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.
France
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Vinous (93)
Inky ruby. Powerful, mineral-driven aromas of ripe black/blue fruits, candied violet, olive and exotic spices. Densely packed and focused on the palate, offering bitter cherry and boysenberry flavors that unfold slowly with air and show sharp delineation. The blue fruit and floral notes drive a long, juicy finish given framework by dusty, slow-building tannins.HK$2,410.00 -
Vinous (94)
Opaque violet color. Displays potent, mineral-accented dark berry preserve and incense aromas that are complemented by floral, olive and musky spice nuances. Chewy, densely packed and focused on the palate, offering intense blackberry, blueberry, candied violet and smoky bacon flavors that become livelier with air. Finishes on lingering mineral and floral notes, with solid thrust, youthfully gripping tannins and excellent persistence.HK$930.00 -
Matthew Jukes (18)
Domaine de Saint Pierre usually sports a midnight black hue and impenetrable fruit in its youth, but in 2020, there is a purple colour and a more red-fruited feel throughout. Juicy and surprisingly fresh, this is a delicious, lip-smacking Cornas, and I cannot remember using either of these expressions about wine from this appellation before.HK$4,675.00 -
Vinous (94)
Vivid purple. Sexy, mineral-accented aromas of ripe dark berries, candied violet, olive and smoky Indian spices show excellent clarity and energetic lift. Sweet and focused on the palate, offering juicy, nicely concentrated black raspberry, cherry and floral pastille flavors and a hint of allspice. An intense mineral nuance drives a strikingly long, gently tannic finish.HK$1,405.00 -
Vinous (94)
Glass-staining ruby. An expansive bouquet evokes blue fruit preserves, potpourri and olive paste, and a hint of smoky bacon builds in the glass. A vibrant mineral nuance adds energetic lift to sappy boysenberry, blackberry spicecake and violet pastille flavors that deepen and spread out slowly on the back half. Shows wonderful energy for its heft and finishes on a gently tannic note, displaying sharp delineation and emphatic mineral thrust.HK$975.00 -
Vinous (94)
Glass-staining ruby. An expansive bouquet evokes blue fruit preserves, potpourri and olive paste, and a hint of smoky bacon builds in the glass. A vibrant mineral nuance adds energetic lift to sappy boysenberry, blackberry spicecake and violet pastille flavors that deepen and spread out slowly on the back half. Shows wonderful energy for its heft and finishes on a gently tannic note, displaying sharp delineation and emphatic mineral thrust.HK$3,155.00 -
Wine Advocate (94)
The 2017 Cote Rotie Domaine des Pierrelles is full-bodied but exceedingly elegant, with silky, fine-grained tannins. Charming notes of violets, raspberries and black olives lead the way, backed by hints of dried spices and mocha, finishing long. It's a complex and compelling example of Cote Rotie, and it's great to see all of the Jaboulet team's hard work in the vineyards paying off.HK$1,340.00 -
Wine Advocate (94)
The 2017 Cote Rotie Domaine des Pierrelles is full-bodied but exceedingly elegant, with silky, fine-grained tannins. Charming notes of violets, raspberries and black olives lead the way, backed by hints of dried spices and mocha, finishing long. It's a complex and compelling example of Cote Rotie, and it's great to see all of the Jaboulet team's hard work in the vineyards paying off.HK$4,215.00 -
Vinous (94)
Deep, shimmering violet. Expansive, mineral- and spice-accented black and blue fruit aromas show excellent clarity and pick up a suave floral note with air. Shows impressive depth as well as energy to the sweet black raspberry, boysenberry and candied violet flavors, which turn spicier on the back half. The floral and mineral notes drive a very long, juicy finish framed by smooth, even tannins.HK$1,245.00 -
(6x75cl) 2019Vinous (94)
Dark ruby. Pungent, spice- and smoke-tinged dark berries, cherry pit, olive and potpourri on the assertively perfumed nose. Juicy and energetic on the palate, offering gently sweet red and dark berry flavors, along with floral pastille, allspice, olive and cracked pepper notes. Fine-grained tannins add shape to a very long, lively finish that strongly echoes the floral and spice notes.HK$3,605.00 -
(6x150cl) 1999Vinous (89)
Deep red-ruby. Ripe, expressive aromas of smoked meat, leather and animal fur. Sweet but still tightly wound and firm; offers very good intensity and structure but is not yet especially sweet. Finishes with toothdusting tannins and good length.HK$6,520.00 -
HK$4,350.00 -
(6x75cl) 2019HK$535.00 -
(6x75cl) 2022HK$595.00 -
HK$1,165.00 -
HK$1,095.00 -
(6x75cl) 2019HK$1,630.00 -
(6x75cl) 2017Vinous (92)
Limpid straw-yellow. Ripe orchard and pit fruits on the mineral-tinged nose, along with an orange pith nuance that adds lift and focus. Concentrated, focused and gently sweet, offering juicy white peach, pear and honeysuckle flavors that become spicier as the wine opens up. A spicy quality emerges slowly on the sharply focused, tenacious finish, which echoes the mineral and floral notes.HK$1,110.00 -
Wine Advocate (94)
Bearing more than a passing resemblance to an actual Hermitage, the 2017 Crozes Hermitage Domaine de Roure comes from granitic soils, and it comes across as darker, more concentrated and sturdier than Jaboulet's other Crozes bottlings. Cassis and black olive notes abound in this full-bodied, structured wine, which finishes long and velvety, picking up hints of baking spices along the way.HK$2,400.00 -
Vinous (94)
Deep magenta. A highly perfumed bouquet evokes ripe red and blue fruits, potpourri and licorice, and a smoky mineral accent builds in the glass. Appealingly sweet and penetrating on the palate, offering juicy dark fruit preserve and floral pastille flavors that are brightened by a snap of juicy acidity and a building, spicy nuance. Clings with impressive tenacity on the gently tannic finish, leaving behind Chambord and exotic spice notes.HK$1,805.00 -
(7x75cl) 2003Vinous (91+)
Deep ruby. Very ripe and warm on the nose, but not pruney or over the top. A big, round wine with lush dark berry and cherry compote flavors and a serious, chewy texture. A bit youthfully inexpressive today but the power and concentration of the material are obvious. Notes of espresso and candied licorice emerged with aeration. Frederic Jaboulet noted that production was down from a normal 20,000 cases to 7,000.HK$3,265.00 -
(1x75cl) 2010Wine Advocate (93)
The 2010 Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert, which I raved about last year, is slightly better than their brilliant 2009. It boasts a dense purple color along with a beautiful perfume of camphor, licorice, forest floor, black currants and Christmas fruitcake. With tremendous intensity, full body and supple tannins, it should drink well for 10-15 years, perhaps longer where well-stored. This cuvee is always one of the best buys in the Northern Rhone.HK$550.00 -
(6x75cl) 2010Wine Advocate (93)
The 2010 Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert, which I raved about last year, is slightly better than their brilliant 2009. It boasts a dense purple color along with a beautiful perfume of camphor, licorice, forest floor, black currants and Christmas fruitcake. With tremendous intensity, full body and supple tannins, it should drink well for 10-15 years, perhaps longer where well-stored. This cuvee is always one of the best buys in the Northern Rhone.HK$1,845.00 -
(6x75cl) 2012Vinous (92)
Inky ruby. Displays lively, spice-tinged black raspberry and cherry aromas, with notes of fresh flowers and minerals adding lift. Seamless and precise on the palate, offering nervy red and dark berry flavors plus hints of licorice and cola. In a lively, elegant style, finishing with strong cut, supple tannins and a lingering note of candied flowers.HK$2,955.00 -
(6x150cl) 2015Vinous (94)
Inky ruby. Suave, mineral-accented scents of ripe blueberry, black currant and Indian spices, along with a slowly emerging floral component. Plush, broad and deeply concentrated, displaying black and blue fruit, licorice and mocha flavors that are energized by an intense, peppery overtone. Finishes extremely long, fleshy and sweet, delivering intense mineral thrust, a subtle cracked pepper nuance and youthful, building tannins.HK$3,165.00 -
Vinous (94)
Inky ruby. Suave, mineral-accented scents of ripe blueberry, black currant and Indian spices, along with a slowly emerging floral component. Plush, broad and deeply concentrated, displaying black and blue fruit, licorice and mocha flavors that are energized by an intense, peppery overtone. Finishes extremely long, fleshy and sweet, delivering intense mineral thrust, a subtle cracked pepper nuance and youthful, building tannins.HK$1,480.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (94)
The 2016 Crozes Hermitage Domaine De Thalabert offers a rocking (and classic) bouquet of ripe black fruits intermixed with notions new saddle leather, pepper, garrigue, and hints of bacon fat. This ripe, medium to full-bodied, silky wine has remarkable purity, is already complex, and finishes with serious length. Drink it over the coming 10-15 years.HK$1,290.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (94)
This terroir always delivers a wild, opulent, gamey style of wine, and the 2017 Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert doesn’t disappoint. Loads of chocolaty black fruits, ground pepper, truffle, and smoked game, as well as a hint of black olives, emerge from the glass, and it’s medium to full-bodied, has a rocking texture, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It’s a classic example of this wine and terroir. Drink it over the coming 15 years or so.HK$1,530.00 -
Wine Advocate (93-95)
Although the fruit sourcing has changed from the old days, the 2018 Crozes Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert remains a solid offering in the Jaboulet lineup. Violets accent blackberries and plums on the nose, while the palate is full-bodied, lush and velvety, underscored by doses of salinity and licorice on the lengthy finish.HK$1,470.00 -
(1x150cl) 2019Matthew Jukes (18+)
Following on from the terrific 2018 vintage, this is another exuberant wine with an inky dark hue and masses of swirling, black fruit notes. This is certainly the most exotically perfumed Thalabert I can remember and this reflects the unique fruit concentration and ripeness found in this vintage. Once you taste this wine you see that it is not all about the luxuriously appointed nose because the palate is packed with spice and tension and the finish is positively electric. In terms of accessibility and also potential, this wine is a conundrum – how can something so young and attractive also seem so compact and age-worthy? This is the key to all of Jaboulet’s 2019s. The exquisite balance between ravishing fruit and refreshing, robust tannins is mesmerising. This is a stupendous Thalabert and I think it is a notch up on the brilliant 2018.HK$980.00

