I have taken on a private cellar that has been stored with us at LCB since being shipped from Bordeaux. You can buy these individually at the retail price - or buy a dozen or more at the exceptional mixed dozen rate!
| Notes and scores from Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate |
Mixed Doz Price Inc VAT | Retail Price Inc VAT | |||
| 2006 | Ch. Leoville Las Cases 2eme Cru | St Julien | 24bts | £100 | £149.99 |
| The Wine Advocate 95/100 Not surprisingly, Leoville Las Cases has produced another classic, potentially long-lived wine in 2006. Among the St.-Juliens, it, Ducru Beaucaillou, and Leoville Barton possess the potential for the greatest longevity. Interestingly, when I visited this chateau in January, proprietor Jean-Hubert Delon offered me two samples, one where the cork had been pulled immediately prior to tasting, and another that had been decanted four hours earlier. Both were superb, but the wine that had had extended aeration was clearly the finer offering. The opaque purple-hued 2006- only 40% of the crop made it into the final blend- exhibits a personality that mimics the superb 1996. Classic aromas of sweet black raspberries, kirsch, cassis, and subtle toasty oak are followed by a full-bodied, concentrated wine displaying moderately high tannin. This cuvee can often resemble a Pauillac wrapped in the St.-Julien appellation, and the 2006 is no exception. A blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.5% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, it will require significant cellaring before consumption. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2035+. |
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| 2006 | Ch. Grand Puy Lacoste 5eme Cru | Pauillac | 24bts | £40 | £59.99 |
| The Wine Advocate 92/100 While not at the level of the phenomenal 2005, Grand-Puy-Lacoste has produced another classic wine with the creme de cassis fruit that I often find in both Mouton Rothschild and Pontet-Canet, yet both of those vineyards are closer to the Gironde River. This wine has a pure personality, with the aforementioned classic creme de cassis notes, medium to full body, beautiful density, purity, texture, and length. If anything, this recalls a hypothetical blend of their brilliant 1995 and 1996. Tannins are elevated, so patience will be required. This was Xavier Borie’s first vintage in his new state-of-the-art winemaking facility. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2027. |
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| 2005 | Ch. La Lagune 3eme | Haut Medoc | 24bts | £70 | £89.99 |
| The Wine Advocate 93/100 A final blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Petit Verdot from the Frey family, the 2005 is a gorgeous La Lagune, and one of the first great ones under the Frey administration. This wine has a dense ruby/purple color, a beautiful nose of sandalwood, black raspberries, and cassis, silky sweet tannin, medium to full body, and a textured, long, pure mouthfeel and finish. This wine is probably 3-4 years away from prime-time drinking, but it should evolve gorgeously for another 20-25 years. |
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| 2005 | Domaine de Chevalier | Pessac Leognan | 12bts | £60 | £74.99 |
| The Wine Advocate 95/100 A glorious wine from Domaine de Chevalier, this 2005 reveals notes of graphite, subtle charcoal, blackberry and blackcurrant fruit, a medium to full-bodied mouthfeel, silky tannins, and a long, multi-dimensional finish. This is a killer effort from the Bernard family, who own this famous terroir in Pessac-Léognan. Drink it over the next 20-30 years. |
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| 2005 | Ch. Kirwan 3eme | Margaux | 24bts | £60 | £74.99 |
| The Wine Advocate 90+/100 A third-growth, this intense, powerful and concentrated wine should play to its strengths in a vintage such as 2005, with its enormous tannin and density. This is one of the more backward of the 2005s, quite masculine, tannic and bold, with a deep ruby/purple color, lots of spice, a touch of wood and new oak as well as a medium to full-bodied, rather backward, tannic mouthfeel. It’s all there, and the wine certainly has plenty of concentration, but it needs another 3-5 years of cellaring. It should drink well for at least a quarter of a century. |
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| 2005 | Ch. Prieure Lichine 3eme | Margaux | 12bts | £40 | £49.99 |
| The Wine Advocate 90/100 This deliciously sexy, seductive style of wine from Prieure-Lichine is very much in keeping with how this wine can perform in a top vintage, offering lush fruit, sweet tannin and a silky, medium to full-bodied mouthfeel with notes of flowers, blue, red and black fruits, some underbrush and loamy soil nuances. Suave, round and juicy, this wine has reached its mature period, and should 200stay there for at least another 5-10+ years. |
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| 2005 | Ch. Duhart Milon Rothschild 5eme | Pauillac | 12bts | £70 | £89.99 |
| The Wine Advocate 90/100 This property, which has benefitted enormously from tremendous investments from the Rothschild family that owns Lafite, has turned out a dense purple-colored wine in 2005. Offering broad, expansive, supple and silky tannin as well as loads of Asian plum sauce, blackcurrants, and sweet cherries, this wine is seductive, medium to full-bodied, and luscious. This successful effort from the Rothschilds should continue to drink well for at least another two decades. |
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| 2005 | Ch. Du Glana | St Julien | 24bts | £20 | £28.99 | |
| The Wine Advocate 86/100 Deep ruby/purple, with a spicy, cedary, licorice and blackcurrant-scented nose as well as some earth, the medium-bodied 2005 Du Glana is still not at full maturity. This moderately endowed, still slightly tannic wine will continue to drink well for another 5-6 years. |
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| 2005 | Ch. Mazeyres | Pomerol | 12bts | £25 | £34.99 | |
| The Wine Advocate 90/100 A blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, the 2005 is a strong effort from this property, which usually performs inconsistently. This wine has a dense ruby/purple color and notes of black cherries, coffee, chocolate and deep red and black fruits. It is medium to full-bodied, still youthful, but close to maturity. This is a big, broad, masculine Pomerol to drink over the next 12-15 years. |
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| 2005 | Ch. Belgrave 5eme | Haut Medoc | 12bts | £25 | £34.99 | |
| The Wine Advocate 88/100 Owned by the famous négociant firm of Dourthe, the 2005 Belgrave is a solid effort from a property that has tremendous upside. This dark ruby/plum-colored wine exhibits classic Médoc notes of tobacco leaf, unsmoked cigars, spice box, blackcurrants and cedar wood. It is medium-bodied, with relatively ripe, soft tannins, and a nice, lush finish. Drink it over the next 10-15 years. |
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| 2005 | Ch. Pontensac Cru Bourgeois | Haut Medoc | 24bts | £25 | £34.99 | |
| The Wine Advocate 90/100 A superb value for Jean-Hubert Delon, the 2005 Potensac has a deep ruby/purple color, a classic bouquet of sweet red and black fruits, as well as gorgeous texture and purity. Medium-bodied and concentrated, this wine behaves like a Medoc cru classe. Moreover, it will age very well for 10-15 years. Very impressive! |
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| 2005 | Ch. Meyney Cru Bourgeois | St Estephe | 12bts | £25 | £34.99 | |
| The Wine Advocate 86/100 A dark ruby color is followed by aromas and flavors of sweaty leather, roasted herbs, spice box, and sweet cherries and plums. This superficial, pleasant, charming St.-Estephe lacks the depth, concentration, and finish of the vintage’s finest wines. Drink it now and over the next 10-15 years. |
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| 2005 | Ch. Ormes de Pez | St Estephe | 12bts | £25 | £34.99 | |
| The Wine Advocate 86/100 This deep ruby-hued 2005 offers up open-knit aromas and flavors of cherries, plums, black currants, earth, and spice. Medium-bodied, soft, and surprisingly fruity and forward for the vintage, it will provide pleasure during its first 7-8 years of life even though it is somewhat superficial for the vintage as well as the estate. |
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| 2005 | Ch. Cos Labory | St Estephe | 12bts | £30 | £39.99 | |
| The Wine Advocate 89+/100 One of the finest wines I have tasted from this estate, the 2005 Cos Labory exhibits a deep ruby/purple hue, aromas of road tar, blackberries, creme de cassis, forest floor, smoke, and graphite, medium to full body, and abundant tannin. It is a complete, dense effort with high tannins in the finish. Once the tannins melt away, it should represent an outstanding example of the vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2030. |
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| 2005 | Haut Marbuzet 3eme | St Estephe | 12bts | £35 | £44.99 | |
| The Wine Advocate 89/100 Proprietor Henri Duboscq made a delicious, sexy style of St.-Estèphe in 2005. Dark plum/ruby/purple, with notes of smoky oak, espresso, medium body and lots of fruit, it is a relatively lush, heady style of St.-Estèphe that is far more seductive and accessible than most wines of this appellation in 2005. Drink it over the next decade. |
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| 2005 | Connetable de Talbot | St Julien | 12bts | £25 | £34.99 | |
| 2nd wine Chateau Talbot |
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| 2005 | Chateau Liversan | Medoc | 12bts | £16.50 | £24.99 | |
| The Wine Advocate 88/100 Liversan’s 2005 from Haut-Médoc is a strong effort and one of the best wines I have tasted from proprietor Lapalu. This wine displays beautiful blackcurrant fruit, spicy oak and some earth in a medium to full-bodied, dense, concentrated style. Bigger-framed and more muscular than usual, this beauty should continue to drink well for another 10-12 years. A sleeper of the vintage. |
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| 2005 | Chateau Fourcas Hosten | Listrac | 12bts | £20 | £28.99 | |
| The Wine Advocate 86+/100 Deep ruby/plum/purple, with more sweetness to its fruit than normal, the 2005 Fourcas Hosten displays minerality, earth, spice, blackcurrants, and touches of oak and forest notes. This medium-bodied wine should continue to drink well for at least a decade or more. |
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