Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

Blend of 83% Syrah, 14% Petit Verdot and 3% Malbec, deep Ruby red color with aromas of black fruits, baking spice and cedar notes. On the palate flavors of blackberry and ripe blueberry with pepper, oak, cacao and herb notes. Fine savory tannins, medium+ finish ending with fruit, oak and spice. Drinking well now, will improve! Nice! — 25 days ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.3

No formal notes on this one ….Yellow lemon colour . Some fine persistent bubbles. Open and quite fresh on the nose , still good intensity , nice slightly mineral with lemon , toasty notes , brioche . Good length and intensity on the finish. This does taste fresher than the original release bottles I have had . This was released in 2017 and has a special back label mentioning this . Drink now and over the next 5-10 years . Drank at Noizé, London. — 3 years ago

Michael Mugmon

9.5

Brought this home from the office before the lockdown. I carried this back from London, where this is one of the main gins they serve at the Dukes Bar for their legendary martinis. Hope I can get back there again. — 6 years ago

Sean Sims

8.9

Wow, this is really intense color and body. Deep, deep inky purple with a fragrance nose. This is a great buy — 7 months ago

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9.5

I tasted the 1982 Lynch-Bages twice within a month, both at a private dinner in London and at the château, from bottle and double-magnum on separate occasions. Both vindicate an exceptionally fine 1982, perhaps a bit overlooked in a vintage full of stars. Curiously, the bottle in Bordeaux does not fully deliver the mesmerizing freshness and energy compared to the bottle in London: pencil-lead-tinged black fruit intermixed with clove and freshly-rolled tobacco. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins, perhaps just a little austere compared to its peers. Yet, indeed, the bottle in London exudes class and composure with a detailed, mineral-driven vintage belying that year's unseasonably warm period. Superb. Tasted both in London at a private dinner and at the château. (Neal Martin, Vinous, July 2023) — 3 years ago

Alex F

9.2

Nice base for a summer drink. — 6 years ago

Jocholla

8.9

Plum, blueberry, nice tannin. — 6 years ago

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9.3

The bottle of 2014 Pontet-Canet showed better than the previous one at the 10-Year-On tasting in London. This offers much more restraint on the nose. It's quite precise, with greater mineralité seeping through the black cherry and cassis fruit. The palate has a sorbet-fresh entry, fine tannins and a silky sheen. The oak is fully subsumed after a decade, plus there is a little more depth on the finish compared to previous showings. This is a fine example of the vintage, and bottles should drink well over the next 12 to 15 years. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the Pontet-Canet dinner in Washington DC. (Neal Martin, Vinous, June 2024)
— 2 years ago

Philip Patston

9.3

Very solid London Dry Gin. Cant go wrong in martini or other cocktail. I like it more than Beefeater, although it’s in the same sort of flavor range along with the less expensive Gordon’s. Worth having in the liquor cabinet. — 5 years ago

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10

The 1945 La Mission Haut-Brion from the château cellar is transcendental. It is blessed with the most beautiful bouquet you can imagine, effortless and natural, featuring woodland, red-berried fruits, a minerally quality and a faint touch of leafiness; given time to settle, it develops a lovely gamy note. The palate is medium- rather than full-bodied and sublimely balanced, upholding that effortless grace with an elegant, bittersweet, dried orange peel finish. One of the most harmonious wines I have ever consumed. Perfect. Tasted at the La Mission Haut-Brion vertical in London in September 2009. (Neal Martin, Vinous, May 2020)
— 6 years ago