Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

This is well beyond critical reviews young.

Sofia & I became friends with Jean D’Anjoy (photo to right). Winemaker who now runs all the Rothschild properties. He was the Assistant Winemaker at Opus One for 10 yrs. He had many offers to be a Napa Winemaker but refused. Had he, he would have been demeeded a Napa Winemaker when he wanted to always go back to Bordeaux as a Winemaker. Opus was fine as it is 1/2 French owed. He later became the the Clerc Milon Winemaker in 09. What a first vintage. He simultaneously built the new facilities at Clerc Milon. He is also perhaps the best & kindest human being I’ve ever met.

He arranged for Sofia & I to pick the Mouton Merlot and work all phases of the 2012 Clark Milon vintage. So, you might wanna not buy the 2012 vintage of Mouton & Clerc. 😂 He also arranged for us to sit at the Baroness’s table for the harvest luncheon where they poured the last of the filtered bottom of the barrels of 82 Mouton. I asked Sofia to pinch me. The Baroness sadly died two years later.

The nose is sweet and a touch sour; blackberries & black raspberries. Floral & slightly candied; dark and light cherries, juicy strawberries, raspberries and some circling baked rhubarb. Understated new oak barrel powder, beautiful baking spices-clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla, dry leaves and twig, baking powder, fresh and dry herbs, lead pencil shavings, limestone, dark soils, dry pebbles, red, and dark florals set in liquid violets.

The palate shows medium plus well rounded, softened, resolved tannins. The fruit is ripe and juicy. Blackberries & black raspberries. Floral & slightly candied; dark and light cherries, juicy strawberries, raspberries and some circling baked rhubarb. Understated new oak barrel powder, beautiful baking spices-clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla, dry leaves and twig, baking powder, mid, dark spices with a shade of heat, fresh and dry herbs, lead pencil shavings, moist to dry tobacco, used leather, limestone, dark soils, dry pebbles, red, and dark florals set in liquid violets, perfect acidity and a grand elegant, well balanced, integrated finish that lasts 90 seconds and lands on spice & earth.

An elegant beauty if I ever had one. Has another 5-7 yr ahead depending on storage.

Photos of; the new facilities at Clerc Milon, Jean D’Anjoy and their vineyards, barrel room and tasting/entertaining lounge.

Delectable & IOS 27 isn’t a good fit today. — 2 days ago

Tom Garland

9.2

+1 hour decant(decent chunky sediment). A striking dark ruby red color. On the nose: Enticing notes of dark red fruit, pencil shavings, floral, little barnyard funk, worn leather, tobacco leaf. Taste: Silky-smooth, creamy, rich(not your old school Bordeaux) wine with blackberry/dark cherry, currants, licorice, glycerin, dried herbs, dark chocolate and a peppery cedar long dry finish. YUM!! — 2 days ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.4

Tasted Blind. Again very similar appearance with ruby centre still , slightly thinner garnet rim . Different on the nose and on the palate to the others . Sweeter more toasty notes , earthy also , tobacco touches , bonfire , fire side hints. On the palate this has a spicy note , with a mix of red and black fruits , that earthy fireside hint . Good tobacco tinged finish . Juicier tannins , and balanced acidity . Really poised and pretty , spiced fruits, perfectly balanced . Lovely to drink now , though will give another decade of enjoyment . Haut Brion ? — 3 days ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

2000 vintage. This is one of the better BDX 2000's I've had in the last decade. Opened not decanted. Tasted 1 hour and 4 hours after opening. Feminine body, masculine flavors. Plenty of stuffing and instructive markers laid down along the palate pathway. With apologies to Robert Zimmerman, you ain't going nowhere. 10.2.26. — 2 days ago

romo

9.4

Still super tight yet magnificent in its posture and non-negotiable place in time. Enjoy a bottle now but save the rest for your grandchildren. - at Paradisea — 12 hours ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.3

vintage 2015 | Awesome balance — 8 days ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.3

Tasted blind. Again medium deep ruby with medium wide garnet rim . Again slightly aloof , showing a touch of herbaceous blackcurrant , mineral and slate notes . Probably the most closed of all coming back . Quite deep and rich again , mineral , blackcurrant, wet stones . Muscular tannins and balanced acidity , deep with a slight herbaceous touch on the decent finish . Latour ? Compared with the rest this is slightly pedestrian, even though it is still an excellent wine it’s not as thrilling as its Pauillac stablemates Lafite or Mouton. Perhaps needs even more time , come back in 5 years and will last well a further 10 -15. — 3 days ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.6

Tasted Blind. Maybe slightly lighter appearance than 1 , with ruby centre and lighter garnet rim . Slightly more floral in tone, touches of spice and elegant redder fruits . The most aromatic of all coming back to this . On the palate this has lovely red fruits , very precise with a juicier mouthfeel , velvety tannins and refreshing acidity . Long very well balanced finish, slightly saline hint. Long and very pretty . Tonight more aromatic , more joyful than all others , long and detailed , in a lovely place now and over the next 10-15 years. Margaux ? — 3 days ago

Tom Garland

9.1

+1 hour decant(decent chunky sediment). A splendid brooding magenta color. On the nose: Seductive perfumed notes of dark fruit, cassis, vanilla, pencil shavings, smokey cedar, tobacco leaf. Taste: creamy, structured wine with cherry/plum, graphite, tar, earth, espresso, and a dry medium plus leather finish. YUM! — 3 days ago

with Brenda

Andrew Cullimore

9.3

Again quite deep ruby , with a wider garnet rim , slightly cloudy appearance. This is a little more smudged on the nose with , earthy , slightly swimming pool note , tobacco and some dried flowers . However with time this starts to gain stature and complexity with cigar box , cedar and grafite notes . On the palate this is a little rounder and deeper in style , a bit more generous . More cassis and blackberry , along with some cherry . Herbal tobacco notes , fresh acidity and more rounded tannins , perhaps better length that the Ducru too. This also is showing well , if not as young as the Ducru , from now and over the next 10 years in this format. — 3 days ago

"Odedi"

9.3

#AgedWineTuesday

Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish/ brick rim.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with a beautiful nose.

Showing black plums, black currants, cedar, dried figs, licorice, dark chocolates, earth, rhubarb, tobacco leaf, light black tea and black pepper.

Long finish with soft tannins and tangy cherries.

This 32 year old Pauillac is still drinking beautifully, but a bit past its prime. Rich and elegant. Very complex and spicy.

This Second Growth Bordeaux needed 5 hours to open up properly, and was not that special right out of the bottle.

Nicely balanced with a nice mouthfeel, and still showing enough fruits to balance the earth notes.

Robert Parker 91 points.

Good by itself as a sipping wine, and with food.

A blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 8% Petit Verdot.

12.5% alcohol by volume.

93 points.

$200. — 19 days ago

Jeroen Koenen

9.8

A ringer in our 100PP-tasting tonight….
And it performed, big time. Again.
Fantastic wine. — 19 hours ago

Ed Chin

9.5

WOTN resolved tannins and brightness in it acidity. Both red and dark fruit. It gave me this sensation of just comfort. Another example that a poor vintage is not an indication that great bottle can’t be made. — 35 minutes ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.5

Tasted blind. Deeper slightly brighter in colour, deeper ruby and a thinner garnet rim . Bit more closed and deeper in fruit , grafite , blackcurrants , wet stones , mineral . There is also a seaside , sea shore hint coming back to this . On the palate this has more volume than 1 , richer in style . More dusty and drier tannins , balanced acidity and good grafite tinged length . Mouton ? Lovely depth and expressiveness , exuberante, young still but with time really shows well. From now and over the next 10 -15 years. This was the Lafite , which surprised me , but still a beautiful wine. — 3 days ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.5

Tasted blind. Medium ruby garnet , medium garnet rim . Quite classic and elegant, with cigar box , grafite and some dried earth , some slightly toasty notes also . On the palate this shows good balance , fresh acidity , classic blackcurrant , cigar box , earthy touch . Good depth and length , grafite tinged finish , quite correct and no extra sweetness or weight . Good length and a spicy , mineral , blackcurrant tinged finish . Lafite ? Still young , really well balanced. From now and over the next 10 to 15 years. This was actually the Mouton , which was a great surprise, but certainly a pleasant one ! — 3 days ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2003 vintage. *Full disclosure* Not the biggest Pavie fan as I've consistently found it underwhelming for the commanding pricing and eternally in need of yet "another hour" in a decanter. Great fill and opened with a Durand but feel that the cork (in great shape) would have come out decently easy with a standard wine key. Given my issues with Pavie in the past, brought over two decanters so as to agitate the wine between them four times. Initial pass, good amount of sediment with the vast majority of it caked onto the sides of the bottle. Yay! Great boysenberry/raspberry nose noted during the first decant. Tasted after two hours. Medium body. Some earth, the aforementioned berries and hints of rich chocolate cake, including frosting, on the scene. Despite all the lavished attention and fuss, still suspect this would show better twelve hours later at breakfast with waffles and Count Chocula cereal. High-maintenance for the bean-counters. 9.26.26. — 8 days ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.3

Quite deep with a ruby core , light garnet rim . Quite young looking . Quite tertiary , with cigar box , grafite some cassis and a grafite note , still very alive and relatively young . On the palate this is quite dusty and earthy , menthol, cassis , tobacco and that grafite hint . Ripe but noticable tannins and refreshing acidity with good lightly grippy length, quite classic . Compared to the Poyferre this is younger but sterner and more foursquare , but classic and unapologetically traditional claret in style. From now with a decant , but this will probably keep well and perhaps improve over the next 10-15 years . — 3 days ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.4

vintage 2010 | Classic and complex. Redbrown rim with opaque colour. Cedar. Laurel. Tobacco. Leather. Comes soft in the mouth. Swallowfactor. Absolutely glorious. — 11 days ago

romo

9.2

3L. Textbook Pauillac. Proper yet lifeless - at Chris & Mary’s — 14 days ago

Mark S.

9.2

Garnet with transparency. Complexity including earthy fig leather forest floor. Fruits still can be found. Aged matured berry and cherry. Completed!!Fruitiness M Sweetness M Acidity M Tannin M Bitterness M Body M+ Finish M %
Elegant Balanced Château Montrose Saint Estephe Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 05 @1430/G, T Enoteca, 260925 — 9 days ago