Wine & Spirits

Left Bank Bordeaux properties are typically not contiguous. Although we associate them with a place, a chateau, most of the time the vines are spread far and wide across the appellation. And as most of you know, if those vines are within the appellation, no matter where they are or whose they once were, they are considered the quality level of the current owner. Meaning if Chateau Latour buys some vineyards way on the outskirts of Pauillac near the Haut Medoc, those vineyards are instantly First Growth vineyards. A little quixotic, right? Most chateaux know that this situation really won’t stand for the fine connoissuer and his or her palate. To continue the example, if they are drinking Chateau Latour, or Font de Latour, or Pauillac de Latour, they want it to taste like Latour. So most Left Bank chateaux have gone on a program of buying, swapping, or otherwise exchanging vineyards with one another. So that all of Latour’s vineyards, no matter which wine they are destined for, taste like Latour and are grown near the famous tower (Latour has no chateau anymore). And so it is the case with Lynch Bages. Jean Marc Cazes, the owner of Lynch-Bages, is nothing short of a visionary. Not only has he undertaken the revitalization of the hamlet of Bages, as well as opening Bordeaux to wine tourisim and promoting gastronomy, he has completely refurbished Lynch-Bages and has spent the last 20 years on a program of purchasing, renovating, swapping and exchanging vineyards so that the estate’s wines can all align. That brings us to this bargain of a beauty in Bordeaux – Lynch-Bages Pauillac. “Pauillac” used to be a third wine of Lynch-Bages – fruit from those far-flung areas in Pauillac away from the main chateau. But now, that is certainly not the case – it sits right alongside Echo de Lynch-Bages (the known second wine), if not actually displacing it. All of those far-flung parcels have now been swapped, and this is home-turf vineyards, the building blocks of Lynch-Bages. Why not just make more Echo and discontinue this wine? Well, I have a sneaking suspicion it’s because of the Bordeaux wine trade. The main wine and the second are sold through the merchant houses of Bordeaux. This wine is represented globally by the Cazes family – eliminating at least two middlemen in the process. For us, this means everything I mentioned before – one of the finest of Pauillac’s properties, in one of the best vintages, at an exceptional drink-now kinda price: A pure burst of dark red and blue fruits emerges from the glass, immediately followed by graphite, leather, a touch of mint, mocha and very expressive floral notes. I’m tasting from a Zalto Bordeaux and nothing could be more profound: There is a seamless integration here that yields up exceptional drinking. It’s fresh, lively and open for business right now. I prefer it decanted. And it. certainly doesn’t need to be drunk up – this beauty will last for at least another decade.

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Jean-Marc’s friend’s parcel in Les Raclots is 60 years old, planted in the appellation’s classic clay-limestone terrain. This cuvée offers a similar saline impression to the “Les Gaudoirs,” but with greater power and depth of fruit, and a sense of underlying richness that stops short of viscosity. “Les Raclots” more than holds its own against some of Jean-Marc’s more gras-oriented Chassagne-Montrachet 1er crus, and it should age terrifically.

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Considered one of the top Saint Estephe, Montrose is prized for its classic Claret style, big fruit and full, well-structured taste. Deep purple color. Complex on the nose, delivering aromas of leather, black fruit, liquorice. Silky and fresh on the palate, with notes of brown tobacco, dark chocolate, grounds of coffee, blackberry, blackcurrant, and slight leather. The tannins are fine, elegant, and melted. Blend: 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 8% Petit Verdot

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Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Roche Roulee Alsace 2018 The nose shows intense white fruit aromas, classic Riesling intensity without the more stony character often found on richer wines. The palate feels surprisingly intense, while finishing very dry but without any tightness. An easy wine to enjoy in its youth. Enjoy as an aperitif or with shellfish or light, white fish varieties.  

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Chateau Les Carmes Haut-Brion Pessac-Leognan 2010      

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Chateau Margaux 2007  

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Chateau Margaux 2008 Score: 94 Points  This is a stunning Chateau Margaux, made in a sexy, up-front, elegant style, with deep creme de cassis fruit intermixed with spring flowers, a solid inner core of richness and depth, but again, very sweet tannins as well as striking minerality and elegance. One of the most seductive Chateau Margauxs given its recent bottling, this blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, and the rest tiny quantities of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot should drink beautifully for the next 25-30 years. Remarkably, a mere 36% of the entire production was selected for the 2008 Chateau Margaux. https://bordeauxinvestmentwines.co.uk/pages/chateau_margaux_2008.html  

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Chateau Margaux 1994 An early flowering and a particular warm, dry summer allowed the fruit to reach a remarkable level of concentration and richness; the intermittent showers during the harvest prevented the vintage from being truly great. We must be content with lovely complexity, distinguished fruit and the promise of a brilliant development.  

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Chateau Margaux 1996 This vintage ended up producing a wine which will go down in history for its classicism and purity. The Cabernet Sauvignon has seldom achieved such a perfection of style and such good balance. What is even rarer perhaps, is to find in a young wine, only just after its blending, the ability to impress and move us at once through the purity of its fruit, the density of its structure and the harmony of its shape. It is a dream of a Margaux.  

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Clinet by Pomerol 2016  

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Clementin de Pape Clement Pessac-Leognan 2015 Winemaker Notes With their smoky and spicy bouquet, the red wines are of an admirable quality and a very characteristic softness. The wine is both concentrated, fine and harmonious, with an aromatic palette as wide as it is precise. The depth and length in the mouth are exceptional. Quality of the terroir, sustained efforts and dynamism have borne fruit bringing Pape Clément to a level very close to that of the premiers crus. Critical Acclaim Jeb Dunnuck Coming from 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc brought up in 60% new French oak, the 2018 Château Pape Clement from Bernard Magrez is a gorgeous wine that's performing even better from bottle than barrel, which is always a good sign. Deep ruby/purple, with stunning crème de cassis and blackberry fruits as well as kaleidoscope-like notes of graphite, scorched earth, smoke, violets, and spring flowers, it offers full-bodied richness yet stays light on its feet, graceful, and almost ethereal on the palate, with integrated acidity and building yet seamless tannin's. The Cabernet Sauvignon really sings at this point, and there's almost a Médoc-like regalness here. Reminding me of a slightly more elegant 2005 (it also has similarities to the 2016), it will benefit from 4-6 years in the cellar and keep for 30+ years.  

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Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du Pape Blanc 2019  

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