The grand vin here is Chateau Lynch-Bages, of which there are typically 25000 cases per annum. The nearby Chateau Haut Bages Averous has, since 1978, been used as the second label for Lynch-Bages (10000 cases per annum). There is also a 4.5 ha plot of white vines, comprising 40% Semillon, 40% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Muscadelle which is used for the AC Bordeaux Blanc Blanc de Lynch-Bages (3000 cases per annum).

This distinguished Margaux property takes its name from Baron Hector de Brane, nicknamed Napoleon des Vignes, who bought it it 1833, having sold Brane-Mouton in 1830. The property, at 222 acres is now the largest of the five second growths in Margaux, but it is almost certainly the original parcels of vines to the front of the château, on the magnificent Cantenac croupe (terrace), that contribute most to the wine’s breed, charm, delicacy and finesse.

The property has been in the Lurton family, one of Bordeaux’s most important land-owning dynasties, since 1925. Henri Lurton was born at the château, and since taking over from his father in the 1990s has been determined to prove that it is fully worthy of its second-growth status.

This particular fine wine we have available is the 1996 Château Brane-Cantenac - a magnificent blended Bordeaux wine;

Tasting: Red purple colour, oak and fresh redcurrants. Juicy ripeness oozing with new oak intermingled with liquorice, blackcurrant with a hint of smokiness. Very substantial and elegant in the mouth with excellent length.

Grapes: Merlot 55%, Cabernet Sauvignon 42%, Cabernet Franc 3%

Priced at only £110.00, buy Château Brane-Cantenac from Vin Vino Direct …click here

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What is known of the history of Lilian Ladouys begins in 1654, when the property was in the ownership of Jacques de Bercoyan, a Bordeaux magistrate. By this time the estate was already known as La Doys, an obvious precursor to the Ladouys of today, although the origins of this name remain unclear to me. From Bercoyan the estate passed to the Barre family who acquired it during the 18th Century, and who maintained their dominion over these vineyards for 150 years. Under their tutelage the estate produced wines of high quality judging by the opinions of the time, which ranked Lilian Ladouys considerably higher than most would place it today. By the early 20th Century however, during the difficult years between the two wars, the estate had deteriorated, and it was sold off in a piecemeal fashion. Today, however, under the directorship of Pierre Fougere who heads up the Société Chateau Lilian Ladouys, there has been investment and reported improvements. And for some years now the wines have been made under the auspices of Georges Pauli, so there should perhaps be some optimism that they may once more be as glorious as the estate’s 18th Century reputation suggests they can.

The estate covers 48 hectares spread in a disparate fashion across the St Estèphe appellation, with more than ninety plots of vines in existence. About two-thirds of the vineyard is situated on well drained soils rich in coarse gravel, with pebbles up to 8 cm across dominating. The remaining vineyards are, as we might expect for St Estèphe, clay over a limestone bedrock. The varieties planted are 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc, and the vines have an average age of up close to 40 years. Once harvested the fruit is fermented in temperature-controlled stainless-steel vats, before transfer into oak barrels, of which one-third are new with each vintage; the wine will remain here for 18 months before fining, filtration and bottling. The grand vin is Chateau Lilian Ladouys, of which there are perhaps 20000 cases per annum.

We are proud to offer the 1995 vintage for sale at only £23.80 ….click here to go to the wine and buy online.

Tasting notes – Saturated red with violet reflections, this is an intensely scented wine with wild aromatic mulberries, setting you off on a joyous journey through the layers of generous oak, onto the expressive, rich and lingering red fruit palate.

We also have 1997 vintage available – click here for more.

We have one of the largest collections of French claret wines in the UK…plus, an amazing range of Italian fine wines and French fine wines. We carry wines covering over 66 grape varieties, including the favourites of Shiraz, Merlot, Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Cabernet and Pinot Grigio – all available to buy online for your wine cellar today. We are internationally accredited as Bordeaux specialists and renowned for our exclusive and unique fine wines online at all prices.
For those special wine gifts we have a large range of champagne, wine gift vouchers and mixed cases of wine
With an original portfolio of boutique wine making growers, we are the only online wine merchant in the UK offering these exclusive wines to you. Buy Piedra Luna wine from Argentina online with Vin Vino Direct and tantalise your taste buds today…

The Château

The wine label of Les Héritiers Nicolas shows a shield with a silver border enclosing the letter “N”. The violet cap represents the characteristic flavour of the wine. These items, chosen by the Nicolas brothers in 1871, remain elegantly relevant at the beginning of the 21st Century.

The vines, planted at a standard density of 6000 vines/ha, see controlled yields, as evidenced by a figure of 38 hl/ha for the 2005 vintage, achieved through a rolling process of pruning and bud-thinning, with leaf-thinning to improve quality of ripening. The harvest is manual, with the fruit sorted by an arrangement of four sorting tables, and destemmed prior to a cold maceration and fermentation which is carried out according to plot of origin. The malolactic tends to begin in vat, prior to running off and then gentle pressing, before being finished off in barrels, between 80% and 100% new each vintage, where the wine will rest for up to eighteen months, with a racking every third month. There is an egg white fining prior to bottling, but filtration is avoided. Selection and blending occurs when the wine is still in barrel, with the best lots destined for the grand vin, Chateau La Conseillante, with lesser aliquots going into a second wine, newly created with the 2007 vintage, named Duo de Conseillante, which will see only 12 months ageing in wood, using older barrels. Total production at the estate amounts to about 5000 cases, with the second wine accounting for up to 20% of this figure.

Tasting:
An awesome effort. The bouquet of plums, exotic spices and vanilin is followed by a wine that has brilliant definition and remarkable freshness and depth of fruit, as well as grace and elegance. Fabulously long, pure, sweet and expansive, with an explosive finish….you can buy this fantastic wine online at only £115.00 / bottle – click here

Château Calon-Ségur

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Calon-Ségur’s present day motto emanates from the latter half of the century, when the Marquis Nicolas de Ségur, the ‘Prince of Vines’, who already owned Lafite and Latour, took control of Calon (as it was) and declared: “I make wine at Lafite and Latour, but my heart belongs to Calon.”  To this day, a heart remains on the label.

Calon-Ségur lies just to the north of St-Estephe and comprises 183 acres of vineyards, as we ll as a beautiful striking white château, surrounded by a stone wall (clos),  and  currently owned by Madame Gasqueton.  The 1995 and 1996 vintages were much acclaimed as a change in style after Madame Gasqueton took over the estate in succession to her late husband Philippe Capbern Gasqueton.

This amazing wine from us is a 3′me Grand Cru Classé – at only £128.00 …click here to buy wine online.

Tasting: An immensely concentrated red-purple colour with a bouquet of redcurrants, nuts and a wealth of red fruits. Good structure, compact, mouth-watering and full of the strength on the palate.

Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon 60%, Merlot 40%

For more fine wine offers, bordeaux wine, chateau wine and to buy wine online, visit us at Vin Vino Direct and taste exclusive wine today.