Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

This is well beyond critical reviews young.

Sofia & I became friends with Jean D’Anjoy (photo to right). Winemaker who now runs all the Rothschild properties. He was the Assistant Winemaker at Opus One for 10 yrs. He had many offers to be a Napa Winemaker but refused. Had he, he would have been demeeded a Napa Winemaker when he wanted to always go back to Bordeaux as a Winemaker. Opus was fine as it is 1/2 French owed. He later became the the Clerc Milon Winemaker in 09. What a first vintage. He simultaneously built the new facilities at Clerc Milon. He is also perhaps the best & kindest human being I’ve ever met.

He arranged for Sofia & I to pick the Mouton Merlot and work all phases of the 2012 Clark Milon vintage. So, you might wanna not buy the 2012 vintage of Mouton & Clerc. 😂 He also arranged for us to sit at the Baroness’s table for the harvest luncheon where they poured the last of the filtered bottom of the barrels of 82 Mouton. I asked Sofia to pinch me. The Baroness sadly died two years later.

The nose is sweet and a touch sour; blackberries & black raspberries. Floral & slightly candied; dark and light cherries, juicy strawberries, raspberries and some circling baked rhubarb. Understated new oak barrel powder, beautiful baking spices-clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla, dry leaves and twig, baking powder, fresh and dry herbs, lead pencil shavings, limestone, dark soils, dry pebbles, red, and dark florals set in liquid violets.

The palate shows medium plus well rounded, softened, resolved tannins. The fruit is ripe and juicy. Blackberries & black raspberries. Floral & slightly candied; dark and light cherries, juicy strawberries, raspberries and some circling baked rhubarb. Understated new oak barrel powder, beautiful baking spices-clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla, dry leaves and twig, baking powder, mid, dark spices with a shade of heat, fresh and dry herbs, lead pencil shavings, moist to dry tobacco, used leather, limestone, dark soils, dry pebbles, red, and dark florals set in liquid violets, perfect acidity and a grand elegant, well balanced, integrated finish that lasts 90 seconds and lands on spice & earth.

An elegant beauty if I ever had one. Has another 5-7 yr ahead depending on storage.

Photos of; the new facilities at Clerc Milon, Jean D’Anjoy and their vineyards, barrel room and tasting/entertaining lounge.

Delectable & IOS 27 isn’t a good fit today. — 2 days ago

Severn G

9.1

2018 | Red Blend
(85% Nebbiolo & 15% Uva Rara)
Podere Ai Valloni; Gratus
Piedmont (Alto); Colline Novaresi, Italy

Desires 1.5-2H decant to smooth out rough, young cherry notes, then delicious. Mild tannins diminish. — 4 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

Stunning nose. Huge apricot and peach. Love the fruit driven aspect of the aromas here. But beyond that is the most unreal and clean minerals. Pear juice as well. So inviting. Some honey and cantelope as well. A very well rounded nose. Palate is gorgeous. So elegant, round and ripe. Amazingly clean. Love these 12.5% trockens! Juicy as juicy can be and nice, serene and caressing acidity. Great depth and concentration but oh so nimble, sappy and pure. Lovely finish that has all the apricot and sweet peaches one desires. Stunning wine. So balanced and perfect. Amazing complexity and so accessible. As Paradies always is. Mineral drive of a finish with lovely piquant citrus and amazing, engaging fruit. So good.

As this airs the minerality and structure come out more. As does the finesse. What a finish. The density yet how nimble. So pure. — 4 years ago

David Monaghan

8.9

The Baroness sister presented this and we loved it.. colour, aroma lit up the room. The flavours offered a superb experience, woody without being oaky, fruits but not fruity... as we say in these parts.... RELOAD — 8 years ago

with Baroness

Eva Harvard

8.9

Smooth Chardonnay — 8 years ago

David Monaghan

9.6

Light and bright.. superb with pizza.. Baroness very happy as I am... outside of football the Italians aren’t known for light.. this lad offers a maldini from with-a spark of flavours which can only be rivalled by the great ac Milan team of the 90s.. a mix which delivers happiness — 9 years ago

with Baroness

Jack Petras

9.2

Not called Baroness anymore this mid level HB 2025 vintage is exploding out of the glass. Took a minute to get my bearings instead of restraint and editing it’s a full out cabaret of a wine with lively melon gooseberries and passion fruit on an edgy substrate of salinity and limestone. Went incredibly well with prosciutto and honeydew. Once I adjusted I found it magnificent. — 5 months ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

Welcome to Pebble Beach Food & Wine 2025.

2012 in Bordeaux is a great memory as Sofia & I had a great 5 year anniversary trip to Italy where we were married, ending in Bordeaux. Picking Mouton Merlot for a day, lunch with the Baroness, having steak and sipping 82 Mouton. Pinch me is what I said to Sofia.

Saint Julien is the elegant region on the Left Bank. While 2012 was an ok to good vintage it will always be packed with great memories.

Branaire-Ducru in grand vintages is still a great value. Always elegant with this kind of bottle age and more.

Hour decant starting notes.

Tonight smooth, ripe, round, juicy; brambly blackberries/black raspberries, dark cherries, cherries, black plum, some strawberries, raspberries with blueberry tones. Dry tobacco with ash, leather, spice box with some heat, lightly grilled meats, volcanics, moist clay, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, light vanillin, mid berry cola, dark chocolate bar, forest floor with leaves, sandalwood, steeped black tea, bay leaf, dry thyme, mocha powder, dry caramel, crush, dry rock/limestone, dry river stone, bright red flowers mixed with dark withering flowers, nice round acidity and a balanced, smartly tensioned, elegant finish that lasts 90 seconds & lands on herbs & earth. — a year ago

k

9.5

Rich dark fruit with smooth tannic full body. — 4 years ago

Walter Klincewicz

9.0

Apparently this particular vintage rates better than any other of this wine...well, this one is affordable and can match any desires. — 5 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Love this cuvee. Darker nose than the Les Vergelesses. Tree bark, moss, mid season cherries. Huge minerals. Almost a limestone feeling. Wild apples. Wet earth. Savory. Sweet. Feral and wild. Just stunning. Even some black cherry after some air. Just awesome. Big huge red and black cherry fruit. Lovely electric almost Rieslingesque limestone minerality. Explosive and deep with awesome purity and earthy sweetness. Terrific delineation of flavor and so much material yet so light and delicate even. Only in Burgundy. Super complex and ripe and big tannins suggest even more aging if one desires. — 7 years ago

Chris England

9.5

Like wearing silky underpants whilst apple bobbing covered in gooey sticky toffee 😉 This £97 fills your upmost desires for a good Blanc de Blanc bobbing session 😍

🏵 95 points & will improve

📍Tattinger Comtes de Champagne 2006

🍷 Light golden straw

👃 Caramelised apple over toasted butter brioche w/ citrus zest, honey, soft smoke, vanilla & wet crushed chalky minerals

👄 Never-ending eruption of fine bubbles in a med bodied creamy mousse of caramelised tangy green apple covered in zingy citrus infused honey w/ dry rock minerals in med acidity - a tiny bubble tickle in every crevice

🎯 Long dry mineral infused caramel honey apple & citrus buttery sweet biscuit finish

🧀 Paired with a cheese sarnie 🥪 & sunshine 🌞

Bubblelicious 😍 in a #zaltoglass @zaltify — 8 years ago

David Monaghan

9.3

I have a slight cold but still appreciated this tastes bomb... merlot isn’t high on my list but this is a fun vino which I will have again... the biggest surprise was the Baroness snr gave it to us.. — 9 years ago

with Baroness

Ceccherini Cristiano

9.5

First bottle of 6

I quote Fraser description here:

Our prime cask selection from DW-OLD (planted between 1888-1912), ER-27 (planted 1927) & DW-95VSP (planted 1995).

These 24 Burgundian Pièces were gently assembled and bottled amid the spring of 2023 after enduring a 76 week elevage. Bottles were filled without filtration, fining or sparging (the removal of naturally occurring oxygen & C02) and all transfers were completed via gravity prior to bottling.

This wine is begging for a few more months rest and will then cellar for as long as your taste desires. It adores air and will continue to unfurl over many days if kept in cool conditions.

Yields ranged between 35 & 51 hectolitres per hectare.
6485 bottles were filled.

Then the humble me adds...

It goes without saying that it's a baby
But it is such a joy to drink this wine
Shared with a paesano that appreciated it very much.
Marvellous wine for a lovely evening — a year ago

Ellen Clifford

9.1

Brooding and inky as can be on the nose—it channels my cat’s perturbed-at-any-noise ears. But it has earth and red cherries. The palate is bright and brilliant, and the tannins are medium plus but so silky you’d hardly notice them. Except you do. The acid and alcohol are bracing, with more florals coming through, tempering all the brash leather and earth notes with a touch of femininity. You can drink it alone, but it desires food and the nearby purr/bark/whatever-noise-spders-make sound of your pet. — 3 years ago

Stephen Redenbaugh

9.4

Absolutely brilliant! Over and over Dehu’s Meunière proves that it desires to be my house pour. The nose of almost tropical fruit nearly took my head…sweet, pure, complex. Then the acidity sweeps the palate with a brush of brioche, sweet straw, and a hint of ripe green stem. Long, lingering finish. As the wine opens and warms, it eases it way. I’m a huge fan! — 4 years ago

Benjamin Cadmus

9.2

Wonderful wine with dark cherry, leather and current. 1990 year. There’s another bottle If someone desires and wants to purchase it. 😊 — 6 years ago

Ryan Vento

9.0

For some reason I had been craving this for weeks so today I had to satisfy my desires. Chalky, lots of minerality, and a slight synthetic nuance 🤔 Good nonetheless. — 7 years ago

with Krystal

David Monaghan

9.7

Oh god... this has it all, Mono happy, Baroness happy and new to the Bacchus family.. this is the furthest thing from la la land.. this is liquid heaven, this is liquid joy.. this is the vino we will consume when we meet my dear Bacchus.. please rename it MONO HEAVEN — 8 years ago

with Baroness

Chris England

9.6

Like wearing silky underpants whilst apple bobbing covered in sticky toffee - this £97 fills your upmost desires 😍

🍷 Light straw

👃 Caramelised apple over toasted brioche w/ citrus zest, honey & wet crushed minerals

👄 Never-ending eruption of fine bubbles in a med bodied creamy mousse of caramelised honey apple citrus

🎯 Long caramel honey apple & citrus buttery sweet biscuit finish — 9 years ago