Château du Tertre Margaux 2005

This château dates back to the 18th century but the origins of the estate date back as far as 1143. Ranked a 5th growth estate in 1855, the vineyard is planted to 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, and has very gravelly soils on ... more

Château Lascombes Margaux 2005

This Second Growth Margaux has been on a real hot streak since 2000 under the new ownership team of Colony Capital. The expertise of quality-driven Bordeaux professionals such as Michel Rolland, Alain Raynaud and Bruno Lemoine (Montrose) resulted in significantly lower yields compared to the 1970s and 80s and made ... more

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac 2004

The 2004 Pichon Lalande is a strong effort for the vintage (much better than their underwhelming and much more expensive 2005). A blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it exhibits a deep ruby/purple color as well as scents of cocoa, espresso ... more

Château Troplong Mondot Saint Emilion 2000

Combining remarkable elegance allied to considerable power and depth, this is the finest wine from Troplong Mondot since the staggeringly great 1990. Its saturated purple color is followed by aromas of ink, creme de cassis, graphite, and toasty oak. Full-bodied and powerful, with excellent balance, this is a wine of ... more

Château Mouton Rothschild Pauillac 2003

Backward, powerful, and extremely tannic, the dense purple-colored 2003 Mouton-Rothschild, a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, fashioned from yields of 28 hectoliters per hectare, with a finished alcohol of 12.9%, improves dramatically with aeration. With full-bodied, meaty, powerful, dry flavors as ... more

Château Angelus St Emilion 2005

This is an extraordinary vintage of Angelus that will be sought after by collectors for decades to come. The estate is planted to 50% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Franc and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. more

Vieux Chateau Certan Pomerol 2005

A stunning effort from Alexander Thienpont, the 2005 Vieux Chateau Certan (a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc) reveals an inky/blue/purple color along with a rich, sumptuous perfume of black olives, lavender, roasted herbs, licorice, pain grille, and oodles of truffles as well as creme de cassis. In ... more

Château Haut-Brion Pessac Léognan 2005

Unlike the other 4 First Growths, Mouton, Margaux, Lafite and Latour, which are planted to 70-80% Cabernet Sauvignon, Haut Brion has less than 50% Cabernet in the blend, with up to 40% Merlot, which explains why it is usually not as ‘big’ as its First Growth peers, but eminently more ... more

Château Haut-Brion Pessac Léognan 2006

Robert Parker makes a point to say in his 4th edition of his book, Bordeaux, “After more than 30 years of intensely tasting Bordeaux, I have a greater and greater affection for Haut-Brion, its character increasingly appealing to me as I have gotten older and wiser...” Haut Brion was the ... more

Château Langoa Barton Saint Julien 2005

This 3rd Growth is planted to 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc and is considered by Parker to be “grossly underpriced for the quality and aging capability.” Both Langoa Barton and Leoville Barton are the properties of Anthony Barton, an Irishman whose family has had an interest ... more

Château Haut-Brion Pessac Léognan 1995

"This wine has been brilliant on every occasion I have tasted it. More accessible and forward than the 1996, it possesses a saturated ruby/purple color, as well as a beautiful, knock-out set of aromatics, consisting of black fruits, vanillin, spice, and wood-fire smoke. Multidimensional and rich, with layers of ripe ... more

Château Mouton Rothschild Pauillac 1995

Bottled in June, 1997, this profound Mouton is more accessible than the more muscular 1996. A blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 19% Merlot, it reveals an opaque purple color, and reluctant aromas of cassis, truffles, coffee, licorice, and spice. In the mouth, the wine is "great ... more