Archive Releases
20 May 2010
Today, we kick off with Larrivet Haut Brion Rouge, which I highly recommend (very good indeed!) @ £225.00 IB per case and Larrivet Haut Brion Blanc @ £290.00 IB per case. Parker awards 91-93 and describes the Rogue as "Juicy red currant with subtle smoked herbs, truffle, and spice box jump from the glass of this dense ruby/purple-colored wine. Possessing silky tannins, seductive, ripe fruit with an opulent texture and no hard edges, but serious tannin lurking behind the wealth of fruit and glycerin, this is another classic Pessac-Leognan that can be drunk young or cellared for 20-25 years"
Château les Ormes de Pez which again I highly recommended @ £240.00 IB per case or £230.00 IB per case if 2 or more cases are purchased. James Suckling awards a very healthy 92-95 and describes the 2009 as "Superb concentration, with spice, currant and berry character. Full and velvety. So long. At same quality level as the legendary 1955, or 1959".
Onto something rather special - We are thrilled to offer (on an exclusive basis) an exceptionally unique wine, Liber Pater @ £720.00 IB per case. . . The wine is produced from the fruit of what is currently a two-hectare section of his seven-hectare vineyard in the southern Graves that dates from Roman times. It is planted at a surprisingly high density of 8,400 vines/ha. The varietal mix includes 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot whose average age is 40 years, a little older than the owner. All vines are propagated from a selection massale of the property's own pre-phylloxera, ungrafted rootstock. The soils here are a mineral-rich blend of ancient gravel from the Villafranchian and Tertiary periods. The vineyard is organically farmed with all mechanical plowing done exclusively with horses. Harvesting is manual. The Merlot was harvested on October 6th and the Cabernet Sauvignon on October 27th. Net yields were just 15 hls/ha. Fermentation took place exclusively in 100% new French oak barrels from Cadus (50%) and Remond (50%). Maceration time ran 60 days! Malo then took place in barrel where the new wine will spend an estimated 18 months on its lees that will be stirred regularly.
James Suckling also endorses Liber Pater's quality by awarding a very handsome 94-97 "Intense and wild, with crushed berry and wet earth. Full and powerful. Unbelievable. From ancient, ungrafted vines"
And finally, we're revisiting yesterdays release – Château Raymond Lafon, which is still available @ £260.00 IB or £275.00 IB per case of halves... Further coverage is warranted for their price this year, which is substantially lower than previous years (2006, 2007 & 2008). How refreshing to see a Château that wants to sell their wine rather than to sit on unsold, overpriced stock for the sheer sake of bravado!