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France
Bordeaux - Cab Sauv/Cab Franc/Merlot/Pet.Verdot
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Lay down
2032 - 2048 - En Primeur
51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot. Bitter cherry fruit aromas. The red- and blak-fruited palate is velvety and very finely textured, with super-compressed fine tannins, lending a crunch to the back-palate. A wine of nervy tension and long, driving length. 60% new oak. Cropped at just 22hl/ha. Picked from 7th September to 5th October. 14.5% abv.
C&B Score: 18.5-19
Drinking dates: 2033-48
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France
Bordeaux - Cab Sauv/Cab Franc/Merlot/Pet.Verdot
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Lay down
2029 - 2048 - En Primeur
51% Merlot, 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot. Dark, ripe berries, very silky, with a liquorice richness and fine cedar. Fresh and elegant. 14.2% abv. 30% new oak.
One third of the holdings at Palmer always go into Alter Ego. One third can go into either cuvee – this year, proportionally more of the crop went into the grand vin, due to its small, rich berries.
C&B Score: 17-17.5
Drinking dates: 2029-40
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France
Bordeaux - Cabernet Sauvignon blend
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Lay down
2030 - 2040 - En Primeur
51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. Bright red berry fruit with a nice crunch to the palate and green minty lift. The palate is a pleasant mix of black and red berries framed by firm, grippy tannins. 20% new oak. 12.90% abv.
C&B Score: 16.5+
Drinking dates: 2030-40
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France
Bordeaux - Cabernet Sauvignon blend
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Lay down
2032 - 2047 - En Primeur
65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. Lifted red berry aromas leading into a brightly fruited, supple palate on which the very firm tannins exert themselves quickly. The extraction is elegantly done, but there is such a high level of tannin that this will need real patience. The yield was around 40hl/ha. Picked between 12th and 29th September. 50% new oak. 12.91% abv.
C&B Score: 17.5-18
Drinking dates: 2032 - 47
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France
Bordeaux - Merlot blend
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Lay down
2029 - 2043 - En Primeur
60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc. Red berried and incredibly pure on the attack, this is finely chiselled and clipped, silky in structure, framed by fine tannins. Lots of knuckled-down power, with red berried perfume on the finish.
The average vine age at the estate is now 39 years. Aged for 22 months in a mixture of foudres (where 50% of the Cab Franc is aged) and barrels (which are 100% new). 14.5% abv.
C&B Score: 18
Drinking dates: 2029-43
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France
Bordeaux - Cabernet Sauvignon /Cab Franc/Merlot
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Lay down
2029 - 2039 - En Primeur
2022 is the 35th vintage of Branaire-Ducru. 60.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31.5% Merlot, 5.5% Cabernet Franc and 2.5% Petit Verdot. Rather a hedonistic aroma of heady blackcurrant and inky dark perfume. Dark, shiny, bitter cherry fruit and dark chocolate. This is a medium-to-full bodied Branaire-Ducru, with firm, grippy tannins which will need patience. Cropped at 34.5hl/ha. 14.3% abv. Excellent.
C&B Score: 17.5-18
Drinking dates: 2029-39
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France
Bordeaux - Merlot blend
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Lay down
2031 - 2051 - En Primeur
53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon. The old vine Merlot and Cabernet Franc plots were tasted separately. The Merlot’s deep, rich, seductive raspberry fruit is set off against the fresh, finely detailed, tannic assertiveness of the Cab Franc. A fabulous freshness runs through the palate, finishing in a salty, clipped precision. The tannins are supple and fine, making for a refined Cheval Blanc, true class.
Harvest started on 30th August. 80% of the Merlot was picked in the last two days of August – very early. No press wine was used, as always. Cropped at 27hl/ha on average. A touch more was produced than last year – 85,000 bottles of the grand vin.
C&B Score: 19
Drinking dates: 2031-51
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France
Bordeaux - Cabernet Sauvignon blend
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Lay down
2029 - 2042 - En Primeur
55% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot. A raspberry fruited nose with tomato leaf and herbaceous detailing. The palate is cool and focused, with fine, fruit-coated tannins. Elegant and with power in reserve. 13.5% abv. 45% new oak. [ ]l/ha. Harvested [ ] – [ ] September.
C&B Score: 17+
Drinking dates: 2029-42
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France
Bordeaux - Cabernet Sauvignon blend
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Lay down
2028 - 2042 - En Primeur
60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot. Dark, shiny berry fruit aromas with a raspberry-fruited lift and pretty rose petals. The palate is cool and poised, the refined stony-mineral and blackberry flavours framed by fine tannins. Very elegant, with a newfound purity and immediacy. There is great innovation in place at Phélan Ségur, thanks to longstanding winemaker Fabrice Bacquey. Cropped at 52hl/ha. Harvested between 18th September and 11th October. 55% new oak. 13.5% abv.
C&B Score: 17.5+
Drinking dates: 2028-42
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France
Bordeaux - Cab Sauv/Cab Franc/Merlot/Pet.Verdot
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Lay down
2030 - 2040 - En Primeur
55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot. Brightly red berried with plush, even plump fruit on the palate. This has been preened but successfully so. Harvested between 13th September and 2nd October. This will spend 12 months in oak barrels, with 30% new oak. 13.02% abv.
C&B Score: 16.5-17
Drinking dates: 2030-40
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France
Bordeaux - Cabernet Sauvignon blend
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Lay down
2035 - 2051 - En Primeur
54% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Cabernet Franc. More exuberant on the nose than La Mission, Haut Brion’s sweet, blackberry and graphite aromas are complimented by cedary oak spice. The palate is pure and immediate, with grippier tannins than La Mission. A much more imposing chassis here, pointing to an Haut Brion of impressive ageing potential. Lots of patience please. 14.5% abv.
C&B Score: 18.5+
Drinking dates: 2035-51
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France
Bordeaux - Cabernet Sauvignon blend
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Lay down
2031 - 2051 - En Primeur
52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. A shy nose of black cherry and smoky minerality, with a touch of cedary spice. The palate is pure and dark fruited, with an insistent richness supported by very fine, chalky tannins. A masterclass in extraction, this is really exciting. 14.2% abv.
C&B Score: 18.5+
Drinking dates: 2031-51
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France
Bordeaux - Cabernet Sauvignon blend
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Lay down
2027 - 2037 - En Primeur
55.9% Merlot, 35.4% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8.4% Cabernet Franc. Elegant dark berry fruit aromas. The palate is chalky-mineral and focused on the entry, opening onto a medium-bodied mid-palate of ferrous minerality and fine tannins. 13.9% abv.
C&B Score: 17.5+
Drinking dates: 2027-37