Fine Wine > 92-95 Pts > France

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"A candidate for wine of the vintage, the 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape (a tank-aged blend of 90% Grenache and the rest Mourvedre, Syrah and Cinsault from 80+ year old vines) is a naked expression of Chateauneuf du Pape that is pure fruit and complexity. Its dense purple color is followed by aromas of..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"I can’t say enough about how beautifully classic, racy, and gracious the wines of Brane Cantenac have become over the last decade. The stunningly elegant 2006 exhibits a sweet, subtle smoke note intermixed with creme de cassis in its medium-bodied style with superb nobility, concentration, and..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
[This] sensational Chateauneuf du Pape has fabulous fruit concentration. Full-bodied, pure and certainly a star of the vintage [it] is a brilliant achievement in 2009, and I kept going back to the glass for another whiff of the kirsch and black raspberry notes.

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"Firmly structured, dark-fruited wine, very solid and dense. It has weight along with black currant fruits and acidity. It’s a wine that is rich but seriously structured for aging. "

Cellar/Tasting Notes
“Focused and fresh, with violet and blackberry aromas and vanilla undertones. Full-bodied, with very pretty berry fruit character, fine tannins and a long, caressing finish. Refined ...”

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"Clos Saint-Martin is a consistently brilliant wine from one of St.-Emilion’s smallest vineyards (adjacent to the cemetery of all places). It always reeks of crushed rocks/powdered chalk, sweet black cherries, cassis, and beautifully integrated wood as well as tannin. Its kirsch liqueur-like..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
An enormously appealing style of wine with a dark plum/purple color to the rim, its sweet kiss of subtle oak intermixed with Asian spice, plum sauce, black cherries and black currants pushes some of the oak to the background. Plump, opulent, low in acidity and very sexy, this wine can be drunk over..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"The 2009 Les Pagodes de Cos is also a remarkable offering. Composed of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot, it tips the scales at 14.5% alcohol, and is better than most Cos d'Estournel vintages produced in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. It is a full-bodied, opulently concentrated..

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"Blueberry, licorice and sandalwood, with a solid core of fruit. Velvet and mineral. Lots going on. An impressive wine from tiny yields. 75 percent Merlot and 25 percent Cabernet Franc."

Cellar/Tasting Notes
"From a superbly situated on St.-Emilion’s plateau, 38-acre vineyard planted on primarily limestone and clay, this 2006 is meant for long-term aging. A combination of 80% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, it is a backward, brawny, muscular, long distance runner. Consumers..