Bordeaux

2019 Chateau Bourrdieu, Côtes du Bordeaux $13
87% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc
97 pts in the Decanter Wine Awards. “Flamboyant and deep, with ample, lush and fresh forest fruits, bramble and cassis, with cascading sweet spice swiftly following. A super, brooding wine which will shine brighter with time.” You can take that with a grain of salt, but the wine is quite good.

2016 Château de la Brandille, Bordeaux Supérieur $13
65% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc
From 40-year-old vines located close to the vineyards of Saint-Emilion, this Château has been in the Borderie family for five generations. The house style is classic: savory and elegant with ample fruit graced with a dusting of mineral aromatics.

2016 Sichel Sirius Bordeaux $15
60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon
Seriously, the Sirius has toasted notes and jammy fruit. Ample-bodied and succulent, it offers outstanding balance with elegant tannins, abundant, delicious fruit and creamily smooth extract with a lingering finish.

2016 Saint-Jacques de Siran, Bordeaux Supérieur $15
Château Siran dates back to 1428. At one point in time, it was owned by the grandparents of the famous French painter, Toulouse Lautrec. Their Saint-Jacques cuvée is sourced from a plot adjacent to their Margaux holdings, but outside that appellation and hence much more affordable. This wine is smooth, rich, and beautifully structured.

2014 Château Lalande de Gravelong, Médoc $17
50% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc
The vineyards of Lalande de Gravelong are made up of 30-year-old vines planted on it gravel clay soil. The wine has aromas of ripe red fruits, plum and black cherry. Deep and fresh flavors of ripe plum, fruitcake, and black cherries are highlighted by notes of cedar and spice that accent its rich texture and well-integrated tannins.

2015 Château Goubau, La Source, Côtes de Bordeaux $19
95% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc
The second wine of Chateau Goubau. La Source is spicy and fresh with aromas of red fruits, plums, and spice. On the palate the wine is crunchy and fruity with black fruit flavors and a touch of spice; the finish is lively and appealing. Biodynamic

2009 Château Marsau, Cotes de Francs $20
Merlot
This 2009 has black cherry fruit, with hints of tobacco leaf and coffee, this wine is dense, pure, medium to full-bodied, fleshy and quite seductive in its ripeness and silkiness.

2015 Château Moncets, Lalande de Pomerol $21
82% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc
A good Bordeaux from a good vintage. This wine, hugely rich and packed with tannins, has equally powerful black fruits . . . rich texture and blackberry and licorice flavors.

2016 Château Leconte Marquey, Saint Emilion $22
85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
Leconte Marquey is a small estate of just 14.5 hectares. Round and opulent, it offers flavors of red and black berries, with refined tannins that allow the wine to age gracefully.

2016 Château Rozier, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru $28
80% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon
Deep purple color, the flavor rends a great freshness associated with red and black fruits, with a woody and slight vanilla edge. The tannin gives it a fleshy, smooth and delicious yet elegant taste.

2017 Châteaux la Garenne Pomeral $36
Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon
This under the radar Pomeral is a rustic wine with notes of cassis, pecan pie, blueberries and dried cranberries. Soft tannins and mulberry finish. It is elegant and drinking nicely now.

2015 Château Franc Grâce-Dieu, St. Emilion Grande Cru $32
70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc
A rich and complex Bordeaux with a lot of leathery & mineral richness.

2010 Château Gueyrrosse, St. Emilion Grand Cru $39
85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc
Smooth and silky aged Bordeaux. The nose highlighted by generous notes of crisp red fruits and a rich palette of aromas, velvety. A very harmonious vintage, combining power and finesse.

2016 Le Haut-Medoc d’Issan, Haut-Medoc $40
60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot
As the third wine of the 3rd Growth Château d’Issan. The Le Haut-Médoc is textbook claret without the triple-digit price tag!” The wine has a bright and vivid bouquet of dark cherry, blueberry, and lead pencil. This fruit component also drives the pallet with a medium-bodied texture and mineral accents.

2018 Château les Barraillots, Cru Artisan Margaux $40
50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot
From 40 year old vines the Barrallots is full, rich, and ripe promising that 2018 might rival 2015 and 2010.

2012 Château Les Fiefs de Lagrange, Saint Julien $55
61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot
The Second Label of the 3rd Growth Lagrange. The 2012 is developed and ready to go now. Good depth of firm Cabernet fruit, good clarity and natural tannins, very good second wine.

2015 Château Cantemerle, Haut Medoc $58
64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot
5th Growth Bordeaux. Impressive richness and clarity of red and dark berries. Lightly spiced-pastry aromas, too. The palate has a very crisp, polished and groomed tannin texture, as well as super fresh flavors that carry long.

2014 Château Pas de L’Ane, Saint Emilion Grand Cru $67
60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc
A very rare top-notch Bordeaux that’s actually still a sensible buy. Rich blackberry fruit and layers of tannins are a great combination for this wine that has profited from the quality of the Cabernet Franc in this vintage. It has plenty of fruit and acidity, as well as firm, still-toasty tannins.

2008 Château Léoville-Poyferré, St-Julien $128
60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot & Cabernet Franc
One of the finest over-achieving efforts in this vintage as well as a ‘best buy’ for a top-flight St.-Julien, this 2008 is an irresistible success. It reveals an opaque ruby/purple color, lots of unctuosity and a boatload of sweet cassis and black cherry fruit intertwined with notions of licorice, smoke and oak. Full-bodied, remarkably concentrated and stunningly pure and textured, this sensational wine is already drinking well, and will be even better with 2-3 years of cellaring. It should last for 20-25 years –94pts Parker