1995 Chateau Lafite Rothschild
Regular price £1,358.75 Save £-1,358.752005 Chateau Margaux
Regular price £1,105.00 Save £-1,105.00Also Available - 2003 Vintage
ABOUT THE WINE
It’s amazing when you realize that the birth of what we know of as Chateau Margaux dates back almost 1,000 years! Due to the amazing quality of the wine, the estate took the name of the appellation. Even today, the only Bordeaux wine estate to bear the name of the appellation from where it resides remains Chateau Margaux. The Ginestet family was forced to sell Chateau Margaux in 1977 to Andre Mentzelopoulos, due to mounting debts brought about in part by the plunging prices for Bordeaux wine in the 1970’s. Andre Mentzelopoulos died in December 1980 and his daughter, Corinne Mentzelopoulos took over running Chateau Margaux.
TASTING NOTES
The wine has a perfect bouquet with brilliant precision and amazing focus: mainly black, mineral-soaked fruit that just gets more and more intense in the glass. That graphite element become more intense with aeration. The palate is effortless with sumptuous ripe tannin, perfect acidity, layers of sensual ripe red fruit with a precise mineral finish.
FOOD PAIRING
Red meat, hard cheese, savoury pastries are what goes best with this powerful red.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
This is sheer class, a crystalline beauty and the persistence is simply breathtaking.
2003 Chateau Margaux
Regular price £893.95 Save £-893.95Also Available - 2005 Vintage
ABOUT THE WINE
It’s amazing when you realise that the birth of what we know of as Chateau Margaux dates back almost 1,000 years! Due to the amazing quality of the wine, the estate took the name of the appellation. Even today, the only Bordeaux wine estate to bear the name of the appellation from where it resides remains Chateau Margaux. The Ginestet family was forced to sell Chateau Margaux in 1977 to Andre Mentzelopoulos, due to mounting debts brought about in part by the plunging prices for Bordeaux wine in the 1970’s. Andre Mentzelopoulos died in December 1980 and his daughter, Corinne Mentzelopoulos took over running Chateau Margaux.
TASTING NOTES
Chateau Margaux’s 2003 is one of the most amazing examples of what incredible wine can be. An outstanding vintage, characterized by dryness and warmth. This wine delivers unmatched flavour richness and velvety smooth tannins that marry impeccably with the long oak ageing. A transformative wine. This iconic wine from an iconic vintage can be drunk now or cellared for 20-25 years.
FOOD PAIRING
Red meat, hard cheese, savoury pastries are what goes best with this powerful red.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
This is one of the most opulent and rich wines of the last two decades.
1995 Chateau Latour
Regular price £748.50 Save £-748.50Also Available - 2001 Vintage
ABOUT THE WINE
Of the all First Growth Bordeaux chateaux, in the modern era Latour is perhaps most worthy of the classification. The name is believed to date back to the 14th Century and a fortress in Saint-Lambert, which included a tower “en Saint-Maubert”, subsequently lost to history. The tower pictured on the label is in fact a dovecot for pigeons built in the 1620s. Château Latour de Saint-Maubert passed into the hands of the Segur family at the end of the 1600s, was written of enthusiastically by Thomas Jefferson in the 1780s and achieved First Growth classification in 1855. In 1963 the Marquis de Segur sold a controlling stake in the “Societe Civile du Vignoble de Château Latour” to the Pearson Group, a British company which led a wave of new investment and renovation. New vineyards were purchased, from which ‘Les Forts de Latour’ is sourced, and the winemaking facilities were modernised. Allied Lyons purchased a majority stake in the estate in 1989, and then sold it to François Pinault in 1993. This began what may be considered the most successful period in the estate’s history; under the auspices of winemaker Frederic Engerer, Château Latour has produced some of the finest Bordeaux wines ever. Since 2012, Château Latour does not sell their wines en-primeur; instead they cellar their wines until they are ready for drinking.
TASTING NOTES
A fragrant, densely packed beauty. Cassis and vanilla, with stony minerality, exceptional concentration and a wonderful aromatic purity. Develops in the glass to reveal more oak-influence, with vanilla, toast and a hint of tobacco. A classic to be savoured.
FOOD PAIRING
Tricky to pair a First Growth wine – one never wants to distract from the experience of the wine itself; but a beef wellington would not be amiss here.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
The ’95 Latour is something of a sleeper, requiring some 20 years of maturity. Showing well from 2015 – with the potential to improve until 2050.
2001 Chateau Latour
Regular price £708.20 Save £-708.20Also Available - 1995 Vintage
ABOUT THE WINE
Of the all First Growth Bordeaux chateaux, in the modern era Latour is perhaps most worthy of the classification. The name is believed to date back to the 14th Century and a fortress in Saint-Lambert, which included a tower “en Saint-Maubert”, subsequently lost to history. The tower pictured on the label is in fact a dovecot for pigeons built in the 1620s. Château Latour de Saint-Maubert passed into the hands of the Segur family at the end of the 1600s, was written of enthusiastically by Thomas Jefferson in the 1780s and achieved First Growth classification in 1855. In 1963 the Marquis de Segur sold a controlling stake in the “Societe Civile du Vignoble de Château Latour” to the Pearson Group, a British company which led a wave of new investment and renovation. New vineyards were purchased, from which ‘Les Forts de Latour’ is sourced, and the winemaking facilities were modernised. Allied Lyons purchased a majority stake in the estate in 1989, and then sold it to François Pinault in 1993. This began what may be considered the most successful period in the estate’s history; under the auspices of winemaker Frederic Engerer, Château Latour has produced some of the finest Bordeaux wines ever. Since 2012, Château Latour does not sell their wines en-primeur; instead they cellar their wines until they are ready for drinking.
TASTING NOTES
A brilliant offering, which should be drinkable much earlier than the blockbuster 2000, the 2001 Latour boasts an inky ruby colour as well as a glorious bouquet of black currants, crushed stones, vanilla, and hints of truffles and oak. The beautiful integration of tannin, acidity, and wood is stunning. The wine flows across the palate with fabulous texture, purity, and presence.
FOOD PAIRING
Tricky to pair a First Growth wine – one never wants to distract from the experience of the wine itself; but a beef wellington would not be amiss here.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
Despite its precociousness this wine will last 20-25 years.
2005 Chateau Pavie
Regular price £549.60 Save £-549.60ABOUT THE WINE
The largest Saint-Emilion 1er Grand Cru Classe, with some 37 hectares under vine. Vines were originally planted on the property by the Romans in the 4th Century CE; and the estate was famous in the 1800s as one of the finest wines to come out of Saint-Emilion. However, when the estate was purchased in 1998 by Gerard Perse, extensive work was required to revitalise the estate, work which paid off, first in an extraordinary renaissance in wine-quality from the early 2000s, and then, in 2012, with official recognition as the estate was elevated from 1er Grand Cru Classe B to 1er Grand Cru Classe A. The estate is also 70% organic, and working towards becoming 100%. The wine is fermented in new-oak vats, and aged in 80% new oak for 18 months.
TASTING NOTES
Almost opaque, darkly-coloured, with intense flavours of blackberry, plum, liquorice, spice, truffle and chocolate; balanced perfectly by a crushed-rock, cedar, coffee-bean mineral character, and a lengthy, violet-edged finish. Opulent and compelling.
FOOD PAIRING
Rich meat stews, mushrooms, braised venison.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
Chateau Pavie is a wine which rewards and requires age, 15 years is a recommended minimum for a wine of this power and majesty. For this vintage, 2025 is perhaps when it will begin to show at its finest.
2012 Opus One, Opus One
Regular price £538.50 Save £-538.502012 Vega Sicilia, Unico
Regular price £506.90 Save £-506.901999 Chateau Palmer
Regular price £453.30 Save £-453.302002 Dominus Estate
Regular price £445.50 Save £-445.50In 1982 Christian Moueix, owner of Chateau Petrus, having fallen in love with Napa Valley during his studies in the 1960s, discovered the legendary Napanook Vineyard on the Rutherford Bench. In 1995 he purchased a section of the vineyard, and created Dominus Estate, with a mission to produce an iconic Napa Valley wine. The vineyard contains vines over 100 years old, and has contributed to some of the finest and most long-lasting wines Napa Valley has ever produced. The Estate Red is aged in oak barrels, of which 1/3 are new, for 15 months, a serious rival to Opus One...
Poised and vibrant; not the classic Napa Valley blockbuster, yet by no means without weight and power, the structure of the wine has allowed it to age spectacularly, resulting in a seamless integration of tannin, oak and acidity. Kirsch and blackcurrant intermingles with dried tobacco, damp earth, cocoa and cedar; the finish is silken and multi-layered, as the complexity of the palate carries through. Will happily age for another 15 years, but we recommend succumbing to the temptation.
Beef, preferably steak, or tenderloin; the meat needs to have sufficient structure to match to the wine.
Decanting several hours in advance is recommended for this extremely distinctive Napa Valley wine.
2006 Chateau Palmer
Regular price £427.05 Save £-427.05ABOUT THE WINE
Chateau Palmer is named after a British officer, Colonel Charles Palmer (later Maj. General), who settled in Bordeaux in 1814. It is located in the center of the Margaux appellation, and its vineyards lie on a plateau of clay and gravel soils. Historically the estate has always prided itself on the exceptional quality of its wines, declassifying whole vintages (as in 1963 and 1968) when conditions weren't conducive to the usual high standards of the property. Classified as a 3ieme Cru Classe', it punches significantly above its classification. Since the 2017 vintage they are certified 100% biodynamic.
TASTING NOTES
Maraschino cherries, cassis and tobacco characterise the bright, youthful aromatics; medium-bodied on the palate, with a succulent core of cassis and blackberry fruit. The tannic structure is super-fine, beautifully integrated into the oak character on the finish. This is a remarkably elegant wine, which has developed superbly, and will continue to do so until 2040.
FOOD PAIRING
An excellent wine for venison.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
Merlot at Palmer is planted on both the clay and gravel soils of the estate; the extra drainage provided by the gravel gives Palmer its elegant opulence, hence the unusually high proportion of Merlot (often 45-50%) in the blend for a left-bank wine.
2008 Chateau Palmer
Regular price £383.75 Save £-383.75ABOUT THE WINE
Château Palmer is named after a British officer, Colonel Charles Palmer (later Maj. General), who settled in Bordeaux in 1814. It is located in the centre of the Margaux appellation, and its vineyards lie on a plateau of clay and gravel soils. Historically the estate has always prided itself on the exceptional quality of its wines, declassifying whole vintages (as in 1963 and 1968) when conditions weren’t conducive to the usual high standards of the property. Classified as a 3ème Cru Classé, it punches significantly above its classification. Since the 2017 vintage, they have been certified 100% biodynamic.
TASTING NOTES
A blend of 51% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 8% Petit Verdot. The dense, purple-hued wine has loads of smoke, liquorice, incense, blackberry, leather, and forest floor notes. It is extraordinarily intense and full-bodied with velvety and muscular tannins. On the palate, it has black cherry and bilberry, accompanied by complex baked earth, black truffles, and saffron spice. The finish is spicy and long. Aged in 60% new oak which adds to its complexity. The 51% Merlot blend is quite unusual for 2008 and for Palmer, making it quite sophisticated and idiosyncratic. The sweet start and soft, rich texture make it quite seductive and lively. With a slightly minty and cool finish, it is quite electric and comes with a 13.4% alcohol content.
FOOD PAIRING
A decadent wine marries with decadent flavoured dishes such as cornish game hen with wild rice stuffing and grilled quail with pomegranate glaze as well as Spice rubbed and seared pork tenderloin with cherry compote.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
A stunning wine that’s concentrated and complex, that is delicious currently but will continue to age beautifully for decades to come.
2000 Chateau La Conseillante
Regular price £342.20 Save £-342.20The name of La Conseillante appears in the middle of the 18th century. It has been given by Mrs Catherine Conseillan, who ran the estate almost 300 years before today. In 1871, the Nicolas family buy the property, which surface and plots remain unchanged during this period. Today, the estate is managed by the fifth generation, assuring continuity and the attachment of a family to a great wine. D. Bertrand Nicolas and Jean-Valmy Nicolas are the managers of La Conseillante, and Jean-Michel Laporte is the Director.
Ruby/plum/purple colour and an unbelievably expressive nose of sweet kirsch liqueur intermixed with raspberries, incense, toast, and liquorice. Full-bodied yet ethereal in the sense that it seems to combine power along with eloquence and delicacy, this is a beautifully pure wine that has just hit its plateau of full maturity, although ideally it would benefit strongly from another 4-5 years of bottle age and drink well for two to three decades.
Game, red meat, roasted or barbecued.
2010 Chateau Figeac
Regular price £318.35 Save £-318.352006 Chateau Figeac
Regular price £315.90 Save £-315.90ABOUT THE WINE
An ancient vineyard, named after its Gallo-Roman owners, the Figeacus family, the Figeac estate has been continually occupied and farmed for at least two thousand years. The terroir is very special indeed, a large part of the original 200-hectare estate was sold off during the 18th Century to the Ducasse family to become Chateau Cheval Blanc, and other sections contribute to some of the finest estates in the appellation. The 42-hectare vineyard that remains contains vines over 100 years of age, with an unusually high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon planted.
TASTING NOTES
An elegant and surprisingly approachable vintage for Figeac; sweet aromas of menthol, fruitcake, cherries, and black currants, silky tannins and an evolved, precocious style, drinking well from 2015.
FOOD PAIRING
Grilled and roast lamb with garlic and rosemary.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
Despite their Cabernet-driven style, this vintage shows only the vaguest hints of the green pepper notes that affected right bank wines from this year.
2003 Chateau Figeac
Regular price £302.65 Save £-302.652010 Chateau Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Regular price £301.70 Save £-301.70ABOUT THE WINE
Pichon Lalande earned its name when Therse, the daughter of the founder received the estate as a dowry when she married Jacques de Pichon Longueville. During the 18th century the wine-growing influence at Pichon Lalande was definitely feminine. Perhaps that explains part of the wines sensuous qualities. Pichon Lalande was essentially managed by three women: Therese de Rauzan, Germaine de Lajus and Marie Branda de Terrefort. Baron Joseph de Pichon Longueville succeeded his mother taking over Pichon Lalande when he was only 19. What happened next changed the landscape of the Medoc forever. On the eve of his death in 1850, he divided the property between his five children. In modern times May-Eliane de Lencquesaing, daughter of Edouard Miailhe became the new owner and general manager of Chateau Pichon Comtesse de Lalande in 1978. She made numerous investments and improvements at Pichon Lalande. She later sold Pichon Lalande to the owners of Roederer Champagne in January 2007. Once the purchase for Chateau Pichon Lalande was concluded, in 2008, a complete renovation of the estate took place.
TASTING NOTES
The nose offers a bouquet of aromas, mixing blackcurrant, cinnamon, vanilla and violet. On the palate the tannins appear mature and melted, revealing a strong affirmed structure a surprising suppleness and perfect harmony with long persistency.
FOOD PAIRING
Perfect with beef ragout and tagliatelle or pepper steak.
1988 Chateau Lynch-Bages
Regular price £280.00 Save £-280.00ABOUT THE WINE
Overlooking the Gironde estuary at the entrance to Pauillac, the vines of Lynch-Bages are located on the Bages plateau, on one of the finest gravelly rises in the appellation. The estate once belonged to the famous Lynch family, of Irish origin, and was acquired by Jean-Charles Cazes in 1934, who remain owners to this day. The estate is unusual in Bordeaux for its use of massal selection (propagation of their own vines rather than of nursery-grown clones) to replenish ageing vines in its vineyards, which allows the vineyards and the wines produced from them to retain individuality.
TASTING NOTES
A wonderful surprise from this vintage, this wine has matured beautifully. Still deep ruby in colour, despite its age, the aromas exhibit abundant quantities of dried herbs, grilled meats, black cherry and tobacco. Medium-bodied, rewarding, at the peak of maturity, it should hold well until around 2028.
FOOD PAIRING
Works well with beef in simple dishes, pork and earthy vegetable dishes.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
A special wine, with a long aristocratic heritage, at peak drinkability… enjoy!
2006 Chateau Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Regular price £260.65 Save £-260.65ABOUT THE WINE
Pichon Lalande earned its name when Therse, the daughter of the founder received the estate as a dowry when she married Jacques de Pichon Longueville. During the 18th century the wine-growing influence at Pichon Lalande was definitely feminine. Perhaps that explains part of the wines sensuous qualities. Pichon Lalande was essentially managed by three women: Therese de Rauzan, Germaine de Lajus and Marie Branda de Terrefort. Baron Joseph de Pichon Longueville succeeded his mother taking over Pichon Lalande when he was only 19. What happened next changed the landscape of the Medoc forever. On the eve of his death in 1850, he divided the property between his five children. In modern times May-Eliane de Lencquesaing, daughter of Edouard Miailhe became the new owner and general manager of Chateau Pichon Comtesse de Lalande in 1978. She made numerous investments and improvements at Pichon Lalande. She later sold Pichon Lalande to the owners of Roederer Champagne in January 2007. Once the purchase for Chateau Pichon Lalande was concluded, in 2008, a complete renovation of the estate took place.
TASTING NOTES
Abundant aromas of chocolate, coffee, cedar, black currants, and a subtle touch of smoke, a rich, savoury, full-bodied mouthfeel, plump, fleshy fruit, and a superb finish. This is a 21st century version of the brilliant 1996.
FOOD PAIRING
Perfect with beef ragout and tagliatelle or pepper steak.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
The opulence and body of this make it a great hedonistic experience wine.
2012 Chateau Palmer, Alter Ego de Palmer
Regular price £246.25 Save £-246.252003 Chateau Leoville-Las-Cases
Regular price £239.80 Save £-239.80Also Available - 1999 Vintage
ABOUT THE WINE
Classified as a 2eme cru classe, the largest of the 3 Leoville estates and with no doubt the leading one. This St Julien 97 hectares of vineyards with the main plot being surrounded by a wall are superbly sited. The wine predominantly cabernet sauvignon (65%) is matured in oak barriques (80% new) for 18 months. The wine is fermented at a lower temperature than average making it very aromatic and rich wine in his youth developing to a more powerful and concentrated wine with age.
ABOUT THE VINTAGE
2003 will be remembered as one of the hottest summer ever in France, and for this reason many chateau suffer. But not all was lost on the left bank more especially St Estephe and Pauillac some stunning wine where produced.
2000 Chateau Leoville-Poyferre
Regular price £232.30 Save £-232.30ABOUT THE WINE
Classified as a 2eme cru classe, the Saint Julien appellation is small in size, yet big on talent. In the heart of the famed Medoc vineyard, Chateau Leoville Poyferre has always been one of the most prestigious estates of this terroir. The origin of the estate dates back to 1638. At that time, Leoville was the largest domain in the Medoc. Since then, it has been fragmented over time and generations. The legacy of the grand vin of Leoville Poyferre began in 1840, consecrated as a Second Classified Growth fifteen years later. Didier Cuvelier has presided over its destiny since 1979.
ABOUT THE VINTAGE
The growing season started rather badly after a mild winter follow by hot and wet spring and early summer bringing more problem with mildew. From Middle of July everything change and the weather was constantly hot till middle of September when rain came but somehow was a relief for the stressed vines, and did not affect the harvest which took place over three wonderful week ending mid-October.
2008 Chateau L'Evangile
Regular price £226.90 Save £-226.90
ABOUT THE WINE
Chateau l'Evangile has always been considered among the first great growths of Pomerol. Mr. and Mrs. Paul Chaperon owned this small Pomerol estate the mid-19th Century and their direct descendants, the Ducasse Family, have since kept the property in their able hands. In 1990, Mrs. Luis Ducasse, wishing to ensure the long term stability of the vineyard and wanting to maintain the subtle quality of the most elegant wine of the area, brought in as a partner, Les Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite).
TASTING NOTES
2008 is a blend of 88% Merlot & 12% Cabernet Franc. A wine characterised by delicacy and elegance with notes of rose petal, orange peel, crushed violets and dried cherries. The domination of Merlot is evident with an attractive plum bouquet and precise, but balanced oak treatment. A wine that's in its ideal drinking window as of 2022.
FOOD PAIRING
A Bordeaux that will pair beautifully with roasted, wild mallard and pork loin roast, but also with stronger fishes like monkfish and John Dory with mushroom sauces.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
One of the most impressive Pomerols of the vintage.