CLOS DU MARQUIS Second wine of Chateau Leoville Las-Cases
Established in 1902, Clos du Marquis is the second wine of Ch. Leoville Las-Cases, usually exhibiting typical Saint-Julien structure, complexity, balance, distinction and strong ageing potential. A wine of generous proportions yet pinpoint precision, the word racy has been used more than once to describe the 2016 Clos du Marquis. A richly exotic and expansive palate is centered around a sturdy backbone and exquisite structure resulting in a classically styled wine that will continue to develop with cellaring.
CHATEAU SMITH-HAUT-LAFITTE Rouge Grand cru classe
Dating back over 800 years in the Bordeaux region, Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte is owned today by Daniel and Florence Cathiard. The estate also features a world class spa, which specialises in Vinotherapie - using grape extracts in many of their treatments. Up until the year 2000, the estate was not known for producing top quality wines, however in the capable hands of the Cathiard family and after over a decade of hard work and reinvention, the wines truly began to come into their own. It has been, in the words of Andrew Caillard, an astonishing ascendancy in the past 15 years, and given the sterling reviews the 2016 vintage has received, its trajectory seems set to continue its meteoric rise.
Château les Carmes-Haut-Brion
Château Angélus Carillon d'Angélus
Chateau Pavie-Macquin 1er grand cru classe
Pavie Macquin is a Premier Grand Cru Classe (B) growth of Saint-Émillion, planted mostly to Merlot on the regions famous limestone plateau. The Chateaux is named after Albert Macquin, the man oft-credited with much of the innovation around rootstock grafting that eventually saved the vineyards of Europe from the infestation of phylloxera. Prior to the 1998 vintage the wines are thought to not adequately reflect the potential of the terroir of the property, but in the past few decades the chateau has built an incredibly strong reputation.
Chateau Clerc-Milon-Rothschild 5me cru classe
Moss Wood Moss Wood Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
Moss Wood Moss Wood Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River Moss Wood is one of the Margaret River originals (planted 1969; first vintage 1973) and this iconic flagship wine Langtons Classified since 1990 has long been Western Australias leading Cabernet Sauvignon. Figures from the cellarage company Wine Ark show that it consistently rates as Australias Most Collected Cabernet. Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon is intensely perfumed and finely structured with cassis-blackcurrant aromas, hints of cedar and touches of violet. The oak and fruit are neatly balanced. With proven ageing potential the wine develops subtle earth/demi-glace briar characters on the bouquet, and complexity and suppleness on the palate. The unirrigated and widely spaced vineyard (now 14.86-hectares) is planted on gentle north-east facing slopes with sandy loams to a gravelly red/brown loams over clay. Typically the fruit is hand-picked, de-stemmed into open tanks and hand-plunged four times a day until completion of fermentation. At the end of vinification, the wine is allowed to macerate for around 10 to 14 days prior to pressing off into barrel. The wine is matured in 30% new and seasoned French oak barriques for 24 months.
Craggy Range Winery Sophia Merlot Cabernet Franc
CRAGGY RANGE WINERY Sophia Cabernet Blend, Gimblett Gravels, Hawkes Bay. Cepage includes Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabnernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
Chateau Pontet-Canet
Te Mata Estate Coleraine Cabernet Merlot
Te Matas Hawkes Bay estate is a prestigious winery with a rich history, producing some of New Zealands most celebrated wines. If the Langtons Classification crossed the Tasman, Te Mata Coleraine would sit alongside Grange at its very pinnacle. Established, esteemed, outstanding vintage after vintage, the glowing adjectives come thick and fast.