2019 Château Teynac, France, Bordeaux, Saint-Julien, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2019
Score: 
90
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$35.00USD

This is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot and 2% Petite Verdot.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is tight but with air opens to show Cassis, spices, slight vanilla and char.  Medium to full bodied.  Good acidity.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, cassis, plums and spice.  Juicy.  Moderate finish.  This is drinking well but will improve with a few more years of good cellaring.  Drink over the next eight to twelve years.  Shepard's Pie would make a nice pairing.

2020 Kirkland Signature St. Julien, France, Bordeaux, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2020
Score: 
87
Grade: 
B
Current Price: 
$18.00USD

Kirkland wines tend to be good values and this fits that category.  Purple in color with ruby swirls, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is tight but opens with air.  Cassis, slight funk, and spice.  Medium bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this drinks easy with nice cassis fruit.  Some spice.  Moderate finish.  For $18, its hard to find a better Bordeaux.  A nice choice for mid-week meatloaf.  Drink over the next three to six years.  

2019 Château Chasse-Spleen, France, Bordeaux, Moulis en Medoc, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2019
Score: 
89
Grade: 
B+
Current Price: 
$28.00USD

Garnet in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, slight black raspberries, and spice.  It is tight and took some time to open.  On the palate, the attack is slightly sweet but that calms down and midpalate has nice cassis and cherry fruit.  Firm tannins.  Soft texture.  Solid finish.  This needs a bit of time to come together.  I enjoyed it more than those I tasted it with.  Hold for a few more years and drink for seven to ten after that.  It might be interesting to try with a Potato Kugel.  

2020 Château Haut-Bailly HB Haut-Bailly, France, Bordeuax, Pessac-Leognan, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2020
Score: 
92
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$29.00USD

This is the third wine of Chateau Haut-Baily.  It has only been produced under the HB moniker since 2019.  If the third wine is this good, then the first and second should be fantastic.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose is tight but eventually opens to show cassis with some spice and gravel/char.  velvety texture.  Firm tannins.  The palate has cassis with char.  Deep but tight.  A bit of bitter cherry (in a good way) on the finish.  This needs a few years, maybe five, of good cellaring and should drink well for ten after that.  Classic Bordeaux foods should work well such as Lam

2018 Château Malartic-Lagravière La Réserve de Malartic, France, Bordeaux, Pessac-Leognan, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2018
Score: 
91
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$40.00USD

The second wine of Chateau Malartic-Lagravière.  This is a blend of Merlot 58 %, Cabernet-Sauvignon 35 %, Cabernet-Franc 5 %, Petit-Verdot 2 %.  Ruby and purple swirls in the glass, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, black cherries with a bit of  spice and char.  Medium bodied. Bright acidity.  Vibrant on the palate.  Flavors of cassis and cherries with some char.  Some depth.  Nice finish.  This may still improve a bit but is drinking well now.  Drink over the next ten years.  It would work well with a cheddar cheese quiche.  

2020 Château Lalande, France, Bordeaux, Saint-Julian, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2020
Score: 
87
Grade: 
B+
Current Price: 
$55.00USD

At a recent tasting, I liked this far less than the group I was tasting with.  It is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Merlot.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black cherries, and some spices.  It does have a lovely silky texture.  Some depth.  Medium tannins.  My issues were that I found it on the flabby side, lacking in acidity.  It gave the wine an easy drinking quality that, for the money, was disappointing.  Not a bad wine, in fact a good wine to be sure.  Of course, as I said, others, whose palates I respect, liked it far more.  It w

2019 Château Haut Coteau, France, Bordeaux, Saint-Estephe, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2019
Score: 
89
Grade: 
B+
Current Price: 
$38.00USD

Ruby in color with a purple core, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has sour cherries, some cassis, and slightly earthy with some attic dust.  Medium to full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate sour cherries and black cherries.  Nice finish.  A nice wine, but the tartness will require some food to balance.  Perhaps Roasted Duck would work nicely.  Drink over the next seven to twelve years.  

2019 Château Climens Asphodèle, France, Bordeaux, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2019
Score: 
91
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$54.00USD

This is 100% Semillon from Bordeaux.  Light, silvery gold in color, clear and bright.  Great, powerful nose with papaya, slight tangerine, and chalk notes with nice minerality.  Medium to full bodied.  Oily texture.  Good acidity.  On the palate, the tangerine comes thru but also some limes, especially on the long finish.  Some depth.  This is nice on its own but will work well with foods, too.  It will work well with sea food and especially shell fish.  Drink over the next eight to ten years.  

1996 Château Calon-Ségur, France, Bordeaux, Saint-Estephe, Wine Review

Vintage: 
1996
Score: 
92
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$225.00USD

This is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 25% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot from the very good 1996 vintage in Bordeaux.  purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  There is some cassis but mostly dried fruits, tobacco, cigar box, dried leather and some spice.  Medium bodied with good acidity.  On the palate, this is complex and fully mature.  It doesn't seem much past though (depending on how you like older Bordeaux).  Black cherry fruit, dried cherries, forest floor, and slight spice.

2000 Château Haut-Bages Libéral, France, Bordeaux, Pauillac, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2000
Grade: 
Current Price: 
$145.00USD

Deep garnet in color, mostly clear and showing just a bit of bricking on the edges.  The nose is a bit musty but I didn't think TCA  (although some did), with cigar and some cassis.  The mustiness did not blow off completely but did not get stringer so I am going with a bit of bottle age.  There is some depth to the wine.  The palate has some cassis and some tertiary notes of leather and dust.  Good acidity.  Most 2000's are slow to mature, but this bottle, at least, seems past prime.  Drink up.  No rating as not sure how representative this bottle is.  

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