Bollinger Special Cuvee Brut Non-Vintage
Chateau Haut-Brion
Château Cheval-Blanc
Domaine Lucien Le Moine Grand Cru
Bass Phillip Reserve Pinot Noir
Australian Pinot Noir does not get any better than the wines produced by Phillip Jones at the iconic Bass Phillip winery. A Pinot Noir of utmoust power and elegance, the rival to any great Burgundy. Rated in the top classification in Langton's Classification of Australian Wine, Bass Phillip Pinot Noir is riddled with complex flavours of strawberry, violets, rose petal and forest floor. The length of palate is immortal.
Chateau Lafleur
Château Lafleur is a tiny 4.5-hectare Pomerol property located opposite Pétrus and producing wines of comparable quality. It is owned and run by Sylvie and Jacques Guinadeau. While the majority of great Bordeaux châteaux have changed hands over the past several generations, Château Lafleur remains in the same family hands to this day. Its vineyards are situated on the gravel-rich Pomerol plateau and adjoin those of La Fleur-Pétrus. The soils here are particularly deep and are enriched by deposits of potassium and iron. Only natural fertilisers are used and yields are painfully low, even by Pomerol standards. Lafleur's wine is typically a blend of Merlot (50%) and Cabernet Franc (50%). It is aged in small oak barrels (50% new) for 18 months. Wines from Lafleur display a spectacularly intense perfume (partly attributable to the high percentage of Cabernet Franc in the blend) and display layers and layers of concentrated, black fruits, minerals, tobacco spices and creamy liquorice on the palate. The best vintages can last for up to 50 years.
Chateau l'Eglise Clinet
Chateau Angelus 1er grand cru classe
Chateau Angélus is one of the most renowned estates of St-Emilion, currently designated Premier Grand Cru Classé A in the most recent classification of St-Emilion. Located due west of the town of St-Emilion, the estates vineyards lie on a warm south-facing slope. The Grand Vin is a dense and unctuous blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, matured in 85-100% new French oak barriques for 18-22 months. Complex and concentrated, Chateau Angélus can appear slightly austere when young, developing greater generosity and richness with age.
Chateau Angelus 1er grand cru classe (A)
Chateau Angélus is one of the most renowned estates of St-Emilion, currently designated Premier Grand Cru Classé A in the most recent classification of St-Emilion. Located due west of the town of St-Emilion, the estate’s vineyards lie on a warm south-facing slope. The Grand Vin is a dense and unctuous blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, matured in 85-100% new French oak barriques for 18-22 months. Complex and concentrated, Chateau Angélus can appear slightly austere when young, developing greater generosity and richness with age.
Champagne Salon Le Mesnil Blanc de Blanc
Product Information: Salon's newly released 2013 Blanc de Blancs comes from a challenging growing season that is emerging, at least with respect to the region's top cuvées, as one of the most underestimated vintages of the last 15 years. With a dosage just 5.5 grams per litre, the 2013 Brut Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil possesses a complex, fruity bouquet mingling aromas of orchard fruit with notions of lemon oil, exotic fruits, spring flowers, almond and hints of menthol and buttery pastry. It's full-bodied, rich and dense, with lively acids. Maker: Salon champagne stands apart as something truly special, shaped by its distinctive terroir and grape variety. It comes from the Côte des Blancs, from the singular cru of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, crafted solely from Chardonnay grapes harvested in exceptional years and is of one man's vision Eugène-Aimé Salon. The first vintage of Champagne Salon was 1905 by the hands of Eugène-Aimé Salon, a remarkable man with unwavering ambition. In love with champagne and captivated by the terroir of Le Mesnil, Eugène-Aimé Salon created a Blanc de Blancs Champagne. Initially it was only for his personal pleasure – but by 1920s he began to share his passion with the rest of the world. Champagne Salon comes from a single hectare plot called 'the Salon garden' and nineteen other small plots in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger selected by Eugène-Aimé Salon at the beginning of the 20th century. The wines are aged in cellar for an average of ten years, after which they finally start to reveal their complexity and finesse. The fact that Salon still conserves bottles in its cellars from nearly every vintage is testament to its legacy. To demonstrate how rare these wines are, just 37 vintages were produced in the 20th century, a unique phenomenon in the world of wine. Vineyard: 2013 is a cool, late-ripening vintage in Champagne, hallmarked by October harvest in cool but sunny conditions. Despite a challenging growing season for some producers, this is a superb Salon with a long, resonant finish. After a cold winter, budbreak was relatively late. The weather was rainy throughout the spring, followed by hail episodes in the Côte des Bar, in Vallée de la Marne and in Côte des Blancs, notably in Epernay. In mid-July, the weather turned hot, sunny and dry until early September. Unfortunately, the rains returned until the end of the month, causing damage and precipitating a virulent attack of gray rot (botrytis) in some locations. Harvest took place at the beginning of October. The houses that managed to contain the attacks of gray rot and to pick the grapes during the mild days of October succeeded in making excellent wines with a classic, chiseled profile that has become only too rare in the interim. Nose - Browned Pastry, Orange Cream, Floral Honey Orange cream, floral honey and lemon peel, backed up with delicate browned pastry, milky oyster and nut oil complexity that speaks of the long lees ageing. Palate - Creamy, Fine Mousse, Salty Edge Full-bodied, rich and dense, with lively acids, notably complex and incisive. Finish - Taut, Lemon Peel, Chalky Fine mousse with a savoury/salty edge freshening up the finish.