Tasting notes

2009:  A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc.  Slightly reticent aromas, with ripe black fruits, spice and minerals.  Powerful on the palate, with rich fruits and plenty of spice and minerals.  Lovely fresh acidity and impressive yet fine structure, this just builds on the long, complex finish.  Really impressive style.  94-97 points, drink 2018-2035.  April 2010.

2007:  A blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon and 28% Merlot, from yields of 43hl/ha.  Quite a striking nose of minerals, spice and blackcurrant.  Soft yet beautifully structured on the palate, with plenty of spice and dark cherry flavours.  Almost cassis-like blackcurrant.  Very

fresh, complex palate with a lengthy finish, this is a really lovely, minerally wine that shows how serious the vintage can be.  92-94 points, drink 2012-2020.  April 2008.

2005:  Drunk three times (November 2009, February 2009 and September 2008), with consistent notes.  Powerful aromas of ripe red berries, musk, minerals and plum.  On the palate the wine is framed by very fine yet persistent tannins, which give great depth and texture to the ripe, sweet fruit.  Fine acidity gives the wine great freshness, but there is no doubting that this is a somewhat brooding style that will require many years of cellaring to reveal its full potential.  95 points, drink 2015-2035.

2004:  Attractive if slightly leafy, herbal aromas of plum and cedar.  Similar flavour profile on the palate, where there is good freshness, chunky and slightly chalky tannins, good complexity and length on the finish.  Perhaps not the highest point for this property, but this is a really impressive wine for classic Bordeaux lovers, and well worth adding to the cellar.  90 points, drink 2010-2020.  October 2008.

2003:  Powerful, somewhat high-toned aromas of ripe berries, cassis, spicy minerals and a hint of mocha.  On the palate the wine is rich and plush, very textural, with very good depth and weight, and impressive complexity.  No question a ripe, exotic style but with fine, firm tannins and ample acidity this is both a success for the vintage, and delicious, compelling drinking.  93 points, drink 2008-2023.  November 2006.

1999:  Somewhat light, floral aromas with hints of herbaceousness and plums.  Medium-bodied, with lovely cedar, plum, musk and blackcurrant flavours, fine tannins and lengthy finish, this just seems to lack a little precision and complexity.  Certainly a success for the vintage however.  89 points, drink 2006-2014 (April 2002).

1996:  This wine has always been something of a powerhouse, and will undoubtedly improve with time in the cellar, but can be a little reticent upon opening.  Initially reserved, with coaxing there are delicious aromas of cassis, mineral, spice and gentle red fruits.  Brooding and powerful on the palate, with solid yet-fine tannins, fine acidity and very good complexity.  Very lengthy finish.  Loads of blackcurrant, cassis and mineral flavours.  Really a huge wine needing plenty of time.  But I love it a lot!  95 points, drink 2016-2035.  (June 2005).  A few years earlier, I wrote a stunning wine.  Rich, complex, powerful, balanced and complete.  Although perhaps needing another decade to really show its full potential, this wine is really a complete modern Pauillac wine.  Extremely impressive  94 points, drink now-2025 (July 2002).

1994:  Exotic and delicious aromas of plum, mocha, tobacco and cassis.  Surprisingly rich on the palate, with very good complexity and length of finish, slightly chalky tannins and a touch of orange rind on the finish.  Impressive wine, and like Mouton and Pontet-Canet, delicious successes in Pauillac in a difficult vintage.  91 points.  September 2003.

1990:  Very powerful, lifted aromas of minerals, spice, cassis, red berries and cedar - extremely attractive.  Another brooding and long-lived style, still in need of more time to fully express itself, with rich, complex fruit on the palate, dominated by exotic minerals and cassis.  Very fine but powerful tannic structure, with fresh acidity, makes this both imposing and impressive at the moment, with a thick, textural mouthfeel.  Essence of Bordeaux.  95 points, drink 2012-2035, October 2009.

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