Wine Advocate (94+)

This property is owned and managed by the Vauthier family of Château Ausone. The 2015 Moulin Saint-Georges is blended of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, aged for 18 months in French oak barrels, 85% new. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it reveals a gorgeous plum preserves, licorice and blackberry pie-laced nose with touches of cedar chest, cigar box, black olives and forest floor. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated and very firmly textured with grainy tannins, it has a lively backbone supporting the generous black fruit, finishing with lingering savory notes. Give it a good 5 years or more in bottle and drink it over the next 20+ years.

Wine Advocate (93+)

A blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Moulin Saint-Georges is a little closed to begin, sporting subtle notes of baked cherries, mulberries and fresh plums with touches of cedar chest, pencil shavings and bay leaves. Medium-bodied, the oak is a tad apparent at this youthful stage, lending a chewy nature to the texture yet with a great intensity of vibrant, youthful fruit to match, finishing with plenty of red fruit sparks.

Decanter (94)

The alcohols are a touch higher than usual here, as at Ausone, but it retains an excellent fresh feel. This is always my wine to buy from the Vauthier lineup for the 95% of us who can't afford Ausone, and here again it is gorgeous, with the most perfect line of sight to the generous black fruits, showing sapidity and juice. 100% new oak.

Decanter (94)

So full of deeply-drawn berry fruit, fresh and juicy with touches of liquorice bud and rosemary, thirst quenching and yet thirst inducing in that amazing way that limestone can both refresh and make you thirst for more at the same time. An excellent Moulin St Georges, and such a step up from the more sandy soils that you find at Fonbel and the two Simard estates in this year's range of Vauthier-owned wines that this alone can help you understand how to navigate 2020.

Jeb Dunnuck (94)

From a cooler terroir just across from Ausone and aged 18 months in 100% new barrels, the 2023 Château Moulin Saint Georges offers up cassis, crushed stone, flint, and violet nuances. It's medium-bodied, with a pure, graceful, layered mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and integrated acidity. I love the overall balance here, and it has the fresher profile of the terroir, perfectly integrated oak, and a great finish. It's going to benefit from 2-4 years of bottle age and keep for two decades. It's a beautiful wine. Drink 2028-2045.

Embodying the prestige of Southwest France's winemaking, the Moulinet-Lasserre 2017 captivates both the palate and the eye. Handcrafted by Domaine de Moulinet-Lasserre, this elegant vintage boasts of an idyllic blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Born from meticulously tended vineyards located in the heart of the Côtes de Bergerac AOC, it draws a unique mineral resonance and rich fruitiness from the clay-limestone terroir.

Critical to the wine's distinct palette is the wise winemaking process, entailing regulated temperature fermentation and careful maturation in French oak barrels for 18 months. A beautiful dark ruby in colour, with complex aromas of black fruits, spicy notes and a hint of vanilla, the Moulinet-Lasserre 2017 embodies a multilayered presentation that tantalises the senses. On the palate, the wine shows a rigorous structure with fine tannins, presenting a long, elegant finish. This vintage is the exemplification of Domaine de Moulinet-Lasserre's commitment to quality and tradition.

Regarded as a notable testament to fine French winemaking, Moulinet-Lasserre 2018 exemplifies a rich heritage stemming from the distinguished appellation of Côtes de Castillon, Bordeaux. This vintage is the result of meticulous viticulture, hand-harvesting and mindful vinification process, affirming Moulinet-Lasserre's prestige.

Marking an exceptional year, the Moulinet-Lasserre 2018 decants an unblemished balance of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, showcasing beautiful dark fruit aromas and a refined palate, reflecting the calcareous soils that characterise their vineyards. Structured yet subtle tannins indicate promising ageing potential. It bears the distinctive imprint of its creators, the Thienpont family, who remains committed to producing limited quantity, superior wines.

As a fine wine connoisseur, indulge in the Moulinet-Lasserre 2018’s intense, expressive character and complex, lush layers. It remains an exquisite portrayal of its region and a substantial addition to any wine enthusiast's collection.

Please enjoy the Moulinet-Lasserre 2018 responsibly.

Vinous (96)

A gorgeous wine, the 2012 Pinot Noir is just starting to show the first signs of softening. Sweet tobacco, mint, crushed flowers, leather, pine and cedar all grace this mid-weight, exquisite Pinot Noir. Beautifully perfumed and light on its feet, the 2012 is all class. It is one of the early highlights in this vertical. Best of all, the 2012 has enough freshness and pedigree to drink well for many years to come. The growing season was marked by cool, late-ripening harvest and a naturally generous crop. In 2012, the weather was cooperative, cool and moderate during harvest, which was quite a contrast to the 2013-2017, all of which were more frenzied, winemaker Jeffrey Patterson adds.

Vinous (94+)

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon is wine of real pedigree and class that is going to need at least a handful of years to enter the prime of its drinking window. Blackberry jam, grilled herbs, smoke and plum all resonate on the palate. Inky, deep and plush, the 2013 remains quite primary. I will not be surprised at all if the 2013 develops into an even better wine with time. That said, the 2013 is positively striking today, with compelling inner sweetness, tons of perfume and exceptional balance.

Halliday Wine Companion (97)

100% destemmed and fermented with as many whole berries as possible. Left to soak for four days, pre-fermentation with one pump over per day, then plunged three times per day. 15 months in French barriques (25% new). A bright crimson red. Perfumed and seductive even at this early stage. Aromas of wild red berries, gentle spice, dark rose and bracken. Concentrated and structured with very fine, sinewy and savoury tannins. A brilliant, non-mainstream Yarra Valley pinot that's been built to go the distance.

Halliday Wine Companion (94)

Good colour; considerable depth and power to the array of cassis, blackcurrant and blackberry fruit; very good texture and structure; abundant fine tannins and controlled oak. Cork.

Wine Advocate (97+)

I saw this wine blind recently (in a largely international tasting) and could not place the variety or region. I can see why here today: the fruit in the 2017 Quintet is almost unbelievably red fruited. It is buoyant and supple and speaks eloquently of raspberry seed, black cherry, red apple skins, blond tobacco, hints of sweet roasted meats (distant wafts only), enoki mushroom and red miso; the experience is inchoate and thrilling in equal measure. In isolation, perhaps, it may be easy to assume that the wine, given its age versus purity quotient, is simple. But given what we know about the capacity for aging carried by this vineyard/cuvée, I'd say you were grievously mistaken to judge it in that manner. This is a sleeper wine and one that hasn't even started to show us what it is capable of. It's a superstar. 13% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.

Halliday Wine Companion (99)

Stands proudly at the head of the Mount Mary portfolio. A blend of 44% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot, 16% cabernet franc and 5% each of malbec and petit verdot, each variety handled according to its structure. Open/static fermenters, wood/stainless steel, 10-14 days on skins, 35% new oak from a range of coopers and forests, 16-20 months in barrel. Mesmerisingly silky, with a kaleidoscope of fruit and secondary flavours.

Halliday Wine Companion (99)

'Arguably, one of the greatest red vintages in living memory', says Mount Pleasant. The flagship wine. Destemmed and crushed, short cold soak, open-fermented, matured in large format French oak (30% new) for 18 months. Has the gently throbbing power of a Rolls Royce; superb, deep crimson-purple hue, itself rare in the Hunter Valley. Countless layers of black fruits have absorbed the oak and put the undoubted tannins into limbo land. O'Shea would have died a happy man had this been his last wine. Dissecting it now is an academic exercise at best, so great is its future. This is as close to a 100-year potential as you are ever likely to find.

Vinous - Neal Martin (98)

The 1961 Mouton-Rothschild is an audacious Pauillac that on this occasion had the temerity to outpace the '61 Latour. A Second Growth too! Layers of black fruit unfold on the nose, with hints of cassis, pencil shavings and mint, aromas noted in previous bottles. Fabulous concentration on the palate, channelling the decadence of the 1982 yet maintaining absolute control and delineation. I find a touch more complexity on the finish compared to the Latour, fanning out with ineffable sensuality. Utterly divine. Tasted at the 1961 dinner at Ami restaurant in Hong Kong.