calvados, Merlot, Cabernet Mer...

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More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

An explosion of all manner of black berries with discreet, toasty and smoky oak, makes this a joyful St.-Estèphe. Then the great balance of ripeness, lively acidity and velvety tannins come together beautifully at the elegant finish to make this the best wine from this producer in modern times. Needs two or three years to soften. Try in 2022. JAMES SUCKLING

A sleeper in this vintage, the 2016 Lafon-Rochet is positively stellar. Bright, translucent and super-expressive, the 2016 has so much to offer. Lavender, tobacco, cedar, mint and dried herbs give the 2016 striking aromatic top notes to play off the darker fruit flavors. The 2016 is pure class. Don't miss it. ANTONIO GALLONI

The 2016 Lafon-Rochet has a very engaging bouquet, a mixture of red and black fruit laced with pencil shavings and loamy scents. In fact, the more you nose this wine, the more its complexity becomes apparent. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and a fine line of acidity, ripe and generous yet maintaining outstanding tension and revealing a judicious touch of peppercorns on the finish, which fans out gloriously. This is a fabulous Lafon-Rochet NEAL MARTIN

All the success of St-Estèphe in 2016 can be seen in Lafon- Rochet this year, where the 30mm of rain on 13th September and 13mm on 8th October, with nothing in between, allowed the clay, limestone and gravel soils to fully ripen the grapes. Owner Basile Tesseron says he had never seen such maturity in his Cabernet Sauvignons, and certainly we have hugely intense aromatics from the first nose. The palate features finessed and fleshed out mouthwatering black fruits making it hard not to love this. Tasted three times in total, and every time it stood out. JANE ANSON, Decanter

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

The 2021 Galatrona is a fine follow-up to the 2020. In most vintages, Galatrona is very showy right out of the gate. That is not at all the case with the 2021, a wine that is going to need a number of years to be at its finest. Black cherry, plum, mocha, leather, licorice and incense infuse the 2021 with tremendous complexity. More than anything else, I admire a feeling of vertical, explosive energy that catapults the 2021 into the stratosphere. This is a tremendous wine by any measure. (98) ANTONIO GALLONI

The 2021 Val d'Arno di Sopra Galatrona shows extremely focused aromas, but very generous ones all the while, with soft mint, cherry and stracciatella over a full-bodied texture with soft layers of spice and cedarwood. The wine boasts an elegantly chalky quality to the tannins, but the mouthfeel is so generous, everything irons out beautifully over the palate. It ages in a combination of new and used barrique. (97+) MONICA LARNER

The aromas here are very distinct with dried flowers such as lavender and violets. Some sage as well. Black berries and black olive skin. Full-bodied yet linear and energetic with very fine tannins and fantastic length. Fresh and lively in the finish. (98) JAMES SUCKLING

The nose showcases a vast world of savory aromas, from sanguine to metallic to woody to earthy, with cranberries, currants and dark berries providing sweet contrast. A lively palate runs with the warmth of earth and just-ripened fruit, alongside austere tannins that promise ageworthiness. An absolutely acrobatic feat in Merlot. (97) WINE ENTHUSIAST

Vivid purple in the glass, gorgeous black cherry and blackcurrant aromas with touches of florality - this 100% Merlot smells wonderfully scented and inviting. Smooth, ample, really quite seductive on the palate, sensual almost in the silky but gripping tannins, beautifully ripe blackcurrant and cherry fruit and crunchy, crisp acidity that is not too sharp or too obvious but lifts the palate and gives a thrill and wonderful freshness to the overall expression. Beautifully presented, harmonious, balanced and totally enjoyable from the first to last sip. A gorgeous wine, intense yet energetic, full of flavour and textural nuance. Totally unputdownable, although with lots of potential for improvement over ageing. (97) DECANTER

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

2 BOTTLES AVAILABLE

Saint-Estèphe 2ème Cru Classé 
Extremely aromatic with currant, wild-herb and fresh-violet aromas. This is regal cabernet sauvignon at its finest. The palate has unwaveringly long and defined tannins that carry such fresh, piercingly pure, redcurrant and cassis flavors. A twin to the superb 2015? A blend of 76% cabernet sauvignon, 20% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot.(97) JAMES SUCKLING

The 2017 Montrose is a very pretty, polished wine that speaks much more to finesse than power. Expressive floral and spices notes add an attractive inner sweetness to a Montrose that in 2017 leans more into the red fruit spectrum. Gracious yet deep, with terrific overall balance, the 2017 Montrose is a total winner. What impresses most about the 2017 is its freshness and sophistication. I won't be surprised if Montrose turns out to be even better than this note suggests further down the road. Graphite, licorice, menthol and sage lead to a finish with real grip and freshness. The 2017 is such a classy and promising wine. (95+) ANTONIO GALLONI

The 2017 Montrose was so impressive from barrel and now, bottled since July, it continues to put in a strong case for being one of the best Left Bank wines. It has a very pure and intoxicating bouquet with intense blackberry, light cassis, juniper and violet aromas, almost Margaux-like in terms of personality. Although there is a patina of new oak after bottling, it is in sync with the fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with gentle grip on the entry. Tightly wound at the moment but supremely well focused, this is a classic Montrose, "cool" and reserved, demonstrating impressive tension and precision towards the finish. It will require less time in bottle than the 2016 for example, so broach this superb Saint-Estèphe after five or six years and then it will give 25 to 30 years of drinking pleasure, and knowing Montrose, probably longer. Tasted twice with consistent notes. (95) NEAL MARTIN

Pre- Arrival 2 bottles available 

The 2022 Ausone, which was the earliest-picked ever on September 5 (although that is later than Cheval Blanc) has another very intense bouquet with layers of plush blackberry, blueberry, crushed violet and incense aromas that are beautifully entwined with the 100% new oak. Hints of blood orange emerge with a few minutes in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with silky tannins and perfectly pitched acidity. The slightly higher proportion of Cabernet Franc imparts a touch more pepperiness toward the finish. You can feel this on your tongue long after it has departed. There is a surfeit of freshness on the finish. This is an outstanding Ausone that can look forward to a very long future. (98) NEAL MARTIN, Vinous.com

The 2020 Ausone is stellar. Usually a showier wine, Ausone is packed with bright acids, deep fruit and tons of supporting structure. Dark red fruit, blood orange, pomegranate, rose petal, mocha and dried herbs all race out of the glass. Deep and layered, with magnificent finesse, Ausone is lights out in 2020. What a wine. Readers lucky enough to own it are in for a thrilling ride over the next few decades. 99 ANTONIO GALLONI, vinous.com

1 Bottle at the time of the offer

This really is a creation of true refinement and class, that lends itself to the harmonious, graceful style that is so typical of great St. Emilion. Suckling, Perotti-Brown and Galloni all awarded it perfection, with Jeff Leve noting that there are few wines at this level of quality produced from any vineyard in the world. If you can afford just one of 20,000 bottles produced annually, it will be a trophy for any cellar designed to last 50-100 years. -Tom Portet

Antonio Galloni  99
The 2018 Ausone is mind-blowing. The aromatics alone are mesmerizing. I don't know what more to say. Cabernet Franc is so expressive, so vibrant so nuanced. Rose petal, cinnamon, star anise and sage meld into a core of red fleshed fruit. The 2018 doesn't impress with opulence or richness, rather it is a Saint-Émilion that is all about persistence and energy. I won't be at all surprised if it merits a higher score in the future. Readers who can find it should not hesitate. The 2018 is a viscerally thrilling wine of the highest level.
 
James Suckling 99-100
This is really exotic with wild-fruit character that I have seldom encountered in Ausone. Full-bodied yet reserved and very tight. Amazing depth and purity of fruit. Incredible beauty. Sexy.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown 98-100
Full-bodied, rich, decadent and tightly knit, it offers layer upon layer of fruit, spice and mineral nuances with a firm frame of exquisitely fine tannins and bold freshness, finishing with epic length and heart-stopping beauty.

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

The 2022 Le Pin is a very pretty, sexy wine. The richness of the year is evident in the wine's super-ripe profile and textural feel. Blackberry jam, spice, apricot, black tea, new leather, chocolate and a kiss of French oak build in a sumptuous, potent Pomerol. The 2022 will need time to be at its best. To be sure, extreme heat and drought do not present the most optimal conditions for an early-ripening variety such as Merlot, especially on gravel. The 2022 is a decidedly exotic Le Pin and a wine that will thrill hedonists. (98) ANTONIO GALLONI,Vinous.com

The elegance and harmony of the 2022 Le Pin took me aback. Harvest began at this small estate on September 6th, proceeding bit by bit until all 10 blocks were picked, and the resulting wine is maturing in 65% new oak. Wafting from the glass with aromas of minty blackberries and cassis mingled with hints of licorice, spices and rose petals, it's medium to full-bodied, bright and fleshy, with a sensual, seamless profile and terrific integration at such an early stage. It's one of the finest vintages at this address in the last decade or more. (96-99) WILLIAM KELLEY, Wine Advocate