Bordeaux Collector Wines

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This is certainly one of the stars of the vintage. With its solid tannins and dark, smoky character, it is going to be powerful, but with such elegance. The fruit flavors combine richness and freshness in fine harmony.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEIntense aromas of tar, blackberry and wet earth, with just a hint of tobacco and flowers. Full-bodied, chewy and long. Extracted, yet turns caressing and velvety in texture. Broad-shouldered and muscular for this estate. This is better than the 2000. Best after 2012. 3,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WSThe 2004 Cheval Blanc has always been a wine that I felt needed patience on behalf of the wine lover, and so it is proving to be the case. Served blind I remarked upon a surprisingly Burgundy-like bouquet with ample red cherries, candied strawberry and redcurrant scents, the Merlot clearly more conspicuous than the Cabernet Franc, at least for now. The palate is medium-bodied with just a touch of coarseness on the entry. I appreciate the weight and balance here and belatedly the Cabernet Franc begins to express itself on the latter half, lending structure and grip, a dash of spice and a bit of sinew. Whilst it will never have the persistence of other vintages and regrettably continue to be dwarfed by the 2005, it remains a very fine Cheval Blanc from Pierre Lurton and his team. Tasted September 2016.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 92 RP-NMGood bright ruby-red. Subdued but pure aromas of plum, flowers, licorice, menthol and Asian spices. Suave on entry, then dry and tight in the middle; extremely backward and shut down. Most impressive now for its finesse of texture. But today there’s little sign of the fleshiness the wine showed in the spring after the harvest. Lock this one away for a while and forget about it. This vintage has more cab franc than merlot.Vinous Media | 90+ VM

Made in an elegant, surprisingly low key style for La Mondotte, the concentrated, delicious, opaque purple-colored 2001 builds incrementally on the palate. An impressive bouquet of black cherries, creme de cassis, toast, and minerals is followed by a medium to full-bodied effort with nicely integrated wood, acidity, and tannin as well as a long finish. This is a brilliant wine, and one of the finest efforts of the vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2017.Robert Parker | 94 RPSolid red with loads of spicy, rich berry fruit, with just the hint of spice. Full-bodied, with a well-integrated fruit and tannin structure. Long finish. Tight and firm now. Needs time. This is very serious. Best after 2006. 740 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThe 2001 La Mondotte, which I had tasted twice before, has a pleasant bouquet of raspberry coulis and crushed strawberry scents, hints of peppermint and orange blossom emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with simple red berry fruit, maraschino cherries and touches of blueberry, fine acidity and dark chocolate and espresso notes toward the finish. This was always a more elegant style of La Mondotte, one that did not appeal to me in its youth, but does now. Cropped at 20hl/ha and matured in 100% new oak for 18 months.Vinous Media | 92 VM

A wine that will be a candidate for perfection at maturity, the 2015 Valandraud is a heavenly wine that exhibits a deep, saturated ruby/purple color as well as a sensational bouquet of blackcurrants, cassis, crème caramel, graphite, and chocolate. This full-bodied, expansive, super concentrated 2015 is a hedonistic dream and has exceptional purity, balance, and equilibrium. While it offers pleasure today, it needs short-term cellaring and will keep for 20+ years.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDPlenty of toasty oak and extract here. This has immensely concentrated fruits with powerful yet silky tannins. Blackberry and dark-plum aromas dominate the nose with hints of dark chocolate and candied orange. Flavors follow suit amid fluid, muscular tannins that hold long into the finish. Great wine. Try from 2023.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2015 Valandraud is blessed with a stunning, brilliantly defined and focused bouquet, quite penetrating in style yet so young and primal. This is all about potential. The palate is supremely well balanced with perfectly assimilated oak, satin-like in texture with wonderful precision and length. About as good as it gets. Class, class, class. Jean-Luc hits the ball out of the park. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 98 VMSince the first vintage in 1991, this wine and its vineyard have travelled far. Now close to the top of the classification tree in Saint-Émilion, this vintage shows the impressive nature of this powerful wine. With a good balance between acidity and black fruits backed up by tannins, the wine is powerful and stylish. Drink from 2027.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEJean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud acquired their first 0.6 hectare site near Château Pavie-Macquin in 1989. They continued to purchase further plots in Saint-Émilion over the years and now own eleven hectares in total. Closely associated with the garagiste movement and much heralded by Robert Parker, the couple’s wines are often described as pioneering. Château Valandraud was promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé status in 2012 and has an annual production of 30,000 bottles. The vines are an average of 30 years old and are grown on limestone clay soils.JA: This is an excellent flight so far, real depth and quality on display, gorgeous juice and texture and definition. Persistency through the finish, this hangs on and delivers, clear sapidity and salinity on the finish.AH: Needs a little more time to fully resolve. Firm tannins, quite dry on the palate at the moment. Lots of ripe fruit here, dark berry and plum but restrained oak and potential to age. Tannins a little grainy. Great focus and depth. Classy and memorable.TT: Opaque ruby. Very intense aromatics ranging from violet fragrance to black ink to cherry to allspice. Rich concentrated plum and cherry fruit flavours and velvety fine tannins with a long finish and mouth-filling flavours. (Drink between 2024-2043)Decanter | 97 DECThe 2015 Valandraud is medium to deep garnet-purple in color with a profound nose of baked cherries, warm black plums, blueberry preserves and smoked meats with tilled earth, mocha, Indian spices and dried herbs nuances plus a touch of licorice. The mouth is big, full-bodied and powerful with notable, velvety tannins and it is packed with savory and spice flavor layers, finishing with epic length. This big-boned, voluptuous, Rubenesque beauty will blow hedonists’ minds!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96+ RPMelted licorice, plum sauce and blackberry puree notes flow through here, with ample but velvety structure running underneath. Alluring ganache, violet and tobacco accents add nuance on the finish. Long and beguiling, featuring echoing fruit and a captivating mouthfeel. Drink now through 2035. 3,417 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

A monumental wine is the 2015 Hosanna and it’s 82% Merlot and 18% Cabernet Franc raised in (I suspect) all new barrels that’s from a single parcel of older vines. One of those rare wines to pair incredible opulence with off the charts elegance and purity, it’s up with the top handful of wines in this vintage and readers should do whatever they can to taste this beauty. Loaded with notions of blackcurrants, black raspberries, toasty oak, truffles, graphite, and spice-box, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, an ethereal, seamless texture, perfect balance, and a huge finish. It’s unquestionably one of the superstars in the vintage and should last for 25-30 years. Hats off to the Moueix team!Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDThis has the wow factor; it’s very impressive. The nose is saturated with dark, rich plums and wet-earth aromas, not to mention the roasted-coffee and crushed-violet undertones. The palate has polished, lustrous appeal, and dark plums and ripe blueberry flavors abound. Long, deep-set tannins with incredible depth. This has x-factor depth and elegance. Best from 2025.James Suckling | 98 JSA blend of 82% Merlot and 18% Cabernet Franc, the 2015 Hosanna had a medium garnet-purple color, charging out of the glass with an exotic perfume of smoked meats, truffles, sandalwood and Indian spices over a compelling core of cherry cordial, blackberry tart and blueberry compote plus suggestions of garrigue and rose hip tea. The full-bodied palate is absolutely laden with taut, muscular black and blue fruits, with a solid frame of grainy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing with languidly lingering licorice and spice flavors. Incredibly seductive and just plain delicious right now, hedonists can enjoy this captivating wine while it’s relatively young, while traditionalists can wait ten years and drink it over the next 25 years or more.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPA dense, powerful Pomerol, the 2015 Hosanna hits the palate with a huge center of fruit and layers of flavor that open up effortlessly in the glass. Hosanna is easily the most exotically ripe, flamboyant wine in the Mouiex range. Dense, powerful and also quite structured, with huge tannins, Hosanna is going to need at least a number of years before it is at its best. Hosanna is also one of the darkest and most potent Pomerols readers will taste in 2015.Antonio Galloni | 95 AGThis wine with its dense and dusty tannins has considerable power as well as concentration. The small 10-acre vineyard has produced a wine packed with both tannins and luscious black fruits. Acidity complements all this richness with its own freshness and balance. Drink from 2027.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEFleshy and inviting, featuring warm fig, boysenberry and blackberry pâte de fruit notes laced with ganache and tobacco accents. Long and especially velvety through the finish, with waves of fruit and ganache in lockstep. This will have fans for sure. Best from 2022 through 2035. 1,030 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WSSignature spicy, smoky, coffee, dark chocolate and damson; deep, brooding and earthy with a lingering freshness and a long finish. Drinking Window 2022 - 2032.Decanter | 91 DEC

Wild aromas of crushed fruit, forest flower and wild mushrooms. Full-bodied, with incredibly velvety tannins that go on and on. Lovely and exciting fruit. Gorgeous, seductive wine. Hard to resist now. Better than I remember.--’95/’96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2007.Wine Spectator | 94 WSProprietor Christian Moueix’s 1996s have turned out well in the bottle. The 1996 Petrus is a big, monolithic, foursquare wine with an impressively opaque purple color, and sweet berry fruit intermixed with earth, pain grille, and coffee scents. Full-bodied and muscular, with high levels of tannin, and a backward style, this wine (less than 50% of the production was bottled as Petrus) will require patience. It is a mammoth example. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2035Robert Parker | 92 RP

This captures the magic of Lafleur and is utterly moreish. It is so silky, with hints of truffle, tobacco and sweet blackberry fruits from the first sip, opening up to violet flowers and drawn-out finely spun tannins. It’s at a beautiful moment for drinking now, but clearly has a long life ahead of it. 2001 was a vintage that suited the Merlot grape and tasting this as a pairing with the 2002 is a brilliant way to explore the two sides of Lafleur’s personality. The vintage was not released en primeur as it came along during the handover of ownership from the Robins to the Guinaudeaus, which is why there is still wine at the estate to share during the vertical. Drinking Window 2019 - 2050.Decanter | 98 DECThe 2001 Lafleur was tasted directly from bottle with Baptiste Guinaudeau. It opens gradually to reveal scents of brambly red fruit, black truffle, mint and touches of iron and sage. The palate is medium-bodied with firm, grippy tannins, and very ferrous in style, the Cabernet Franc definitely in the driving seat. Residues of black pepper and white pepper linger on the slightly savory finish. Poured at Café Cuisine with Baptiste Guinaudeau.Vinous Media | 95 VMThis wine starts out very tight, with fresh herb and tobacco character, but then it opens to ripe plum, berry and chocolate character. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a long, caressing finish. Impressive. Lafleur is always outstanding. Best after 2009. 1,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSPerforming slightly less impressively from bottle than it did from cask, this wine’s Cabernet Franc element has come forward, revealing a distinctive herbal, bell pepper, vegetal character that kept my score from going higher. Nevertheless, there is plenty to like about this 2001 Pomerol. It possesses a saturated ruby/purple color, powerful aromas (kirsch liqueur, raspberries, and blackberries), an earthy, muscular, chunky character, and the most tannic personality of any Pomerol I tasted. While not the huge blockbuster Lafleur can often produce, it is well-built. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2019.Robert Parker | 92 RP

Beautiful aromas of plums, soy, black currants, black raspberries, espresso, and spring flowers jump from the glass of this perfumed, dense plum/ruby/purple-tinged Pomerol. Medium to full-bodied and pure with sweet tannin and impressive extract, it will benefit from 2-3 more years of bottle age, and should last for an additional two decades.Robert Parker | 93 RPThere’s no denying the dense, rather massive core of raspberry, blackberry and boysenberry confiture flavors here, but the core is already showing a lightly dried edge. The finish picks up mulling spice, cocoa and melted licorice notes that compensate for that, but I feel like this is burning the candle at both ends, relying more on oomph than precision.—Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Drink now through 2023. 2,330 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

One of the monumental wines in the vintage is the 2016 Château Eglise Clinet from proprietor Denis Durantou. Based on 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, this utterly perfect wine boasts a saturated purple color as well as an essence of Pomerol bouquet of ripe black cherries, blackcurrant liqueur, smoked tobacco, camphor, and graphite. Deep, full-bodied, incredibly powerful, and layered, yet always with class and balance, it offers a remarkable marriage of power and finesse. It’s already sexy and seductive yet also a baby, and needs 7-8 years of cellaring. It should keep for 3-4 decades (probably longer), but why wait?Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDWe are now levitating somewhere above the rest of Denis Durantou’s excellent range. Typical of the incredibly deft and precise way of working that is his signature, this wine brings cinammon and clove then hugely deep, rich dark fruits. Utterly elegant, it completes a circuit around your mouth. This is a physical reaction to a wine that you only get in certain vintages and in very few wines. A great European wine. 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc aged in 80% new oak. 43hl/ha yield from 4.2ha. Drinking Window 2027 - 2050Decanter | 98 DECThe depth and beauty in the aromas really draw you in with black truffles, blackberries, crushed stones, violets and other flowers. Black olives, too. Full-bodied, super refined and structured with perfectly manicured tannins and a very, very long finish. It’s full of soul and precision. Take a look after 2024.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2016 L’Eglise Clinet has a medium to deep garnet-purple color with aromas of warm black cherries, mulberries and Black Forest cake slipping seductively from the glass plus nuances of rose hip tea, baking spices, fragrant soil and fallen leaves. Medium to full-bodied, it’s wonderfully elegant in the mouth with fantastically plush tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long and very perfumed. Beautiful!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPThe 2016 L’Eglise-Clinet was matured in 80% new oak and bottled in mid-April 2018. Crystal clear in color, it has an equally crystal clear bouquet that is utterly seductive, featuring red cherries, wild strawberry, peony and iris flowers and a hint of bay leaf. You could sit and nose this all day. The balanced palate is medium-bodied and grippy in the mouth, displaying supple tannin and a perfect line of acidity. Again, there is a symmetry about this Pomerol that is utterly beguiling, and the persistence is up there with the very best. Simply put, this is one of the best L’Eglise-Clinet wines I have tasted in recent years. Stunning.Antonio Galloni | 98 AGThis pulls it all together, with a gorgeous core of creamed plum, blackberry and boysenberry confiture notes, laced with singed anise and incense accents and backed by long echoes of anise and black tea. Delivers ample flesh from start to finish, and should easily finish soaking up its toast with some time in the cellar. Best from 2023 through 2038.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

The 2018 La Conseillante is composed of 83% Merlot and 17% Cabernet Franc, with a 3.65 pH and 14% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs a lot of swirling and coaxing to lure out the youthfully shy, incredible perfume of black raspberries, boysenberries, ripe plums and cinnamon toast, leading to notions of lilacs, clove oil and forest floor, plus a waft of iron ore. The medium to full-bodied palate is a jaw-dropping exercise in finesse, slowly unfurling in the mouth to reveal layer upon layer of bright, crunchy red and black fruits, supported by a rock-solid frame of firm, fine-grained tannins and tons of freshness, finishing long and with an impressive mineral and exotic spice firework display. It’s an incredible expression of Pomerol that cannot fail to inspire a resounding "WOW" from whoever is fortunate to drink it. Tempting to broach now (albeit with a lot of air), try to keep your hands off it for a good 5 years and then drink it over the next 30 years or more.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPThe 2018 La Conseillante is a regal and utterly exquisite Pomerol from the very first taste. Technical Director Marielle Cazaux and her team turned out a jewel of a wine. Silky tannins and lifted, precise aromatics make a strong first impression. Inky dark fruit, pain grillé, lavender, spice, menthol and a kiss of new French oak all flesh out over time. More than anything else, what comes through is the new emphasis at La Conseillante on freshness and verve. The 2018 is a Pomerol of tremendous precision. It is, in a word: dynamite!Antonio Galloni | 98 AGA dense, layered Pomerol with lots of chocolate, walnut, and plum character. Some coffee undertones. It’s full-bodied with chewy, polished tannins and a structured, muscular finish. Solid. Elegance with power. 2018. Try after 2025.James Suckling | 97 JSA beautiful expression of this terroir, which always seems to yield a more elegant, complex style of wine, the 2018 Château La Conseillante is based on 83% Merlot and 17% Cabernet Franc that saw 70% new French oak. A brilliant perfume of blueberries, currants, spring flowers, violets, and graphite gives way to a medium to full-bodied Pomerol with flawless balance, ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. It closes down rather quickly with time in the glass (I followed the bottle for multiple days), and it isn’t for the instant gratification crowd, but it’s unquestionably a gorgeous Pomerol. Give bottles a solid 8-10 years of bottle age, and it’s going to evolve for 25-30 years in cold cellars.Jeb Dunnuck | 97+ JDThis is beautiful and powers through the palate showing depth and concentration to the brambled fruit. It has an excellent mid palate, the truffle of Pomerol comes through at this young stage in a way that was not evident in the 2015 even, but here has a lovely seductive kick. Spicy vanilla bean and black pepper alongside touches of cinnamon, this is very good quality. A yield of 32hl/ha. 70% new oak, 3% in amphora for the first time. Drinking Window 2025 - 2045.Decanter | 96 DECThe elegant structure that backs up this wine is impressive in its restraint. While the wine has plenty of black fruits and dark tannins, it conveys a calm character that sees long-term aging as its goal.The wine will take its time. Drink from 2026.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WENicely packed, with a mix of dark plum and black currant preserve flavors wrapped with licorice root and warm earth notes. Tobacco and bay fill in on the finish, adding energy and cut. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2034. 3,299 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

So attractive on the nose with blackberry, black olive and a hint of brown sugar. It’s full-bodied with layers of ripe tannins that flow across the palate. Rich, intense and flavorful finish with flavors similar to the aromas. Fleshy and toned at the end. From organically grown grapes. Try after 2025.James Suckling | 98 JS(Château L’Évangile, Pomerol, Red) You feel the density and power straight off the nose here - this is really silky, sexy and smoky wine with a ton of complex flavours combining berry fruits with spices swirling through, and finishing up with liquorice bean and coffee grounds on the finish. There’s less lift perhaps than the 2016, but you feel the concentration, the depth to the flavour, and the balance. It has a beautiful texture and feels very classically Pomerol but with elegance and persistency. A small production in 2018 but a very beautiful one. 75% new oak used. (Drink between 2027-2044)Decanter | 97 DECThe 2018 L’Evangile is composed of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple colored, it comes barreling out of the glass with explosive scents of boysenberries, stewed plums and baked blackberries with hints of lilacs, candied violets, Indian spices and garrigue, plus a touch of black truffles. Full-bodied, rich and powerful in the mouth, this blockbuster coats the palate with layers of black fruit preserves and exotic spices, framed by plush tannins and wonderful energy, finishing long and savory. Decadently approachable now, give it 4-5 years in bottle for maximum impact and drink it over the next 20+ years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPMade in the more lively, elegant style that seems to be favored these days, the 2018 Château L’Evangile is based on 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, with the Cabernet Franc playing a much more lead role than normal. Beautiful blue fruits, green tobacco, violets, white truffle, camphor, and damp earth notes all flow to a gorgeously layered, full-bodied Pomerol with sweet, silky tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. While I prefer the more opulent renditions of this cuvée, this is nevertheless a brilliant wine that has wonderful concentration, beautiful purity of fruit, and the class to evolve for 25-30 years in cold cellars.Jeb Dunnuck | 97+ JDThe 2018 L’Évangile is flamboyant, spectacularly beautiful. Mildew in June took out fully 50% of the potential crop, resulting in a dense, opulent wine that is going to need many years to shed some of that baby fat. The 20% Cabernet Franc is the highest on record. The 2018 is an epic, modern-day Évangile. Raspberry jam, mocha, licorice, spice and chocolate come together as the 2018 blossoms with time in the glass. Made with 80% new oak. Both hedonistic and intellectual, the 2018 is a total pleasure bomb. Don’t miss it. A real wow wine - huge!Antonio Galloni | 96 AGOwned by the Rothschild family of Lafite-Rothschild, this estate has produced a richly delicious wine. The power of Merlot is tempered and perfumed by ripe Cabernet Franc. Tannins and acidity both point to aging potential. The wine’s weight, cut with black fruits, is just right and well in balance. This wine needs time, so drink from 2027.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEDark and winey, with a burly tobacco edge framing a core of steeped black currant, blackberry and fig paste flavors. Strong tug of warm earth through the finish, where bay, leather and chestnut notes also chime in. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2026 through 2036.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

There was no frost in the vineyard in 2017, due to its situation high upon the limestone plateau. Composed of 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, which was harvested from September 25 to October 3, the 2017 Pavie is very deep garnet-purple in color and rolls slowly and sensuously out of the glass with growing scents of Black Forest cake, black plum preserves, blueberry compote and fruitcake plus suggestions of melted chocolate, licorice, crushed rocks and Indian spices with a waft of violets. Full-bodied, the palate packs a powerful punch, laden with electric layers of energetic black and blue fruits. All this decadent fruit is supported by fantastic freshness and very, very ripe, velvety tannins, finishing with epic length. Location, location, location was everything in 2017. Pavie has one of the most enviable locations in all of Bordeaux and boy-oh-boy does it show in this spectacular wine.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPThe wine of the vintage, the 2017 Chateau Pavie is an incredible achievement and is certainly in the same league as past great vintages such as 2000, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2015, and 2016. This hillside terroir escaped from the frost unscathed, and the 2017 is 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon brought up in mostly new oak. Its deep purple hue is followed by a rock star bouquet of pure creme de cassis, espresso roast, crushed violets, graphite, and a distinct sense of minerality. Deep, full-bodied, and concentrated, it has a wonderful sense of elegance, flawless balance, and again, awesome purity. This sensational effort has some upfront charm yet, given the tannins, a solid 7-8 years of bottle age are warranted and it should cruise for 25-30 years in cool cellars.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDThe 2017 Pavie is a serious, powerful wine endowed with tremendous energy. Black cherry, plum, mocha, spice and leather are just some of the many nuances that build in the glass. In so many vintages, Pavie is a wine of immediacy, but in 2017 readers will find a more reticent wine, one that will need at least a few years in bottle to blossom. Creamy and beautifully layered, with superb vibrancy, the 2017 is striking.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGA stunner, with waves of velvety textured plum sauce, blackberry reduction and warm cassis rolling through, inlaid seamlessly with violet, black tea and singed applewood notes. Voluptuous and showy, but with a very fine chalky minerality pervading on the finish, imparting a sense of grace and refinement. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2022 through 2040. 6,250 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSPowerful but well-rounded and carefully extracted, this has the St-Emilion confident power but tons of wonderful slate character to hold everything in check. There are walls of damson and dark chocolate that you can climb here, and it climbs right out of the 2017 pigeonhole. Great stuff, one of the best in the lineup, and a definite step-up from how it was showing En Primeur. (Drink between 2024-2040)Decanter | 95 DECComplex nose with a striking medicinal note, but also tons of of elderberry and a touch of old balsamic vinegar. A stunning 2017 with everything you expect from a great St.-Emilion except opulence. Very long, positively dry finish with quite some minerality. Drinkable now, but best from 2025. Château Quintus vertical tasting. SP.James Suckling | 95 JSThis wine is rich. But it also has a poise and control that balances the richness. With its restrained power and black fruits, the wine will develop impressively. Drink from 2024.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WE

What fun, excitement and joy it will be to compare the four perfect wines Perse has made in 2005, 2009, 2010 and, of course, the 2000, in 25 or so years. This wine is truly profound Bordeaux. Everything is in place – remarkable concentration and a beautiful nose of cedar and ripe blackcurrant and blackberry with some kirsch and spice box in the background. Lavishly rich, with slightly more structure and delineation than the more Rabelaisian 2009, this wine does show some serious tannins in the finish, and comes across as incredibly youthful. Of course, it’s five years old, but it tastes more like a just-bottled barrel sample than a 2010. In any event, this wine is set for a long, long life and should be forgotten for at least another decade. Consume it over the following 75 or more years.Robert Parker | 100 RPThe 2010 Château Pavie is straight-up magical, and while it matches the 2000, 2005, 2009, and 2015, it has a style all its own. (It’s probably most similar to the 2005, yet even more tannic and backward.) Checking in as blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon from tiny yields of 26 hectoliters per hectare, it’s still ruby/plum-colored and has a powerful, inward bouquet of blackcurrants, smoked earth, graphite, chocolate, and white truffle. Deep, powerful, and massive on the palate, yet also incredibly delineated and focused, it’s shed just a touch of the baby fat it had in its youth and still needs another 4-5 years to hit prime time. Given its depth of fruit, flawless balance, and both purity and freshness, it’s going to be a 75- to 100-year wine.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDThis is really exceptional with such freshness, firmness and focus. Full body, incredibly tight tannins and a lengthy finish. Such power and elegance at the same time. The beginning of a new era of Pavie.James Suckling | 99 JSA brick house, still rather tight, with loads of apple wood and juniper flavors holding the core of red currant, blackberry and bitter plum fruit in check. Offers ample grip through the finish, with a mouthwatering chalk, graphite and tobacco spine. A huge wine that hasn’t budged and probably won’t for some time.--Non-blind Pavie vertical (March 2017). Best from 2025 through 2050. 7,083 cases made.Wine Spectator | 98 WSThis is accomplished and enjoyable, starting to come into its own at ten years old, and very much infused with the limestone impact of its soils. One of my favourite Pavies that scrapes along the palate in that way that just weakens my knees. A style of vintage that suits this property, where the acidity provides a natural break but doesn’t detract from the fruit and concentration. It is exerting its power gently and imperceptibly, turning the screw until the tannins are barring your way at the close of play. Brilliant stuff. Drinking Window 2020 - 2042Decanter | 98 DECThe 2010 Pavie has a very generous bouquet with intense red cherries, cassis, orange essence and even a hint of dried honey. This is exuberant and very intense. The palate is medium-bodied with very supple tannins, wonderful detail and precision. The energy in this Pomerol is palpable and it fans out gloriously towards the finish. This represents one of the best examples of the 2010 Pavie that I have tasted. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 96 VMThis feels very juicy, the fruit almost over-ripe. There is a generous new world feel to it, very opulent, super-rich. Open black plum and damson fruits push through the dark, perfumed tannins.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WE

This is a big upgrade for this spectacular micro-cuvee, a true garage wine from a 4.4-acre vineyard. A blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, I always find Gracia to be reminiscent of Ausone. The dense, rich 2000 reveals notes of a spring flower garden intermixed with smoky barbecue meat, blackberries, black currants, and crushed rocks. The extraordinary perfume is followed by a wine of great depth and richness, full-bodied power, and not a hard edge to be found. This velvety blockbuster is just beginning to strut all its stuff, and should age easily for another 15+ years.Robert Parker | 96 RPBright medium ruby. Superripe, slightly medicinal kirsch aroma, complicated by licorice, earth and exotic oak tones. Plump and smooth, with impressively concentrated flavors of liqueur-like black raspberry and black cherry. Finishes with big, dusty, late-arriving tannins and a note of roast coffee. Considerably less primary than the 2001 and 2002 vintages, but undeniably sweet and fat.Vinous Media | 91 VM

A fine wine, this dark purple-colored effort reveals black raspberry, blackberry, mineral, and floral aromas in its complex, multidimensional bouquet. In the mouth, it is medium-bodied, with sweet, ripe fruit, firm tannin, good acidity, and a long, well-endowed, moderately tannic finish. Moreover, it will be a long-lived wine. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2020.Robert Parker | 91 RPExcellent ruby-red. Dark berries, licorice and minerals on the nose. Tightly wrapped and firmly minerally in the mouth, with a note of shoe polish. Extremely primary for the vintage. Plenty of richness here. Finishes with toothdusting tannins and excellent length.Vinous Media | 90+ VMPure fruit on the nose, with violet, berry and raspberry aromas. Medium-bodied, with silky tannins and a long, polished finish. Super well done for the vintage. Drink now through 2005.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

A prodigious Petrus, this wine has that extra level of intensity and complexity that is monumental. The magic is clearly Petrus, and the 2000 will always be an interesting vintage to compare to another legend in the making, the 1998, or more recently, of course, the 2005, 2008, and 2009. Extremely full-bodied, with great fruit purity, an unmistakable note of underbrush, black truffle, intense black cherries, licorice, and mulberry, the wine seems to show no evidence of oak whatsoever. It has a sumptuous, unctuous texture, plenty of tannin, but also vibrancy and brightness. This is a remarkable wine that seems slightly more structured and massive than the 1998, which comes across as slightly more seamless, as if it were haute couture. This wine needs at least another 5-10 years of cellaring and should age for 50+ years.Robert Parker | 100 RPThe 2000 Petrus was served blind as an extra in an already formidable line-up. Deep, inky in hue, it has an intense nose of black and red fruit laced with pencil shavings and black truffle, the latter more prominently featured vis-à-vis previous bottles. The palate is medium-bodied, one of the most youthful examples that I have encountered, perhaps more masculine. Superb backbone here, grippy with that broody finish it exhibited a couple of years back. What you might call a "slow burner". Tasted at Epure restaurant in Hong Kong (again).Vinous Media | 98 VMThis has a pretty jam-packed core of blackberry, plum and boysenberry confiture notes inlaid with ample charcoal-edged tannins and carrying through a robustly tobacco-coated finish. But even with that density and power, there is a really beguiling backdrop of incense and black tea flavors waiting to emerge further. It’s all there, but this seems a touch more backward than the rest of the field, so hold on here.--Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Best from 2018 through 2035. 2,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 98 WSConcentrated plum colour, medium-full intensity and star bright. Powerfully complex aromatically with waves of dark berry fruits - blackberry, black cherry and bilberry. Still fairly young in expression, although it slowly unrolls to show campfire smoke and liquorice notes. With time in the glass, a more animal, liquorice bud note arrives, and the retro olfaction brings waves of violets. Exceptionally good quality and nuanced, finishing with black pepper and a hit of spice alongside black chocolate shavings. The tannic structure remains muscular and closed, suggesting this is just at the beginning of its drinking window and will age for many decades to come. From previous experience of this wine, this particular bottle seems entirely in keeping with a Petrus 2000 and is a beautiful example of this particular vintage and estate. Tasted as part of the Space Cargo Unlimited experiment, this bottle remained on earth while another sample was tasted that had returned from space. Drinking Window 2021 - 2050.Decanter | 98 DECWhile the first impression with Pétrus is the wood, it is the fruit which gradually shows itself. It is extraordinary, this dense fruit, which simultaneously manages to float with elegance. There is layer after layer of fruit, sometime black, sometimes smoky, sometimes spicy. The wine is not yet totally integrated, still intensely young, with decades to go. But what a development it will be Wine Enthusiast | 98 WENo written review provided. | 94 W&SA delicious nose of black olives, brown sugar, and sliced plums. Full bodied but shy, with a dense palate and soft and silky tannins. Flavors of milk chocolate, plums, and light vanilla bean come through. This is so good now, but wait three to four years to really see it shine. Find the wineJames Suckling | 93 JS

Another extraordinary wine made in a backward vin de garde style, the 1995 Clinet represents the essence of Pomerol. The blackberry, cassis liqueur-like fruit of this wine is awesome. The color is saturated black/purple, and the wine extremely full-bodied and powerful with layers of glycerin-imbued fruit, massive richness, plenty of licorice, blackberry, and cassis flavors, full body, and a thick, unctuous texture. This is a dense, impressive offering from administrator Jean-Michel Arcaute. This wine should continue to improve for another 10-25 years. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2025.Robert Parker | 96 RPVery good deep red-ruby. Rather dumb nose exudes a faint shoe polish aroma. Dense, velvety, soft and mouthcoating; fills those hard-to-reach spots on your palate. Really an outsized wine, with thick, chocolatey fruit and major dusty tannins. But currently monolithic. In France they’d call this "Monsieur Plus.”Vinous Media | 88-92 VMWild aromas of forest fruits, coffee and toasted oak follow through to a rich and decadent palate with full body and a long chewy finish. This still needs time.--’95/’96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2009.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

Tasted at the La Conseillante vertical at Chez Bruce. The La Conseillante 2001 has a lovely, rounded bouquet with notes of blackberry, loganberry, a touch of espresso and fresh fig that simply wafts from the glass and seduces upon contact. The palate is quite compact at the moment, good acidity with firm tannins, slightly foursquare at first but mellowing in the glass, quite linear towards the finish that refuses to fan out or give much away at the moment. Taciturn, very well crafted and very understated on the finish that has the perfect marriage of fleshiness and dryness to leave the palate eager for more. The ’01 is an exemplar for the estate. Magnificent. Tasted December 2010.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RP-NMAfter a precarious run, the 2001 La Conseillante was as a shoo-in. It has a seductive mélange of red and black fruit, those hints of truffle and white pepper coming through, youthful and brushing off its 21 years effortlessly. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-boned tannins, plenty of crisp black fruit laced with sage and still offering that cheeky soupçon of curry powder on the persistent finish. This is now reaching its peak and is just a lovely Pomerol.Vinous Media | 94 VMA finessed and balanced vintage, this is full of soft brambled fruits, tobacco and campfire notes, with sculpted fine tannins at 20 years old. Bernard Nicolas was the owner and winemaker at the time, with no outside consultant, so a very different set up at the château than the one you find today. Old school and utterly charming. Harvest September 22 to 30.Decanter | 94 DEC(Château La Conseillante) I had a less than stellar bottle of this wine early on in 2010, so I was very happy to cross paths with a stellar example this year at the estate’s 140th Anniversary luncheon. 2001 has produced some really lovely wines and intuitively, I had suspected that the character of the vintage would match very well indeed with the La Conseillante house style. Happily, this is indeed the case, as this lovely wine offers up a complex and very pure nose of plums, raspberries, a touch of nuttiness, coffee, a fine base of soil and a nice framing of cedar. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and quite complex, with a fine core of fruit, ripe, measured tannins, very good acidity and excellent length and grip on the still fairly closed finish. This will be an excellent vintage of La Conseillante and will be a real sleeper. (Drink between 2016-2040)John Gilman | 93+ JGBeautiful wine with blackberry, chocolate and floral aromas. Medium- to full-bodied, with silky tannins and a pretty finish. Refined and silky. Not a big Conseillante, but all in finesse and texture. I like it as much as the 2000. Best after 2006. 4,165 cases made.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

This controversial wine is fresh and bright still, unlike many of the overrated 2003s. Full-bodied, tight and polished with beautiful intensity and verve. Blackberry and sweet tobacco. Wet earth. Subtle and complex. Straight and direct. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 97 JSThis is a stunner, with the warmth of the vintage marrying ideally with the relative coolness of the terroir to deliver a wide range of vivid plum, boysenberry, raspberry and cherry paste flavors that have energy and drive, carried by a long graphite note and backed by a roasted apple wood accent that has been fully absorbed. Powerfully ripe, but not heady, with a sense of poise through the finish. A jaw-dropper.--Non-blind Pavie vertical (March 2017). Best from 2020 through 2040. 7,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSCertainly this was a wine born under considerable controversy, receiving accolades and kudos from me and several of my American colleagues, but generally excoriated by the British press. The French wine critics were very positive. This wine has calmed down considerably as it was a blockbuster, somewhat of a Bordeaux fruit bomb in its youth, and now has toned itself down to a serious candidate for one of the wines of this rather bizarre, but interesting, vintage. 2003 offered everything, from pathetically dilute and thin wines to some massive blockbusters. That was true especially in the Northern Médoc and from the limestone hillsides of St.-Emilion (where Pavie is situated). The color is a dark garnet, with a touch of amber beginning to appear on the edge. The wine has a stunning nose of roasted herbs, grilled meats, charcoal, blackberry and blackcurrant fruit, with some oak still present. Dense, full-bodied and very succulent and lush, this wine seems to be in late adolescence, ready to enter a relatively mature stage. There is always a suspicion because of the extreme heat in July and August that these wines will crack up very quickly, and certainly that will always be a worry, but this one looks set for at least another 10-15 years of drinkability.Robert Parker | 96 RPImpressive full medium ruby color. Quite locked up on the nose following the February bottling; hinted at currant, smoked meat and roasted nuts as it opened in the glass. Extremely powerful but a bit chunky today, conveying an impression of extraordinary solidity. One senses but does not taste the minerals and primary berry fruit. But this painfully closed wine already offers uncanny sweetness. The major mouthful of tannins calls for at least six to eight years of cellaring. A classic extreme 2003 that is currently in a sullen stage. This is sure to controversial-at least until it begins to recover from the bottling. My score may prove to be conservative, but today it’s the dried fruit character that dominates.Vinous Media | 92+ VM

An absolutely spectacular Tertre Roteboeuf, probably the only other vintage that will reach this level of quality is the 2000. The 1990 has a deep plum/ruby color with some lightening at the edge and an extraordinarily flamboyant nose of jammy black cherry and berry fruit infused with smoke, caramel, and coffee notes that soar from the glass. This is a very viscous, full-bodied, silky textured wine has a to-die-for finish and enough glycerin and body to get lost. It is just entering its plateau of full maturity. A wow-wow wine! Anticipated maturity: Now-2015. Last tasted, 12/02.Robert Parker | 98 RPDeep red-ruby. Fabulous nose of toffee, coffee, smoke, cinnamon, minerals and a faint animal quality. Extraordinarily thick entry; great density and sweetness but with plenty of underlying acidity and backbone. As with the voluptuous ‘89, there’s lovely delineation of flavor beneath all the glycerine. Finishes with a wave of melting tannins. Kept revealing additional nuances as it opened in the glass. Along with the ’90 L’Angelus, a great example of what can be done with controlled yields, 100% new oak, and - minimal filtration. This wine is now putting most of Bordeaux’s bigger names to shame.Vinous Media | 94 VM

No written review provided. | 98 W&SThe 2001 Petrus has always been winemaker Jean-Claude Berrouet’s favourite vintages. It has developed a truly exquisite bouquet that is both svelte and sensual without any sense of being overbearing. It is almost unaware of its beauty. It gradually opens with tinctures of dried blood merging with ebullient and disarmingly pure red fruit with brilliant delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly grainy tannin, quite forceful red fruit gripping the senses and then letting go, allowing a subtle savory/cooked meat note to flourish towards the finish. Maybe this bottle was a touch more foursquare than previous ones that I have encountered although that will melt away with time. Tasted at the Petrus dinner at the Épure restaurant in Hong Kong.Vinous Media | 97 VMThere’s not many 2001s I know of that will compete with the 2001 Chateau Petrus. Still youthfully ruby in color, it offers an incredibly complex perfume of blackcurrants, forest floor, white truffles and Asian spices. These give way to a full-bodied, beautifully concentrated, opulent, hedonistic, yet also elegant 2001 that has loads of sweet tannin, beautiful mid-palate depth, and a great, great finish. Drink it anytime over the coming 2-3 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDThe 2001 Petrus (2,160 cases produced) exhibits more depth and richness than any other Pomerol I tasted. Its deep saturated ruby/plum/purple color is accompanied by a tight but promising bouquet of vanilla, cherry liqueur, melted licorice, black currants, and notions of truffles and earth. Rich, full-bodied, and surprisingly thick as well as intense, there is plenty of structure underlying the wealth of fruit and extract. Give it 3-6 years of cellaring, and drink it over the following two decades as it promises to be one of the longest-lived wines of the vintage, not to mention one of the most concentrated.Robert Parker | 95 RPThis is very youthful, almost like a barrel sample. Some might say it is still in a dumb stage, yet there’s plenty of body and richness, with blackberry and toasted oak character, verging on coffee. Very long. A beauty.--Pétrus non-blind vertical. Best after 2007. 2,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

The definition of poised and confident, this has pretty much consistently delivered since the very first taste during En Primeur. Deeply layered, textured, confident and powerful, both very Pomerol and very 2010. Coffee beans and bitter chocolate are the dominant flavours alongside cassis and blackberry autumnal berry fruits. Both gourmet and restrained. Just about ready to go but will hugely benefit from three to four hours in carafe first, and will further improve over the next few years, and indeed over the decades to come. Drinking Window 2020 - 2045Decanter | 97 DECGorgeous nose with lots of dark fruit like plum and blueberries. Crushed pepper and chalk with wild strawberries and vanilla. Dense and velvety on the palate with superbly polished tannins and great depth. It’s absolutely gorgeous now but needs at least five to six years of bottle age to really shows its great quality.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2010 Clinet is a baby, but man, what a wine. Checking in as mostly Merlot, with small amounts of both Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, this deep ruby/purple-tinged beauty gives up fresh, tight aromas of blackcurrants, black cherries, damp earth and forest floor, with its background oak buffered by serious amounts of fruit. Full-bodied, concentrated and deep, yet also elegant and layered, with the freshness, purity, and structure of the vintage, it sings even today with a decant, but is best with a few more year of bottle age. It’s going to keep for 2-3 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDThe blend is largely dominated by 85% Merlot, with some Cabernet Sauvignon and a small amount of Cabernet Franc also included. Inky/purple-colored, the wine has an exceptionally full-bodied, layered, moderately tannic mouthfeel and impressive power. Loads of melted chocolate/fudge and black fruits galore along with some coffee bean, mocha, as well as some background oak are all present in this big, formidably endowed, masculine style of Pomerol that will take longer to shed its tannin than the 2009. I would give this wine 5-6 years of cellaring and drink it over the following 30+ years.The 2010 is another fabulous effort from this estate of just over 20 acres located in the sector named the same as the chateau, Clinet. Modest yields of 38 hectoliters per hectare produced a final blend that hit 14.4% natural alcohol.Robert Parker | 96+ RPThe 2010 Clinet has a crisp, precise bouquet that is tightly wound but extremely well focused. It would benefit from decanting of preferably more bottle age. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannins, impressive backbone with black fruit laced with white pepper, sage and cedar towards the persistent finish. This is a serious Pomerol with huge potential. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 95+ VMThis showy, packed and well-endowed Pomerol pumps out notes of warm linzer torte, plum preserves and blackberry reduction, all supported by a broad, charcoal- and ganache-coated structure and deeply embedded acidity. Very muscular on the back end, this boasts a still-chewy feel. Among the most backward of the 2010 Pomerols, this requires significant cellaring. For those who enjoy more power than subtlety. Best from 2017 through 2035. 3,333 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSNew wood mint aromas give this wine its great polished feel. The tannins offer a counterpoint of richness here, firm and dense. The fruit takes a while to show through, then brings the fine plum skin flavors suffusing through the wine.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WE

A fabulous example of l’Evangile at its best. Dense ruby/purple with some amber at the edge, this wine has a gorgeous nose of black truffles intermixed with caramel, malt chocolate, sweet black raspberries, and blackberries. The wine is full-bodied, with loads of glycerin giving it a very opulent, almost viscous feel on the palate. It still tastes youthful, but has always been accessible throughout its entire life. The wine does have plenty of tannin, but most of it is concealed by the wealth of fruit extract and the wine’s viscosity. It is a sensational l’Evangile that is just beginning to develop the secondary nuances of adolescence. Anticipated maturity: Now-2024. Last tasted, 11/02.Robert Parker | 96 RPBig and ripe. Dark ruby-garnet color. Very ripe berry, chocolate and plum aromas. Full-bodied and chewy, with lots of tannins and a very ripe fruit finish. Tight, muscular and concentrated. Needs time.--1990 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2005. 4,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS(Château l’Evangile) The 1990 Château l’Evangile is one of the top Pomerols of the vintage and the wine has aged beautifully and is now well into its plateau of peak drinkability. This is a remarkable wine for its purity and precision, which are not always the calling cards of the 1990 vintage on the Right Bank. The bouquet jumps from the glass in a focused blend of black cherries, black plums, roasted gamebird, chocolate, a lovely base of soil and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and nicely plush on the attack, with a fine core, impeccable focus and balance, melting tannins and impressively bright and zesty acids on the very long and complex finish. This is a terrific vintage of l’Evangile! (Drink between 2016-2050).John Gilman | 94 JG1990 was a very good vintage, although a bit more difficult to manage than the 1989. Flowering was uneven and as crop thinning was not as widely used as today, there were some ripening difficulties. But the sharp edges of youth have softened now, leaving a rich, round sense of self, with cassis-rich fruit. Black truffle notes after five minutes in the glass. Many years of drinking pleasure still to be had. Drinking Window 2018 - 2028.Decanter | 94 DECGood thick red. Very ripe aromas of melting caramel, tobacco, game, cinnamon and violets. Great sweetness and spice in the mouth; dense but not quite as fat as some right-bank ’90s; very stylish, actually, with decent acids. Tannins are quite firm. As accessible as this appears to be, we wouldn’t be at all surprised to see it close up in the next 18-24 months.Vinous Media | 93 VM

Very pretty density and dark-berry, bitter-chocolate and smoked-oak character. Some coffee, too. Full-bodied, firm and racy. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSAlong with Lafite Rothschild, Ausone, and l’Eglise Clinet, Pavie is one of the wines of the vintage. An inky/purple color is accompanied by notes of creme de cassis, kirsch, graphite, and toast. A massive wine for the vintage, the 2007 Pavie is very full-bodied with extraordinary intensity, power, and richness. Its structure and tannin suggest 2-4 years of cellaring is required, and it should evolve for 25 years thereafter ,an unusually long aging curve for most 2007s. Yields were 25 hectoliters per hectare, and the wine is a classic blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. The natural alcohol level came in at 14%.Robert Parker | 94 RPSupple and inviting, with a caressing edge to the red currant and blackberry confiture notes. Warm tobacco, cocoa and apple wood accents fill in throughout. This has melded nicely and shows a smoldering hint through the finish. Approachable now, but there’s no rush.--Non-blind Pavie vertical (March 2017). Drink now through 2030. 7,335 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSA solidly structured wine, filled with fig, bitter coffee, spice and wood over a firm structure of tannins. The freshness is quite intense, but the ripe fruit is vivid with layered acidity and new wood. This is a serious wine, for aging.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WE

An earthy red with dried meat and ripe fruit. Full body and smoky character with mushroom and smoked-tea undertones. Chewy finish still. Drink now.James Suckling | 93 JSThis wine has a very youthful color and seems to be close to full maturity, without the density of the 1998, or its successor, the perfect 2000. It has abundant foresty notes, plenty of spice box, blackcurrant and black cherry fruit, some background toasty oak, medium to full body and sweet tannin. A very delicious wine, it offers a complex and fragrant style. It should be drunk over the next 12-15 yearsRobert Parker | 92 RPThe 1999 Pavie shows very similarly to another ex-château bottle encountered a few months earlier. It has an attractive bouquet that has mellowed in recent years, notes of bacon fat and mint infusing the red and black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, red fruit, a touch of hung game and a tarry finish that does not convey the same level of freshness and delineation as the 1998 and 2000 do nowadays. A seductive Pavie, though less turbocharged than subsequent vintages. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the estate.Vinous Media | 92 VMA relatively forgotten year sandwiched between the great ’98 (for the Right Bank) and ’00, this is gentle, with mulled plum and red currant fruit supported with light cedar and alder notes. Mature, with dried tobacco and a flash of earth through the finish. Not in the league of the other wines in this flight, but, notably, it doesn’t feel as if this wine was overdone; rather, it’s an accurate expression of the vintage.--Non-blind Pavie vertical (March 2017). Drink now through 2020. 1,665 cases made.Wine Spectator | 90 WS