In the first half of the list we present wines already in our warehouse, largely for drinking now (though many with potential for development too). In the last pages we have also chosen to make a small offer of wines from the splendid 2015 vintage en primeur. To be delivered in 2017, and with some drinking out to beyond 2030, these are clearly wines for the future. It’s wonderful to have a super vintage, the best since 2010, to sing about. If you already have plenty of red Bordeaux for current drinking, skip to page 15 now!

Rereading this list it must be hard for our customers to choose wine, when, as a buyer and writer one reaches for the same limited vocabulary with red wines from this region: vanilla, cedar and coffee for the influence of the oak barrels on the wine; and red and black fruit (with Merlot sometimes tending to the former and Cabernet Sauvignon to the latter). I have tried however to indicate stylistic distinctions; in particular between classic old Bordeaux - restrained, possibly slightly herbaceous or leafy, food-friendly, with a proper tannic structure and moderate alcohol; and what might term the “modern” style of red Bordeaux (in particular among the Merlot-based wines on the right bank), which tend to be more deeply coloured, altogether riper, richer, more powerful, smoother and showier. Apart from that distinction one tends to pay for what one gets in Bordeaux. We taste a very large number of wines to bring you these. Enjoy…

Simon Taylor - August 2016

BORDEAUXFOR NOW AND THE FUTURE

BORDEAUX TASTING(with a few Bordeaux style wines from elsewhere in the world), including 2015 red Bordeaux

Thursday 15th September, 6.30pm-8.30pmVenue: The Café (ground floor - entry by side door), St. John’s House, The Broadway, High Street, Winchester SO23 9BE

Come and taste about 25 to 30 wines from Bordeaux - or in Bordeaux styles from elsewhere in the world: white, red and sweet. In particular we are planning to have some samples of 2015 red Bordeaux offered in our en primeur selection shipped over from France specially for this tasting - so here is your first chance to taste young wines from the lovely 2015 vintage alongside wines from 2009, 2010 and 2012, from both the left and right banks.

£10 to attend this tasting; but there will be 10% off all bottle prices for wines in the tasting on the day - excluding 2015s

Please let us know if you are planning to attend.

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MIXED CASESall offered with a discount of 10% on the individual bottle prices.

CORRECT CLARET CASE £107.90(two bottles of each of six reds)

Code BD116

2012 Château La Grave Pradot, Bordeaux, Cuvée Bellevue (p.5) 2012 Château La Plaige, Bordeaux Supérieur (p.5) 2014 Château Les Gravières de la Brandille, Bordeaux (p.5) 2012 Château Moulin de la Marzelle, Côtes de Bourg (p.6) 2012 Château Beausejour, Fronsac (p.6) 2012 Château Beauregard Ducasse, Graves (p.10)

BORDEAUX TERROIRS £143.25(two bottles of each of two whites and four reds)

Code BD216

2015 Château Les Combes, Bordeaux Blanc (p.4) 2013 Château Beauregard Ducasse, Graves, Cuvée Albertine Peyri (p.4) 2012 Château Clos des Moiselles, Côtes de Bourg (p.6) 2012 Château Les Combes, Lussac-Saint-Emilion (p.6) 2012 Château Beauregard Ducasse, Graves (p.10) 2011 Château Bernardotte, Haut-Médoc, Cru Bourgeois (p.11)

LEFT AND RIGHT CASE £213.75(two bottles of each of six reds, three from the left and three from the right bank)

Code BD316

2012 Château Rocher-Gardat, Montagne Saint-Emilion (p.7) 2012 Château Vieux Pourret, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru (p.8) 2012 Vieux Château Palon, Montagne Saint-Emilion (p.8) 2009 Château Blaignan, Médoc, Cru Bourgeois (p.12) 2009 Château Fourcas Hosten, Listrac-Médoc (p.13) 2010 Château Le Coteau, Margaux (p.13)

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RECENT VINTAGES FOR REDS2006 A good rather than great year, but often excellent on the left bank. Most wines drinking well now.

2007 Oh dear. Heavily rain-affected year. Don’t believe merchants who tell you the 2007s are “supple”, “plump”,“forward” or “charming”: these are wine trade euphemisms for spineless and lacking any sort of real heart. Of course there are some acceptable wines, but best to avoid (like 1977, 1987, and 1997 - a weird cycle).

2008 A good, arguably classic, year, as the wines have tended to be stern and well-structured, though drinking well from now.

2009 A really great year - a perfect summer - and as the wines have wonderfully open and lush fruit they have largely been accessible, opulent and hugely enjoyable young (though - a warning - a few wines appear to be closing up). The only possible downside is the level of alcohol, as the heat pushed up ripeness.

2010 There will be arguments for decades as to whether the 2009 or 2010 is a greater vintage. The 2010s tend to be more classically structured for the long haul than the previous year, but it was another hot summer so they are equally ripe and powerful, and some are also approachable now.

2011 A complicated growing season with heat and drought followed by deluge did not bode well, but an Indian summer meant that quality was rather better than had been anticipated. Many wines are still surly adolescents, often closed on the nose, and with disparate chunks of fruit, acid and tannin swirling around in disharmony. Many are grippy at the moment and need more time. I have some concerns that some winemakers tried a bit too hard in 2011 (trying to match 2009 and 2010?) and as a result some wines are a bit over-extracted. But there are certainly some fine examples around, fresh and classically structured.

2012 Another year of erratic weather, saved by ten weeks of sunshine from mid July, but ending in drizzle and rain, means that wines based on Merlot (and thus wines from the right bank) are generally a better bet than those reliant on the later ripening Cabernet Sauvignon. I like this vintage. At a big tasting held in April 2015 of wines from Grand Cru Classé Chateaux, mainly in the 2011 to 2013 vintages, almost all my favourite wines were 2012s. There’s very pretty red fruit in a lot of the wines, plus moderate tannin, acidity and alcohol, and not just in the earlier-maturing right bank Merlots either. It’s not a blockbuster year, but I think 2012s will give a lot of pleasure, unlike...

2013 Don’t. Don’t buy or drink anything from rain-affected 2013. There is so much wine produced in Bordeaux that you just don’t have to. Don’t listen to merchants who have had to buy the wines in order to keep their allocations for better years. Don’t believe oleaginous sommeliers who will sing its praises because they will be buying it cheap. The wines are like 2007, often superficially pleasant - with tarty noses and upfront fruit - but hollow, flabby and insubstantial behind. Remember, just don’t - this is free, palate-saving advice.

2014 Until 2015 came along, 2014 was the best vintage for reds since 2010. An early bud-break and promising spring was followed by a damp June and July. However the vintage was saved by a brilliantly sunny and dry August and September, enabling a ripe and healthy crop to be picked.

2015 See pages 15-16.

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BORDEAUX FOR NOWall wines available for immediate delivery

DRY WHITEDry white Bordeaux is so enjoyable and under-valued: the unoaked examples with a high proportion of Sauvignon Blanc taste riper and weightier than wines from the Loire at the same price; and the oaked wines based more on Semillon with a little Sauvignon likewise offer a really fascinating alternative to white Burgundy.

2015 Château Les Combes, Bordeaux Blanc, Sauvignon – Sémillon, 12.5%Bottle £9.95 Case £113.42 Code GRC615

Including 20% Sémillon this vintage, making this wine fatter, more complex and less Loire-like than usual. Pear and gooseberry, ripe and rich. As ever, good value for a wine of such vigour and class. Now-2017

2013 Château Beauregard Ducasse, Graves, Cuvée Albertine Peyri, 13% Bottle £14.95 Case £170.43 Code BDU113

M. Perromat at Beauregard Ducasse only bottles 1,000 cases of this top white, named after the former owner of the vineyard, from about 60% Semillon and 40% Sauvignon, all in new oak. We ship this wine most vintages. This offer a wonderful mouthful of lime fruit with cream, beeswax and honey. Currently fresh and youthful, it’s a wine which ages well too, becoming yet more honeyed and complex. Now-2020

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BORDEAUX & BORDEAUX SUPÉRIEURThis appellation is for wines from a wide area around the city of Bordeaux: notably the region called Entre-Deux-Mers, i.e. between the Garonne and Dordogne rivers; and also extending some distance to the north-east of Bordeaux itself.

2012 Château La Grave Pradot, Bordeaux, Cuvée Bellevue, 12.5% Bottle £7.50 Case £85.50 Code LGP112

Made by the Bouthinon family at Nérigean, just south of Libourne, this is a pretty blend based on 70% Merlot, with 15% each of Cabernets Franc and Sauvignon. Quite a high average age to the vines brings good texture for a wine at this price. Mid purple. Gently savoury nose - and that continues on to the palate, which is dominated by black fruit. Well-rounded, with some pleasant concentration, this is drinking well. Now-2017

“A mainly Merlot, fruit-forward claret from a topsy-turvy vintage whose smouldering, seductive, gamey, cedar and tobacco-scented oomph is perfect with a rib of rosy pink beef”, Jane MacQuitty, The Times, 50 best red wines for winter, 21st November 2015

2012 Château La Plaige, Bordeaux Supérieur, 13.5%Bottle £9.50 Case £108.30 Code PLA112

Regular customers will now recognize what pleasure there is in the charmingly labelled bottles of La Plaige. This blend of 40% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Cabernet Franc is unfailingly good, and after we finish with this vintage we will move on to the excellent 2014. Friendly raspberry nose. Supple, aromatic and red-fruited, with a little structure, this is a wine with a definite beginning, middle and end - a really correct claret. Now-2018

2014 Château Les Gravières de la Brandille, Bordeaux, 13%Bottle £10.50 Case £119.70 Code GRC114

Frédéric Borderie’s principal wine, 2/3 Merlot with about equal portions of Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc, basically unoaked (a couple of barrels go into the blend). Fred didn’t produce his top Cuvée Prestige (see below) in 2014, so all his best fruit went into this wine. Ripe and friendly scent. The immediate impression is of attractive juiciness, alongside just a little tannin. As ever, an excellent generic unoaked Bordeaux. Now-2018

2012 Château Les Gravières de la Brandille, Cuvée Prestige, Bordeaux Supérieur, 13.5% Bottle £13.95 Case £159.03 GRC312

From 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, and a selection of older vines on prime gravel and clay soils, this has spent 12 months in oak barrels, about 25% new. This is always superb, and is often chosen both by our customers ahead of more prestigious names, and by French critics as one of the very best Bordeaux Supérieurs. Strong ruby. Vanilla oak notes before a velvet-textured, concentrated palate with fine-grained tannins. A touch of spice. Decant and tell your friends it’s the second wine of a classed growth! Now-2022

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THE RIGHT BANKThe “Right Bank” is an old-fashioned term for wines from east of the city and the estuary of the Gironde, around Libourne and to the north of the river Dordogne. Here Merlot is the dominant grape, supported first by Cabernet Franc and only a little Cabernet Sauvignon on the whole. Merlot ripens earlier and more easily than Cabernet Sauvignon, enabling higher yields (and thus a lower bottle cost); it is more suited to the clay and limestone sites of the right bank; and the resultant wine, often attractively red-fruited, is softer and plumper, enabling it to be enjoyed younger than wines based on the more structured and tannic, black-fruited Cabernet Sauvignon.

We are particularly struck by the quality coming out of what are known at the Saint-Emilion satellites: in particular Lussac and Montagne Saint-Emilion. The latter has many vineyards on the same calcaires à astéries, limestone marked by starfish fossils, as the famed plateau of Saint-Emilion itself. The hillside vineyards here represent a much finer terroir than the boringly flat, sandy-soiled plain on which much basic Saint-Emilion is produced.

2012 Château Moulin de la Marzelle, Côtes de Bourg, 12.5%Bottle £8.50 Case £96.90 Code MLM112

The Côtes de Bourg is on the right bank, directly across the river from Margaux. This is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. Black and red fruit aromas accurately preface ripe strawberry and blackberry flavours, with a discreet underpinning of tannin and spice. Surprising concentration for the price. Now-2017

2012 Château Beausejour, Fronsac, 13.5% Bottle £10.95 Case £124.83 Code BEA112

The latest vintage of an old favourite; 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc from a fifth generation family-owned estate above the Dordogne river. Lively aromas of black fruit wih a little fresh mint. Midweight, fresh and very lightly herbaceous, a very traditional claret. Now-2017

2012 Château Clos des Moiselles, Côtes de Bourg, 14%Bottle £12.95 Case £147.63 Code CDM112

This big and bold wine, based on 45% each of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with a little Malbec, is now really coming into its own. The estate is owned by Oswaldo Hernandez, a Venezuelan winemaker who has worked at Chateau D’Agassac and Chateau Bonnet. Flamboyant, youthful aroma. Fleshy and luscious but not over-ripe. Dense, with a proper structure - best decanted to serve now. Now-2021

2012 Château Les Combes, Lussac-Saint-Emilion, 13.5%Bottle £13.50 Case £153.90 Code GRC412

From vineyards on well-drained, stony limestone soils, amongst the highest in the appellation.

Lifted fragrance of raspberries with cinnamon. Cooked but fresh red fruits, strawberries in particular. This is supple and aromatic, already mellowing and making very attractive drinking. Now-2019

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2011 Château Rocher-Figeac, Saint-Emilion, 12.5%Bottle £13.95 Case £159.03 Code ROF111

From 4 hectares owned by the Tournier family, this 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc wine is hand harvested, traditionally vinified, and matured in 25% new oak for 6 months. Really inviting and classy nose for a wine at this price: black fruits backed by tobacco notes. Such a rounded and generously fleshy palate of ripe, soft cassis and dark cherries. Mildly chocolatey. Long and refined finish. Now-2019

2012 Château Rocher-Gardat, Montagne Saint-Emilion, 13.5%Bottle £15.50 Case £176.70 Code ROG112 Magnum £32.75 Case (6 x 150cl.) £186.68 Code ROG912

Mickael Moze-Berthon makes wonderful wine at his cellar in the tiny hamlet of Bertin, north of Saint-Emilion. His principal wine (see below for his Pomerol and pages 17 & 18 for his 2015s) is his Montagne Saint-Emilion. We sold many cases of his splendid 2010, and have now moved on to his 2012 vintage, from 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc grown on his seven hectares of vines on thinly-soiled, argilo-calcaire slopes. Aromas of red fruit with an incipient meaty / savoury hint. That lovely red fruit follows on the palate, strawberryish and, as Mickael says “croquants”, an adjective which implies bright and refreshing. This is perfectly smooth and harmonious, juicy and appetising, with melting red fruit returning on the finish. Hats off! Now-2020

2011 Clos l’Hermitage, Lalande de Pomerol, 14%Bottle £17.95 Case £204.63 Code CLH111

The Bertin family have been involved with winemaking in the Bordeaux region since 1742 and currently steward this estate of 3.1 hectares, planted to 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. This displays an attractive perfume of lifted fruit and floral notes which follows through on a smooth and curvaceous palate. With the oak now well integrated and a long finish, this is showing very well now. Now-2021

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2011 Château Louvie, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, 15%Bottle £18.50 Case £210.90 Code LOV111

A small production wine - just a thousand cases made - 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc from 40 year old vines grown on sandy soils near Saint Laurent des Combes. Bright, even ruby robe. Lifted, baked blackcurrant nose. Really ripe cassis fruit with mocha, smooth and lush but crunchily fresh too. Flamboyant, modern style, with high extraction and high alcohol. Now-2021

2012 Château Vieux Pourret, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, 13.5%Bottle £19.95 Case £227.43 Code VIP112 Magnum £41.00 Case (6 x 150cl.) £233.70 Code VIP912

This estate was new to me, but it’s clearly quite special: first it’s small, at just 6 hectares; more important, it’s farmed biodynamically and has recently received certification from Demeter (the first in Saint-Emilion); and it’s run by a woman, Sylvie Richert-Boutet. But watch this Château; this blend of 80% Merlot with Cabernet Franc and a little Cabernet Sauvignon is a very complete wine. That lovely smart Merlot scent - compounded of red fruit with coffee and cigar box - is followed by a deliciously supple and aromatic mouthful of red berries, with nuances of cedar and tobacco. Showing featherlight tannins, this is already giving a lot of pleasure. Now-2022

2012 Vieux Château Palon, Montagne Saint-Emilion, 14.5% Bottle £21.95 Case £250.23 Code VCP112

Gregory Naulet, a viticulturalist by training, bought a 5 hectare estate, built a tiny, spotless, air-conditioned cellar and began bottling his own wine with the 2000 vintage. Soils on his hillside vineyards are mixed, with the parcel of Cabernet Franc on a plateau of clay, limestone and sand, whilst the Merlot is on very ferruginous soils. His vines have a high average age of about 40 years. The single wine he makes, from 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc, goes into 4/5 new oak barrels and 1/5 second fill. Gregory’s winemaking consultant is the esteemed Hubert de Boüard of Château Angélus. Gregory felt 2012 was a “très beau millésime”. This wine has been hugely acclaimed, winning no less than four gold medals at the Concours (Bordeaux, Paris, Bourg and Brussels), plus a Coup de Coeur in the 2016 Guide Hachette.

Very deep colour. Fresh blackcurrant nose. Very concentrated and textured, with a heart of cassis and blackcurrant pastilles with hints of coffee and liquorice. Lush but also lively. Classic right-bank example, and very classy. It’s clear this is being much enjoyed by our customers already, but it’s getting better and better. Now-2023

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2012 Château Aiguilhe, Castillon, Côtes de Bordeaux, 14.5%Bottle £25.00 Case £285.00 Code AIG112

Formerly known as Côtes de Castillon, this appellation east of Libourne has shown great potential over the last decade, with several ambitious wines being made from south facing vineyards on the hills above the Dordogne river. Aiguilhe is one of the prestigious group of Chateaux (including Clos de l’Oratoire, Canon La Gaffelière and La Mondotte) owned by Count Stephan von Neipperg and Magali Malet-Serres, and has benefited from huge investment since its purchase in 1998.

With 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, cropped very low at 25 hectolitres per hectare, and aged in 50% new barrels, this is very much styled in the modern Saint-Emilion Grand Cru idiom. Very deep core with vibrant rim in the glass. Classy oak and cigar box aromatics, with cassis. Deliciously lush fruit, concentrated essence of blackcurrants, with splendid texture and freshness. Obviously youthful but very polished and already gives huge pleasure. Now-2023

“Very flashy and extravagantly ripe nose.... Lovely sweet, glossy palate entry. Well balanced, not too sweet. Finishes dry after an opulent start. Lots of energy. 16.5/20. 2016-2024”, Jancis Robinson, www.jancisrobinson.com, Bordeaux 2012, 19th September 2013.

2012 Château Gouprie, Pomerol, 13.5%Bottle £29.50 Case £336.30 Code GOU112

This Pomerol is from the Moze-Berthon’s holdings on one gentle, east-facing plot where the clay and gravelly soils also contain iron oxide. 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc, half in new barrels, half second fill.

Dense tone. The aroma shows a cooked fruit, liqueur richness; exactly consistent with an intense, sumptuous gush of red and black fruit flavoured with hints of figs and dates. This builds on the palate, velvety and polished but without being in the least heavy. Perfect for roast beef. Now-2023

2010 Haut Faugères, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, 14.5%Bottle £30.50 Case £347.70 Code HAF110

This is a wine we have been following for years. It’s the second wine - beautifully presented - of Château Faugères, which has benefited from major investment (the new cellar, designed by Mario Botta, is breathtaking) from parfumier Silvio Denz. In 2012 Château Faugères was promoted from Grand Cru to Grand Cru Classé, recognition for the dramatic improvement in the wines here. From 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is in a modern style, showing very ripe cassis on the nose, alongside savoury notes and smart oak. There’s splendid volume and richness, with a core of ripe, bittersweet black fruit enlivened by exotic spice, coffee and earthy depths. Now-2023

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GRAVES AND PESSAC-LÉOGNANThese two appellations make up the southern end of the left bank vineyards. The vineyards of the northern part of Pessac-Léognan have, in large part, been swallowed up by the growth of the city of Bordeaux - a few historic, highly valued estates such as Haut-Brion have resisted urbanisation but are now surrounded by housing. As in the Médoc, the land is distinguished by layers of gravels (hence the “Graves” name).

2012 Château Beauregard Ducasse, Graves, 13.5% Bottle £12.75 Case £145.35 Code BDU812

Jacques Perromat’s sixth generation family estate lies at Mazères near Langon at the very southern end of the Graves, with about 50 hectares of gravelly vineyards on limestone sub-soils hacked out of the surrounding forest from 1850. This is his principal red, based on Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with a little Cabernet Franc. It’s a wine which expresses the vintage perfectly, with its pretty red fruit, but it has a little structure and restrained Graves character too. Cooked berried aromas with coffee. Prettily red-fruited, excellent aromatics, just a tiny touch leafy with supple tannins. Very correct and already delivers. Now-2018

“Dark cherry red. Smells leafy and mineral, as if it had a good dose of Cabernet Franc though in fact it is 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and only 10% Cabernet Franc. But is has the scent of Graves that lifts the freshness. This is the sort of bordeaux that I want to promote - classically styled but with the harmony of dark fruit and freshness. For drinking rather than admiring, and with the dry fine tannins that will make it a good wine for the table. GV, 16/20”, Julia Harding, MW on www.jancisrobinson.com, 10th December 2015

2010 Château Le Bruilleau, Pessac-Léognan, 14.5% Bottle £19.95 Case £227.43 Code BRU110

The Bedicheau family own a little over 10 hectares south of the city of Bordeaux in Pessac-Léognan, an appellation created in 1987 to cover the best properties of the heterogeneous Graves region. The red wine here is from almost equal parts of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, aged 12 months in 25% new oak barrels. An expansive nose: hedgerow fruits, vanilla, plus more evolved notes; then an elegant mouthful of ripe blackcurrants checked by a textbook gravelly note. At once both structured and showy. Now-2021

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THE MÉDOCWe are looking now at the thin strip of vineyards, some 70 kms long and 8 kms wide, stretching south from near the Atlantic mouth of the Gironde, along the left, west, bank via the Haut Médoc and the grand communes of St-Estèphe, Pauillac, St Julien and Margaux, to the northern suburbs of the city of Bordeaux itself. This is an unusual landscape, basically flat, with gentle rises signifying a greater depth of the gravel deposits which lie between the encroaching sands of Les Landes and the estuary. Our less expensive wines come from the north of the region, where the wines have true character but lack the finesse and breed of the top villages. Barring a few tiny spots of Burgundy, the central sector, very near the river, includes the grandest and most expensive vineyard land on the planet. Trying to find value here (which is what, after all, we do) is not always easy, but there are, for the moment at least, little family-owned enclaves like Deyrem-Valentin and Le Coteau in Margaux which offer authenticity without the need to take out a second mortgage: buy their wines and celebrate their independence or their vineyards will simply be subsumed into the land of some more famous neighbour enjoying the advantage of a classification from 1855.

2011 Château Bernardotte, Haut-Médoc, Cru Bourgeois, 13%Bottle £15.50 Case £176.70 Code BER111

Bernardotte has a distinguished recent history: bought in 1997 by Madame de Lencquesaing, owner of Pichon Lalande, it then became part of the Louis Roederer stable in 2007 before being sold in 2013 to an Asian investor. This vintage, still very young, is from 63% Cabernet, 35% Merlot with spoonfuls of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Overt mocha oak aromas - and that coffee toastiness continues to flavour a rich, powerful and bittersweet palate of polished black fruit. A concentrated wine crafted in a modern vein, and good value. Now-2022

2010 Château Pierre de Montignac, Médoc, Cru Bourgeois, 14%Bottle £15.50 Case £176.70 Code PDM110

This is a classic left bank blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. A rich, attractively dense but smooth mouthful of blackcurrants and blackberries, really ripe, and spiced with vanilla and cinnamon. This is drinking very well now but it will certainly keep for another few years. The wine earned a silver medal in the 2012 Paris Concours, was deemed worthy of the Cru Bourgeois classification in August 2012, and was rated 16+/20 on www.jancisrobinson.com in October. Robert Parker’s English reviewer, Neil Martin, scored it 90/100 in his Wine Journal on www.erobertparker.com and described it thus: “The Pierre de Montignac has a nice healthy deep garnet colour. The nose is open and generous with plenty of dark plum and blackberry fruit with hints of brine emerging with time in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with juicy ripe black fruit with cedar and graphite. This has good structure, plenty of fresh acidity and a crisp lively finish. This is the kind of wine that gives the Cru Bourgeois a good name. Tasted November 2012”. Now-2019

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2010 Tours de Charmail, Haut-Médoc, 13.5% Bottle £15.95 Case £181.83 Code TDC110

The second wine of Château Charmail, whose vineyards lie in a single parcel high enough and close enough to be within sight of the Gironde. Mature aromas of red and black fruits. This is at a lovely stage of development, just on the turn between primary fruit and maturity. Black plums and blackberries, touch of lead pencil, smooth, harmonious and long. “Great value for Left Bank bargain hunters, this is made from younger vines. Fresh and juicy displaying notes of blackcurrant and blackberry with elegant tannins. Very approachable. Drink now-2018.17.25 (90+)”, Bordeaux Everyday in Decanter, July 2015. Now-2019 Limited stock

2009 Château Blaignan, Médoc, Cru Bourgeois, 14%Bottle £16.95 Case £193.23 Code BLB109

Blaignan comprises an impressive 97 hectares of vines in one block on clay/limestone soils: 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc. Gutsy, ripe and strongly black-fruited: youthful and vigorous, with decent structure for keeping. “This estate is planted with both Cabernets and Merlot. Medium-weight, with firm tannins, ripe cherry and cassis fruit, and an elegant finish. Drink now-2018. Alc 14% 17.25 (90+)”, Christelle Guibert in Bordeaux Everyday, Decanter, July 2015. Now-2020.

2010 Château Martin, St. Estephe, Cuvée La Péseille, 13% Bottle £18.95 Case £216.03 Code MLP110

This cracking Bordeaux exemplifies why we like second wines so much: they tend to have all the pedigree and personality of top estates at a much lower price and are obligingly forward and enjoyable sooner. This is the second wine of Chateau Martin, a small estate of just 16 hectares, from 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Petit Verdot.

Classy aromas: coffee and savoury hints over black fruit. Not a blockbuster, but elegant, with fine tannins. There’s an appealingly fat and concentrated mid-palate, and, as befits a St Estèphe, this tastes like it comes from somewhere interesting. Now-2021

2006 Saint-Julien, 12.5%Bottle £19.95 Case £227.43 Code STJ106

This is one of those mysteriously anonymous bottlings which one can sometimes find in the warehouses of the Bordeaux négoçiants. The clues are on the back label: try putting ”Ch L” of French post code 33250 into Google and you come up with two. Well, you aren’t getting a wine from Château Lafitte at under £20 so it must be the other one….you work it out. Anyway, you are getting a wine bottled at a third growth property.

This is a classic claret, from halves of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, of (now rare) just 12.5% alcohol, value and wears its pedigree well. Lovely development on the nose. All aromatics and elegance, supple, showing gentle black fruit, Christmas cake spice and cedar. Good value and wears its pedigree well. Now-2019 Limited stock

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2009 Château Fourcas Hosten, Listrac-Médoc, 13%Bottle £21.95 Case £250.23 Code FOH109

This large (47 hectare) property, generally considered the finest in Listrac, was bought in 2006 by the Mommeja brothers of the Hermès fashion family. It’s always a reliable source, but there’s no doubt the 2009 was a notable success, reflecting the investment put in by the new owners.

The Château announced the blend as 68% Merlot and 32% Cabernet Sauvignon. Still youthful, primary fruit scent with oak. Powerful and intense, offering overt, plush fruit over a correct structure, this is terrific. We were so pleased to be shown this, especially once we negotiated a price less than the release price of the Château’s 2015 vintage! Now-2021

“Dark crimson. Low-key but quite intriguing nose. Full and firm and dramatic. Really nicely balanced. Polished tannins. Appetising. Seems like the sort of wine that should be a pleasure to drink all its life. The best Fourcas Hosten I can remember tasting. Is this down to the new owners or the vintage? 17/20”, Jancis Robinson MW, www.jancisrobinson.com, 30th March 2010

2010 Château Le Coteau, Margaux, 13% Bottle £22.50 Case £256.50 Code CLC110

Eric Leglise works one of the last family owned estates in Margaux, his parcels of vines in the commune of Arsac surrounded by vineyards belonging to grand names such as Giscours, Rauzan-Segla and d’Issan. His land just didn’t get noticed in the 1855 classification, so his Margaux, though from identical terroir to his neighbours, sells for so much less.

Youthful colour. Clean, forward, primary aromas. Light, pretty and raspberryish. A lovely, traditionally styled claret, just 13% of alcohol, and from a classic left bank blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 8% Cab. Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, aged in 1/3 new barrels. Supple, beautifully balanced and fragrant - and already drinking well. Now-2022

2012 Château Deyrem-Valentin, Margaux, 13.5% Bottle £24.95 Case £284.43 Code DEY112

Cru Bourgeois Deyrem-Valentin, an estate in the north of the commune run by Jean Sorge with his two daughters, isn’t well-known: an annual production of just 6,000 cases is very modest indeed by Bordeaux standards. 50% Merlot, 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, plus 1% each of Petit Verdot and Carmenère, into barrels renewed every three years. We have been following their wines since the 2004 vintage.

This is quite a masculine style of Margaux. Deep tone. Intense black fruit. Ripe, rounded and supple. Coulis of black fruits, textured but not heavy at all, with a graphite note. Early days. Now-2025

“Moderate black fruit which is rapidly outflanked by tannin on the palate. Has enough purity and intensity to age well though. 2017-24 16.5+/20”, Richard Hemming, reviewing Crus Bourgeois 2012s on www.jancisrobinson.com, 10th November 2014.

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SWEET WINESWhat is the essence of Sauternes? Sauternes should be a very rich sweet wine from late-picked grapes marked by botrytis cinerea, the noble rot which thrives in the autumn mists of the nearby Garonne River. This fungus both concentrates the juice (and thus sweetness) in the grape and adds its own individual flavour. Ageing in oak barrels also brings out caramel notes. We also look to Monbazillac, far to the east, for value. 2010 and 2011 were successful vintage in Sauternes - lots of botrytis but good acidity for freshness too. A note: please don’t serve any of these wines with anything but the lightest and least sweet puddings - they are much better enjoyed with cheese or simply instead of a fattening dessert!

2011 La Haute Borie, Monbazillac, 12.5% Bottle £12.50 Case £142.50 Code HBO111This bottle would cost a lot more if it had Sauternes on the label. It’s a blend of 60% Semillon, 30% Muscadelle and 10% Sauvignon Blanc, all from old vines, and 1/3 in barrel. Mid gold.  Lovely fresh cocktail of lemon and lime meringue: not sweet enough to serve with pudding but very appetizing, for example with blue cheese. Now-2019

2012 Promesse de Rabaud-Promis, Sauternes, 12.5% [37.5cl.]Half bottle £9.95 Case [12 x 37.5cl.] £113.43 Code PRP112The second wine - from the estate’s younger vines - at this 1er Cru Classé property in Sauternes. 80% Sémillon and 20% Sauvignon. Lovely rich palate of pineapple and stone fruit but with excellent freshness. Now-2020

2010 Mascaron, Sauternes, 13% [50cl.]Bottle [50cl.] £14.50 Case [12 x 50cl.] £165.30 Code MPG21090% Sémillon, 6% Sauvignon Blanc, 4% Muscadelle skillfully sourced from a well known Cru Classé property by the negociant house of Ginestet. Attractive pale gold. Aromas of honey and peaches with a more tropical hint. Well balanced sweetness, with a good level of botrytis, and ripe stone fruit with gingerbread and honey. Good value, fully sweet and rich pudding wine. Now-2020

2011 Les Carmes de Rieussec, Sauternes, 13.5%  Bottle £24.95 Case £284.43 Code CMR111The second wine of Château Rieussec, named after the Carmes de Langon monks who owned the estate in the 18th century. This is the third vintage we have shipped of this blend of 85% Semillon, 10% Sauvignon Blanc and a little Muscadelle: we like its moderate oak, splendid richness and general approachability. Scent of preserved lemons and barley sugar. Very sweet, very concentrated, all oranges and caramel. Very luscious, smooth and fat. Now-2022

2010 Rieussec, Sauternes, 14%  Bottle £34.50 Case £393.30 Code RIE110One of the top ten wines of a super vintage in Sauternes. “Scented and very vibrant with a real unctuousness that recalls Climens. Very sweet but with interesting layers of flavour. Intriguing wine! Lots of to chew on. Real grip. 18.5/20”, Jancis Robinson, www.jancisrobinson.com, 7th February 2014. Limited stock

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BORDEAUX FOR THE FUTURE2015 red Bordeaux en primeurLast winter, when the quality of the 2015 red Bordeaux vintage was already becoming apparent, we planned our first major offering of Bordeaux en primeur, (i.e. for wines lying in barrel in France and not to be even bottled for another year). We did all the travel and tasting, we reserved shedloads of wine - but made those reservations dependent on a remain vote. We sense that the consumer mood may have changed over the last month, so here is a distilled version of the larger offer we planned. Here, in short, is our pick of our pick, a very carefully edited selection of the wines which match our quality/value demands, the wines which just stood out from their peers, and the very wines we may buy for ourselves to drink.

Attending the mad whirl which is the primeurs week in Bordeaux was a first for me. There are dozens of tastings going on every day: at the Châteaux themselves; held by any number of associations such as or Le Grand Cercle des Vins de Bordeaux; tastings of organic wines; umbrella tastings organised by the consultants such as Hubert de Bouard or Stephane Derenoncourt for all the estates they and their large teams advise (there were over 60 at de Bouard’s tasting at Angelus); and tastings at the négoçiants, the businesses with great holdings of Bordeaux stock. There is a frenzy to it - can one fit in yet another tasting? - and snobbery too. For example, the grandest will only present their wines at their own Châteaux, and strictly by select invitation. Secondly, in the early spring I heard about a big tasting of classed growths held by the Union des Grand Crus to be held on Monday at the new football stadium. As this is 10 minutes from Bordeaux airport, I thought it would be a good opportunity to immediately get an overview of the vintage - and it was, with a chance to chat to many Châteaux owners. But was it difficult to find out about (it wasn’t mentioned on the Union’s own website) and get into: one had to be accompanied by a négoçiant and booked into a two hour time slot. Surprise, surprise, the event was managed so discreetly that there was hardly anyone attending - a bit like the empty stadium itself! 

So why did I go, when we at SVS have never previously made an en primeur Bordeaux offer?  First, to state the obvious, it’s a fine vintage. Second, and more important, I wanted to benchmark the wines from some of the vignerons we work closely with and Châteaux we follow against higher classed and much more expensive names. For example, on the right bank it was really exciting to see that the 2015s I tasted from our young(ish) stars like Frederic Borderie at Gravieres de la Brandille and Chateau Les Combes, Mickael Moze-Berthon and Gregory Naulet at Vieux Chateau Palon stood up really well against many more famous and expensive Saint-Emilion Grand Crus.

Now I suppose you want to know if it’s a great red vintage? Well, it’s certainly a very good year, and some wines are great, but the wines are not homogenous. I won’t bore you with a lengthy exposition on the weather, but after a perfect bud-break in early April, a rapid and easy flowering in mid May and a very hot midsummer it rained a lot from August to October, especially in the northern Médoc.  So vineyard management and the choice of picking dates were not easy. Some wines in the northern Médoc did appear a little dilute, but on the other hand many others felt more balanced and promising than some wines on the right bank where the fruit at times seemed a little figgy and over-ripe. So it’s very difficult to make generalisations. 2015 is not 2009 or 2010, when one could buy anything with confidence. (An aside: I do have one specific concern.  In the summer heat of July and early August I think

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some winemakers decided that this was another 1982 or 2009, that they had a “great” vintage on their hands, and they were determined to make the most of it. They then had to wait for the Cabernets to ripen, especially on the left bank, and in some cases the fruit, left to hang too long, lacked freshness.  But some, still in pursuit of that anticipated greatness, over-extracted as well, compounding the problem. One could spot immediately those overdone examples: with inkily flat hue, a lack of perfume, crushing tannins and a total absence of aromatics). 

In terms of which zones performed best, the rain which marred mid September was very variable - but much higher in the Northern Médoc than in Margaux, Pessac-Léognan, Graves or to the east. There is no doubt that this is a great vintage on the right bank (incorporating Saint-Emilion and its Montagne- and Lussac- satellites, plus Pomerol and Lalande de Pomerol), where Merlot of great ripeness, concentration and freshness was harvested. But, as one can see from the reviews below, there were plenty of cracking wines produced on the left bank too.

2015 is certainly the best vintage since 2010. It continues the tradition of very good to great vintages being divisible by 5 (1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010). At best the wines have an intensity which matches any top year. Frederic Borderie compared the year to a cross between 2003 and 2009: he actually welcomed the August thunderstorms as they revived heat-stressed vines. The resultant wines are, on the whole concentrated but not massive (they will not have to be stored for years before drinking) with moderate tannins and acidity and, most important, a really appealing, forward ripeness. Most commentators have remarked on the obvious drinkability of the wines.

Should one buy? Prices have increased over 2014 - in some cases, annoyingly, by up to 30% if a wine was particularly well-reviewed. But the wines we are offering are priced at a much more favourable exchange rate than today’s rate, and given few believe the pound will rebound for some time, then they should represent excellent value. (Do remember also that at the release of the 2009 and 2010 vintages the pound only bought around 1.15 euros). Where we have negotiated special prices with vignerons (such as Fred Borderie at Gravières de la Brandille and Les Combes or Mickael Moze-Berthon of Rocher Gardat and Vieux Chantecaille) who are normally outside the en primeur system, value can be outstanding. So my answer to my rhetorical question is a resounding yes!

How sales ‘en primeur’ work. You choose the wines you want to buy now and we will invoice you at the prices quoted. Effectively you are buying the wine overseas before it has been bottled. We will then invoice you for duty at the prevailing rate (currently £25.00 per case, but very likely to increase) plus VAT (currently 20%), on the cost of the wine and the duty, when it is shipped from the summer of 2017. As an example, if you buy a case of wine now for £150, then assuming import duty and VAT remain constant, we will later invoice you for £60.00 prior to sending you your wine. Prices are valid until the end of October 2016.

Terms and conditions. Wine is only offered in unsplit cases of 6 bottles or 12 bottles as stated. Please note that wine will NOT be available in bond. To enable us to be as competitive as possible we ship all wine to our own warehouse, duty paid. We will then deliver it on to you or to your preferred place of storage at our standard delivery charge of £5.95 per case for orders under £150, or free above £150 (including the duty and VAT). For Highlands, Islands and Northern Ireland please ask us for a quote. Finally, whilst we make every effort to supply the wines listed below, if the wines fail to be made available we will either offer to supply similar wines or alternatively refund any payments made.

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The wines are listed in increasing price order. Note carefully if wines are sold by 12s or 6s. As stated above, all prices are exclusive of duty and VAT and wine will be delivered from the summer of 2017 onwards.

2015 Château Les Combes, Lussac-Saint-Emilion£72 for 12 Code GRC415

From one 4.8 hectare plot with thin soils over limestone, among the highest in the appellation. 100% Merlot. Frederic Borderie saluted the terrific quality of his Merlot in this vintage, so ripe and exuberant. In this delicious unoaked wine the fruit is delectably “confit”, pretty and energetic. There are some excellent tannins there too - this will keep too. 2017-2023

2015 Château Les Gravières de la Brandille, Cuvée Prestige, Bordeaux Supérieur£78 for 12 Code GRC315

Made by Frederic Borderie from his oldest vines on gravelly terraces near the river L’Isle, 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernets. The perfume shows some attractive spice. Very, very rich - positively mouth-coating, rare in a wine at this price. A big, powerful wine, likely to come in at over 14.5%, with terrific red fruit. 2018-2024

2015 Château Pierre de Montignac, Médoc£87 for 12 Code PDM115

Almost certainly a Cru Bourgeois, but technically this has to be confirmed at a later blind tasting. From an estate run by José and Lucette Sallette and their son Romain, this is composed of about 45% of each of Cabernet and Merlot with a little Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Showing lots of coffee-scented oak on the nose this is concentrated, well-extracted, and, at the moment, pretty tannic, showing dense black fruit. It will reward keeping: it’s very much in the masculine vein of the excellent 2009 and 2010 vintages we have been selling. 2019-2024

2015 Château Rocher-Gardat, Montagne Saint-Emilion,£90 for 12 Code ROG115

See above (p. ) for details of Mickael Moze-Berthon. 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc in 30% new barrels. This had a slightly wild and refreshing scent, showing raspberries and black cherries. At the moment it is indeed a little untogether, raw and with lots of energy. Very promising. 2019-2025

2015 Clos l’Hermitage, Lalande de Pomerol£105 for 12 Code CLH115

The Bertin family own just 3.1 hectares in Lalande de Pomerol, planted to 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. This was really well put together, offering fine blackberry and blackcurrant flavours (with just a charming hint of dried fruit), backed up by a correct tannic structure. 2018-2023

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2015 Château Perron, Lalande de Pomerol£120 for 12 Code PEQ115We have tasted a few vintages of Perron now, but this is the first we have bought, encouraged by the fact that the Massonie family, third generation owners, kept their prices flat on 2014. They own 22.5 hectares in Lalande de Pomoerol, planted to 80% Merlot and 10% each of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon, with a high average age of the vines at 65 years old. Charming perfume of fresh red berries. Silky and refined, not that concentrated but all in harmony. Cool red and black fruit. Showing less oak than most 2015s (just 20% new barrels), this will give a lot of pleasure quite soon. 2018-2023

2015 Vieux Chantecaille, Saint-Emilion£141 for 12 Code VCH11580% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, made by Mickael Moze-Berthon of Rocher Gardat. Mickael has only 1¼ hectares of land within the Saint-Emilion Grand Cru boundary, just across the road from the famed Pomerol property of Le Bon Pasteur, but as his cellar is outside the limits of the St Emilion Grand Cru appellation he can only sell it as Saint-Emilion - this is one, frankly absurd, recent adjustment of local bureaucracy. Effectively he is delivering wine from a Grand Cru terroir at a modest price. Really classy black fruit scent. Cool black fruit, very harmonious, with a gentle sense of mint. Smooth and balanced, this should drink well fairly young. 2019-2026US critic James Suckling: 92-93/100. “Full and rich with blackberry, salt and chocolate aromas and flavours. Full body, ripe tannins and clean and long finish”.

2015 Vieux Château Palon, Montagne Saint-Emilion£156 for 12 Wooden case Code VCP115Young Gregory Naulet has done it again. About 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc in this vintage, going into about 70% new oak, Gregory’s only wine stood up very well against much more more expensive Saint-Emilion Grand Crus when shown alongside them at consultant Hubert de Bouard’s tasting held at L’Angelus. Lots of smart oak (and even a hint of mint?) on the nose. Intense, bittersweet black fruit, very textured, fresh and exciting. Just a twist of liquorice. Splendid blackcurrant note on a very long finish. 2018-2024Scored by James Suckling at 92-93/100 and 90-92 by Englishman Neil Martin of The Wine Advocate: “Modern in style, well-crafted and long, this is a delicious Montagne Saint-Emilion”.

2015 Château Deyrem-Valentin, Margaux£165 for 12 Wooden case Code DEY115All commentators agree the wines of Margaux were the most successful of all Médoc communes. See p.13 above for our enthusiasm for the fairly priced wines of the Sorge family. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. Superb deep hue. Lifted perfume with floral notes. Pure red fruits backed by a proper spine of fine tannins. Very long and aromatic. Is this even better than their marvellous 2010? 2020-2026“Exceptionally dark purple. Already quite a developed, well-integrated nose. Masses of energy and punch. Really quite ambitious. Masses of neat tannin on the finish. This will never be rich but it is well made. 16.5/20”, Jancis Robinson, MW, on www.jancisrobinson.com, 31st March 2016. 89/100 Decanter magazine, June 2016

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2015 Château Latour-Martillac, Pessac-Léognan, Grand Cru Classé de Graves£126 for 6 Wooden case Code LTM115

The appellation of Pessac-Léognan, in the north of the Graves and close to the city of Bordeaux was a particularly and consistently successful in 2015 (see also Malartic La Gravière below). This, with its distinctive, diagonally striped 1934 label, is from about 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot. Lots of black fruit and lead pencil on the nose. Clearly an ambitiously made wine, with silky blackberry and blackcurrant flavours covering a classic backbone. 2022-2032

“Silky, sexy, rich damson fruits aged in 30% new oak. A beautiful example of this wine: very strong in an already good vintage. Tannins grip the fruit without strangling, plenty of development potential. 2023-2038. 92/100”, Jane Anson in Decanter magazine, June 2016

“Ce rouge présente...toutes les qualities de plaisir d’un tres beau vin de Graves. 17-18/20”, and picked out as one of “quatre rouges à acheter en priorité” in Pessac, La Revue du Vin de France, May 2016

17/20, Jancis Robinson, MW, on www.jancisrobinson.com, 4th April 2016.

Neil Martin in The Wine Advocate, 92-94/100; James Suckling 94-95/100.

2015 Château de Pressac, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé£126 for 6 Wooden case Code PRE115

Tasted twice, in Saint-Emilion and in London, where it stood out at a tasting of 2015 Saint-Emilion Grand Crus Classés. Dominique and Jean-François Quenin have been the owners since 1997 and their labour was rewarded by the Château’s promotion to Grand Cru Classé in 2012. Pressac is very well-sited on the limestone plateau of Saint-Emilion. The blend of the 2015 will be approximately 78% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Malbec and 1% Carmenère. Very deep robe. Attention-getting aromas: pretty, soft red fruits with a lead pencil backnote. This is dramatically flavoured, delivering sharp black fruits with malty and black chocolate hints. Fleshy and opulent but not in the least over the top - there’s real bite to the black fruit. This is terrific. 2018-2026

“Palate is opulent and fruit driven. Note of damson and dark cherry then freshness and length on the finish. Consistent value. 90/100”, James Lawther, MW in Decanter magazine, June 2016.

“Modern, confected cassis fruit with an almost Californian sheen. Savoury on the finish. Light spice and genteel structure. Generous, ripe, finely balanced. Nicely done. 17/20”, Richard Hemming, MW on www.jancisrobinson.com, 23rd March 2016.

2015 Château Sociando Mallet, Haut Médoc£126 for 6 Wooden case Code SOC115

This well-known and good sized (85 hectares) Château made wine in 2015 which was widely applauded - see below. Showing dense, concentrated black fruit, classically styled with a solid structure, this is a keeper. 2020-2028

“Rich fruit with lots of depth and potential complexity. Very good middle palate and a fine, firm finish. 90/100”, Stephen Spurrier in Decanter magazine, June 2016.

“Glowing crimson. Ripe and exuberant on the nose. Round and fresh - very like a St-Estèphe

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in build with its sucky-stony character on the end. Fully ripe and very refreshing. Very vigorous. 16.5+/20”, Jancis Robinson, MW on www.jancisrobinson.com, 2nd April 2016.

“Un Sociando opulent, gras et savoureux”, La Revue du Vin de France, May 2016

2015 Château La Cabanne, Pomerol£129 for 6 Wooden case Code LCA115

95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Tasted in Bordeaux twice, this impressed me enormously on both occasions - and not just for its rather flashy red and gold label! Appealingly ripe nose. The attack is almost sweet, showing ripe raspberry and cassis, almost Chilean / Californian in style. Great purity and drive. Fine-grained tannins and plentiful acid to keep it fresh. Rather grand. 2019-2027

“Very dark, then rich and furry and sweet. Very sweet and charming. Intense and jewelly. Very seductive! 17/20”, Jancis Robinson, MW on www.jancisrobinson.com, 5th April 2016.

Neil Martin in The Wine Advocate, 92-94/100; James Suckling 94-95/100.

2015 Château Malartic-Lagravière, Pessac-Léognan, Grand Cru Classé de Graves£186.00 for 6 Wooden case Code MAL115

Malartic-Lagravière has been a consistent over-performer in recent vintages. Of course I don’t get to taste the first growths or super seconds, but among all the wines I tasted this was perhaps my favourite. Wonderful purple hue. Amazingly youthful and vital, all crunchy blackcurrant and cassis. Successfully combines great concentration with juiciness, so it shows a refreshing lift. 2023-2032

“Dark, rich, serious, well-extracted fruit with just the right drive. Continues a run of strong vintages here. 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc, 80% new oak. 2025-2038. 93/100”, Jane Anson in Decanter magazine, June 2016

18-19/20, La Revue du Vin de France, May 2016

17/20, Jancis Robinson, MW, on www.jancisrobinson.com, 2nd April 2016.

Neil Martin in The Wine Advocate, 94-96/100; James Suckling 96-97/100.

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For orders and all enquiries, please contact:Simon Taylor: simon@stonevine.co.uk

François Dupont: francois@stonevine.co.uk Alistair Lacy: alistair@stonevine.co.uk

Telephone: 01962 712351 Fax: 01962 717545 Email: sales@stonevine.co.uk

www.stonevine.co.ukNo. 13 Humphrey Farms, Hazeley Road, Twyford, Hampshire, SO21 1QA

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