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Btl

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Wine
Where available, tasting scores and notes are by Robert Parker (RP) and taken from his website www.erobertparker.com  or Stephen Tanzer (ST) from www.wineaccess.com

Year

Price per
Bottle
including
VAT

Tasting
Score/Notes
Best Drinking

BORDEAUX RED

BERNADOTTE
Haut-Medoc

Vinous.com/Neal Martin - The 2015 Bernadotte shoots above my expectation. It has a clean and fresh bouquet with plenty of appealing graphite notes. The palate is medium-bodied with dusky black fruit sprinkled with black pepper, good length and nicely focused. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.

LA CHENADE
Lalande de Pomerol

RP/Neal Martin - The 2015 La Chenade is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc picked between September 15-25 and on October 5 respectively, cropped at 45 hectolitres per hectare and matured in 30% new oak. This Lalande-de-Pomerol moves towards red fruit on the nose, crushed strawberry and raspberry pastilles, candied and somehow...joyful. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, very fine in the mouth with a keen line of acidity. This is a very cohesive La Chenade, elegant and composed with a touch of salinity towards the finish. This is a graceful La Chenade that should drink early, but clearly has the substance to offer 12-15 years of drinking pleasure.

LA CHENADE
Lalande de Pomerol

RP/Neal Martin - The 2014 La Chenade, a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, has a straightforward but appealing bouquet with ample dark cherries, bergamot tea and a touch of dried flowers. The palate is medium-bodied with a tightly-knit structure.
I appreciate the depth here, the focus and finesse, a wine that threatened to blossom in bottle... and it has.
Given the market prices for this Lalande-de-Pomerol, Denis Durantou's 2014 comes highly recommended.

LES CRUZELLES
Lalande de Pomerol

RP/Neal Martin - The 2014 Les Cruzelles is a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc picked between 24-29 September. It has a little more ripeness on the nose compared to the La Chenade, very perfumed with subtle violet and iris aromas, later a hint of orange blossom. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin with ample blackberry and bilberry; grainy in texture with a pleasurable marine/oyster shell element lending personality on the finish.
This is very fine.

MONTLANDRIE
Cotes de Castillon

RP/Neal Martin - The 2016 Montlandrie is a blend of 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon picked between 3-17 October. It is the first vintage to include more than 80% of the vines that were planted by Denis Durantou after 2008.  The palate is medium-bodied with fine structure, more saline than the Les Cruzelles, backward at the moment, but the Cabernets impart some lovely graphite notes on the saline finish. Superb.

MONTLANDRIE
Cotes de Castillon

RP/Neal Martin - The 2015 Montlandrie is a blend of 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, picked between September 29 and October 8, and matured in 45% new oak. This is perhaps more precocious on the nose compared to Denis Durantou's La Chenade and Les Cruzelles 2015s, gradually revealing an attractive floral, dried rose petal/pot pourri scent as it opens in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, quite grippy in the mouth, the acidity nicely judged here and again, very harmonious and sensual on the finish. You could almost whisk this out of barrel and drink this now, but preferably, give it 4-5 years in bottle.

MONTLANDRIE
Cotes de Castillon

RP/Neal Martin - The 2014 Montlandrie, the Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux from Denis Durantou, is a blend of 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.  It offers attractive red cherry, wild strawberry and pastille-like scents on the pure bouquet, though maybe I discern a little more complexity on Denis' two Lalande-de-Pomerols, La Chenade and Les Cruzelles. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. This feels a little compact at the moment, although there is still commendable depth of fruit and a gentle grip on the persistent finish.

MONTLANDRIE
Cotes de Castillon

RP - From the famous Pomerol producer and owner of L’Eglise Clinet, Denis Durantou has turned out a Castillon made from a blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc. Typical of his wines, the terrific purity, texture and overall equilibrium are flawless. Deep ruby/purple-tinged, with sweet black cherry, plum and black currant fruit, the wine has vivid purity, good acidity and ripe tannin. It is medium-bodied, opulent and best drunk over the next 5-7 years.

FOURCAS-DUPRE
Listrac-Medoc

RP/Neal Martin - The 2015 Fourcas-Dupre offers plenty of blackberry and boysenberry fruit on the nose, a touch of brine here, a subtle marine influence that lends it complexity and personality. The palate is medium-bodied with a juicy opening, a melange of red and black fruit, taut and quite linear with plenty of freshness and tension on the finish. This is a well-crafted Listrac that punches well above my expectations.