Bordeaux First Growths

wines

A spectacular Latour, the 1996 may be the modern day clone of the 1966, only riper. This vintage, which is so variable in Pomerol, St.-Emilion, and Graves, was fabulous for the late-harvested Cabernet Sauvignon of the northern Medoc because of splendid weather in late September and early October. An opaque purple color is followed by phenomenally sweet, pure aromas of cassis infused with subtle minerals. This massive offering possesses unreal levels of extract, full body, intensely ripe, but abundant tannin, and a finish that lasts for nearly a minute. Classic and dense, it displays the potential for 50-75 years of longevity. Although still an infant, it would be educational to taste a bottle. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2050.Robert Parker | 99 RPFabulous aromas of crushed raspberries, plums and blackberries. Mind-blowing nose. Full-bodied, with soft and silky tannins and a long caressing finish. Hard not to drink now, but leave it alone.--’95/’96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2010. 17,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSThe 1996 Latour is a wine that I often find overrated and did not achieve everything that might have been possible in this favourable growing season. That said, this might well be the best of around two dozen bottles I have encountered over the years. As usual, the 1996 is decidedly austere at first, standoffish, looks down its nose at you. Yet it coalesces with time and develops engaging cedar-scented black fruit tinged with pencil box and a touch of iris with time. The palate (again) is a little muted at first but it soon found its voice and evolved very fine tannin allied with a crisp line of acidity. It is not quite as demonstrative as it was even just a couple of years ago, gained some detail and perhaps it will continue to meliorate. Very fine, very fine indeed - but not a patch of say, the Château Margaux or perhaps even Léoville Las Cases. Tasted at the International Business & Wine Latour dinner at Ten Trinity.Vinous Media | 94 VM(Château Latour) The last bottle of the 1996 Latour that I tasted was part of a mini-vertical that was one of the most ingenuous and generous flights of wine I have tasted in a long time, as my friend paired the 1996 Latour up with the 1896 Latour at a double blind tasting in February of this year! Needless to say, the one hundred years’ worth of bottle age between the two vintages was sufficient to convince none of us that it was the same property, but both wines acquitted themselves beautifully. I was surprised at how well the 1996 Latour was starting to show, given that it is a classically-styled Latour from a very tannic and powerful vintage in the Medoc, but the wine is already starting to drink with some generosity. The bouquet is superb, offering up scents of black cherries, cassis, cigar ash a touch of tariness, gravelly soil tones, smoke and a whisper of balsam bough in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with firm, still plenty chewy tannins, fine focus and balance and a very long, nascently complex and quite promising finish. This is nowhere near as unapproachable as I would have supposed the combination of Latour and 1996 would be, but I would be inclined to give it another decade in the cellar and really let the fireworks get rolling properly. (Drink between 2027-2085)John Gilman | 94+ JG(Château Latour, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, Red) This highly anticipated bottle was a bit of a disappointment. One of the two bottles was oxidised, and the other seemed a bit more mature than I would have hoped, with a meaty, savoury note to the black fruit, accented with leather and smoke. The grapes were picked from 17th September to 2nd October, and slightly more than 50% of the fruit was used in the grand vin. A blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. (Drink between 2022-2042)Decanter | 92 DEC

A blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot, this wine represents only 34% of Lafite’s total harvest. In a less than perfect Medoc vintage, it has been spectacular since birth, putting on more weight and flesh over the last year. This opaque purple-colored 1998 is close to perfection. The spectacular nose of lead pencil, smoky, mineral, and black currant fruit soars majestically from the glass. The wine is elegant yet profoundly rich, revealing the essence of Lafite’s character. The tannin is sweet, and the wine is spectacularly layered yet never heavy. The finish is sweet, super-rich, yet impeccably balanced and long (50+ seconds). Anticipated maturity: 2007-2035.Robert Parker | 98 RPThe 1998 Lafite-Rothschild is served from double magnum directly from the château reserves, in fact with the man who made it sitting opposite me – Charles Chevalier. I must admit to being quite amazed how well this shows at 20-years of age, trouncing all the other First Growths except Haut-Brion. Lucid in colour, it has a vivid bouquet of pure blackberry, blueberry, vanilla and graphite, perhaps just a little uncharacteristically showy in style, but beautifully defined and intense. The palate is perfectly balanced with layers of ripe black fruit, perfectly pitched acidity and a silky smooth texture that renders this utterly seductive. It is almost too good for me to recommend cellaring longer. Whatever...it is a sublime Lafite-Rothschild that on this showing, may well challenge the supremacy of the 1996. Tasted at the Académie du Vin dinner in Bordeaux.Vinous Media | 96 VMAmazing aromas of crushed blackberries, toasted oak and currant, spices. Really a great nose. Full-bodied, with round and velvety tannins and a long, long finish. It lasts for minutes on the palate. Superb. Best wine of the Médoc, without a doubt.--’88/’98 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2008). Best after 2011. 21,665 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSNo written review provided. | 94 W&SEasy vintage until September, when conditions in the Médoc particularly became humid, which meant accelerating the harvest (it was one of those years when Lafite benefitted enormously from its ability to ramp up a bigger-than-expected team of pickers). Salin still calls this a lunch wine, because of its supple freshness, its balance that would work so perfectly with food.The vintage was a showcase for Bordeaux on the Right Bank, where it was considered great from the start. The Medoc and Graves were less well received at the time, but are ripe for rediscovering now. This still has a lovely deep ruby red colour, and on both the nose and palate you are getting to secondary aromas, a walk in the forest, mushrooms, cedars, heather, game – these are flavours you just don’t get in young wines, and amply reward the patience of holding bottles back. The surprise, and the Lafite signature, comes in its vibrancy, in its huge persistency and in the lift on the finish.Decanter | 94 DEC

A dark nose, serious and a bit closed, though there is such complexity on the palate. You get the tannic feel in the mouth straight away, mouthfilling, ample, generous and chewy - these tannins have weight and density but are lifted by the bright, high-definition cherry, strawberry and raspberry acidity underneath keeping things vibrant and fresh with a sour cherry and stoney minerality on the finish. Exceptional balance and sculpting, this has energy but also poise. Sophisticated glamour in full force, svelte and suave - this is a wine that aims to please. Definitely one of the most thrilling and captivating wines of the vintage! 2% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. 36% grand vin.Decanter | 97 DECA Margaux with beautiful depth and grace and wonderfully well-placed, refined tannins, showing presence and a soft texture. They caress your palate. Full-bodied, yet tight and extremely long. Seamless. 87% cabernet franc, 8% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot.James Suckling | 97-98 JSThe wine has richness but its main attraction is the balance between acidity and the light touch that gives the wine great freshness. The touch of Cabernet Franc in the blend brings its own perfumed structure. This is a wine that, of course, will age but that will also give pleasure relatively quickly. Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThe 2021 Château Margaux is creamy and supple, a classy Margaux with the volume turned down just a bit. Succulent dark cherry, red plum, spice and rose petal infuse the 2021 with layers of succulent depth. This is a quiet wine, but one that possesses notable richness for the year. Time in the glass brings out the aromatics, but this remains very much built on its fruit.Vinous Media | 96 VMThe 2021 Château Margaux saw a traditional élevage in new barrels, with bottling in July, and as readers will remember, it’s a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot that benefited from late picking, appreciable percentages of saignée, and a strict selection. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of cassis, blueberries and raspberries mingled with hints of licorice, white flowers and charcoal, it’s medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with a broad attack, lively purity and sweet structuring tannins, concluding with a long, penetrating finish. It’s a classic that will richly reward bottle age.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPI think the wine of the vintage is the 2021 Château Margaux, which comes from a miniscule selection of just 36% of the total production. The final blend is 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, all of which is resting in 100% new French oak. Reminding me slightly of a riper 1996, it has incredible purity in its ripe cassis and blueberry fruits as well as notes of liquid violets, spicy oak, graphite, and hints of sandalwood. As seamless as they come, medium to full-bodied, perfectly balanced, and with ample Château Margaux purity and finesse, this brilliant juice is as good as it gets in the vintage.Jeb Dunnuck | 95-97 JDThe 2021 Chateau Margaux is a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it is a little closed and broody to start, with notions of tar, licorice, fertile loam, and truffles leading to a core of fresh blackcurrants, juicy blackberries, and black raspberries, plus a touch of iron ore. Medium-bodied, the palate has wonderful intensity with a firm, fine-grained texture and plenty of freshness to support the tightly knit black and red berry flavors, finishing with loads of energy and shimmer. The first wine represents 36% of the crop this year and it came in with a phenolic index (IPT) of 75.The Wine Independent | 95-97 TWI

Currants and cedar with sandalwood and peaches. Fascinating aromas. Violets. Full-bodied with a crunchy and electric palate of primary fruit, with hints of tangerines and citrus. Great finish with structure and polish. 53.6% merlot, 35.4% cabernet sauvignon and 11% cabernet franc. Interesting to have such high merlot in the blend.James Suckling | 98-99 JSThe 2022 Haut-Brion comes across as a bit restrained, given the natural opulence of the year and the other wines in the Clarence Dillon portfolio. Deep and wonderfully layered, the 2022 possesses remarkable depth but also a bit less of the explosive energy that is such a Haut-Brion signature. I suspect that will come in time, as the 2022 starts to show quite a bit better with a little aeration. Violet, gravel, incense, leather, tobacco and scorched earth linger. Superb.Vinous Media | 97-99 VMDeep garnet-purple in color, the 2022 Haut-Brion is a blend of 53.6% Merlot, 35.4% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 11% Cabernet Franc aging in 62.9% new oak. The nose is typically closed and broody, requiring a lot of shaking to wake up enticing notes of iron ore, red roses, lavender, mint tea, and forest floor, leading to a tantalizing core of plum preserves and blueberry pie. The medium to full-bodied palate is very tightly knit with vibrant black and blue fruit layers and red berry sparks, framed by very fine-grained tannins and a refreshing backbone, finishing long and minerally. A classic, breath-taking expression of Haut-Brion, I expect this to remain shy and restrained for the first 10 years so in bottle, and then watch it soar.The Wine Independent | 97-99+ TWISlightly better than its sibling La Mission Haut-Brion, the 2022 Château Haut-Brion has a full-bodied, concentrated, structured style that’s going to demand bottle age. Cassis, graphite, scorched earth, and tobacco are just some of its nuances aromatically, and it shows the ripe, powerful style of the vintage. There are lots of tannins here, especially on the finish, and it’s going to need 7-8 years in the cellar.Jeb Dunnuck | 96-98 JDMilk chocolate and blackcurrants on the nose, fragrant ripe black cherries and some floral notes. Sleek, supple, suave, really confident and shiny. This keeps the tension more than La Mission at this point with a vein of freshness and intensity. It’s not out to charm but it’s out to impress. Excellent construction, clean depth and power, tense, strict and streamlined, a touch of creaminess and saltiness. You get waves of flavour intensity with ripe, concentrated fruit, soft acidity and a clean stone freshness. Tannins fill the mouth with edges of both minerality and toasted spices. Calm and controlled, impressive with focus. 3.8pH. A yield of 35hl/ha.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2022 Haut-Brion shows considerable promise, revealing aromas of dark berries and plums mingled with notions of pencil lead, licorice, tobacco leaf, spices and incense. Full-bodied, broad and seamless, it’s rich and muscular, with a deep, layered core of fruit framed by an ample endowment of tannin. This blend of 53.6% Merlot, 35.4% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Cabernet Franc, the result is a lip-smacking exemplification of controlled power. Analytically, the 2022 possesses a similar level of tannins to the 2010, and a similar pH to the 2009, yet it is more suave and polished than the 2010 at the same stage, and seemingly more dynamic than the 2009.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95-97 RP