Wine Advocate 97 points:

“The 1995 Insignia may be slightly better than the 1994 – as hard as that is to believe. The final blend is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot. The 1995 exhibits a character similar to the 1994 – cassis, fruitcake, cedar, herbs, coffee, and black fruits intermixed with smoke – but the 1995 is slightly longer in the mouth. It is a wine of extraordinary extraction, full body, and marvelously pure fruit. Moreover, it has managed to soak up the 100% new oak aging, leaving only subtle pain grille notes. The tannin may be slightly more noticeable in the 1994, but my instincts suggest the 1995 is even richer and longer than the 1994 – as amazing as that sounds. This prodigious Insignia should be at its best over the next 20-25 years”

Robert M. Parker

Wine Advocate 93 points:

“The 2002 Riesling Clos Ste-Hune – at under 8,000 bottles the smallest lot ever (even 2003 approached 9,000) – displays chicken stock, quarry dust, musk, wood smoke, and lime on the nose, then deposits minerality as deep, saline, and mysterious as the ocean. It is still very firm in finish for all of its length and one will have to have patience here as well. Plan on enjoying this anytime during the second decade of this new century, but plan on cuisine that will suit its extreme minerality.

The Trimbach family continues to render some of the world’s finest Riesling; to uphold the principle that wine of Alsace (unless V.T.) should not taste sweet…”

Robert M. Parker

try to find it if you dare!

Wine Advocate 97 points:

“The 2007 Les Pavots, a Bordeaux varietal blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot, is brilliant. Its opaque purple color is accompanied by gorgeously complex aromas of melted chocolate, espresso roast, blackberries, and cassis. Full-bodied with a superb texture, a subtle note of oak, and fabulous concentration, it is more reminiscent of a Right Bank Bordeaux than one expects with this much Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. A thirty-year wine, its impeccable balance and the sweetness of its tannins make it accessible already. ”

Robert M. Parker

Wine Advocate 96 points:

“The 2005 Proprietary Red is significantly better than what I tasted last year, although I certainly gave it a high score. This wine has fleshed out beautifully. The final blend (84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec) has a deep purple color, a beautifully sweet nose of blackberries and cassis intermixed with some meatiness, smoke, and a touch of pain grille as well as notes of espresso and licorice. Full-bodied, rich, with decent acidity, excellent delineation, and moderately high tannin, this is a beauty that should evolve for 25-30+ years It is no wimpish wine at 15.2% natural alcohol, but that is buried beneath a cascade of gorgeous fruit and glycerin. This wine should be cruising along brilliantly in 2030+.

The charismatic Jayson Pahlmeyer and his exuberant winemaker, Erin Green, who apprenticed for Helen Turley for many years, are turning out some fabulous wines. I terribly underestimated their 2005 reds. However, there’s always time to correct these things, and I intend to do it with the following notes.”

Robert M.Parker

Wine Advocate 94+ points:

“Like Certan de May, I bought this in both half and 750 ml bottles. Only recently have the half bottles reached full maturity, and the 750 ml remains a massive, backward wine for long-term aging. A dense, opaque garnet color is followed by notes of roasted meats, herbs, black currants, incense, and damp earth. Full-bodied, still extremely tannic (sweet but noticeable tannins), rich, and backward, where perfectly stored, this 1982 will last for another 50 years. The estate has always compared it to their 1947, which is still a vibrant wine, and the 1982 should be just as profound. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2040″

Robert M. Parker

Wine Advocate 98 Points:

“The 2000 Latour (a relatively abundant 14,000 cases compared to what they produced in 2009, 2008, or 2005) is “packed and stacked.” The extremely rich, black/purple color to the rim is followed by a wine with some subtle smoke, loads of minerals, a hint of vanilla, and plenty of creme de cassis as well as roasted meat and a slight scorched earth character. Broad, savory, and rich, the wine seems to be about 5 years away from full maturity and should drink well for at least 40-50 more years. A great effort, probably eclipsed only by 2003 and 2009.”

Robert M. Parker

Wine Advocate 99 Points

“This magnificent Lynch Bages has been drinking well since the day it was released and it continues to go from strength to strength. The biggest, richest, fullest-bodied Lynch Bages until the 2000, the fully mature 1990 exhibits an unbelievably explosive nose of black currants, cedarwood, herbs and spice. The majestic, classically Bordeaux aromatics are followed by a full-bodied, voluptuously textured, rich, intense wine with superb purity as well as thrilling levels of fruit, glycerin and sweetness. This beauty should continue to provide immense pleasure over the next 15+ years.”

Robert M. Parker

Wine Advocate 97 Points:

“Beginning to open magnificently, the still dense purple-colored 2000 reveals a blossoming bouquet of blackberries, cassis, graphite and pen ink. Full-bodied with velvety tannins that have resolved themselves beautifully over the last eleven years, this wine is still an adolescent, but it exhibits admirable purity, texture, mouthfeel and power combined with elegance. One of the all-time great examples of Lynch Bages, the 2000 is just beginning to drink well yet promises to last for another 20-25+ years”

Robert M Parker

100 points WA
Magnum Bottle
“One of the monumental wines of the last century is the 1982 Pichon Lalande. Since bottling, it has flirted with perfection, and was a sprinter out of the gate, which gave rise to questions about how quickly it would begin its decline. However, at age 27, it retains all its glossy, rich, flamboyant cassis fruit, chocolaty, berry jam-like notes, and plenty of earthy, foresty flavors. This is a full-bodied, extravagantly rich Pichon Lalande seemingly devoid of acidity and tannin, but the wine is incredibly well-balanced and pure.”
Robert M. Parker

93 POINTS
750ml Bottle

“Tasted single blind at the Fine Wine Experience horizontal in London. This has a gregarious nose, very extrovert with ripe red-berried fruit, a touch of menthol coming through, the most New World of the flight so far. Touch of black olive tapenade and liquorices. Good definition though. The palate is full-bodied with firm tannins, good acidity, solid structure, very powerful and with great depth and persistency. Off-dry, masculine, tobacco, a little sous-bois, black tea and black pepper. Very good length and character and with time, the finesse really show through. So elegant and no doubt outstanding value given its marker price. Drink now-2018. Tasted October 2008.”

NEAL MARTIN- Wine Journal.

93 Points
750 ml Bottle

“Tasted at the 1999 horizontal at Bordeaux Index. This bottle is showing less bravura than the one at the La Mission vertical last May. It has a relative, light leafy bouquet with dried herbs, a touch of singed leather, some mint developing with aeration that I hitherto have not noticed. The palate is medium-bodied, grainy entry, nice purity on the entry, firm tannins – good backbone here with a touch of savoury fruit towards the finish that has been shaved of the persistency it exhibited before. Foursquare but very well defined. Excellent. Drink now-2025. Tasted June 2009.”

NEAL MARTIN- Wine Journal.

Michel Niellon operates out of two absurdly small cellars in Chassagne, producing quite simply sublime wines. He has only 6 hectares of vines, which include small holdings in Chevalier and Bâtard-Montrachet. Old vines and low yields give these wines their intensity, along with Niellon`s supreme winemaking skills.

Supply is severely rationed due to the small size of the domaine and Niellon`s huge following in the United States. But, for those lucky enough to secure some bottles, the rewards are immense