Cheers! from the Duke of Bourbon

We love second chances . . . ours is the great news that we can re-offer some outstanding 2005 Bordeaux wines from one of the region's finest vintages ever! All of these classic wines have received high praise and top scores from Robert Parker and the Wine Spectator. We have priced the wines aggressively with the hope that you will show a strong interest. They are available in 6-packs only at this time. For the first 10 days of this e-mail offering, we have a very special program . . .12-pack prices on 6-pack purchases!

We welcome your calls for assistance and guidance as you make your pre-order selections. The wines will be available within seven days after you place your order.

2005 Chateau Haut-Canteloup (Medoc) ...List-$16.99 each. Duke's 6-pack price-$15.29 each. Duke's 12-pack price-$14.44 each.
Chateau Haut-Canteloup is located in the northern Medoc with vineyards planted on both sandy and gravelly soils. The 40-year-old vines are about 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc.

The Wine Advocate rated the 2005 Chateau Haut-Canteloup 88 points and called it a "Sleeper of the Vintage." Their notes: "A strong effort as well as a sleeper of the vintage, the 2005 Haut-Canteloup possesses a dense ruby/purple color in addition to a sweet bouquet of black currants, licorice, and spice. Pure and medium-bodied with excellent fruit concentration and precision." Made to drink in the near-term.

2005 Chateau Croix-Mouton (Bordeaux Superieur) ...List-$22.50 each. Duke's 6-pack price-$20.25 each. Duke's 12-pack price-$19.13 each
Formerly known as Mouton (the name had to be changed because of a lawsuit by Mouton-Rothschild), this is an impressive small estate owned by the immensely talented Jean-Philippe Janoueix, winemaking superstar on the rise. This is a wine that will give you immense pleasure because you can drink it now while you still remember why it is so good and before it gets lost in your cellar.

The Wine Advocate rated the 2005 Chateau Croix-Mouton 89 points. Their notes: "The young, creative, talented Jean-Philippe Janoueix (who also makes the fabulous Confession, La Croix St.-Georges and Le Conseiller) produces this super-Bordeaux from a humble vineyard. A blend of 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec, this beauty boasts an inky/ruby/purple color as well as a sweet bouquet of incense, black raspberries, blackberries, coffee, and spice. Deep, supple, lush, and opulent, it is a super effort for its pedigree and price."

2005 Domaine de Courteillac (Bordeaux Superieur)...List-$23.99 each. Duke's 6-pack price-$21.60 each. Duke's 12-pack price-$20.40 each.
The steady hand of Michel Rolland helped make this gorgeous wine. Merlot comprises 63% of the blend, Cabernet Sauvignon 23% and Cabernet Franc 14%.

The Wine Spectator rated the 2005 Domaine de Courteillac 90 points and chose it as one of the 50 best wines of the vintage. Their notes: "Dark in color, exhibiting beautiful aromas of blackberry, coffee and milk chocolate. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a light toasty oak and citrus fruit aftertaste. Balanced and pretty."

2005 Chateau Cap de Faugeres (Cotes de Castillon)...List-$28.99 each. Duke's 6-pack price-$26.09 each. Duke's 12-pack price-$24.64 each
Quality is the watchword at Chateau Faugeres which has vineyards in both the Saint-Emilion and Cotes de Castillon areas. Cap de Faugeres is their wine from the Cotes de Castillon. It is Merlot-based (85%) with the balance being Cabernet Sauvignon (5%) and Cabernet Franc (10%). "Cap" sees a little less time in oak than the St.-Emilion Faugeres, but is still a substantial wine.

The Wine Advocate rated the 2005 Chateau Cap de Faugeres 89 points. Their notes: "Always one of the top Cotes de Castillons, the 2005 Cap de Faugeres is revealing more rustic tannin than it did from barrel, but it is a weighty, deep, rich effort offering a flamboyant nose of black fruits, coffee, chocolate, and toasty oak. While dense and full-bodied, the rough tannin in the finish suggests it will benefit from another year or so of bottle age; it should keep for a decade."

2005 Chateau Caronne Ste.-Gemme (Haut-Medoc)...List-$29.99 each. Duke's 6-pack price-$26.99 each. Duke's 12-pack price-$25.49 each

This is an estate in the central Medoc with records stretching back to 1648. The wine is Cabernet Sauvignon-based (60%) with about 37% Merlot and the balance Petit Verdot. Intense wine at a price to fit the budget.

The Wine Spectator rated the 2005 Chateau Carrone Ste.-Gemme 91 points. Their notes: Offers raisin and dried fruit, with very ripe fruit aromas and coffee and oak undertones. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a long finish. This is pumped up, but I like the flamboyant character."

2005 Chateau Puygueraud (Cotes de Francs) ...List-$32.00 each. Duke's 6-pack price-$28. 80 each. Duke's 12-pack price-$27.20 each
The Cotes de Francs, smallest of the Bordeaux appellations, occupies the highest slopes of the Gironde River to the east of Saint-Emilion. Chateau Puygueraud is leading the breakthrough of this previously little-known region. This wine is produced mainly from Merlot with, however, a proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon that is quite high for the region, as well as a touch of Malbec with its peppery character.

The Wine Spectator rated the 2005 Chateau Puygueraud 92 points. Their notes: "Shows lovely black currant, floral and black licorice notes. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a tight bead of fruit and mineral throughout. Has a long finish."

2005 Chateau Faizeau Vieilles Vignes (Montagne-St.-Emilion) ...List-$32.99 each. Duke's 6-pack price-$29.70 each. Duke's 12-pack price-$28.05 each
This top-flight estate may be the finest vineyard in Montagne-St.-Emilion. It consists of 25 acres of old-vine Merlot planted on a limestone/sand plateau. The average age of the vines is 50 years, although some were planted in 1904.

The Wine Advocate rated the 2005 Chateau Faizeau Vieilles Vignes 90 points and named it a Sleeper of the Vintage. Their notes: "Possibly the finest Faizeau made to date, this sleeper of the vintage reveals a deep ruby/purple color along with a lovely nose of kirsch, licorice, and pain grille. Full-bodied, ripe, and seamless with excellent harmony among its component parts, it hit 14.5% natural alcohol and is made from 100% Merlot. This extravagant, flamboyant effort should drink well for a decade."!

2005 Chateau Grand Corbin-Despagne (St.-Emilion), Grand Cru ...List-$37.50 each. Duke's 6-pack price-$33.75 each. Duke's 12-pack price-$31.88 each
The vines of this Grand Cru estate sit on sandy soil and average 40 years in age. The wine is about 75% Merlot and 24% Cabernet Franc, the balance being Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a solid and well-made wine that attains elegance with age.

The Wine Advocate rated the 2005 Chateau Grand Corbin-Despagne 90+ points. Their notes: "This powerful, tannic, dense blue/purple-hued St.-Emilion will handsomely repay those with patience. It offers up a tight but promising nose of smoke, meats, creosote, black currants, blueberries, and cold, wet steel. A masculine, stern effort with a certain austerity, abundant tannin, and superb depth, purity, and richness."

2005 Chateau La Vieille Cure (Fronsac)...List-$49.99 each. Duke's 6-pack price-$44. 99 each. Duke's 12-pack price-$42.49 each
Fronsac has long been laboring in the shadows of neighbors Pomerol and Saint-Emilion. Thanks to new owners, the quality of the wines of La Vieille Cure have improved dramatically over the last 20 years. Here is a fine example of that quality.

The Wine Advocate rated the 2005 Chateau La Vieille Cure 93 points and called it a Sleeper of the Vintage. Their notes: "La Vieille Cure's amazing 2005 is even better than their terrific 2003 and 2000. The 2005 boasts an inky/ruby color as well as a gorgeously sweet perfume of charcoal, black cherries, black currants, and spring flowers as well as an underlying mineral component. Superb concentration, full-bodied power, wonderful symmetry, purity, and texture, and a multidimensional mouthfeel are all found in this fabulous sleeper of the vintage."

2005 Clos du Marquis (St.-Julien)...List-$72.00 each. Duke's 6-pack price-$64.80 each. Duke's 12-pack price-$61.20 each
Clos du Marquis is the other wine produced at Chateau Leoville-Las-Cases, one of the premier Chateaux in Saint-Julien. Unlike most "second" wines, this one is sourced from a single vineyard on the estate and more properly should be considered a different cuvee. It does receive a lesser percentage of new oak - 25% - than its sibling.

The Wine Spectator rated the 2005 Clos du Marquis 93 points. Their notes: "Fabulous aromas of crushed raspberry, blackberry, mineral and licorice follow through to a full-bodied palate. This is chewy yet silky, with a long, long finish. Balanced and powerful."

2005 Chateau d'Armailhac (Pauillac)...List-$62.99 each. Duke's 6-pack price-$56.69 each. Duke's 12-pack price-$53.54 each
Chateau d'Armailhac is perhaps the least well-known Bordeaux property in the Mouton-Rothschild portfolio. The style is "less masculine" compared to their other wines, because of the greater proportion of Merlot and Cabernet Franc in the blend. The estate has about 125 acres of vineyards on primarily gravelly soil with some portions of the vineyards being over a century old.

The Wine Advocate rated the 2005 Chateau d'Armailhac 90+ points. Their notes: "This powerful, tannic, structured effort from Mouton-Rothschild's stable is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Its dense ruby/purple color is followed by an earthy nose dominated by black currants and toasty, smoky oak. Medium to full-bodied with relatively high tannin, decent acidity, and a fine finish."



Note: Prices are good while our supplies last and we reserve the right to change them at any time without notice.