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(Château Mouton Rothschild) This was a good solid bottle of ’66 Mouton, which has always been my favorite between the ’62 and the ’70. There was a time fifteen years ago when I crossed paths with this wine very often, as it offered much better value than the 1970, but as the market has realized the sleeper status of this vintage of Mouton, its price has risen commensurately. The nose is complex and classy, offering up notes of red currants, cherries, woodsmoke, tobacco, a bit of old Rioja-like nuttiness, ginger and cedar. On the palate the wine is medium-full, complex and resolved, with solid acidity, melting tannins, and a good, long, clean finish of impressive balance. Fine juice, though this particular bottle lacked just a touch of vibrancy vis à vis the best bottles I have crossed paths with. (Drink between 2005-2020)John Gilman | 91 JGThis review may be generous, but I have always liked this wine, even though it borders on being slightly too dry, austere, and restrained. Nevertheless, the dark garnet color and classic sweet, spicy, tobacco, coffee, and black currant aromas are enticing. The wine still has powerful tannin in the finish, which contributes to the dry, austere character this example has always exhibited. One of the more intellectually-styled Moutons, the 1966 is a classic example of the vintage, as well as of the chateau's Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated style. Anticipated maturity: Now-2008. Last tasted 10/97Robert Parker | 90 RP

This wine is close to full maturity, but it is capable of holding for another two decades. It reveals the classic Lafite bouquet of red and black fruits, cedar, fruitcake, and tobacco-like aromas. In the mouth, this medium ruby/garnet-colored wine displays a delicacy of fruit and sweet attack, but subtle, well-defined flavors ranging from tobacco, cigar box, cedar, and fruitcake. This is a savory, soft Lafite-Rothschild that is pleasing to both the intellect and the palate. Anticipated maturity: Now-2018. Last tasted 3/97Robert Parker | 91 RP

This wine appears to be on steroids. The color is a dense opaque purple. The bouquet offers up notes of chocolate, espresso beans, smoke, iron, earth, and copious quantities of black jammy fruit. Thick, intense, succulent, full-bodied, and powerful, it remains 7-8 years away from full maturity. It should last 30+ years. An amazing accomplishment, the 1982 La Tour-Haut-Brion is the last profound wine produced at this estate. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2030. A legendary effort!Robert Parker | 99 RPA subtle yet rich wine. Dark red, with an inky center and an amber edge. Beautiful cigar-box, berry and cherry aromas. Full-bodied and very ripe, with sweet fruit and wonderful autumnal flavors. Long, with silky texture.--1982 Bordeaux horizontal. Drink now. —Wine Spectator | 94 WSSaturated red-ruby. Slowly developing, highly expressive aromas of cooked plum, leather, tobacco, road tar and earth. Then silky and lush in the mouth, with compelling fat and texture. Remains just this side of roasted, thanks to sound acids and a medicinal note of menthol. Thick and impressive wine, finishing firm and gripping, with solid, ripe tannins. Serious juice.Vinous Media | 91 VM

This is a forgotten vintage of Sassicaia from the 1980s with all the hype about the legendary 1985 - a perfect wine. It shows incredible depth of fruit and mineral character. It’s full body and round textures with soft tannins. Drink now. Decant and serve.James Suckling | 95 JSA rich and voluptuous wine with a deep color. Intensely opulent black currant and mint bouquet; the palate is packed with fruit and velvety tannins. Will improve for years, but delicious now.--Super Tuscan blind retrospective. — JSAdd this wine to this Personal Wine ListAdd this wine to this Personal Wine ListDefault PWL (0) Learn more about Personal Wine ListsRelated Links Additional Tastings User NotesAdditional Tastings for TENUTA SAN GUIDO Vino da Tavola-Tuscany Sassicaia 1982Issue: Jul 31, 1996Score: 90Rather intense, in a fresh way, reflecting perhaps the relatively high acidity in this wine from the start. Of medium to full body, it bursts with cassis and black cherry flavors and a touch of Sassicaia’s characteristic mineral persona.--Sassicaia vertical. Drink now. –PMIssue: Jul 31, 1987Score: 84Richer on the nose than on the palate, with ripe concentrated berry and plum character that turns a bit lean and spicy on the palate. One of the most highly prized wines in Italy, but it seems to lack a bit on the follow through.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

A red that I have always appreciated. Beautiful aromas of licorice, spice, flowers and dried fruits such as prunes. Full-bodied with soft and fine tannins and ripe fruit. The rich, dried fruit character was fabulous with minced Peking Duck in lettuce leaf.James Suckling | 96 JSA giant of a wine. The complex aromas and thickly textured flavors range from plum and raisin to coffee, minerals and mint. Not so elegant as a typical Cheval; more in the mold of the powerful ’47 and legendary ’21. Drink or hold.--Cheval-Blanc vertical.Wine Spectator | 96 WSA classic example of Cheval Blanc’s style, the 1983 continues to put on weight and develop favorably in the bottle. A saturated dark ruby color with some faint lightening at the edges exhibits less age than most right bank 1983s. The huge nose of mint, jammy black fruits, chocolate, and coffee is sensational, as well as surprisingly well-developed. The wine offers lusty, rich, unctuous fruit presented in a medium to full-bodied, low acid, concentrated, rather hedonistic style. There are no hard edges to be found, but there is plenty of tannin in the lush finish. Gorgeous for drinking now, this is a great Cheval Blanc that should continue to drink well, and possibly improve for another 20 years. The 1983 is far superior to anything Cheval Blanc has subsequently produced. It remains somewhat undervalued for its quality. Last tasted 12/97.Robert Parker | 95 RP(Château Cheval Blanc) Along with Ausone, the ’83 Cheval Blanc has long been one of the greatest wines of this vintage and it is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon. The wine has gone through periods of glorious drinking, followed by much more closed cycles over the years, but it seems now at age thirty to have finally reached the start of its plateau of maturity and I would be very surprised to see it shut down ever again in its lifetime. Today, the deep, pure and vibrant nose wafts from the glass in a youthfully complex blend of mulberries, menthol, black cherries, a touch of chocolate, tobacco leaf, lovely soil tones and a nice touch of toasty new wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very elegant on the attack, with a superb core of fruit, great focus and complexity, and a very long, balanced and modestly tannic finish. The tannins today have fallen away to the point where this wine is very enjoyable to drink, and yet I still have the sense that the wine is relatively adolescent in its stage of development and more fireworks will still be unveiled if one can exercise a bit more patience. This is a great vintage of Cheval Blanc! (Drink between 2013-2050).John Gilman | 95 JG

A seductive mix of brambly autumnal fruits, black truffles, graphite and cigar box, this is absolutely ready to drink now and yet will continue to unwind and deliver for decades to come. The tannic structure is still noticeable, even at 32 years old, and it propels the fruit forward to a fresh, minty finish. I tasted this with a lovely group from the Napa Valley Reserve who were on a trip to Bordeaux in October. Drinking Window 2018 - 2040Decanter | 96 DECI tasted this at a fun restaurant in Bordeaux called Le Père Ouvrard in the Bouscaut neighborhood. The 1986 was a great vintage for the Médoc but less so for Pessac-Léognan, partly because an early torrent of rains wrought havoc for wines with more merlot in their blends. Many of the 1986s are starting to fall apart, but the La Mission was holding on nicely with dark berries, currants, iodine and oyster shell. It was full-bodied, very soft, very silky and ended with a fresh finish. It’s a wine definitely on a holding pattern.James Suckling | 96 JSThis wine continues to be backward, but the bouquet is beginning to develop secondary nuances from roasted herbs and sweet cigar tobacco to compost, leathery notes, along with plenty of sweet cherry and black currant fruit. I had somewhat higher hopes for it a decade ago. The wine is still youthful, quite pure, medium to full-bodied, but somewhat elevated, austere tannins in the finish at age 16 are starting to make me think they will never become fully integrated. As always, making a judgment call on a wine destined to have a half-century of life is sometimes difficult, given the varying stages it goes through, but I wonder if this wine will turn out to be as profound as I once predicted. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2030. Last tasted, 11/02.Robert Parker | 94 RP

The 1986 Latour has a deep ruby/purple color, and a moderately intense bouquet of mineral-scented, blackcurrant fruit intermixed with the classic walnut scents that seem to emerge from Latour’s well-placed vineyard. Although undoubtedly excellent, with medium to full body, fine concentration, and impressive length, by Latour’s standards, the wine is not as brawny, chewy, or as densely packed with fruit as I would have expected in a vintage when the Cabernet Sauvignon excelled. Nevertheless, this wine should easily last 20-25 years, but I do not see it taking its place as one of the many extraordinary wines that have been produced at this property. Anticipated maturity: 1996-2012. Last tasted, 5/93.Robert Parker | 91 RPOutstanding, but slightly unimpressive. Dark red color. Complex aromas of blackberries, dark chocolate, tar and minerals. Medium- to full-bodied and balanced, with fine tannins and a silky texture.--Bordeaux retrospective. Drink now.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

A little maderized with raised volatile acidity, but some tobacco and berry underneath. Turns fruity and even jammy.James Suckling | 90 JS

Aromas of peat and fruits, with hints of cedar and berries. Full and velvety with good fruit and a medium finish. Goes mushroomy. A little light.James Suckling | 91 JS

Flower and berry character, with hints of clove and black pepper. Full-bodied and very rich, with decadent flavors. Oozes with ripe fruit. Goes on and on. Fabulous.--’95/’96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2008.Wine Spectator | 96 WSAusone’s extraordinary minerality is present in the 1995, yet there are more aromatics, a richer, more multidimensional palate impression, and a fuller texture - all with the terroir brilliantly expressed. The wine boasts a dense ruby/purple color and an emerging but tightly-knit nose of spring flowers, minerals, earth, and black fruits. Rich, with an opulent texture and surprising sexiness for a young vintage of Ausone, the medium-bodied 1995 displays exquisite balance between its acid, tannin, alcohol, and fruit. Although it is not yet seamless, all the elements are present for an extraordinary evolution in the bottle. This wine will age at a glacial pace for 30-40 years. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2045. Last tasted, 3/01.Robert Parker | 93 RPDeep violet-tinged ruby. Lively cassis, black cherry, tobacco and smoky oak aromas. Lush and dense, though a bit shocked by the bottling. Combines the penetrating, juicy quality and class of previous vintages of this wine with the more opulent texture and suaver tannins craved by so many of today Bordeaux lovers. May well eventually merit a higher score, but will it surpass the ’96?Vinous Media | 92+ VM

(a 53/47 blend of cabernet franc and merlot; 13% alcohol; yield of 45 h/h): Bright red. Pure aromas of strawberry, flowers, soy sauce, espresso and minerals. Then clean and straightforward on the palate, with nicely balanced flavors similar to the aromas. Finishes very long and smooth. A very good Cheval Blanc, bigger than the 1996 but perhaps a touch less delineated; choosing between the two amounts to a case of different strokes for different folks. This was a warm year: temperatures during the 1995 growing season were on average 1.5°C higher than the previously recorded annual averages, with a very hot July and August, and the harvest took place early, between September 15 and 28. In fact, only the 1989 and 1990 harvests began earlier.Vinous Media | 93+ VMMedium ruby-garnet edge. Intense aromas of plums, cherries and dark chocolate. Full-bodied and very tight, with supersilky tannins and a long finish. Solid core of fruit. Still holding back.--’95/’96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2009.Wine Spectator | 93 WSA pretty, attractive Cheval Blanc, the 1995 contains a higher percentage of Merlot in the final blend than usual (50% Merlot/50% Cabernet Franc). This wine has not developed as much fat or weight as its younger sibling, the 1996, but it appears to be an outstanding Cheval Blanc with an enthralling smoky, black currant, coffee, and exotic bouquet. Complex, rich, medium to full-bodied flavors are well-endowed and pure, with surprisingly firm tannin in the finish. Unlike the sweeter, riper 1996, the 1995 may be more structured and potentially longer-lived. Anticipated maturity: 2002-2020.Robert Parker | 92 RP

It is fun to go back and forth between the 1995 and 1996, two superb vintages for Haut-Brion. The 1995 seems to have sweeter tannin and a bit more fat and seamlessness when compared to the more structured and muscular 1996. Certainly 1995 was a vintage that the brilliant administrator Jean Delmas handled flawlessly. The result is a deep ruby/purple-colored wine with a tight but promising nose of burning wood embers intermixed with vanilla, spice box, earth, mineral, sweet cherry, black currant, plum-like fruit, medium to full body, a high level of ripe but sweet tannin, and a finish that goes on for a good 40-45 seconds. This wine is just beginning to emerge from a very closed state where it was unyielding and backward. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2035. Last tasted, 11/0Robert Parker | 96 RPThis 1995 Haut-Brion was served blind during the summer at a private dinner in Bordeaux, a bottle with perfect provenance. It is a vintage that I have drunk several times, but not since 2013. Deep in colour, the 1995 has plenty of black fruit on the nose, displaying a distinctive briny influence, classic in style with stunning definition. There is something regal about the aromatics. The palate is well-balanced, with fine acidity and black fruit once again, sappy and saline, with an underlying ash-like note emerging as it opens in the glass. Though quite linear towards the tobacco and sous-bois finish, the 1995 conspicuously gains weight and breeding with time. Therefore, I would afford this First Growth four to five hours of decanting as it remains more backward than I imagined.Vinous Media | 95 VMSweet tobacco, blackberries and violets on the nose. Subtle. Full-bodied and very tight, with fantastic tannins and a long caressing finish. Wonderful texture. All in reserve still. Give this time.--’95/’96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2010.Wine Spectator | 95 WS(Château Haut-Brion (Graves)) The 1995 vintage of Haut-Brion is excellent, though still a few years away from primetime drinking. The bouquet is deep, pure and classical in profile, delivering scents of cassis, sweet dark berries, singed tobacco, a touch of coffee bean, fresh herb tones, a complex base of gravelly soil tones, cedary oak and just a hint of the more red fruity elements that are sure to emerge here with further bottle age. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep, complex and seamlessly balanced, with ripe, buried tannins, fine focus and grip and outstanding length on the vibrant and very classy finish. This is a superb Haut-Brion in the making. (Drink between 2025-2085).John Gilman | 94+ JG

A very youthful ’95. Delicate. Intense aromas of ginger, citrus, candied berry and multigrain bread turn to honey, roasted almonds and graphite on the palate. It’s all underscored by a precise structure and creamy texture. Its structure keeps it persistent through the long finish. A picture of precision and intensity. Drink now through 2025. 1,700 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 98 WS(Krug, (Magnum), Champagne, France, White) The grand finale to Olivier Krug’s awe-inspiring masterclass was the fabulous 1995 vintage, poured from magnum. It is one of four Krug vintages from the 1990s and it was one of the last wines which Olivier tasted with his father and grandfather. Today it is still going strong, with a primary and savoury nose of apricot and toast. On the palate this remains vigorous but mature, with oxidative notes of walnut oil, nougat and umami, as well as gingerbread, cappuccino, toast and candied fruits. There’s lots of finesse and freshness and great length – a joy to drink now and for another 15 years at least. (Drink between 2017-2034)Decanter | 96 DECA mature, honeyed nose shows how rich and open this beautiful wine is. It is rich and toasty, with layers of citrus and very ripe, almost honeyed, fruit. It is lively and fresh, with excellent structure. Ready to drink.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WE(Krug Vintage Brut (Reims) served from magnum) The 1995 Krug in magnum is really starting to drink with style and grace, but it remains a wine that has just reached its plateau of maturity and has years and years of life still ahead of it. The lovely and quite classic nose wafts from the glass in a constellation of apple, peach, caraway seed, a lovely base of minerality, a touch of walnut, rye bread and a gently smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, crisp and complex, with a wide open attack, a fine core, elegant mousse and really lovely length and grip on the focused and classy finish. Fine juice. (Drink between 2016-2045)John Gilman | 95 JGThe deep golden color implies just how rich this wine will be. The 1995 vintage provided a baroque canvas of flavors that seems weightier and more robust than a classic Krug, but no less fascinating. The wine is downright huge, aggressive in its savory power, in its aching acidity and persistent minerality. Brusque and mouthcoating in its richness at 11 years of age, this will begin to mellow as it turns 15 or 20.Wine & Spirits | 95 W&SI have a preference for the 1995 Brut Vintage, as it shows quite a bit more freshness and verve than the 1998. Mint, dried flowers, truffles and bright fruit are some of the nuances that flow from this precise, focused Champagne. The vibrant, refreshing finish makes it impossible to resist a second taste. Among recent vintages, the 1996 has rightly received a ton of attention here, while the 1995 is likely to remain an insider’s wine that is available at more favorable pricing.My visit to Krug earlier this year was fascinating, as I had a chance to taste a number of 2009s and reserve wines. A tank sample of the 2009 Clos du Mesnil was one of the most exciting, viscerally thrilling wines of the trip, and remained etched on my mind for several weeks. I also had a chance to glance over newly found, hand-written original records that document the exact village breakdown of all the grapes Krug purchased in each vintage going back to 1928. This year I tasted a number of fabulous wines from bottle. Unfortunately I can’t include my impressions on Krug’s NV Champagnes because of the house’s insistence on not providing disgorgement dates for those wines. I was reminded of the importance of this information when I tasted a fabulous, utterly spellbinding bottle of the NV Rose. It was a truly beautiful Champagne, but owing to its recent disgorgement it needed at least a few years on the cork. Of course Krug gives a general indication of the disgorgement dates for their wines on the corks, but by that time, readers may have opened a bottle that needs more bottle age. Without this information it is impossible to give readers any reliable indication of when the house’s NV wines might start drinking well. With a retail price over $300 a bottle, opening a bottle of Krug’s Rose can be a very expensive learning experience. Krug fans will want to keep an eye out for my upcoming article on Clos du Mesnil, featuring complete notes back to the inaugural 1979.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPThe 1995 Krug is gorgeous. I chose it because one of my guests loves Krug and I thought the 1995 would have the right amount of complexity to pair beautifully with the smokiness in Saison’s caviar. Although the 1995 Krug is not a truly epic wine, it is in a sweet spot right now.Antonio Galloni | 94 AG(Krug Brut Villages Champagne/Sparkling) Moderately deep golden color. There is a mildly oxidative character present on the toasty, yeasty and apple cider-suffused nose that offers excellent complexity. The fine depth can also be found on the delicious flavors that are definitely full-flavored and relatively powerful, all wrapped in a citrusy finish that, like the nose, reflects a hint of oxidative character. This is borderline post-mature and I would be inclined to be drinking up. (Drink starting 2018)Burghound | 90 BH

A beauty, the opaque dense purple-colored 1995 exhibits jammy cassis, vanillin, and minerals in its fragrant but still youthful aromatics. Medium to full-bodied, with exceptional purity, superb concentration, and a long, intense, ripe, 40-second finish, this is a magnificent example of Latour. As the wine sat in the glass, scents of roasted espresso and toasty new oak emerged. This classic will require considerable cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2050.Robert Parker | 96 RPDeep ruby-red color. More expressive aromas of crystallized dark berries, dark chocolate and animal fur. Lush and sweet; thick but delineated. Wonderfully concentrated. This, too, seems rather withdrawn today, but the strength of material is clear to see. Finishes with firm tannins and explosive fruit that goes on and on.Vinous Media | 94+ VMBlack licorice, cedar, cigar box and fresh herbs. Full-bodied and very structured, with firm, silky tannins and a long finish. Needs time.--’95/’96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2009.Wine Spectator | 94 WS(Château Latour) Latour made a very good wine in 1995, but my gut instincts are that the property in the twenty-first century is making even better wines than was the case in the decade of the 1990s. The 1995 Latour offers up a complex, promising nose of cassis, dark berry, French Roast, Cuban cigars, gravelly soil tones and a well-done base of toasty new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full and broad-shouldered in profile, with a fine core of fruit, ripe, chewy tannins, fine focus and grip and a long, still quite youthful finish. This is at least eight to ten years away from starting to drink, and probably at least twenty away from really hitting its apogee. (Drink between 2025-2075).John Gilman | 93 JG

This still broods seriously, with dark plum, currant and blackberry fruit, studded with charcoal, singed tobacco and cedar notes and backed by a serious grip of roasted earth. The gorgeously long finish is driven by old-school tannins, with the smoldering edge going on and on. A brick house of a Margaux, with more charcoal than graphite, more austerity than elegance and more power than refinement.--Non-blind Château Margaux vertical (December 2013). Drink now through 2034. 18,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSBottled very late (November, 1997), the 1995 has continued to flesh out, developing into one of the great classics made under the Mentzelopoulos regime. The color is opaque ruby/purple. The nose offers aromas of licorice and sweet smoky new oak intermixed with jammy black fruits, licorice, and minerals. The wine is medium to full-bodied, with extraordinary richness, fabulous equilibrium, and hefty tannin in the finish. In spite of its large size and youthfulness, this wine is user-friendly and accessible. This is a thrilling Margaux that will always be softer and more evolved than its broader-shouldered sibling, the 1996. How fascinating it will be to follow the evolution of both of these vintages over the next half century. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2040.Robert Parker | 95 RPThe 1995 Château Margaux is a vintage perhaps unfairly over-shadowed by the imperious 1996. That is unfair because the late Paul Pontallier crafted a great First Growth this year. It has a very impressive, quintessential Margaux bouquet that is undimmed after 23 years: black fruit, graphite, crushed violets and a touch of tobacco. If anything it becomes more and more pure with aeration and demonstrates exquisite delineation. The palate is very finely balanced. No, it does not have the intensity, the crystalline nature of the 1996 and yet there is a femininity and a finesse here that sweeps you off your feet. It is entertaining the possibility of secondary flavours but it remains focused on the red and black fruit, tensile on the almost balletic finish. Bon vin! Tasted blind at Philip’s February Christmas Party.Vinous Media | 95 VM

A sculpted Champagne, with a steely backbone of acidity swathed in a fine and silky texture, offering rich flavors of baked apple and plum fruit, almond financier, crème de cassis, honey and toasted coconut. Long and mouthwatering, and still very, very young. Drink now through 2090. 1,500 cases made, 200 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 97 WSCompared to the 2000, the 1996 Champagne Femme offers a touch more vibrancy and purity in a similarly rich, layered, complex style. Stone fruits, beautiful minerality, hints of charcoal, as well as a touch of brioche and nuttiness, all flow to a textured, balanced, beautifully long and layered Champagne that’s drinking brilliantly today.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JD(Duval-Leroy Femme de Champagne Brut) The 1996 Duval-Leroy Femme de Champagne is a stunning wine that is now reaching its apogee of peak drinkability and is wide open and absolutely superb on both the nose and palate. The deep, complex and toasty bouquet offers up a classy mélange of apple, tangerine, pain grillé, a beautifully complex base of soil and a topnote of orange peel. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and toasty, with a superb core of pure fruit, crisp acids, utterly refined mousse, laser-like focus and superb length and grip on the wide open, vibrant and very classy finish. This is just a stunning bottle of bubbly. (Drink between 2012-2035)John Gilman | 95 JGDeep yellow in color the 1996 Femme de Champagne offers a complex, superbly clear, multilayered and fresh bouquet of cooked and roasted apples, citrus flavors, brioche, apricots, a touch of caramel and a hint of farmyard smell. Medium-bodied but full-flavored, clear and complex on the palate this is a stimulatingly and persistently pure, fresh and minerally flavored Champagne with citrus flavors in the aftertaste. Impressively vital and young this delicate but expressive Champagne is lovely to drink today but can be stored for another decade.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPThe estate’s 1996 Brut Femme de Champagne is really quite pretty in the way it balances some of the more mature notes from extended lees aging with the freshness of the vintage. To be sure, this isn’t a blockbuster 1996, but the Femme de Champagne offers plenty of class and elegance in an approachable, delicate style for the vintage. The rich, radiant fruit flows effortlessly through to the long, satisfying finish. This is a terrific effort from Duval-Leroy. This is Lot L9250N. Disgorged September 7th, 2009.Antonio Galloni | 91 AG

Still incredibly youthful and sporting a lot of fruit, the deep garnet-brick colored 1998 Haut-Brion sashays out of the glass with flamboyant red and black fruits, followed by a train of cassis, blueberry pie and chocolate box notions plus accents of iron ore, dried lavender and underbrush. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is wonderfully rich and decadently seductive in its generosity of fruit and velvety texture, offering seamless freshness and finishing with epic length and compelling minerality. Oh so delicious right now, with careful cellaring it should continue to excite through 2045 and beyond.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPDark color, with decadent aromas of truffles, meat, ripe berries and tobacco. Turns to sweet, crushed berries. Full-bodied, with very polished tannins and a berry and mineral aftertaste. The serious tannin structure is still hiding behind the fruit of the wine. Tightly wound and beautiful. Solid as a rock. A classic wine.—’88/’98 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2008). Best after 2011. 12,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSThe 1998 Haut Brion has long been a favourite vintage of mine and consumed with pleasure several times. Now at 20-years of age I feel it is one step ahead of the 1998 La Mission: there is great fruit intensity with almost precocious blackberry, raspberry coulis, pastilles, tobacco and hints of olive. It has exquisite delineation and focus. The palate is medium-bodied with fuller in the mouth than the La Mission: deeper fruit (blackberry, mulberry and a touch of strawberry) intermingling with sage, cedar and a touch of hung game. It is not quite as precocious or as glossy on the finish as I remember previous bottles, but it is certainly turning into one of the finest wines of this vintage. Tasted at the château.Vinous Media | 96 VMThe Haut-Brion showed super decadent character with foie gras, plums and tobacco. It was full body, round and beautifully textured. It lasted for minutes after tasting.James Suckling | 96 JSNo written review provided. | 96 W&S(Château Haut Brion) The 1998 Haut Brion is tight and very shut down at the present time, but offers lovely potential for down the road. The bouquet offers up a primary and typically “weedy” young Haut Brion blend of dark berries, dark chocolate, tobacco leaf, a touch of nuttiness, a bit of the herbal funk of young cabernet in the Graves and a judicious framing of new oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep, racy and quite dumb, with fine mid-palate depth, lovely focus and excellent length on the ripely tannic and well-balanced finish. This wine is completely closed at the present time and will need at least a dozen years or more to begin to emerge from hibernation, but will be a lovely bottle for a long time once it begins to blossom. (Drink between 2020-2060)John Gilman | 93 JG

A spicy Bordeaux with berries and hints of currants. Full, super round and soft –surrounded by vanilla and blueberry pie. Lovely. Just coming around now. Delicious.James Suckling | 93 JSThe beautiful 1999 Mouton Rothschild may be a modern day clone of their 1962 or 1985. Its saturated ruby/purple color is followed by sumptuous aromas of cedar wood, creme de cassis, wood smoke, coffee, and dried herbs. The wine is forward, lush, and full-bodied. It is already complex as well as succulent, fleshy, and long. Tannin in the finish suggests more nuances will emerge in 4-5 years. It is a complex, classic Mouton. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2030.Robert Parker | 93 RPStill showing some vibrant red/black fruit notes, this has some primary characters and firm, grippy tannins which should allow the wine to age for at least another five years. An elegant Mouton with intriguing herbs and spices on the nose, with blackcurrant flavour coming through on the medium-bodied palate. Restrained and understated, although lacking the density of the top vintages. Harvested 24 September to 2 October. 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc. 60% of production used for the Grand Vin. Drinking Window 2021 - 2027.Decanter | 93 DECThe 1999 Mouton-Rothschild, which Philippe Dhalluin told me was harvested in one week, has a forward, showy bouquet with more upfront black fruit than the 1999 Lafite-Rothschild I tasted an hour earlier. Blackberry mixes with hints of star anise and light tobacco notes, conveying energy and fine delineation if not the profundity of the greatest vintages. There seems to be a lot of extraction and/or vin de presse here. The palate is medium-bodied with sweet tannin and a fine bead of acidity, and quite dense and grippy in the mouth. There is presence but not the same sophistication that Dhalluin imparts nowadays. A pleasurable Mouton-Rothschild that tries everything to appeal, whereas nowadays it is more effortless. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the estate.Vinous Media | 92 VMDelivers sweet tobacco and plum aromas, with a lovely richness. Full-bodied, featuring lots of cedar, tobacco, chocolate and berry character. Long and silky in the palate. There is no sense in waiting; this is so delicious now.--’89/’99 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2009). Drink now. 20,165 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

(Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles-Vignes Grand Cru Red) There is even more aromatic complexity with similar and brilliant red and black fruit notes though not the spice with superbly sappy, concentrated and very pure flavors that display flat out incredible length and impeccable balance. This will join the ranks of some of the best vintages of Ponsot’s Clos de la Roche, which is saying something. It is however built for the very patient. (Drink starting 2017)Burghound | 93 BHPonsot’s 2002 Clos de la Roche was exotic and intriguing, but also rough around the edges.Antonio Galloni | 91 AG

This was the finest performance by this wine that I have seen since it was released. I did not expect the 2003 Chateau Margaux to show this well in a vintage where the southern part of the Medoc was clearly less impressive than the north. However, it is a beautiful, dark plum/purple-tinged effort with sensational aromatics, a full-bodied mouthfeel, and a youthfulness, precision and freshness that belie what one generally associates with this vintage. It can be drunk now and over the next 15-20 years. Kudos to Chateau Margaux.Robert Parker | 98 RPA wine with spices, meat, and very ripe fruit on the nose, with hints of dried flowers. Full bodied, and deeply layered, with loads of fruit and spices. Long and decadent, very complex. Pull the cork after 2013. Find the wine.James Suckling | 97 JSFull, saturated red-ruby. Knockout nose combines redcurrant, tropical chocolate, leather, woodsmoke and nutty oak with exotic chocolate mint and coffee liqueur; still manages to retain floral lift even in this beastly vintage. Then wonderfully fat, sweet and full, even if it comes across as almost heavy following the ineffable 2005 and 2004 examples. But "relatively inelegant" for Margaux still suggests a degree of refinement that few chateaux can match in the greatest vintages. A hugely rich and dense wine that finishes with elevated but ripe tannins and great length, with a subtle suggestion of dry spices. Pontallier says the terroir will take over in 20 years, "like with the ’82." Splendid.Vinous Media | 96 VMThis may be from the exceptional vintage of 2003, but Château Margaux remains true to form. First and foremost, it is a refined, elegant wine, with complex layers of flavors. But, yes, the hot summer is there the dense, dry tannins, but somehow they seem to float through the wine rather than sitting heavily in the middle. Acidity and freshness come to finish, giving the wine a delicious lift. Imported by Diageo Chateau & Estates.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEShows a note of torrefaction typical of the vintage, but uses it to its advantage, coupling it with accents of ganache and dark tobacco leaf along with rich plum, currant and fig compote flavors. The finish is slightly firm, with alder and plum skin details, but this has pretty impressive composure considering the vintage.-Blind ’01/’03/’05 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2017). Drink now through 2035. 10,833 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSNo written review provided. | 93 W&S

Full ruby. Brooding, deep aromas of blackberry, black cherry, minerals, violet and earth. Pure, precise and superconcentrated, with uncanny density and strength of blackberry and floral flavor. This saturates the entire palate, finishing with very firm tannins, a lightly mentholated quality and great persistence. Will need extended aging to express its inherent complexity. The year for Chambertin," notes Martin Prieur, who added that the Prieur parcel is located in a "much less regular spot" (in terms of ripening) than some others. Potentially great for this cuveeVinous Media | 94+ VMI am sure that the Chambertin and Musigny chez Prieur are raised in one hundred percent new oak, and both wines were showing a fair bit of wood spice on the nose and a fair bit of wood tannin on the backend at the time of my March visit. The nose on the ’05 Chamby is a fine, meaty mélange of black cherries, cassis, woodsmoke, grilled meats, earth and spicy oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and focused, with a fine core of fruit, tangy acids, and plenty of chewy tannin currently in ascendancy on the long finish. I am sure that this will have no trouble eventually absorbing all of its new oak, but the question really needs to be asked as to whether or not the wine is better off for all of its new wood. As I tasted this I could not help imagining these fine raw materials with the terroir front and center in the same way that Freddy Mugnier’s Musigny is utterly defined by its refined soil these days. This is a very good Chambertin that to my palate could be unmistakably great with the new wood dialed down. (Drink between 2017 - 2060)John Gilman | 90-94 JGThe Prieur 2005 Chambertin had been racked and returned to barrel when I tasted. Generous blackberry liqueur, cedar and roasted meat aromas usher in an almost implosively concentrated, severely black-fruited palate, underlain by charred meat and a veritable sauna bath of wet stones. This really grips in the back, but formidable tannins keep it from being much fun to taste, for all of its obvious ripeness. If you imagine Chambertin of Napoleonic compactness and ambition – even though some of the best 2005s demonstrate how full of flowers and finesse youthful wine from this appellation can be – then here is your emperor of a wine. I wouldn’t want to bet against it over the long haul, although that might be long indeed.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92-93 RPStill very deeply colored. The still somewhat primary though nicely nuanced black fruit, spice and earth scented nose introduces big-bodied, rich and very concentrated flavors that brim with dry extract that also serves to buffer the moderately firm and lingering if somewhat monolithic finale. To my taste this has peaked even if only just and is a wine that should last for several more decades. With that said, it’s not clear that it’s necessarily going to improve from here. I found this to be perfectly good if a bit inelegant.Burghound | 92 BH

The 2005 La Mission Haut-Brion is pure perfection. It has an absolutely extraordinary nose of sweet blackberries, cassis and spring flowers with some underlying minerality, a full-bodied mouthfeel, gorgeously velvety tannins (which is unusual in this vintage) and a long, textured, multi-layered finish that must last 50+ seconds. This is a fabulous wine and a great effort from this hallowed terroir. Drink this modern-day legend over the next 30+ years. Only 5,500 cases were produced of this blend of 69% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Cabernet Franc.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPThis is very rich and layered for La Mission with ultra-polished tannins yet velvety and beautiful in texture. It’s fully-bodied and full of character that shows plums, berries, wet earth and oyster shell flavors that are so unique to reds from this estate. Superb quality. Better to drink this in 2020 but try now to feel the greatness.James Suckling | 99 JSStill inky hued, the blockbuster styled 2005 Château La Mission Haut Brion is based on a blend of 69% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc. A huge monster of a wine that’s still 4-5 years out from its drink window, it gives up massive amounts of ripe, smoky black fruits, truffles, chocolate, graphite, and roasted meats. This carries to a full-bodied Pessac-Léognan offering a dense, concentrated mid-palate, lots of tannins, wonderful purity, and one heck of a magical finish.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDThe 2005 La Mission Haut-Brion is a wine that I have had the pleasure of tasting on several occasions. The most recent bottle, included in a 2005 horizontal, puts it in a very favorable light even against strong competition. The bouquet bursts from the glass with intense blackberry, cedar and tobacco scents, plus background aromas of fig and damson, as you would expect from a warm summer. The palate is structured, yet the Merlot content (at 69%, the highest in many years) renders this Pessac-Léognan much more pliant than others from this vintage. A mélange of red and black fruits vie for attention, followed by warm gravel and black olives. Quite rich and yet not grippy; with decanting, you could broach this now, though personally I would prefer to leave it for several more years. Outstanding.Vinous Media | 97 VMA glorious vintage of La Mission, this young wine buzzes with energy in the mouth. All of the flavors, whether herbal, earthy or vinous, seem to refer back to the tiny pebbles of this terroir. The texture is silken, the finish exclamatory and grand. It has a racy beauty, the kind of effortless strength Nureyev’s choreography projects in Le Corsaire. One of the wines of the vintage, this has a high proportion of merlot in the blend (69 percent). It’s more accessible than Haut-Brion, but still has the stamina for long-term aging. Diageo Château & Estate Wines, NYWine & Spirits | 97 W&SDark and dense, but with such opulent fruit, this is a year when La Mission shows its softer, richer side by comparison with neighbor Haut-Brion. There is spice and exotic and generous red fruits to give with the concentration. It has great power, but it also has a velvet structure.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThe Indian spices and blackberry on the nose are so enticing and inspiring, leading to a full-bodied palate, with very polished tannins that caress. Goes on and on as this builds on the palate, with a mineral and berry aftertaste. For long-term aging. Best after 2015. 5,665 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WS

This is an elegant Nebbiolo-based wine and arguably the most feminine of Gaja's newest releases. There's extreme balance and sophistication evident in the focused aromas of wild berry, white licorice, pressed violets and polished stone. The mouthfeel is tight, firm and those tannins need at least 10 more years to soften in your cellar. Beautiful.Wine Enthusiast | 99 WEThe 2007 Langhe Sorì Tildìn opens with a huge, kaleidoscopic bouquet that immediately draws me in. A remarkably vivid wine, the sensual Sorì Tildìn caresses the palate with silky, textured fruit, showing incredible power, length and class. There is a transparency to the wine that is beguiling. Once again, the finish is eternal. Sorì Tildìn is one of Gaja's more nuanced wines, and in 2007 it is breathtakingly beautiful.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGVery, very fresh and floral with peaches, ripe strawberries and plums. So aromatic and clear. Full-bodied, with powerful tannins and a cocoa, chocolate aftertaste. Gorgeous and sturdy. Needs time. Better after 2016.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2007 Langhe Sori Tildin opens with a huge, kaleidoscopic bouquet that immediately draws me in. A remarkably vivid wine, the sensual Sori Tildin caresses the palate with silky, textured fruit, showing incredible power, length and class. There is a transparency to the wine that is beguiling. Once again, the finish is eternal. Sori Tildin is one of Gaja’s more nuanced wines, and in 2007 it is breathtakingly beautiful. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2037My most recent visit to Gaja was quite an experience, as I tasted all of the estate’s 1989s, 1990s and 2007s. The 1989s and 1990s are reviewed in this issue’s What About Now feature. Angelo Gaja, always loquacious on a wide range of subjects, says virtually nothing about his wines, an approach I have increasingly come to appreciate in an era where so many producers are constantly in pitch mode. Then again, Gaja doesn’t really need to say anything, the wines speak for themselves. I tasted the 2007s at the winery in November 2009 and then again in New York in January 2010. Both times they were spectacular. Stylistically the 2007s remind me of the 1997s in terms of their opulence. Gaja’s wines are often immensely appealing when young – which is certainly the case with the 2007s – but then close down in bottle for a number of years, sometimes many years. My impression is that the Costa Russi and Conteisa are the most likely of these 2007s to offer the widest drinking windows throughout their lives with a minimum of cellaring. Fermentation and malolactic fermentation take place in steel. The wines then spend approximately one year in French oak and a second year in cask prior to being bottled. As has been the case for a number of years now, Gaja’s Langhe wines incorporate a small percentage of Barbera. On a final note, it’s great to see Gaja’s daughters Gaia and Rossana increasingly involved in the winery. They, and their younger brother Giovanni, have big shoes to fill, but couldn’t have asked for better teachers than Angelo and Lucia Gaja.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPToast and spice aromas lead off in this warm, expansive red, which quickly evokes black cherry, plum, floral and spice flavors, all allied to the silky texture and precision structure. Rich fruit and spice flavors echo on the finish. Best from 2014 through 2032. 80 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

(Château Lafleur) The 2008 Lafleur is an absolute classic in the making and likely to be ranked as one of the great vintages at this estate from the first decade of the new millennium. The bouquet is deep, pure and youthfully reticent, as it offers up a complex mélange of black cherries, red currants, coffee, a very strong and complex base of soil, nutskins, cigar wrapper and a deft framing of new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very, very soil-driven, with a rock solid core of fruit, ripe tannins, very fine acidity and excellent focus and grip on the very long and well-balanced finish. A classic Lafleur and a magically beautiful bottle of wine. (Drink between 2022-2060).John Gilman | 96 JGTasted with Baptiste Guinaudeau, the 2008 Lafleur is a wine for which I have a lot of time, and as it approaches a decade old, it is beginning to loosen up a little. There is plenty of fruit on the nose—more than I have encountered on previous bottles, with a mixture of red and black fruit—and a hint of bell pepper and sage. The main difference is that those previously rigid tannin have loosened their collar in recent months; therefore, this Lafleur is now entertaining the notion of drinkability. There remains a linearity to this Lafleur—and there is still that backbone—yet it seems to flow nicely across the mouth, and there is superb mineralité on the finish. It's probably destined to be overshadowed by the succeeding two vintages, but I suggest you do not overlook the 2008 Lafleur.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 96 RP-NMThe 2008 Lafleur is a wine that I have tasted several times. It mirrored my previous encounters. There is still impressive fruit concentration on the nose, equally distributed between red and black, a hint of clove and just a touch of Italian delicatessen emanating from the Cabernet Franc. The palate has just melted a little since its obdurate infancy, although it is still quite linear and "strict". You might argue that the 2008 Lafleur is a little charmless at the moment, but bottle age will sculpt and abrade this Pomerol into a very fine, if slightly aloof wine. (This was not shown at BI Wine & Spirit’s horizontal but a bottle was opened at a private dinner when I was in Bordeaux a few days earlier).Vinous Media | 96 VMA bright, fresh, very pure style, with raspberry and bitter cherry fruit flavors laced with judicious toast and a streak of red licorice. The nicely fleshy finish puts on weight as it airs in the glass, developing alluring notes of black tea and incense. Drink now through 2019.Wine Spectator | 91 WS