This morning Smith Haut Lafitte rouge and blanc have released. The rouge is one of the wines of the vintage from all leading critics. It has been awarded 96-98 from Neal Martin who says ‘more sophisticated than recent vintages of this top performer. Very elegant and refined, this is an outstanding success’. Jeb Dunnuck awards it 95-97+ saying ‘world-class expression of this terroir.’ Lisa Perrotti-Brown of The Wine Advocate awards it 96-98+ declaring it as ‘Stunning!’ This is clearly a great vintage for Smith Haut Lafitte set to equal or surpass the 2018 to which it ha ..read more

Chateau Troplong Mondot is one of the hottest properties on the right bank. It is a leading St. Emilion, sited amongst the finest terroir in the village, occupying prime position on the St. Emilion plateau, where elevation and slope reach over 100 metres, the highest point in the St. Emilion Appellation. The vineyards consist of layers of clay and boasts sedimentary fragments of limestone and flint. With this terroir it is no surprise it became a darling in all markets famed for its rich and impressive style. It reached its apex in the 1990s and then 2000s when the owner Christine Valette firs ..read more

Today we are delighted to release two of the finest wines from St. Emilion, Pavie Macquin and Larcis Ducasse. They are simultaneously two of the best scoring wines of the campaign and best priced from St. Emilion, both scored 95-97 points from Lisa Perrotti-Brown of The Wine Advocate and Neal Martin. Futhermore both have Price Over Points Scores (POP) of less than 40, which in the context of leading St. Emilion is outstanding. These are two wines under £50 a bottle which may well match Pavie, Angelus and Figeac for the best score of the village, at a fraction of the price. Pavie Macquin has re ..read more

Today’s big hitter has entered the fold, Chateau Montrose 2019, priced at £1,200 per case of 12, or £600 per case of six. This marks a £364 discount to the 2018 release price, or a 23% discount. This is exciting news, St. Estephe once again cementing itself as one of the villages of the vintage. Montrose 2019 chose not to send any samples abroad and as such Decanter’s Bordeaux expert, an English rose living among French Thorns, Jane Anson is the only score on the board and was able to make the trip to the Chateau proper. Anson has awarded it 98 points saying, ‘Oh this is good, it steals u ..read more

This morning Neal Martin’s 2019 En Primeur report has been released, where he states unequivocally ‘Two thousand and nineteen is a great vintage…It is an excellent vintage…It is a style of wine that I personally adore.’ He concludes that ‘It is neither a Right nor Left Bank vintage; one does not have supremacy over the other’ going on to say that ‘,I do not feel that there is a huge gap between the First Growths and “the rest.”…Basically, if your vineyard was located on prime terroir, then you could potentially make an outstanding 2019.’ The fact that th ..read more

This morning Lynch Bages 2019 has released and it is one of the finest Lynch Bages ever made, awarded 96-97 from James Suckling, which places it alongside 2016 and 2009 and just behind their finest modern vintage the 2010. Lynch Bages rises in price perennially from barrel to bottle, due to its global acclaim, it has a strong traditional market in old Europe and the US. It was one of the earliest Bordeaux wines exported to Hong Kong; since 1989 it has been served in the First-Class cabin of Cathay Pacific Airlines, the international flag carrier of Hong Kong. Jean-Michel Cazes was one of the f ..read more

The excitement of the week’s releases continues this morning with the announcement of Mouton Rothschild 2019. As always it is one of the most highly anticipated wines, a towering First Growth, which continues to produce some of its greatest ever vintages. In 2019 it is a wine which, as it did last year, promises perfection. It has been scored 98-100 points overnight by Lisa Perrotti-Brown of The Wine Advocate who says ‘This year’s profound expression is without doubt a legend in the making.’ It has also been adorned with a score of 99-100 from James Suckling. As with a lot of the lef ..read more

The leading Fifth Growth Clerc Milon has released among this stunning stable this morning for £624 per case of 12, or £312 per case of six, a 15% discount to last year. Today’s release price also marks a 17% discount to the average trading price of vintages since 2005 which is £751 leaving a potential 20% upside over the next few years. It has been awarded 92-94+ points from Lisa Perrotti-Brown of The Wine Advocate and awarded 94-95 points from James Suckling, making the 2019 one of their finest ever. We expect insatiable demand and a sell out from Clerc Milon, which sees greater int ..read more

This morning three leading St Julien wines have released. The first two are among the finest Fourth Growths and sited opposite one another, Beychevelle and Branaire-Ducru. The other is Second Growth Leoville Poyferre. Each provdes a very healthy discount to 2018 and to the average trading price of equivalent vintages. They are three of the best value wines of the campaign to date. Starting at the top, both geographically and in terms of classification Leoville Poyferre have released today for £616 per case of 12, or £308 per case of six. This reflects a discount of £200 on the 2018 release pri ..read more

A surprise release this morning is the mighty Cheval Blanc, one of the jewels of Bordeaux. Incredibly and divergent from their recent pricing strategy they have released at a 31% discount to last year. This sees £2,088 discount per case of 12, down from £6,588 to £4,500. Their pricing on release has been erratic since 2010, though the secondary market pricing for great vintages confirms the wine is adored by the global market, as can be seen from the table below. The average trading price of the leading vintages is £6,350, so today’s release offers a 29% discount to this and is therefore hugel ..read more