In the final part of our series on the First Growths, Kat Wiggins, Fine Wine Advisor, discusses Lafite-Rothschild. Arguably now one of the most famous wine “brands”, Château Lafite-Rothschild has long been one of the most sought-after wines in the world, achieving record prices at auction even in the seventeenth century. While today’s prices are perhaps
Monthly Archives: April 2011
We were fortunate enough to stay for a few days at Château Caronne-St-Gemme during our time at Bordeaux. Overlooking its vineyards and backing onto beautiful, bird-filled woodland, the location of the Château made a peaceful home-away-from-home for us during the somewhat hectic en primeur tastings. We tasted the 2010 Caronne-St-Gemme several times, both at the
Fourth in our series on the First Growths, Adrian Heaven, Fine Wine Advisor at Lay & Wheeler, discusses Château Latour. Château Latour had established its reputation as a very fine wine by the early 1700s, along with Lafite, Margaux and Pontac (the historical name for Haut-Brion), some 150 years before the famous 1855 classification. In
We were pleasantly surprised when tasting at the quality to be found at all levels in Bordeaux this year. This was especially true of some of the wines in the Haut-Médoc classification, where the high quality of the Cabernet Sauvignon was able to sing. 2010 Beaumont particularly impressed us at the Haut-Médoc tasting, standing out,
BORDEAUX 2010 – Express your interest The full range of wines that we intend to purchase in this vintage, prices dependent, is now available to view online, including full tasting notes and our vintage report. We would like to invite you at this stage to express your interest in the wines that you would like
During our tastings of the 2010 en primeur Bordeaux, we were greatly impressed by the sheer quality of the wines across the board, from the heights of the First Growths to the more attainable levels of the Cru Bourgeois and lesser known Châteaux. This was a vintage where careful winemaking and patience paid dividends and
Continuing our series on the First Growths, Ludovic Surina, Fine Wine Advisor at Lay & Wheeler, introduces Château Haut-Brion. The history of Haut-Brion starts even earlier than most think – at the end of the tertiary era, when the emergence of the Aquitaine basin and the Western Pyrenees caused a layer of debris to spread
Pretender to the throne or deserving champion? When Mouton-Rothschild was not selected as a First Growth in the 1855 Bordeaux wine classification Baron Philippe de Rothschild declared it a “monstrous injustice”. Given that the classification was based on market prices and that those of Mouton-Rothschild were equal to those of Lafite-Rothschild, it seems a reasonable
Another beautiful day in Bordeaux, the vines are already a week ahead of normal and this warm, sunny weather is set to continue for another 10 days. Difficult to leave behind but this is a tiring vintage to taste and we’re all looking forward to some vegetables and our families! We spent yesterday on the
After a punishing day’s tasting yesterday, time to draw some conclusions on the vintage in the Médoc. Clearly 2010 was a year for Cabernet Sauvignon, with the very dry conditions favouring concentration and high alcohol levels. In many cases the potential tannin levels too were the highest ever seen. What disappointments we have identified (and
Quick LInks & Recent Posts
Krug: bubbling over in Champagne… May 16, 2013
Château Palmer at The Square May 9, 2013
Wine Moments: Competition Winners May 8, 2013
Penfolds Grange 2008 and Icons tasting May 3, 2013
Bordeaux 2009-2012 – Grands Crus, Great Vintages May 1, 2013