Wine & Spirits

Winemaker Notes Blend: 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot Critical Acclaim James Suckling Complex aromas of blackcurrant, black olive, clove, oyster shell, pencil lead and tobacco. It’s full-bodied with firm, tightly knit tannins. Concentrated and focused with a very long, spice and mineral finish. Fantastic bottle. Try from 2026. Decanter Armailhac has held its success from en primeur and has further gained in weight during ageing. This is a wine that is changing a little in style, deepening in profile and upping the new oak for ageing from 30% to 50% (and staying in barrel for a little longer). Unusually high alcohols for this corner of Pauillac, likely from the concentration that happened in September on the Armailhac gravels (there is less clay in the soil at this spot). It comes through in a rich mouthfeel, chewy tannins and chocolate-covered damson fruits. 5% Petit Verdot completes the blend. Bottled mid-May. New winery under way. Drinking Window 2026 - 2044

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Winemaker Notes On the nose, very evocative of strawberry and raspberry with a floral note of rose petals. The palate recalls red fruits and is augmented by hints of citrus fruit, mandarin orange and a small, very refined touch of white pepper. Critical Acclaim Wine Spectator This elegant rosé Champagne marries a firm frame with a sense of finesse and balance. Fine and satiny in texture, offering a mouthwatering display of strawberry preserves, pink grapefruit granita, oyster shell and biscuit. Drink now.  Wine Enthusiast Pinot Noir is the most widely planted vine in the Côte des Bar, the origin of this wine. It is bone dry and very crisp, with an attractive red-currant fruitiness that brings in a light structure. The bottling needs to age, so wait until early 2020 before drinking.

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Smooth, smoother, Salon 2012. Chassagne with bubbles! The nose sucks you right in and flirts with you, wildy but elegantly. Omg it is so big dense and concentrated, carressing your palate with a symphony of candied Granny Smith and spiced lime confit and buttered apricot and saline grapefruit and nutty macchiato, underlined with a highly intense chalky minerality, so deeply powerful and looong. Most approachable young Salon yet. 🚀 Paired w/Gougères. --Champagne Spy  

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Winemaker Notes Beautiful deep colour that sparkles in the glass. The nose is of course still very young, with primary notes of early ageing. Superb notes of spices and fresh raspberries. On the palate, the attack is supple and rounded. The wine then presents young, lively tannins, whose excellent quality will be revealed with time. The finish is complex and harmonious with beautiful burnt notes. This Carruades needs five to seven years to open up, and has all the characteristics of a wine that will continue to improve for many more.Blend: 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc Critical Acclaim JS94 James Suckling Lead-pencil aromas with currants and plums, too. Full body, silky tannins and a focused and very refined finish. It's the tannins that drive things. An excellent second wine of Lafite. Needs two or three years to soften. Start drinking in 2021. WE94 Wine Enthusiast This second wine of Lafite comes from young vines and wines selected during the blending. The result is a wine with the structure and nobility of the Lafite character but one that will age more quickly. It has great layers of black-currant fruits and acidity, with firm tannins as a background and rich potential. Drink from 2025.Cellar Selection

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Initially near terrible aromas of kidney and generally far from fresh tones. Really unpleasant start and takes some serious swirling to get rid off. After that some traditional volatile acidity appears and starts showing a fresher spectrum of aromas such as various red fruit and berries, sour cherry and earthy notes. Generally a darker style of Beujolais but still not having the complexity of the better Crus like Foillards Morgon etc. --Daniel L

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Domaine Labruyère Moulin-a-Vent Coeur de Terroirs Vieilles Vignes is a selection of great terroirs of Domaine Labruyère, predominantly originated from granite soils rich in quartz. Made from 100% Gamay grapes which are all hand-picked, destemmed and passed over a double sorting table prior to fermentation. The wine is aged in oak barrels (3% new oak) for 13 months and bottled with slight filtration but no fining. Domaine Labruyère Moulin-a-Vent Coeur de Terroirs is a beautiful deep red colour with a nose rich with black fruits, liquorice, smoky and spicy notes. The palate is soft with notes of red fruits and a touch of black chocolate intermingled with very fine, spicy and refreshing tannins to finish.

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Winemaker Notes The Grand Brut Rosé is a soft hue of salmon pink with a few ruby-cherry reflections. The nose is clearly marked by strawberries. Well-structured with a constant tension between freshness and fruity roundness, the wine is dominated by a red pulpy fruit — perhaps wild strawberry (cream or as a coulis) — giving a soft, coated sensation. It is round with a beautifully fresh finish. Due to the gentle nature of this champagne, fruit is an ideal match; as is foie gras for the daring and for the fat and sweetness of the base of this wine. The Grand Rosé Brut also pairs well with fish or shellfish. Critical Acclaim Wine Spectator Vibrant and with mouthwatering acidity, this racy rosé Champagne is fine like raw silk on the palate, layering a chalky undertow with a detailed range of white cherry, peach skin and raspberry fruit. Hints of Marcona almond, graphite and spice linger on the minerally finish. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Drink now WE93 Wine Enthusiast Heading towards dryness, this pale-colored rosé Champagne is also rich. Its red-currant and crisp apple flavors are laced with citrus zest to give a wine that has fine balance.

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98-99 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com "The tannins and phenolic tension are very impressive to this. Dried-lemon undertones and burning botrytis. Full-to medium-bodied, linear and racy. Beautiful fruit and intensity. Such clarity. Extreme but wonderful style." 97-99 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate "There was no frost at d’Yquem in 2017, and botrytis was very regular and even this vintage. The nose opens with very pure notes of freshly sliced oranges, yuzu and lemon barley water with hints of white pepper, fresh ginger and lime cordial. The incredibly rich, unctuous sweetness (148 grams per liter of residual sugar) is beautifully marbled with bright, vivacious citrus fruit and spice flavors, while lifted by well-knit freshness, and it finishes with epic length and great depth." 95 Wine Spectator "White peach and lemon peel notes mingle out front in this slightly exotic and very seductive white. A flash of shortbread caresses the finish, allowing white ginger and yellow apple notes to glide in for added range and length. Everything ripples, with finely beaded acidity. Beautiful and distinctive. Drink now through 2028. — JM"

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45% Merlot 37% Cabernet Sauvignon 18% Cabernet Franc Very complex aroma - black ripe cherries, tobacco leaves and cedar wood. The taste is medium long, full with hints of chocolate and dark fruit. The tannin is firm, pleasant. --Libor Finger "Some stewed berries with walnut and light sultana undertones. Chocolate, too. It’s full-bodied with a nice core of fruit and a medium finish. Soft tannins. Try after 2023." (89 pts.) --JamesSuckling.com 

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Beautiful gold colored champagne with plenty of quite fine bubbles. Scent has apple, green apple, citrus and brioche. Taste is balanced, delightful and long. You have green apple with a little baked touch to it. Also citrus, almond and almond. You can enjoy this alone and due to great structure with almost any food you like.  --Ari Weckström

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Bought at a befriended winemaker here in the Provence. Lovely Champagne and excellent value for money! Fresh, nice bottle ageing tones, great acidity, well-integrated dosage. Medium+ intense aromas of white peach, tangerine, pear, lemon zest, white grapefruit, blossom, toast, almond, brioche, wet stone. Dry wine, high acidity, light body, medium+ flavour intensity, medium+ length finish. 12% ABV - €25 @ Chateau Paquette

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🏆92 Tasting notes:... 🚩Dress clarity: ⭐️⭐️ intensity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ color: yellow with green glitter 🚩Nose intensity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ lemon, green apples, cider, butter, spices 🚩Palate sugar: ⭐️ (>15 g/l) alcohol: ⭐️ (12,5%) body: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ tannins: acidity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ lemon, sour green apples, spices, strong perlage aftertaste: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, citruses and rye bread at the end 🚩Bottled: 18.04.2013 (disgorged 07.04.2016) . ⭐️ (min) — ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (max)  --Sergey Filyaev Direct and fresh but with a PN profile. nice lemon, pear, green apple notes. A medium to long finish. 50% PN, 30% PM, 20% Chardonnay. Bubbles are good and intense. --Chaf Smith

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