One of the most anticipated releases of the campaign, Château Margaux, was released today at £4260. Unprecedented demand has meant that we are in the process of securing enough stock to try and cover the numerous pre-orders; the wine will inevitably be sold out. Also released were the fabulous white and second wine, the Pavillon Blanc and Pavillon Rouge. As with the grand vin we are in the process of acquiring and allocating stocks.
A superb pair of wines were released from Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, with the Grand Vin Pichon Lalande at £995 and the second wine, Reserve de la Comtesse, at £285. The 2015 Pichon Lalande is a masterpiece of structure, being dense and yet delicate, crisply defined and yet supple and broad, and boasting simply mind-blowing purity and strength of vineyard character. Described by Antonio Galloni as “a dazzling, towering wine”, the glorious 2015 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is considered by many to be among the wines of the vintage.
One release which turned our heads was another of the tiny-production St. Emilions which have delivered such exceptional wines in 2015 – La Mondotte at £1920. The jewel in the crown of Stephan von Neipperg, a contender for Bordeaux’s best dressed vigneron, La Mondotte is something of a hidden gem of St. Emilion. La Mondotte is a mere 4.5ha of organic, self-sustaining, nigh-on-biodynamic old Merlot and Cabernet Franc vines – many of which are well over 50 years of age. The result is just under 1000 cases (around 12% of the production of Angélus) of spectacularly concentrated but vibrant, expressive and beautifully balanced wine.
This afternoon we have seen the releases from Château Montrose. The Grand Vin is priced at £1140 and the second wine, Dame de Montrose, is at £295. These are both sterling efforts for the vintage, with Neal Martin recognising the quality and class that lies beneath; however it's hard to ignore the back vintages on our LiveTrade screen, including the 2005 at £975 (96 points Robert Parker) and the bargain of the lot, the 2008 at just £655 (95 points Robert Parker)...