CHÂTEAU D'AIGUILHE
2014 Côtes de Castillon
Nice claretty feel. Very suave, this just delivers everything you want. Lovely sophisticated fruit - plum skin and wild strawberry and then silky fine tannic frame to finish on a firmer edge - could last, but very attractive.. Rating: 90 L&S (Apr 2015)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2014 Aiguilhe has a dark core. The nose is tightly wound with blackberry cedar and graphite notes, nicely defined and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with light tannin, easygoing blackberry and bilberry fruit. There is a little sappiness towards the finish that just tapers in slightly, but otherwise, a delightful Côtes de Castillon. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. Drinking range: 2020 - 2028 Rating: 88 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Mar 2018)
The 2014 d'Aiguilhe is classy, polished and refined. Bright red cherry, raspberry and floral notes are front and center. Sweet vanillin notes from the oak still need to integrate, but otherwise this is a very pretty wine. The bright acidity of the vintage gives the wine an attractive kick of energy. Drink this gracious, midweight Côtes de Castillon over the next handful of years. The blend is 80 % Merlot and 20 % Cabernet Franc. Tasted two times. Drinking range: 2017 - 2024 Rating: 89 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2017)
The Château d'Aiguilhe 2014 is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc picked between 3 and 13 October, vatted for 30 days and aged in 30% new oak barrels. It has an immediately pleasurable nose that should remain intact by the time of bottling: bundles of juicy mulberry and strawberry fruit with a smear of vanilla filling in any gaps. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, a touch of citric fruit lending tension, impressive depth with a nicely poised, yet elegant finish. There will be better 2014s in Bordeaux but few with the QPR of this little beauty. The only downside? Pronouncing the name when you place the order. Say "de-gwee" and you should be there however, don't blame me if a case of something completely different arrives. Drinking range: 2018 - 2030 Rating: 90-92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2015)
Dark, sweet, dried-fruit aromas and pretty drying tannins on the end. Good intentions but slightly less oak might help showcase the fruit. Hint of green on the end. Drinking range: 2018 - 2021 Rating: 15 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2015)
Rating: 89 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2015)
A silky and refined red with blueberries and blackberries. Medium to full body. Bright finish. Rating: 88-89 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Mar 2015)
Château d'Aiguilhe
Chateau d’Aiguilhe, owned by Stephan Neipperg is situated in a unique location. The Bordeaux wine property is bordered on one side by a plateau. The other side is bordered by a small valley. This overlooks “l’aiguille”, which is a French term meaning “needle.” This is how the chateau found its name. The property has a long and interesting history as a Bordeaux wine property. At one time, there was supposed to have been a Roman villa on this site. Much later, the château was probably used as a commandery for the Knights Templar. The first written records date back to the late 12th century. The château was built in the 13th century. d’Aiguilhe was obtained by the d’Albret family before it was sold to the Leberthon family. The Leberthon family connection was important as numerous familiy members were officials in the Bordeaux parliament. Eventually the Leberthons sold Château d’Aiguilhe on the eve of the French Revolution to Etienne Martineau. He expanded it into a huge Bordeaux wine estate with four hundred hectares of vines in a single block. His descendents remained owners of the château until 1920. Today, the Right Bank property is owned and managed by Stephan von Neipperg, who owns several other Bordeaux wine properties in St. Emilion.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.