Sample Cellar

Background Information
The prestige cuvee of Moet et Chandon, Eugene Mercier registered the brand name Dom Pérignon before Moët & Chandon acquired it and used it to launch the first champagne marketed as a prestige cuvée, a 1921 vintage launched in 1928. Only released in exceptional vintages.

Background Information
The celebrated growth of Lafite is of remote origin and very ancient renown. It occupies the finest crests in Pauillac, a region the Latin poet Ausonius spoke of as early as the year 325 B.C. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Seigneurs of Lafite were the high administrators of justice in this country. It was through the officers of their choice that they exercised this right until 1789. The great qualities shown by their wines earned them the sobriquet 'Princes of the Vines'. The bouquet of Lafite wines is very suave and of incomparable delicacy; its savor brings together at the same time the taste of almonds and the scent of violets without it being possible to distinguish whether the one dominates the other. Lafite was very fashionable at the king’s table in the time of Louis XV. It had a place of honor at the banquets held by marshal de Richelieu, and Mme de Pompadour always poured some at her little suppers. After having been the property of the de Ségur family, it belonged to Mr. de Pichard, president of the Parliament of Guienne, until the end of the 18th c. Unfortunately, he was not spared by the upheaval of the revolution and was guillotined in Paris on 12 Messidor in the year II (30 June 1794). After having been made a property of the state, the domain of Lafite was acquired by Dutch owners. In 1868, it was purchased by Baron James de Rothschild and still belongs to his heirs. The wines of Lafite have always been produced with the same zealous care. They keep their reputation untarnished and still dazzle the world as they once did the Court in Versailles. Château Lafite Rothschild also produces a second label called Carruades de Lafite. ©Conseil des Vins du Medoc

Background Information
In 1826, Hugh Barton, already proprietor of Château Langoa, purchased part of the big Léoville estate. His part then became known as Léoville Barton. Six generations of Bartons have since followed, and continued to preserve the quality of the wine, classified a 2nd growth in 1855. Ronald Barton inherited the property in 1927. He in turn donated it to his nephew Anthony in 1983. Today the vineyards are jointly owned by Anthony Barton, his daughter Lilian Barton-Sartorius and her children Mélanie and Damien, thus making eight generations of Barton family at Léoville Barton. ©ugcb

Background Information
Located between Margaux and Saint Julien, Château Beaumont (114 hectares in a single block) overlooks the nearby Gironde Estuary.The Mansart-style Château was built in 1854. There have been twelve owners since then: a Breton aristocrat, a Honduran minister, a Parisian industrialist, a lieutenant-Colonel from Caracas, a Venezuelan senator and so on. Château Beaumont now belongs to Grands Millésimes de France (GMF-Suntory-Ethias). Recent replanting in the vineyard and a newly renovated vat room reflect the estate's successful combination of state-of-the-art techniques and traditional Médoc winemaking methods. he château earned both Agriculture Raisonnée ("Sustainable Agriculture") and "Terra Vitis" certification in 2004, epitomising their emphasis on environmental protection and health. ©ugcb