2001 Château d'Issan is crafted from 68% Cabernet Sauvignon and 32% Merlot. Emmanuel Cruse has restored d'Issan to its former glory. This vintage offers ripe red raspberry flavours and smooth tannins, representing a more classic style than 2000. Decanter awarded it 95 points and praised it for its prosperous and deeper fruit feel compared to the 2000 vintage. This bright, young wine with juicy berry notes has a well-balanced 52hl/ha yield and is ready to drink, with the potential to age for at least another decade. The wine was released at only €14 ex-château.
The d'Issan wines have received impressive scores for the 2011 vintage. For example, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate gave it 92 points, noting its dense ruby/purple colour and abundant cassis, kirsch, liquorice, and loamy soil undertones. Meanwhile, Decanter also awarded it 95 points, highlighting its high aromatics and freshness, making it great with food due to its high acidity.
The 2012 d'Issan received exceptional acclaim from critics. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate awarded it 95 points, praising its concentration and promising significant ageing potential. Neal Martin at Vinous noted its adherence to the traditional style of the Margaux region, while Decanter awarded it 94 points for its impressive complexity. Wine Enthusiast also emphasized its fruit quality, awarding it 93 points and describing it as a ripe, fruity wine with well-balanced acidity.
Château Lafon-Rochet, established in the 17th century and awarded Fourth Growth status in 1855, is known for its tightly coiled wines that require more time. The wines are noted not for finesse but for their excellent depth, which needs more development time. Here, you'll find classic, balanced, old-school St Estèphe flavours. Plenty of ripe red fruits and gentle wafts of blond tobacco aromatics showcase each vintage's balance and simple charms. Lafon Rochet 2005, in particular, exhibits excellent concentration, fine tannins, and a succulent Saint Estephe character with a fine sense of minerality on the finish. The tannin frame remains clear, and the acidity is slightly higher than ideal, but there is plenty of juice and character.
Lafon Rochet is my prime choice for Bordeaux's structure, density, and power, but probably for something other than Chinese cuisine. Recent tastings have consistently yielded 93 points, indicating good stability and quality.
Neal Martin gave it a score of 93. He described the 2005 Lafon-Rochet bouquet as a masterpiece of expression, with notes of raspberry, blackberry, briary, black pepper, and light scents creating a symphony of aromas. NM also mentioned that the palate is medium-bodied with tobacco-tinged red and black fruit, well-balanced, and has a suitable substance. He noted that the 2005 Lafon-Rochet is superb and will continue to drink well for several years, suggesting a drinking window from 2021 to 2036.
Jane Anson also gave this wine 93 points and mentioned that 2005 was a good year for Lafon-Rochet, resulting in consistent and high-quality wines. She described the wine as classic, balanced, and a traditional St Estèphe with plenty of ripe red fruits and gentle hints of blond tobacco aromatics. Anson agreed that while the acidity is high, as some good Bordeaux do, the wine's balance is a testament to its quality and enjoyability, making it hard to resist.
The wine primarily features a well-balanced blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (50%) and Merlot, complemented by a smaller amount of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. It showcases a deep ruby colour and a refined bouquet with notes of mixed black fruit, sweet spices, and pepper. The wines from these 3 good years offer a round, solid, and harmonious taste with good complexity, a long finish, and a delicate palate, providing excellent value. It has a medium to medium-deep ruby-red colour and presents good, fresh acidity and balanced alcohol, although the finish is affected by astringent tannins. It still maintains good fruit character with a silky finish. All bottles are currently available.
JS has awarded the 2005 vintage an impressive 93 points, showcasing its exceptional quality. This wine reveals wonderful depth and complexity on the nose, with prominent notes of blueberries, fresh flowers, and hints of stones. It is a full-bodied wine with ultra-refined tannins and a long finish. Although it is already stunning, it is expected to further improve with age. RP scored it 91, and Stazer awarded it 90, reaffirming its consistently high quality across different reviewers.
The 2009 vintage, acclaimed with 93 points by GG, is a strong contender. It boasts an intense garnet-red hue and a profound nose of ripe red fruits subtly enhanced by lightly roasted oak. The wine makes a full, generous, and fruit-forward entry, with a delicious fruit expression supported by pronounced exuberance and a good-length finish despite a slight touch of greenness.
The 2010 vintage receives its highest acclaim, scoring 95 points from Waterfront. It presents distinctive notes of wet forest, truffle, tobacco, cedar, and cassis on the nose. The palate offers vibrant black raspberries, cherries, and spicy cassis. This classically built wine, while still young, would benefit from at least 5-7 more years in the cellar. It has been awarded 93 points.
