DE-97
2019 Chateau d’Yquem Premier Cru Superieur, Sauternes 6×37.5cl
"For certain, it has a highly-aromatic bouquet that is beguiling in purity, enticing aromas of honeysuckle and saffron, soon joined by camomile, white flowers and orange blossom. It has wonderful... delineation and gains intensity with aeration. The palate is supremely well-balanced with fine bead of acidity. Very harmonious and armed with just the right amount of viscosity, this Yquem is surprisingly understated at first but gains presence, offering irresistible flavours of layers of honey, lemongrass, lemon thyme and orange pith. Yquem is so tempting in its youth, but I feel that this vintage will repay those with the nous to cellar for at least a decade." 98 pts., Neal Martin, vinous.com
£750 / Case£125 / BottleDuty Status: In BondAvailability: Immediate
2020 Catena Zapata, Nicolas Catena Zapata, Mendoza 6x75cl
Wonderfully aromatic and nuanced on the nose, so alive and open. Energetic and lively on the palate, this has so much spark and brightness to it. Really compelling from the first sip, the tannins... ample and cushioning the slick black fruit and accompanying savoury spices. Feels lean and taught, but with so much flair. Really a lovely expression, so generous and well defined. Youthful as you'd expect right now but when this softens it will be a beauty. Just gorgeous, with a minty fresh finish. Wine director Alejandro Vigil, winemaker Fernando Buscema.
97 pts., Georgina Hindle, www.decanter.com
£360 / Case£60 / BottleDuty Status: In BondAvailability: En Primeur
2020 Casa Lapostolle, Clos Apalta, Colchagua Valley 6x75cl
"A great effort in the hot and dry 2020, COVID-19 vintage with the earliest harvest ever. The grand vin shows power, richness and tons of fruit but retains a sense of charisma and direction that is... so compelling. Bright, forward, sleek and silky, tannins enrobe the palate creating a cushion for the ripe blackcurrants and blueberries, bright acidity and underlying spice to meld together. A large percentage of Carmenere at 64% gives the fragrance and backbone while 19% Cabernet Sauvignon adds texture and depth, 13% Merlot bringing freshness and acidity and 2% Petit Verdot adding spice, colour and richness. Only just beginning to really express itself with liquorice, eucalyptus, figs, plums and a salty-wet stone minerality that comes in on the finish. Despite the intensity, this is layered and well sculpted with tons of pleasure to be had with a few more years ageing. Ageing 27 months in 225L French oak barrels, 85% new, 15% two years old. 3.7pH. Winemaker and viticulturist Andrea Leon kept more leaf coverage, a thicker and higher trellis and natural cover crops during the vintage to moderate the high temperatures. Bottles for this, and the second wine, are now made in Chile as of this vintage and have reduced in weight by 10% in a bid to increase sustainability. Clos Apalta now also featuring its name embossed in the glass at the bottom of the bottle.” 97 pts., Georgina Hindle, decanter.com
£474 / Case£79 / BottleDuty Status: In BondAvailability: En Primeur
2020 Chateau Pontet-Canet 5eme Cru Classe, Pauillac 6x75cl
The 2020 is yet another superb wine from an estate that has hardly put a foot wrong since the mid-1990s. A Château that delivers quality to equal and often surpass that of the super seconds, yet is... available at a much more palatable price tag.
60% cabernet, 32% merlot and 4% cab franc and petit verdot apiece, here is essential Pauillac: lifted, lilac-floral, chocolate and cherry nose; fresh, full-bodied cassis, plum and licorice palate, with layer upon layer of finely grained tannins with a terrific minerality and finish. It’s set for a glorious ageing.
£400 / Case£66.67 / BottleDuty Status: In BondAvailability: Immediate
2022 Chateau Pichon Baron 2eme Cru Classe, Pauillac 6x75cl
“The 2022 Pichon Baron was picked 8 September to 3 October and matured in 70% new oak. It has wonderful precision on the nose, with intense blackberry and bilberry fruit, crushed stone and... graphite. The oak is seamlessly integrated. The palate is tensile right from the start. Taut and linear, fresh, quite saline with a nuanced touch of black pepper toward the finish. Real pedigree and sophistication here, this is a magnificent Pichon-Baron that achieves a new level of precision thanks to the more piecemeal Sauternes-inspired harvest in tandem with their new winery.” 96-98 pts., Neal Martin, vinous.com
£810 / Case£135 / BottleDuty Status: In BondAvailability: En Primeur
2022 Chateau Lynch Bages 5eme Cru Classe, Pauillac 6x75cl
“The 2022 Lynch-Bages was picked 12 September, around 15 days earlier than usual until 24 September at around 35hL/ha. Aged for 18 months in 75% new oak, it has a backward nose that demands a lot... of encouragement. This is not as immediate as the 2016 or 2019 at the same stage. Powerful blackberry and boysenberry fruit, cedar and light tobacco notes, this feels like an edifice of aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannins, beautifully balanced, very harmonious yet there is an enormous backbone here that (again) is reminiscent of Mouton. Extremely long on the finish, this will need its barrel maturation to fully knit together and it is going to be a Pauillac for the long haul.” 97 pts., Georgina Hindle, decanter.com
£636 / Case£106 / BottleDuty Status: In BondAvailability: En Primeur
2021 Chateau Haut-Brion Premier Cru Classe, Pessac-Leognan 6x75cl
"The 2021 Haut-Brion has a more extravagant, charming bouquet compared directly with the La Mission at the moment, offering copious blackberry, black truffle, undergrowth and menthol scents. The... palate is very well balanced, harmonious and poised, with fine-grained tannins and an almost pixelated finish. This Haut-Brion seems to have reveled in the cooler growing season, and at 13.8% alcohol, there is almost a degree less than recent vintages. Jean-Philippe Delmas has fashioned a contender for wine of the vintage." 95-97, Neal Martin, www.vinous.com
£2,550 / Case£425 / BottleDuty Status: In BondAvailability: En Primeur
2020 Chateau Pontet-Canet 5eme Cru Classe, Pauillac 6x75cl
The 2020 is yet another superb wine from an estate that has hardly put a foot wrong since the mid-1990s. A Château that delivers quality to equal and often surpass that of the super seconds, yet is... available at a much more palatable price tag.
60% cabernet, 32% merlot and 4% cab franc and petit verdot apiece, here is essential Pauillac: lifted, lilac-floral, chocolate and cherry nose; fresh, full-bodied cassis, plum and licorice palate, with layer upon layer of finely grained tannins with a terrific minerality and finish. It’s set for a glorious ageing.
£400 / Case£66.67 / BottleDuty Status: In BondAvailability: En Primeur