Freddy R. Troya

9.1

Château Haut-Batailley 2023 – Pauillac, Grand Cru Classé, BDX, France 🇫🇷

Overview
A beautifully structured and layered Pauillac delivering serious grip, depth of red fruit, and refined finesse, driven by a 60% Cabernet Sauvignon-led blend with 37% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot support. The wine shows clear complexity and architectural balance, combining power and polish without heaviness, positioning itself as a confident mid-pack contender capable of punching above its weight.

Aromas & Flavors
Red currant, cassis, wild raspberry, graphite, cedar shavings, crushed gravel, subtle tobacco leaf, cocoa dust and fresh spice.

Mouthfeel
Medium-plus body with firm, finely grained tannins, excellent mid-palate density, vibrant yet integrated acidity, precise structural tension, and a long, focused finish that grips beautifully without roughness.

Food Pairings
Grilled ribeye, lamb rack, beef bourguignon, duck breast, rosemary potatoes, aged hard cheeses.

Verdict
A poised and confident Pauillac showing layered complexity, structural clarity, and real finesse. Not a brute-force heavyweight, but a beautifully driven, technically precise wine with strong aging potential and excellent balance.

🍷 Personal Pick
This feels like a wine that thrives on precision rather than raw horsepower, beautifully controlled grip, layered red fruit, and elegant finesse throughout. The kind of bottle that rewards attention and quietly impresses from start to finish. — 5 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

Quite a pale crimson - a very Burgundian colour. Noticeable notes of garrigue - rosemary and thyme, also dried plum. Ultra savoury on the M+ intensity palate but quite light in palate weight, in fact probably the lightest weight CdP I’ve probably ever had. Finishing with fine dry tannins. Light and flavoursome - still very enjoyable. — 3 years ago

David Kline

9.5

Jamaica allspice submerged in black cherry, black raisin, African violets, red roses, cooked poppyseed, grilled, wine marinated steak with rosemary garnish. The palate is silky with medium mouthfeel and stealthy tannic hooks are whisked away like burrs and prickles on a satin sock. Sweet Connecticut wrap of tobacco is assisted by a minute mocha and black peppercorn. This took a while to open, surprisingly, but well worth the wait!


#sassicaia #marchesiincisadellarochetta #bolgherisassicaia #1999 #tenutasanguido #bolgheri #vinorosso #italianwine #imbottigliatoallOrigine #italia #supertuscan — 4 years ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.5

Vintage 1997 | awesome refined Chenin Blanc | deep mahony colour. overturned honey jar. I have never had a disappointing Pierre Bise | paired with poached pears in thyme syrup with rosemary cream and walnuts — 5 years ago

Chris McClellan

9.1

Gorgeous ripe black/red fruit with dried thyme/rosemary/tomato leaf/black tea, acid and tannin both elevated and well balanced and long finish. Paired great with homemade lasagna.... — 6 years ago

with Ryan and Michael

Ryan Guy

9.4

Tobacco, dried fig, forest leaves, vanilla bean, rosemary, black berries and cassis. Layered and well integrated. Dried fruit and slightly reduced, shows some age. Rustic dark fruit, coated with leather on a structured palate. Finishes with tannin over acid. — 7 years ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.2

Château Brane-Cantenac 2023 – Margaux, Grand Cru Classé, BDX France 🇫🇷

Overview
A highly aromatic and deeply concentrated Margaux showing impressive layering, polished texture, and outstanding fruit density, with oak integration still prominent in its youth. Built for complexity and long-term evolution.

Aromas & Flavors
Blackberry compote, wild blueberry, cassis, black cherry liqueur, violet petal, sweet cedar, cocoa powder, graphite, subtle vanilla and toasted spice from new oak.

Mouthfeel
Medium-plus to full-bodied with silky, refined tannins, dense mid-palate concentration, seamless flow across the palate, and a long, plush finish. Oak remains slightly forward at this stage but clearly destined to integrate.

Food Pairings
Dry-aged ribeye, rosemary lamb, duck confit, porcini risotto, aged Gruyère or Comté.

Verdict
A seductive, high-concentration Margaux with real depth and aromatic brilliance. Oak currently rides slightly high, but the underlying fruit density and texture suggest excellent aging potential and future harmony.

🍷 Personal Pick
The perfume is intoxicating and the fruit core is massive, this just needs time for the oak to melt into the frame. Big upside once the pieces lock together. — 5 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.2

Medium ruby garnet core with quite wide garnet rim . On the nose this shows some development with dry spices , leather , dark cherry, cedar , dried rosemary , sage with some meaty hints . On the palate there is quite a lot of structure with gritty , somewhat rustic tannins and fresh acidity . Menthol tinged dark cherry , liquorice , dried sage and dry spices . Good length and balance with fresh acidity , the alcohol though is a little warming so I would drink this on the cooler side . This is quite a structured , traditionally styled Brunello but with personality and presence . Drinking quite well and showing some development, will perhaps continue to improve over next few years and last well a further 5-10 . — a year ago

Andrew Liguori

9.1

Rustic. Dried cherries/cranberries, lots of tomato leaf, and dried herbs (thyme, rosemary, marjoram). Great with a pappardelle pork bolognese — 4 years ago

Willem Booij

9.3

This is a “Tig” in it’s prime, wel aged and a real charmeur! De lady of this house loved it and that’s always a good sign. Nice developed tannins with some silky chocolate and mokka, dark ripe forest fruit and some classic dried herbs like rosemary and thyme. You can easily drink a bottle but I keep a half for later. — 5 years ago

Doug Powers

9.3

Wild herbs and garrigue aromas, clean, dark fruits with lavender, thyme and some rosemary flavors, classic CdP, not too heavy nor overripe, an old school from the days before luxury cuvees and overripe CdPs, love what Laurent is doing!! — 5 years ago

with Jim

Shengli Hu

9.4

Rosemary, basil, pepper, dried hay, dried violet on the nose. Juicy fresh cherries, ripe blueberries, purple flowers, and stones on the palate. Medium plus acidity, medium (+) tannins. 14.5%. Pronounced concentration and long finish. — 7 years ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.5

Elegant and complex with notes of rosemary stems, blackberry, licorice, forest floor — 8 years ago

Andrew Liguori

9.2

Black olive, burnt bacon, rosemary and herbs. Bold, dense body but the alcohol seems to lift it up easily. Mandatory lamb or steak. — 9 months ago

Doug Powers

9.1

Crunchy red berries and blueberry, rosemary and other herbed de Provence aromas as well, lively acidity, lovely balance, doesnt show heat (even though it’s 14.5% ABV), long, lingering finish, beautiful old vine (70+ years) Carignan from a vineyard at 2,400 feet elevation in Mendocino County!! — 10 months ago

with Jim

Jakub Kalinowski

9.4

Brilliant, fascinating nose. Almost devoid of fruit, yet so enticing!
Dried rosemary, lavender, fennel, floral. Some dark, creamy black fruit, baked earth, some leather. And continues to evolve in the Glas. Precise, fresh, beautiful!!
On the palate - fresh, polished yet with such depth & character. The quality of the tannins is mind blowing. So polished, so fine yet monumental at the same time. And in this frame - juicy, fresh, floral acidity and just a touch of black fruit. Brilliant, quirky, bordering on profound, and so delicious at the same time. What a wine!!! — 3 years ago

Big Wave Dave

9.5

Insane complexity. Bacon cheeseburger in a glass. Dark fruit, with hints of fig, rosemary, and mushroom sauvage. Strong bacon, savoury meat character. Med/full but not in any way heavy. Complete, and drinking beautifully. Will go forever, but singing now. — 5 years ago

with Racquel

Oliver N

9.3

Even better on day 2! Let this breathe! Forest floor/tertiary notes, pine, cedar, cocoa, plum, sweet berries, I like the Campari note that someone noted... that sort of medicinal quality!
On the palate, stemmy, upfront tannins, smooths out into an etheral expression of tart forest berries, plums, some oak, coffee bean, cocoa nib, pine/rosemary, quite savoury.
This almost reminds me of something out of Italy!
Overall, a beautiful Loire red with lots to offer. Love the savoury characteristics! Cheers! — 5 years ago

Severn G

9.3

Last bottle, and damn it's drinking fine! No new notes today, but I must identify that the waxy notes and acidity are transcendent...This bottle still has years. 🥲

Prior notes:
Nose has dried grapefruit rind, honeydew melon, dry sage, fresh rosemary and beeswax.
Palate has ripe honeydew melon, dried lemon, lemon juice, acidic pear, orange rind with plenty of dry minerals and acidity for days. Wonderful. — 6 years ago

Ryan Vento

9.0

A bit astringent upon opening but looking forward to seeing how it drinks later on. From the starting line notes of tobacco, musk, potpourri, dark chocolate shavings with cherry liqueur, cocoa, leather, Rosemary, and Luxardo cherries. — 7 years ago

with Krystal