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Nicki's Review:

Tasted April 2008: Deep, unfiltered colour, still with a violet hue (typical of ripe Merlot). An exuberant but stylish bouquet, Merlot-dominated (milk chocolate and clove). In the mouth very tasty, silky-textured, polished and almost creamy. Long, intense aftertaste with soft oak and spiceness. An easy wine with considerable charm, technically outstanding, but lacking fruit and depth. Rather unusual for a Saint-Estephe, this is not a long-haul wine; drink now through 2012. Excellent value.

Nicki's Review:

Tasted October 2009. Still a marvelous wine, an atypical Saint-Estephe, more like a Pomerol or a Saint-Emilion, and not for intellectuals, but a pleasure to drink. Now a ripe but still dense colour, a spicy, concentrated bouquet with soft oaky overtones and an immediately appealing, very straightforward elegance, and a gorgeous mouthful, soft, quite slender, refined, not very deep, but remarkably well-balanced. The finish is long, tasty, elegant and certainly not too dry; there is still some tannin left. This wine should best be drunk before 2012. I'm not sure whether it is worth the high price, but 1990 was clearly a great Haut-Marbuzet vintage.

Nicki's Review:

Tasted September 2009: A marvelous wine, with that tell-tale Margaux nose and flavour. Medium-deep colour which has just begun to mature, a very refined, deep and at the same time intensely perfumed bouquet. Slender, graceful in the mouth, with a very tasty dry tannic structure, excellent concentration and a long finish with lip-licking acidity. This wine is ready to drink but will keep its quality for 5-7 more years.

Nicki's Review:

Tasted April 2008: A medium-full, classic Haut-Medoc garnet colour with mature rim. Very good bouquet with ripe currant fruit and mature spicy overtones, delicate and perfumed. In the mouth ripe, slightly drying out, rather leight-weight but charming. A dry aftertaste with a lot of crisp acidity and still some tannin, typical of Moulis wines with a large percentage of Cabernet sauvignon and franc (60%) and some Petit-Verdot (up to 10%). A rather lean, anachronistic offering but very pleasant with food. Another bottle, tasted April 2009, was even denser and livelier, had a lot of power and wonderful elegance and refinement, not unlike a great Grand cru classe from Pauillac. A four star wine at the least! Will keep for another 8 years.

Nicki's Review:

Tasted May 2009. A superb bottle, and an incredibly good 1997, better than almost all famed Grands crus classes from the Medoc and Pessac-Leognan from this vintage! A dense colour and a gorgeous bouquet of ripe fruit and soft oak, a classic taste with remarkable concentration (considering the poor vintage), excellent purity and freshness and marvelous elegance. Long finish, still slightly oaky and dry, but this is all the better as it conveys grip and backbone. Tasted blind, this is rather like a 1996 or 1998. A truly great success for the vintage -- this is what Sociando-Mallet is all about. Drink now through 2014.

Nicki's Review:

Tasted April 2008: The "Les Charmes" vineyard consistently produces some of the finest chardonnay wines from the southern Burgundy at an unbeatable price. Light straw colour, refined, extremely elegant bouquet and a clean taste with hints of white fruit and some fat, light and crisp aftertaste. Perfect weight. A lovely wine for drinking within 3 years after the harvest. For those who do not like heavy-weight, oaky and alcoholic chardonnays but want to know what a gentle, civilised, light chardonnay is all about.

Nicki's Review:

Tasted October 2008: Chateau Olivier (red and white) is an uneven performer among the Grands Crus Classes from Pessac-Leognan, but this white wine is really interesting. Light golden hue, fascinating, expansive oaky bouquet with a lot of spiciness. In the mouth rather lean, very dry and a bit hollow, but also very nutty and very oaky. In the aftertaste there is a lot of acidity and some smokiness, reminding me of a ripe Sauternes, only in a dry version. Not everyone's style. Clearly a Semillon-based wine, from a very good vintage. Needs food. Drink now through 2010.

Nicki's Review:

Tasted September 2008: The wine still has an unevolved, deep colour, which perfectly matches its bouquet and taste. This is an occasionally underpreforming Saint-Julien, and so is the 1998 vintage. Scented, spicy, slightly meaty in the nose, and with a whiff of herbaceousness, the wine seems unable to mature and soften. The taste too shows lead-pencil spiciness but is somewhat coarse and compact. Though tasty, masculine, mouth-filling and with a classic Medoc finesse, the massive tannins are slightly dry and the wine obviously lacks charm and roundness. It's all structure. The aftertaste is fresh and clean, but as with so many 1998 Medoc wines, this Branaire-Ducru is rather subdued and restrained. I wonder whether this wine will ever come around. A long haul wine that could dry out in the next decade. Drink through 2016.

Nicki's Review:

Tasted September 2008: A good but not a great vintage, yet a lovely wine, and a true Grand Cru. Fairly light colour with ripe rim. Excellent bouquet: ripe, soft, expansive, and with a fine, restrained sweetness and some delicacy. In the mouth a bit foursquare, typical of red Corton, but shapely, tasty, quite full and with an extremely pleasant, not too sweet Pinot noir character, some refinement and good length. Dry, very good, and absolutely clean aftertaste with good acidity and a touch of terroir. Clearly, this is a very dependable domain (also good white Corton Charlemagne). This red 1998 Corton-Languettes is completely ready now; drink through 2010.

Nicki's Review:

Tasted September 2008: Unquestioanbly, this is the best Pouilly-Fume on the market. This bottle was virtually perfect. After 6 years in the cellar, the wine had a soft yellow hue, a magnificent bouquet with the merest hint of flint, but overall soft and refined, like a great Chablis. In the mouth perfect balance, completely dry, yet rounded and soft, with much character and finesse. Long aftertaste. A noble, very memorable wine, a great Pouilly-Fume -- you could have none better. Drink now and through 2009.