Far West Cider Company
Ring • Bolt
Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
Much better than advertised, the 2019 Ring • Bolt Cabernet has all kinds of things going for it. We decanted it. But even before that this incredibly delightful Margaret River Cabernet openly betrays its value.. the nose is ripe, round and full of character. Stewed cherry and even deeper hints of cassis reveal themselves before it arrives on the palate- and a juicy arrival it is. The finish is juicy, though not in any way abbreviated- just balanced. This is a lush, young Cabernet that drinks beyond its years and far beyond its price. — 5 years ago
Hakkaisan
Hakkaisan Nigori Sparkling Kakutama Umeshu Sake
Picked this sparkling cider up from the duty free in Tokyo and it far exceeded my expectations. Effervescent with a great balance of the savory notes you’d expect of most sakes and somewhat unexpected citrus. — 7 years ago
Vasse Felix
Heytesbury Margaret River Chardonnay 2012
So pleased to have tasted through a vertical of Virginia Willcock's wines at TEXSOM. These Chardonnays have a particularly unique lemon-lime brightness, which nicely balances the new oak influence. Don't let the screwtop fool you... these are serious Chardonnays, and stand up better to time than my far-west Sonoma Coast favorites. — 8 years ago
Cape Mentelle
Margaret River Shiraz 2007
Thursday options because Friday is too far away.
Amazing wine in its optimal window 🙏🏼 — 8 years ago
Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello
Santo Stefano di Perno Dolcetto d'Alba 2014
Very good! Paired with WFM cider bribed pork chops, Far East olive oil and spice cous cous and pan roasted Brussels. — 9 years ago
Fallbrook Winery
33° South Shiraz 2012
Fallbrook CA is in San Diego county, California. Far from Australia! And it is in my back yard, walking distance. We love their red wines. This one is hearty and complex. Good with food or alone. — 9 years ago
Moss Wood
Moss Wood Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
Margaret River herbaceousness and mint but richer in this excellent vintage with plum and mulberry. This wine is 20 years young and will cellar for another 10 years without a problem. 14% ABV. First planted in 1969. Un-irrigated, Scott Henry trellis. One of the great Moss Woods - up there with 2001. If the Barolo I had yesterday was one of the best reds so far in 2025 this was only a point behind it. — a year ago
Domaine Sylvain Pataille
Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2016
Lively biodynamic Bourgogne from Le Chapitre, west of the village of Chenôve on the far north of the Côte d’Or (and practically in the suburbs of Dijon). Historically one of the most famous of all Dijon wines (on par with the grand crus according to its winemaker) it nowadays lies just outside of of the Marsannay appellation. Some funk, ripe strawberry 🍓 and earthy notes in nose. Juicy — 6 years ago
Flowers Vineyard & Winery
Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2015
For an entry level appellation west coast Pinot, this is right down the middle of the fairway. Ruby in the glass with cedar, birch wood, sweet cherry and cola on the nose. The palate is a bit darker bringing on sweet tobacco, black cherry and a rhubarb tart spice. I think this is $45’ish/bottle, so in terms of QPR, I’ll buy Rivers-Marie SC bottle all day over this, and while I’m not with AGalloni’s 93 rating, I’m not too far off. — 8 years ago
Château Lynch-Bages
Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2000
The 2000 is delicious but, it is evolving at a glacial pace. Out of magnum.
On the nose, touch of barnyard, glycerin, ripe; blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, plum, strawberries & cherries. Vanilla, dry clay, limestone, river stones, just a touch of pyrazines & bandaid, dark,,turned, moist earth, dry grass and dry & fresh dark florals.
The body is full, round & sexy. Dry softened, sweet tannins. ripe; blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, plum, strawberries & cherries. Vanilla, dry clay, limestone, river stones, just a touch of pyrazines & bandaid, fresh tobacco leaf, saddle-wood, dry underbrush, dark, turned, moist earth, dry grass and dry & fresh dark florals. The acidity is magnificent. The structure, tension, length and balance are sensational. The finish is drop dead gorgeous. I’d still hold mine another 5 years as long as you have 3-4 bottles for more 5 year increments.
Photos of, their Estate vines, Clyde Beffa-Owner of K&L Wine Merchants, Owner of Chateau Lynch Bages - Jean-Michel Cazes, guests of the dinner and a sunset view from their Estate.
Producer notes and history...Lynch Bages takes its name from the local area where the Chateau is located in Bages. The vineyard of what was to become Lynch Bages was established and then expanded by the Dejean family who sold it in 1728 to Pierre Drouillard.
In 1749, Drouillard bequeathed the estate to his daughter Elizabeth, the wife of Thomas Lynch. This is how the estate came to belong to the Lynch family, where it remained for seventy-five years and received the name Lynch Bages. However, it was not always known under that name.
For a while the wines were sold under the name of Jurine Bages. In fact, when the estate was Classified in the 1855 Classification of the Medoc, the wines were selling under the name of Chateau Jurine Bages. That is because the property was owned at the time by a Swiss wine merchant, Sebastien Jurine.
In 1862, the property was sold to the Cayrou brothers who restored the estate’s name to Chateau Lynch family.
Around 1870, Lou Janou Cazes and his wife Angelique were living in Pauillac, close to Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron. It was here that Jean-Charles Cazes, the couple’s second son, was born in 1877.
In the 1930’s, Jean-Charles Cazes, who was already in charge of Les-Ormes-de-Pez in St. Estephe agreed to lease the vines of Lynch Bages. By that time, the Cazes family had history in Bordeaux dating back to the second half of the nineteenth century.
This agreement to take over Lynch Bages was good for both the owner and Jean Charles Cazes. Because, the vineyards had become dilapidated and were in need of expensive replanting, which was too expensive for the owner. However, for Cazes, this represented an opportunity, as he had the time, and the ability to manage Lynch Bages, but he lacked the funds to buy the vineyard.
Jean-Charles Cazes eventually purchased both properties on the eve of the Second World War. Lynch Bages and Les-Ormes-de-Pez have been run by the Cazes family ever since. In 1988, the Cazes family added to their holdings in Bordeaux when they purchased an estate in the Graves region, Chateau Villa Bel Air.
Around 1970, they increased their vineyards with the purchase of Haut-Bages Averous and Saussus. By the late 1990’s their holdings had expanded to nearly 100 hectares! Jean-Michel Cazes who had been employed as an engineer in Paris, joined the wine trade in 1973. In a short time, Jean Michel Cazes modernized everything at Lynch Bages.
He installed a new vat room, insulated the buildings, developing new technologies and equipment, built storage cellars, restored the loading areas and wine storehouses over the next fifteen years. During that time period, Jean Michel Cazes was the unofficial ambassador of not just the Left Bank, but all of Bordeaux. Jean Michel Cazes was one of the first Chateau owners to begin promoting their wine in China back in 1986.
Bages became the first wine sent into space, when a French astronaut carried a bottle of 1975 Lynch Bages with him on the joint American/French space flight!
Beginning in 1987, Jean-Michel Cazes joined the team at the insurance company AXA, who wanted to build an investment portfolio of quality vineyards in the Medoc, Pomerol, Sauternes, Portugal and Hungary.
Jean-Michel Cazes was named the director of the wine division and all the estates including of course, the neighboring, Second Growth, Chateau Pichon Baron.
June 1989 marked the inauguration of the new wine making facilities at Lynch Bages, which was on of their best vintages. 1989 also marked the debut of the Cordeillan- hotel and restaurant where Sofia and I had one of our best dinners ever. A few years after that, the Village de Bages with its shops was born.
The following year, in 1990, the estate began making white wine, Blanc de Lynch Bages. In 2001, the Cazes family company bought vineyards in the Rhone Valley in the Languedoc appellation, as well as in Australia and Portugal. They added to their holdings a few years later when they purchased a vineyard in Chateauneuf du Pape.
In 2006, Jean-Charles Cazes took over as the managing director of Chateau Lynch Bages. Jean-Michel Cazes continues to lead the wine and tourism division of the family’s activities. Due to their constant promotion in the Asian market, Chateau Lynch Bages remains one of the strongest brands in the Asian market, especially in China.
In 2017, Chateau Lynch Bages began a massive renovation and modernization, focusing on their wine making, and technical facilities. The project, headed by the noted architects Chien Chung Pei and Li Chung Pei, the sons of the famous architect that designed the glass pyramid for the Louvre in Paris as well as several other important buildings.
The project will be completed in 2019. This includes a new grape, reception center, gravity flow wine cellar and the vat rooms, which will house at least, 80 stainless steel vats in various sizes allowing for parcel by parcel vinification.
The new cellars will feature a glass roof, terraces with 360 degree views and completely modernized reception areas and offices. They are not seeing visitors until it’s completion.
In March, 2017, they purchased Chateau Haut Batailley from Françoise Des Brest Borie giving the Cazes family over 120 hectares of vines in Pauillac!
The 100 hectare vineyard of Lynch Bages is planted to 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. The vineyard has a terroir of gravel, chalk and sand soils.
The vineyard can be divided into two main sections, with a large portion of the vines being planted close to the Chateau on the Bages plateau. At their peak, the vineyard reaches an elevation of 20 meters. The other section of the vineyard lies further north, with its key terroir placed on the Monferan plateau.
They also own vines in the far southwest of the appellation, next Chateau Pichon Lalande, on the St. Julien border, which can be used in the Grand Vin. The vineyard can be split into four main blocks, which can be further subdivided into 140 separate parcels.
The average age of the vines is about 30 years old. But they have old vines, some of which are close to 90 years old.
The vineyards are planted to a vine density of 9,000 vines per hectare. The average age of the vines is about 30 years old. But they have old vines, some of which are close to 90 years old.
Lynch Bages also six hectares of vine are reserved for the production of the white Bordeaux wine of Chateau Lynch Bages. Those vines are located to the west of the estate. They are planted to 53% Sauvignon Blanc, 32% Semillon and 15% Muscadelle. On average, those vines are about 20 years of age. Lynch Bages Blanc made its debut in 1990.
To produce the wine of Chateau Lynch Bages, vinification takes place 35 stainless steel vats that vary in size. Malolactic fermentation takes place in a combination of 30% French, oak barrels with the remainder taking place in tank.
The wine of Chateau Lynch Bages is aged in an average of 70% new, French oak barrels for between 12 and 15 months. Due to the appellation laws of Pauillac, the wine is sold as a generic AOC Bordeaux Blanc, because Pauillac does not allow for the plantings of white wine grapes.
For the vinification of their white, Bordeaux wine, Blanc de Lynch-Bages is vinified in a combination of 50% new, French oak barrels, 20% in one year old barrels and the remaining 30% is vinified in vats. The wine is aged on its lees for at least six months. The white wine is sold an AOC Bordeaux wine.
The annual production at Lynch Bages is close to 35,000 cases depending on the vintage.
The also make a 2nd wine, which was previously known as Chateau Chateau Haut Bages Averous. However, the estate changed its name to Echo de Lynch Bages beginning with the 2007 vintage. The estate recently added a third wine, Pauillac de Lynch-Bages.
— 8 years ago
Stella Bella
Margaret River Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2023
I like this MR blend that mimics the Bordeaux Blanc one.
This is less austere, more direct and more fun
Mind i am not saying better, but different in the result not in the varieties used
I personally love this expression of Margaret River, i am sorry that Aussies find it a bit outdated, but i reckon they will reconsider it in the future; it definitely has a far greater reason to exist at the moment that a lot of labels made out of European indigenous variety planted not long ago.
These are all grape sourced from the Luminosa vineyard, uncertified but fully organic since day 1.
About 60% sem and the rest sauvignon blanc
It has freshness to sell, it is altogether simple for now,but i bet it will get so much better with time.
It would be a top match with any fish cooked pretty simply on a barbie. — 2 years ago
Juniper Estate
Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
A vibrant (considering the age) deep crimson. Mint, Herbs, Blackcurrant. Still reasonably tight with a long life ahead. A good balanced Margaret River Cabernet at a lesser price than the premium Cuvées but not far behind them in quality. Fluid, persistent and ultimately dry tannins. A strong performer on the Show Circuit with 6 Gold Medals and a Trophy from major Wine Shows. Had another bottle on 11th August 2022. Not typically Margaret River with Cassis and Black currant. Still plenty of power. — 4 years ago
Gargiulo Vineyards
Aprile Super Oakville Blend Sangiovese Blend 2014
Has been 2.5 years since I've visited this one. Still a lot of youthful qualities to it. Still almost a bracing acidity up front but the fruit profile shines through. Tart cherry blossoms, raspberry cola, dirty red flower. Middle of this one kind of gains a tangerine rind and a tart cherry finish. Went exceptionally well with pork chops but not so much the salad with the cider vinegar dressing. Solid 92 though. I don't think this one is at the top of the hill yet but it's not far away. I'd wait another year IMO. — 7 years ago
Fraser Gallop
Wilyabrup Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Mulberry Eucalyptus Leaf Cassis and some mint. Very Margaret River Cab from a good vintage. On palate herbaceous with notes of savoury Capsicum (red pepper). Not at the elite level of other dress circle Wilyabrup Producers but not far behind. — 8 years ago
Vasse Felix
Margaret River Chardonnay 2015
This is 2nd in the Vasse Felix Chardonnay pecking order after the Flagship Heytesbury and before the budget Filius. Well made as always. Aromas of buttered popcorn and citrus. On the palate citrus flavours which fleshed out with breathing. Quite youthful with good tension. Ticks all the boxes as a classy Chardonnay. Will go another 5 plus years. Had another bottle 15 weeks later with consistent notes. Not far off the standard of its big brother the Heytesbury, one of Australia’s best Chardonnays. Good combination of Oak,citrus, grilled nuts and funky aromas. — 8 years ago
Tenute Dettori
Romangia Vermentino
Best natural wine i've had so far!! Menthol, unfiltered apple cider (juice), chamomille, delicate honeyed notes, — 9 years ago
Jay Kline
As far as I know, only Moccagatta and Quazzolo make single bottle expressions of the Cole MGA in Barbaresco. Cole is a small, southeast facing vineyard located directly west of the famous Montestefano MGA.
The 2019 pours a deep garnet with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe red fruits: Morello cherry, red rope licorice, red flowers, some tar, orange peel, gravelly earth, some vanilla and gentle warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and texture is grippy. These modern touch on this a little jarring for me early on but after about 30min of air, the character of the site started to emerge and it became a lot more interesting to me. This would be a huge hit for those palates more attracted to more modern leaning producers in the Langhe. Drink now with patience and through 2039. — a year ago