Merlot/Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon

Region: France, AOC Bordeaux

Grape variety: Merlot (60%), Cabernet Franc (25%) & Cabernet Sauvignon (15%)

Background: This family-owned estate lies on a limestone plateau in the village of Juillac near Castillon la Bataille. Born into a family which had rented the property for 3 generations, Pierre Ciroli purchased it in 2000. Pierre Ciroli does all the viticultural and winemaking work on the estate, shouldered by his two sons who will be taking up the reins of the business after him. The greatest possible attention is paid to the vines and no effort is spared to ensure that tradition is respected in this vineyard of human dimensions.

Tasting notes: The dark red colour is prolonged by a rich and generous bouquet, where we distinguish notes of small red berries, spices and undergrowth. The palate is not to be outdone, its structure reveals elegant tannins perfectly rounded and married to a fleshy texture which gives it both balance and length in the mouth. A perfect Bordeaux for any meal! Gourmet fruity, it goes perfectly well with many dishes.

Region: France, Bordeau, Saint Emilion

Grape variety: Cabernet Franc (15%), Cabernet Sauvignon (8%) & Merlot (77%)

Background: The estate was once part of Château Angélus and is still owned by the same family.

Tasting notes: This wine is rich in opulent black fruits and solid tannins.

Region: France, Bordeaux

Grape variety: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon & Cabernet Franc

Background: Since it acquired Château d'Argadens, Maison Sichel has put in place a vast renovation programme, with the aim of making the wine a benchmark within the Bordeaux category. After 12 months in oak barrels, d'Argadens red is a thoroughly modern Bordeaux with lots of concentrated fruit and an attractive, supple balance. Not surprisingly, it gets consistently high marks in tastings and competitions. Château d'Argadens also makes a white wine.

The excellent terroir produces robust and soft fruited wines with concentration and balance. Château d'Argadens is one of the best Bordeaux Supérieur around.

After a comprehensive renovation of the vat room, building a cellar, and restructuring the vineyards, Sichel raised the viticultural level to the highest possible standards---essentially they farm this Bordeaux Superieur vineyard with the same approach they use in their Grand Cru Classé vineyards!

Tasting notes: Clad in a beautiful hue of garnet, this wine has a rich, open bouquet that reveals intense aromas of ripe, concentrated blackberry fruit and elegant oak. The same impression of generous fruit is found on the powerful, rich and chewy palate, which is structured by taut, dense tannins and lingers to a long, ample and spicy finish.

Awards

Gold medal - Concours de Bordeaux 2015

Bronze medal - Decanter World Wine Awards 2015

VEGAN

Region: France, Bordeaux, Saint Emilion

Grape variety: Merlot (72%), Cabernet Franc (17%) & Cabernet Sauvignon (11%)

Background: The Bellefont vineyard is perfectly situated on the south facing slopes of Saint-Emilion, dating right back to the end of the 18th century and in 2006 was awarded with Grand Cru status.

Tasting notes: Rich, silky smooth and has plenty of charm. Lots of ripe, rich red fruits, velvety tannins and a long finish.

Region: France, Bordeaux

Grape variety: Merlot, Cabernet Franc & Cabernet Sauvignon

Tasting notes: Beautiful dark colour tinged with bright red. Generous nose of ripe fruits with a jammy touch. The palate is heady, dense and balanced, delivering more of the same ultra ripe aromas.

This 2019 shows a deep garnet red colour with shades of purple. Expressive and flattering, the nose evokes a basket of ripe black and red fruits with hints of exotic spices. Equally charming and fruity, the palate is full, rich and warm, supported by silky tannins, a sign of great maturity of the grapes, with a fine fresh finish. A gourmet Bordeaux.

Tasting notes: Velvety, fresh and fruity, the wine charms from the outset while already showing the structure of a Grand Vin. Its attractive mineral character gives it smoothness, and it expresses the richness of its terroir with great delicacy.

Reviews: Wine Advocate-Parker: The 2014 Les Pagodes de Cos, now in bottle, seems to be wasting no time in appeasing those who like to drink their Bordeaux young. (And why not? This is a deuxième vin after all.) The nose is open and generous with blackberry fruit tinged with dark chocolate and a touch of mint, the graphite element not evident here as it was in barrel. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannin, very well-judged acidity and very fine focus. Like the Grand Vin, this is not an exotic or flamboyant Cos d'Estournel, but no way would you describe it as lean. There is an easy-drinking approachable nature to this Les Pagodes de Cos, without precluding it of precision and length, whilst the graphite note pops up right at the finish and on the aftertaste. This delightful wine should be drinking from 2018 and over the next decade. Tasted February 2017.

Region: France, Bordeaux, Pauillac

Grape variety: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot & Cabernet Franc

Tasting notes: Delivers a pure beam of cassis, raspberry and cherry, with lightly toasted spice notes and a firm plum skin edge holding sway on the finish. Stretched out somewhat already, this seems nicely tuned and has good buried minerality.

Reviews

Simon Staples, Berrys’ Fine Wine Director: 'Chateau Mouton-Rothschild 2011 is outstanding and the second best red wine of the vintage for me, just behind Ch. Latour, and I do mean just! A superb blast of cool and racy Cabernet blackcurrant fruit is at the centre of this divine beast. This does not taste like a 2011 at all, as it has meat on its bones and ripeness, flair and gravitas. There is a super succulent finish that lasts minutes and I really see this as a legend in the making. It reminds me of the brilliant 2006 and it might lead the way of pricing too this year. Come on Mouton, you can do it!'

Wine Advocate 92/100 - Neal Martin - 31/01/2017 - Tasted April 2016: 'Tasted at the Mouton-Rothschild vertical in London, the 2011 Mouton-Rothschild is probably the weakest of the releases between 2008 and 2012, although that would be unfairly disparaging what is a perfectly respectable, if rather unexciting Mouton. Here, it has those graphite and cedar aromas present and correct, the former a little more accentuated and with a light sea-spray note emerging with time. The palate is well balanced with cedar and a slight peat-like note infusing the black fruit, rigid in its youth but nicely delineated. As I discerned out of barrel, what it lacks is that peacock's tail on the finish, bolting out of the exit door before you have really got to know each other.'

Region: France, Bordeaux, Pauillac

Grape variety: 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot & 1% Cabernet Franc

Tasting notes: The wine is deep and dark, with a lustrous purple hue. The intense and elegant nose displays seductively scented blackberry and blackcurrant aromas, combined with floral notes of iris and touches of spice and cedar wood. A luscious, succulent attack leads into a beautifully balanced, fresh and harmonious palate on which bigarreau cherry flavours are enfolded in a structure of sapid, patrician tannins. Sustained by an exquisite minerality, the long, lingering finish releases a succession of spicy fresh fruit notes.

Region: France, Bordeaux

Grape variety: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc & Merlot

Tasting notes: Deep ruby colour, with red berries, and white flowers notes. It has a complex mix of spices and dark fruits, and a long wood finish.

Region: France, Pauillac

Grape variety: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot & 5% Cabernet Franc

Tasting notes: The dark colour is adorned with brilliant ruby reflections. The nose reveals a delicate fruit embellished with notes of liquorice and sweet spices. The elegant palate shows a beautiful tannic structure suggesting great potential. The tasting ends with a racy and elegant finish. This wine reveals all the richness of this exceptional terroir.

Region: France, Pauillac

Grape variety: 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot & 5% Cabernet Franc

Tasting notes: The deep red colour of this cuvée sets the tone for the tasting: elegance and intensity. Beneath a spicy layer (nutmeg and toasted bread), the equally elegant bouquet unveils sustained, overripe dark and red fruit scents and earthy aromas. After a chewy attack, the ample, rounded structure unfolds, culminating in a long balanced finish. A wine that reveals all the richness of this exceptional terroir.

Region: France, AOC Saint-Emilion

Grape variety: 42% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Franc & 20% Cabernet Sauvignon

Tasting notes: This deep purple wine opens with nuances of ripe and candied fruit (blackcurrant, cherry) underlined by notes of vanilla and cinnamon. Supple, the attack opens the way to a perfectly balanced, tasty and aromatic palate. The finish lingers on a velvety texture, confirming the finesse and undeniable charm of this beautiful bottle.

Food pairing: It will go wonderfully on meat in sauce as well as on a nice piece of grilled beef.

Region: France, Bordeaux

Grape variety: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon & Cabernet Franc

Tasting notes: The wine shows a beautiful red color, deep and brilliant, with very elegant purple hints. The nose kicks off with a charming and expressive bouquet revealing aromas of multiple red fruits mixed with toasted and vanilla notes. The palate is made of precision, an unctuous and fleshy mouth developing with fruit fullness, shaped by attractive tannins as dense as they are harmonious. The mouth perfectly prolongs the feeling of freshness, balance and delicacy enhanced by perfectly controlled wood aging. A wonderful Bordeaux to be opened without delay.