1 | Wine | Pessac-leognan / Graves, 91 or higher | Page 4

"Another brilliant effort from proprietress Helene Garcin, the opaque ruby/purple-colored, medium-bodied 2012 Haut-Bergey reveals lots of smoky barbecue, forest floor, black currant and damp earth notes in a surprisingly dense, concentrated, positive, complete style. An outstanding mid-palate and length make for an impressive showing."
-Reviewed by: Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate - 90 to 93 pts

"Showy style, with lots of ganache and dark toast leading the way, backed by ample plum sauce, fig paste and currant confiture notes. Long, charcoal-framed finish has plenty of heft. Not shy in style, this has density and drive."

"Juicy and direct, with solid plum, raspberry and bitter cherry notes pushed by woodspice, singed alder and charcoal. Nice range, and with a pleasantly chewy, grippy feel."

"Haut-Brion’s second wine, the 2012 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion, is a delicious, seductive, fruity, lighter-styled effort exhibiting plenty of crushed rock, floral and mineral notes intermixed with red and black currants, camphor and forest floor. This pretty, medium-bodied wine can be drunk upon release or cellared for a decade."
Reviewed by: Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate - 88 to 90 pts

"Offers plum, mixed berry and singed vanilla notes against a backdrop of anise and tar. Displays a sinewy edge on the finish, but the stuffing is there for development."

"The 2012 reveals plenty of Christmas fruitcake notes intermixed with a hint of roasted herbs, sweet, jammy black currant and black cherry fruit, and a touch of background oak in an exuberant, quasi-opulent style with outstanding intensity, richness and blossoming complexity. It is an impressive example of a Pessac-Leognan, one of the stronger appellation in the 2012 vintage."
Reviewed by: Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate - 90 to 92 pts

"A bright tobacco leaf and savory note up front is followed by sleek black cherry, plum and blackberry fruit that has melded nicely. Long, alder-tinged finish has lovely minerality. Distinctive."

"The 2009, one of the finest Domaine de Chevaliers yet produced, reveals a striking bouquet of burning embers, sweet cherry, black and red currant fruit, spice box, cedar and lead pencil shavings. The tannins are sweet in this fleshy, full-bodied offering. It is built on the notion of extraordinary harmony, elegance and complexity. While not the most concentrated or flamboyant 2009, its intense aromas are already reasonably evolved and its lusciousness and balance are terrific. Made from an interesting blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot, its yields of 45 hectoliters per hectare were slightly higher than many of its neighbors achieved. Drink it over the next 25 years."-Robert Parker

"Features a bright savory note, offering violet, plum and crushed cherry fruit. Presents a lightly stony finish, with the savory edge taking an encore. Shows the herbal side of Cabernet in this vintage."

"Pure, showing a supple texture, featuring damson plum, black cherry and tobacco leaf notes that hang elegantly through the finish. Very fresh, with buried acidity."

"Probably the greatest Pape-Clement ever made, the dense purple-colored 2005 (a blend of 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon) exhibits sumptuous notes of smoky scorched earth, graphite, melted licorice, and blackberries. Once past the exquisite perfume, the wine reveals full body, extraordinary concentration, plenty of chocolate, smoke, cassis, and blackberry flavors, and that unmistakable volcanic ash-like earthiness that comes from this appellation. The tannins are slightly sweeter than those found in most northern Medocs, but this is still a backward, large-scaled effort." Reviewed by Robert Parker.

"The 2006 Haut-Brion performed even better from bottle than it did from barrel. Sixty-four percent of the production went into this wine, and while it displays the vintage’s powerful tannins and structure, it possesses superb concentration, and the minerality/scorched earth notes of a great Haut-Brion. Medium to full-bodied, with perhaps not quite the fleshiness of the 2005 or 2000, it is built more along the lines of the 1998 and 1996. It is a brilliant effort displaying sensational purity, texture, and length that should be exceptionally long-lived."-Robert Parker

"A fabulous example of this estate, the 2005 is an ethereal, delicate, finesse-styled offering with intensity as well as richness. It has all the concentration one could want, but it comes across as gorgeously elegant and sublime because of its combination of delicacy, power, and depth. Beautiful raspberry, black cherry, currant, graphite, and scorched earth notes are subtle, but provocative. In the mouth, there is good acidity, medium body, ripe tannin, and terrific length." Reviewed by Robert Parker.