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2007 Château Mouton-Rothschild, 1er Cru Pauillac |
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Inky and opaque, the nose offers fresh black fruits and notes of toast with a scented character too. The palate is admirably packed (in the vintage context) with sweet cassis and crunchy blackberry fruit. Not a weighty Mouton, although not one to be easily dismissed as lightweight either, there is pleasing balance and depth on show. There is creamy, soft, flowing fruit, with discreet toasty nuances and more evident tannic grip than most this year, all in proportion. The finish has a charming lush note and a distinctive wet-stone, gravely minerality. Mouton appears to be entering a strong run of form. |
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2012-2020 |
2006 en primeur price £3850 per dozen |
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2007 Château Latour, 1er Cru Pauillac |
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The decision to incorporate a higher than normal proportion of press wine has given definition and valuable backbone to the 2007 Latour. Opaque in the glass, with restrained toasty, berry fruit and notes of cedar on the nose. The palate is quite open with a pure, attractive, fleshy accent. There is a sense of energy here, despite the forward nature and curranty dark fruits meld with a distinctive wet stone, gravely character. The tannins are soft and light yet lend enough drive to give direction. There is a fresh, vibrant accent throughout which adds to the attraction. Long and refined, there is less of the authoritative style that one would expect from more classic years, yet this is impressively refined in this context. |
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2012-2018 |
2006 en primeur price £3250 per dozen |
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2007 Château Lafite-Rothschild, 1er Cru Pauillac |
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Deep in the glass, with a sweet, pure perfume of cassis and blackcurrant leaf. The palate offers cool berry fruit with gentle, yet fine grip exuded by the supple tannins. There is a pleasing layered depth to this mid-weight Lafite, with a gradual build of concentration. Natural and unforced, this is a very well-balanced, elegant vintage for the château with plenty of subtlety and class. |
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2011-2018 |
2006 en primeur price £3200 per dozen |
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2007 Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Cru Classé Pauillac |
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Clean, gently restrained red and black berry fruit on the nose. Subtly aromatic, this is floral rather than powerful. The power expresses itself on the mid-palate, where the wine opens with a silky, supple texture. This has great length of fruit and superb delicacy on the finish. Good length, with dark fruit-skin grip. |
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2010-2017 |
2006 en primeur price £660 per dozen |
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2007 Les Forts de Latour, Pauillac |
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Restrained aromatically, with a suggestion of scented berry fruits, this shows an appealing red berry fruit character infused with notes of cedar. Mouthfilling and broad with fine-grained tannins, this reveals classic stony, gravely, mineral notes. As with the entire stable of wines at Latour, their intelligent approach to viticulture and winemaking has paid handsome dividends in the context of the 2007 vintage. |
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2010-2016 |
2006 en primeur price £585 per dozen |
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2007 Le Petit Mouton, Pauillac |
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There is a typically sweet accent to the aromas of Mouton-Rothschild’s second wine, with herbal, leafy nuances. On the palate there is a lush touch to the gently mouthfilling fruit. There is a discreet note of chocolate to the fruit and characters of toast are allied to supple berry fruit and traces of gravel and minerals on the finish. |
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2011-2016 |
2006 en primeur price £450 per dozen |
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2007 Château Lynch-Bages, Cru Classé Pauillac |
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Exuding an attractive set of aromas combining toast, cedar and sweet, ripe berry fruit, there is an immediately appealing nature to the 2007 Lynch-Bages. Fleshy and ample with dark berry fruit, there is almost a cool, lip-smacking quality to this wine, with plenty of supple volume and style. With its gentle, sleekly textured tannins, this is true to type and illustrates why Lynch-Bages holds tremendous early drinking appeal in lighter vintages. Very well balanced and markedly persistent. |
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2010-2015 |
2006 en primeur price £417 per dozen |
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2007 Carruades de Château Lafite, Pauillac |
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Reveals classic Pauillac graphite scents. On the palate tannins are soft and meld well with natural, unforced fruit flavours and acidity. Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for half the blend, with the remainder Merlot and tiny proportions of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Curranty fruit dominates the palate of this fresh, appealing Carruades. |
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2010-2014 |
2006 en primeur price £396 per dozen |
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2007 Château Pontet-Canet, Cru Classé Pauillac |
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There is a sweet accent to the berry aromas, with a perfumed cassis-like character and notes of macerated fruit. The palate is plush, with good substance and a vivid, bright core of fruit. There’s lots of blackcurrant and toast here, with a more evident tannic grip than some. However, it remains mouth-filling and soft with a scented lift on the palate and mineral finish. An appealing Pontet-Canet that will prove to be attractive drinking from four years’ time. |
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2011-2015 |
2006 en primeur price £339 per dozen |
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2007 Château d'Armailhac, Cru Classé Pauillac |
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The set of additional wines within the Mouton-Rothschild stable seem to be anything other than also-rans in recent vintages. The 2007 d’Armailhac captures sweet, ripe blackcurrant fruit with pleasing freshness on both nose and palate. There is almost a minty note of freshness too. With its cool, ripe fruit, flowing style, and touch of layered depth, this is fresh, pure and soft, yet impeccably balanced. Not overly complex, but certainly rewarding. |
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2010-2014 |
2006 en primeur price £198 per dozen |