Bordeaux Collector Wines

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Opulent yet restrained aromas which give the impression of ripeness. A sense of hedonism pervades here – and it’s very welcome too. Long and elegant with good depth of fruit, well woven tannins and a long, sensuous finish. Drinking Window 2015 - 2020Decanter | 95 DECGood saturated ruby-red. Tight nose hints at currant and smoky oak. Highly concentrated, densely packed and built to age. As young as it is, it also shows a lovely velvety texture rare for this vintage. Finishes with terrific breadth, subtle minerality and noble tannins. I’ve been a fan of this wine since the outset.Vinous Media | 94 VMDense purple to the rim, this wine exhibits the classic cassis aroma that is so characteristic of Mouton. Medium to full-bodied, tannic, powerful, and cut somewhat from the 1988 mold, this is a backward, chewy, well-endowed Mouton-Rothschild that will require considerable patience from those who purchase it. A blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, the wine needs a good decade of cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2030+.Robert Parker | 93 RPI tasted this a few days after Bordeaux en primeur 2014. I was at my house in Italy and I forgot I had the bottle in my cellar. I really liked it. It was ready to drink, though some of my guests were less enthusiastic. My wife even thought it was tired already, yet the bottle was finished in 10 minutes! The wine showed fresh herb and berry character with tobacco undertones, a medium body and fine tannins. Just opening now. Fine and sillky textured.James Suckling | 93 JSComplex 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.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

This is one of my favorite wines ever. Full-bodied, with layers of silky fruit and masses of currant, mineral and berry character. Amazing. It’s a wine with perfect structure, perfect strength. It’s 1961 Latour in modern clothes. It’s hard not to drink it now. ’89/’90 Bordeaux non-blind horizontal. Best after 2008.Wine Spectator | 100 WSThen, the 1990 Latour arrives. Powerful and dense to the core, the 1990 possesses superb density for a wine of its age. Despite its considerable depth, the 1990 remains light on its feet for such a big wine. I imagine the 1990 Latour will drink well for another thirty years. What a wine.Vinous Media | 98 AG(Château Latour) The 1990 vintage from Château Latour is a superb example of this ripe and more forward year, with the torrid growing season having put its imprimatur on the wine a bit in its slightly more forward and plush style, without ever impinging upon the classic Latour house style. The bouquet is tremendously deep and expressive, offering up scents of cassis, blackberries, tobacco, gravelly soil tones, a hint of violets, cedar and a blossoming topnote of cigar smoke. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and simply packed at the core, with superb focus and grip, lovely complexity and a very long, ripely tannic and already fairly pliable finish. This wine has plenty of structure for the long haul, but it does not possess the classic sternness of vintages of Latour from the fifties or sixties, nor of wines made in the last decade or so. That said, it is probably the finest Left Bank wine of the 1990 vintage. (Drink between 2016-2060).John Gilman | 96 JGThis is one of the more perplexing Latours to evaluate. It has plenty of sweetness as well as a gorgeous, rich fruitiness, but it lacks the firmness one finds in more recent great vintages such as 1996, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2008. There is plenty of sweet, ripe currant fruitiness, abundant glycerin, and full body, but I’m still waiting for that extra nuance of complexity to emerge. It’s all there, but the wine still seems to be more monolithic than one would expect in a wine approaching 19 years of age. It is not the sure-fire winner I thought it was in its youth, but then again, I don’t have any reason to doubt that more complexity will emerge. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2035. Release price: ($1500.00/case)Robert Parker | 95+ RPStill a young wine, with firm tannins that are less finely expressed than the Lafite at the same age and instead provide a more muscular presence in the glass, as is entirely within the Latour signature. The dominant flavours are cedar, tobacco, black cherry and cigar box, with black pepper spice on the close of play. Plenty of changes going on at Latour in 1990, with the estate sold the year before from the Pearson Group to Allied Lyons. This was the first year of the third wine Pauillac de Latour, further refining the selection of the main bottling. Drinking Window 2021 - 2036.Decanter | 94 DEC

The wine shows the power typical of a Lafite but within the context of the fruity 2011 vintage. The immensely dense tannic structure gives the wine a solid feel that is lifted by so much ripe black currant and berry fruits. At the back, the wine has a more brooding, dark character that suggests great aging potential. Drink this wine from 2019.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEDeveloping into classical Lafite - meaning the frame comes from fine tannins, and the overall impression is of subtle complexity, still extremely young but with energy and lift. A gentle cedar smoke and liquorice edging becomes clear as it opens up, and the black fruits are savoury. The St-Estephe plot was hailed on in early September, but the fruit was already relatively ripe, so even though they harvested 15 days earlier than ideal, it was ripe enough to use in the Grand Vin, and the overall yield was 52hl/ha. Higher Merlot in the blend than you would find today (now closer to 10%). Drinking Window 2024 - 2045.Decanter | 95 DECLove the nose on this, with sweet tobacco, delicate currant, cedar and blackberry. Full body with integrated tannins and a juicy, fruity, subtle finish. The texture to this wine is beautiful. Better than I remember from barrel. Try in 2019.James Suckling | 94 JSThis delivers pronounced tobacco and bay leaf notes up front, with a core of steeped plum and currant fruit and a fleshy edge through the charcoal-lined finish. There’s some serious buried minerality, which should emerge with cellaring. Best from 2018 through 2031.Wine Spectator | 94 WSA blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot (harvested between September 3-21), the 2011 Lafite Rothschild came in at 12.6% natural alcohol (considerably lower than in 2010 and 2009). Exhibiting a deep ruby/purple color, lots of crushed rock, red and black currant, forest floor and underbrush characteristics, moderate tannin and medium body, it is built somewhat along the lines of the 1999 and 2001. It should be a 20- to 25-year wine, but it is not at the level of the 2008, 2009 and 2010. Fresh acids give the wine a somewhat more clipped feeling than most great Lafites have exhibited. Nevertheless, there is a lot of freshness and vibrancy to this vintage.Robert Parker | 90-93 RP(Château Lafite Rothschild) The 2011 Lafite Rothschild is a pretty good example of the vintage, but it is a bit lean by the contemporary high standards of this estate. The nose is deep, dark and quite reserved in its aromatic mélange of cassis, dark chocolate, dark berries, gravel, cigar smoke, fresh sage and a well-gauged base of cedary oak. On the palate the wine is fullish, closed and quite tannic, with a pretty good core of fruit, plenty of touch tannins and very good length and grip on the well-balanced finish. If this can put on weight in the mid-palate during the course of its evolution in barrel and bottle, then it will land at the high end of my projected range. It is not a great Lafite by any stretch of the imagination, but it could end up being a very good bottle in twelve to twenty years’ time. (Drink between 2025-2075).John Gilman | 89-92+ JGThe 2011 Lafite-Rothschild was impressive from barrel. It is very composed on the nose with brambly red fruit, loam, touches of sous-bois (decayed autumn leaves). After five minutes, there is a noticeable liquorice scent. The palate is medium-bodied with chewy tannins, a little soft in the middle with a fleshy tarry, liquorice-infused finish that just tapers away. Elegant, refined, but not the First Growth’s strongest effort from this period. Tasted blind at the annual 10-Year-On tasting..Vinous Media | 91 VM

No written review provided. | 92 WS

The 2008 Mouton Rothschild checks in as a blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17% Merlot brought up in mostly new barrels. Undeniably one of the top wines in the vintage, it offers a rare opulence and sexiness in its awesome bouquet of crème de cassis, Asian spices, chocolate, and crushed flowers. Deep, full-bodied, powerful, and still young, it fills the mouth with fruit, has sweet tannin, and a great finish. It’s still ruby/plum-colored, with no signs of evolution, but is far from unapproachable and is drinking incredibly well today. It will keep for another two decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDAnother hit, although this is not as glamorous as some vintages of Mouton. The expression here is just a little more Pauillac, rather than Mouton. Layers of blackberry and grilled almonds are marked by a touch of austerity in the Cabernet which I almost never find in this wine. It remains a beautiful Mouton in a vintage where you don’t always get this level of texture and expression. It’s still young - we are actually nowhere near lift off yet. Drinking Window 2022 - 2038Decanter | 96 DECA rich wine, opulent in character. There is power here, with richness of fruit and texture. It is both serious side and exuberant, with its bursting black berry fruits.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WETasted at the Mouton-Rothschild vertical in London, the 2008 Mouton Rothschild has always been in the shadow of the ensuing couple of vintages, but I was not the only person at this tasting that commented upon the class in show here. It replicated previous showings: cedar and graphite present and correct, though accompanied by something a little more exotic - eucalyptus maybe? The palate is beautifully balanced, very detailed and extremely fresh. This conveys so much energy and animation before reverting towards a more classic and structured, pencil lead finish. Those in the know will stash up on the 2008 Mouton Rothschild because it is destined to turn into one of the "dark horses" of the decade. Tasted May 2016.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 95 RP-NMAromas of roasted fruit plus hints of grilled meat and chocolate. Full body, firm and chewy tannins and bright acidity. Tangy and lively. Needs time still to come together to soften the tannins. A little hard. Better in 2018.James Suckling | 94 JSAfter the 2009 and 2010, the 2008 Mouton Rothschild comes across as a touch slender. Lavender, smoke, grilled herbs and licorice add the closing shades of nuance in this delightful, mid-weight Mouton. In 2008, the blend is 83% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17% Merlot harvested between October 2 and 15. Two thousand eight is remembered as a highly variable year. Overcast skies finally opened in mid-September, which allowed the growing season to conclude on a high note.Vinous Media | 94 VMThis shows the cool, leafy profile of the vintage, with fresh tobacco and bay notes standing out, while the core of plum and blackberry fruit continues to fill in behind them. Shows wet earth and singed alder elements through the finish. This has nearly dropped its angular feel and is developing well, with just a slight twinge of crisp acidity on the finish.--Non-blind Mouton-Rothschild vertical (March 2017). Drink now through 2036.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

As stunning and immortal as ever. Complex aromas of mint, plum, currants and dried dark fruits that turn to raisins and chocolate. Full and juicy with a finish that lasts for minutes. Perfect wine as always.James Suckling | 100 JSPort-like, with an unctuous texture, and a dark garnet color with considerable amber at the edge, the 1961 Latour possesses a viscosity and thickness. One of the three bottles served at the Chateau's tasting revealed a surprisingly aggressive, minty, herbaceous nose, but the other two bottles were liquid perfection, exhibiting fragrant, cedary, truffle, leather, mineral, and sweet, jammy aromatics, full-bodied, voluptuous textures, exquisite purity and concentration, and a layered, highly-nuanced finish that represents the essence of compellingly great wine. The 1961 has been fully mature for over 15 years, but it seems to get richer, holding onto its succulence and fat, and developing more aromatic nuances without losing any sweetness or concentration. An extraordinary wine, it is unquestionably one of the Bordeaux legends of the century! Anticipated maturity: now-2025.Robert M. Parker, Jr. | 100 RPThe 1961 Latour poured at the vertical in Hong Kong is unquestionable one of the finest bottles that I have tasted. It has a breathtaking bouquet: fresh as morning dew and brilliantly delineated, intense black fruit whereby every atom is suffused with mineralité. It feels so youthful and vital. The nose is the apotheosis of Bordeaux being so aromatically regal and aristocratic. The palate is medium-bodied, with tannins sculpted by the finest chisel in the set: tightly wound black fruit, a perfect line of acidity and a breathtaking delineation, utterly harmonious and blessed with a persistent graphite-tinged finish that lasts over a minute. Majestic. Tasted at the Latour dinner in Hong Kong.Vinous Media | 100 VMA blockbuster. Amazingly youthful, yet complex and complete on the palate. Aromas of mint, berries,currant and minerals follow through to a thick and caressing, full-bodied palate. Superlong and superripe. Got to love this. Will it age forever?--Latour vertical. Drink now.Wine Spectator | 100 WS

The 2015 Pichon Comtesse is a towering wine, as it has always been. Rich, sumptuous and totally hedonistic, the 2015 melds together intense fruit with structure. Far from an easygoing wine, the 2015 is going to need a number of years and will then drink well for several decades. Grilled herbs, smoke, new leather and licorice are some of the many notes that are layered into the dark-fleshed fruit for complexity. As good as the 2015 is today, it also has room to grow. Technical Director Nicolas Glumineau has done a tremendous job with the 2015s at Pichon Comtesse. The blend is 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, aged 18 months in oak, 55% new.Antonio Galloni | 98+ AGThis shows spices, pepper, blueberries and blackcurrants on the nose. Full body, very polished tannins and a long and beautiful finish. Shows such gorgeous texture. Precise and transparent. Try in 2022.James Suckling | 97 JSI tasted the 2015 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande on three separate occasions rating it 97 twice and 98 once. Checking in as a final blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, this is a nuanced style of wine that grows on you with time in the glass, and the larger Merlot component always gives it a more supple, seductive texture. Crème de cassis, black raspberries, spring flowers, leafy herbs and lead pencil notes all flow to a full-bodied, ultra-pure, seamless beauty that builds on the palate, has fine tannin and a great, great finish. As classy as they come, it will continue to impress for two to three decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDBeautifully extracted, this is rich, ripe and layered. It is utterly gorgeous and has real precision and tension. It delivers its Pauillac swagger with the most gentle of hands - the tannins are fine, layered-up and building their defences without imposing too heavily on the succulent black fruits. It judges the vintage extremely well and is the best in this line-up for me. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 60% new oak. Drinking Window 2025 - 2042.Decanter | 97 DECA blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot aged for 18 months in barrels, 60% new, the 2015 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande displays a medium to deep garnet-purple color and is elegantly fruited with crushed red currants, black raspberries and cassis with touches of lavender, rose hips, tilled soil, fungi and charcuterie. Medium-bodied, finely crafted, remarkably pure and beautifully poised, it has a firm frame of very fine-grained tannins and oodles of freshness, finishing on a lingering mineral note.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThis is the new taste for this estate: richly endowed while remaining elegant and suave. Certainly, there is great concentration here as well as rich black fruits. But they are given a sense of style and poise that will remain with this wine as it ages. Drink from 2026.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEA fresh and focused style, with a terrific beam of black cherry and black currant compote flavors. Strong graphite and black tea notes harness the finish, ending with alder and tobacco echoes. This has serious length without losing any drive along the way. Best from 2022 through 2038.Wine Spectator | 95 WS