Weekly tasting report (Jun 7-13, 2020): Australia, France, Italy

James conducts a Zoom tasting with winemaker Jean-Philippe Delmas, and discover the best wine of the en primeurs to date.

Our comprehensive report of the 2019 vintage Bordeaux en primeur (more than 1,000 wines tasted) has been very well received, and the highlights keep coming. 

This week the perfect 2019 Haut-Brion Blanc (100 points) took the spotlight, a wine that James describes as “like a great Montrachet from a great vintage … perfect!” This spearheads a successful 2019 offering from Chateau Haut-Brion with La Mission (99-100) described as a “WOW wine that reminds me of some of the great classics of this estate, such as the 1955.” The Grand Vin Chateau Haut-Brion (99-100 points) delivers a “refined and elegant .. very intense and precise” Pessac that is one of the greatest we’ve seen in recent times.

Bordeaux’s left bank is also in the mix this week with Pomerol’s L’Eglise Clinet (99-100 points) making a strong impression on the back of “gorgeous fruit” that “harkens back to classic ECs, such as 1998 or 1989.” St.-Emilion’s Chateau Quintus (96-97 points) impressed with a “very classically structured red with blackberry and blueberry character … extremely intense.”

The Barolo 2016s are proving to be worthy of the hype they have received and the quality is high across the board this week as we taste this very refined, powerful and expressive vintage. The “long and wild” 2016 Parusso Barolo Mosconi (97 points), 2016 Conterno-Fantino Barolo Ginestra Vigna Sorì Ginestra (96 points) and 2016 Cascina Adelaide Barolo Baudana (96 points) all deliver very specific styles at a uniformly high quality. 2016 Barolo is just fascinating. 

Executive Editor Nick Stock tastes the Armagh vertical with Sam Barry.

Also from 2016 (but a long way from Piedmont) is the stunning 2016 Jim Barry Shiraz The Armagh (99 points), a wine that is soon to be sold via la place in Bordeaux as part of the new Australian First Growths initiative. I spent time tasting four decades of The Armagh this week and will report on that in full. Also from the Clare, the 2019 Adelina Shiraz (98 points) charts a path of refined old vine (more than 100 years) power and refinement. This wine is a great modern classic in the making.

And finally, the 2018 Bass Phillip Pinot Noir Reserve (96 points) is one of departing winemaker Phillip Jones’ great pinot noirs, fusing power and elegance together in a wine that delivers much complexity and seductive drinkable style. The full story of the sale is covered here.

It’s been a big week of tasting, enjoy!

– Nick Stock, Executive Editor

Tasting Notes

Château Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan Blanc 2019
Country France
Region Bordeaux
Vintage 2019
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Château Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan 2019
Country France
Region Bordeaux
Vintage 2019
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Château L'Église Clinet Pomerol 2019
Country France
Region Bordeaux
Vintage 2019
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Château La Mission Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan 2019
Country France
Region Bordeaux
Vintage 2019
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Jim Barry Shiraz Clare Valley The Armagh 2016
Country Australia
Region South Australia
Vintage 2016
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Château La Mission Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan Blanc 2019
Country France
Region Bordeaux
Vintage 2019
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Adelina Shiraz Clare Valley 2019
Country Australia
Region South Australia
Vintage 2019
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Parusso Barolo Mosconi 2016
Country Italy
Region Piedmont
Vintage 2016
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Château Malescot-St.-Exupery Margaux 2019
Country France
Region Bordeaux
Vintage 2019
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Château Quintus St.-Emilion 2019
Country France
Region Bordeaux
Vintage 2019
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Bass Phillip Pinot Noir Gippsland Reserve 2018
Country Australia
Region Victoria
Vintage 2018
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Cascina Adelaide Barolo Baudana 2016
Country Italy
Region Piedmont
Vintage 2016
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Conterno-Fantino Barolo Ginestra Vigna Sorì Ginestra 2016
Country Italy
Region Piedmont
Vintage 2016
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Damilano Barolo Liste 2015
Country Italy
Region Piedmont
Vintage 2015
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