Caves St. Martin
Château Ducru-Beaucaillou
Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2005
The 2005 Ducru-Beaucaillou, tasted a dozen times since en primeur, was picked 21 September to 6 October, matured in 90% new oak for 18 months. It delivers a wall of black fruit on the nose that gradually opens up with aeration, touches of incense and wild mint, cedar coming through with time. But these aromatics remain very backward. The palate is medium-bodied with firm grippy tannins, fine acidity, solid and focused. Tremendously and uncompromisingly backward, this is a seriously fine Ducru-Beaucaillou that is just not yet ready, so go back to the cellar and leave it there for another five years. Tasted at the Ducru Beaucaillou vertical at the château. (Neal Martin, Vinous, July 2022)
— 3 years ago
Château Calon-Ségur
Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 2016
The 2016 Calon-Ségur has a very concentrated, multifaceted bouquet of blackberry, blueberry, cedar and wild mint. I adore this – so involving and so intoxicating! The palate is very well balanced with succulent tannins and a fine bead of acidity, full of tension and poise. Black cherry and blueberry emerge toward the satisfying, complete finish. A gorgeous Saint-Estèphe. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, August 2020)
— 5 years ago
Château Canon
Saint-Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 2015
The 2015 Canon has a tightly wound bouquet with mineral rich black fruit, raspberry coulis, rose
petal and desiccated orange peel. It takes time to come together, but it does. The palate is well defined, very focused with fine minerality. This is discreet but beautifully balanced, clean and precise with a sense of energy and precision on the finish. It is less showy than its peers at the moment, which
explains why I am more parsimonious with my score. Yet the potential is locked inside this wine and it will aspire toward perfection with a decade in bottle.Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, July 2019) — 6 years ago
Caves Arnozan
Réserve des Chartrons Lussac Saint Estephe Red Bordeaux Blend
Very good.smooth and velvety — 7 years ago
Sodhani
Reserve St. Helena Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
What a special amazing brand new wine -!everything to love - I am going there in April - can't wait - this is even better because my man and friend @Martin G Rivard gifted this bad boy - thank you sir - all smiles tonight — 7 years ago
Château Cheval Blanc
St. Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 1982
The 1982 Cheval Blanc is a vintage that I have not drunk for a number of years, so this was a pertinent reminder of its pulchritude. It has a flat-out gorgeous bouquet with ebullient red fruit, warm bricks (terracotta), hints of liquorice and strawberry jam. It's the kind of bouquet that you could bathe in. The palate has a ripe entry, voluptuous yet exquisitely balanced, the Cabernet components of this Cheval Blanc quite expressed and more pronounced than I recall. Yet it's toying with you as it segues into a more Burgundy-like final third. Mercurial, sensual and riveting. Tasted at the 1982 Dinner at Hatched. (Neal Martin, Vinous, September 2022)
— 3 years ago
Château Montrose
Saint-Estèphe Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2018
The 2018 Montrose delivers on the promise that it showed from barrel. I gave this a three-hour decant before broaching, since Montrose is always backward, albeit far less ferociously than even just a decade ago. It offers copious blackberry and blueberry scents on the nose, plus pressed violets and a light estuarine scent that becomes accentuated with time. The palate is medium-bodied with a silky-smooth texture. Finely chiseled tannins frame multilayered black fruit infused with crushed stone, and it has retained that subtle graphite element that lends it a Pauillac-like personality, though less so than out of barrel. This is a beautifully defined Montrose with entrancing symmetry, and it should drink earlier than other recent vintages thanks to a little more pliancy. (Neal Martin, Vinous, March 2021)
— 4 years ago
Château Belair-Monange
St. Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 2016
The 2016 Belair-Monangé displays almost clinical precision on a nose of mineral-rich black cherry and raspberry fruit, plus hints of wilted violets and iris. The medium-bodied palate delivers firm grip on the entry. This is a clean, precise, correct Saint-Émilion with plenty of tension and poise toward the persistent finish. Very classy and noble. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, August 2020)
— 5 years ago
Caves Arnozan
Réserve des Chartrons Lussac Saint-Emilion Red Bordeaux Blend 2014
Excellent rich, deep, robust red wine. Have on a cold night with some steak or pot roast. — 6 years ago
Martin & Croshaw Vineyard
MC4 Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
Château Angélus
St. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend 2012
The 2012 Angélus has a fragrant bouquet: a mixture of red and black fruit, truffle, crushed stone and light wilted flower scents. Very pretty. The palate is medium-bodied with fine delineation and good acidity, quite sappy with modest depth. Fairly structured with a dash of white pepper and peppermint on the finish. This Angélus has tons of personality and is drinking well now. Tasted twice at Bordeaux Index's Ten Year-On tasting and blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, September 2022)
— 3 years ago
Château St Martin de la Garrigue
Bronzinelle Coteaux du Languedoc Syrah Blend 2018
Very yum for $17 at Schneider's — 3 years ago
Château St Martin de la Garrigue
Picpoul de Pinet
Quite pleasant with sautéed chicken and pasta ($15) — 5 years ago
Crous St Martin
Les Espaliers Gigondas Red Rhone Blend 2016
Nice GSM from the Southern Rhône. Layers of red fruit. Grippy tannins. Makes me hungry for a steak. — 6 years ago
Cave de Roquebrun
Les Hauts de Saint Martin St. Chinian Red Blend 2017
Fantastic wine, earthy but with a long silky finish. £8.50 in Co-Op bargain — 6 years ago
Domaine de l'Oratoire St Martin
Cuvée Prestige Côtes du Rhône Villages Cairanne Red Rhône Blend 2005
Opened 4/17/18. Yummy wine that aged nicely. Noteworthy for the texture and intensity in the balance and sweetness. — 7 years ago
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The 2004 Léoville-Poyferré has a light and airy bouquet with blackberry, antique bureau, forest floor and light fungal aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly dry tannins, a little austere but balanced, though I notice some attenuation and bitterness towards the finish. So-so for this estate. Tasted at the Léoville-Poyferré vertical at the château with Sara Lecompte Cuvelier. (Neal Martin, Vinous, September 2022)
— 3 years ago