Judging quality is a more straight-forward exercise than judging price when it comes to 2016 Bordeaux en primeur. There are a number of properties that we have followed over the last few years where we believe quality has shifted upwards in relatively dramatic fashion. To see some re-positioning of price with such estates is perhaps not unexpect...
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Château Brane-Cantenac has taken some great steps forward in quality across recent vintages. This often undervalued second growth typifies the elegance and refinement that is so often associated with wines from Margaux. Elegance and refinement are, in fact, watch-words for any tasting note on Brane; whereas critics have often looked ...
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While the majority of Bordeaux releases have left us cold so far, at Atlas we have opted to buy the First Growth that have released to date. They have been released at a price which is a fraction higher than we hoped but to be honest, at a price that is a good deal lower than we expected. There has been a 9% increase in Euro cost which, coupled ...
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It is interesting when new life is breathed into a particular estate…. A change in winemaking approach, a different tact in the vineyard and invariably an upgrade of facilities can yield dramatically different results. Simon's comments, below.
This is exactly the situation with Château La Clotte, which is no...
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As we wait, wait and then wait some more in the hope that the 2016 Bordeaux en primeur campaign may gain momentum, it seems like an opportune moment to highlight a great value Bordeaux for current consumption. I doubt you will have heard of Domaine des Cambes. I doubt you will know much of the Côtes de Bourg (situated on Bordeaux's Right B...
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‘Anything wearing the Catena name is guaranteed to deliver what the label says: grape, vintage and place. Why can't all large producers be like Catena?’ Luis Guitterez, The Wine Advocate, erobertparker.com, August 2015. Catena Zapata is an estate that fascinates me – the Catena family have an unerring knack of producing single ...
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