The Rauzan Segla 2018 has been met with rave reviews. At what point did you feel you had made a special wine?  It is a long process in a technician's mind as the picture of the vintage is getting clearer and clearer from the picking to the “dégustations d’assemblage” (blending tastings).  Each vintage gives me a particular emotion, the ...

Interview with Nicolas Audebert – Chief Winemaker at Chateau Rauzan Segla, Chateau Canon and Chateau Berliquet

Just prior to the Coronavirus hitting Europe, Château Latour was preparing to release their 2012 vintage direct from the Château for the first time, but following the lock-down across Europe the release was postponed. We had news from the Château this week that the release is now due out on Wednesday. As we await the release, we explore what makes this ...

As we await the big release from Chateau Latour, we explore some of the key factors that makes this First Growth from Pauillac so unique.

Chateau Latour: The 2012 Release

From one of the most prestigious and world-renowned wine estates, Chateau Lafite Rothschild, we spoke with Technical Director Eric Kohler and Commercial Director Jean-Sebastien Philippe of Domaines Barons de Rothschild about Bordeaux’s continued relevance in an ever-expanding and competitive global fine wine market. We discuss the unique elements that define Chateau Lafite as well as their personal insight into the ...

From one of the most prestigious and world-renowned wine estates, Chateau Lafite Rothschild, we spoke with Technical Director Eric Kohler and Commercial Director Jean-Sebastien Philippe of Domaines Barons de Rothschild

Chateau Lafite Rothschild Interview

Blending is an art form and remains rarely understood amongst us normal wine enthusiasts. The more one thinks about the process and the many variables the more difficult it seems to contemplate. The choices seem endless and the more one tastes the more confusing it seems to get! How can you tell that a certain combination is better than another? ...

Blending Masterclass at Chateau Pichon Lalande

Me: “Paul, are you sure that sample is Merlot, it tastes a lot like Cabernet?” Paul Pontallier: “Yes absolutely it’s a Merlot, amazing eh?” Me: “Paul, are you really sure this isn’t a Cabernet?” Paul Pontallier: “Hmmm, no, not any more. Let me check…” It had started as a simple question in late Nov 2011 when I was at Ch ...

Assessing the blend: 2011 Chateau Margaux

2013 has been a challenging vintage for most of France. Much of Bordeaux has been affected by storms earlier in the year, resulting in considerably lower yields for many. Luckily, at Rauzan Segla not too much of the crop was lost. This has helped the chateau overcome what was looking to be another major concern for the vintage: rot. The ...

Harvesting at Chateau Rauzan Segla 2013

This week in our series of producer profiles, we examine Château Latour: a first-growth synonymous with excellence, class and the illustrious heritage of Bordeaux.  Château Latour: The Gold-Standard of First Growths Château Latour, situated at the southern edge of Pauillac on the border with St Julien and just a quickstep from the sloping banks of the Gironde, is one ...

Chateau Latour - the Archetypal First Growth?

After profiling the three Pauillac first-growths, we turn our attention to the last of Médoc, the heavenly, ethereal Chateau Margaux.   Chateau Margaux – A Beautiful Chateau Home to Gorgeous Wines  While all of the first-growths have helped shape the history of Bordeaux winemaking, none perhaps has left a legacy quite like that Chateau Margaux. Its stately pavilion is ...

Chateau Margaux - Ethereal Elegance and Grace

Chateau Brane Cantenac has been a consistent performer in Margaux since Henri Lurton took over the property in 1992. But in the last decade the quality has taken another sharp upswing. Even in a mixed vintage like 2014, Brane produced a beautiful wine. 2015 and 2016 were both outstanding and arguably some of the best wines ever made at the ...

Chateau Brane Cantenac - Behind the Bottle

Chateau Margaux is one of the world’s most iconic and historic wineries, producing some of the finest wine in the region for over 600 years. Despite its historical roots it has never rested on its laurels, remaining at the forefront of top Bordeaux wine production. More than ever, the owners and team are committed to retaining its reputation, investing huge ...

Chateau Margaux - Talking Terroir with Aurelien Valance

Chateau Angelus is today one of the four “First Growths” of Saint Emilion that are classified as Premier Grand Cru Classé ‘A’. It sits alongside Chateau Ausone, Chateau Cheval Blanc and Chateau Pavie as the highest rated estates in the appellation. Chateau Angelus and Chateau Pavie are the newest additions to this top rank, having both been promoted in latest ...

Chateau Angelus - Premier Grand Cru Classe A 

Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion is one of the greatest estates in all of Bordeaux, arguably the King of the Left Bank. Robert Parker has awarded it more 100 point scores than any other wine in the Medoc, equalling Petrus in achieving 12 perfect 100 point scores. Of course, the reputation and quality of the wines from this estate long predate ...

Chateau La Mission Haut Brion is one of the greatest estates in all of Bordeaux, arguably the King of the Left Bank. Robert Parker has awarded it more 100 point scores than any other wine in the Medoc, equaling Petrus in achieving 11 perfect 100 point scores. 

Your Guide to Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion

Clos de Sarpe is a rather unassuming place to visit, nestled in a little enclave north east of the village of Saint Emilion. It is in fact a tiny property in Bordeaux terms, made up of just 3.7 hectares and producing a maximum of 14,000 bottles a year, but more often than not, closer to just 10,000. In 2018 they ...

Chateau Clos de Sarpe: Tasting through the Ages

Making Wine Under Conflict “You talk of war, and of civil war. There is nothing civil about war. What happened in Lebanon is that  people fought their wars on our land.”  - Serge Hochar 
Between 1975 and 1990, Lebanon was a mosaic of wars caused by complex shifting
political, geographical, and demographical factors. When 16 years of Civil War
were finally ...

Civil War + Chateau Musar's Fight for Survival

A Timeline of Vintages Many factors come into play when tasting Chateau Musar vintages. Was it a warmer Cabernet year (1999, 2000, 2005)? Was it cooler, making Cinsault more influential in the blend as in 1998? Or was it a Carignan year like 2003? Or will grape prominence be less relevant than the dodging of bullets across the Beka’a in ...

Chateau Musar Tasting Notes Year By Year

Chateau Palmer was the highest rated wine from the Margaux appellation in James Suckling’s round-up of Bordeaux 2017s and was highlighted as possibly one of the wines of the vintage. Scoring the same as Chateau Margaux, Suckling describes 2017 Palmer as  "sexy and well-formed… with very velvety and suave tannins... full-bodied, soft and round. Extremely long and last for minutes". ...

Chateau Palmer 2017 - First Major En Primeur Release

Last weekend FINE+RARE hosted a very special wine tasting dinner alongside Alexandra Petit-Mentzelopoulos of Chateau Margaux. An introduction to the history and unique philosophy of this legendary estate was presented alongside a specially curated tasting menu from top chef Matt Abé - Chef de Cuisine at the three Michelin star flagship restaurant in Chelsea.
 
A cold, rainy Saturday evening in December; Christmas around ...

A legendary flight of the finest vintages from Chateau Margaux paired with a specially curated menu by Matt Abé.

The Glory Years of Chateau Margaux at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay

The 2018 Bordeaux En Primeur campaign reached new heights this week with the surprise release of one of Saint-Emilion’s top estates - Chateau Angelus. As well as offering a pleasing reduction in price versus their last two vintages, this welcome surprise set the tone for potentially one of the most exciting En Primeur campaigns ever. Last week our first releases ...

2018 En Primeur Release of Pomerol's Chateau Belle-Brise

Last week we had the pleasure of hosting Stephanie Libreau from Chateau Les Carmes Haut-Brion at our London HQ, for a vertical tasting dating from 2016 back to 2012. These wines are brilliantly made, unique in so many ways and represent the cutting-edge of vinification techniques in Bordeaux. The rise in quality at the Chateau, along with the estate's reputation ...

Bordeaux Radicals: Chateau Les Carmes Haut-Brion


Last week we were fortunate to have a one-to-one tasting with Jean-Charles Cazes, the managing director of Chateau Lynch Bages, as well as Chateau Haut-Batailley and Chateau Ormes de Pez. Not only did we have the opportunity to taste the fantastic range of 2019 wines from the estates, but we were also given the opportunity to dig a little deeper ...

FINE+RARE with Jean-Charles Cazes dig a little deeper into what makes Chateau Lynch Bages such a special and unique wine in Pauillac.

Interview with Jean-Charles Cazes of Chateau Lynch Bages

It was a great pleasure to spend some time over the last few weeks with Omri Ram, the winemaker and viticulturalist at the helm of Chateau Lafleur - first tasting the new 2018 releases with him at Chateau Lafleur and then again on his recent visit to London. Following the tasting it was no surprise to see the spectacular scores ...

Chateau Lafleur - Exploring the iconic estate's unique DNA with Omri Ram

“Beaujolais is on a roll, not to mention the just-coming-out superb 2018s”  The 2018s “may be even better than 2015….Great vintages like these can age.” 
 - James Suckling   An ageworthy Moulin-à-Vent from a fantastic Beaujolais vintage  We are hearing great things about the 2018 vintage in Burgundy: the hot weather, for those who picked at ...

Behind the Bottle: Chateau des Jacques 2018 Moulin-à-Vent Clos de Rochegrès

Over the last two decades, Emmanuel Cruse has transformed Château d’Issan. We caught up with Cruse to taste through key vintages from the Margaux Classed Growth, tracing its evolution  Château d’Issan might not be one of Bordeaux’s most famous addresses – but the Margaux Third Growth has seen huge investment since Emmanuel Cruse arrived in 1998, and it’s a name on the rise. Jane Anson – Decanter’s Bordeaux correspondent and ...

Tracing the Margaux Classed Growth’s evolution

Château d’Issan vertical

Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s Château de Beaucastel dates back to the 16th century, but it was only after the Perrin family took control of the estate in the early 1900s that it became one of the most iconic and well-respected wine producers in the Southern Rhône. It was the vision of
Jacques Perrin in particular – who farmed the property organically from 1950 onwards ...

Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s Château de Beaucastel dates back to the 16th century, but it was only after the Perrin family took control of the estate in the early 1900s that it became one of the most iconic and well-respected wine producers in the Southern Rhône.

Château de Beaucastel: beyond tradition

Cheval Blanc is one of the finest Châteaux in Bordeaux, famed for producing what is arguably the greatest wine of all time: 1947 Château Cheval Blanc. Opportunities to taste back vintages from this famous estate alongside the winemaking team are few and far between, so when the possibility arose, we leapt at the chance. The result was a unique tasting at ...

A Masterclass from Château Cheval Blanc

Last week we took a look at Mouton-Rothschild; this week we profile its fellow Bordeaux first growth, the iconic Château Lafite-Rothschild, one of the most famous estates in Bordeaux, if not the world. “The quintessential wine of elegance” Château Lafite-Rothschild is characterised by sophistication and finesse. Neal Martin of the Wine Advocate describes it as the “quintessential wine of elegance”, ...

Château Lafite-Rothschild - Bottled Finesse

Over his 16-year career as CEO of the estate, Thomas Duroux has come to know Château Palmer’s identity, its nuances and its ability to evolve better than anyone. He has an intimate knowledge of the last 70 vintages of Château Palmer and admits he has already tasted the 2010 vintage more than 100 times during its evolution over the last 10 years. But the decision to ...

We caught up with Thomas Duroux the day before he was due to start harvesting the 2020 vintage to find out the reasoning behind the late 2010 release, what is set to become an annual event for the château.  

Thomas Duroux: Château Palmer Interview

The Right Bank First Growth Château Cheval Blanc is an icon of Bordeaux, considered to have created some of the region’s greatest ever wines. Robert Parker has called it “one of the most elegant and noble wines in all of Bordeaux”, and many consider it to enjoy the honorary status of the Right Bank First Growth. However in many ways, there ...

Château Cheval Blanc Masterclass at FINE+RARE

We profile the glamorous wild-child of Bordeaux wine-making in the first of our series of posts on iconic producers...  Neighbour to fellow first-growth Lafite-Rothschild, Ch. Mouton-Rothschild is one of the icons of Bordeaux and one of three first growths to be found in Pauillac, home to the most regal and aristocratic of Bordeaux reds.  For any collector of fine wine, it is often ...

Château Mouton-Rothschild – Bordeaux Wine Royalty

For the last of our profiles on the Bordeaux first-growths we move away from Medoc to Pessac, to examine Chateau Haut-Brion – a first-growth of incredibly quality boasting no fewer than six 100 point Robert Parker scores. The connoisseur’s grand vin The only first growth of Pessac, this estate is set apart from its rivals in both geography and style ...

Château Haut-Brion – The Insider’s First-Growth

Visiting Chateau Ausone during En Primeur Week, we were fortunate enough to spend some time with owner Alain Vauthier and his son Edouard (who has grown up working at the Chateau) to discuss the changes afoot at Saint-Emilion’s most prestigious address. Chateau Ausone has, without question, been producing some of the finest wines in the world for many decades, but ...

Château Ausone: The Ethereal Estate of Saint-Émilion

Ahead of next week's 2018 En Primeur release, we explore what makes St. Estèphe's Cos d’Estournel such an extraordinary estate...  The last three vintages of Cos d’Estournel (2018, 2017, 2016) have shot the lights out in terms of critics’ scores. A hat-trick of potentially perfect wines, as judged by the Wine Advocate, is a rare accolade - even more ...

Château Cos d'Estournel: The singular gem of St. Estèphe

Stéphane Usseglio is the man at the helm of Domaine Raymond Usseglio in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Understandably he has gained an unrivalled insight into the area surrounding the historic village at the heart of the southern Rhône. Speaking with FINE+RARE, he shares his interpretation of the nuances of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, an appellation so often considered a place of homogeneity, when it is in ...

Rhône 2017: Inside Châteauneuf-du-Pape with Stéphane Usseglio

Bordeaux: the foundation of any cellar.  The greatest, and most famous wine producing region in the world.  The heart of fine wine production.  These are all arguable.  And, conveniently, there is rather a lot of it.  The average left bank chateau will have an annual production of up to 20,000 cases per year, and barrel cellars the size of football ...

Pomerol: Small but Beautiful

Our wines of the vintage with scores out of 20 points in brackets: Haut Brion Blanc Pessac(19) Mouton Rothschild Pauillac (18+) Pontet Canet Pauillac (18+) Margaux Margaux (18+) Eglise Clinet Pomerol (18+) La Conseillante Pomerol (18+) Domaine de Chevalier Blanc Pessac (18+) Ducru Beaucaillou St Julien (18+) Lafleur Pomerol (18+) Vieux Chateau Certan Pomerol (18) Leoville Lascases St Julien (18) ...

2011 Bordeaux - Vintage Report

In the latter part of this week we finally saw the vintage reports and reviews published from the leading critics, including Lisa Perrotti-Brown’s report for The Wine Advocate, two separate reports for Vinous from Antonio Galloni and Neal Martin and Part 1 of Jeb Dunnuck's report also published online. James Suckling and Jane Anson have also continued to release their ...

They are unanimous in declaring the vintage either "outstanding" or "excellent" and wines have performed remarkably consistently across all price points.  More than anything the campaign will be remembered for the price reductions across the board and with plenty of wines now garnering high scores, we look at some noteworthy buys that are still available and some top value-picks from the vintage.

The Critics are Out!

 The Right Bank icons of Bordeaux are situated on two very distinct terroir regions, the limestone plateau of Saint Emilion and the dark clay, rich in iron soils of Pomerol. Whilst Saint Emilion is one of the most historic winemaking sites in the world; neighbouring Pomerol's rise to prominence has been a much more recent phenomena. Pomerol only really ...

Bordeaux Right Bank Icons

With the Duclot collection case released on Friday, featuring one bottle of all the First Growths (apart from Chateau Latour), along with a bottle of Petrus, Ausone, Cheval Blanc and Yquem all from the 2019 vintage, we mark the end of what has been arguably the most memorable en primeur campaign for many years and for so many reasons. The quality ...

With the Duclot collection case released on Friday, featuring one bottle of all the
First Growths (apart from Chateau Latour), along with a bottle of Petrus, Ausone, Cheval Blanc and Yquem all from the 2019 vintage, we mark the end of what has been arguably the most memorable en primeur campaigns for many years and for so many reasons. 

2019 Bordeaux En Primeur - Week 5 Update

It’s like waiting for buses. None show up and then they all come at once. This has been the concertina effect that has come to epitomise the 2017 EP campaign in which most of the top Chateaux have ended up releasing their wines at the same time potentially each sabotaging the other in terms of maximising their exposure on release. ...

Bordeaux 2017: EP Round-Up Week VIII

We report from a visit by Pomerol Séduction, an organisation promoting eight top wines from the iconic Right Bank appellation in Bordeaux. On the tasting table were Bordeaux 2012s and 2015s - two very different vintages that both have stories to tell. As the scramble for this year’s En Primeur offerings from Bordeaux reached its climax last week, the FINE+RARE Team saw ...

Pomerol: A Tale of Two Vintages

Emeline Borie has big shoes to fill as she takes on her newest role as the President of Pauillac. Emeline was elected in October of last year, taking over from the larger-than-life Jean Michel Cazes, the owner of Chateau Lynch Bages. Emeline however is no stranger to Pauillac, having been born and raised at Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste, one of ...

Emeline Borie Introduces a Progressive New Approach in Pauillac

When Bud Cuchet and I visited Bordeaux in early October all looked set fair for a very good vintage. There are few better barometers of a vintage’s quality than the faces of the men tasked with making and selling the wine, and there were smiles all round as we inspected the vineyards in the beautiful October sunshine. Sadly, whilst we ...

A Mixed Vintage

Formed of layers of négociants, courtiers and châteaux, La Place de Bordeaux is not a place at all, but the complex distribution system for the region’s wines – and increasingly the top wines from around the world. Here’s everything you need to know about how it works In Bordeaux, you can’t buy wine directly from producers. Instead wines are sold ...

Digging into the complex distribution system of the world's finest wines

La Place de Bordeaux explained: what it is and how it works

Following last week’s Bordeaux hiatus due to the VinExpo wine fair in Bordeaux, we expected a busy week to follow. The week saw a flurry of very well priced “value-buy” favourites come out and quickly sell out! This included Chateau Leoville Barton and highly anticipated Domaine de Chevalier. Chevalier has proved to be the ultimate value pick of the vintage ...

2018 Bordeaux En Primeur Round Up #5

Both Neal Martin and Jancis Robinson have published lists of their possible bargains for Bordeaux 2015 En Primeur. Buy wines that have been released and set alerts for those coming soon... With all the top critic scores published for En Primeur 2015, we now await the releases from Bordeaux's big guns. In the meantime, as many of the critics predicted, ...

Bordeaux 2015 En Primeur: Critic Value Picks

Bordeaux Safari - Day 1 A small group of eager wine lovers are picked up from the airport and driven direct to the magnificent Chateau Le Pape in Pessac (a recently renovated Chateau owned by Chateau Haut Bailly) surrounded by vineyards. The interior has the classic grandeur of Bordeaux heritage chic mixed with all the modern comforts and a permanent ...

Bordeaux Safari March 2018 Travelogue

With just under 100 wines released through 'La Place de Bordeaux' this week, the En Primeur campaign kicked-off with the surprise release of Chateau Palmer and its second wine, Alter Ego de Palmer, on Monday morning. Despite the Wine Advocate and Vinous only having released their overview of the vintage, the positive overall response from the trade provided enough confidence ...

Bordeaux En Primeur 2017: Week 1 Round-Up

A huge week of releases from Bordeaux, so much so that the campaign is looking like its going to be a quick one - blink and you might miss it! With so many releases this week including some of the biggest names in any campaign - Chateau Palmer on Monday, Chateau Cos d’Estournel on Wednesday and Chateau Lafite on Friday - we thought ...

2019 Bordeaux En Primeur - Week 2 Update

The Market in January Burgundy 2011 The 2011 Burgundy en-primeur release circus has been well-received, along with the circus of tastings that come with it. The key commentators have generally agreed with Fine+Rare’s verdict on the vintage and have reported positively on the quality: Jancis Robinson finds ‘fruit, delicacy and terroir definition’ in the wines, and Allen Meadows puts overall ...

Market Outlook February 2013

The wine world should have descended on Bordeaux this week to taste the 2019 vintage from barrel and make their assessments, with the chateaux initially due to release the wines from mid-April onwards. However, it comes as no surprise, the biggest event of the fine wine year is currently on ice. While the Bordelais speculate on the en primeur ice thawing somewhere ...

While the Bordelais speculate on the en primeur ice thawing somewhere between May and July, vintage reports are starting to trickle in from the turreted chateaux, giving us a tantalising taste of what's to come. 

Château Lagrange