Wine

Commune

Parker

Decanter

JR

Vintage

R/bottle

Sociando Mallet

Haut Medoc

90

4

16

1996

R 625

Lafon Rochet

St Estephe

90

4

16

1996

R 655

Calon Segur

St Estephe

92

4

17

1996

R 1050

Cos Estournel

St Estephe

93

5

18

1996

R 1275

Ormes de Pez

St Estephe

86

4

17

1996

R 365

Clos du Marquis

St Julien

90

16.5

1996

R 715

Leoville-Barton

St Julien

92

4

17

1996

R 1050

Lagrange

St Julien

90

4

1996

S/O

Langoa-Barton

St Julien

86

4

17

1996

R 680

Branaire Ducru

St Julien

89

1996

R 855

Leoville-Poyferre

St Julien

93

4

17.5

1996

S/O

Grand Puy lacoste

Pauillac

93

5

1996

S/O

Pontet Canet

Pauillac

92

4

1996

R 895

Bourgneuf

Pomerol

89

1998

R 365

Bon Pasteur

Pomerol

91

4

16

1998

R 795

L'Evangile

Pomerol

97

 18.5

1998

R 1,950

Gazin

Pomerol

90

4

1998

R 685

Angelus

St Emilion

93

4

16

1998

R 2,050

Beau-Sejour-Becot

St Emilion

91

4

16+

1998

S/O

Clos Fourtet

St Emilion

90

3

1998

S/O

Monbousquet

St Emilion

94

14

1998

R 715

Pavie Maquin

St Emilion

95

4

14

1998

S/O

Quinault l'Enclos

St Emilion

94

16.5

1998

R 625

Troplong Mondote

St Emilion

93

15

1998

R 950

Wine Advocate # 122
Apr 1999

A classic Sociando-Mallet, this wine boasts a saturated purple color, as well as an intense nose of cassis liqueur, chocolate, and minerals. Dense and medium-bodied, with outstanding purity, and high tannin, this beautifully made wine is better than many classified growths. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2020.

Wine Advocate # 122
Apr 1999

One of the sleepers of the 1996 vintage, Lafon-Rochet has turned out an atypically powerful, rich, and concentrated wine bursting with black currant fruit. The opaque purple color gives way to a medium to full-bodied, tannic, backward wine with terrific purity, a sweet, concentrated mid-palate, and a long, blockbuster finish. This wine remains one of the finest values from the luxury-priced 1996 vintage, and is well-worth purchasing by readers who are willing to invest 5-6 years of patience; it should keep for two decades. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2020.

Wine Advocate # 122
Apr 1999

The 1996 may not be as profound as I had predicted from cask, but it is an exceptional wine. Dark ruby-colored, with a complex nose of dried herbs, Asian spices, and black cherry jam intermixed with cassis, it possesses outstanding purity, and considerable tannin in the finish. This classic, medium to full-bodied, traditionally made wine improves dramatically with airing, suggesting it will have a very long life. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2028.

Wine Advocate # 122
Apr 1999

A potential sleeper of the vintage, this wine exhibits a saturated dark ruby color, and an excellent blackberry and cassis-scented nose with smoky oak in the background. It is sweet, opulently-textured, surprisingly accessible and round, with an excellent finish. This is one of the finest wines from Les Ormes des Pez over recent years. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2014.

Wine Advocate # 122
Apr 1999

A terrific Clos du Marquis, and clearly of second or third-growth quality, this dark purple-colored wine reveals structure, brooding backwardness, and rich, expansive character. The wine exhibits plenty of sweet kirsch black currant fruit intermixed with high quality, subtle new oak, and steely, mineral characteristics. Rich and medium to full-bodied, with ripe tannin, this is a dazzling Clos du Marquis. Anticipated maturity: 2002-2018.

Wine Advocate # 122
Apr 1999

This impressive wine is a classic. Although backward, it exhibits a dense ruby/purple color in addition to abundant black currant fruit intertwined with spicy oak and truffle-like scents. The wine is brilliantly made, full-bodied, and tightly-structured with plenty of muscle and outstanding concentration and purity. It should turn out to be a long-lived Leoville Barton, and somewhat of a sleeper. However, patience will be required. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2030.

Wine Advocate # 122
Apr 1999

This impeccably run, Japanese-owned property has fashioned a superb 1996. Opaque purple-colored, with a backward yet promising nose of classically pure cassis intermixed with pain grille and spice, this medium to full-bodied, powerful yet stylish wine possesses superb purity, a nicely-layered feel in the mouth, and plenty of structure. It will not be an early-drinking St.-Julien, but one to lay away and enjoy over the next 2-3 decades. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2022.

Wine Advocate # 122
Apr 1999

I consistently found this 1996 to be a hard wine. Despite its deep ruby/purple color, it is monolithic, with notes of earth and black currant fruit submerged beneath a tannic structure. Although medium-bodied, with some weight and extract, the wine is ferociously hard and backward. Give it 3-5 years of cellaring, and hope for the best. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2020

Wine Advocate # 122
Apr 1999

1996: My concerns about the 1996 Branaire turning out too tannic were unfounded. Tasted three times out of bottle, it is a textbook Branaire, with a tell-tale floral, raspberry, and black currant-scented nose intermixed with minerals and floral nuances. Elegant and pure, with surprising lushness and sweet, well-integrated tannin, this medium-bodied, finesse-styled wine should be at its finest between 2005-2018.

Wine Advocate # 122
Apr 1999

This fabulous 1996 was tasted three times from bottle, and it is unquestionably the finest wine produced by this estate since their blockbuster 1990. Medium to full-bodied, with a saturated black/purple color, the nose offers notes of cedar, jammy black fruits, smoke, truffles, and subtle new oak. In the mouth, there is impressive fruit extraction, a tannic, full-bodied structure, and a classic display of power and finesse. The longer it sat in the glass, the more impressive the wine became. Backward, and massive in terms of its extract and richness, this should prove to be a sensational Leoville-Poyferre for drinking over the next three decades. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2028.

Wine Advocate # 122
Apr 1999

This is unquestionably a profound Grand-Puy-Lacoste, but it is excruciatingly backward. It reveals an essence of creme de cassis character which sets it apart from other Pauillacs. The wine is displaying plenty of tannin, huge body, and sweet black currant fruit intermixed with minerals and subtle oak. Massive, extremely structured, and with 25-30 or more years of longevity, this immensely-styled Grand-Puy-Lacoste will require 7-8 years of patience, perhaps longer. A superb, classic Pauillac. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2030.

Wine Advocate # 122
Apr 1999

I was shocked by how backward the 1996 Pontet-Canet was on the three occasions I tasted it in January. This wine possesses superb potential, but it appears a decade's worth of patience will be necessary. The color is a saturated dark purple. With coaxing, the wine offers aromas of black currant jam intertwined with minerals, sweet oak, and spice. A full-bodied wine, it possesses layered, concentrated, sweet fruit, with an elevated level of ripe tannin. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2035.

Wine Advocate # 134
Apr 2001

A dense saturated ruby/purple color is followed by aromas of green peppercorns, plums, roasted meat, leather, tobacco, and black fruits. The wine is chunky, full-bodied, concentrated, and chewy, with tough tannin in the finish. If the green pepper component becomes better integrated, and the tannin melts away, this 1998 will merit an outstanding rating, but patience will be required. Is this a wine for those with 19th century tastes? Anticipated maturity: 2006-2020.

Wine Advocate # 134
Apr 2001

The dense purple-colored 1998 boasts a beautifully rich, complex perfume of blackberries, plums, lead pencil, cherries, mocha, and caramel. Powerful and rich, with a multilayered texture, and an opulent, viscous finish revealing enough sweet tannin for definition, this is a terrific, full-bodied, seamless effort from one of the world's greatest winemakers. Anticipated maturity: now-2016.

Wine Advocate # 134
Apr 2001

A dense ruby/purple color is followed by aromas of charred wood, coffee, blackberry and cherry fruit, and new saddle leather. Full-bodied, dense, chewy, and intense, this muscular as well as backward vin de garde requires cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2020.

Wine Advocate # 134
Apr 2001

A dazzling effort, the 1998 boasts an opaque purple color in addition to an exceptional bouquet of smoke, licorice, plums, black raspberries, and blackberries. As the wine sits in the glass, coffee and chocolate also emerge. Full-bodied, flamboyant, well-delineated, and beautifully balanced as well as layered, with well-integrated tannin in the powerful, rich finish, this 1998 will be at its best between 2003-2020.

Wine Advocate # 134
Apr 2001

The 1998 exhibits flamboyant, obvious new oak, but unlike other years, there is more concentration, power, and depth behind the vanillin/pain grille notes. Full-bodied, dense, and chewy, with copious peppery, herb-tinged, red currant, black currant, and blackberry fruit, this is a lush, generously-endowed offering with a lightly tannic finish. Anticipated maturity: 2002-2016

Wine Advocate # 134
Apr 2001

A strong effort from Clos Fourtet, the dark ruby/purple-colored 1998 offers pure blackberry and cherry aromas with subtle wood and licorice in the background. Medium-bodied, exceptionally pure, with low acidity as well as silky tannin, this sexy offering is ideal for drinking now and over the next 14-15 years.

Wine Advocate # 134
Apr 2001

Yields of 28-30 hectoliters per hectare are among the lowest in St.-Emilion, which no doubt accounts for the wine's explosive richness. The final blend, 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc, was bottled unfined and unfiltered after 18 months in 100% new oak, with aging on the lees.

It boasts a saturated plum/purple color in addition to an exotic bouquet of Asian spices, plum liqueur, prunes, and blackberries. Extremely full-bodied, unctuously-textured, structured, and well-defined, this spectacular achievement will drink well young, yet last for two decades. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2020.

Wine Advocate # 134
Apr 2001

Nearly exaggerated levels of intensity, extract, and richness are apparent in this opaque blue/purple-colored wine. Sumptuous aromas of blueberries, blackberries, and cherries combine with smoke, licorice, vanillin, and truffles to create a compelling aromatic explosion. The wine is fabulously dense, full-bodied, and layered, with multiple dimensions, gorgeous purity, and superbly integrated acidity as well as tannin. One of the most concentrated wines of the vintage, it possesses immense potential, but patience is required. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2030.

Wine Advocate # 134
Apr 2001

An elegant as well as powerful effort, this dense ruby/purple-colored 1998 reveals notes of plums, black raspberries, vanillin, minerals, licorice, and spice. Exceptionally rich with an outstanding texture, this medium to full-bodied wine possesses a distinctive, individualistic style, largely because of its floral, blueberry fruit flavors. Although accessible, it will age for two decades. Anticipated maturity: 2002-2020.

Wine Advocate # 134
Apr 2001

A fabulous effort, this sleeper of the vintage may turn out to be the finest Troplong-Mondot since the 1990. The black/purple-colored 1998 exhibits floral, blueberry, blackberry, licorice, vanillin, and truffle-like aromas (or is it charcoal/graphite?). Dense, full-bodied, and pure, yet extremely fresh and elegant, this beautifully focused wine needs 3-5 years of cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2025.