I have no experience with Chateau Haut-Bages Liberal and although ‘86 is a well-regarded year, I’ve also noted many a scribe’s report for this vintage’s harshness of tannin, so I was a little surprised by this wine’s lithe personality and wonderful resolution. Fully mature but holding an extremely good deep ruby colour with only perceptible lightening in the very outer edge, followed by a solid nose of pencil lead, cedar and weedy blackcurrant with suggestions of freshly turned damp sod, dried herbs and a hint of black olive. The medium-bodied palate offers up a soft but expansive texture, more than enough plummy/curranty fruit underpinned by secondary earthy/herbaceous/cedary characters, low acidity and fully-resolved lacy tannins. The moderately long finish confirms the consistency of everything that has come before - a smooth, rounded wine drinking at the peak of its powers. Nothing startling, but sound, solid and eminently satisfactory. 88 points from me today, this wine should be drunk over the next 3-5 years.

Displaying an elegant light ruby with only a modicum of maturity in the edges this classy Pinot reveals amazingly fresh and attractive aromatics of sappy red cherries, minerals, game and integrated new spicy French oak. The medium-bodied palate delivers an instant replay of the descriptors found in the bouquet along with a crunchy succulence, melting fine-grained tannins, excellent length but retains vitality and freshness from some lively acidity. I’ve been impressed with the rare elegance of this particular wine since release and believe it will last for up to a decade if stored in pristine cellaring conditions (although ready to go now). 92 points. A great effort from a difficult vintage!

Substantial bricking belies the fresh and lively bouquet that houses deepset black fruit offset by strong malty/savoury oak, freshly turned sod of earth, game and pinot sap with intriguing faint top notes of miso, soy, ginger and cinnamon stick. The thumbprint of Burgundy’s 1996 Pinot’s - cool fruit, high acidity and potential for extended longevity plasters itself all over the palate. Unlike the 1996 Echezeaux from the same Domaine, the Ruchottes displays the requisite level of ripeness with no “green” or “rough” edges. The elegant, silky mouthfeel sits perfectly with fine lacy tannins and perky acidity that offer the correct amount of grip for this slightly austere style with a finish that provides quite ample length and some decent authority. Drink 2010-2016. 93 points

Mature hue, mostly rusty browns, a little amber with a light ruby core. Attractive multilayered bouquet of pinot sap, sweet earth, undergrowth, plum, black cherry over a solid base of savoury oak. Quite masculine and with enormous depth. The palate marches to the beat of the same drum - solid, well-endowed, plenty of earthy, sappy, plummy fruit with resolute support from a firm, but integrated, tannin regime and lively acidity. Finishing with excellent persistence, this very impressive wine has the potential for another 5-10 years of superior drinking. 90 points

What an impressive first showing! Intensely steely and mineral-laden nose housing an abundance of rapier-like citrus (limes/lemons), oyster shell and seaspray. Similarly etched palate, although, surprisingly, quite generous and mouthfilling with typical Chablis grippy chalky/minerally acidity and an explosively long, invigorating finish. Went ohso well with the freshly shucked 3 year old Sydney rock oysters. Needs a calming year or two to be at its best but performed brilliantly in this instant with the oysters. Long cellaring window anticipated. 92 points

My first try-out with this vineyard from this excellent producer. 13.5 % A/V and cork sealed.

Transluscent medium ruby with a distinct rusty/pink meniscus. Opened with a gorgeous floral perfume (mostly violets) eventually picking up quite impressive sappy, musky undertones with extended breathing to the solid core of black cherry and plum fruit. The initial rush on the palate was of a sexy, light, feminine pinot but, again with time, displayed a more boisterous, masculine personality, highlighting the serious need for this excellent fruit-driven wine to be left in the cellar for some years yet. An abundance of furry, puckering tannin delivers a long and quite assertive departure. 90 points. Drink now-2015+

This bottle bears testimony to the great vintage and this most talented producer. An infantile colour of bright straw green with streams of very fine, aggressive beading is followed by a lovely full nose of charred toast, gorgeous yeast autolysis, quite “biscuity” but with undertones of Chardonnay “florals” and freshly picked strawberries. The palate raises the bar to another level! Delivering a tightly-coiled, power-packed explosion in the mouth, this exceptional sparkler could easily pass as a prestige cuvee in a blind tasting. Wonderfully fresh with incredible reserves of crisp green apple, strawberry and green melon fruit tinged with more of that incredibly complex, yet subtle, autolysis character, one would expect this wine to live for at least a decade, more likely, two! A superb creamy mouthfeel, invigorating swirling mousse, plenty of residual acidity on a monumentally long finish provide the credentials for an exceptionally complete Champagne that ekes class, poise and controlled power. 96 points (equal to my take on the Dom Perignon!) Wow! I wonder how this house did with their 96 Grande Siecle?

Footnote - another bottle opened some weeks later was outstanding but no better than 93 points - just lacking some of the “wow” factor of the above bottle.

Alluring youthful medium ruby with a little pink and rust in the edge. Textbook left bank Bordeaux nose of cedar, blood, lead pencil, sweet damp earth, oregano and briar over a solid backdrop of weedy blackcurrant fruit and savoury/caramel oak. This medium-bodied claret reveals a seductive silkiness on the front palate, gorgeous juicy blackcurrant fruit, subservient savoury oak, beautifully integrated, firmish chalky tannins, lovely cleansing acidty and a long, incredibly good, creamy “old vine” finish. A real surprise packet. Have not had a lot of experience with this Chateau over the years, but if tonight’s performance is representative, a very good source indeed, that, in this instance, represents extremely good value for money in the current, somewhat overheated, local secondary market. 92 points. Drink now - 2017.

Revealing an incredibly deep, opaque, black ruby colour, this youthful Pauillac throws up a huge, profound, brooding nose of cedar, creosote, briar, French herbs, damp earth with evolving, enticing hints of licorice and currants but still needs many years, possibly even a decade or more to reach its’ aromatic zenith. The palate follows a similar path - power-packed with masses of tarry extract, bucketloads of firm, mouth-puckering tannins and an abundance of acidity, especially for the vintage. Even at almost eighteen years of age, this wine still looks horribly backward and unresolved on the palate. Suggest anyone with a cool, dark cellar to leave it be for at least five years and then hopefully enjoy the rewards of their patience for at least another twenty years thereafter. To my way of thinking, superb aromatics alone are insufficient for a wine to merit an Outstanding rating. On tonight’s performance, I’m having trouble giving this, regularly over-achieving fifth-growth, 90 points, but with a caveat for much better things once the palate sheds its harshness and, hopefully, reveals the class of the bouquet. If you’re intent on opening one soon, make sure you serve this with a hearty red meat dish to counter the firmness of the palate.

This is a very important wine in my wine edification. It was the first LLC I ever tried, shown to me by old friend and mentor, the late Tom Low, sometime back in the dim and now distant eighties. Over the years, Tom and I drank this wine together many times, experiencing the gradual evolution as the wine’s aroma and bouquet homogenised, the sizable tannins melted and integrated with the boldly-fruited palate and the strong savoury, vanillin oak. On the eve of his funeral in December 2005, Tom had quietly arranged for a bottle of same to be opened as we mourned his most untimely departure from this planet. It drank superbly. Recently, I managed to pick up a few bottles of this from, what I was told, a very good source and tonight I decided to crack one with a friend. Unfortunately due to very bad weather our meeting was cancelled but I had already opened the wine earlier as a precautionary measure. So here goes:

Still holding a deep, dark red core with considerable rust and amber in the outer edges, this wine opened with a staleness that provoked an initial rush of concern. My fears were soon allayed when some half hour of gentle breathing (in bottle) and more than four hours later, I’m still deriving great satisfaction from sniffing and sipping this lovely claret.

The savoury nose has blossomed into a most harmonious, mature amalgam of cedar, old saddle leather, sweet earth, black olives, soft black berries, licorice, lead pencil and spice box. In the mouth the medium-bodied wine has continued to “sweeten up”, now revealing a wealth of sweet red and black fruits that include a variety of plums and berries accompanied by notes of olives, briar, old leather and just a hint of road tar. With the tannins almost fully resolved and a surprising amount of refreshing acidity providing life on the palate, this finely-honed, smooth and satisfying wine finishes with admirable length and adequate authority. Although there can be no doubt this wine’s day’s are numbered, well-cellared examples may provide most enjoyable drinking for up to five years. 92 points.

At twenty-nine years of age, this Las-Cases is by no means the greatest I’ve tasted - the 1982 (97 points) well and truly takes that prize - but this little number won’t cost you two arms and three legs like it’s younger sibling - and as long as it’s been well stored, I’m hopeful you’ll receive some of the great pleasure I did tonight.