Fine Wine > Red > Still > 95-99 Pts > France

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"A spicy, ripe, elegant and admirably pure nose offers up notes of anise, sandalwood and clove that add breadth to the floral, earth and stone-suffused aromas. There is the same superb breadth to the rich, intense and tension-filled full-bodied flavors that possess excellent power and drive on the..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"Like many of its peers, the 1998 has filled out spectacularly. Now in the bottle, this opaque black/purple-colored offering has increased in stature, richness, and size. A blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc (57% of the production was utilized), it is an extremely..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"Background notes of wood are discernible but stop short of being invasive as they still allow the restrained, cool and pure dark berry fruit and black cherry aromas to shine. Interestingly this is less overtly spicy as the Amoureuses at present though there is a genuinely gorgeous inner mouth..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
RP: "The blockbuster 2003 Haut-Brion (13% alcohol) possesses extremely high tannin, but that component is well-concealed by a cascade of mulberry, blackberry, cherry, and plum-like fruit. There is even a hint of figs under the blue and red fruit spectrum. While broad and ripe with a sweet, glyceral..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"A beautiful effort, the 2009 Pichon Lalande, a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, possesses copious mocha, lead pencil, unsmoked, high class tobacco, black currant, forest floor and herbaceous characteristics. It is a deep purple-hued, charming, surprisingly open-knit..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
BH:"Not unexpectedly, here the brooding and somber nose is completely different with a much greater emphasis on earth and smoked tea nuances on the darker hued fruit that includes cassis and black raspberry. The rich, powerful and impressively concentrated large-scaled flavors exhibit a..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"1990 is the Hermitage appellation's greatest vintage since 1978, and maybe since 1961. I have been tasting Chave's Hermitage since the great 1978 vintage, and the black-colored 1990 is unquestionably the most massive and concentrated wine he has yet produced. Perhaps the real difference between it..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"Another celestial effort from Paul Pontallier and Corinne Mentzelopoulus, the 2005 Margaux, a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot, boasts a dense opaque blue/purple color as well as an extraordinary bouquet of spring flowers, blueberries, black raspberries, creme de cassis, licorice,..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"*A Top 100 Cellar Selection of 2009* A severe, austere wine that doesn't show its richness easily. The tannins are tight and firm and they dominate. Underneath is ripe fruit, the balance with tannins giving a foursquare, solid character. The wine is complex, spice playing with the fruit, some..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"*A Top 100 Cellar Selection of 2009* A severe, austere wine that doesn't show its richness easily. The tannins are tight and firm and they dominate. Underneath is ripe fruit, the balance with tannins giving a foursquare, solid character. The wine is complex, spice playing with the fruit, some..