Wine By Nine

Red Wine by Ch?teau Cheval Blanc from St-Emilion, France - Bordeaux. A blend of 55% Cabernet Franc and 45% Merlot. Subtle herb, menthol, cranberry, black currant, and licorice aromas emerge from this dark ruby/plum-colored wine. It is medium-bodied and elegant with plenty of sweet fruit, but not a lot of weight or intensity. The complexity and nobility of Cheval Blanc's gravelly terroir is apparent in this delicate, subtle St.-Emilion. Give it a few years to develop additional aromatics, and drink it over the following 12-15. Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate 90 Points Intense aromas of tar, blackberry and wet earth, with just a hint of tobacco and flowers. Full-bodied, chewy and long. Extracted, yet turns caressing and velvety in texture. Broad-shouldered and muscular for this estate. This is better than the 2000. Best after 2012. Wine Spectator 94 Points

Red Wine by Ch. Cos d'Estournel from St. Estephe, France - Bordeaux. The prodigious, fantastic 2003 Cos d’Estournel is a candidate for “wine of the vintage.” A blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon (unusually high for this chateau), 30% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc, 17,500 cases were produced from low yields. An inky/blue/purple color is accompanied by a compelling perfume of black fruits, subtle smoke, pain grille, incense, and flowers. With extraordinary richness, full body, and remarkable freshness, elegance, and persistence, this is one of the finest wines ever made by this estate. The good news is that it will be drinkable at a young age yet evolve for three decades or more. Kudos to winemaker Jean-Guillaume Prats and owner Michel Reybier. -Robert ParkerIn the old Gascon language, the word ‘Cos’ means ‘The Hill of Pebbles’. Appropriately named, Château Cos d’Estournel is situated on the banks of the Gironde River between Pauillac and St. Estèphe, where the property is clearly defined by the hill of Cos, reaching to a height of almost 65 feet. It is today owned by Michel Reybier, and continues to be managed by a member of the Prats family under the direction of Jean-Guillaume Prats. 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc

Red Wine by Ch?teau L?oville Las Cases from St-Julien, France - Bordeaux. Incredible nose of crushed berry, licorice, violets and lightly toasted oak. Pure creme de cassis. Full-bodied, with big, velvety tannins and a long, long finish. Solid. Best after 2011. Wine Spectator 97 Points

Red Wine by Verite from Sonoma County, California. French for joy, La Joie emphasizes Cabernet Sauvignon and represents a Pauillac-style wine. The wine is deep purple in color, spicy and intense in the nose, with density and structure from its Cabernet Sauvignon dominance. A saturated dense purple color emerges from the 2003 La Joie. A blend of 75.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19.8% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc, it offers up smoky, sweet scents of lead pencil shavings, cedar, spice box, volcanic earth, black currants, and smoke. With excellent fruit, full-bodied power, a layered texture, and an exceptionally long finish, it is not as accessible and plump as La Muse, and will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age. It should drink well for 20-25 years. Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate 95 Points

Red Wine by Ch?teau Hosanna from Pomerol, France - Bordeaux. A blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, this is the Cheval Blanc of Pomerol. A wine of admirable complexity, elegance, and purity, it possesses a deep ruby/purple color as well as wonderful notes of blueberries, mint, acacia flowers, espresso, and white chocolate. Opulent, rich, and pure, with a seamless integration of acidity, tannin, and wood, it is a beautiful offering that is not far off the pace of the exceptional 2000. Sadly, there are only about 1,000 cases of this offering produced from the finest parcels of old vines carved from the vineyard previously known as Certan-Giraud. Kudos to proprietor Christian Moueix. -Wine Advocate Subtle aromas of chocolate, berry and mineral follow through to a medium- to full-bodied palate, with very well?integrated tannins and a long berry and fresh herb finish. Very long and refined. Builds on your palate. A relatively new wine from Christian Moueix of Petrus, and on the rise. Best after 2007. 1,250 cases made. -Wine Spectator

Red Wine by Ch?teau Hosanna from Pomerol, France - Bordeaux. Aromas of blackberry, forest fruits and licorice with just a hint of spice. Full-bodied, with loads of ripe fruit and velvety tannins. Raisins, toasted oak and just a hint of dark chocolate. -Wine Spectator

Red Wine by Ch?teau Pavie from St-Emilion, France - Bordeaux. ...the 2002 is one of the top wines of the vintage. Its deep plum/ruby/purple color is followed by aromas of fruitcake, cranberries, cherry liqueur, crushed rocks, and subtle oak. Savory, full-bodied, remarkably concentrated, layered, and forward for a Pavie, it should be accessible in 3-4 years, and will evolve effortlessly for two decades. -Wine Advocate

Red Wine by Dominus from Napa Valley, California. The 2004 blend is comprised of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 7% Petit Verdot. No Merlot was used in the blend this year. The 2004 vintage is deep red in color, with an intense nose of vanilla, black currants and cedar. The elegant integration of the tannins and fruit is noticed immediately. Flavors of warm mulled spices on the mid-palate complement the balanced and complex structure. The long, aromatic finish exhibits notes of leather and cardamom. The wine is charming and fragrant, and will age gracefully. It is recommended that this wine be decanted prior to serving, to allow it to develop its full potential. This is especially important when serving young Dominus wines. This very generous and well-ripened offering starts out with an involving display of cherries, cassis, herbs, sweet oak and loam in its deep and decidedly complex aromas, and it follows with equally wide-ranging flavors that show a real sense of layering and plenty of depth. Ripe, but always in balance and firmed by a good dose of youthful tannins, this latest Dominus bottling is among the winery's very best efforts ever, and it is certain to get better yet over the next decade. -Connoisseurs' Guide

Red Wine by Ch?teau Pichon-Longueville-Lalande from Pauillac, France - Bordeaux. ...plenty of structure, wonderful sweetness, a closed style, but a rich, textured, persistent character... -Wine Advocate

Red Wine by Ch?teau L?oville Las Cases from St-Julien, France - Bordeaux. Number 6 on Wine Spectator's Top 100 of 2007! Bordeaux's wet, cool 2004 vintage got lost between the exceptional 2003 and 2005, but Jean-Hubert Delon's St.-Julien estate consistently delivers excellent wines in both great and difficult years. Half of the Chateau's 250 acres are planted in the famous Clos Leoville Las Cases, a gravelly vineyard that gently slopes down to the Gironde river. The wine was fermented in a mix of stainless-steel tanks, oak vats and cement tanks, then aged for about 18 months in oak barriques. Wine Spectator 95 Points Performing better from bottle than it did from cask, this blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, and 11% Cabernet Franc has put on weight over the last year. It exhibits the classic style of both Las Cases and St.-Julien in its deep black currant notes interwoven with sweet cherries, wet stones, and toasty vanillin. Made in a structured, medium to full-bodied style with superb concentration, beautiful purity, and admirable symmetry, this beauty is one of the strongest efforts of the vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2028. -Robert Parker's Wine Advocate This super second lives up to its billing. It is rich and concentrated with dark tannins that lie over the ripe, jammy fruit and black, rich chocolate flavors. Acidity and wood are there, but only just hints after the richness of the fruit. A real, magnificent aging wine. -Wine Enthusiast

Red Wine by Ch?teau Cos d'Estournel from St. Estephe, France - Bordeaux. Loads of currant and blackberry, with hints of Indian spices. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a long, caressing finish. Round and generous for the vintage. Best after 2011. 15,000 cases made. Wine Spectator 94 points A beautiful example of the vintage, proprietor Michel Reybier and his top-notch winemaker, Jean-Guillaume Prats, have fashioned an exceptional wine displaying a dense ruby/purple color as well as a sweet perfume of boysenberries, black currants, cherries, pain grille, roasted herbs, and licorice. Medium-bodied with impressive density for the vintage, sweet tannin, and outstanding richness and length, it should be at its finest between 2009 and 2020+. Robert Parker, Wine Advocate 92 points Deep red-ruby. Aromas of cassis, plum, licorice and coconutty oak. Round, suave and ripe, with lovely depth of flavor and a pliant, full texture for the year. This doesn't have quite the thrust of the 2006, but it's lively and fresh, and finishes ripely tannic and long. Stephen Tanzer'sInternational Wine Cellar 91 points

Red Wine by Ch?teau Monbousquet from St-Emilion, France - Bordeaux. A strong performance in a difficult vintage, the 2002 Monbousquet (60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc) reveals abundant aromas of espresso, sweet black currants and cherries, damp earth, compost, and new oak. It is a medium to full-bodied, fleshy offering with light tannin as well as a long finish. Drink it over the next 10-12 years. This is the home estate of Chantal and Gerard Perse, who have become the poster children for owners taking a less hallowed terroir and producing sumptuous, high quality wine. Readers should realize that Monbousquet is not meant to be cellared for 20-30 years. It is a beautifully made wine that has performed well in every blind tasting I have conducted, often out-scoring far more hallowed as well as expensive wines. -Wine Advocate