Dear Wine Lover,

I hope you are well and had a great weekend.

Last Friday night Robert Parker published his long-awaited ratings on the Bordeaux 2010. Robert Parker’s ratings confirmed the incredible quality of the 2010 Bordeaux vintage, with 10 wines having been awarded a perfect 100 points score. Robert Parker further stated that “…in 10-15 years I could imagine another 6-8 chateaux joining the rarefied air of perfection...” and that the 2010 vintage is one of the “…three greatest Bordeaux vintages I have tasted in my career.”

James Suckling gave more 100 point scores in 2010 than in 2009 for a total of 11 wines receiving a perfect rating. As he commented, the wines are “…truly superb…” and have “…unparalleled structure and richness…”

Now that the ratings are out, we are pleased to list here under a selection of what we believe are the must have wines of the 2010 vintage :

75.0 cl Pape Clément Rouge - Graves, Pessac-Léognan 2010 CHF 195.00 (CHF 210.60 VAT Included)
Robert Parker 100 Points: "Its sublime elegance, the power, the medium to full-bodied texture, the silky tannins, the subtle notes of smoke, lead pencil shavings, black currants, charcoal, camphor, blueberry and cassis fruit are all remarkable. It is a rich, full-throttle wine, but the elegance and the great terroir of Pape Clement come through in abundance. It is slightly more developed and evolved than the 2005 was at a similar point in its evolution, but it certainly needs another 5-7 years to develop further nuances, which it surely will. This wine will last 30-40+ years. Kudos to proprietor Bernard Magrez, who has built an empire based on high quality more than any other characteristic."

75.0 cl Pontet Canet - Pauillac 2010 CHF 210.00 (CHF 226.80 VAT Included)
Robert Parker 100 Points: "An absolutely amazing wine » .. « It comes from one of the few biodynamic vineyards in Bordeaux »  «  An astounding, compelling wine with the classic Pauillac nose more often associated with its cross-street neighbor, Mouton-Rothschild, creme de cassis, there are also some violets and other assorted floral notes » « Alfred Tesseron is not doing right? Talk about an estate that is on top of its game! Pontet-Canet’s 2010 is a more structured, tannic and restrained version of their most recent perfect wine, the 2009. Kudos to Pontet-Canet! »

75.0 cl Haut Brion - Graves, Pessac-Léognan 2010 CHF 800.00 (CHF 864.00 VAT Included)
Robert Parker 100 Points: " The wine is ethereal. From its dense purple color to its incredibly subtle but striking aromatics that build incrementally, offering up a spectacular smorgasbord of aromas ranging from charcoal and camphor to black currant and blueberry liqueur and spring flowers, this wine’s finesse, elegant yet noble power and authority come through in a compelling fashion. It is full-bodied, but that’s only apparent in the aftertaste, as the wine seems to float across the palate with remarkable sweetness, harmony, and the integration of all its component parts – alcohol, tannin, acidity, wood, etc. This prodigious Haut-Brion is hard to compare to another vintage, at least right now, but it should have 50 to 75 years of aging potential. Anticipated maturity: 2022-2065+.

75.0 cl Vieux Château Certan - Pomerol 2010 CHF 295.00 (CHF 318.60 VAT Included)
Robert Parker 99 Points: "What an amazing duo of wines from proprietor Alexandre Thienpont » «  Full-bodied and evolved, this wine has gorgeous texture and remarkable opulence. It can be drunk now or cellared for 10-15 years. Thienpont thinks he has produced three wines - 2008, 2009 and 2010 - that are the greatest trilogy in the history of Vieux Chateau Certan, rivaling what this estate did in 1947, 1948 and 1949."
James Suckling 97 Points

75.0 cl Montrose - St. Estephe 2010 CHF 220.00 (CHF 237.60 VAT Included)
Robert Parker 99 Points: "a massive, full-bodied mouthfeel and a finish of close to 50+ seconds… » « …The finish blew me away, and the overall power, richness and balance of this wine are virtually perfect. Look for « Jean Delmas remains a consultant at Montrose, he still believes the 2010 Montrose is one of the all-time great wines ever produced at this estate, equaling or exceeding the quality of the 1929, 1945, 1959, 1961, 1989, 1990 or 2009."
James Suckling 97 Points

75.0 cl Lynch Bages - Pauillac 2010 CHF 150.00 (CHF 162.00 VAT Included)
Robert Parker 96 Points: "The 2010 Lynch Bages is an absolutely brilliant wine, and somewhat reminiscent at this stage in its development of the profound 1989. Jean-Charles Cazes, who took over for his father a number of years ago, has produced a magnificent wine with the classic creme de cassis note intermixed with smoke, graphite and spring flowers. It is a massive Lynch Bages, full-bodied and very 1989-ish, with notable power, loads of tannin, and extraordinary concentration and precision. This is not a Lynch Bages to drink in its exuberant youth, but one to hold on to for 5-6 years and drink over the following three decades. "
James Suckling 98 Points 

75.0 cl Duhart Milon - Pauillac 2010 CHF 99.00 (CHF 106.90 VAT Included)
Robert Parker 96 Points: "Dense purple, with classic notes of cedar and lead pencil shavings as well as gobs of back currants and licorice, the wine has a full-bodied mouthfeel with fabulous precision and density. It also possesses a long, silky finish with moderately high tannins, but they are ripe and well-integrated. The wood is clearly pushed to the background in this dense, full-bodied Pauillac, which should drink beautifully for 30+ years.

75.0 cl Phélan Ségur - St. Estephe 2010 CHF 39.00 (CHF 42.10 VAT Included)
Robert Parker 90 Points: "A major sleeper of the vintage, the 2010 Phelan-Segur has a dense ruby/purple color, ripe mulberry and black currant fruit intermixed with some floral notes, and a hint of subtle oak as well as touches of lavender and licorice. Layered, opulent, ripe and fleshy, this beauty should drink nicely for 10-15 years."