Lafite Rothschild 1996
£9,850 per 12 bottles UB 1 case
Neal Martin (Wine Advocate) 98 points
The 1996 Lafite-Rothschild was remarkably deep in color considering that it is now 20 years in age. The bouquet is classic Pauillac with pencil shavings and sous-bois infusing the black fruit, masculine and a little aloof, yet focused and very well delineated. The palate is very well balanced with crisp blackberry and boysenberry fruit, spicier than I recollect, a crescendo of flavors so that it seems understated at first but fans out with a sense of confidence towards the finish. I think this still has more to give so cellar it away for another 5-8 years if you can, but otherwise this is an exemplary Lafite-Rothschild that I can envisage getting better and better in bottle, if not quite as enthralling as either Mouton-Rothschild or Château Margaux. Tasted July 2016. Drink Date 2020 - 2050
Latour 1996
£6,950 per 12 x 75cl UB 1 case
£590 per 1 x 75cl UB 6 bottles
Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Wine Advocate) 99 points
A hot, dry August produced very concentrated grapes in 1996. However, it turned a bit rainy in mid-September through early October, making the vintage less consistent on the Right Bank and in Graves. But as the weather turned glorious from early October on, it was an amazing year for later-harvested Cabernet in the Médoc. There was new ownership at Latour by this time, and a new vat room was completed just prior to the harvest this year. The 1996 Latour is medium to deep garnet in color with a profound earthy, meaty, gamey nose with hints of blueberry preserves, crème de cassis and pencil shavings. The palate is full-bodied, concentrated and packed with muscular fruit, with a firm, ripe, grainy backbone and epically long finish. Showing much more youthfully than the 2000 tasted on the same day and still possessing bags of youthful fruit in the mid-palate, this beauty is going to go on and on! Tasted February 2019
Haut Brion 1996
£4,950 per 12 x 75cl UB 1 case
Neal Martin (Wine Advocate) 95 points
While in some vintages La Mission Haut-Brion and Haut-Brion can be close in quality, that is not the case in this vintage. The 1996 Haut-Brion, a blend of 50% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Cabernet Franc is clearly on a higher plane than the La Mission. There is something much more expansive and complete on the nose: greater depth of fruit, more harmonious with scents of underbrush, tar, black olive and this bottle perhaps less "feral" than I have noticed on previous examples. The palate is very well balanced with dark cherries, sous-bois and cedar. This is one vintage where I think the Cabernet Franc plays an important role and lends more complexity. This is a 1996 that has retained and built upon beguiling fleshiness and it will continue to evolve with style and panache. Tasted July 2016. Drink Date 2016 - 2050
Mouton Rothschild 1996
£2,850 per 6 x 75cl UB 2 cases
Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Wine Advocate) 97+ points
The last time I tasted the 1996 Mouton Rothschild (maybe a couple of years ago?), I recall it was a bit broody and closed. This showing was anything but! Deep garnet in color, it sashays out of the glass with lavishly dressed, gregarious crème de cassis, baked blackberries and plum pudding scents plus touches of menthol, fenugreek, star anise and sandalwood with fleeting glimpses at dried rose petals and oolong tea. The full-bodied palate is richly fruited, opulent and oh-so seductive, with bags of youthful black fruit and lovely finely grained tannins, finishing with fantastic freshness and length. This was tasted from jeroboam in September 2019. Drink Date 2019 - 2056
Pichon Lalande 1996
£3,100 per 12 x 75cl UB 2 cases
William Kelley (Wine Advocate) 97 points
The 1996 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is really beginning to drink with style, wafting from the glass with an inviting nose of blackberries, cassis, cherries, rich soil tones, Cuban cigar and subtle hints of mint and bergamot. Medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy, with an expansive, sumptuous core of fruit that's underpinned by ripe acids and ripe, powdery virile tannins, it concludes with a long, penetrating and sapid finish. This unusually Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated vintage was tightly wound for its first two decades, but as time passes it's the château signature that's dominating the cépagement. It's one of the wines of the vintage in 1996. Drink Date 2016 - 2056
La Mondotte 1996
£2,150 per 12 x 75cl UB 1 case
Robert M. Parker, Jr. (Wine Advocate) 97 points
An amazing wine, the 1996 La Mondotte (approximately 800 cases made from a 30-year old parcel of 100% Merlot planted on a hillside between Le Tertre-Roteboeuf and Canon La Gaffeliere) is a super-star. If readers cannot get excited by tasting the 1996, they should change beverages. It is amazing for both its appellation and the vintage, revealing a remarkable level of richness, profound concentration, and integrated tannin. The thick purple color suggests a wine of extraordinary extract and richness. This super-concentrated wine offers a spectacular nose of roasted coffee, licorice, blueberries, and black currants intermixed with smoky new oak. It possesses full body, a multidimensional, layered personality with extraordinary depth of fruit, a seamless texture, amazing viscosity, and a long, 45-second finish. The tannin is sweet and well-integrated. This blockbuster St.-Emilion should be at its best between 2006-2025. A dry, vintage port Fonseca! Drink Date 2006 - 2025
Cos d'Estournel 1996
£1,950 per 12 x 75cl UB 1 case
Neal Martin (Wine Advocate) 95 points
Tasted at the château, the 1996 Cos d'Estournel was aged in 65% new oak (unlike the 1995 which was 100%) and is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Merlot. It has a straight down the line, intense and focused, graphite and melted tar bouquet. It is almost Pauillac in style, no surprise given its proximity. The palate is medium-bodied with fresh acidity, finer tannin than the 1986 Cos d'Estournel tasted alongside, but sharing those same leitmotifs of black pepper and sea salt. I like the nonchalance of this Cos d'Estournel. At 20 years it is not an ostentatious wine, not determined to go out and impress, but its nuance, stylishness and classicism grow on you. Its virtues seem to register only after you swallow the wine and find yourself tempted back for more. Excellent. Tasted July 2016. Drink Date 2016 - 2040
L'Eglise Clinet 1996
£1,750 per 12 x 75cl UB 1 case
Robert M. Parker, Jr. (Wine Advocate) 93 points
One of the few profound Pomerols in 1996, l'Eglise-Clinet turned out an uncommonly rich, concentrated wine that is performing well from bottle, even though it is displaying a more tightly-knit structure than it did from cask. The dark ruby/purple color is followed by notes of charcoal, jammy cassis, raspberries, and a touch of sur-maturite. Spicy oak emerges as the wine sits in the glass. It is fat, concentrated, and medium to full-bodied, with a layered, multidimensional, highly nuanced personality. This muscular Pomerol will require 3-5 years of bottle age. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2020. Drink Date 2004 - 2020
Grand Puy Lacoste 1996
£1,450 per 12 x 75cl UB 1 case
Neal Martin (Wine Advocate) 91 points
The 1996 Grand-Puy-Lacoste, now at 20 years old, has a very typical bouquet for this estate: correct, linear, well defined, conservative but intense, with pencil shavings, cedar and a subtle balsam aroma. The palate is medium-bodied with a firm structure and well-judged acidity that lends this 1996 impressive focus. It is totally and unashamedly classic in style, austere compared to other Pauillacs from this vintage, the kind of gentleman's claret that should grace a dinner table. I have actually encountered slightly better bottles than this one, tasted at the property. It remains a very fine Pauillac that should drink well for 20-odd years ... just expect a little austerity and aloofness. Tasted July 2016. Drink Date 2016 - 2036
Leoville Barton 1996
£1,295 per 12 x 75cl DP 1 case
Neal Martin (Wine Advocate) 93 points
The 1996 Leoville Barton appears more youthful than the 1996 Langoa Barton in the glass with a healthy deep garnet core. The aromatics unfurl gracefully in the glass revealing briary, wild hedgerow, black truffle and sandalwood scents -- firmly in secondary aroma stage but with appreciable presence and intensity. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannin that form its firm and classic structure, spice, white pepper and cloves infusing the slightly animally red berry fruit. This is an adorable Léoville Barton that is occupying a very "happy" place at the moment -- superb precision, old school claret at its best. Decant for an hour no more, then enjoy. Tasted July 2016. Drink Date 2016 - 2035