55% Cabernet Sauvignon ，30% Merlot ，10% Cabernet Franc ，5% Petit Verdot 

This wine shows a deep garnet red color.

It is full of intense aromas with notes of blackberry and almond chocolate. Slowly moving from a fruity start to more spicy and dark chocolate notes. Powerful on the palate, with a slight peppery and minty aroma. Elegant and deep tannins can be felt, with notes of roasted coffee beans and licorice. The finish is long and round, a very harmonious wine.

The Chateau Lynch Bages 2019 ( one of the most famous 5th growths) is in line with the previous wines of the property with a blend dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon (70%), along with the addition of 24% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 3% petit verdot. This great Bordeaux wine offers a characteristic fruity nose with fresh and spicy notes, as well as fine woody notes. The smooth and balanced palate is supported by a beautifully dense and powerful tannic structure, providing plenty of precision and fruit. Put this one away for awhile. Drink from 2029 and will age for the next 30 years. A perfect score given from Jeb Dunnuck.

"For the vintage, this is a particularly rich wine. It is structured and firm with opulent black-plum fruit that gives the wine a ripe character. Dense with supporting tannins, the wine is going to develop well over the medium term. Drink from 2022. (RV)" (2/2017) -Wine Enthusiast (92 points)

"The 2010 Pontet-Canet offers a very deep garnet color. Whoa—the nose explodes with a vast array of black fruit preserves and savory nuances: plum preserves, blackcurrant cordial, black cherry coulis and licorice with wafts of dried lavender, melted chocolate, charcuterie, black olives, truffles and camphor plus a hint of sandalwood. The full-bodied palate is completely filled with black fruits, exotic spices and earthy nuances with a firm foundation of ripe, grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing with epic length and depth. So much more expressive and seductive than a lot of 2010s at this stage, and yet it is still incredibly youthful! (LPB)" (5/2020) -100 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

100 points - James Suckling

98 points - Jeb Dunnuck

This is another property owned by the famous Rothschild family, acquiring this estate in 1970, embarking on an ambitious renovation of the vineyards. Vines were replanted, parcels were consolidated and technical improvements were made including the building of a new vat room. Chateau Clerc Milon is a Fifth Growth located in Pauillac that adjoins both Chateau Mouton and Rothschild. This 2019 is a blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Containing the highest amount of cabernet sauvignon since the 1980's, this is classic Pauillac with fresh cassis, red cherry and plum that has nuances of classic, lead pencil, cedar and tobacco. This can be enjoyed now with a decant but has the ability to age very well for the next 20 years.

Contention as one of the top vintages produced here, the wine is strong on its floral characteristics. Once past the opening bouquet of white flowers and dried roses, you find plums, black cherries, black raspberries, mint and cigar wrapper nuances. The palate provides a lush, opulent, vibrant, energetic backdrop for its wealth of deep red fruits and oceanic influences. The finish has a touch of salty chalk that adds complexity to its wealth of silky, ripe, red fruits.

The 2020 Pontet-Canet is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot, aging in 50% new French oak barriques, 35% concrete amphorae and 15% in one-year-old barrels. Harvest began on the 14th of September for the Merlot, and the final lot of Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested on 30th September. Opaque purple-black in colour, it needs significant aeration and swirling to coax out evocative notes of black cherry preserves, raspberry pie, blackcurrant pastilles and damp soil, before launching into gorgeous floral and spice notions of red roses, cinnamon stick, star anise and cardamom, with a waft of crushed rocks.

"A consistently perfect wine every time I've had it, the 2009 Château Pontet-Canet is the greatest wine from this address to date as well as one of the greatest Pauillacs out there. Still youthfully ruby/purple and with a gorgeous perfume of blackcurrants, lead pencil, graphite, crushed rocks, and damp earth, it's still youthful but is just now starting to show more nuance and complexity. Full-bodied on the palate, with a powerful, concentrated mid-palate, incredible depth of fruit, and flawless balance, Bordeaux simply does not get any better." (11/2020) -Jeb Dunnuck (100 points)

100 points - Robert Parker

99 points - Wine Enthusiast

The 2020 Echo de Lynch-Bages is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, aging for around 12 months in one year-old French oak barriques. It has an alcohol of 13.03%, a pH of 3.78 and an IPT (tannin index) of 80. Deep garnet-purple in colour, it rolls out of the glass with expressive, upfront notes of baked black and red cherries, plum preserves and blackcurrant cordial, followed by hints of new leather, tobacco leaf and a medicinal waft. The medium-bodied palate is chock-full of savoury flavours, with a chewy texture and just enough freshness, finishing a little rustic.

Haut-Medoc holds some incredible value when it comes to Bordeaux. Don’t underestimate these wines! A typical H-M blend of 50/50 merlot and cabernet, it’s just right with attributes of red fruits, flint, cedar, and pepper spice.

With all the excellent qualities of this legendary wine from Pauillac, the blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot can be opened and enjoyed, especially if you like the Pauillac style of cassis, cedar, graphite and earth aromas and flavours.

Shiraz from old dry grown Barossa vineyards is blended with Viognier, complementing the strengths and complexities of these individual parcels of fruit, whilst giving the resulting wine a further dimension.
Although wonderfully aromatic, RunRig also exhibits a power and latent richness making it more akin to the hugely concentrated wines sourced from the sun drenched hill of Hermitage – the historic home of Syrah and some of the world’s most powerful and longest living wines.

Blackberries and black currants define the nose, palate, and character of this classy Pauillac. The wine offers vibrancy, chewy textures, and nuances of mint, tobacco leaf, cedar, peppery spices, and tobacco wrapper. Classic, classy, refined, and with ample layers of sweet, lush, dark fruits with the tannins to age, this will drink well early, yet it will also evolve quite well.

Cigar box, smoke, herbs, cassis, espresso and blackberries with a savoury edge open the wine aromatically. The palate offers freshness, layers of ripe, spicy currants and peppery blackberries with chewy tannins that hang with you, providing length, vibrancy and refinement in the finish. This is going to age and evolve for decades.

This is a great Talbot, a real success for the château. Subtle and deft touches throughout, from the smoked turmeric notes that lace the black fruits to the finessed aromatics that accompany the body of the wine. Balance and freshness, and a saline edge to the finish that is extremely moreish. Three years with Jean-Michel Laporte as director, and he is doing great work.

Composed of 50% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Franc and 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2020 Pavie weighs in with an alcohol of 14.82% and a pH of 3.61. It is aging in French oak barriques, 75% new. Opaque purple-black coloured, notes of plum pudding, blueberry pie, and dark chocolate covered cherries charge out of the gate, followed closely by hints of eucalyptus, star anise, unsmoked cigars and fertile loam with a hint of cedar chest. The full-bodied palate is built like a brick house, offering very firm yet wonderfully ripe, velvety tannins and seamless freshness to support the densely laden, muscular black and blue fruits, finishing very long and with loads of mineral-laced layers. As hedonic as it is cerebral this year, it is a beautiful paradox.

Chateau d'Armailhac showcases all of the hallmarks of its big brother, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, which is right next door. This is seriously juicy. Succulent ripe fruits dominate the palate, with a cool and racy undertone. The wine is ripe, showing flair and full of gravitas. Aged in 50 percent new and 50 percent old oak from Mouton itself, it has a creamy, fulfilling character. This is a wine which will certainly benefit from spending a few years in the cellar. This could be a treat and might just be a bargain too.

94 Points - James Suckling" Very minerally, silky and refined with a full body, firm tannins and currants, stones and citrus. Racy and fine. This has a little more Merlot in the blend but is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon as always. One of the best Armailhacs in a long time."

Chateau du Tertre is a 5th growth in the 1855 Classification, located in the Margaux appellation on the left bank of Bordeaux. The chateau itself is 1000 years old, stretching over 52ha. In 1961, the estate was acquired by Phillipe Gasqueton who restored the vineyards and chateau after WWII. After his death in 1995, his widow sold the property to the neighbouring owners of Chateau Giscours, a 3rd Growth. In 1997, the estate was restructured and redesigned by the current Dutch owners of Albada-Jelgersma. This red blend has mainly cabernet sauvignon, with the balance of merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot. A typical Margaux style with elegant floral and red fruits on the nose, yet with plenty of tobacco, cedar and dried herbs with a soft texture, and fresh acidity. Wait a couple of years to enjoy this and drink from 2025-2040.

The nose displays plenty of menthol, blackberry and blackcurrant aromas. On palate, this medium-bodied wine is fresh and ripe with a long, clean, mineral and herbal finish. An incredibly food-flexible wine!

Château Pontet-Canet is an estate that needs little introduction. After fully transitioning to biodynamic viticulture in 2005, this all-star property has captivated wine lovers around the world not just because of the quality of their grand vin, but because of their revolutionary winemaking techniques and guidance of the legendary figure Alfred Tesseron.

The folks at Pontet-Canet are truly among the pioneers of Bordeaux’s shift to the now widely practiced biodynamic viticulture. Unlike other classified growths that believe in using the most cutting-edge technology to make great wines, Château Pontet-Canet is all about slowing down. Horse drawn carriages plough the vineyards, real people survey the fermentation vats 24 hours a day, and no electricity is used at the estate. Though these practices may seem unorthodox, their results are undeniable and they certainly are very interesting points of conversation to say the least.

The 1990s were a pivotal time for Château Pontet-Canet, largely due to the fact that Alfred Tesseron took over managing the estate in 1994 and began transitioning the property over to biodynamic viticulture at that time. Each vintage during that decade increased in quality, and this offering from Château Pontet-Canet offers fans of the estate six ready-to-drink vintages from that formidable decade. This mixed case offers buyers the opportunity to take a trip back in time to that pivotal time and experience for themselves the evolutionary results of Alfred Tesseron’s visionary winemaking techniques, featuring a vertical selection from 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, and 1999.

Tasting Notes

1990 "Still deep glossy crimson. Looks much younger than 1994. The first subtle wine of the tasting! Mineral notes and quite dry on the end. Juicy, round and sweet. Still quite savoury – much more so that most 1990s. No overtly fleshy putrid notes" - Jancis Robinson, Ratings: 18/20

1994 "One of the finest as well as longest-lived wines of the vintage, this opaque purple-colored 1994 needs 7-10 years of cellaring. This rich, impressive, full-bodied wine represents the finest Pontet-Canet produced since the 1961. This full-bodied, purely made wine is crammed with black currant fruit, as well as forbiddingly tannic and backward. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2025. Last tasted 1/97" - Robert Parker Jr., The Wine Advocate (12/31/1997, Bordeaux, 3rd Edition), Ratings: 93, Drink: 2005-2025

1995 "An old style Pauillac, yet made with far more purity and richness than the estate's ancient vintages, this broad-shouldered, muscular, classic wine exhibits a saturated purple color, and sensationally dense, rich, concentrated, cassis flavors that roll over the palate with impressive purity and depth. The wine is tannic and closed, but powerful and rich. It appears to possess length and intensity similar to the 1996. This is a great young Pauillac. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2025.

The extraordinary effort that Alfred Tesseron is making at this property is reconfirmed with each new tasting note I write on Pontet-Canet. Having recently had the exceptionally impressive 1994 in several tastings, it is a pleasure to see this historic estate turning out wines that behave like super seconds rather than fifth-growths." - Robert Parker Jr., The Wine Advocate (4/25/2012, Issue 200), Ratings: 92, Drink: 2005-2025

1996 "I was shocked by how backward the 1996 Pontet-Canet was on the three occasions I tasted it in January. This wine possesses superb potential, but it appears a decade's worth of patience will be necessary. The color is a saturated dark purple. With coaxing, the wine offers aromas of black currant jam intertwined with minerals, sweet oak, and spice. A full-bodied wine, it possesses layered, concentrated, sweet fruit, with an elevated level of ripe tannin." - Robert Parker Jr., The Wine Advocate, Ratings: 92, Drink: 2010-2035

1998 "The 1998 Pontet Canet was made at a time when the property practiced green harvesting that began in 1994 but is not done today. “The changes were in the mind at this stage,” commented Jean-Michel Comme wryly. Initially it felt a little muddled on the nose but it gains focus with time. Eventually it offers straightforward blackberry, briary and cedar scents. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp acidity, plenty of cedar and mint-laced black fruit with a pleasant, quite lively and lightly spiced finish that lingers in the mouth. This is a commendable 1998 from the château before they really began to embrace biodynamics. Tasted at the château." - Neal Martin, Vnous, Ratings: 90

1999 "Tasted at the Pontet-Canet vertical in London, the 1999 Château Pontet-Canet put in a respectable showing and demonstrated more class than either the 1996 or1982. Well-defined on the nose, there is a satisfying delivery of blackberry and blueberry fruit infused with dried blood and incense as it moves into its secondary stage. The palate is medium-bodied with classic tobacco-infused black fruit. There is nice salinity here, not a complex Pauillac by any stretch of the imagination, although there is impressive precision on the conservative finish. Probably at its peak now, the 1999 Pontet-Canet is a wine that never had lofty ambitions, but a wine that I would welcome on my table. Tasted February 2016." - Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate (4/29/2015, Issue 218), Ratings: 90, Drink: 2016-2025

Chateau du Tertre is a 5th growth in the 1855 Classification, located in the Margaux appellation on the left bank of Bordeaux. The chateau itself is 1000 years old, stretching over 52ha. In 1961, the estate was acquired by Phillipe Gasqueton who restored the vineyards and chateau after WWII. After his death in 1995, his widow sold the property to the neighbouring owners of Chateau Giscours, a 3rd Growth. In 1997, the estate was restructured and redesigned by the current Dutch owners of Albada-Jelgersma. The 2014 is a red blend with 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 10% Petit Verdot. The Petit Verdot provides a tannic, structured lift to frame the raspberry, baked cherries, potpourri and forest floor aromas. Excellent ageing potential here, drink from 2024-2040.

Perhaps not as popular as the neighbouring vineyards of Lynch-Bages, it is still very much Pauillac with many improvements being done at both the Chateau and in the vineyards in recent years. Made from 83% Cabernet Sauvignon for that power, structure, and flavour profile; and 17% Merlot for softness and roundness, this can still be further aged, but can be opened and enjoyed now. Enjoy the notes of tobacco, graphite, plum, black currants, mushrooms, and dried fruit of this wine!

" The 2016 Haut-Bages Libéral has turned out beautifully. Rose petals, lavender and sweet red cherry are some of the notes that grace this fine, translucent Pauillac. Medium in body and precise, with exquisite finesse and nuance, the 2016 is incredibly expressive today. This is a fabulous showing from proprietor Claire Villars Lurton. (AG)" (1/2019) -Vinous 95 points