Buy 2 - French Neighbour Wine Soulmate 1

1. 2018 Chateau Palmer Margaux, WE 99

"As is the case at neighbor Château Margaux, the 2022 Palmer is one of the most powerful wines this estate has ever produced. A blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot, it offers up aromas of blackberries, burning embers, violets, iris and sweet soil tones, followed by a full-bodied, broad and expansive palate, its velvety attack segueing into a rich and layered core. Supple, seamless and concentrated, it checks in at 14.4% alcohol and a rather high pH of 3.79."

2. 2016 Chateau La Mission Haut Brion, Vinous 99

"This glorious wine typifies everything that makes La Mission Haut-Brion so appealing and why it is a habitual winner in blind tastings amongst the first growths. Beautifully polished loganberry and wild berry aromas, with hints of dark currants. This balances a lovely silky texture, with volume and richness, whilst maintaining a continuous flow of tannic structure throughout the palate. Vibrantly fresh, the finish of mocha and chocolate give added complexity and enormous appeal."

3. 2012 Chateau Latour Pauillac, Decanter 97

"The colour is dark with a beautiful intensity.The nose is fruity, refined, ripe and extremely expressive. On the palate, the wine is rounded and smooth, spicy and very aromatic. It evolves pleasurably towards a delicious finale with fine tannins."

4. 2012 Chateau La Mission Haut Brion, JD 97

"2012 Château La Mission Haut-Brion has overtones such as liquorice typical of very ripe grapes, but also fresh nuances reminiscent of menthol. Fruitiness and a touch of oak round out the wine’s aromatic complexity. The alcoholic degree is once again high, but this gives the wine a sort of lightness and ethereal quality. However, this impression is misleading because the wine is, in reality, very powerful. The rich tannin adds a silky texture and the taste profile is altogether charming, with tremendous balance. 2012 La Mission Haut-Brion has the beautiful long aftertaste of all great wines. "

5. 2009 Chateau Leoville Las Cases 'Grand Vin De Leoville', RP 99

"Chateau Leoville Las Cases is one of the largest and oldest classified growths in the Medoc region of France. The fruit is harvested by hand. The fermentation vessels include a fascinating mix of wooden, cement and stainless steel vats. When finished the wine is pumped to the barrel cellar. Here it is transferred into oak barrique, between 50% and 100% new for the grand vin, depending on the vintage."

6. 2006 Chateau Latour Pauillac, WE 96

"As to the Grand Vin, the 2006 Latour showed beautifully. A blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance mostly Merlot, with a splash of Cabernet Franc, it offers a deep ruby/purple color to go with straight up classic Latour graphite, lead pencil and minerality all balanced by terrific cassis and blackcurrant fruit. With medium to full-bodied richness, present, yet silky tannin, impeccable balance and a great finish, it’s terrific today and I suspect on the early edge of a long drinking plateau."

7. 2005 Chateau Figeac, Decanter 95

"The tightrope stage of a wine as it shifts from young to mature, the tertiary notes coming to the fore are very welcome in its second decade, although it is perhaps just a little more evolved than I would expect. But this is stunning, there is so much hidden power, with layers of complex cedar, rose petal and soft woodsmoke. As it opens in the glass, the slight dryness on the finish becomes more apparent, but so does the sweet gentleness of this vintage. It can clearly still age for a good few decades, but would also be ready to drink with some decanting first. The 36hl/ha yield in this vintage is due mainly to the extremely dry summer. "

8. 2002 Chateau La Mission Haut Brion, WA 92

"Bright aromas of blackberries, cherries, currants and toasted oak follow through to a full-bodied palate, with chewy tannins. Long and silky. Racy."

9. 1996 De Venoge Louis XV Champagne, JS 98

"The nose offers a very wide range of fragrances of white flowers harmoniously linked with citrus, sensations obtained with Chardonnay, and dominant scents of red fruits such as Morello cherry, burlat or raspberry, revealed by Pinot Noir, ending on a fine and elegant point of minerality. The mouth is the image of the nose, thus provoking an extraordinary harmony between our two preponderant senses."

10. 2014 Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne, WA 96

"Concentrated and candied citrus fruit mingle delicately with notes of grain and lightly roasted almonds. Fruity palate with a silky texture, complemented by soft bubbles that are perfectly integrated and deliciously elegant. The purity and perfection of the ripe yellow fruit melt into the intense chalky freshness, typical of Cristal, that is both powdery and saline. Dense, juicy, concentrated and long on the mid-palate, thanks to the spicy and sappy structure resulting from partial ageing in large oak vats. The finish builds to a crescendo, revealing a rich grainy and velvety texture that is wrapped in a long, saline and superbly elegant finish."

11. 2013 Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne, WA 98

"A golden hue with soft, glowing highlights. Fine, steady, gentle bubbles. Powerful and complex on the palate, revealing a mixture of yellow fruit (mirabelle plum), juicy, ripe fruits (nectarine), citrus peel (candied orange) and finely-roasted nuts (hazelnut). The nose is simultaneously powdery and sweet, with elegant, chalky notes. Gentle, tactile and full-bodied on the palate. The bubbles create a gentle, vibrating sensation, then the wine becomes soft, dense and juicy. But it is the chalky freshness that quickly sets the tone: the sweetness becomes energetic and intense, giving the wine an elegant yet powerful texture. Fine, textured tannins reveal a poised and vinous dim."

12. 2012 Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne, JS 98

"Aromas of clear honey, crisp green orchard fruit, white peach, pastry cream and dried white flowers introduce the 2012 Cristal, a full-bodied, concentrated and powerful wine that's built for the cellar. Broader, more textural and more muscular than the 2008 Cristal, with seemingly even greater reserves of structuring dry extract, the 2012 is incisive and searingly chalky. This is the first Cristal produced exclusively from organically farmed fruit, and it marks the opening of a new chapter for Louis Roderer. The blend is 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, vinified without malolactic fermentation and disgorged with 7.5 grams per liter dosage. Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon has once again excelled himself. Rating: 97+"

13. 2008 Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne, JS 100

"The 2008 Cristal is a perfect wine, and Champagne simple does not get any better. This incredible wine offers a beautiful perfume of clean, crisp fruits, layers of complexity in its toasted spice and white flowers, and an utterly seamless, yet powerful style on the palate. This is a rich, decadent expression of Cristal yet it’s still crystalline and elegant, with no sensation of weight, and it just glides over the palate. Haut Couture at its finest and this majestic, profound, legendary Cristal can be drunk anytime over the coming 2-3 decades. (JD) "