Alexandre Pagliano

9.4

Monsieur Manoncourt’s 50th vintage. 95 has these wild and non civilized tannins. Here they work well after all these years. Wine is elegant and stylish, complex, good structure, and will always be a bit Cistercian. The acidity gives it quite a good lift. Tell tale Cab notes of Cedar, Tobacco and blackcurrant. Great stuff. — 4 years ago

with Jose and Adriana

Bruce W

9.1

Wants a coupmebof hours to open, but drinks beautifully. Blackcurrant, tobacco, tannins smoothed nicely — 5 years ago

Clive McNish

9.2

The Purple Angel lives up to expectations. A great blend of Carmenere and Petit Verdot which actually has a vibrant purple edge in the decanter. It is early days for this one but it can already be enjoyed with some decanting time but I think it is better than the 2016. Deep ruby and purple colour, the nose is a combination of Napa Cabernet and Australian Shiraz, rich, smokey, plenty of dark fruit and some nice burnt rubber and tar. On the palate there is blackcurrant, cherry, smoke and green and black pepper. This has a nice long finish and while it is definitely young, the tannins and acid are not overpowering. Definitely plenty of ageing potential and I think this will get better and better. Rating now is 9.2 but I’m sure it will end up at 9.5 in the future. — 5 years ago

Scorewine

Wine writer http://www.israelwines.co.il

9.0

A delicious super Toscana from the lovely
2010 vintage, a tempting deep red color almost black, multi layered nose, rich and complex that offers a nice blend of black berries, plum, black cherries, blackcurrant ,cedar , earthy notes with a touch of vanilla, coffee and dark chocolate. The wine is full bodied and needs time to open up, the acidity is pleasant and the finish is long and chewy. My score 90. Drink to 2024 — 7 years ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.0

Quite nicely aromatic , cedar , black fruits touch of truffle , leather perhaps . In the mouth nice ripe black fruits , blackcurrant and blackberry , a mineral and earthy note also . Nice acidity and quite suave tannins . Length is alright , not the longest. Overall a nice drinkable claret , drink now but will last quite well over the next 5?years I suppose . — 8 years ago

Chris England

9.4

Second wine of Palmer in a top year @ £45, now £70+ & still has 10 yrs life in it easily 👍 Excellent value from a top Chateau & one of my favourite 2nd wines showing great elegance 😎

📍 Chateau Palmer Alter Ego Margaux 2009

🏵 94 points

🍇 52% Merlot & 48% Cabernet Sauvignon

🍷Deep opaque ruby red

👃 Juicy plump blackcurrant & dark plum through soft smokey oak, mocha, cracked mineral rock, soggy earth & leather w/ lead & liquorish

👄 Med rich body of ripe blackcurrant & dark plum w/ earthy mocha, red berry liquorice & a touch dry mineral in fine slight dry tannins & minerals

🎯 Med+ mocha blackcurrant & red liquorice slight dry finale which lingers raspberry & blackcurrant mocha — 8 years ago

Chris England

9.1

🎅 Advent 📆 Day 2️⃣1️⃣

Nice aged Pauillac halfy @ £22 showing superb value for quality 👍

🍇 53.5% Cab S, 40% Mer w/ Pet V & Cab F

🍷 Opaque ruby

👃 Pencil lead, minerals, tar & gravel through black berries & dark plum w/ soggy poop earth, soft smoked oak & liquorice

👄 Med+ body of smooth ripe dark plum & blackcurrant bathed in minerals w/ tea, cocoa & liquorice tones

🎯 Med+ earthy mineral infused plummy black fruit w/ black tea liquorice cocoa linger

4 — 9 years ago

Chris England

8.9

£99 Magnum that RP said "one of the most disappointing St.-Juliens I tasted 84pts" well I think he should retry the great numpty 😜 Still could do w/ 2-5yrs 👍 Great nose but palate still a little tight

🍇 63% Cab S, 25% Mer, 9% Cab F & 3% Pet V

🍷 Opaque ruby

👃 Smokey oaky earthy farmyard through shy blackcurrant & spiced plum w/ minerals, leather, musky cellar & wet leaves - fab nose 👍

👄 Med earthy mocha blackcurrant body w/ dry tannins & touch of tart cherry

🎯 Med dry earthy blackcurrant finish — 9 years ago

Ekasit Poositranusorn

9.0

Intense ruby red color with nice aromas of ripe dark fruits, mocha, and cigar box. Full-bodied with ripe blackcurrant, plum, creamy vanilla, coffee, and soft spices on the palate. Meaty structure & smooth tannins coupled with nice long length on the finish. Pair well with lamp. — 11 years ago

Jimmy Smith

Director, West and North London Wine School

9.1

2002: good opulent nose, blackcurrant, mineral, tobacco, graphite, leather, forest floor touches coming through. Sweet and attractive. Lovely wine, lightly grippy, fresh acidity, grainy and minerally, oaky, black fruited through to the length. Very good, medium bodied, good balance. — 11 years ago

Daniel M

9.2

Tar, cedar, cigar, toasty notes and black currant on the nose. Wow that's intense. The palate is made of that superb blackcurrant note, a massive acid backbone, some nice width and a grainy, dusty mouthfeel that expands in mid palate with a drying layer of tannins that powers a very long finish with blackcurrant, these consistent toasty notes, that grain and a slightly bitter note that grows in the end. That's aristocratic, that's intense, that's beautiful and that's all that I like in Bordeaux. It was still a bit hard at first but opened up nicely after 2 hours. Could be even better after some more air. Still very young! — 4 years ago

Alexandre Pagliano

9.1

Dark rubi robe, nose of blackcurrant, top soil notes and hints of anise, pepper and asian spices. Medium bodied, tamed tanins and really good if not very complex. Great bottle now and no rush. We bought it for a song couple of years after it came out and is one of our best ROI in the cellar :) — 5 years ago

with Adriana

Eli Barton

9.0

This was definitely closed at first, and took longer to open up. Eventually had nice blackcurrant and cigar box aroma, good length. Not a hint of age. — 6 years ago

with Jennifer, Kenneth and 1 other

Conrad Green

9.2

A rich, ripe nose with minty edges, dark blackcurrant fruit. Really zesty and lush with wood still quite prominent. Very pure and deep and long. Very good — 7 years ago

with Bex and Major-General

Chris England

9.3

My favourite Cotes De Bourg wine in a top vintage @ £60 😁 will keep improving 👍 If you’ve never tried this tiny region of Bordeaux you should check it out as there are some great value bottles here; this being one of the more expensive as made by the folks behind Tertre Roteboeuf 😎

📍 Chateau Roc De Cambes 2010

🏵 93 points

🍇 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon & 5% Malbec

🍷 Deep opaque ruby

👃 Cracked mineral rock & gravel through blackcurrant, dark plum & raspberry w/ cocoa, soggy earth, black cherry & herbs

👄 Med body of rich creamy plump fruit filled blackcurrant w/ dark plum, cocoa, dark cherry & raspberry liquorice

🎯 Long ripe dark fruit blackcurrant burst w/ a raspberry mocha liquorice cherry smacker of a kiss
— 7 years ago

Conrad Green

9.7

Very dark. Blackcurrant, Asian spice, blueberry, depth. Gorgeous fruit. Hints of licorice and mint. A gamey quality and real length and complexity. This is a wonderful bottle. Wow. — 8 years ago

with Larry and MICHAEL

Chris England

9.4

One of my favourite Margauxs w/ mixed reports on drink early or hold! @ £85 it's drinking superb but will improve over 10yrs 👍

🍇 48% Cab S, 48% Mer & 4% Pet V

🍷 Opaque ruby

👃 Stomped lead pencil, minerals, gravel, wet leaves & earth through charred oak & spiced blackcurrant/berry w/ light farmyard, black tea & mocha

👄 Med creamy smooth silky earthy mineral loaded b/currant & berry w/ light fine dry tannins & black tea undertone

🎯 Med+ earthy mineral elegant yet gritty dark fruit & black tea 😎 — 9 years ago

Chris England

9.5

👊💥 £39 unbeatable QPR Pomerol & my favourite 👍 This Chateau is next door to Petrus and produces stunning wine for a fraction of the price! Perfect to drink now to next 5 yrs 😎

🍇 80% Mer & 20% Cab F

🍷 Dark ruby red w/ purple hue

👃 Dark jammy plum & blackcurrant through smokey oak, double choc mocha & minerals

👄 Med+ creamy smooth ripe dark plum & blackcurrant body with mocha infusion 💥 🥊

🎯 Long dark fruit, mineral & rich mocha linger - oh yeah 👍 — 9 years ago

Marco Bergevin

9.3

Fantastically aged bordeaux. Blackcurrant jam, suave tannins and great balance. — 11 years ago

Jimmy Smith

Director, West and North London Wine School

9.2

Excellent style, open and opulent. Dark blackcurrant, gravelly, graphite, stone, tobacco and ash. Well integrated green pepper and mint. Medium to full, good grainy tannic structure and vibrant acidity to back it up. Really coming into its own. Great length, and very good typicity — 11 years ago

Ruud Verhagen

9.1

not a good vintage 2013, but this is well made. Great nose of stony minerality, fresh black fruits, some woodsmoke, anise, rose petal and licorice. Very pure and fresh juice. Almost no tannins, great acidity. Blackberry, blackcurrant and some cherries/cassis. This wine is beautiful in precision and drinking rapidly. — 4 years ago

Byron Fuller

9.5

No surprise this was wine of the Christmas Europe trip. Initially quite high-tones and acid dominated (even after 90 mins’ decant). Nose of graphite and blackcurrant— and soaringly so. Eventually settled to darker fruit. Not fleshy in any way, just plumes of flavor incredibly well-knit. Always a joy for how seemingly *not* powerful it is— that is until the structure registers like a bass blast. — 4 years ago

Gor

9.4

2 hour decant. Medium garnet color. Pronounced developed complex nose of blackcurrant, black cherries, lavender, leather, cedar and tobacco. Dry with youthful medium+ acidity and softened but still present medium+ tannin that give the wine a beautiful backbone and structure. Medium alcohol and full body. Pronounced flavors across primary secondary and tertiary notes (mirroring the nose described but perhaps with a hint of also red berries). Long finish. Outstanding and given acidity and tannin should last for a while longer perhaps as another 10 years+. — 5 years ago

Clive McNish

9.2

Loving this, 18 years old, rich and dark in the glass with no real sign of ageing. The nose is great with plenty of blackcurrant, tobacco, cedar, oak, truffle and mushroom. Balanced flavours on the palate with a long fruit, leather and Christmas spice finish. Tannins are present and a little drying but the layers of flavour keep them subdued. There is plenty of life in this wine, probably another 10+ years. Rating tonight and will update if what is left shows higher tomorrow. — 6 years ago

Chris England

9.3

I picked up this Magnum of Palmer for £200 recently 😱 from a shop closing down RRP £430+ so I was a happy boy 😊 Not as rich in depth as top vintages but a beautiful elegant Margaux nevertheless 😉

📍 Chateau Palmer 2003 Margaux Magnum

🏵 93 points vs the pros who say 89 - really? Did they try the same wine 🤣

🧀 Paired with Iberian cheeses 👍

🍇 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot & 12% Petit verdot

🍷 Deep opaque ruby

👃 Smokey oak through blackcurrant & dark plum w/ minerals, cracked pencil, gravel, tar, soggy earth, herbs, mocha & blackberry liquorice - yumtastic 😍

👄 Med body of smooth earthy mineral infused blackcurrant & blackberry w/ slight butter mocha & red liquorice

🎯 Med+ touch dry minerality bathed in dark berry fruits w/ a stoney mocha finale
— 8 years ago

Chris England

9.3

One of my fav hidden gems from St Emilion as every vintage delivers & @ a bargain €33/£24 this is fab now but will age well in 5-10yrs 😉 Can’t wait to try 2015 😁 09 & 10 are fab today 👍 More pics on Instagram ⏩

🏵 92 points

🍇 68% Merlot & 32% Cab Franc

🍷 Opaque ruby

👃 Blackcurrant & dark plum bathed in minerals w/ chocky sprinkles

👄 Med body of ripe rich blackcurrant & plum w/ blueberry & cocoa then a touch dry mineral kick

🎯 Long blackcurrant driven dark fruit finale w/ dry cocoa & minerality — 8 years ago

Steven Lee

8.9

Mulberry, blackcurrant, tobacco, light and savoury with a distinct minerality and chalky feel. Quite pure and herbeceous. Quite grippy tannin with slight bitter aftertaste. Overall it is quite drying — 9 years ago

Chris England

9.2

One of the best vintages of this fab Chateau @ £52 drinking lovely now & next couple of years 👍

🍇 53% Cab S, 45% Mer & 2% Cab F

🍷 Deep ruby red

👃 Crushed wet mineral rock covered in earth & leaves w/ mocha, liquorice pushing through plump dark plum, squished blackcurrant & smokey oak

👄 Med body of silky smooth fully integrated ripe dark fruits in liquorice, mocha & earth

🎯 Med+ mocha liquorice dark fruit — 9 years ago

Rajiv Ayyangar

10

This was the vintage Serge sipped as bombs fell in Beirut in '76.

Moderate ruby-garnet to an orange rim. It was phenomenal straight out of the bottle, with tertiary dark blackberry essence leaping from the glass. It doesn’t show much oxidation at all. Savory integrated brett, complex tamari and blackcurrant notes. Rounded softened tannins, but still present. I can’t believe how good this is!

Overall the character was similar to the ’95 but with an added tone of brilliant blackness. Slightly toasty, blackened and charred blackberry essence. Also at various moments, dried apricot, orange peel, amaro herbal notes, anise, flemish sour notes, like a rich BFM brew.  

Age with power. Complexity with playfulness. Wisdom with unpredictability.  — 10 years ago

with Gence and Tim

Tim Goddard

9.6

Deeply coloured, attractive blackcurrant/berry fruit, well structured, no edges, very good intensity. — 13 years ago