Wine List

Tasting note: This is also quite elegant with its equally spicy nose of honeysuckle, yellow and white orchard fruit and citrus elements. There is a lovely vibrancy to the concentrated and relatively large-scaled flavors that possess good power on the markedly dry and somewhat compact edgy finish. As with the Combettes my predicted range offers the benefit of the doubt that the finish will flesh out and the dryness will dissipate with time.
 

96+

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

2018 - 2040

Reviewed by

Monica Larner

Issue Date

28th Jun 2013

Source

207, The Wine Advocate

Gaia Gaja uses the word “salty” to describe this next wine, and I see her point. The 2010 Sori Tildin shows a dry, firmly structured quality that enhances those extraordinary, breezy overtones of lead pencil and brimstone that so fittingly frame the Nebbiolo grape. The lingering end-notes of rose petal, ginger and cedar are striking. You immediately feel the tannic structure and power of the wine. The jump is very sharp next to the Costa Russi, and that’s why this is one of Gaja’s best cellar-agers. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2040.  

Rating

96

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

2015 - 2035

Reviewed by

Jeb Dunnuck

Issue Date

14th Sep 2015

Source

Special Report (Sep 2015), The Wine Advocate

Leading off the reds in the retrospective, the 2012 Chateauneuf du Pape hit a whopping 15.7% natural alcohol, yet doesn't show a trace of heat in its gorgeous bouquet of kirsch liqueur, blackberries, Asian spice, cured meats and garrigue. This is followed by a thick, concentrated, seamless 2012 that has the vintage's purity and rounded nature, plenty of sweet tannin, and a killer finish. Already hard to resist, it will cruise for another 15-20 years.

Rating:

89

Price ($)

$180

Drink Date

2000 - 2014

Reviewed by

Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Issue Date

21st Apr 2000

Source

128, The Wine Advocate

WINE SPECTATOR

93 / 100  points

Cedar, new wood and crushed blackberry and raspberry aromas follow through to a palate of vanilla, berry and blackberry character. Balanced and modern, with lots of fruit. Lively, with bright acidity. Best after 2014. James Suckling, Wine Spectator 2006

JANCIS ROBINSON

17 / 20  points

Exceptionally deep purple - no sign of age! Yet on the nose it seems rather developed. Odd! A bit of kirsch, a bit of sweat. You could think of approaching this in the next few years at least compared with some in this flight. But it's awfully hard work at the moment. Pronounced greenness on the finish.www.jancisrobinson.com, 20 Jan 2010

ROBERT PARKER

98 / 100  points

One of the handful of candidates for wine of the vintage is the 2006 Ausone. In fact, while tasting it, I was thinking, is there any estate in Bordeaux that, since 1998, has made as many legendary wines as proprietor Alain Vauthier has at his beloved Ausone? Boasting an inky/blue/purple color as well as an extraordinary, precise bouquet of minerals, flowers, blueberry liqueur, and black currants, this wine possesses fabulous fruit and great intensity, but what makes it so special is its precision, focus, and almost ethereal lightness despite substantial flavor intensity and depth. It is a ballerina with density and power. The abundant noticeable tannin is sweet and, not surprisingly, very finely grained. It should be cellared for a decade, and consumed over the following half century. Robert Parker, Wine Advocate # 181

Another resounding success for the vintage, the opaque purple-colored 2008 Clinet (14.4% alcohol) is composed of 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Yields of 38 hectoliters per hectare, while higher than in 2010, were still modest. Another powerful, big, large-scaled effort, the 2008 exhibits an inky/purple color as well as sweet creme de cassis, blackberry, plum, Asian spice, licorice and incense notes. Layered and full-bodied with stunning purity and a 40+ second finish, this beauty needs 3-5 years of bottle age and should keep for 25-30 years.

A stunner, sporting tropical mango and papaya notes that glide along beautifully, while heather honey, pineapple chutney and toasted coconut flavors fill in through the finish. Delivers an amazing mouthfeel that is both creamy and intense, with a pretty inner floral brightness that contrasts with the fruit. Best from 2020 through 2045. 6,665 cases made.

Score: 98 James Molesworth, WineSpectator.com, February 2017

The 2014 d'Yquem has a complex bouquet with buttered toast, almond, honey and peach skin aromas. It opens with greater zeal than its peers, there is more immediacy here. The palate is very well balanced with crisp acidity, a finely tuned and satisfying Sauternes with style and grace, evincing great tension and mineral drive towards the finish. Superb. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. 2020 - 2055

Score: 97 Neal Martin, vinous.com, March 2018

Very subtle Yquem on the nose with dried pineapple, lemons, green apples and hints of botrytis. The palate grabs you by the arms and shows you superb concentration of spices, dried fruit, phenolics and incredible energy. Nothing is like this from Sauternes this vintage! Drink whenever you like. Spellbinding.

Score: 98 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2017

A crazy combination of botrytis, dried fruits and freshness. It's not the sweetest Yquem but it has an extraordinary depth of fruit and freshness. It goes on for minutes. Spicy and intense. A stunning young wine. A brightness and fabulous depth of fruit.

Score: 97/98 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2015

The 2014 d'Yquem is a wine of restraint above all else. Candied lemon, orange peel, apricot jam, graphite and almond are some of the many threads in a rich fabric that envelops all the senses. A wine of contrasts, the 2014 is at times delicate, while in other moments it is more powerful. Although striking, the 2014 falls just short of being profound. In exchange, readers will find an Yquem that will give up its charms on the earlier side.

Score: 95 Antonio Galloni, vinous.com, February 2017

Bright gold with a green note. Intense freshness on the nose. Fabulous nose of richness and freshness. The residual sugar is not high but the balance is great. Lime and pears and great richness and almost like a fruit juice, it's so refreshing yet dense and sweet. 13.35%
Drink 2020-2050

Score: 19 Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2015

The greatest sweet wine of Bordeaux and without doubt one of the world's most famous wines. There is no denying outstanding quality is consistently maintained here but pricing in some recent vintages has been too high. The 2013 was not sold en primeur and the 2012 vintage was not produced. This vintage will also not be released en Primeur but held back until 2016.

  Farr Vintners, March 2015

Floral fragrant the nose is quite light with tangerine freshness the palate richer sweet fruit apricot and candied peel. The honeyed sweetness on the mid palate is balanced by freshness at the back stylish and fragrant this is not a heavyweight but has elegance and charm. 2016-35

Score: 93/97 Derek Smedley MW, April 2015

In a very good to excellent year for Sauternes, this was the outstanding wine, as it often is. Picked in four selections between September 5th and October 30th, it had 100% botrytis infection. Exotic, honeyed yet gloriously refreshing, with notes of lemon tart and nutmeg spice, it lingers tantalisingly on the palate.

Score: 97 Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2015

Score: 97 Decanter Magazine, April 2015

The thickest, most unctuous, full-bodied and sexy white of the vintage is the 2014 Ermitage de l’Orée. Coming all from the sedimentary soils of the Les Murets and aged mostly in demi-muids (only 15% new), it offers a sensational perfume of caramelized peaches, campfire, honeysuckle and white flowers that literally come soaring from the glass. Possessing uncommon density, a stacked mid-palate, loads of sweet fruit and a blockbuster finish, this hedonistic effort can be drunk with incredibly pleasure today, or cellared for a decade or more. It will have three or more decades of overall longevity.

Score: 98+ Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate (222), December 2015