Shop Wine

wines

So attractive on the nose with blackberry, black olive and a hint of brown sugar. It’s full-bodied with layers of ripe tannins that flow across the palate. Rich, intense and flavorful finish with flavors similar to the aromas. Fleshy and toned at the end. From organically grown grapes. Try after 2025.James Suckling | 98 JS(Château L’Évangile, Pomerol, Red) You feel the density and power straight off the nose here - this is really silky, sexy and smoky wine with a ton of complex flavours combining berry fruits with spices swirling through, and finishing up with liquorice bean and coffee grounds on the finish. There’s less lift perhaps than the 2016, but you feel the concentration, the depth to the flavour, and the balance. It has a beautiful texture and feels very classically Pomerol but with elegance and persistency. A small production in 2018 but a very beautiful one. 75% new oak used. (Drink between 2027-2044)Decanter | 97 DECThe 2018 L’Evangile is composed of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple colored, it comes barreling out of the glass with explosive scents of boysenberries, stewed plums and baked blackberries with hints of lilacs, candied violets, Indian spices and garrigue, plus a touch of black truffles. Full-bodied, rich and powerful in the mouth, this blockbuster coats the palate with layers of black fruit preserves and exotic spices, framed by plush tannins and wonderful energy, finishing long and savory. Decadently approachable now, give it 4-5 years in bottle for maximum impact and drink it over the next 20+ years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPMade in the more lively, elegant style that seems to be favored these days, the 2018 Château L’Evangile is based on 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, with the Cabernet Franc playing a much more lead role than normal. Beautiful blue fruits, green tobacco, violets, white truffle, camphor, and damp earth notes all flow to a gorgeously layered, full-bodied Pomerol with sweet, silky tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. While I prefer the more opulent renditions of this cuvée, this is nevertheless a brilliant wine that has wonderful concentration, beautiful purity of fruit, and the class to evolve for 25-30 years in cold cellars.Jeb Dunnuck | 97+ JDThe 2018 L’Évangile is flamboyant, spectacularly beautiful. Mildew in June took out fully 50% of the potential crop, resulting in a dense, opulent wine that is going to need many years to shed some of that baby fat. The 20% Cabernet Franc is the highest on record. The 2018 is an epic, modern-day Évangile. Raspberry jam, mocha, licorice, spice and chocolate come together as the 2018 blossoms with time in the glass. Made with 80% new oak. Both hedonistic and intellectual, the 2018 is a total pleasure bomb. Don’t miss it. A real wow wine - huge!Antonio Galloni | 96 AGOwned by the Rothschild family of Lafite-Rothschild, this estate has produced a richly delicious wine. The power of Merlot is tempered and perfumed by ripe Cabernet Franc. Tannins and acidity both point to aging potential. The wine’s weight, cut with black fruits, is just right and well in balance. This wine needs time, so drink from 2027.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEDark and winey, with a burly tobacco edge framing a core of steeped black currant, blackberry and fig paste flavors. Strong tug of warm earth through the finish, where bay, leather and chestnut notes also chime in. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2026 through 2036.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

The Le Pin of Saint-Emilion, the 2018 Château Tertre Roteboeuf is another exotic, sexy, singular wine from the Mitjavile family, whose vineyard is ideally situated on the eastern side of Saint Emilion. The 2018 isn’t far off the style of the 2016 yet is perhaps even more exotic and up-front, offering a wild nose of white chocolate, black cherries, green tobacco, bacon fat, exotic flowers, and vanilla bean. Brilliantly concentrated on the palate, it has silky, polished tannins, a rather muscular, structured style, thick aromas and flavors, and a great finish. This is another genius effort from François Mitjavile that’s in the same league as the 2005, 2010, and 2016. There’s nothing else out there that comes close to resembling the wines from this estate! It needs 5-7 years of bottle age and will evolve for 30 years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDThe 2018 Tertre-Rôteboeuf is a rich, heady Saint-Émilion. Ripe, flamboyant and creamy, the 2018 captures all of the opulence of the vintage. Black fruit, bittersweet chocolate, spice, new leather and tobacco gradually open in the glass, but the 2018 is a dense, plush wine that needs time to show all it has to offer. The bouquet displays a bit of reduction, so opening the wine in advance and possibly decanting, are advisable. As always, François Mitjavile crafts one of the most distinctive wines in all of Bordeaux.Antonio Galloni | 96 AG

Another beautiful wine from this team, the 2019 Insignia is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon but includes smaller amounts of Merlot and Malbec, brought up all in new barrels, sourced from seven estate vineyards. It has a classic varietal and incredibly complex nose of crème de cassis, freshly sharpened pencils, green tobacco, and damp earth, with a kiss of background sappy spring flowers. Seemingly from a cooler year with its freshness, vibrancy, and herbal, floral character on the nose, it’s nevertheless full-bodied and beautifully concentrated on the palate, with ultra-fine tannins, a seamless, layered mouthfeel, and a gorgeous finish. Unquestionably up with the finest vintages of this cuvée, this is legit awesome juice that’s going to offer incredible pleasure over the coming 20-25 years. Hats off to winemaker Ashley Hepworth.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDA very aromatic Insignia with pencil-shaving and graphite highlights to the dark fruit and blackberries. Full-bodied, yet tensioned and vertical, with very fine tannins that run deep and layered in the wine. Needs time to come together, but fantastic tension and structure. Try after 2027.James Suckling | 98 JSSmells ripe and heady on the nose, expressive and seductive. This is rich and bold, it’s edging on too much, with lots of wood on show in the slightly heavy texture, liquorice and coffee flavour and fullness in the mouth but there are such alluring and captivating aspects to this wine with striking details of rose, tobacco, blackberry, red berries and dark chocolate shavings on show. I like the fragranced aspects and the energetic acidity that gives lift and a sense of brightness but this is a strong, powerful and muscular wine that will need at least a decade to come around. Given enough time it will be beautiful. Ageing 24 months in 100% new French oak.Decanter | 97 DECMore elegant and refined than the Napa Cab, the 2019 Insignia features restrained cedar and vanilla notes (despite spending two years in 100% new French oak) and delicate herbal shadings accenting cassis and black cherry fruit. Full-bodied, velvety and somewhat open-knit on the palate, it turns plush and long on the finish, adding a touch of warmth. Production this year is approximately 17,000 cases, reflecting the increased volume coming from recently replanted vineyards. It’s remarkable what a good job they continue to do with this bottling year after year, without compromising on quality.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThe 2019 Insignia is a bold, explosive wine. Sumptuous dark fruit, mocha, leather, sweet spice and tobacco are all amplified in an Insignia endowed with tremendous textural intensity and plenty of soft contours. I imagine the 2019 will age well for years, but it will also drink well with minimal cellaring.Vinous Media | 96+ VMA solidly built Cabernet with a very direct persona, as dark currant, warmed fig reduction and blackberry fruit paste are bolted together with licorice root and singed cedar. Features an espresso crema hint on the finish, which keeps this on the dark, muscular side. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Best from 2023 through 2038. 17,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WSGiven two years in new French oak, this vintage blends 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec. Brooding black fruit is complemented by classic notions of cigar box, tobacco, iron and clove, with a leather texture that’s still got time to unfurl. Dense and chewy tannins provide a powerful imprint of intensity and ripeness matched in toasted oak. Enjoy best from 2029–2039.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WE

The 2020 L’Eglise Clinet is a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. The Merlot was picked between the 11th and the 14th of September, and the Cabernet Franc was picked on the 16th of September. It has an alcohol of 14.4% and is aging in French oak barrels, 80% new. Displaying and opaque purple-black color, it needs a bit of swirling to reveal a fascinating array of earthy notes—black truffles, charcoal, mossy tree bark and fallen leaves—over a profound core of preserved plums, blackberry preserves and violets, with a waft of tapenade. The medium to full-bodied palate has exquisitely ripe tannins and bold freshness supporting the seductively ripe, black fruit layers, finishing on a lingering fragrant earth note.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97-99 RPWonderfully bright, floral aromas with so much violet character. Such purity and focus. Ethereal on the nose already. Full-bodied, but very polished and deep with finesse and beauty. Incredible structure that fills the mouth.James Suckling | 98-99 JSThe 2020 L’Eglise-Clinet is a towering wine. I am not sure what else to say. After having tasted hundreds of 2020s, L’Eglise-Clinet very clearly claims a stake for itself among the wines of the vintage. L’Eglise-Clinet can be a brute in its youth, but the 2020 is all finesse. Sweet red/purplish fruit, rose petal, blood orange and pomegranate are some of the nuances that emerge over time. Perhaps keeping the temperatures a bit cooler in fermentation explains the extraordinary finesse here. The 2020 simply can’t be denied.Vinous Media | 96-98 VMAlways up with the crème de la crème of the vintage, the 2020 Château L’Eglise Clinet is no exception. It boasts a rich, powerful, opulent style that packs loads of ripe black cherries as well as notes of chocolate, earth, tobacco, and graphite. Possessing the pure, elegant, more focused style of the vintage, it still has plenty of mid-palate depth, gorgeous tannins, and one heck of a great finish. This beauty is a thrill a minute and will not hit maturity for another 7-8 years, but it will be a 20-year wine.Jeb Dunnuck | 96-98 JD(Château L’Eglise-Clinet, Pomerol, Bordeaux, France, Red) Noémie Durantou has taken over from her late father Denis with this vintage, and has produced a L’Eglise Clinet that is dark ruby in colour, and needs time in the glass as it is built and muscular. You need a little patience for the cassis, bilberry and raspberry fruits to arrange, enjoy instead the silky, velvety texture that stops the tannins being too restrictive and allows the palate to slowly expand. Not as expressive as in some vintages, but still exudes quiet confidence. A yield of 42hl/ha. Harvest from September 8. (Drink between 2029-2050)Decanter | 96 DEC