Wine Half Bottles

In the new classification of St.-Emilion, justice was certainly served with the elevation of Angelus to premier grand cru classe status. No Bordeaux estate has been making as concentrated and consistently high quality wines as... Read More

Tasted blind at Farr Vintners' 26 horizontal, the 26 Bahans-Haut-Brion has a fragrant earthy, woodland, almost autumnal bouquet that is well defined and fully mature. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, lightweight... Read More

Loads of smoky, meaty and berry aromas and flavors in this wine. Full-bodied, with lots of berry, tobacco character and a medium-chewy finish that's slightly papery.--1989 Bordeaux horizontal. Drink now. -JS WS

This is a wine that I appear to have badly misjudged when tasting out of barrel. I had the bottled 26 Bellevue several times, and it was consistently hard, austere, and lean. Generally I love what this great terroir, surrounded... Read More

Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2017 Branaire-Ducru gives up plum preserves, baked blackcurrants, kirsch and boysenberries with hints of earth, tobacco, herbs and pencil lead. Medium-bodied, the palate is fresh and... Read More

Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Brane-Cantenac starts off a tad restrained and reluctant to show, opening out to notes of baked blackberries, plum preserves and crème de cassis with hints of cigar box and tar. Medium... Read More

A 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,... Read More

The 2014 Cheval Blanc is a blend of 45% Cabernet Franc and 55% Merlot, picked from 19 September until 8 October. It has a very succinct, almost understated bouquet, here a mixture of red and black fruit, cold limestone and crushed... Read More

Like smelling a delicious raspberry sauce with hints of coffee and smoke, and the wine that follows is wonderfully structured, muscular and well toned. Full-bodied, with sleek and racy tannins and a long, characterful aftertaste.... Read More

For whatever reason, the 1989 is merely outstanding rather than dazzling. Although it lacks the complexity of the 1988, it is a plump, muscular, rich, intense, full-bodied, and sweeter-than-usual Climens. For a 1989, it possesses... Read More

Ex-chateau bottle tasted blind in Sauternes. The Climens '03 has always been a capricious Barsac: brilliant out of barrel but found wanting under vertical conditions. Here, amidst a blind horizontal, it fell somewhere between... Read More