Bordeaux Legends

wines

The 2010 is one of the most impressive two-year-old Cheval Blancs I have tasted in 34 years in this profession. The final blend of 54% Cabernet Franc and 46% Merlot has the tell-tale berry/floral nose with subtle hints of menthol, blueberry, raspberry and flowers in addition to some forest floor and a delicate touch of lead pencil shavings. The wine exhibits more structure and density than it did from barrel, and it was already remarkable then. The foresty/floral notes seem to linger and linger in this surprisingly full-bodied, powerful Cheval Blanc, yet it possesses a very healthy pH that should ensure enormous longevity. Dense purple in color, and a bigger, richer wine than usual, this is one Cheval Blanc that will probably need a decade of cellaring. I like the description from the estate’s administrator, Pierre Lurton, who said it tasted like “liquid cashmere,” a perfect expression, despite the wine’s structure and intensity. This is another 50-year wine from this amazingly structured, rich vintage.Robert Parker | 100 RPShowing even better than a bottle a few years ago, the 2010 Chateau Cheval Blanc is perfection in a glass and wine doesn’t get any better. As with the 2009, it’s a powerful, concentrated Cheval Blanc, yet it has a slightly dark, cooler profile in its smoky black fruits, graphite, new leather, crushed rocks and cured meat aromas and flavors. Where the 2009 hits the palate with a sunny, sexy style, this stays more inward and masculine, yet it still has incredible sweetness of fruit, flawless integration of its fruit, tannins, and acidity, a great mid-palate, and a finish that goes on for over a minute. It opens up with time in the glass and offers incredible pleasure today, with an exotic masculine yet sexy style, but feel free to enjoy this legendary wine any time over the coming 3-4 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDThe aromas here are crazy with flowers, mushroom, forest floor, and fruit. It seems like I am walking through a row of the vines in Cheval Blanc when I have my nose in the glass. It’s full-bodied, with fabulous layers of ultra-fine tannins and milk chocolate, raspberries, and a phenomenal finish. Truly one of the greatest Chevals ever. Better than 2009. Try in 2020.James Suckling | 100 JSThis is the finest Cheval Blanc for many years. It is, quite simply, magnificent. The wine shows the greatness of Cabernet Franc in the vintage, with 57% of the variety in the blend. It is beautifully structured and perfumed, with velvety tannins, balanced acidity and swathes of black-currant and black-cherry fruits. It’s well on course to becoming a legendary wine.Wine Enthusiast | 100 WEThis is stone-cold shut down right now, but why worry? You’ll want to wait at least a decade before breaching a bottle as massively endowed as this, with loads of loamy bass notes thumping along underneath a riveting track of licorice snap, pastis-steeped black currant fruit, maduro tobacco and espresso. And then there’s an echo of petrichor at the very end that hints at the aromatic fireworks to come with cellaring. Should compete for wine of the vintage. Best from 2020 through 2040.Wine Spectator | 98 WSThe 2010 Cheval Blanc has another extravagant bouquet with ample red cherries, raspberry preserve, mulberry, fig and singed leather. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, quite dense and assertive, backward with a sinewy finish that just feels a little forced compared to some of the other wines in this flight. With time in the glass, the new oak seems to dominate the finish. I have definitely had far superior bottles, but that’s the way it goes. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 93 VM(Château Cheval Blanc) The 2010 Cheval Blanc is also 14.5 percent in alcohol and was made up with a fairly high percentage of merlot for this estate, with the blend comprised of only fifty-six percent cabernet franc and forty-four percent merlot. It is an extremely powerful young vintage of Cheval Blanc and worlds away from the refined and opulently seductive style of the 2009 here. The bouquet offers up a dense and very ripe blend of black cherries, menthol, coffee bean, a good base of gravelly soil, cigar smoke and new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and seamless on the attack, with plenty of overt ripeness in evidence, a rock solid core of fruit and plenty of substantial, well-integrated tannins on the very long and powerful finish. This will need plenty of time in the cellar to blossom, but should probably turn out to be a fine bottle with sufficient bottle age. It avoids the pitfalls of sur maturité, questionable balance and uncovered alcohol that plague so many of its neighbors in St. Émilion in this vintage, but it is a rather atypically broad-shouldered vintage for this great estate. (Drink between 2025-2075)John Gilman | 92-93+ JG

The nose is phenomenal with perfect aromas of Cabernet Sauvignon with currant bush, blackberries and minerals. A pure expression of Cab. The palate is perfect with a full body, but has perfectly integrated tannins with a texture like the finest cashmere. It’s strong but noble with perfect form and beauty. All in harmony. A fabulous wine that everyone who loves Bordeaux should have a bottle or case of. Better in 2020.James Suckling | 100 JSWhile I loved the 2010 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou on release I’ve always preferred the 2009. However, the 2010 showed sensationally on this occasion, and while in a different style than the 2009, it’s unquestionably as good. Still ruby/purple-hued, it offers up extraordinary notes of pure crème de cassis, unsmoked tobacco, spice, and damp earth, and it’s the purity of fruit as well as the incredible depth and intensity that makes this wine so special. Full-bodied, deep, profound, and seamless on the palate, it offers incredible pleasure today but it’s going to be a 50-year, if not a 100-year wine. Hats off to Bruno Borie.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDVery deep garnet in color, the 2010 Ducru-Beaucaillou is just slightly closed to begin, featuring subtle wafts of baked plums, espresso and bay leaves before kicking it up a notch with expressive notes of blackcurrant cordial, chargrilled meats, woodsmoke and crushed rocks plus a tantalizing touch of truffles. Full-bodied, concentrated and oh-so-decadently fruited in the mouth, the palate is built like a brick house with firm, ripe, grainy tannins and bold freshness supporting the tightly wound flavor layers, finishing with epic length and depth.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPThere is tannin build up at this point in the vertical, but in the most enjoyable way - a clear indication of how much complexity there is in these wines and how densely knitted together they are, bedding down for the long term. This wine in particular has barely an end in sight, it just stretches out before you, confident in its fleshy texture and layers of expression. This is really at the top of what you hope from St Julien, confident and intense yet still with the balance and freshness of the appellation. It has great persistency and keeps hanging on, delivering flavour an inch at a time. Wonderful. Drinking Window 2023 - 2045Decanter | 98 DECNot shy at all, with a flamboyant, aromatic profile of roasted apple wood and warm ganache, featuring more than enough stuffing in the form of thickly layered blackberry paste, steeped fig and pastis-soaked plum flavors. The structure is massive but incredibly polished, and the fruit displays terrific purity through the graphite-supported finish. Large-scale and extremely well-rendered. Best from 2020 through 2040. 8,416 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSThe 2010 Ducru-Beaucaillou, picked 29 September to 14 October, was matured in 100% new oak for 18 months. This is more backward, sultry compared to the 2009, but there is a payload of black fruit laced with violet and cedar, a very faint ash scent emerging with time. The palate is full-bodied with powerful black fruit, a lovely granular texture and a killer line of acidity. There is a certainly headiness on the finish, atypically more so than the 2009, although it delivers extraordinary persistence. It needs another 10 years before it even thinks about entering its drinking window. Tasted at the Ducru Beaucaillou vertical at the château.Vinous Media | 96+ VMA grand wine, it has great ripeness and richness, majestic in its structure and upright character. It is concentrated, perfumed and opulent. The style of Ducru Beaucaillou is both generous and powerful, and obviously ageworthy.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WE(Château Ducru-Beaucaillou) The 2010 Ducru-Beaucaillou is a riveting success for the vintage and one of the best three or four wines to be found on the Left Bank this year. The bouquet is deep, pure and stunning, as it soars from the glass in a mélange of sweet cassis, dark berries, tobacco, a superb, gravelly soil signature, coffee and a fair dollop of spicy new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and fabulously structured, with great intensity at the core, impeccable focus and balance, plenty of ripe, beautifully integrated tannins and outstanding length and grip on the palate-staining and dancing finish. Here is one of the extremely rare 2010s that actually is worthy of all the hyperbole bantered around about this vintage! (Drink between 2022-2100)John Gilman | 95+ JG

As for the 2010 Haut-Brion, it does not have the power of Latour’s 2010 or the intense lead pencil shavings and chocolaty component of Lafite-Rothschild, but it is extraordinary, perfect wine. It has a slightly lower pH than the 2009 (3.7 versus the 2009’s 3.8), and even higher alcohol than the 2009 (14.6%). The wine is ethereal. From its dense purple color to its incredibly subtle but striking aromatics that build incrementally, offering up a spectacular smorgasbord of aromas ranging from charcoal and camphor to black currant and blueberry liqueur and spring flowers, this wine’s finesse, elegant yet noble power and authority come through in a compelling fashion. It is full-bodied, but that’s only apparent in the aftertaste, as the wine seems to float across the palate with remarkable sweetness, harmony, and the integration of all its component parts – alcohol, tannin, acidity, wood, etc. This prodigious Haut-Brion is hard to compare to another vintage, at least right now, but it should have 50 to 75 years of aging potential. Anticipated maturity: 2022-2065+.Kudos to the team at Haut-Brion and to the proprietors, the Dillon family, who are now represented admirably and meticulously by Prince Robert of Luxembourg. He has made some changes, and all of them seem to have resulted in dramatic improvements to what was already an astonishing group of wines.Robert Parker | 100 RPPure perfection and one of truly legendary wines out there, the 2010 is 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, and the balance Cabernet Franc that hit a whopping 14.6% natural alcohol, with a healthy pH of 3.7. This deep rich, opulent beauty is just now at the early stages of its prime drink window and has an incredible array of blackcurrants, chocolate, truffly earth, graphite, and hints of tobacco. A massive wine in every sense, it still somehow stays weightless and graceful, with silky, building tannins, flawless balance, and just everything in the right place. It needs an hour or two in a decanter if drinking any time soon, and it’s going to have upwards of 75-100 years of ultimate longevity.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDSappy, tongue-coating pastis, blackberry coulis and loganberry fruit starts this huge wine off, followed by a parade of licorice snap, violet, tar, black tea, roasted alder, wood spice and steeped black cherry fruit notes. A beam of pure cassis drives through this, and the finish pulls everything together with a mouthwatering brambly edge that should soften slowly over time. A riveting display of brawny power, unbridled energy and high-level [i]terroir[n]. Best from 2020 through 2040. 7,800 cases made.Wine Spectator | 99 WSAnother different register as we head to Pessac-Léognan. And as with Mouton this has an exuberant grilled almond note around the edges with a thick velvety texture. You can really feel the weight and width of this wine through the mid palate and again you feel it just has so much life and pleasure ahead of it. This is all about the texture, it has an extremely marked sense of a rising tide of tannins and fruit, ready to power through the ages. Drinking Window 2025 - 2050Decanter | 98 DECA firm and serious wine, complex and complicated, one of the finest wines from 2010 vintage. It has a rich undertow of black fruits, while the tannins dominate at this stage. To add to the powerful range of flavors, the wine has an edge of severity that bodes well for its long-term future.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEThe 2010 Haut-Brion has a more flamboyant and showier bouquet than the La Mission with copious black fruit, orange blossom, fireside ash and chai tea aromas that are irresistible. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine and supple tannins, firm grip, quite saline in the mouth with strong truffle notes on the finish. Quite brilliant. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 97 VMThis is very spicy with dried mushroom aromas with dark fruits and plum undertones. Sweet tobacco as well. This is full-bodied, with lots of tannins that are chewy and firm. This is muscular for HB and flexing it. Try in 2020.James Suckling | 97 JS(Château Haut-Brion) The 2010 Haut-Brion is one of the lowest alcohol wine in the entire Dillon stable in this vintage, as it tips the scales at a mere 14.6 percent. The merlot was brought in here starting on the 8th of September and the cabernet sauvignon did not arrive in the cellars until the first week of October. Despite it being lower in alcohol than the 2010 La Mission, it seemed even a bit riper in style, with a distinct (and troubling) note of sur maturité evident on the backend of the finish. The bouquet is deep, complex, very ripe and very vivid (from the wine’s revved up acidity?), as it soars from the glass in a blaze of cassis, dark berries, Cuban cigars, coffee bean, lovely soil tones and plenty of new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, broad-shouldered and rock solid at the core, with hard, tough tannins, coarse acids and a very long, chewy and discordant finish. Perhaps this was just an awkward time for the wine, but no one at the château seemed concerned in the least with how this wine was showing- in fact, quite the contrary- so maybe this oddly balanced showing is really how the wine is in 2010. After the very forcefully styled 2009 Haut-Brion, this power-monger 2010 is hardly reassuring for those of us that prize past vintages of Haut-Brion for its unabashed elegance and hauntingly profound expression of terroir. One has to hope that this wine will eventually pull itself together in the cellar, but it seems to be a profound departure from the past and one has to ask why this is the case. One would certainly expect that an estate of the stature and historical legacy of Haut-Brion would be above point chasing, but how does one reconcile the much more elegant renditions of the 2010 vintage at estates such as Domaine de Chevalier and Pape-Clément with these super-sized Dillon wines, if not assuming that the team here is now consciously aiming to produce much more powerful wines? I have to assume that this wine will eventually place itself at the higher end of this scale, but it was nonetheless rather a sad showing for an unabashed fan of traditional Haut Brion. (Drink between 2025-2075)John Gilman | 83-93 JG

Another spectacular effort from L’Evangile, the 2010 is a close rival to the 2009 and should be fascinating to compare with that vintage over the next 30 or so years. Stunningly rich and black/purple in color, the 2010 L’Evangile offers up the tell-tale floral note as well as black raspberry jam intermixed with cassis and kirsch. There are also ethereal floral notes and a hint of background oak. The pH is slightly above average (3.7 versus the pH of 4.0 that the 2009 and 2000 possessed). This is a massive, rich, very impressive L’Evangile, and readers should take note of the “+” in my rating, which could certainly push this wine way up there. Remarkably, I was shocked when I learned that this wine was aged in 100% new oak, as the oak is a background element in this blockbuster l’Evangile. Forget it for 3-5 years, and drink it over the following 30-40.With an alcohol level hitting the scales at 14.8%, the 2,000 cases of 2010 L’Evangile come from a blend of 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc, which I assume is much less Cabernet Franc than what was used under the old administration of the Ducasse family versus what is being done now by Eric de Rothschild and his team. The new administrators have added some vineyard parcels from neighboring sites, particularly Le Croix de Gay, and they have also replanted part of this vineyard, which sits on the St.-Emilion border next to La Conseillante and facing Cheval Blanc and La Dominique.Robert Parker | 98+ RPA Pomerol of a different color, relying heavily on dense muscle and dark charcoal notes, with a core of fig, blackberry paste and blueberry reduction waiting in reserve. Very solid through the finish, displaying a thick ganache coating and extra loam, black licorice and dark fig notes rolling through. Best from 2017 through 2037. 3,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSConcentrated and closed on the nose, this has silky, seductive, finely-layered tannins, with tons of fruit and acidity providing the counterpoint. We are very definitely stepping up a level here, even among the extremely good quality wines that I am tasting. The depth and texture are striking, as are the exotic notes of anis and black peppercorns, and the whispers of iris and violet flowers as things open up in the glass. Such a lovely property, really showing what it can do.Decanter | 97 DECSuperb aromas of blackberry, blueberry, violets and citrus peel. Some oyster shell and dark chocolate. Full body, dense and powerful with chewy tannins and lots of rich fruit at the finish. Turns to walnut and dark berry. I love the texture and richness. A wine to follow for your lifetime. Just opening a little now.James Suckling | 96 JSGood medium ruby. Enticing aromas of dark plum, blackcurrant, coffee liqueur and cinnamon are lifted by an intense note of violet. Sweet, lush and round, combining a fine-grained texture and terrific focus thanks to vibrant but harmonious acidity. Finishes very long and pure, with ripe but still youthfully chewy tannins. This very attractive 2010 ought to evolve gracefully for decades.Vinous Media | 94 VM(Château l’Évangile) The 2010 Château l’Évangile is one of the big-boned wines in Pomerol in this vintage, with an alcohol content of 14.6 percent, due to eighty-eight percent of the blend this year being comprised of merlot. The wine offers up a very deep, complex and slightly overripe nose of black raspberries, black cherries, chocolate, a bit of new leather, some meaty tones, soil and spicy new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and quite well-balanced for its high octane, but with a slightly marinated aspect to the fruit tones. The finish is very long, ripely tannic and tangy, but with both the substantial tannins and the tangy acids very well-integrated into the body of the wine. This will probably never be the most refined of vintages of Château l’Évangile, but if it can shed a bit of its overripe qualities with bottle age, it should place at the higher end of the scale. (Drink between 2020-2060)John Gilman | 87-92 JG

Deep garnet colored, the 2010 La Mission Haut-Brion has a commanding, profound nose of baked blackberries, boysenberries and warm cassis plus suggestions of candied violets, red roses, chocolate box, cedar chest and smoked meats with a waft of iron ore. Full-bodied, powerful and hedonic, the palate bursts with expressive black fruits and floral sparks, framed by exquisitely ripe, grainy tannins and beautiful freshness, finishing with epic length. A real head-turner, this beauty is already very impressive, but for that full WOW experience I would give it another 3-5 years in bottle to blossom.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPThis is crazy. The nose is so unique with the iodine, stones and currant aromas with wet earth and mushroom. Aromas like this don’t usually come out until 10 years or so in the bottle. Classic nose for this estate. Full-bodied, with an amazing palate of firm yet polished tannins and a solid palate. So dense and gorgeous. It is really stunning. Try in 2020.James Suckling | 100 JSThe 2010 La Mission Haut-Brion has a very flattering bouquet with detailed red and black fruit laced with chestnut, cedar and sous-bois. This is supremely well focused. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannins. There is immense depth here, more savoury than expected with chestnut once again, white pepper and a tinge of dried blood towards the finish. Outstanding. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 98 VMMore subdued on the nose but with striking cinnamon and black pepper notes alongside the blackberry and spiced dark chocolate, this is concentrated and velvety and extremely high quality. Again it is the texture, the construction, that grabs you. There is a similar feel to Haut-Brion, in its weight and power, just a little less elongated stretching out of the tannins through the final furlong. But believe me, you’ll enjoy this too. Drinking Window 2025 - 2050Decanter | 98 DECIntense and engaging. Despite showing lots of heft and tarry grip, the singed apple wood and alder notes are well-defined in this red, accentuating a core of roasted fig, blackberry coulis and macerated red and black currant fruit. The long, bramble-edged finish sports showy ganache and Lapsang souchong tea notes, while the structure refuses to yield until everything has finally played out. Muscular and vivacious. Best from 2019 through 2040. 5,100 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSThis rich, open wine has both acidity and impressively ripe white and yellow-fruit flavors. The creaminess creates a sense of richness underlined by the wood aging. This is a balanced wine, already well integrated and likely to age well. Drink from 2024.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WE(Château La Mission Haut-Brion) The 2010 La Mission Haut-Brion is the most mammoth of all the wines in the Dillon stable in 2010, as it tips the scales at an unprecedented 15.1 percent in alcohol. The nose is very, very deep, very ripe and amazingly, also quite compelling, as it offers up scents of black cherries, sweet cassis, bitter chocolate, soil tones, cigar smoke, gravel and a very well-integrated and generous base of new oak. I much prefer the wood integration on the 2010 La Mission to the 2009 at the same stage a year ago. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, powerful and sharply acidic, with a rock solid core of pure fruit, very hard tannins, excellent focus and great length and grip on the tensile finish. The acids today are quite coarse and one hopes that they will eventually be tamed. They tend to really sharpen the expression of the fruit, but they are not currently integrated into the body of the wine and cause a fair bit of discordance on the finish at the present time. The 2010 La Mission, despite its higher alcohol content than the 2010 Haut-Brion, shows less signs of overripeness on the backend than its First Growth stable-mate. It too is a very forcefully-styled and bruising young wine at the present time, and I have a hard time imagining its ultimate shape. Perhaps it will turn out as well as the 1975 La Mission, but it may also always be a wine that never fully pulls its currently disparate elements into a cohesive and compelling whole. There is a lot of sound in the fury currently in the glass, but not much enlightenment. (Drink between 2025-2075)John Gilman | 83-92+ JG

Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Lafite Rothschild is a little mute on the nose at this stage, opening to reveal warm blackcurrants, baked plums and boysenberry scents with hints of chocolate mint, violets, cedar chest and pencil lead. Full-bodied, rich and densely packed with perfumed black fruit layers, it has a rock-solid backbone of fantastically ripe, grainy tannins and beautiful freshness, finishing very long and minerally. Still very youthful!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPInky colour, more so than in many years of Lafite, imprinted by the vintage. It is at this level, in these type of years, where you see why these terroirs have stood out for centuries. We are in a crowded field of excellence in Pauillac in 2010, and yet still the First Growths manage to deliver an extra heartbeat of brilliance. This is still extremely closed, and I have no hesitation in saying that when Lafite is planning its 250th anniversary celebrations that this will be one of the wines that it chooses, just as we all marvelled at the 1893 in the summer of 2018. Blocks of liquorice and black chocolate come through alongside the tannins, standing guard to ensure the fruits don’t escape before they are ready to do so. There are vintages where Lafite is sculpted, liquid elegance (like 2017, speaking of one I have recently tasted), and where it stands out against the vintage, and then there are other years when it epitomises why the vintage is so good, and that is where we are here. It has less obvious muscles than the Latour but every bit of the strength. Drinking Window 2025 - 2050.Decanter | 100 DECAlmost black in color, this stunning wine is gorgeous, rich and dense. It’s grand and powerful, with a strong sense of its own importance. The beautiful tannins and the fragrant black currant fruits are palpable. It’s a great wine, with huge potential.Wine Enthusiast | 100 WEThis is shy and not giving its all at the moment. Yet it is full and intense with a tightly intertwined tannic and fruit structure. Ethereal blackberry, currant, cedar, and nutty flavors. Dried flowers too. Cedar jewel box smell comes out with time. Great finish. So, so long and harmonious. Try in 2018.James Suckling | 99 JSRather tight, with an alluring whiff of cocoa that lures you in before disappearing into the core of steeped plum, roasted fig and blackberry coulis notes. Sandalwood, black tea and loam elements fill in on the long and expansive finish. This seems to be lying in wait for what could be a very long time in the cellar before unfurling fully. Best from 2018 through 2045. 15,833 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSThe 2010 Lafite-Rothschild has more vivacious bouquet than expected with veins of blue fruit and iodine tincturing the black fruit. It is well defined if just missing the audacity of the Latour. The palate is approachable on the entry with fine grain tannins. It feels a touch more mature than the other First Growths, though the pliant and poised finish has a sensuality uncommon in Lafite. Superb. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 96 VM(Château Lafite Rothschild) As is the case with the 2010 Carruades, the 2010 Lafite Rothschild is very impressive for its more restrained personality out of the blocks than the more opulent and seductive 2009. The bouquet is deep and notably ripe, but at the same time there is a sense of structure here that was not particularly evident in the ’09, as the wine soars from the glass in a very refined blend of cassis, dark berries, coffee bean, complex, gravelly soil tones, cigar smoke, tobacco leaf and lead pencil. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and quite powerful in profile, with a rock solid core of fruit, flawless focus and balance, plenty of firm, well-integrated tannins and outstanding length and grip on the quite reserved finish. This is much more classically styled than the 2009 Lafite, and while both wines are beautifully crafted, the 2010 seems at this early stage to be a step up in quality. A wonderful Lafite for the cellar. (Drink between 2025-2100).John Gilman | 96 JG

Layered, textured, deep, cigar box, cassis and earth, managing to simultaneously stretch out, and burrow down. The edges open slowly but surely and seductively. Still inky in colour, this has all the powerful texture and tannic architecture that you expect from Leoville, and unlike the 2009 at its ten year point it is still keeping plenty of secrets close to its chest. But you are going to want to be around when it fully opens. Drinking Window 2022 - 2050.Decanter | 100 DECA hugely powerful wine, full of dark, brooding tannins. It’s a wine for seriously long-term aging, a sculptural vision of classic Bordeaux structure with with classy, ripe blackberry fruits. It has fresh acidity and an immense full-bodied character, cut through with mineral acidity. A great wine, with great potential.Wine Enthusiast | 100 WEStunning and pure from the get-go, with intense cassis and blackberry fruit. Ultimately takes a slightly austere approach, with a wrought-iron structure driving along while pastis, black tea, licorice snap and asphalt notes course underneath. Long and loaded with grip, this remains remarkably fine-grained. A very chiseled Cabernet that is wonderfully precise and incredibly long. Best from 2020 through 2040. 12,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 99 WSThe aromas to this wine have a beautiful purity of raspberries, blueberries, currants, and flowers that follow to a a full body, with super integrated tannins that are like the finest silk in texture. It shows elegant and pretty fruit character and a reserve and finesse of such great years as 1989 and 1995. The bright strong acidity gives a crunchy and creamy texture. This has a tiny bit more Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend than 2009. Give it at least six to eight years of bottle age.James Suckling | 99 JSBlended of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc, the deep garnet colored 2010 Léoville Las Cases delivers tons of evolving black fruits on the nose with notes of crème de cassis, prunes and incense plus wafts of cloves, cedar, cigar box and powdered cinnamon. Full-bodied, rich, bold and decadently fruited, it has a solid frame of grainy tannins, and the oak is faintly notable on the palate. It finishes impressively with long-lingering mineral notes. This one probably needs 3-5 more years to really hit its stride!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97+ RPThe 2010 Léoville Las Cases has a clean and precise bouquet, beautifully focused with blackberry, melted tar, cigar humidor and crushed stone aromas. It gains intensity with aeration without ever losing its precision. The palate is medium-bodied with lithe tannins, a fine bead of acidity, a sense of abiding symmetry and detail as it fans out on the mineral-driven finish. This is an absolutely awesome Saint-Julien with a long life ahead. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 96 VM(Château Leoville Las Cases) The grand vin in 2010 at Leoville Las Cases is outstanding and one of the top wines on the Left Bank this year, but it is a wine of immense power and concentration and will need a long time in the cellar to fully unfold. At 13.7 percent alcohol, the wine is ripe, but certainly not overripe and most impressive in its purity and focus, as it offers up a very, very deep nose of sappy black cherries, dark chocolate, tobacco leaf, espresso, a great base of soil (particularly for this vintage), smoke and plenty of spicy new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very powerful, with rippling muscles, ripe, well-integrated tannins, great depth at the core and a very, very long, focused and slightly heady finish. This is a big-boned and very ripe Las Cases that should last at least seventy-five years, and I like it better than the also very powerful 2009, as the 2010 seems to have harnessed its power much better and integrated it into a more seamless whole. The 2010 is a beautifully made wine, but of the last three vintages at this estate, there is little doubt in my mind that the utterly profound 2008 Leoville Las Cases is the greatest wine of the trio, and perhaps the best wine made at this fine estate in a generation! (Drink between 2025-2100).John Gilman | 94+ JG

This was phenomenal from barrel and remains so. The aromas are spellbinding. It smells like a bouquet of pink roses and then goes to currants, berries and citrus. Full body, with wonderfully refined tannins. It starts discretely and then grows to different levels and dimensions like a slow but big high tide. The texture is so beautiful. Try it in 2020 or beyond.James Suckling | 100 JSThe 2010 is a brilliant Chateau Margaux, as one might expect in this vintage. The percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the final blend hit 90%, the balance Merlot and Cabernet Franc, and only 38% of the crop made it into the Chateau Margaux. Paul Pontallier, the administrator, told me that this wine has even higher levels of tannin than some other extraordinary vintages such as 2005, 2000, 1996, etc. Deep purple, pure and intense, with floral notes, tremendous opulence and palate presence, this is a wine of considerable nobility. With loads of blueberry, black currant and violet-infused fruit and a heady alcohol level above 13.5% (although that looks modest compared to several other first growths, particularly Chateau Latour and Chateau Haut-Brion), its beautifully sweet texture, ripe tannin, abundant depth and profound finish all make for another near-perfect wine that should age effortlessly for 30-40 years.Robert Parker | 99 RPAs we head out of Pauillac, you feel the register change. It takes a heartbeat to adjust, but then you start to see the beauty of a different style of 2010, a little more elegant, a little more sculpted, with concentration that sits deep in the body of the wine but builds more slowly through the palate. This shows the beauty of the appellation of Margaux in the way that you always want and hope the First Growths will - a signpost towards the rest, showing why they should be celebrated. Here are violet aromatics, soft black truffle flavours and silky, elongated tannins. Extremely good quality; fairly savoury berry fruits. As with all of these, there’s a long long life ahead of it, and best to be put away for another five years at least. Drinking Window 2025 - 2050.Decanter | 99 DECA great wine that is just starting out. The high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend gives the structured, black currant character. Dark chocolate and layers of wood are forward, revealing how young the wine is. And then the fruit, so rich and powerful, brings deliciousness to the firm, dense structure. Age for many years.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WELiquid velvet, with stunning length and a caressing mouthfeel, as layers of creamed plum, blackberry coulis and steeped black currant fruit glides along, seamlessly intertwined with black tea, mulled blood orange, incense and lilac. Hints of mesquite and alder hang subtly in the background, and the structure, evident and massive, has melded wonderfully.--Non-blind Château Margaux vertical (December 2013). Best from 2018 through 2040. 10,830 cases made.Wine Spectator | 98 WSThe 2010 Château Margaux performed far better at this horizontal than at Farr’s blind tasting a few days later. It has a beguiling bouquet, highly perfumed with crushed violets infusing the blackberry and crushed strawberry scented, hints of pencil box and cedar emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and a fine bead of acidity. There is a wonderful sense of symmetry here with a silky elegant finish that is amazingly persistent. It is one of the best wines that Paul Pontallier ever made. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 97 VM(Château Margaux) The 2010 Château Margaux is one of the lowest alcohol wines to be found in Bordeaux in this vintage, as it weighs in at a very civilized 13.5 percent. Not surprisingly, the grand vin is made up of a higher percentage of cabernet sauvignon this year (ninety percent) than is customary in many recent vintages here, as even on the Left Bank, the merlot in 2010 was very ripe indeed. The 2010 Margaux is a very good wine, but somehow I had expected just a bit more grandiosity from the estate in this vintage, and at least at this early stage, it seems to be a step behind the 2009 here. The bouquet is deep, closed and nascently complex, as it wafts from the glass in a blend of black cherries, cassis, tobacco leaf, lovely minerality, smoke and a refined base of new wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and quite solid at the core, with plenty of firm tannins, good acids and fine length and grip on the slightly dry finish. This is a very well-made wine by any stretch of the imagination, but in terms of the extremely high standards of Château Margaux, it will need to develop a fair bit more character as it evolves with bottle age to rank as one of the great recent vintages here. I cannot imagine it blossoming before it has spent at least fifteen years in the cellar, and 2010 should prove to be an extremely long-lived vintage for the estate. (Drink between 2025-2100).John Gilman | 92-93+ JG

A wine of noble bearing and exceptional beauty, the 2010 Mouton Rothschild is a flat-out stunner. The aromatics alone are beguiling. On the palate, the wine is every bit as thrilling, with myriad layers of flavor that continue to open up in the glass. Graphite, gravel, smoke, plum, black cherry and savory herbs are all strikingly delineated throughout. Vivid and crystalline, the 2010 is a jewel of a wine, but it is impossibly young now. Readers who can be patient will be treated to a fabulous wine. Today, the 2010 reminds me of a more civilized version of the 1986. The 2010 is 94% Cabernet Sauvignon (the highest amount of Cabernet ever here). Dollops of Merlot round out the blend. Harvest took place between September 29 and October 13.Antonio Galloni | 100 AGSmoked grilled tar on the nose, it feels both very 2010 and supremely Mouton - accomplished and confident. A more glamorous, enticing edge than the other Pauillac Firsts at this 10 year window. There are plentiful tannins but they are lined with air, and the overall feel is of plush, plumped fruits, like being rolled-up in luxurious sheets. It is very different in character to the other two Pauillac Firsts, but no less enjoyable. It feels higher in alcohol, more Cos than Lafite in terms of personality, in the way that Pichon Baron is more Latour than Comtesse, but it is nuanced and clever and surprising. Drinking Window 2025 - 2050Decanter | 100 DECClearly a perfect wine that shows incredible depth of fruit with currants, dark chocolate, minerals and licorice. Full-bodied, tight and wound up with ripe tannins that let go and seduce you. Makes me want to drink it now. But this is a wine for the long term. Extraordinary. 94% cabernet sauvignon. Better in 2020.James Suckling | 100 JSThis remains the stunner, a battleship of a wine, brimming with cassis, blackberry and fig fruit that has melded together now, with the backdrop of alder, bay leaf and menthol starting to emerge a bit more. The long finish is loaded with grip, pulling the fruit and other components together. And then there’s that flash of iron at the very end. Awesome wine.--Non-blind Mouton-Rothschild vertical (March 2017). Best from 2025 through 2060.Wine Spectator | 99 WSOnly 49% of the production made it into the 2010 Mouton Rothschild, which has a strikingly beautiful label by Jeffrey Koons. This is a truly great wine, with a very high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon (94%) and the other 6% Merlot. At 13.9% natural alcohol, Mouton’s director, Philippe Dhalluin, has clearly produced another 50- to 60-year wine that has a chance at perfection in about 15 years time, when I suspect this wine will be rounding into drinking condition. It is dense, rich and full-bodied, with the classic Mouton creme de cassis, forest floor, licorice and floral notes, but also some blueberry and hints of subtle espresso and mulberry. The wine has more minerality and precision than the rich, extravagantly opulent 2009, and while that may please some, others will have their patience tested as they wait and wait for this compelling Mouton Rothschild to hit full maturity.Robert Parker | 98+ RPA dense, smooth and opulent wine bursting with ripe Cabernet Sauvignon flavors. It’s regal and well structured, balancing the natural exuberance of Mouton with a more severe side. This is a wine with power, yet not without its charms from the fruitiness and final acidity. This great wine will age many, many years.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WE(Château Mouton-Rothschild) Prior to my visit to Mouton at the end of my trip, I had heard from several sources that this was a top-notch vintage for this great estate. Having now tasted the wine, I would have to say that such an assessment included more than a bit of wishful thinking, as the 2010 Mouton has not managed to carry its fourteen percent alcoholic ripeness without sacrificing precision on both the nose and palate. The wine offers up a ripe and fairly complex bouquet of black cherries, black raspberries, coffee bean, cigar smoke, soil and lead pencil. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and quite broad-shouldered, with a rock solid core of ripe fruit, very firm, but well-integrated tannins and a long, slightly blurry finish. The harmony of acids, ripe fruit and firm tannins here are much better than in any of the other wines in the Mouton stable this year, but 2010 is a vintage where the strident ripeness has been very hard to harness and provide a wine with the customary focus and delineation that is almost taken for granted at Mouton-Rothschild. This is a good wine, but decidedly not a great vintage for Mouton. It may improve over the course of its elevage and eventually place at the higher end of this scoring range, but it is hardly a legend in the making. (Drink between 2025-2075)John Gilman | 87-91+ JG

The 2010 Palmer is one of the superstars of the vintage, a blend of 54% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot, which is just slightly different than what I indicated two years ago. The alcohol level hit 14.5%, and the wine comes across like a more stacked-and-packed version of their 2000. It is tannic and backward, but has a sensational black/purple color and a gorgeous nose of camphor, barbecue smoke, blackberry and cassis. Full-bodied, with oodles of glycerin but a relatively healthy pH, this wine has a precision and freshness that belie its lofty alcohol and extravagant concentration. This is a sensationally rich, full-throttle Palmer that could well end up being one of the all-time great wines made at this estate. It needs a good 7-10 years of cellaring and should keep for 50 or more years.There’s no question that Thomas Duroux and the staff at Palmer are producing wines of first-growth quality, and have been for nearly a decade.Robert Parker | 98+ RPOne of the great years of Bordeaux now at 10 years old and showing why this is such an unusual vintage in terms of the depth of structure and muscular concentration that was achieved. In fact, I am upping the drinking window from the last time I tasted this, as there is such a pulse of life and grip that shows no signs of going anywhere. The initial layers are starting to be peeled back, but this retains primary black and blue fruits that are still full of flesh alongside baked earth, tons of liquorice and black chocolate with a grippy tannic structure, fresh acidities and a serious attitude. Brilliant stuff, that is clearly going to power on for decades. Harvest September 22 to October 20. Drinking Window 2022 - 2048.Decanter | 98 DECA purity of fruit here with plum and dark chocolate undertones. Spices and treacle tart as well. Full body, with ultra-fine tannins and a long, long finish. Very fine indeed. Fit, fruity and reserved. Superb. Try in 2020.James Suckling | 98 JSWhile outwardly this wine is generous and opulent with great juicy sweetness, the core is structured and powerful. The wine is concentrated and complex, with dark tannins and a brooding, dense texture. This is a wine with a long-lived future.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThe 2010 Palmer has an outgoing, intense and multifaceted bouquet with black cherries, boysenberry, crushed violets and hints of cassis - your quintessential Margaux turned up to eleven. The palate is medium-bodied with very supple tannins and a fine bead of acidity. Headier than its Margaux peers, it builds in the mouth with a complex, marine-tinged finish with cracked black pepper lingering on the aftertaste. This is an outstanding Palmer but it needs more time in bottle. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 96 VMThis is riveting, with terrific tarry grip coursing underneath layers of smoldering bay leaf, warm plum confiture, freshly brewed espresso, dark cassis and well-steeped black tea. The charcoal and tobacco backdrop is gorgeous and should move forward through the core of fruit over time. Be patient though, as the structure is ironclad. This will really be electric once mature. Best from 2017 through 2040. 8,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WS(Château Palmer) The 2010 Château Palmer is a quite powerful rendition of this fine estate, but without any signs of the ripeness here obscuring any of the potential purity that makes this great estate so beloved by claret fans the world over. My notes do not include the alcohol level on the grand vin this year (which was also absent from the technical sheet handed out by the estate), but the literature from Palmer this year does observe that “although the alcoholic degree is very high, like in 2009, the acidity and tannic concentration are greater (than 2009), making for wines with an extremely solid foundation.” Given a cépage in 2010 that is comprised of fifty-four percent merlot, forty percent cabernet sauvignon and six percent petit verdot, one has to assume that the alcohol level is in the range of 14.5 percent in this vintage. But the wine shows no ill effects from this level of ripeness, as it offers up a superb nose of black cherries, blackberries, coffee bean, tobacco smoke, gravel and a suave base of new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and quite powerful for Palmer, with a rock solid core of fruit, very good focus and balance, substantial, but well-integrated tannins and excellent length and grip on the tangy finish. Stylistically, this will probably never be my favorite vintage at Palmer, as I tend to prefer this wine when it is at its most elegant, but there is no denying that the 2010 is beautifully-made and does show extraordinary purity and focus for such a broad-shouldered wine. (Drink between 2025-2100)John Gilman | 95 JG

I certainly underrated the 2010 Pape Clement from barrel, rating it only 93-95+. (Thank God I put a “plus” there!) Having tasted it four times in Bordeaux, and rating it perfect three times and 99 the fourth time, this final blend of 51% Merlot, 47.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 1.5% Petit Verdot is perfection in a bottle. Tipping the scales at 14.5% natural alcohol, there are 8,000 cases of it. Its sublime elegance, the power, the medium to full-bodied texture, the silky tannins, the subtle notes of smoke, lead pencil shavings, black currants, charcoal, camphor, blueberry and cassis fruit are all remarkable. It is a rich, full-throttle wine, but the elegance and the great terroir of Pape Clement come through in abundance. It is slightly more developed and evolved than the 2005 was at a similar point in its evolution, but it certainly needs another 5-7 years to develop further nuances, which it surely will. This wine will last 30-40+ years.Kudos to proprietor Bernard Magrez, who has built an empire based on high quality more than any other characteristic.Robert Parker | 100 RPIntense blueberry nose with great precision and expression. Full and vibrant on the palate with a minty note. Vanilla. Wonderful structure. Firm but ripe tannins and very long. Needs time to soften. Great potential. Try in 2016.James Suckling | 96 JSThe 2010 Pape Clément has a gorgeous bouquet with vibrant red berry fruit, camphor, raspberry preserve and just a hint of marmalade - very seductive and classy. The palate is medium-bodied with lithe tannins and good density, as you would expect. Whilst a little grainy in texture it feels structured with tarry black fruit, although I would have liked to see a touch more persistence on the aftertaste. As such, leave it for another three or four years because it has a lot of potential. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 95 VMNicely toasty, with a lovely broad stroke of mocha and ganache spread over the velvety core of plum sauce, blackberry coulis and steeped currant fruit. The long, polished finish keeps a tarry thread running along with the fruit, adding length and range. Not shy on style. Best from 2018 through 2035. 7,966 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSA smooth, dense wine, ripe and polished. It brings out a modern view of Bordeaux, dark and concentrated, hinting at the new-wood aging. At the same time, the wine has a serious edge that promises proper aging.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEPape Clement was still all about shoulders and pecs at this point; and even at 10 years old this is a serious beast. There is a lovely elegant uptick through the finish, offering a counterpoint to black chocolate shavings, black olive, cut herbs, rosemary and cinnamon, just full of spice and power. It’s a good wine, no question; if not particularly signature Pessac. Drinking Window 2020 - 2042Decanter | 93 DEC(Château Pape Clément) The 2010 Pape Clément has turned out very well indeed, and while I would still prefer to see it in the guise of an unabashed champion of traditionalism, it is hard not to enjoy the more modern rendition in the context of its success in this challenging vintage in the Graves. The ripe nose is deep, complex and classy, as it offers up scents of black cherries, cassis, Cuban cigars, soil tones and plenty of spicy new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very suave on the attack, with impressive complexity, good depth at the core and very good length and grip on the fairly tannic finish. Today the new oak obtrudes a bit on the finish, but one hopes that there is sufficient stuffing to carry the wood tannins along with those from the skins. I am still not convinced that the new style here is an improvement upon the old, but this is at least very well done in 2010. (Drink between 2020-2060)John Gilman | 90+ JG

Borderline perfection in a bottle, the 2010 Pichon-Longueville Baron (79% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Merlot) boasts a saturated purple color as well as truly extraordinary aromatics of crème de cassis, licorice, crushed rock-like minerality, graphite, and spring flowers. Possessing full-bodied richness, a huge, unctuous mid-palate, and building tannin, it shows the purity, grandeur, and precision that makes this vintage so remarkable. Hide bottles for another 4-5 years, count yourself lucky, and enjoy bottles over the following 2-3 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 99+ JDIncredible depth apparent from the first whiff as well as powerful aromatics combining graphite, black fruit and spices. The palate is concentrated but brimming with energy, yet what really stands out is its confounding freshness as well as the finesse and precise contours of the tannic framework. An already profound wine that will reach new heights over the next two decades. (Drink between 2022-2050)Decanter | 99 DECAdministrator Christian Seeley thinks the 2010 is the greatest Pichon Longueville Baron he has ever made, equaling some of the estate’s colossal wines from vintages such as 1989 and 1990. It was certainly showing well when I stopped by the chateau in January. Opaque purple, with loads of charcoal, licorice, incense and some exotic Asian spices along with abundant cassis liqueur, blackberry and hints of roasted coffee and spring flowers, it is full-bodied and opulent, with relatively high tannins, but they have sweetened up considerably and seem less aggressive than they did from barrel. The oak is clearly pushed to the background by the wine’s wealth of fruit, glycerin and full-bodied texture. This sensational Pichon Longueville Baron needs 5-6 years of cellaring, and should keep 30+ years.Robert Parker | 97+ RPThis is quintessential Pauillac, a great wine with its Cabernet proudly at the fore. It ranks with the 2009 and, with its tannins, is sure to age longer than that vintage. Solidly structured, powerful and dense, with fruit promised for the future, it succeeds with its weight and great concentration.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThe 2010 Pichon-Baron is simply one of the greatest wines produced under Christian Seely’s tenure. It has a stunning bouquet with penetrating black fruit, wilted violet and a touch of sea spray, a distinctive marine note verging on shucked oyster shells. The palate is very well balanced with fine grain tannins, layers pf graphite infused black fruit and a very detailed, captivating finish. Brilliant. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 96 VMSolidly built, with a roasted edge to the steeped fig, blackberry and black currant flavors, quickly followed by brambly tannins and notes of bay leaf and espresso. Stays dark and tarry through the finish, with superb drive and verve. Best from 2017 through 2030.Wine Spectator | 95 WSA dense and layered wine with lots of ripe and sweet fruit. Loads of currants, plums and tar. This is concentrated and almost jammy with velvety tannins. Powerful. Chewy. Try in 2020.James Suckling | 95 JS(Château Pichon-Longueville) The 2010 Pichon-Longueville is also quite ripe at 13.75 percent alcohol, and includes a higher percentage of cabernet sauvignon than usual at seventy-nine percent in this vintage. However, with most of the merlot exiled to the second wine, the result is a more precise and focused wine than the Les Tourelles de Longueville, as it offers up a ripe and pure nose of black cherries, cassis, coffee bean, cigar ash, herb tones, gravelly soils and a generous base of smoky new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and shows a very nice note of youthful cabernet tobacco leaf, with a fine core of fruit, ripe, well-integrated tannins and excellent length and grip on the chewy and slightly oaky finish. The 2010 Pichon-Baron was raised in eighty percent new wood this year (with thirty percent hailing from Taransaud), and the wine is currently showing just a bit of oak spice and uncovered wood tannins on the backend. I expect that this is just a reflection of the extreme youth of the 2010 and that it will eventually absorb its wood seamlessly. This will be a very long-lived wine and will need plenty of time in the cellar to start to blossom. (Drink between 2022-2075)John Gilman | 92+ JG

An absolutely amazing wine, from grapes harvested between the end of September and October 17, this blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot has close to 15% natural alcohol. It comes from one of the few biodynamic vineyards in Bordeaux, but you are likely to see many more, given the success that Tesseron seems to be having at all levels, both in his vineyards and in his fermentation/winemaking. An astounding, compelling wine with the classic Pauillac nose more often associated with its cross-street neighbor, Mouton-Rothschild, creme de cassis, there are also some violets and other assorted floral notes. The wine has off-the-charts massiveness and intensity but never comes across as heavy, overbearing or astringent. The freshness, laser-like precision, and full-bodied, massive richness and extract are simply remarkable to behold and experience. It is very easy, to become jaded tasting such great wines from a great vintage, but it is really a privilege to taste something as amazing as this. Unfortunately, it needs a good decade of cellaring, and that’s assuming it doesn’t close down over the next few years. This is a 50- to 75-year wine from one of the half-dozen or so most compulsive and obsessive proprietors in all of Bordeaux. Is there anything that proprietor Alfred Tesseron is not doing right? Talk about an estate that is on top of its game! Pontet-Canet’s 2010 is a more structured, tannic and restrained version of their most recent perfect wine, the 2009. Kudos to Pontet-Canet!Robert Parker | 100 RPThe aromas to this are incredible with blueberry, minerals, dried flowers, and stones. It goes to dried meat and spices. Full body and incredibly integrated with blackberry, licorice, and minerals. There’s a wonderful purity to this. It goes on for minutes. The quality of tannins is amazing. Seamless. There’s an amazing transparency that shows you all the elements of the wine’s unique terrior. Try after 2018.James Suckling | 100 JSThe 2010 Pontet-Canet lags behind the 2009, but these two vintages can be hard to compare due the drastically different styles. Where the 2009 is broad, expansive, and showy, the 2010 starts our more reserved and classic in style, with beautiful notes of cassis, cedarwood, lead pencil shavings, tobacco, and damp earth all developing with air. Deep, beautifully concentrated, full-bodied, and powerful, it’s built for the long haul and needs 5-7 years of bottle age, but I suspect will see its 50th birthday in still fine drinking form.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JDDense, yes, but this is also a handsome wine that balances complex tannins with pure black currant fruits that shine. This biodynamic wine has a generous, full and rich feel, ripe with just a touch of restraint. The greatness of the wine shows in its purity with a deceptive simplicity that hides the final complex tannins and structure.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEThis is big, broad and powerfully rendered, but remarkably polished and refined at the same time. An enormous core of roasted fig, blackberry and black currant fruit is suavely wrapped with roasted apple wood and sandalwood, while dark espresso, loam and warm paving stone notes drive the finish. Very long, with a great tug of scorched earth at the end. A terrific combination of power and precision. Best from 2020 through 2040. 25,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WS(Château Pontet-Canet, Merlot, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, Red) Class in glass. Deep ruby, youthful tone. Such sumptuous red berry, cassis and tobacco aromas. Juicy and full bodied, with smoothly textured tannins. The creamy mid palate texture is framed by an impressive arc of tension and balancing acidity, ensuring long life. Long finish. Super! Aged 50% new oak. (Drink between 2021-2060)Decanter | 97 DECThe 2010 Pontet-Canet is noticeably deep in colour compared to its peers. This is unusually ripe and sweet on the nose, more red than black fruit, maybe a little jammy and confit-like. I would never guess this was a 2010 Left Bank. The palate is medium-bodied with a fleshy mouthfeel, plenty of graphite tinged red fruit. Approachable in style and sensually fulfilling, it just lacks a bit of grip and backbone on the finish. I have fonder memories of previous bottles but I could not identify any specific fault. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 92 VM

A wine that could easily be mistaken for a First Growth, the 2010 Rauzan-Ségla is an incredibly powerful, full-bodied wine by this estate’s standards, yet it nevertheless holds onto a terrific sense of elegance as well as perfect balance. A huge nose of blackcurrants, smoked earth, tobacco, lead pencil, and spice give way to a concentrated, blockbuster styled Margaux that has thrilling depth of fruit, masses of ripe tannins, and great length and finesse on the finish. This brilliant wine is just now seemingly on the edge of its drink window and offers immense pleasure, yet it has another 30-40 years of life ahead of it. Along with the 2015 and 2016, it’s the greatest wine made at this estate in the past two decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDDeep garnet in color, the 2010 Rauzan-Ségla is youthfully reticent and closed to begin, slowly unfurling to offer notions of underbrush, black truffles, smoked meats and tar over a core of baked black cherries, prunes and crème de cassis plus touches of iron ore and crushed rocks. Full-bodied, concentrated and jam-packed with savory/earthy fruit, it has a rock-solid structure of firm, grainy tannins and oodles of freshness, finishing with great length and expression.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPOne of the top Margaux wines, this is in top form, finely balanced and as elegant as it is powerful. It is darkly structured, dense yet balancing tannins with ripe black plums. It expresses the complexity of the vintage. A wine for serious, long-term aging.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThe 2010 Rauzan-Ségla has a wonderful bouquet, very pure and engaging with wild strawberry, blackberry, rose petals and boysenberry jam. It just feels very focused and beautifully delineated. The palate is medium-bodied with lively red and black fruit laced with cracked black pepper and cedar. It is extremely balanced, almost symmetrical, with a precise and persistent finish. Bon vin. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 95 VMFlashy style of Margaux, with alluring warm cocoa and black tea aromatics followed by cashmere-textured plum sauce, steeped fig and blackberry confiture notes. The well-integrated structure makes this seem almost accessible now, but the ample length and a smoldering tobacco note make a case for cellaring. Best from 2014 through 2030. 9,666 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WSThere’s a wonderful deep and dark fruit to this second wine from Rauzan Segla, with hints of soft tannins. Lovely ripe fruit and a chocolate, light raisin at the end.James Suckling | 90-91 JS(Château Rauzan-Ségla) The 2010 Château Rauzan-Ségla is another fine example of the vintage, but much like the 2010 Château Rauzan-Gassies, a completely traditional approach once again in the cellars here would pay dividends in terms of even more profound expression of terroir. The bouquet on the 2010 is a very classy blend of cassis, dark berries, tobacco, gravelly soil tones, classy new wood and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and sappy at the core, with fine focus and a fair bit of firm, slightly dry-edged tannins on the long and bouncy finish. A touch of the tannins here seem derived already from the new wood, but the overall balance is splendid and this wine should have no difficulty carrying its wood over the long haul. A very successful, ever so slightly “overly-polished” example of the vintage. (Drink between 2020 - 2050)John Gilman | 90+ JG

Tasted the following day from the rest of this vertical, because I couldn’t resist adding another wine, and I had kept this one in my own cellar for the past decade. It was too young to open to be honest, but was just stunning, and kept getting better over the two days following opening. Opulent and luscious, with balsamic, black chocolate and cloves, damson, kirsch and black cherry fruit, and the precision and swirl of campfire, ash and incense that mark out François Mitjavile’s approach. 100% new oak. An exceptional vintage with many great wines, and yet this stands out.Jane Anson | 99 JAWhile I don’t think the 2010 Château Tertre Roteboeuf matches the 2005 (or 2016), it’s a brilliant Saint-Emilion that offers textbook Tertre notes of cassis, spicy wood, graphite, white truffle, sappy tobacco, and earth. Taking lots of air to open up and integrate its ample tannins, this beauty is full-bodied, has a seamless, layered texture, flawless balance, and a rock star of a finish. It’s beautifully done and just now at the early stages of its prime drink window. It needs at least 2-3 hours in a decanter at this stage (and was even better on the second day). It’s going to evolve for another 20-30 years in cold cellars.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JD Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Le Tertre Roteboeuf reveals notes of leather, cedar and balsamic with a core of raisin cake and unsmoked cigars. Full-bodied, the palate is firm and chewy with a lively line cutting through the dried berries and savory layers, finishing just a little warm.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPThe 2010 Le Tertre Rôteboeuf has an impressive bouquet with a mixture of red and black fruit, melted tar on a hot summer day, warm gravel and allspice. This exhibits very fine delineation and focus. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, a fine bead of acidity, a little toasty towards the finish where the oak seems to obscure the terroir and fruit expression, even after ten years. Hopefully that will be addressed with further cellaring because otherwise this is a fine Right Bank. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 92+ VM

Stunning nose with wild strawberries, vanilla and raspberries. Opens up with a little time in the glass to sweet licorice, blueberries and some graphite. Round and full on the palate with an amazing fruit and refined tannins. Truly superb. Hard not to drink now. Try from 2016.James Suckling | 98 JSWarm days and cold nights were the signature of 2010, similar in many ways to a typical Californian vintage. This is particularly good for giving concentration and complexity to the resulting wines, and the abundance of polyphenols is clear in the colour that you see in the glass. This is still seriously closed compared to the 2009 - the structure is bigger but the fruit between the lines is fleshy and welcoming. It’s not as exuberant as the 2009, and still needs time or a serious few hours in a decanter. The tannic power of Trotanoy is on full display here, but so too is the purity of expression, and layers of liquorice, blackberry, blackcurrant, slate and smoked rosemary you can peel off one-by-one. Drinking Window 2020 - 2044.Decanter | 98 DECTasted at the Trotanoy vertical in Hong Kong, the 2010 Trotanoy was consistent with my previous tasting notes. The bouquet, this time, was unapologetically Pomerol whereas in the past it has swayed a little towards Saint Emilion. There are still those hints of marmalade that infuse the black fruit, although there is now more mineralité emerging. The palate is beautifully balanced with fine but firm tannin. Again, the mineralité locked into this wine is at a level that I have not seen before, and the energy, the coiled-up tension on the finish is just outstanding. Is it as good as the 2009? Perhaps not quite...but, it is not far off. Tasted November 2016.Robert Parker | 98 RPDense and slightly chewy, this features girders of charcoal-coated grip running from start to finish, along with bay leaf, smoldering tobacco and warm tar. But don’t be fooled--there’s also loads of fruit, offering dark plum, blackberry and black currant notes, laced with hints of mulling spice and alder. Terrific old-school grip powers the finish, and should easily pull this through two decades in the cellar. The brick-house Pomerol of the vintage. Best from 2017 through 2040. 1,900 cases made.Wine Spectator | 98 WSA complex wine, exhibiting smoky tannins, rich fruit, a dark texture and concentration. Produced by the Moueix winemaking team, it feels complete with its sense of style and elegance as well as weight. Give this powerful wine many years in the cellar.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThe 2010 Trotanoy is surly and backward on the nose, clearly a Pomerol demanding extended cellaring. The palate is medium-bodied, its bold tannic chassis just beginning to soften. This has a superb bead of acidity threaded through the bell pepper-tinged, tertiary black fruit with a gentle but insistent grip on the finish. This is clearly a Pomerol of real pedigree and I adore its truffly aftertaste. Excellent. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 94+ VM(Château Trotanoy) I had been very impressed with 2010 Château Trotanoy out of barrel, as I found this to be one of the very finest examples of the vintage. Out of bottle, the wine seems to be delivering on its early promise, and tough it will always be a big-boned and very ripe example of Trotanoy (tipping the scales at 14.5 percent alcohol), there is a lot more to like here than in most examples of this vintage! The nose is very ripe, but does not show any signs of sur maturité in its sappy bouquet of black cherries, plums, chocolate, cigar ash, violets, lovely soil tones and toasty oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and opulent on the attack, with a rock solid core, with firm, very substantial tannins, tangy (but, reasonably ripe) acids and a very, very long, complex and youthful finish. The wine is starting to show just a touch of backend heaviness from the vintage, and it seems that I overrated this a touch from barrel. But, although this will never be my favorite recent vintage of Trotanoy (give me the powerful, but much more classic 2009 or the utterly refined and majestic 2008!), but it is a stellar success for the vintage. (Drink between 2025-2060)John Gilman | 93+ JG

Rose petals, sandalwood and currants with some plums and fruit tea. Full-bodied, tight and focused. Incredibly straight and minerally. Toned muscles here. Tannic. Traditional and unwavering. Try in 2024.James Suckling | 100 JSThe 2015 La Mission Haut-Brion is blessed with an outstanding bouquet of brilliantly focused and delineated black fruit laced with graphite and cedar - pure class. The medium-bodied, harmonious palate delivers fine-grained tannin and impressive depth. There is a slight savory element (just like the Haut-Brion) that infuses the middle, and brown spices and sage linger on the finish. This is a profound La Mission Haut-Brion that dares surpass Haut-Brion on this showing. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 98 VMMore opulent, sexy and concentrated, the 2015 Chateau La Mission Haut Brion is a tour de force that has everything you could want from Bordeaux. A huge nose of smoke tobacco, gravelly earth, graphite, cassis, and blackcurrants gives way to a full-bodied, concentrated, perfectly balanced beauty that has incredible depth of flavor and intensity, yet with no weight. While the overall impression is upfront and in your face, it has incredible elegance and length on the finish (as well as ripe tannin) and will keep for three decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDThe deep garnet-purple colored 2015 La Mission Haut-Brion is a blend of 58% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 35% Cabernet Sauvignon. Youthfully mute with bright, youthful red currants, black raspberries, cassis and freshly crushed blackberries notions, it slowly unfurls to reveal an earthy/minerally undercurrent of damp soil, charcoal, iron ore and truffles plus a waft of violets. Medium to full-bodied, decadently fruited and yet wonderfully elegant with very ripe, very silky tannins, freshness that sits well in the background and an almost electric intensity of vibrant red and black fruit flavors, it finishes long and minerally. Just. Beautiful. Consider giving it 6-7 years in bottle before broaching and drink it over the next 30+.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPAlluring, with steeped plum, blackberry and açaí berry fruit imparting a distinctive edge. Slightly burly tannins roam underneath but the fruit is so fleshy and broad they are easily absorbed, while dark pudding, warm tar, licorice snap and roasted alder notes flow in on the lengthy finish. Reveals a gorgeous Turkish coffee accent at the very end. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2025 through 2040. 6,800 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSThis wine, rich and opulent, defines the terroir of this estate. It has a rich, dense character, powerful and concentrated. The juicy black fruits enhance the impression of generosity as well as concentration. Drink from 2027. Wine Enthusiast | 96 WETaut and tense from the off: coffee, smoky almond and pulsing with vibrancy and energy. Reservations over the high alcohol at 15.1%abv but 3.74pH means you barely feel it. Such beautiful tannic grip and sense of forward motion, showing great ageing potential. Beautiful length of damson and loganberry fruits and fragrant heather and garden herbs. Lovely texture, structured and tannic hold. 78% new oak.Decanter | 96 DEC

Blended of 97.1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2.6% Merlot and 0.3% Petit Verdot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Latour is exquisitely perfumed, displaying fragrant notes of crushed black cherries, raspberry preserves, cassis and black plums with nuances of roses, dark chocolate, garrigue, menthol and a waft of sandalwood. The medium-bodied palate beautifully struts its taut, toned, muscular fruit with a frame of very firm, smooth, rounded tannins and compelling freshness, finishing with alluring earth and mineral layers. At once intellectual and sexy, this truly evocative vintage brings to mind the Melanie Griffith line from “Working Girl," possessing a sultry “head for business and a bod for sin."Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPReally gorgeous aromatics, so perfumed, acutely aromatic, pristine, clear and precise with tobacco, cocoa, ash and liquorice. Round, heady, a sexy wine, with a lot to say, generous and open, smooth and layered - this deepens straight away vertically. I love the juiciness, there’s clarity to the raspberry, blueberry and blackcurrant fruit, sleek and joyful but the texture is there with a wet stone and liquorice to the tannins that gives such grip and edge of power. Still youthful and quite serious but there’s something so appealing about it with a sexy character and complexity. Bright and sharp but also with sweetness from the ripe vintage and savoury notes of truffle, cocoa, dark chocolate giving contrast. Such enjoyable floral violet scents too that follow the wine from start to finish. Excellently controlled and delivered with supreme appeal. One you want to sit with and take your time over, and then gulp down! 69 IPT, 30% of production. Harvest 15 september to 10 October. Technical director Hélène Genin.Decanter | 98 DECAromas of iron, oyster shell, rust and stones with blueberries and blackberries. Full-bodied, yet ever so polished and refined. It rolls off the palate with fruit and salty flavors. Tight, focused and always refined. Pretty length. 97% cabernet sauvignon gives this brightness. Drink in 2022.James Suckling | 98 JSSeriously structured and yet also so smooth, this wine has great concentration and powerful tannins. There is wonderful juiciness here as well as dense, dusty tannins that are never hard, always velvet. It is going to be a great wine when it is released in maybe 10 years time. The wine comes only from vineyards that are biodynamic.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEThis packs some serious warm dark currant, fig and blackberry compote flavors together at the core, with charcoal, singed bay leaf, tobacco and roasted alder notes forming the foundation. Grippy for sure, but there’s already alluring perfume and violet elements weaving around here. This has put on some serious weight and dark fruit since the barrel tasting, but remains all tensile strength. It will be fun to watch this age. Best from 2025 through 2045.Wine Spectator | 97 WSThe 2015 Latour has a sensual, richer and more exotic bouquet than its peers, featuring plush red fruit intermingling with raisin and fig, although there is no sur-maturité here; the wine is just crafted in a more opulent style for this First Growth. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin and a fine bead of acidity. This feels very cohesive and focused, and more saline than its peers. Veins of brown spice and leather surface toward the complex, engaging finish. I would have liked a little more length, but otherwise this is very fine. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 96 VM

The 2016 Le Dome is a brilliant, brilliant wine that does everything right. Sporting a saturated purple color, it has a huge perfume of blueberries, spring flowers, graphite, wet stone, and camphor. Incredibly layered and complex, with full body, building, ultra-fine tannins, a multi-dimensional texture, and a monster finish, it’s unquestionably one of the most flamboyant, sexy, opulent wines in the vintage yet stays ethereal, elegant, and weightless. Coming from a site not far from Angélus and a unique blend of 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot from tiny yields, aged in 80% new oak, it has the class and fruit to shine even today but will be better with 3-4 years of cellaring and I suspect capable of lasting for 2-3 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDThis 80% Cabernet Franc wine may be massive, but it is also perfumed with swathes of opulent black fruit. It comes from a great year for Cabernet Franc, which forms 75% of this vineyard. Juicy acidity gives the wine a velvet character that is enticing. It needs time, , so wait to drink from 2026.Wine Enthusiast | 100 WEThe 2016 Le Dome is comprised of 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot, aged in 80% new French oak. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, it slips sensuously out of the glass with compelling notions of red roses, candied violets, chocolate box and Chinese five spice with a core of kirsch, blackberry tart, warm plums, black raspberries and cloves plus wafts of cigar box and orange peel. Full bodied—the palate is positively electric with energy—it gives layer upon layer of perfumed black raspberries and mineral sparks, framed by super ripe, firm, finely grained tannins and bags of freshness, finishing very long and very fragrant. It has 15% alcohol, but so beautifully harmonious you would never guess it.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPWith ripe berries and decadent undertones, this wine is really alluring on the nose. Medium to full body, firm and silky tannins and a very, very pretty and energized finish. Yes. Drink in 2022.James Suckling | 96 JSThe 2016 Le Dôme is absolutely gorgeous. Even thought the 2016 is very much tightly wound, it is still super-expressive. Crushed rocks, gravel, smoke and lavender add delineated, energy and nuance to this dark, full-bodied wine. Le Dôme is a rare Cabernet Franc-dominate Saint-Émilion that deftly balances richness with vibrancy. I find it the most complete and arrestingly beautiful wine in Jonathan Malthus' range. Today, it is positively thrilling.Vinous Media | 96 VMThe flagship wine for Maltus, made up of 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot, with a fairly high for the vintage pH of 3.81. This majors on muscular, powerful and slightly austere tannins, with fleshy cassis and strong liquorice flavours. This is a little old-school in its interpretation of the vintage, but there is no doubting the quality. Drinking Window 2027 - 2045.Decanter | 94 DEC

Readers looking for the next superstar in Bordeaux need to jump on the bandwagon of Les Carmes Haut-Brion, who have produced one of the wines of the vintage in 2016. The 2016 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion checks in as a blend of 41% Cabernet Franc, 39% Merlot, and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon that hit 13.8% natural alcohol and spent 22 months in 65% new French oak. Its deep purple color is followed by a complex bouquet of high-class smoke tobacco, decaying flowers, charcoal, gravelly minerality and loads of sweet black and blue fruit. Possessing full-bodied richness, flawless integration of its acidity, fruit, and ultra-fine tannins, and a blockbuster finish, this is another 2016 that possess both power and elegance. Do your best to hide bottles for 5-7 years and it will keep for 3-4 decades. Don’t miss it. Tasted twice.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDThe 2016 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is very clearly one of the wines of the vintage. Breathtaking in its beauty, the 2016 soars from the glass with stunning aromatic and flavor intensity. Red cherry jam, wild flowers, mint, blood orange and sage are some of many notes that develop. In the glass, the 2016 is a vivid, statuesque, exotic wine that takes over all the senses as it delivers tons of pure pleasure. Readers should plan on cellaring the 2016 for at least a few years, but that will be virtually impossible. The 2016 is a towering masterpiece from Les Carmes Haut-Brion and Technical Director Guillaume Pouthier. Tasted three times.Antonio Galloni | 98 AGTerrific ripeness, depth and complexity on offer here. This has a very attractive array of bright, ripe blueberries and cassis with some leafy and earthy notes. The palate has a quite deep, long and vibrant array of perfectly ripe dark plums and blueberries. So good. Best vintage this decade. Try from 2023.James Suckling | 97 JSThis offers alluring waves of ganache-tinged plum sauce, blackberry reduction and steeped açaí fruit flavors, while tobacco and singed mesquite notes hang in the background. Shows a lovely bramble echo through the finish, with the fruit easily keeping pace. This has range, distinctive mouthfeel and serious length. There’s a new player officially in the Pessac game... Best from 2023 through 2038. 3,333 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSWith 51% whole-bunch fermentation for the Cabernet Franc and Merlot, this is the highest proportion in this wine. This is just gorgeous, with a beautiful sweetness on the attack from ripe fruit and a touch of smoked caramel. It really rises through the palate, gripped by liquorice, hazelnut, dark chocolate and black cherry fruits that ripple through the palate. I loved this wine En primeur and it is absolutely living up to its billing. It has an IPT of 90, but the tannins are full of life, yielding in just the right places while still confident and keeping everything in line.Great persistency too. 3.49pH. 80% new oak, 10% Stockinger and 10% amphoras. Drinking Window 2026 - 2042.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2016 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a blend of 41% Cabernet Franc, 39% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon aged in 65% new and 35% one-year-old oak for 22 months. This vintage represents one of the largest percentages of Cabernet Franc for this wine. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it gives notes of kirsch, black raspberries and black plums with touches of cassis, violets, chocolate box and pencil shavings. The palate is medium-bodied, firm, grainy and lively with loads of layers and a long, well-poised finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RP

Love the floral character to the aromas of dark fruit, such as blueberries and black cherries. Red and black licorice, too. The full-bodied palate starts slowly and then expands with super polished, searing tannins that lead you up the palate into a place of grandeur. Lightly chewy at the end. Such great purity and presence here. 6% cabernet sauvignon in the blend with franc and merlot. Try after 2028.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2018 Cheval Blanc is a blend of 54% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, with a 3.75 pH and 14.5% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs considerable swirling and air to releases fragrant notes of stewed plums, juicy black cherries and ripe blackberries with underlying suggestions of damp soil, black truffles, rose oil and cardamom with wafts of underbrush and iron ore. The medium to full-bodied palate is densely packed with rich black fruits and loads of earthy accents, framed by super firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness to balance, finishing with amazing length and a beautiful array of floral and mineral sparks. Thirty-three plots contributed to this wine, out of the forty-three in production. Of the rest, five went into Petit Cheval and five into bulk. It will need a good 6-7 years at least to really start to strut its stuff and should cellar for a further 30 years or more.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98+ RPThe 2018 Cheval Blanc is magnificent. In a vintage in which so many wines are opulent and dense, Cheval Blanc maintains striking translucence while conveying the natural radiance of the year. Silky, perfumed and exceptionally vivid, the 2018 pulses with energy from start to finish. Sage, mint, lavender and mocha all meld together on the sumptuous finish. Cabernet Franc, such a Cheval signature, has probably never been so ripe. In a word: dazzling.Antonio Galloni | 98+ AGShowing beautifully from barrel and now from bottle, the 2018 Château Cheval Blanc is a final blend of 54% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s a pure, classic Cheval Blanc in that it relies more on complexity and elegance than power, offering a beautiful perfume of red and blackcurrants, spring flowers, spice, forest floor, incense, and tobacco. This carries to a medium to full-bodied Cheval Blanc offering wonderful purity of fruit, a seamless, layered texture, incredible tannins, and a lengthy, focused finish. It shows less of the sunny style of the vintage now than it did from barrel, and it’s a wonderfully complete wine that delivers awesome freshness in its aromatics, plenty of ripe, sweet fruit, and the tannins and structure that seem to come from a long, cooler season. Reminding me slightly of the 2016, with a touch of the 2001, give this gorgeous wine 5-7 years of bottle age, count yourself lucky, and enjoy over the following 2-3 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDThe first thing that strikes about this wine is its massive density. The second is the richness of the structured Cabernet Franc that is such an important element in the blend. Weight is balanced by the intense fruits and amazing freshness of a wine that has such concentration. This wine will age for years. Don’t touch it before 2027.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEThis has the vintage’s profile, with a sleek and slightly austere frame holding a core of cassis, bitter cherry and raspberry coulis notes tightly together while flashes of bay, dried anise and savory add range and detail. Has a late tug of warm earth along with a very perfumy echo through the finish. A beauty. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2024 through 2038. 10,208 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSLovely ripeness on the nose, full of dense Morello cherries and milk chocolate notes, this feels round and just very complete. It has a density on the palate immediately, voluminous with chalky, gentle gripping tannins, almost chewy on the second taste, that fill the mouth. Generous and expansive. Voluptuous fruit with a capitvating and satisfying texture, it’s really the mouthfeel that’s in focus, big and wide - coating the mouth. Flavours are concentrated around blackcurrant and black cherry with some sweet strawberry and soft chalkiness as well as a touch of sweet liquorice too. Clear depth and power though still youthful and somewhat shy. An excellent Cheval. (Drink between 2028-2055)Decanter | 96 DEC

One of the blockbusters in the vintage is Denis Durantou’s 2018 Château L’Eglise Clinet, which is a normal blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc brought up in 70% new French oak. This deep purple-hued beauty boasts an awesome, full-bodied, opulent personality as well as classic Pomerol notes of blackcurrants, black cherries, damp earth, chocolate, tobacco, and flowers. Rich, concentrated, and sexy, yet not over the top in any way, it expands on the palate, has sweet tannins, background oak, and a great, great finish. It already offers pleasure yet won’t hit prime time for another 7-8 years and is going to evolve for 25-30 years or more, and probably have a gradual decline after that.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDIncredible purity of fruit here with blackberry, black olive, concrete, stone and violet in the nose. It’s full-bodied with a powerful palate of fruit that shows a wet-earth and black-truffle undertone. The tannins are intense and chewy, yet wonderfully polished and poised. Superb length in the finish. One built for long cellaring. Try after 2027.James Suckling | 99 JSA blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 L’Eglise Clinet has a 3.63 pH and 14.5% alcohol. It was aged in 70% new barriques. Deep garnet-purple in color, it opens with a stunning fragrant-earth perfume, accented by notions of wild mushrooms, mossy tree bark and crushed rocks, giving way to a core of black raspberries, plum preserves and fresh blueberries, plus wafts of lavender and clove oil. Medium to full-bodied, the palate shimmers with energy, delivering slow-releasing black fruit and earthy layers, framed by very ripe, finely grained tannins and fantastic tension. It finishes with epic length and subtlety. It is already so evocative and beautifully expressed at this youthful stage that is tempting to broach straight away, but give it another 5-6 years to really fan its feathers, and drink it over the next 40 or more years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPThe 2018 L’Eglise-Clinet is insanely beautiful and vivid, not to mention one of the wines of the vintage on the Right Bank. Vertical and explosive in feel, the 2018 is rapturous from the very first taste. Inky dark red and purplish fruit, mocha, lavender, crushed rocks and rose petal are some of the many aromas and flavors that build through to the exceptionally long, vibrant finish. But L’Eglise-Clinet is so much more than that. It’s a Pomerol of tremendous distinction and class. Give it a few years in bottle and then enjoy over the next several decades.Antonio Galloni | 98 AGThis is plush, with touches of chocolate shavings, olive paste, clove, rosemary and sage right from the opening beats. Blackberry and raspberry layer up flavours that lift out of the glass, then the aromatics take over with soft smoke and grilled almonds. Seductive, a reminder of Durantou’s ability to tease layers and nuances out of even warm vintages. Austere on the finish, with chalky tannins at this stage - this is knitted down and will reward patience. Low temperature fermentation at around 22C. A yield of 45hl/ha. Drinking Window 2027 - 2044.Decanter | 97 DECLush in feel, with boysenberry reduction and crushed plum flavors, carried by a polished, solid structure. A mineral hint filters through on the finish, adding length and cut. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Score rangeWine Spectator | 95-98 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 JSThe 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+ JD(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’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 AGDark 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 WSOwned 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 WE