Popular Wines

wines

The 1986 possesses outstanding richness, a deep color, medium body, a graceful, harmonious texture, and superb length. The penetrating fragrance of cedar, chestnuts, minerals, and rich fruit is a hallmark of this wine. Powerful, dense, rich, and tannic, as well as medium to full-bodied, with awesome extraction of fruit, this Lafite has immense potential. Patience is required. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2030. Last tasted 11/94.Robert Parker | 100 RPWe are in perfectly-aged claret territory here, the most beautiful impression of a wine at its plateau. It’s perfectly ready to drink and is still generous, with a long life ahead of it. Its spicy notes, touches of pencil lead and still-concentrated cassis combine with menthol, buttery leather and that classic Médoc saline, mineral-edged flourish - this is the height of well-aged Cabernet Sauvignon. Drinking Window 2018 - 2040.Decanter | 100 DECThe 1986 Lafite-Rothschild is a great wine although over several recent encounters it is never a convincing "perfect" wine. This mirrors the bottle I tasted at the property in 2016: blackberry and graphite on the nose, gawky at first, but coalescing with time. The palate is well balanced with firm tannins, strong graphite scents unfolding with time, superb energy if not delivering quite the finesse and precision that the very best Lafite-Rothschild will bestow. This is a wine that benefits from long decanting, say five or six hours, though it never quite reaches the ethereal heights that it could have done. Tasted at the International Business & Wine First Growth Dinner at the Four Seasons.Vinous Media | 96 VMA firm, young wine. Dark ruby color. Intense aromas of blackberry and mint. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a long finish. Still needs time.--Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2003.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

The 1989 has taken forever to shed its formidable tannins, but what a great vintage of Lynch Bages! I would rank it at the top of the pyramid although the 1990, 2000, and down the road, some of the more recent vintages such as 2005, 2009 and 2010 should come close to matching the 1989’s extraordinary concentration and undeniable aging potential. Its dense purple color reveals a slight lightening at the edge and the stunning bouquet offers classic notes of creme de cassis, subtle smoke, oak and graphite. Powerful and rich with some tannins still to shed at age 22, it is still a young adolescent in terms of its evolution and will benefit from another 4-5 years of cellaring. It should prove to be a 50 year wine.Robert Parker | 99+ RPThe 1989 Lynch-Bages is one of Jean-Michel Cazes’s triumphs. At three decades, it shows absolutely no signs of slowing down. Blackberry and cedar soar from the glass just as they did from the bottle last year, and touches of graphite develop, all beautifully defined and focused. As I’ve proclaimed before, there is such energy and vigor here! The palate is medium-bodied with a fresh, minty opening. The cedar element is a little stronger than the previous bottles that I have tasted, yet there is still that symmetry and focus. This particular bottle shows a touch more development on the finish compared to others encountered over the years, with great structure and grip, notes of tobacco and just a hint of morels surfacing on the aftertaste. A remarkable Lynch-Bages that is at its peak. As an aside, Jean-Michel Cazes mentioned that there are few bottles of the 1989 remaining in their reserves. A break-in during the 1990s saw robbers of good taste steal much of their stock. Tasted from an ex-cellar bottle at the château.Vinous Media | 96 VMDelivers so much blackberry, leather and dried fruits on the nose. Full-bodied, with ultrapolished tannins and a silky mouthfeel. The palate turns to leaves, cedar and dried berries on the finish, which goes on and on. This is still reserved for the vintage, suggesting a long life ahead. Just coming around now, but will improve many years ahead. I have always loved this Lynch.--’89/’99 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2009). Drink now. 35,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSI have always been a big fan of this rich wine, with its currant and tropical fruit character on the nose and palate, and just a hint of toasted oak. It’s full-bodied, with wild fruit and tobacco character, and a roasted coffee bean aftertaste. This is a fabulous wine. Served from imperial bottle.James Suckling | 94 JS(Château Lynch Bages) The 1989 Château Lynch Bages is starting to drink beautifully at the present time and has just about reached its apogee of peak maturity, but still has decades and decades of life ahead of it. The classic bouquet jumps from the glass in a sappy blend of sweet cassis, black cherries, new leather, cigar ash, dark soil and a touch of toasty, ever so slightly resinous new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and complex, with a fine core of fruit, very good soil signature, still a bit of backend tannin to carry it on into the future and impressive focus and grip on the long and complex finish. I would opt for giving this wine just a few more years to soften up just a touch more on the backend before starting to drink it with abandon. It is a top flight vintage of Lynch. (Drink between 2020-2050).John Gilman | 92 JG

The 2000 Les Forts de Latour has a very perfumed and floral bouquet, beautifully defined, precise and precocious; hints of eucalyptus emerge with time. The palate is well balanced and intense, delivering black fruit laced with mint and tar. The concentrated finish gently grips the mouth. This is only just beginning to show what it can do.Vinous Media | 95 VMSome call it the second wine of the great first growth of Latour. But it’s a unique wine on its own. It shows blueberry, raspberry and other dark-berry character. It’s so round and delicious, why wait?James Suckling | 94 JSSuper enticing aromas of crushed raspberries, Indian spices and hints of vanilla. Full-bodied, with a refined and tight tannin structure and a long, refreshing finish. A beauty. Best Les Forts in years. Best after 2009. 11,665 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThe 2000 Les Forts de Latour is a seriously endowed wine with notes of black walnuts, black currants, crushed rock, tobacco and spice box. Full-bodied, luscious but still in need of another 2-3 years to hit full maturity, it certainly can evolve for another 15 or more years, and looks to be slightly richer and longer-lived than I originally predicted.My original ratings appear to have been dead on the money for both of these efforts from Chateau Latour.Robert Parker | 92 RP

The 2003 Lafite Rothschild comes as close to perfection as any of the great Lafites made over the past three decades (1982, 1986, 1996, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2010). This sensational effort came in at 12.7% natural alcohol, it is made in the style of one of this estate’s great classics, the 1959. Composed of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it exhibits a dense ruby/purple color to the rim along with a luxurious bouquet of cedarwood, lead pencil shaving, white chocolate, cocoa and cassis. Fat, rich, opulent and full-bodied with low acidity and stunning seductiveness and complexity, this noble wine possesses a bountiful, generous, heady style. It is just coming into its plateau of maturity where it should hold for 20-25 years. This is one of the candidates for the wine of the vintage – make no mistake about that.These are two great successes in this vintage that have aged well and surprised me by their intensity and overall complexity.Robert Parker | 100 RPSpicy and rich, with a tobacco and berry character on the nose and palate I love the nose. Full bodied, with soft velvety tannins that give you so much. This goes on and on. Sexy and exciting right now, but leave this for five or six years.James Suckling | 98 JSThis is a splendid wine. Yes, it is more powerful than the usual aristocratic Lafites, but it still manages to retain a special air of great elegance and presence. The fruits are black, the tannins immensely powerful, the flavors are of black figs, dates, cocoa. At the end, there is a vibrant acidity that shows through, which promises a great life for this great wine.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThe 2003 Lafite-Rothschild famously shrugged off the merciless heat of that infamous summer when the temperature at the estate nudge 42° Celsius. It has a lovely bouquet of black plum, pressed iris, a touch of glycerin and (for Lafite) exotic scents of blood orange. The palate is powerful and intense as you would expect. There is great depth and volume with glossy black fruit laced with orange zest, smoke and melted tar. You can almost feel the summer in this Lafite-Rothschild but unlike many of its peers, it has requisite acidity to maintain freshness and avoid cloyingness on the finish. Whilst not my pick of modern-day Lafites, I have to doff my cap because it was and still is, one of the finest Left Banks of the vintage. Tasted at the Lafite-Rothschild 150th anniversary dinner at the estate.Vinous Media | 96 VMSubtle, complex aromas of berries, licorice and currants. Full-bodied, with well-integrated tannins and a long finish. Very well-integrated wine. Lovely stuff. Wonderful length and finesse. Best after 2012. 20,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

A wine of noble bearing and exceptional beauty, the 2010 Mouton Rothschild is a flat-out stunner. The aromatics alone are beguiling. On the palate, the wine is every bit as thrilling, with myriad layers of flavor that continue to open up in the glass. Graphite, gravel, smoke, plum, black cherry and savory herbs are all strikingly delineated throughout. Vivid and crystalline, the 2010 is a jewel of a wine, but it is impossibly young now. Readers who can be patient will be treated to a fabulous wine. Today, the 2010 reminds me of a more civilized version of the 1986. The 2010 is 94% Cabernet Sauvignon (the highest amount of Cabernet ever here). Dollops of Merlot round out the blend. Harvest took place between September 29 and October 13.Antonio Galloni | 100 AGSmoked grilled tar on the nose, it feels both very 2010 and supremely Mouton - accomplished and confident. A more glamorous, enticing edge than the other Pauillac Firsts at this 10 year window. There are plentiful tannins but they are lined with air, and the overall feel is of plush, plumped fruits, like being rolled-up in luxurious sheets. It is very different in character to the other two Pauillac Firsts, but no less enjoyable. It feels higher in alcohol, more Cos than Lafite in terms of personality, in the way that Pichon Baron is more Latour than Comtesse, but it is nuanced and clever and surprising. Drinking Window 2025 - 2050Decanter | 100 DECClearly a perfect wine that shows incredible depth of fruit with currants, dark chocolate, minerals and licorice. Full-bodied, tight and wound up with ripe tannins that let go and seduce you. Makes me want to drink it now. But this is a wine for the long term. Extraordinary. 94% cabernet sauvignon. Better in 2020.James Suckling | 100 JSThis remains the stunner, a battleship of a wine, brimming with cassis, blackberry and fig fruit that has melded together now, with the backdrop of alder, bay leaf and menthol starting to emerge a bit more. The long finish is loaded with grip, pulling the fruit and other components together. And then there’s that flash of iron at the very end. Awesome wine.--Non-blind Mouton-Rothschild vertical (March 2017). Best from 2025 through 2060.Wine Spectator | 99 WSOnly 49% of the production made it into the 2010 Mouton Rothschild, which has a strikingly beautiful label by Jeffrey Koons. This is a truly great wine, with a very high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon (94%) and the other 6% Merlot. At 13.9% natural alcohol, Mouton’s director, Philippe Dhalluin, has clearly produced another 50- to 60-year wine that has a chance at perfection in about 15 years time, when I suspect this wine will be rounding into drinking condition. It is dense, rich and full-bodied, with the classic Mouton creme de cassis, forest floor, licorice and floral notes, but also some blueberry and hints of subtle espresso and mulberry. The wine has more minerality and precision than the rich, extravagantly opulent 2009, and while that may please some, others will have their patience tested as they wait and wait for this compelling Mouton Rothschild to hit full maturity.Robert Parker | 98+ RPA dense, smooth and opulent wine bursting with ripe Cabernet Sauvignon flavors. It’s regal and well structured, balancing the natural exuberance of Mouton with a more severe side. This is a wine with power, yet not without its charms from the fruitiness and final acidity. This great wine will age many, many years.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WE(Château Mouton-Rothschild) Prior to my visit to Mouton at the end of my trip, I had heard from several sources that this was a top-notch vintage for this great estate. Having now tasted the wine, I would have to say that such an assessment included more than a bit of wishful thinking, as the 2010 Mouton has not managed to carry its fourteen percent alcoholic ripeness without sacrificing precision on both the nose and palate. The wine offers up a ripe and fairly complex bouquet of black cherries, black raspberries, coffee bean, cigar smoke, soil and lead pencil. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and quite broad-shouldered, with a rock solid core of ripe fruit, very firm, but well-integrated tannins and a long, slightly blurry finish. The harmony of acids, ripe fruit and firm tannins here are much better than in any of the other wines in the Mouton stable this year, but 2010 is a vintage where the strident ripeness has been very hard to harness and provide a wine with the customary focus and delineation that is almost taken for granted at Mouton-Rothschild. This is a good wine, but decidedly not a great vintage for Mouton. It may improve over the course of its elevage and eventually place at the higher end of this scoring range, but it is hardly a legend in the making. (Drink between 2025-2075)John Gilman | 87-91+ JG

Purity and brilliance on the nose with so much currant and flower character. Roses, currant bush and fresh leaves, too. Brightness is the word that comes to mind. Full-bodied and broad-shouldered. Juicy and so gorgeous now. Balance is so wonderful here. All about harmonious fruit and tannin balance. I like it slightly better than the excellent 2014. 81% cabernet sauvignon, 4% petit verdot, 7% cabernet franc, 6% merlot and 2% malbec. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2015 Opus One is rich, sensual and super-polished. That said, 2015 has really shut down since I tasted it last year, which is probably a very good sign for the future. All of the fruit intensity and ripeness of the vintage is evident, but the wine feels a bit more compact and less exuberant than it did at the outset. Sweet floral and spice notes add a gentler touch as the wine opens up just a bit with air.Antonio Galloni | 97 AG“This wine was too much—too much like a caricature for me,” winemaker Michael Silacci confessed to me while tasting the 2015 Opus One together again recently. “So, when we took it out of barrel to prepare for bottling we added a few more components.” Medium to deep garnet-purple color, it bursts from the glass with beautiful violets, lavender, rose hip tea and chocolate-covered cherries scents over a core of crushed blackberries, black cherries, cassis and iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is wonderfully bright and crunchy, with bags of fresh black and red berries and a wonderfully plush, finely grained texture, finishing long and fragrant.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPThe hottest vintage since 2008, this is full of spice and still an absolute baby. Touch of heat through the mid-palate, but it's seductive and luxurious, with cocoa, espresso and black chocolate notes that barely let up. A wine that you want to lean in to - and again a wine that needs time in bottle. If you can't wait, make sure you find an uninterrupted evening and a large carafe - this needs time and oxygen to edge towards uncurling these tight, rich flavours. Seam of acidity promises great things ahead. 2% Malbec, 4% Petit Verdot completes the blend, 21 days skin contact. Drinking Window 2026 - 2044Decanter | 96 DECPure, rich dark berry, plum and gravelly earth flavors are framed by spicy, cedary oak notes, ending long, clean and elegant, with just the right touch of tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Malbec. Best from 2020 through 2030. 21,600 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

A blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot and 8% Cabernet Franc aged in 40% new oak, the 2016 Proprietary Red Wine is deep purple-black in color and quite reticent at this youthful stage to begin, offering up subtle notions of potpourri, Indian spices, cigar box and iron ore over a core of crushed blackberries and black cherries with intermittent wafts of black and red currants, new leather and smoked meats. The palate is medium to full-bodied with a densely packed mid-palate and oodles of freshness framed by very ripe, finely grained tannins and laced with compelling earthy accents. It offers incredible vibrancy with tons of black and red fruit sparkle in the mid-palate leading to a provocative mineral element on the very long finish. If I could give more than 100 for this one, I would. To be released in May 2019.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPAnother possible legend in the making is the 2016 Dominus, a classic blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot and the rest Cabernet Franc brought up in 40% new French oak. Pure, pristine notes of charcoal, cold fireplace, smoke tobacco, and both blue and black fruits all flow to a full-bodied 2016 that has incredible elegance and finesse, yet also depth and density. It’s more backward and reserved than the 2015 and needs 4-5 years of cellaring. It will unquestionably live for 25-30 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JDThe opulence of fresh flowers and dark fruit is so impressive. There’s so much going on, from flowers to currants. The palate is full and powerful, but what impresses most are the ripe tannins and the amazing poise at the finish. Tightens down at the end. A blend of 84 per cent cabernet sauvignon, eight per cent petit verdot and eight per cent cabernet franc. Drink in 2021.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2016 Dominus is a dark, somber wine. I don’t quite see the explosive energy of the 2013 or 2010, not the seductiveness of the 2012, but the 2016 has a distinct charm that is all its own. Quite frankly, I can’t remember a young Dominus with this combination of fruit density, freshness and polished tannins. A huge center of fruit emerge with time in the glass in a big, large-scaled Dominus that should provide readers with a long drinking window of pure pleasure once some of the baby fat wears off.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGThis marries a range of old-school savory, tobacco, chestnut and bay leaf notes with a dense and muscular core of dark currant and blackberry fruit, all backed by a loam-swaddled finish. Long and dense, but defined, with the fruit steadily emerging to win out in the end. Patience is required. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2023 through 2040. 5,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

The 2017 Vin Santo del Chianti Classico is a gorgeous, exotic wine. Hazelnut, orange peel, spice and light caramel inflections all grace this elegant, floral Vin Santo. Bright acids perk up the finish nicely. Shortening the drying period slightly to compensate for grapes that were already high in sugar worked so well. This is classic as classic gets when it comes to Vin Santo. I would love to have a few bottles in the cellar. Residual sugar is 270 grams per litre.Vinous Media | 96 VMFully rancio and citrusy, with candied orange zest, nuts and dried figs. This old-fashioned style shines on the palate, with elegance, depth, a silky texture, weight, balanced sweetness and a super-tense finish. Lacks impressive length, but is an outstanding vin santo. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSRich and creamy, boasting vanilla, honey, caramel, dried apricot and roasted nut flavors. This version is cut by balancing acidity, with a slightly cloying finish. A clean, hedonistic style. Malvasia, Trebbiano and Sangiovese. Drink now through 2045. 1,000 cases made, 325 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WSAvailable in a 375-milliliter bottle, the Fèlsina 2017 Vin Santo del Chianti Classico shows a glossy amber appearance with rich aromas of dark honey, maple syrup and brandied fruit. Despite the intensity of the bouquet, the wine is actually quite streamlined and immediate in terms of mouthfeel.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPGolden brown in the glass, and tangy, fresh and spirited on the nose, with aromas of pennies, citrus blossoms, lemon candy and apricot. The palate is slightly denser, but cohesive, with notes of dried apricot, candied lemon peel, macadamia nuts and sugar cookies. Wine Enthusiast | 90 WE

Characterful, luscious and deftly balanced, this terrific, unfiltered LBV – ’the little brother of Vintage Port,’ says Dirk Niepoort – is irresistible now but will age brilliantly. Black pepper, esteva, bitter chocolate and spicy gingerbread bring lift and layer to the velvety sweet plum, cherry frangipane and kirsch palate. Ruffled tannins make for a long, controlled finish. Bottled with a driven cork after four- to six-years in large wooden vats.Decanter | 97 DEC

This has intense spice and and floral character, with violets, bell peppers, morello cherries, cloves and tomato leaves on the nose. It’s medium-bodied with sleek tannins. Dense and compact palate. Some walnut notes at the end. Try after 2023.James Suckling | 93 JSRepresenting a big production of 280,000 bottles, the Tenuta di Nozzole 2019 Chianti Classico Riserva Nozzole hits the mark. The wine’s attractiveness is enhanced by its value price tag as well as its genuine aromas of dark fruit, earth and lavender bud. It reveals a mid-weight texture and plenty of nice freshness. Sure, the flavor profile is pretty standard for the appellation, but it’s a sure bet with grilled meat or pasta.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RP