Latest Releases

16 May 2011

Sauterne & Barsac still lead the En-Primeur charge with some notable releases this morning. Château Guiraud has bucked (the expected trend) and released their delicious 2010 cheaper than last year (£380.00). Guiraud 2010 is offered @ £345.00 IB per case or £360.00 IB per case of halves...

Neal Martin 91-93
“The 2010 Chateau Guiraud has fine purity and minerality on the nose, with touches of passion fruit and dried apricot, later quince joining the fray. The palate is very well-balanced with a lively entry of apricot, quince and a touch of hazelnut. The middle and finish demonstrate fine tension and a lot of freshness. Individual lots seemed to have more race than the final sample, and I suspect it will warrant a higher score once the final blend is in bottle”

Decanter.com 18.5
“More lactic notes than most, more intensity of yeasty undertones, very intense, great proportions, great style, great future, showing the energy of a perfectly cultivated vineyard. Drink 2018-2040”.

This afternoon kicks off with the superb Pomerol, Château Gazin which has an incredible position, literally next door to Château Petrus. We can offer their 2010 @ £570.00 IB per case

Robert Parker 93-95
“Another remarkable effort from Gazin, the big, powerful, dense 2010 boasts an opaque purple color along with loads of black currant and kirsch-like fruit intermixed with licorice, caramel, mocha and toasty oak. This seriously endowed, broodingly backward cuvee requires 6-8 years of cellaring and should keep for three decades or more”

Neal Martin 94-95
“Tasted at the Syndicate de Pomerol. Gazin has been on form in recent vintages. The 2010 has a very pure bouquet with superb lift and purity: black cherries and raspberry, crushed stone underneath. The palate is full-bodied with grippy tannins, very good acidity, compact and masculine, huge weight on the finish, great length and ambition. Superb. Tasted April 2011”

NB: We do have some of the superb 2009 still available (And cheaper) @ £550.00 IB per case which received higher scores from some of the leading critics...

Neal Martin 94-96
“Tasted at Chateau Clinet. This has a well defined, quite a cerebral bouquet with aromas of blackberry, Morello and a touch of liquorice, becoming more rounded and voluptuous with aeration. The palate is very well balanced with firm tannins, superb definition and minerality coming through on this Gazin, the best that I have tasted at primeur. Very precise towards the finish, very sophisticated. Wonderful. Tasted April 2010”

Robert Parker 94-96*
“Ferocious extract, huge tannin, an opaque purple color, and enormous richness all make for a potentially brilliant wine from this vineyard, located on the plateau of Pomerol just adjacent to Petrus. Probably a late finisher of malolactic given its showing on three separate occasions, this wine, which is enormously endowed, very rich, and full-bodied, has a chance to be the best Gazin ever made. However, patience will be a virtue, as the wine will certainly need 5-8 years of cellaring. (Tasted three times.)”

Château Suduiraut (Sauternes) is now available and cheaper than last year @ £560.00 IB per case or £575.00 IB per case of halves...

Neal Martin 94-96
The Chateau Suduiraut has a comparatively rich, botrytized bouquet with dried honey, pineapple and a touch of Seville orange marmalade, with exquisite definition and focus. The palate is well-balanced, with a viscous texture and a good level of botrytis, demonstrating fine minerality and tautness. Dried mango, quince and spice all interlace the focused finish, which is long in the mouth. Tasted against its peers, this has a higher level of intensity and focus. A superb follow-up to the sensational 2009.

Jancis Robinson 18.0
Tasted 7 Apr: Mid pale gold. Broad and rich and fresh but with very ripe pear-juice notes. There is real weight here. Much less citrus peel than most other 2010 Sauternes. Real race. Dangerously delicious now. Long. Super clean. Medium to heavy weight. Great undertow. Long. Nervy