Wine of the Month - January 2020

New Year! New wine!  We are so excited to share with you a sample of our favorites: two hidden gems (one from Pessac-Leognan, one from Saint-Emilion), and a neighbor of Château Pavie, plus a wine made by the superstar winemaker of Le Pin, Nicolas Thienpont

This month's selection:

• 1 x Château Ferran 2015, Pessac-Léognan, 92 pts
• 1 x Château Laniote 2015, Saint-Emilion, 92 pts
• 1 x Château Larcis Ducasse 2014, Saint-Emilion, 92 pts
• 1 x Château Pavie Macquin 2012, Saint-Emilion, 93 pts

Tasting Notes

Château Ferran 2015 - "Medium garnet-purple, the 2015 Ferran is scented of warm red plums, red currant jelly and mulberries with touches of garrigue, violets and fragrant earth. Medium-bodied, very firm and very ripe with grainy tannins and wonderful freshness, it has loads of perfumed layers and a minerally finish." - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (2/21/2018, Interim Issue), Rating: 92, Drink from: 2020-2040

Château Laniote 2015 - "Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2015 Laniote St. Emilion offers up red fruits, baked cherries and dried mulberries scents with herbs and Chinese five spice notions. Full, firm and chewy in the mouth, it offers excellent expression and depth plus vibrant fruit and grainy tannins, finishing long." - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (2/21/2018, Interim Issue), Ratings: 92, Drink: 2018-2032

Château Larcis Ducasse 2014 - "The 2014 Larcis-Ducasse has a lovely bouquet: quite complex compared to its Saint Emilion peers, adorned with rose petal notes complementing the cranberry and wild strawberry fruit, the oak neatly integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with a succulent entry, brown spices and leather fusing with the red berries that segue into an atypically structured and classically styled finish that shows good length. This is an excellent Larcis-Ducasse that should give 20 years of drinking pleasure, possibly more." - Neal Martin, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (3/31/2017, Interim Issue), Ratings: 92, Drink: 2019-2040

Château Pavie Macquin 2012 - "Another wine made by the superstar guru Nicolas Thienpont, this well-situated property of 37 acres on the high clay/limestone plateau in St.-Emilion has produced a blend of 84 % Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon. A masculine, virile style of wine with an inky deep purple color, lots of crème de cassis and crushed rock and high tannin. This is thick and powerful, with a layered mouthfeel, good purity, earthiness and spice. Forget it for 4-5 years and drink if over the following two decades." - Robert Parker Jr, The Wine Advocate (4/29/2015, Issue 218)  Ratings: 93+, Drink: 2019-2040