Château Beaumont, owned and run by Château Beychevelle is as ever, one of the best value Cru Bourgeois Clarets on the market with a devoted and loyal following among our clients and nearly all... London Clubs. They have made an excellent 2023 which we all loved when we tasted it in Bordeaux last month "Notes of dark berry and walnut here. It’s medium-bodied with a grainy texture and some good fruit at the end." 89-90 points, James Suckling "Friendly and clean, the palate shows some high-toned tannin accentuated by the acidity of the vintage, but the overall sense comes across in a mid palate with friendly plum and brambly red fruit character. A solid Cru Bourgeois. Drink 2026 - 2036" 90 points, Panos Kakaviatos, Decanter

Château de Ferrand is a superb St Emilion Grand Cru who have made a wonderful, great value 2022 - "Silky, soft, lush, and polished on the palate. Superb " Jeff Leve. Located at the highest point of... Saint-Emilion the " 2022 offers an incredibly pure, balanced, and structured style...the quality is there."Jeb Dunnuck Owned by the Bich family (of Bic pens fame) since 1978, however it is only relatively recently that the estate began to ramp things up. Since 2010 Pauline Bich Chandon-Moët and her husband Philippe have invested substantially to bring Château de Ferrand firmly into the 21st century, with important and design-led technical changes in the winery, environmental changes with organic practices being implemented in the vineyard (and also many architectural and artistic renovations). The 2022 vintage is the estate's second vintage in its three-year conversion to organic certification; they hope to be fully certified by 2024. In 2019 new cellars were opened along with renowned consultant Axel Marchal coming on board and following a study of the soils and subsoils, the entire vineyard has been restructured through a rigorous selection of grape varieties according to their ability to adapt to the terroir of each plot and this meticulous attention to detail shows! Château Ferrand 2022 ” has plenty of personality and balance, takes the imprint of the vintage but gives it a limestone twist, and will age extremely well”Jane Anson

Small special parcel of the excellent 2005 vintage by the Chateau where it has been aging gently in their cellars for the last 18+ years and will be in perfect condition with new labels and wooden... cases. This adds considerable value to the wine as it also guarantees its provenance. 2005 was one of the great vintages in Bordeaux and especially at Chateau Lafite where it was lauded by the critics with exceptional scores. ‘Absolutely marvellous wine…truly glorious’ – 19.5/20 Jancis Robinson ‘The palate has such freshness and density, with perfectly polished tannins. Slightly leathery, like a wonderful Hermes bag’ - 100 points James Suckling. “An incredible nose, so subtle with red fruits, mint, minerals, and all sorts of flowers give way to Cohiba cigar tobacco. The palate has such freshness and density, with perfectly polished tannins. Slightly leathery, like a wonderful Hermes bag” 100 points. James Suckling For the third year in a row, Bordeaux experienced drought. In other words, not a drop of rain from May to October. As always, however, our good vines, faithful and strong, adapted and overcame these difficult moments. The summer temperatures remained reasonable, and ripening was slow, calm and very complete. The grapes remained small and concentrated. Small quantities, high degrees, a perfect state of health. The most demanding of winegrowers was content. A famously perfect year throughout the growing season. This was the star of the tasting for pure, inherent quality - a truly glorious wine that will presumably continue to impress those lucky enough to taste it for many decades to come. Very dark, shaded crimson. The most gorgeous panoply of aromas on the nose - not yet knit but just starting to integrate. Exceptionally promising. Absolutely marvellous wine that was extremely difficult to spit. Fresh but ripe with great life and energy. The density of fruit covered the considerable charge of tannin. Such verve! So healthy. Some pure stoniness on the mid palate. 19.5/20 Jancis Robinson “Waves of saffron, truffle, black tea and earth set the pace for a remarkably balanced and aromatically-complex wine. This is still a baby at 17 years old, but has reached the level of Lafite character when all is elegance and finesse - the perfect example of how in Bordeaux they don't need excess to deliver something extraordinary. As things relax, you get a luscious, more concentrated core of cassis and bilberry fruit, with cedar, charcoal, violet, raspberry leaf and slate. Fine tannins hold it all in place, you could give this a long carafe to drink now, but the real magic needs another decade or so. Charles Chevallier technical director, and this was the last year with Emile Peynaud as consultant, before Jacques Boissenot took over in 2006. A pair of scales was chosen to decorate the bottle neck to reflect the balance of the vintage”. 98 points Jane Anson -

“Beautiful dark fruit with purity and freshness. Medium- to full-bodied, seamless and compact. Outstanding quality of tannins, so fine and dense. It’s muscular and taut on the mid-palate.... Lingering, too. Plenty of energy. Close to 2022.” 93-94 Points James Suckling “The 2023 Potensac is a seriously beautiful wine that shows just how complex and nuanced wines from this property can be. Crushed flowers, spice, red/purplish fruit, rose petal and mint are some of the notes that lift from the glass. Bright saline tones underpin the mid-palate and finish. This is one of the most complete young Potensacs I can recall tasting.” 91-93 Points Antonio Galloni “The 2023 Potensac has a well-defined nose: predominantly black fruit, with touches of seaweed in the background. I warm to it more with acquaintance, and it gradually coheres. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins and a fine line of acidity. Silky-smooth in texture, you can tell that there is some quality new oak on the finish, which is simpatico with the fruit. It's a good, solid Potensac that will require three or four years in bottle.” 90-92 Points Neal Martin

One of our most popular releases annually and a firm UK favourite from Saint-Julien, Château Talbot is in our opinion one of the best value left bank clarets. This 2023 has surpassed all... expectations and is offered on the UK market this morning 20.1% down on last year’s 2022. This is a classical style Claret which is absolutely gorgeous, it will last for many years to come and as Neal Martin says, may even be better than the 2022, we concur after tasting in Bordeaux. “A medium- to full-bodied red with very fine tannins. It’s firm and structured, showing a bright, dark-fruited character. Focused, with a good center-palate and a lingering finish. Really polished." 94-95 points, James Suckling "More proof that Talbot is on a roll, revved up and ready to take off. This is a brilliantly juicy but understated Talbot, lovely quality, classically-minded with cassis, blueberry, mint leaf, cocoa bean, espresso and powerful grilled fennel. Great stuff. 60% new oak for ageing, and a generous 54hl/ha yield." 94 points, Jane Anson "The 2023 Talbot is another strong wine for this re-emerging estate. Powerful, deep and impressively resonant, the 2023 is striking. Dark-toned fruit, new leather, lavender and dried herbs build over time. There's terrific depth and intensity here, with fine balance to match. This is a superb showing from Talbot and the team led by Estate Director Jean-Michel Laporte. Drink 2030-2053." 93-95 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous "Offering up aromas of dark berries, baking chocolate, plums, espresso roast and crushed mint, the 2023 Talbot is medium to full-bodied, deep and fleshy, with a rich but lively core of fruit, powdery tannins and a long, penetrating finish. Harvested over the course of fully four weeks, it's a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot that attained 13% alcohol." 92-94 points, William Kelley, Wine Advocate "The 2023 Talbot contains the highest proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon to date, at 77%. It was picked from September 13 to October 6 at 54hL/ha according to winemaker Jean-Michel Laporte. Matured in 60% new oak, this has a fragrant bouquet that, like one or two fellow Saint-Julien wines, discretely unfolds in the glass. Quite precise with blackberry, cedar and light pencil box scents, there is a Pauillac-like tincture here. The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiseled, grainy tannins. It’s overtly classic in style, albeit with more mid-weight depth compared to some vintages of Talbot. Displaying fine cohesion and sapidity, this fans out on the finish, with a deft touch of white pepper livening things up. This is a very promising Talbot, and I may actually prefer it to the previous vintage." 91-93 points, Neal Martin, Vinous

Le Petit Mouton de Mouton Rothschild, the second wine Château Mouton Rothschild has been released 23% down on last year. As with the Grand Vin, there is a miniscule amount to go around and... allocations are like gold dust, please as always let us know ASAP. It is a consistent blue chip investment grade wine. Made from a selection of the youngest vines of the illustrious estate and with the same meticulous care taken in all aspects as with its bigger sibling, even down to the label chosen by Baroness Philippine de Rothschild which was inspired by a drawing of the famous painter-posterist Jean Carlu. I hesitate to refer to it as a second wine as it has a world renowned reputation within its own right, Neal Martin said of the 2022 “it's quite difficult to recognize this as a mere Deuxieme Vin” Neal Martin. "This is a tighter and more compact Petit Mouton with a full-bodied, compact palate that is framed nicely by the tannins. Savory and juicy. Structured. Contained. 79% cabernet sauvignon, 12% merlot, 7% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot. Better than 2022?" 95-96 points, James Suckling "The 2023 Le Petit-Mouton is fabulous. It could easy be a Grand Vin at another address. Rich, ample and beautifully resonant in the glass, the 2023 impresses with its notable palate presence. Dark red cherry, pomegranate, cinnamon, rose petal and new leather are some of the many notes that build. The 2023 is seriously impressive. Wow! 2027-2043" 93-95 points, Antonio Galloni "Slate and grip, clear again here that this is not the most exuberant of vintages, it's classical with a serious backbone. That doesn't mean that Petit Mouton isn't out to make you happy, and you can expect plenty of black chocolate, damson, black cherry, signature cocoa bean, espresso and salted cracker, but the tannins are pretty fierce. Harvest September 7 to 30 (but 2/3 of grapes coming in after September 21), 39% of production." 94 points, Jane Anson