
What's New on Cru - The Latest Fine Wines on Cru World Wine
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Vinous (100)
The 2016 Flaccianello della Pieve is off the charts. Fresh, vibrant and explosive, with tremendous overall intensity, the 2016 possesses magnificent richness, with sumptuous fruit purity and simply unreal balance. Creamy, silky tannins add to the wine's sophistication and overall polish. The 2016 is dark, inky and powerful, but not at all heavy. Giovanni Manetti gave the 2016 18 months in French oak (75-80% new), followed by 6 months in cask. This is the first vintage in which a small amount (2%) of the wine was aged in amphora. In a word: stunning! Don't miss it.Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve 2016 (6x75cl)
Inc. VAT: £1,390.07 -
Falstaff (100)
Rich ruby. Deep dark nose, concentrated, but also very accessible with blackberry and mulberry fruit and savoury garrigue notes. Multi-layered palate with fine-meshed tannin, compact and juicy, followed by lots of tobacco. It literally dances across the tongue, very long with fine savouriness at the back.Masseto 2016 (3x75cl)
Inc. VAT: £3,128.04 -
Jeb Dunnuck (100)
Along with the Château Lafite, the 2016 Château Mouton Rothschild is the wine of the vintage from the Médoc and is a truly profound, magical, blockbuster wine in every sense. It’s based on 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, raised in new French oak. Boasting a saturated purple color as well as an extraordinary bouquet of thick black fruits, lead pencil shavings, new saddle leather, and burning embers, with just a hint of its oak upbringing, this beauty hits the palate with a mammoth amount of fruit and texture yet stays fresh, pure, and light on its feet, with a thrilling sense of minerality as well as building tannins on the finish. It’s one of the most profound young wines I’ve ever tasted, and while it will probably keep for three-quarters of a decade, it offers pleasure even today. Bravo!Mouton Rothschild 2016 (6x75cl)
Inc. VAT: £4,224.47 -
James Suckling (99)
Extremely perfumed and floral with lavender, lilacs and violets to the sweet, ripe berries, such as blackberries and blackcurrants. Some slate and graphite, too. It’s full-bodied, yet ever so balanced and refined, with super fine tannins that last for minutes. Fresh herbs, such as bay leaf and lemon grass highlight the dark fruit. The quality of tannin is exquisite with wonderful polish and refinement. Lasts for minutes. So wonderful to taste now, but better after 2026.Opus One 2018 (6x75cl)
Inc. VAT: £1,799.27 -
Matthew Jukes (20++)
Like La Maison Bleue, La Chapelle barely moved an inch over the five days that it sat open (and gradually oxidising) on my tasting bench. This is a monumental wine with the finest Syrah nose I have seen since the ethereal and intriguing beauty of the remarkable 2016 vintage and also the monolithic stance of the legendary 1990. However, this is not to say that this vintage can be directly compared to either year. There is a latent power about this wine that is as elusive as it is impressive. This solaire vintage has certainly given La Chapelle a sense of foreboding power and yet there is so much grace here, too. You could be sniffing a handful of granite and gravel, a bouquet of freshly picked herbs, a mortar of freshly ground pepper or a punnet of juicy black fruit and yet there is so much more to discover here. What I find so remarkable about this wine is that it does not show any trace of over-ripeness nor does it have any unwanted oiliness or excessive alcohol. In spite of its richness and depth, this is a pristinely refreshing wine with crunch and crackle of filigree tannin which enlivens every sip. In this regard, it is a far less obvious superstar than the preening 1990 and it is a more erudite and statuesque model than the esoteric 2016. In short, this is one of only a handful of vintages of La Chapelle to which I have awarded a perfect score and who is to say that this will not happen again before too long? The care and attention in this entire portfolio of wines are evident and the hard work and holistic approach are not only paying off in the vineyards but also in the glass, too, and this makes 2019 another phenomenally successful vintage for Jaboulet.Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle 2019 (6x75cl)
Inc. VAT: £1,355.26 -
Wine Advocate (98-100)
The blend this year is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Very deep purple-black colored, the 2019 Pontet-Canet has the most gorgeous, lifted perfume of lilacs, dark chocolate, Morello cherries and rosehip tea over a core of crème de cassis, plum preserves, licorice and woodsmoke with a waft of fragrant soil. Full-bodied, rich and fantastically opulent, the palate offers layer upon layer of ripe, finely grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long and mineral laced. A real head-turner, this beauty is absolutely going to steal your heart!Pontet Canet 2019 (6x75cl)
Inc. VAT: £713.27 -
Jeb Dunnuck (100)
One of the wines of the vintage, as well as a legendary Napa Cabernet that will compete with anything out there, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate reveals a deep purple hue as well as extraordinary notes of pure crème de cassis and blackberry-scented fruits intermixed with lots tobacco leaf, lead pencil, spice, and hints of flowers. Reminding me of the 2016 with its purity as well as its balance, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a layered, seamless texture, and a blockbuster of a finish. Based on 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot, this is a wine you don’t want to miss! It’s going to take 7-8 years to hit its early drinking plateau and cruise for 30-40 years in cold cellars.Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 (6x75cl)
Inc. VAT: £1,470.47
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Vinous (100)
The 2016 Flaccianello della Pieve is off the charts. Fresh, vibrant and explosive, with tremendous overall intensity, the 2016 possesses magnificent richness, with sumptuous fruit purity and simply unreal balance. Creamy, silky tannins add to the wine's sophistication and overall polish. The 2016 is dark, inky and powerful, but not at all heavy. Giovanni Manetti gave the 2016 18 months in French oak (75-80% new), followed by 6 months in cask. This is the first vintage in which a small amount (2%) of the wine was aged in amphora. In a word: stunning! Don't miss it.Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve 2016 (6x75cl)
In Bond: £1,145.00 -
Falstaff (100)
Rich ruby. Deep dark nose, concentrated, but also very accessible with blackberry and mulberry fruit and savoury garrigue notes. Multi-layered palate with fine-meshed tannin, compact and juicy, followed by lots of tobacco. It literally dances across the tongue, very long with fine savouriness at the back.Masseto 2016 (3x75cl)
In Bond: £2,600.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (100)
Along with the Château Lafite, the 2016 Château Mouton Rothschild is the wine of the vintage from the Médoc and is a truly profound, magical, blockbuster wine in every sense. It’s based on 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, raised in new French oak. Boasting a saturated purple color as well as an extraordinary bouquet of thick black fruits, lead pencil shavings, new saddle leather, and burning embers, with just a hint of its oak upbringing, this beauty hits the palate with a mammoth amount of fruit and texture yet stays fresh, pure, and light on its feet, with a thrilling sense of minerality as well as building tannins on the finish. It’s one of the most profound young wines I’ve ever tasted, and while it will probably keep for three-quarters of a decade, it offers pleasure even today. Bravo!Mouton Rothschild 2016 (6x75cl)
In Bond: £3,507.00 -
James Suckling (99)
Extremely perfumed and floral with lavender, lilacs and violets to the sweet, ripe berries, such as blackberries and blackcurrants. Some slate and graphite, too. It’s full-bodied, yet ever so balanced and refined, with super fine tannins that last for minutes. Fresh herbs, such as bay leaf and lemon grass highlight the dark fruit. The quality of tannin is exquisite with wonderful polish and refinement. Lasts for minutes. So wonderful to taste now, but better after 2026.Opus One 2018 (6x75cl)
Inc. VAT: £1,783.20 -
Matthew Jukes (20++)
Like La Maison Bleue, La Chapelle barely moved an inch over the five days that it sat open (and gradually oxidising) on my tasting bench. This is a monumental wine with the finest Syrah nose I have seen since the ethereal and intriguing beauty of the remarkable 2016 vintage and also the monolithic stance of the legendary 1990. However, this is not to say that this vintage can be directly compared to either year. There is a latent power about this wine that is as elusive as it is impressive. This solaire vintage has certainly given La Chapelle a sense of foreboding power and yet there is so much grace here, too. You could be sniffing a handful of granite and gravel, a bouquet of freshly picked herbs, a mortar of freshly ground pepper or a punnet of juicy black fruit and yet there is so much more to discover here. What I find so remarkable about this wine is that it does not show any trace of over-ripeness nor does it have any unwanted oiliness or excessive alcohol. In spite of its richness and depth, this is a pristinely refreshing wine with crunch and crackle of filigree tannin which enlivens every sip. In this regard, it is a far less obvious superstar than the preening 1990 and it is a more erudite and statuesque model than the esoteric 2016. In short, this is one of only a handful of vintages of La Chapelle to which I have awarded a perfect score and who is to say that this will not happen again before too long? The care and attention in this entire portfolio of wines are evident and the hard work and holistic approach are not only paying off in the vineyards but also in the glass, too, and this makes 2019 another phenomenally successful vintage for Jaboulet.Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle 2019 (6x75cl)
In Bond: £1,115.99 -
Wine Advocate (98-100)
The blend this year is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Very deep purple-black colored, the 2019 Pontet-Canet has the most gorgeous, lifted perfume of lilacs, dark chocolate, Morello cherries and rosehip tea over a core of crème de cassis, plum preserves, licorice and woodsmoke with a waft of fragrant soil. Full-bodied, rich and fantastically opulent, the palate offers layer upon layer of ripe, finely grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long and mineral laced. A real head-turner, this beauty is absolutely going to steal your heart!Pontet Canet 2019 (6x75cl)
In Bond: £581.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (100)
One of the wines of the vintage, as well as a legendary Napa Cabernet that will compete with anything out there, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate reveals a deep purple hue as well as extraordinary notes of pure crème de cassis and blackberry-scented fruits intermixed with lots tobacco leaf, lead pencil, spice, and hints of flowers. Reminding me of the 2016 with its purity as well as its balance, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a layered, seamless texture, and a blockbuster of a finish. Based on 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot, this is a wine you don’t want to miss! It’s going to take 7-8 years to hit its early drinking plateau and cruise for 30-40 years in cold cellars.Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 (6x75cl)
In Bond: £1,212.00