Steve Rura

9.4

After a week in the Caribbean, I wasn’t looking forward to Brooklyn, but today was a perfect Spring day worthy of a nice Champagne! Very good 100% Pinot Noir. Sea shells, limestone, dried pear, lemon rind, hint of raspberry. Cuttingly dry, chalky extra brut. — 3 months ago

Daniel Bloom

8.9

‘22 must have been very good in parts of Beaujolais. Black fruits with Asian spices and souis bois ,a vaguely dark metallic quality on the nose, tilt the bowl and grapeyness rushes in. Refreshing acidity, not exceptionally long…but enough. Cleansing and and bright. Slightly perfumed on the palate with a lingering umami aftertaste. Pretty stuff.
$31 in Pennsylvania, then here comes a clearance sale, and it was $11!
The LCB in PA. makes no sense, favorably sometimes. — 4 months ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.0

Château La Tour de Bessan Margaux 2022 — Margaux, Bordeaux, France 🇫🇷

Overview
A classic Left Bank blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon · 30% Merlot · 5% Petit Verdot (estate typically varies slightly by vintage) delivering structure, elegance, and aromatic finesse. Great frame and graphite tension coming from the Cab Sauv., mid-palate polish thanks to Merlot, and liked how Petit Verdot brings subtle spice and color depth. A beautifully traditional, unclassified Margaux that punches above its weight.

Aromas & Flavors
Black cherry, blackberry, cassis, violet, pencil shavings, cedar, light tobacco, and crushed stone. Fruit stays fresh and pure with delicate floral lift typical of the appellation.

Mouthfeel
Medium-plus body with polished, fine-grained tannins. Dry, linear, and elegant rather than powerful. Balanced acidity keeps everything lifted and graceful with a clean, savory finish.

Food Pairings
Roast chicken with herbs, grilled lamb chops, duck breast, mushroom risotto, lentils, Comté or aged goat cheese. A very food-friendly claret.

Verdict
Proof that Margaux elegance doesn’t require classified growth pricing. Refined, honest, and beautifully composed. Delicious now with air, but easily cellar-worthy for 6–10 years.

🍷 Personal Pick
This is my kind of “weekday Bordeaux”, structured yet graceful, polished without heaviness. The sort of bottle that quietly disappears over dinner because everything just clicks.

Did You Know?
La Tour de Bessan is run by Marie-Laure Lurton (of the Lurton family estates) and is known for crafting textbook, terroir-driven Margaux expressions that emphasize finesse over extraction. — 5 months ago

Tom Casagrande

9.3

This Bojo with a bit of bottle age is so nice. Such bright fruit still. Cherries and berries everywhere. And some nice stony minerality. Fantastic balance. — 10 months ago

Charles Garrison

9.2

Lush, succulent Pinot…dark ruby on pour, dark fruits rise out of the glass setting the stage for an enjoyable first sip…no noticeable tannins…lingering finish…this vintage is in a really good place today — 5 years ago

Al Doyle

9.1

Very fine mousse almost no bubbles once it settles, maybe just a little short right now… — 5 years ago

Jared O'Connell

9.2

Deep pink. A little sweet spice, like honey baked ham, small white flowers on the nose. A light and fresh palette, initially you get fruit like fresh blueberries maybe a little tartness/cranberry with a nice sense of minerality, dissipates quickly into slight funk and menthol/cough syrup/outer layer of tootsie pop. Long finish. Definitely more tannin then you’re used to with a rose. — 5 years ago

Jay Kline

9.6

I’ve said before that the wines of Chateau Rayas are almost singular in the AOC; certainly one of the purest expressions of Grenache in the world. However, there is another producer that for me, might be an even more archetypal expression of the character of Chateauneuf-du-Pape: Henri Bonneau. Henri’s wines were also predominately Grenache however, they are denser and darker, particularly the Cuvée Marie Beurrier. This is probably more to do with the small addition of other local varieties along with terroir for Mrie Beurrier (Courthézon). Henri had strong feelings about varieties, vine age and cellar practices. He didn’t really like Syrah in CdP (though he had a little of it). He didn’t like ancient vines (most were 30-50 years old and would be torn out and replanted if they were getting up there in the age range) and he believed in extended aging in wood, a collection of very old barrels and foudres. Regardless of whether one agrees or disagrees with his approach, the results were undeniably special.

Opened prior to dinner; enjoyed over the course of several hours. The 2000 “Cuvée Marie Beurrier” pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with light staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing (still!). Layered notes of dark brambles, black cherry, garrigue, dried red flowers, beef stew with all the veggies and mixed inorganic earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is forever long. This is tremendously well balanced and a wine that I just wanted to keep coming back to…and I did. Drink now through 2040. — 3 months ago

Steve Messinger

9.2

Dark ruby, dense black fruit aromas of kirsch and sassafras w a lingering high note of bergamot. Intense black fruit flavors long finish showing a bit of alc — 5 months ago

Dru Margolin

9.0

A touch ripe with some funk. — 5 months ago

Bruce Dunbar

9.0

Golden straw color with lemon rind and white flowers on the nose. Light citrus, minerals, modest acidity and a touch of oak. Layered, balanced and wonderfully site-specific. — 9 months ago

Brandon T

9.6

Been a few years since I’ve enjoyed a Lore, but this did not disappoint. Big blue/black fruits but very approachable by itself. Fantastic bottle! — 4 years ago

Vanessa

9.4

**If interested, I’ve posted more pics of this visit and trip on my Instagram account - check me out @sips_ensemble**

We also had the pleasure to visit Champagne Paul Bara, another family-owned and -managed winery with only 8 employees! 💪 💪

It is a small but high-quality operation, producing approximately 100,000 bottles per year made exclusively from the free run juice. ✨✨✨ Thanks to the likes of @kermitlynchwine , the U.S. is a major exporting market for this wine. 🙌🙌

Paul Bara’s wines are sustainably farmed on numerous vineyard plots located throughout Bouzy, a Grand Cru village within the Montagne de Reims region of Champagne. 🏔 🏔

Bouzy is known especially for its Pinot Noir-driven Champagnes and also for its still red wines, a specialty of the region, called Coteaux Champenois. 🍇🍇

Paul Bara uses mostly stainless steel vessels for its vinification, designed to accentuate the purity of the fruit. They also use subterranean concrete vessels for the Pinot Noir used in rosé blends and for the Coteaux Champenois (still reds). 🥂

On our tour it was fascinating to see bottles being disgorged, dosaged, corked, capped, and caged on a machine in seconds — these are some of the last stages of the Méthode Champenoise. 🤓

We also learned that Paul Bara is a member of the ‘Club Trésors de Champagne’ an association of 28 vignerons formed to promote quality wine growing and winemaking practices and to highlight the beauty of terroir, demonstrating the excellence achievable outside of the major houses whose names are globally renown such as Veuve Cliquot and Moët & Chandon. 👏

Our favorite wine of the tasting was the 2010 Brut Comtesse Marie de France 🇫🇷 made exclusively from Pinot Noir grapes 🍇 It had a richness and abundance of orchard fruit, including baked yellow apple, also toast, bread dough, yeast, and dried white blossom notes, still offering finesse and precision, retaining incredible vibrancy.

We are grateful for our visit to Paul Bara and we look forward to visiting again the future! 🙏❤️ — 5 years ago

with Deked1

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.2

2023 vintage. Rich and opulent. Medium-heavy body. The wine equivalent of a cup of hot cocoa. 3.20.26. — 3 months ago

John Nader

9.0

A really nice red blend. A great "go to" especially as the weather warms. Nice for grilled meats outdoors or charcuterie. It's an unusual blend with real depth. — 4 months ago

Tom Jenkins

9.0

Beautiful Sonoma Pinot. Enjoyed with a pan seared Texas Redfish. Dark Pinot fruits, smooth finish. Fairly light in texture. Got better over the meal. — 4 months ago

with Dylan and Olivia

Ed Chin

9.2

Drinking great right now for me. Texture, cut, aromatics, not tropical in the least and a little pithy on the finish. — 8 months ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.4

After a rough stretch of vintages (14,15,16) for this producer, 2017 has it returned to form showcasing the unique Burgundian style to Côte-Rôtie that had it gain such a following early on. It wafts its stemmy spice aromatics with beef jerky, violets and and black pepper. It shows weightless intensity on the palate with a spine of minerality giving it lift and focus. Cordeloux is a tremendous success in 2017. — 9 months ago

Alexandre Pagliano

9.1

Medium dark rubi robe, nose of flowers and spices with a hint of wild cherries. Medium bodied with supple tannins but strong spine buried under this great acidity and balance. Feels like modern winemaking but has no excess and is impeccable wine that drinks great now but should benefit of 3 to 5 years in the cellar. Will gain complexity. We loved it. — 4 years ago

with Adriana

Edward Nelson

9.3

Silky smooth with just enough tannins to make me happy. $125-150? This warrants it. Worthy of a nice occasion or baked mostaccioli on a Wednesday night. — 5 years ago

with Michelle