Château Léoville Las Cases
Château Quintus
Château Brane-Cantenac
Château Pape Clement
Planted in 1300, the estate is the oldest planted vineyard in the Pessac-Léognan appellation, ranked among the Premiers Crus for red wine in the Classification of Graves wine of 1959.
Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste Pauillac
Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste produce some of the best value wines in the Pauillac region, if not simply some of the best quality in general. Cabernet based reds are their staple and generally produce wines of a robust and masculine nature. In recent years the wines are close to rivalling the famed Pichons .
Château Clos Fourtet Saint-Émilion
Château Clos Fourtet was once a fort used to protect the ancient medieval village of Saint-Émilion. Fourtet now produces wines of intense blackberry and liquorice and lovely ripe tannins. Always an elegant wine, but balanced with plump fruit to appeal to most. Merlot plays the dominant role in the blend delivering the trademark softness of Saint-Émilion wines. The specific 2009 example is a wine of truly epic proportions. Some have even considered it to be the greatest young Bordeaux to have ever been produced! A cacophony of flavours including blue and purple fruit, forest floor, cassis, red cherries and aniseed. The fruit is clearly defined along with the expert integration of oak, tannin and acid. A truly remarkable achievement in winemaking.
Chateau Certan May de Certan
Château Domaine De Chevalier Pessac-Léognan
From an estate reputed for its ability to produce exceptional white and red wines, this red offering from 2010 is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. The Graves producer has the ''ace in the hole'' of noted winemaker-consultant Stephane Derenencourt who has been increasing the quality of the wines through his tenure. The wines have enjoyed a twenty year ascension in the ranks of Bordeaux lovers, noted for their more modest alcohol, medium-bodied nature and freshness of fruit character. Though set to the lighter spectrum, elegance is the calling card in 2010.
Château Montrose
France's Bordeaux, is the spiritual home of the Cabernet family of grapes, which extends beyond Sauvignon and Franc to Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. If you love Margaret River Cabernet blends, or indeed the Merlot dominant reds of Hawkes Bay, NZ, then you must look at the wines upon which many of them have been modelled. This wine is Cabernet and Merlot, deep and rich, cassis and earthy cedar, structure and uncommon length - all hallmarks of Grand Cru Bordeaux.
Château Troplong-Mondot
This 25-hectare Premier Grand Cru Classe estate, perched on the highest plateau of St Émilion, is one of the jewels of the right bank. Made with the assistance of Michel Rolland, this opulent and generously proportioned Bordeaux, with dark plum praline flavours and chocolatey tannins, is one of the top wines of this vintage.