Archive Releases
10 June 2010
We are delighted to offer and highly recommend the Saint Emilion property (under the management/ownership of Chateau Cheval Blanc) La Tour du Pin @ £285.00 IB per case. . . Really good stuff and a worthy purchase in my opinion!
Robert Parker 92-94
"Pierre Lurton, the director of Cheval Blanc, has completely resurrected this estate since it was acquired by the owners of Cheval Blanc. A blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc grown in clay and gravel soils, the 2009 La Tour du Pin is the finest wine I have ever tasted from this property. It reveals terrific fruit intensity along with a full-bodied unctuosity, great purity, sweet tannins, and a heady, long finish. The alcohol level must be more than 14% given the glycerin content and the wine's thickness. It should drink well for 15+ years"
We have a miniscule quantity of the highly rated Château Cantenac Brown available @ £420.00 IB per case – This is offered on a first come first served basis. . .
Robert Parker 94-96
"The greatest Cantenac Brown I have ever tasted, this monumental effort possesses enormous concentration, with loads of black and blue fruits intermixed with damp earth and forest floor. I have never seen a Cantenac Brown so seamless, so powerful, yet at the same time, so elegant and densely complex. They have certainly done something here that has not been accomplished over the last three decades I have been tasting this estate's wines. Opaque purple in color and full-bodied, this big-time sleeper of the vintage merits serious attention for the first time in my professional career. Kudos to the new ownership and team at Cantenac Brown. This wine should evolve over a 30-year period"
James Suckling 93-96
"Fresh berry and currant, with mint and spices. Full-bodied, with supervelvety tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Toasted oak, ripe fruit, everything. A beauty. Best ever"
Today starts with Lynch Bages' delicious white wine, Blanc de Lynch Bages, which we highly recommend @ £245.00 IB per case. Refreshingly, this is the cheapest Blanc de Lynch Bages vintage available.
Over in Saint Emilion, the highly rated Château Pavie Macquin has been released @ £575.00 IB per case although, everyone's allocations are down by 30% due to "alleged" hailstorm damage!
James Suckling 96-99
"Superfocused and beautiful, like looking at Mont Blanc with a clear sky and a blanket of snow. Full and refined, with gorgeous fruit and wonderful refinement. Silky tannins. Clearly the best ever."
Robert Parker 94-96+
"Yields here were 30 hectoliters per hectare, and the final blend 85% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon. The dynamic duo of Stéphane Derenoncourt and Nicolas Thienpont produced nearly 4,000 cases of wine from this terroir, which has been promoted to a first growth in the St.-Emilion hierarchy. The 15% natural alcohol is rather shocking, because it is not the least bit noticeable. The wine is inky purple-colored, with loads of viscosity, an unctuous texture, and an enormous nose of charcoal, graphite, blackberry liqueur, and forest floor in a full-bodied, seamlessly constructed style. At the same time, the impression is one of a very unevolved, backward wine that has even more weight to put on and more nuances to reveal. I think this is one wine where the "plus" in the numerical rating will be very revealing. Forget it for 5-7 years and drink it over the next 30-40 years"