The 2009 Léoville Las Cases is poured blind and just soars in the glass. What stunned me was the tension and precision on the nose, tropes that I do not find with many Left Bank wines in this vintage. It has fabulous mineralité with that crushed stone element more pronounced than ever. The palate has beguiling symmetry, perfectly poised with a peacock's tail on the finish. Just a fabulous Saint-Julien. Tasted at the Bordeaux versus Stellenbosch dinner in South Africa. (Neal Martin, Vinous, December 2023)
— 4 months ago
The 2013 Comtes de Champagne is a towering Champagne, as it was last year. Rich, sumptuous and explosive, the 2013 soars out of the glass with a captivating mix of tropical fruit, apricot, passion fruit, baked apple tart, mint and yellow flowers. It is one of the most explosive, extroverted Comtes I have ever tasted. Impressive. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, March 2024)
— a month ago
Lots of eucalyptus at opening. 15 mins in it begins to settle in. Leather, mushroom on the nose with the ever present eucalyptus. Really well structure fruit on the palette, a tinge of acidity and a bit sharp on the finish. More time in the glass brings a balance that’s amazing for a 39 year old wine. Thankfully no one here to share!
— a month ago
The 2008 Cheval Blanc is one of the go-to wines of the vintage. Now at 15 years old, it has retained the energy and focus it displayed from the outset: black fruit, crushed stone, wilted violet petals and touches of forest floor cohere wonderfully in the glass. The Cabernet here is more expressive. The palate has a slight chewiness on the entry, but it "relaxes" in the glass. It shows off its delicate lattice of tannins and perhaps a bit more backbone than I have observed on previous bottles. It's very intense on the finish where, as before, the Cabernet Franc takes charge. Superb. Keep it another three to four years if you can. Tasted at the Lia's Wings/book dinner at Medlar restaurant. (Neal Martin, Vinous, December 2023)
— 4 months ago
Andrew Cullimore
Medium lemon yellow , persistent fine perlage . At first quite shy , needs a bit of time to get going . Then buttered pastry , confit lemon and roast nuts , quite bold and rich , just a hint of chalky minerality . On the palate the richer , deeper theme continues , those pastry and buttery notes , confit lemon and a creamy mouthfeel . Long balanced finish , the chalky acidity really helping to cut through richer , mouth filling profile . Coming back to this at the end of the meal , having sat 6 hours in the glass , this still shows remarkable freshness and life. This seems young to me still , certainly has everything for a long life ahead , better in 5 years perhaps and will show well a further 10-15 perhaps . — 4 days ago