This Week's Must-Try Wines from Vinous

Welcome to this week's Must-Try Wines from Vinous! Each week, we compile a list of wines from the Vinous database that you need to add to your wine wish list. With all the various regions, producers, and grapes, no week will be the same! All of the wines listed in this feature are available for purchase on Banquet . This week's must-try wines are selections from Neal Martin’s article, The Bordeaux Soundtrack: Icons at Legacy Records . Enjoy his notes for this week's must-try below! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ “Music and wine are perfect partners, so what better venue to host the first Icons of Bordeaux dinner than Legacy Records in New York with four of the region’s leading winemakers? Remarkably, this marked the first time that I have ever tutored a dinner in the United States of America. That’s absurd, given I was blessed with an American audience literally two or three weeks after incepting Wine-Journal over twenty years ago. Despite working for American publications almost my entire career and writing a book that sold more copies on that side of the Atlantic than this, I had never actually guided a Stateside audience through wine. After waiting for so long, the evening had to live up to expectations, and it did in every respect. The structure of the dinner was four châteaux, each presenting three vintages at different stages of maturity, respective winemakers providing insights to which I would add my own two cents. Nicolas Audebert gallantly made a 48-hour journey from Argentina via France. His efforts were rewarded with his luggage taking a different route. We also welcomed winemakers extraordinaire Marielle Cazaux from La Conseillante and Guillaume Pouthier from Les Carmes Haut-Brion, plus Arnaud Frédéric, who is in charge of sales at Montrose. Dishes were specially prepared to match the wines by chefs Ryan Hardy and Finn Ohara, but above all, and this is something too often forgotten, the aim was for guests to have a fun and memorable night.” --Neal Martin, The Bordeaux Soundtrack: Icons at Legacy Records, May 2024 1. 2016 Canon 2. 2016 La Conseillante 3. 2010 La Conseillante 4. 2016 Les Carmes Haut-Brion 5. 2016 Montrose 6. 2010 Montrose

Château Montrose

Saint-Estèphe Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2010

Delectable Wine
9.9

The 2010 Montrose is one of the highlights of the Icons of Bordeaux dinner. It has a show-stopper nose with powerful, intense, mineral-rich black fruit, becoming quite floral with aeration. Potpourri hints complement tobacco notes. The palate is fresh, vibrant and weighty, yet paradoxically, it has wonderful finesse. There is a symmetry about this Montrose, coupled with a tremendous length that leaves you wanting more. Brilliant. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the Icons of Bordeaux dinner at Legacy Records in New York. (Neal Martin, Vinous, May 2024)
— 2 months ago

Château La Conseillante

Pomerol Red Bordeaux Blend 2010

Delectable Wine
9.8

The 2010 La Conseillante has been spellbinding since I first tasted it from barrel. It has an intense nose with black plum, cedar and graphite. It is vibrant and compelling with scents of camphor intertwined. Wonderful delineation; there are layers of aromatic complexity. The palate is beautifully knit with a touch of black pepper and thyme filtering through the black fruit. It retains so much energy on the finish as it fans out with class and verve. Magnificent. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the Icons of Bordeaux dinner at Legacy Records in New York. (Neal Martin, Vinous, May 2024)
— 2 months ago

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Château Montrose

Saint-Estèphe Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2016

Delectable Wine
9.7

The 2016 Montrose is a supremely gifted Saint-Estèphe. Very harmonious and precise on the nose, faint hints of mocha and freshly rolled tobacco are behind those floral scents, black rather than red fruit. The palate has very fine tannins, extraordinarily harmonious with a nigh-perfect line of acidity. There is a subtle crescendo that leaves you utterly smitten by its charms, a touch of graphite on the finish. I just have the feeling that this might close up for a while. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the Icons of Bordeaux dinner at Legacy Records in New York. (Neal Martin, Vinous, May 2024)
— 2 months ago

Château La Conseillante

Pomerol Red Bordeaux Blend 2016

Delectable Wine
9.6

The 2016 La Conseillante is a benchmark wine for the estate, perhaps the first where winemaker Marielle Cazaux really made her mark. It has a divine bouquet that halts you in your tracks with its purity. Almost Burgundian in style, black fruit intermixes with blue, just a background scent of incense - less vanillary than before. The palate is marked by svelte tannins, cashmere in texture with just a trace of white pepper. The finish has a welcome sense of edginess with hints of graphite on the aftertaste. It's just the opening chapter in what will be an awesome Pomerol. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the Icons of Bordeaux dinner at Legacy Records in New York. (Neal Martin, Vinous, May 2024)
— 2 months ago

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Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion

Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend 2016

Delectable Wine
9.6

The 2016 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is consistent with previous bottles. It soars from the glass with those (to use a word I used last time) disarming array of blackberry, iris and fig aromas, but displaying a little more blue fruit than I recall. The palate is very well balanced with a velvety texture, pure with just a hint of black pepper. Interestingly, the 65% whole bunches are barely noticeable, just a guiding hand that shapes the finish. Sapid yet tender, this is an outstanding Pessac-Léognan. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the Icons of Bordeaux dinner at Legacy Records in New York. (Neal Martin, Vinous, May 2024)
— 2 months ago

Château Canon

Saint-Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 2016

Delectable Wine
9.3

The 2016 Canon has a clean and fresh nose. The fruit profile is a mixture of red and black with just a hint of black truffle and licorice (the latter a trait that I had not picked up before). The palate is medium-bodied with finer tannins than the bottle four years ago, has a little more assertiveness and grip in situ, and is perhaps firmer and prepared for long-term maturation. It's precise on the finish. I would give this another few years in bottle. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the Icons of Bordeaux dinner at Legacy Records in New York. (Neal Martin, Vinous, May 2024)
— 2 months ago