France
The vast and diverse wine regions of France, each with its own unique terroirs, grape varieties, and winemaking techniques, are a treasure trove.
In Bordeaux, the birthplace of some of the world's most iconic wines, esteemed vineyards such as Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Margaux, Château Latour, and Château Haut-Brion produce exceptional red wines, showcasing the art of blending Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. The region is also renowned for its exquisite white wines, with vineyards like Château d'Yquem and Domaine de Chevalier producing legendary sweet wines.
Moving to Burgundy, the vineyards of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Domaine Leroy, and Domaine Armand Rousseau capture the essence of the region's revered terroir, crafting exquisite red wines from the Pinot Noir grape. Meanwhile, Domaine Leflaive and Domaine Coche-Dury are celebrated for their world-class white wines, predominantly made from Chardonnay.
The Champagne region, known for its sparkling wines, boasts illustrious houses such as Krug, Dom Pérignon, and Moët & Chandon, as well as grower-producers like Pierre Péters and Jacques Selosse. These vineyards create exceptional sparkling wines using the traditional method, offering a symphony of delicate bubbles, elegant flavors, and vibrant acidity.
In the Rhône Valley, iconic vineyards like Chapoutier, E. Guigal, and Château de Beaucastel produce remarkable red wines in the northern appellations of Hermitage, Côte-Rôtie, and Cornas, showcasing the elegance and power of Syrah. Further south, Châteauneuf-du-Pape is celebrated for its rich and full-bodied red blends, with Château Rayas and Clos des Papes leading the way.
In Alsace, vineyards such as Domaine Zind-Humbrecht and omaine Trimbach craft exquisite white wines, including Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Pinot Gris, expressing the region's unique terroir and varietal character.
These are just a few highlights among the diverse array of wines that France offers. From the Loire Valley's crisp whites and elegant reds to the Languedoc-Roussillon's bold and robust wines, each region presents its own vinous treasures.
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France
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Wine Advocate (98)
The 2015 Grand Cru Schoenenbourg opens clear, intense, precise and floral on the nose, with concentrated lemon confit and smoky gypsum flavors. This 2015 is really concentrated on the nose and displays a gorgeously fresh and vegetal greeniness. Sweet, finessed and lush on the creamy textured palate, this is a very precise and concentrated Schonenbourg with a very long, intense and seductive finish. There is great elegance, finesse and complexity here. Very salty. This is a great long-distance runner.د.إ3,260.00 -
(6x75cl) 2018Jancis Robinson (18)
Pale smudgy garnet colour (and beautifully simple label). This wine is so pure and gorgeous! But gosh how the price has risen since I bought a case only a few vintages ago. It's a great advertisement for minimal intervention and purity. Direct fruit and not a trace of oak. Long and reverberant. Already drinkable but there is no hurry whatsoever.د.إ859.00 -
Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (92-95)
Another vineyard worked by horse. 40% whole bunch, still in barrel, 75% new wood. Mid crimson purple. A beautiful bouquet, with a headiness brought by the whole bunches. Dark red fruit with floral overtones. The stems give some white pepper as well, an there is a fine elegant finish. Drink from 2030-2038. Tasted: December 2023.د.إ2,970.00 -
Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (93-96)
10% whole bunch, 70% new wood, 7 barrels. Red to crimson in colour, lightly reductive. This is a wine which is sitting back in a reflective manner, but the constituent parts are all there. More in a savoury style than lush fruit. I think it will work very well, with good keeping qualities, but it is less demonstrative up front. The finish shows the class.د.إ2,815.00 -
Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (95-97)
Three barrels, all new, from three different coopers, The Clos St-Denis will stay in barrel until the spring. 20% whole bunches. An impressive, saturated, purple colour. This has all the gorgeous heady qualities of the appellation. Exceptionally sensual yet with depth and structure. Now another immense burst of fruit on the back of the palate. Bilberries, blueberries and luscious raspberries. Drink from 2030-2038. Tasted Nov 2024.د.إ4,575.00 -
Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (89-92)
A fully crimson ruby. Full sturdy red fruit on nose and palate, fills the mouth very well, with some tannins behind. A sturdy lower slope Gevrey which will age well. Drink from 2029-2035. Tasted Nov 2024.د.إ1,525.00 -
Burghound (87-89)
A slightly more deeply pitched nose is also exceptionally fresh with hints of earth and the sauvage lurking in the background. The medium weight flavors are also supple and easy-going while contrasting with the youthfully austere and equally rustic finale that it just a bit firmer.د.إ922.00 -
Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (89-91)
From En la Poulotte (Couchey) and the better-known Les Longeroies, half and half. Mid ruby colour. The nose offers a very elegant floral pinot, there being a proportion of whole bunches. Lifted with light cherry fruit and a touch of orange zest. Given the lightness of tread of this Marsannay, there is delicious persistence. Drink from 2027-2030. Tasted Nov 2024.د.إ790.00 -
Vinous (92-94)
The 2019 Morey-Saint-Denis Les Millandes 1er Cru is 50% whole bunch with no new oak. It has a more powerful bouquet compared to the Clos des Ormes, although it does not exude the same mineralité or finesse. On the other hand, the palate is very well balanced and seems to have more depth and precision than the Clos des Ormes, leading to a compelling mineral-driven, saline finish that lingers for 45+ seconds. Superb.د.إ1,545.00 -
Vinous (91-93)
The 2020 Morey-Saint-Denis Les Millandes 1er Cru, which includes 50% whole bunch, works much better on the nose compared to the Clos des Ormes with detailed raspberry, cranberry and briary scents, the absence of new oak an assiduous decision. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, fine definition, fine grip with a lively, tensile finish. Very fine and it disguises the 14.6° alcohol pretty well thanks to the low pH.د.إ2,885.00 -
Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (93-96)
5 star. New in 2019 and a great success this year. “Our baby Clos de la Roche” they think. Dark colour but the bouquet shows how well balanced this is. Beautifully perfumed, floral even. 80% whole bunch, one new barrel in three. This is really lovely just to sniff at. Much more power behind than I expected, with really fresh lifted dark red fruit and some minerals. Long finish. A real star in this cellar. Tasted: November 2021د.إ2,210.00 -
Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (92-95)
Maison. One barrel, one year old wood. 80% whole bunch. Clear fresh mid purple. Superb energy from the fruit on the nose, with the oak relegated to the background. Undemonstrative yet fine, not the weightiest Murgers but the essentials of the vineyard are there and the finish is long.د.إ1,690.00 -
The Marchand & Tawse Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Corvees Pagets 2021 is an exquisite burgundy boasting elegance, grandeur, and insatiable charm. Assembled by the highly acclaimed winemaking duo Pascal Marchand and Moray Tawse, this spirited incarnation has a reputation that precedes itself. From the renowned French region of Nuits-Saint-Georges, this exceptional Premier Cru wine is crafted using traditionally harvested Pinot Noir grapes, yielding a delectable blend that hints at the complexity of its terroir. With a mélange of aromatic red fruits on the nose, the palate unravels to tease notes of juicy black cherries, subtle spice, and a harmonious minerality. The offering is then majestically matured in French oak, impressing a decadent, well-integrated oak influence on the palate. In the grand scheme of the wine world, the Marchand & Tawse Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Corvees Pagets 2021 is a glorious testament to the sophisticated finesse of Burgundian viticulture. Immerse yourself in its story with every sip.
د.إ1,800.00 -
Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (90-93)
Though the grapes are purchased, the Marchand-Tawse team are responsible for the viticulture here, so it is effectively but not officially a domaine wine. Picked late in the piece, on 24th September, and vinified with 60% whole bunches, the Petite Charmotte is still in barrel with 30% new. A pretty pink ruby colour, extremely cheerful bouquet, whole bunch on the later picked fruit seems to have worked well. White pepper at the finish. Nothing forced, very harmonious, a little darker fruit but classy. Drink from 2028-2033. Tasted Nov 2024.د.إ1,940.00 -
Vinous (97)
Saturated ruby. A heady, impressively complex bouquet evokes ripe red fruits, candied flowers, garrigue and incense, along with exotic spice and mineral notes that build with air. Utterly stains the palate with vibrant raspberry liqueur, cherry cola, licorice and fruitcake flavors that are sharpened by a jolt of spiciness on the back half. Polished tannins add gentle grip to the strikingly long, floral-dominated finish, which shows no rough edges.د.إ3,115.00 -
د.إ1,880.00
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Wine Advocate (100)
The 1990 Château Margaux is really beginning to hit its stride at age 31, soaring from the glass with aromas of blackberries and cassis mingled with notions of licorice, cedar and violets, framed by subtle hints of vanilla and spice. Full-bodied, deep and multidimensional, it's seamless and complete, its velvety tannins and ripe acids entirely cloaked in a lavish but vibrant core of fruit. This is an especially dramatic, fleshy rendition of Margaux, yet it remains impeccably balanced and has decades of longevity ahead of it.د.إ4,225.00 -
The Wine Cellar Insider (100)
What a wine! Mind-blowing in every sense of the word. The nose, with its explosion of earth, flowers, tobacco leaf, ripe red and dark fruits grabs you. But the magic happens as soon as the wine hits your palate, coating every inch of your taste receptors with layers of fruit that just do not quit. The finish moves past the 60 second mark with ease. This is stunning today and will be even better in 10-20 or perhaps more years.د.إ5,175.00 -
د.إ22,980.00
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(12x75cl) 2008
Decanter (97)
This stood out immediately among the five first growth wines for its floral hit right off the first nose. The epitome of elegance, as I found at the 10-year point, but it is now also starting to deepen and layer, with concentrated black fruits balanced by linen-textured tannins, slowing the progress of the fruit through the palate, stretching out the flavours. First suggestions of tobacco and curling woodsmoke, with a mouthwatering finish - so moreish. 1.5% Petit Verdot completes the blend. Just 36% of overall production.د.إ18,012.00 -
Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux (100)
Power and enveloping aromatics from the first moment, this is bursting with pleasure, and so signature Margaux. Impossible not to love the depth and the spice that comes through from the first moment, with spirals of sandalwood, violets, crushed raspberries and cassis. Enticing and generous, and totally delicous. Still young, very much in it primary fruit phase, but you can begin to drink this now, such is the vibrancy of the tannins, but it will deliver for many decades to come. Torreified, smoked coffee bean and campfire notes overtake after half an hour in the glass. 100% new oak. 31% of production win the 1st wine, with the same high level of Cabernet Sauvignon as in 2005. Paul Pontallier director in these years, and this continues to set out a benchmark for the property, as it has every time I have tasted it.د.إ8,705.00 -
Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux (100)
Power and enveloping aromatics from the first moment, this is bursting with pleasure, and so signature Margaux. Impossible not to love the depth and the spice that comes through from the first moment, with spirals of sandalwood, violets, crushed raspberries and cassis. Enticing and generous, and totally delicous. Still young, very much in it primary fruit phase, but you can begin to drink this now, such is the vibrancy of the tannins, but it will deliver for many decades to come. Torreified, smoked coffee bean and campfire notes overtake after half an hour in the glass. 100% new oak. 31% of production win the 1st wine, with the same high level of Cabernet Sauvignon as in 2005. Paul Pontallier director in these years, and this continues to set out a benchmark for the property, as it has every time I have tasted it.د.إ14,225.00 -
(1x300cl) 2010
The Wine Cellar Insider (100)
The perfume teases you with its depth and intensity of what’s to come with its aromas of violets, smoky oak, licorice, earth, vanilla and mélange of dark berries. From the first sip, the wine coats your palate and taste buds with pure, fresh, rich, thick, polished blackberries, silky tannins and a finish that builds and expands for close to 60 seconds! The wine continued to build and expand in the glass for the two hours we spent with the wine over lunch.د.إ14,615.00 -
The Wine Cellar Insider (100)
The perfume teases you with its depth and intensity of what’s to come with its aromas of violets, smoky oak, licorice, earth, vanilla and mélange of dark berries. From the first sip, the wine coats your palate and taste buds with pure, fresh, rich, thick, polished blackberries, silky tannins and a finish that builds and expands for close to 60 seconds! The wine continued to build and expand in the glass for the two hours we spent with the wine over lunch.د.إ18,620.00 -
James Suckling (97)
The purity of cabernet sauvignon fruit is what impresses here. Subtle and energetic plum and currant aromas follow through to a gorgeously harmonized palate of wonderful fruit and an ultra-long finish. Current bush and light earth adds to the complexity. Lasts for minutes. Drink in 2022.د.إ8,560.00 -
The Wine Independent (100)
A blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2016 Chateau Margaux is deep garnet-purple in color. It is a real struggle to shake loose the aromas, this is so shut down at the moment. Eventually, notes of crème de cassis, blackberry pie, and blueberry compote begin to emerge, followed by licorice, dark chocolate, cumin seed, truffles, and iron ore suggestions. Full-bodied and full-on rich and seductive, the palate is absolutely crammed with bright, crunchy black fruit layers, framed by astonishingly ripe, finely grained tannins and amazing tension, finishing with a firework display of minerals, flowers, and exotic spices. Sell your car and get a few cases of this - you won't regret it!د.إ6,990.00 -
The Wine Independent (100)
A blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2016 Chateau Margaux is deep garnet-purple in color. It is a real struggle to shake loose the aromas, this is so shut down at the moment. Eventually, notes of crème de cassis, blackberry pie, and blueberry compote begin to emerge, followed by licorice, dark chocolate, cumin seed, truffles, and iron ore suggestions. Full-bodied and full-on rich and seductive, the palate is absolutely crammed with bright, crunchy black fruit layers, framed by astonishingly ripe, finely grained tannins and amazing tension, finishing with a firework display of minerals, flowers, and exotic spices. Sell your car and get a few cases of this - you won't regret it!د.إ11,900.00 -
James Suckling (99)
There is ripeness and opulence to this, in an almost exotic and sassy way. Crushed berries with chocolate and spice. Floral and cashmere undertones. This starts off slowly and just rolls off the palate with beautifully polished tannins and a salty, minerally note to the long, extended tannins. Really brilliant. So classy. Structured. Try after 2025.د.إ6,285.00 -
James Suckling (99)
There is ripeness and opulence to this, in an almost exotic and sassy way. Crushed berries with chocolate and spice. Floral and cashmere undertones. This starts off slowly and just rolls off the palate with beautifully polished tannins and a salty, minerally note to the long, extended tannins. Really brilliant. So classy. Structured. Try after 2025.د.إ8,830.00 -
Wine Advocate (100)
The 2018 Château Margaux is composed of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, representing 36% of the crop this year. The wine has a pH of 3.8 and 14% alcohol. Deep purple-black in color, it slowly unfurls to reveal tantalizing scents of crème de cassis, wild blueberries and Black Forest cake with hints of redcurrant jelly, rose oil, dark chocolate and cedar chest plus a touch of star anise. The medium to full-bodied palate bursts with opulent black fruit, fragrant earth and floral layers, supported by a rock-solid structure of exquisitely ripe, finely grained tannins and seamless backbone of freshness, finishing with fantastic length. This is classic Margaux at its most seductive, although it is, rather amazingly, approachable and absolutely delicious right now. But, to enjoy its full glory, you will want to cellar it for at least 6-8 years and then watch it metamorphize over the next 40+ years.د.إ10,965.00
