Product Line

The highlight of the Bernard Magrez stable is also the most prestigious, and tellingly it has achieved consistent high scores. It's up 7% on the 2017 release, which is no surprise as it is perhaps the best releases to since 2010.  -Tom Portet
 
Lisa Perotti Brown 96-98
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Pape Clement is a little closed, slowly unfurling to reveal fragrant earth, crushed rocks, iron ore and tobacco notions over a core of crushed red and black currants plus kirsch, red roses and Ceylon tea. Full-bodied and wonderfully vivacious, it offers a solid line of firm and fine-grained tannins and amazing freshness, finishing very long and mineral laced.

James Suckling 97-98
This is a very driven Pape Clément with fantastic density and finesse at the same time. Linear and driven, the finish goes on for minutes with incredible tension and focus. More cabernet. Refinement with power.

Aged in small apple brandy casks for over 12 months, this rich and generous liqueur is a result of blending pressed French and British heirloom apple varieties with our apple spirit.

Complex and well-structured with baked apple and spice, balanced with firm tannins and cask influence.

Our take on the traditional aperitif from North-West France – enjoy as such or serve with blue cheese or dessert. WILLIE SMITH

3 BOTTLES AVAIALABLE

Antonio Galloni                                  97
The 2018 Haut-Bailly soars out of the glass, showing magnificent poise that only grows with time. Sweet, perfumed aromatics, silky tannins and mid-weight structure add to its considerable allure. Ripe red berry fruit, spice, blood orange, licorice, cedar, tobacco and menthol are all woven together in an effortless, classy Haut-Bailly that delivers the goods. I suppose the 2018 doesn't quite have the explosive energy of the very best years, but it more than makes up for that with its sensual, seductive personality.

James Suckling                                   97-98
Incredible depth of fruit to this with a center palate that shows superb character and texture. I love the hazelnut and coffee-bean undertones to the beautiful fruit, which shows great finesse. Full-bodied yet compact and tight, giving a sense of agility and flight to the wine. Extremely tight and polished tannins.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown            96-98
Deep purple-black in color, it opens slowly with profound notions of Black Forest cake, crème de cassis, roasted nuts and black olives, unfurling to reveal notions of menthol, crushed rocks, molten licorice and chargrilled meat plus a hint of lilacs. Full-bodied, rich and densely laden with layer upon layer of vibrant black fruits and mineral nuances, it has a solid backbone of firm, velvety tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long with compelling restraint and exciting energy.

Andrew Caillard, MW                                     97
Deep colour. Perfect claret style with intense blackcurrant plum graphite aromas with some savoury notes, fine graphite grainy tannins and underlying vanilla oak. Tannins are plentiful but perfectly ripe with some al dente notes and plenty of thrust. Elemental but voluminous needing time to meld. Sine inky mineral notes at the finish.

PESSAC-LÉOGNAN CRU CLASSÉ - LIMITED
The 2016 La Mission Haut Brion is a blend of 57.5% Merlot and 42.5% Cabernet Sauvignon picked between 19 September and 14 October, one of the longest ever. "We had to be patient and wait for each plot," Jean-Philippe Delmas told me. "It took longer than usual." As is customary, I allowed my sample, and likewise all the wines poured at this tasting, around 40-45 minutes to open since they always transform in the glass. It has a clean and precise, quite understated bouquet with fine mineralité, cold stone aromas infusing the black fruit. This has incredible precision, perhaps even more pixelated than the "gaff over the road" Haut-Brion. The palate is medium-bodied with supple and lithe tannin. I appreciate the line of acidity here, the smoothness and harmony that takes your breath away. Every atom is infused with life-affirming freshness. It is a wine bridled with incredible focus and delineation. I thought that the 2015 La Mission Haut-Brion flirted with perfection. The 2016 has that extra edge, a "je ne sais quoi" that leaves you reaching for the thesaurus looking for superlatives. (98-100) NEAL MARTIN

The 2016 La Mission Haut-Brion is a total knockout. Vertical and powerful, but not at all austere, it exudes class. Fine-grained tannins support the fruit, but they are barely felt, as the wine's balance is so extraordinary. Lifted floral notes and a host of red fruits give the 2016 energy and verve. I can't wait to see how it ages. (94-97) ANTONIO GALLONI

Saint Julien

2ème Cru Classé

Purchase En Primeur. Arrival due September 2022.

The 2009 Léoville Poyferré has an outstanding bouquet with blackberry, mint and cedar aromas, almost Pauillac in style, very dense and with plenty of horsepower. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, saturated tannins that frame layers of blackberry infused with graphite and white pepper. I love the symmetry and control of this Poyferré, in particular its persistent finish. This is a magnificent wine from Didier Cuvelier. Tasted at BI Wines & Spirits' Ten Year On tasting. Neal Martin 96

Pomerol

Purchase En Primeur. Arrival due September 2022.

The 2009 La Conseillante has a very classy and sophisticated bouquet with beautifully defined black and red fruit mixed with black truffle and pressed rose petals. The oak is just completely subsumed here. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe and saturated tannin, a fine line of acidity, fresh and tensile with a sense of mineralité on the finish. This bottle shows even better than the one poured at the property 12 months earlier. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting. Neal Martin 97

Pauillac

Cru Classé

Purchase En Primeur. Arrival due September 2022.

The 2009 Pichon-Baron continues to amaze - a benchmark wine of recent years. The bouquet gushes from the glass, offering blackberry, melted tar and graphite aromas seamlessly integrated with the new oak, all very precise and quite mineral-driven. The palate is well balanced with supple tannin, a superb line of acidity, immense purity, and less voluptuousness than its peers, but more class and restraint. This is evolving into one of the standouts of the vintage from Pauillac and unusually, it surpasses the 2010. Show-stopping! Tasted at the Pichon-Baron vertical at the château. Neal Martin 97

Pomerol

The 2019 Vieux-Château-Certan has a fabulous bouquet with stunning delineation, a complex array of red and black fruit, sous-bois, truffle and Seville orange marmalade. The palate is medium-bodied and very precise, with fine-grain tannins, a superb bead of acidity and a peacock's tail on the finish lingering long in the mouth. I knew this was an awesome Pomerol...but maybe not this awesome! Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. 99 NEAL MARTIN

The 2019 Vieux Château Certan is even better from bottle than it was from barrel. It is very clearly one of the highlights on the Right Bank. Soaring aromatics are immediately captivating. There is an exoticism in the 2019 that I saw from barrel that is evident in the bottled wine, but today, I see more balance and harmony. Crème de cassis, licorice, lavender, spice and rose petal blend into a core of red/purplish berry fruit. All the elements are so well balanced. The Grand Vin is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, but the blend also includes one lot of young vine Cabernet Sauvignon that was added for its aromatic presence. That decision paid off in spades, as the 2019 is truly magical. Antonio Galloni 98+

Subtle and complex with blackberries, violets, lilacs, roses and hints of ink. So floral, yet subtle on the nose. Full-bodied with incredible polish and beauty, the silky tannins running the length of the wine and going on and on. It builds with sheer elegance and structure. A blend of 78% merlot, 15% cabernet franc and 7% cabernet sauvignon. Drink after 2028, but already a joy to taste. 99 JAMES SUCKLING

Everything contributed to the success of the vintage. A sufficiently cool and rainy winter. A fresh and sunny spring. Throughout the summer, a gradual water deficit before veraison and dry, sunny weather with cool nights enhanced the aromatic potential. Welcome light rain showers from September 22nd allowed the vines to rehydrate and complete the full grape ripeness. Harvest began September 23rd. Blend: 78 % Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 7% Cabernet Sauvignon.

A ripe, tannic wine with fruit character and well-preserved acidity with superb balance. The Merlot contributed density, body, smoothness, volume and breed. The Cabernet Franc showed a lacy elegance and was complex, full and long on the palate. The Cabernet Sauvignon was lively and delicious, it brought an indispensable touch of freshness to the blend. 2019 can be compared with the 2009 with its  glossy colour, sweet and fresh with lots of floral notes of hawthorn and almond blossom. There is beautiful balance here. Lovely intensity, black fruit flavours, a touch of truffles, some oak and typical Pomerol generosity. A baby still but there is so much concentration and layers of flavour and great energy from the very old vines. Seems effortless but this balance is remarkable. Classic VCC. Don’t touch for at least another 10 years: 2035-2065 Splendid! FIONA MORRISON

The 2005 Léoville Las Cases is a classic that numbers among the wines of the vintage in the Médoc. Wafting from the glass with notes of dark berries, cassis, incense, burning embers, sweet soil tones, dark chocolate and cigar wrapper, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with a vibrant core of fruit, lively acids and sweet, powdery tannins. More elegant and refined than the hulking, uncompromising 2006, the 2005 is nevertheless a powerful, tightly wound wine that will reward further bottle age, even if it's actually quite expressive today. (98) WILLIAM KELLEY, The Wine Advocate

The 2005 Léoville-Las-Cases is one of my favorite wines of the night. Now, after 17 years, the 2005 is in a place where it is not a crime to open a bottle. Elegant and regal in bearing, the 2005 Las-Cases is simply everything Las-Cases can and should be. This is a great, great bottle. I loved it. (98) ANTONIO GALLONI, Vinous

Very dark with black core. Extremely pure cassis nose. Tight and dark and savoury on the palate with graphite dark freshness. Very fine texture, dry but not drying. Paper layers of subtle tannins building density but shot through with pure cassis scent. Extremely moreish and fresh. Long and scented on the finish. JULIA HARDING, jancisrobinson.com

A blend of 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 0.8% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2017 Les Forts de Latour has a medium to deep garnet color with a lingering hint of purple. It prances out of the glass with fragrant scents of black raspberries, mulberries, and black currant pastilles, leading to suggestions of lilacs, iron ore, fragrant earth, and black truffles, plus a waft of fallen leaves. The palate delivers an elegantly styled, medium body with fantastically ripe, ever so fine-grained tannins and beautiful tension supporting the intense black and red berry layers, finishing with impressive length and loads of mineral and floral sparks. LISA PEROTTI-BROWN

Lots of mulled cherries, blueberries, iron, and bouquet garni emerge from the 2020 Château Faugeres, a rich, focused, yet fruit-loaded barrel sample that has a good sense of purity and elegance. I was able to taste two bottles, both showing medium to full-bodied richness, with one having slightly more precision. Both showed great mid-palates, and this is certainly a beautiful wine in the making. Two to four years should do it well and it’s going to have two decades of longevity. (95) JEB DUNNUCK

A ripe, rich red that delivers loads of crushed-berry, chocolate and walnut character, as well as fine tannins through the center palate. Layered texture (95) JAMES SUCKLING

The 2020 Faugeres offers ripe black plum and boysenberry fruit on the nose, which is extravagant and verging on ostentatious, though somehow it maintains focus and delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with red cherries, boysenberry, cola and light allspice notes on the entry. Well balanced with impressive depth toward the fleshy finish, leaving a lick of dark chocolate on the aftertaste. This is a fine Faugeres that should be afforded 4–5 years in bottle NEAL MARTIN

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 2020 Lafite-Rothschild, which contains the highest proportion of Merlot since the 2016, hit the bull's eye from barrel. Revisiting the wine in the bottle since July, it still bursts from the glass with copious blackberries, touches of blueberry and juniper, pencil lead and a hint of crushed stone. Wonderful delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with finely-chiseled tannins, quite linear and "correct" - a quintessential Lafite-Rothschild in many ways. It gently builds in the mouth while keeping a restraint on things, finishing with fine sapidity yet a little more juiciness than you would have found a decade or two earlier. This has the potential to evolve beautifully over several decades. 98 NEAL MARKTIN, 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

The Grand Vin 2020 Domaine De Chevalier ratchets everything up another notch and will be one of the legendary wines from this address. Notes of pure cassis, graphite, lead pencil, and scorched earth define its incredible aromatics, and it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, ultra-fine tannins, no hard edges, and a great, great finish. This is pure, classic, regal Pessac-Léognan is as good as anything in the vintage. Give bottles 4-6 years and it will evolve for 50, 60, 70+ years. I absolutely love this wine. The blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, and the rest Cabernet Franc. (98+) JEB DUNNUCK

he purity of fruit is really something here, with blackcurrants and blackberries, together with orange, stone and granite character. Mind-boggling in many ways. Full-bodied with very fine tannins that are polished and pure. Such a fine texture. Lots of primary fruit. Like picking wonderfully ripe grapes. Great length. One for the cellar. (99) JAMES SUCKLING

The 2020 Domaine de Chevalier is going to need a number of years to unwind. Rich, heady and super-concentrated, the 2020 is so impressive, right out of the gate. Crushed rocks, rose petal, cedar, pomegranate and mint all build as the 2020 shows off its vibrant, layered personality. Domaine de Chevalier remains one of the most under the radar wines in all of Bordeaux. The 2020 is an absolutely brilliant effort from Olivier Bernard and his team. (97) ANTONIO GALLONI

The 2020 Haut-Brion is shaping up to be one of the wines of the year. Substance, depth and textural intensity elevate Haut-Brion into the realm of the sublime in 2020. All the elements are so wonderfully balanced. Inky dark fruit, gravel, lavender, violet and dark spice build as the 2020 gradually opens with some aeration. Wow. 97-99 ANTONIO GALLONI, vinous.com

The 2020 Angélus is shaping up to be tremendous. Bright and punchy, with terrific energy, the 2020 is more linear and focused than any recent vintages I can remember tasting. Crushed red berry fruit, iron, smoke, mint, chalk and dried herbs all build in the glass. In 2020, Angélus is less flashy than it can be. That is a very good thing, for those who can wait. Harvest took place between September 18 to 30. One of the major evolutions here in recent years has been the use of foudres to age the Cabernet Franc. Half of the Franc is now raised in large format oak, and that seems to bringing added freshness to the Grand Vin. 96-98 Antonio Galloni, VINOUS

The 2020 Cos d'Estournel is a wine of extreme elegance. Silky and light on its feet, the 2020 is incredibly nuanced. In fact it is without question the most finessed of all the top wines in Saint-Estèphe, showing more in common with some of its neighbors in the north of Pauillac than the more potent wines of Saint-Estèphe. Impossibly soft, silky tannins wrap around a core of dark red fruit, spice and orange zest. The 2020 is not a huge Cos, but rather a wine for readers who appreciate elegance over power. I can't wait to see how it ages. Magnificent. 97 ANTONIO GALLONI, vinous

The 2020 Mouton Rothschild is very clearly one of the great, great wines of the Left Bank in 2020. All the elements are in perfect balance. A wine of total sensuality and nuance, Mouton is all finesse in 2020, all elegance. An explosion of dark cherry fruit, plum, pomegranate, mint and cinnamon are all amplified. From barrel, the 2020 Mouton hinted at greatness. Today, that greatness is evident. The rich, vibrant finish is a thing of beauty. 99 ANTONIO GALLONI, vinous.com

The 2021 Ornellaia captures all the magic of this sensational vintage on the Tuscan Coast. Rich, ample and expansive, with tremendous polish, the 2021 is pure class. Dark-toned fruit, mocha, espresso, licorice, plum and dried herbs abound. The tannins are present but also beautifully integrated, as is the French oak. There was a time not too long ago when young wines here needed years in bottle to drink well. That's not at all the case with the 2021. The blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 7% Petit Verdot works so well (99) ANTONIO GALLONI

Aromas of blackcurrants, iodine, crushed stone, hints of mint and sage. Blue fruits. Full-bodied with chewy tannins that open with air. It’s racy and very long. Very tannin driven and energetic with power and focus. Muscular and very toned. This is the best Ornellaia for the cellar in years. (99) JAMES SUCKLING

As soon as you put your nose close to this wonderful single vineyard Cabernet you know you are in the heady zone of Coonawarra. The vineyard is located in the southern end of the Terra Rosa strip and displays a silky smooth and highly perfumed character. Bright red and black fruits on the nose with a subtle cedary oak influence. Fine chalky tannins and super fine-grained oak work their magic to bring the wine to life. Brilliant and alive through its long finish. Outstanding. (97) RAY JORDON, the west Australian

The Messenger Vineyard, a dry-grown plot in the southern section of Coonawarra’s Terra Rossa strip, shows perfume and silkiness in a mild year like 2021. It’s deceptive, with the flavours running long and fine on the current of a long, slender acid stream, but there’s lots of dark muscle lurking beneath the pleasant blackberry entry – a brooding, heavy-browed dangerman, reclining back in a creaky old leather Chesterfield, but when exactly will he pounce? That coiled-spring element of danger keeps you returning to this wine. So testy and willing for a medium-bodied wine, showing that Cabernet doesn’t have to be bloated and hefty to pack a punch. (96) DAVID SLY, decanter

Very deep, dark, brooding purple-red colour with a similarly brooding bouquet of blackberry, licorice, soy sauce, coffee grounds and creme de cassis, without any of the greener herbal elements of cabernet. The palate is intense and concentrated and backs up with taut, firm tannins which are nevertheless well measured and balanced. A very concentrated, plush, almost essency cabernet with a terrifically long carry, which will reward long-term cellaring. (97) HUON HOOKE, the real review

15 months in new and seasoned French oak hogsheads (16% new). A basket of collected blackberries and thistle. Fresh prune plums and bilberry. Allspice, clove and black peppercorn. Turned earth, granite and coal. Morello mushroom and undergrowth. There is juniper and wisps of lavender. Pinpoint acidity and laser focus to this cabernet. It drives seamlessly across the palate and pulls at the heartstrings. A stunning drink now and in 15 to 20 years. (96) GOLD MEDAL, SHANTEJ WAHL, www.winecompanion.com

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!

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!

60% Syrah 25% Cabernet Sauvignon 15% Grenache, They say “perfect with your favourite wood-fired pizza (hold the pineapple)”,  though I like pineapple on pizza. Gino D’Acampo would have conniptions.

Plenty of flavour of red and blue fruits, bay leaf, a dusting of spice. Medium-bodied, quite fleshy, some earthy/sooty tannin sweeps through it, with a soft and supple finish of blue fruits and spice. Length is moderate, but OK. Good wine. Easy to like. GARY WALSH, The Wine Front

It feels like this pocket of Mount Barker does well with this variety. Very well. Bold scents of cassis, lavender, bay leaf and sea spray with well-judged clove and cinnamon spice. Refreshing and succulent to taste, spot-on medium weight, though the levity and vitality make it feel prettier than that. Dark fruit flavours but lots of herb and spice too, tannins in tow are ultrafine and, again, mineral-charged, all pulverised stone and talc. This has great mojo and feels as fancy as it is highly drinkable. What excitement! 95 MIKE BENNIE, wine companion

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!

A bit of a dearth of Balnaves reviews in recent years, and indeed, Coonawarra too. 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot

Blackberry and blackcurrant, dark mint chocolate, liquorice, tobacco and cedar. It’s pushing into full-bodied, but gee, there’s a rich swell of dark fruit here, and it’s also kind of ferrous/earthy, but fresh and vibrant with it, some dried raspberry, firm and grainy tactile tannin grip, sporting excellent length, and there’s maybe a bit of iodine to close. This is a pretty serious wine for the money. I like it a lot. GARY WALSH, the wine front

Here’s we have 44% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 14% Cabernet Franc. I asked which Merlot clone they have in the ground at Te Mata, and it’s Entav, which is one of the better ones.

Boysenberry, dusty spice, floral aromatics, tobacco, leaf and mint. Medium-bodied, powdery tannin, very ‘mineral’ acidity, bright but sitting in the wine well, raspberry and plum, complex and chalky firm on a long finish, a little seaweed in the mix. Crisp. Very fine wine. Needs a few more years in bottle. 94+ GARY WALSH, wine front