Delicious drinking Clarets...

Many years have passed since we teamed up with Hubert de Bouärd; co-owner of Château Angelus, and the famed Kentish artist Graham Clarke to create our first own-labelled Bordeaux wine. Individually sourced, using carefully selected grapes, resulting in a fabulous table Claret. How does it taste after a decade? We put our own wine to the acid test this week…

Stuart McCloskey tasted 27.11.2019 “A lovely nose of redberries, mulberry, liquorice, clove and a whiff of new oak and graphite unfurl in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied and surprisingly seductive. Merlot is in the driving seat with a lovely spicy and sweet fruit entry. Mid-palate offers more savoury / earthy notes. I detect a Burgundian forest floor intermixed with dried herbs, cedar and sandalwood. The tannins are fine and polished beautifully. A touch of dryness on the finish indicating this should be consumed over the next 2-3 years. Overall, this is a cracking Claret (serve it blind as I am sure most would consider this a £20 / £25 bottle). Decanted for 1-2 hours and served in Zalto’s Bordeaux glassware

94 Points - Decanter "The generosity of the 2009 vintage comes through here and, as with the 2015, I love how it suits this terroir, providing a wonderful counterpoint to the natural austerity of soils with gravel over limestone. Liquorice, dark chocolate, tobacco leaf and grilled sarments are all wrapped up with fresh blackberries. It has a lovely generosity, but with freshness and sophistication."

94 Points - Neal Martin "The Malartic-Lagraviere ‘09 is evolving into one of the finest wines that the estate has ever produced. It has a more introverted bouquet with dark berry fruit, undergrowth and iodine. With rigorous swirling it still refuses to unfurl. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins. It builds nicely towards a lovely black olive and spice tinged finish that exudes finesse. Superb."

92+ Points - Robert Parker

A terrific, classic Graves with notes of subtle smoke, black raspberries, black currants, graphite and unsmoked cigar tobacco, this full-bodied, deep, concentrated de Fieuzal is far more generous and deep than most vintages of the past. There is also a wonderful freshness and length to this somewhat oversized de Fieuzal while it still maintains its elegance and class

96 Points - Neal Martin

The Chateau Lynch Bages appears to be going from strength to strength in this vintage. The 2010 has a glorious bouquet with intense blackberry and boysenberry fruit laced with minerals and cedar - beautifully defined and "symmetrical". The palate is medium-bodied with fine definition and a real sense of edginess and tension. Lovely focus and poise, superbly judged acidity and wonderful mineralite on the finish. Superb.

94+ Points - Stuart McCloskey "This is quintessential Pauillac and the best Pedesclaux I have sampled from the estate in over 10 years. The palate is full-bodied with copious sweet ripe black fruit, marked by soft tannins and wonderful harmony and tension. This is undoubtedly an outstanding Pedesclaux which could get better?"

94-96 Points - Robert Parker

Possibly the greatest Fieuzal since the legendary 1985, the 2013 boasts a light straw color with a greenish hue as well as a stunning perfume of tangerine oil, orange marmalade, citrus and honeysuckle. Surprisingly full, rich, exuberant and borderline flamboyant, this is a stunning white Graves to consume over the next 20+ years.

92-94 Points - Neal Martin "The de Fieuzal Blanc has a lifted, perfumed bouquet with touches of dried orange peel and apricot blossom that are well defined and vigorous, perhaps leaning slightly to the New World (though there is nothing wrong with that.) The palate is well balanced with crisp green fruit, lemongrass and orange zest that builds to a vibrant, satisfying finish. This is a superb white from the estate."

92 Points - Robert Parker "The dense ruby/purple-tinged 2008 Branon displays chocolatey, earthy undertones intermixed with black currants and Asian plum sauce. Medium to full-bodied, rich, impressively endowed, supple and evolved, it can be drunk over the next 10-12 years."

95 Points - Robert Parker

One of the superstars of the vintage, this classic Montrose is not as showy or opulent as the 2010, 2009 or 2003, but it offers a dense purple color followed by gorgeously sweet black raspberry and black currant fruit intermixed with loamy, earthy, forest floor notes, a floral component and a long, full-bodied finish. The 2008 was fashioned from yields of 44 hectoliters per hectare which is slightly less than the 2010's 45 hectoliters per hectare. Forget it for 5-8 years and drink it over the following 20+.

92 Points - Robert Parker

White currants, and fennel seed/licorice intermixed with ripe grapefruit, honeyed melons and a touch of new oak are all present in this fresh, medium to full-bodied, nicely textured, crisp, dry white Graves. Anticipated maturity: now-2025.