Drink Pink - Make time for Rosé!

The 2016 Les Hauts de Smith is pliant, racy and inviting. This Merlot-based wine offers tons of early accessibility and sheer appeal. Super-ripe red cherry, raspberry, mint, rose petal and dried flowers add grace throughout. A... Read More

The 2016 Marquis d'Alesme Becker is going to need a few years to come into its own, but there is no question it has turned out beautifully. Espresso, savory herb, licorice, mint and raspberry jam build in a resonant, expressive... Read More

The 2011 Petrus has plenty of fruit on the nose, elegant and floral, redcurrant and raspberry fruit, a touch of crushed stone and pressed rose petal. The palate is medium-bodied with a rich and quite extravagant style of the finish,... Read More

The 2017 Prieuré-Lichine is powerful and dense, with quite a bit more structure and tannic heft than it showed en primeur. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but there is no question the 2017 has developed into a pretty... Read More

Tasting Note: The color is ruby red, bright and deep. Bouquet is complex, rich, intense and very aromatic, with notes of matured fruit. The fresh attack brings volume on the palate, creamy texture, supple and rich tannins with... Read More

Like all the greatest wines of the appellation, Château Pédesclaux has the complexity that reflects the terroir it springs from. On this mosaic of soils, the clays convey power while the gravels express pure elegance.... Read More

The 2011 Larcis-Ducasse is another Saint-Émilion slightly volatile bouquet, soy-infused red fruit, a splash of the old Worcester sauce. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, fine acidity, quite spicy and peppery... Read More

The 2016 Mauvésin Barton, from the Barton family's Moulis-en-Médoc estate, is in fine form. It has lost the floral elements on the nose that I observed previously, the fruit turning a little darker with blackberry,... Read More

Good bright ruby-red. Pretty aromas of black cherry, cassis, tobacco leaf, minerals, licorice and violet. Chewy, rich and deep, with good dense mid-palate fruit and excellent concentration. Fuller and sweeter than the Langoa.... Read More

The 2016 Talbot has an airy, well-defined bouquet of blackberry, cedar and light minty aromas, perhaps more Pauillac than Saint-Julien. The medium-bodied palate delivers gritty tannins, a fine bead of acidity and a graphite-infused... Read More

The 2022 Haut-Bailly was the second vintage made in the new cellar. It was bottled at the end of March, a little earlier than some other wines in this vintage, as Gabrielle prefers an earlier settling in barrel. This spent the... Read More

Château Sansonnet is located at the very top of the Saint-Emilion plateau. Its exceptional soil consists of a thin layer of clay over limestone. The vineyard covers a single 7-hectare (17-acre) plot that surrounds the chateau.... Read More

The 2015 Réserve de Léoville-Barton offers pretty blackberry and wild strawberry scents on the well defined nose. The palate is medium-bodied with sharp tannin, fresh and lively with a slight confit finish. An absolute... Read More

The 2022 Cheval Blanc is quite unusual in that it was made from 46 out of the 47 parcels that make up the estate, the highest proportion of blocks ever used in the Grand Vin. There is also no Petit Cheval. One block was sold in... Read More

The 2022 Haut-Brion is powerful and explosive. At the same time, it is incredibly reticent. None of that should be of concern for readers who can wait. Black-toned fruit, gravel, incense, scorched earth and licorice all stain... Read More

The 2021 Lafite-Rothschild is every bit as exceptional as it was from barrel. The high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon comes through loud and clear. All the elements are so well balanced. The 2021 is dark, racy and full of Lafite... Read More

The 2022 is initially quite reticent, but after four or five minutes, it unfolds with scents of blackberry, cedar, graphite and a touch of inkwell. Like a few other wines in this vintage, the mineralité only reveals itself... Read More

The 2022 Palmer is all class. Blackberry, mocha, spice, leather and espresso all meld together in a seamless, elegant Palmer that impresses with its sublime balance. All the elements are impeccably put together throughout. The... Read More

The Chignon family has been growing grapes on their vineyards at Château Grand Billard for generations. The Château vineyards are situated in the commune of Couture-sur-Drot in the Entre-Deux-Mers region of Bordeaux... Read More

The 2020 Angélus has a more awkward nose than its peers, lacking the same focus and delineation. There is something Cabernet Sauvignon-like about this, though it coheres in the glass and conveys an appealing sense of classicism.... Read More

The 2021 La Mondotte has a satisfying, floral bouquet, with iris flower and peony infusing the black cherry and blueberry aromas. There is just a touch of wet clay in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins.... Read More

The 2020 Montrose is epic. Dark, rich and brooding, the 2020 possesses remarkable intensity, and, yet it is somehow not excessively heavy. Time in the glass brings out the wine's more elegant sophisticated side. All the elements... Read More

The 2022 Marquis d'Alesme Becker has an intense nose with a mixture of red and black fruit, cedar and light iodine scents moving toward more floral aromas with aeration. This gains in terms of delineation with aeration. The... Read More

The 2022 Pontet-Canet is a super-refined wine from the Tesseron family. It is perhaps a touch less opulent than in years past, but in exchange, it boasts more energy, focus and cut, all qualities that are so welcome here. Bright... Read More

Medium red-ruby. Roasted plum, iron and smoke on the nose, along with a faint herbaceous aspect; distinctly more evolved than the 'OO. Supple and sweet, with nice texture and balance but modest complexity. Still, this offers... Read More

The 2016 Poesia has a similar nose to the 2015 with its vivacious red fruit (wild strawberry, cranberry jus and fresh blueberries) intertwined with touches of vanilla pod and mint. The palate is medium-bodied with fleshy, very... Read More

The 2021 Mouton Rothschild is gorgeous, just as it was en primeur. A wine of stature and vertical build, the 2021 is wonderfully poised from the outset. Beams of tannin add to an impression of explosive ift. Touches of mocha,... Read More

The 2021 Ausone is a gorgeous wine, but it is also quite reticent and in need of time to come around. The operative word here is balance, as all the elements are so well put together. Soft, gentle contours wrap around a core of... Read More

The 2021 L'Eglise-Clinet is stellar. Dark, dense and also a touch somber, the 2021 is laced with generous black fruit, gravel, spice, new leather, licorice and incense. Readers will have to give this time to come together.... Read More

The 2021 Léoville Las-Cases is a wine of elegance and restraint. Yes, I am writing that about a young Las-Cases. Perhaps it is the higher level of Cabernet Franc in this year's blend that adds aromatic presence and... Read More

The 2021 Château Margaux is creamy and supple, a classy Margaux with the volume turned down just a bit. Succulent dark cherry, red plum, spice and rose petal infuse the 2021 with layers of succulent depth. This is a quiet... Read More

The 2021 Palmer is a heady, showy wine. Clay-rich soils yield a Margaux of breadth, power and textural richness. Black cherry, lavender, mocha and dried herbs infuse the 2021 with tons of character. A wine of density and intensity,... Read More

The 2021 Pavie Macquin is deep, bold and luscious, but within the smaller-scaled style of the year. It is an intensely aromatic, savory Grand Vin that emphasizes finesse more than sheer power. I admire its understated elegance... Read More

Enclos Tourmaline is located on the highest point of the famous plateau of the smallest appellation of Bordeaux: Pomerol. The property was acquired by Peter Kwok and his son Howard in 2012. Enclos Tourmaline is produced in small... Read More

The 2021 Montrose is an inward, brooding wine-classic Montrose, in other words, just attenuated in its intensity by the cool growing season. Spice, tobacco, cedar, menthol, scorched earth, gravel and a touch of new oak open over... Read More

The 2020 Haut-Brion has a smorgasbord of red and black fruit on the nose, Indian ink and pressed violets, touches of undergrowth (morels?) emerging with time in the glass. There is just a note of reduction here. The palate is... Read More

The 2019 Carruades de Lafite is a powerhouse that shows little of the radiance it did as a younger wine. That should not be an issue in time. The Cabernet is the highest it has ever been here, at 73%, and that seems to be especially... Read More

Medium-dark red. Aromatic notes of bay leaf, pine needles and orange rind complement red cherry on the nose. Enters the mouth sweet and creamy, then turns tougher on the back half, showing good freshness but only moderate concentration... Read More