Fine Wine > Bordeaux Blends > France > 95-99 Pts > Red

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"A massive wine that is clearly of first-growth quality in this vintage, ... A broodingly dense, thick, unctuously textured, inky/plum/garnet/purple color offers up scents of beef blood, steak tartare, cassis, herbs, tobacco, and underbrush. One of the most concentrated wines of the vintage (as..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"A tight but incredibly pronounced nose of smoke, earth minerals, lead pencil, black currants, cherries, and spice... full-bodied... rich multi-tiered, stunningly pure, symmetrical style with wonderful sweetness... it tastes like liquid nobility."

Cellar/Tasting Notes
JS: "Complex aromas of tobacco, cedar, berry and currants. Full-bodied, with a solid core of fruit and ripe tannins. Not as good as a barrel sample tasted earlier, but still outstanding for the vintage. Best after 2009."

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
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
"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..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"Bottled in June, 1997, this profound Mouton is ... 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 stuff," with superb density, a..