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B-21 Top Recommendation Read More
A sweet deal on top scoring Bordeaux blends built for the cellar, these “six lollipop” selections are unbeatably priced under $60, an array of high scoring Left and Right Bank reds at terrific value pricing whether choosing a favorite or mixing a case.
- Crafted by the talented team behind Chateau Lynch-Bages, the powerfully aromatic 95 pt. 2020 Chateau Haut-Batailley is a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon and 38% Merlot offering ripe energetic dark fruit hinting of graphite and smokey spice, described as “very Pauillac” by the Wine Spectator’s James Molesworth and called “well balanced and easy to recommend” by Inside Bordeaux’s Jane Anson. The richly textured 2020 Chateau Haut-Batailley was aged in 60% new French oak for 14 months, yielding “a ripe, layered, elegant Pauillac” with “a great finish” according to Jeb Dunnuck, already offering pleasurable drinking and promising to evolve over the next several decades.
- Earning the #11 spot on the Wine Spectator’s Top 100 of 2022, the thrilling 96 pt. 2019 Chateau Beau-Sejour Becot is a blend of 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from 20 prime hectares behind Clos Fourtet and opposite Chateau Canon on Saint Emilion's limestone plateau, offering a rich core of dark concentrated fruit with chalky minerality and “very fine-grained tannins and a mineral lift on the finish” according to the Wine Independent’s Lisa Perotti-Brown. Aged in 65% new French oak with the remainder in a mix of foudres, amphora and once-used barrels for 18 months, the 2019 Chateau Beau-Sejour Becot will reward a few years of patient cellaring with decades of enjoyment.
- Declared one of Margaux’s “rising stars” by Antonio Galloni of Vinous, the elegant and deliciously intense 96 pt. 2020 Chateau Giscours is a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon and 44% Merlot revealing rich, aromatic fruit hinting of subtle spice and crushed gravel, with silky, integrated tannins and “one heck of a great finish” according to Jeb Dunnuck. Crafted by esteemed winemaker Lorenzo Pasquini before his move to D’Yquem, the enticing 2020 Chateau Giscours was aged in 50% new French oak for 17 months, “already impressive” with “serious potential” over the next several decades according to the Wine Enthusiast’s Roger Voss.
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Dark, winey, structured and very Pauillac, this is laden with cassis and blackberry puree flavors scored by charcoal and warm earth, with tobacco and cast iron notes. Very long, focused and seriously well-built finish. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2027 through 2040.
95 points, James Molesworth, Wine Spectator (Mar 2023)
The 2020 Haut-Batailley, matured in 60% new oak for 14 months, has a vivacious nose with mint-infused blackberry and raspberry fruit, a light pencil lead note underneath. Certainly one of the more intense aromatics in Pauillac with disarming purity. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and a wonderful bead of acidity keeping it tensile throughout. There's a sweet core of plummy fruit, hints of orange rind towards the finish that contains plenty of energy. Excellent.
94 points, Neal Martin, Vinous (Feb 2023)
Excellent quality, lovely depth and richness, fine tannins, elegant and balanced with a gourmet edge of blueberry, cassis, smoked oak and graphite, well balanced and easy to recommend. 3.85ph, 60% new oak.
93 points, Jane Anson (Feb 2023)