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Ranking with the top wines of the vintage, the dense purple-hued 2020 Château Pape Clement offers a sensational bouquet of pure crème de cassis interwoven with notes of liquid violets and classy oak. Possessing flawless balance, full-bodied richness, and ultra-fine tannins, it excels in this vintage and has a pretty, elegant, yet also layered and concentrated profile. It will drink well with just short-term cellaring yet evolve gracefully for 20-30 years. I was able to taste this on multiple occasions, and it always checked in near the upper end of the scale. This is a gorgeous wine in the making.Jeb Dunnuck | 97-99 JDSuperb aromas of blackberries, crushed stones, iodine and graphite. Full-bodied with ultra fine tannins and a balanced finish. Such length and beauty. Very close to the 2019 in quality.James Suckling | 97-98 JSDeep garnet-purple colored, the 2020 Pape Clement comes barreling out of the glass with bold notes of cassis, plum preserves and licorice, giving way to scents of cedar chest, crushed rocks, charcoal and pencil lead. The medium to full-bodied palate is tightly coiled with beautiful tension and a firm, finely grained texture locking in the layers of black fruits and minerals, finishing with great length and energy. The blend this year is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot, aging mainly in French oak barriques, 66% new, with about 10% aging in large oak foudres. The wine will spend approximately 18 months in barrels.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96-98 RPThe 2020 Pape Clément is so impressive. Red cherry, plum, cedar, mint, tobacco, blood orange and rose petal all build as the 2020 opens in the glass. Vibrant and beautifully delineated, the 2020 has a ton to offer. The 2020 exudes purity, energy and breathtaking balance. It is one of the finest recent vintages I can remember tasting.Vinous Media | 95-97 VMThis ancient estate, an oasis in the suburbs of Bordeaux city, offers a wine that is packed with promising tannins. The important and rich black fruits reveal concentration, density and the potential of the development of a fine balance and structure as it matures.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WE(Château Pape Clément, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux, France, Red) Powerful in colour, this has the glass staining red and purple colours that Pape Clément does so well. Touches of liquorice and cocoa beans, well handled, this gives power with one hand but takes it away with the other as the austerity and fresh mint leaf comes to the fore. Impressive, a really enjoyable, classically wrought but still full of concentration Pape Clément. Savoury, there is nothing too exuberant in the fruits but it exudes deft confidence. (Drink between 2028-2044)Decanter | 94 DEC

The 2021 Smith Haut Lafitte is an engaging, dynamic wine. Gravel, menthol, licorice, mocha and spice are all beautifully delineated. A wine of energy and focus, the 2021 is absolutely enthralling—medium in body, refined and super-impressive.Vinous Media | 96 VMLots of clove, black-licorice and cigar-box character. Already perfumed. Medium body with fine, chalky and precise tannins. Lead-pencil shavings. Well framed and structured with a fresh, lengthy and spicy finish. Extremely long and intense. 63% cabernet sauvignon, 33% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot. From organically grown grapes.James Suckling | 96-97 JSThe 2021 Smith Haut Lafitte, a blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot reveals a deep, complex bouquet of dark berries, spices, licorice, pencil lead and flowers intertwined with hints of menthol. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and seamless, it’s suave and concentrated, with velvety, elegant tannins and a refined, penetrating finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPGorgeous aromas on the nose, so expressive with blackcurrant, plum, damson, strawberry and red cherry all abounding out of the glass. This has style and substance on the palate, the sour cherry, blackcurrant and blueberry covered in the terroir markers of slate, graphite, pencil lead and liquorice which are the drivers on the palate, the fruit taking a backseat right now though there is cohesion with verticality and an undercurrent of freshness. The energy is there, almost latent, it’s under the surface, brimming, not yet ready to go but it will be there in time. This has refinement and you feel they haven’t pushed too hard. It’s definitely got the markers of the vintage, the coolness of the year, showing the grapes and terroir even more clearly in the glass, especially the spiced Cabernet aspects. I love the style and the no frills effect. It’s got a super long length too with enough class on show you know it will age well.Decanter | 94 DECProvides a step up in substance, with steeped red and black currant fruit laced with tobacco, bay leaf and worn leather accents. Features flashes of warm earth and iron that underscore the finish, also showing depth and grip. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2025 through 2035. 10,000 cases made, 2,400 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThe flagship 2021 Château Smith Haut Lafitte checks in as 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and a splash of Petit Verdot. It’s a rich, powerful wine, delivering lots of ripe black fruits (currants, some cassis), notes of scorched earth and graphite, medium to full body, ripe tannins, and a great mid-palate. It shows the straight, focused style of the vintage yet brings plenty of mid-palate depth, ripe, building tannins, and outstanding length.Jeb Dunnuck | 93-95+ JDThe 2021 Smith Haut Lafitte is a blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, aging in 60% new oak. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs a little swirling before it bursts with vibrant black cherries, fresh blackberries, and blackcurrant cordial scents, followed by hints of violets, star anise, and cedar chest. Medium-bodied, the palate delivers a great density of fresh black fruits and earthy layers, framed by firm, ripe, grainy tannins and compelling freshness, leading to a long finish with a spicy kick on this very impressive wine. At 22 hl/ha, yields are less than half of 2019 and about half of 2020, with 1/3 of the crop going into the Grand Vin this year.The Wine Independent | 92-94 TWI

A wine that’s going to flirt with perfection, the 2022 Château Calon Ségur is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, harvested between September 12 and 26, from yields of 40 hectoliters per hectare. Its deep purple hue is followed by a heavenly bouquet of cassis, smoke tobacco, flowery incense, and toasted spices. This ripe, sexy, full-bodied beauty has ultra-fine tannins, a layered, multi-dimensional mouthfeel, and a great finish. Its tannins, as well as its overall balance and purity, are just about off the charts, and this remarkable effort shows how successful the northern part of the Médoc was in 2022. Bravo!Jeb Dunnuck | 97-99 JDThe 2022 Calon-Ségur is another superb wine from this historic Saint-Estèphe third growth that began a comprehensive renaissance the better part of a decade ago. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of cassis and blackberries mingled with hints of fresh mint, burning embers, licorice and violets, it’s medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, with terrific depth at the core, supple tannins and a long, saline finish. The blend consists of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Vincent Millet observed that "when you tasted the Merlot, you were under the impression that you were tasting Cabernet."Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96-98 RPRich and vibrant on the nose, smells concentrated and alcoholic. Crisp and clean on the palate however with bite to the cherry, plum and blackcurrant fruit alongside a hint of sweet strawberry and herbal raspberry on the mid palate that gives some instant energy before the clear concentration and heft of the wine shows through. Not so much in the texture but in the ripe flavours, cool minty and stone edged tannins and clear liquorice and clove spice. Still taught but detailed with elements of generosity. 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 3.65pH. A yield of 26hl/ha. Ageing 17 months, 30% new oak.Decanter | 96 DECA very juicy red with redcurrant and creme de cassis as well as hints of nutmeg and cloves. It’s full and polished with very pretty tannins that show length and focus. Traditional and typical for Calon with the tannin structure. A little closed today. But serious structure.James Suckling | 95-96 JSThe 2022 Calon Segur is composed of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it erupts from the glass with powerful scents of creme de cassis, blackberry preserves, and fruitcake, leading to touches of wild sage, smoked meats, Chinese five spice, and camphor with a waft of graphite. The full-bodied palate is super concentrated and hedonic, delivering impactful black and blue fruit preserves layers with a velvety texture and lively backbone, finishing with long lingering exotic spice notes. It’s big, sure, but it is also very bright and energetic. The alcohol is 15% and the pH 3.8.The Wine Independent | 95-97+ TWIThe 2022 Calon-Ségur was cropped at 26hL/ha compared to 36hL/ha last year. Matured for 20 months in new oak, it has a well-defined bouquet with blackberry, raspberry, cedar and subtle tobacco scents. The 2022 is tight at first but opens with aeration (winemaker Vincent Millet remarked how the wine was much more expressive the week I tasted it in mid-April compared to the previous week). The palate is classically styled with impressive mid-palate depth. With strict tannins and multi-layered graphite-infused black fruit, this is reminiscent of some postwar Calon-Ségur’s I have tasted. I wonder if slightly less vin de presse would have been better? Uncompromising, perhaps that might be its virtue, but it means that patience will be required.Vinous Media | 94-96 VM

Wow. Blackcurrants, blueberries, blackberries and flowers. Full-bodied with beautifully integrated tannins that melt into the wine. Persistent and precise. A fantastic wine for the cellar. 66% cabernet sauvignon, 28% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 3% petit verdot.James Suckling | 98-99 JSBlackcurrant and bramble fruit with savoury herbal nuances on the nose, this smells rich and potent. Tense and focussed, compact from the get go, present tannins give grip and hold. This is definitely not out to charm, more serious, stern and focussed but there’s such overall precision. This is in high definition, supremely controlled and well worked with mouthfilling ripe tannins. I like the chewy aspect and there’s balancing acidity, hidden now by the density, that will sustain the wine for decades to come. Floral notes and some minerality come through giving the nuance so it’s not all heft, but there’s clear muscle on show. A long finish gives the sense of structure and style. An impressive wine. 95 IPT. 3.71pH. Ageing 18 months, 75% new oak. 3% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 4.1 g/L total acidity. Harvest 12 September - 24 September.Decanter | 97 DECThe Grand Vin 2022 Château Lynch Bages checks in as 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. It actually reminds me slightly of the 2019, and while it’s a classic Lynch Bages powerhouse, it has beautiful balance and purity. Cassis, graphite, lead pencil, and chalky minerality all define the aromatics, and it’s full-bodied, with terrific tannins and a layered, incredibly impressive profile that continues to open and evolve with time in the glass. Tasted twice with consistent notes.Jeb Dunnuck | 96-98+ JDThe 2022 Lynch-Bages was picked 12 September, around 15 days earlier than usual until 24 September at around 35hL/ha. Aged for 18 months in 75% new oak, it has a backward nose that demands a lot of encouragement. This is not as immediate as the 2016 or 2019 at the same stage. Powerful blackberry and boysenberry fruit, cedar and light tobacco notes, this feels like an edifice of aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannins, beautifully balanced, very harmonious yet there is an enormous backbone here that (again) is reminiscent of Mouton. Extremely long on the finish, this will need its barrel maturation to fully knit together and it is going to be a Pauillac for the long haul.Vinous Media | 95-97 VMThe 2022 Lynch-Bages is composed of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it is a little closed to start, soon revealing evocative creme de cassis, blueberry pie, and chocolate-covered cherries notes with suggestions of cast-iron pan, black truffles, and crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate is taut with muscular black fruit and loads of mineral sparks, framed by very firm, grainy tannins and a refreshing line, finishing long and earthy. pH 3.71, TPI 95.The Wine Independent | 95-97 TWIOne of the vintage’s most powerful, muscular wines is the 2022 Lynch-Bages, a full-bodied, broad-shouldered Pauillac that unfurls in the glass with aromas of cassis, cherries, mint, pencil shavings and petroleum jelly, framed by nicely integrated new oak. Liberally extracted, its deep core of fruit is underpinned by an imposing chassis of rich, powdery tannin and lively acids. Always rather forbidding from barrel, Lynch Bages always seems to come together in bottle, and the 2022 has the makings of another success for this address.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-96 RP

So much class in the nose with a sophisticated kaleidoscope of dark fruit such as blackcurrants, and spices such as salt and pepper, as well as cloves and nutmeg. Full-bodied. Compacted and dense yet weightless. It opens beautifully. The tannins go on and on with wonderful presence. Salty undertones.James Suckling | 98-99 JSThe 2022 Château Palmer is utterly brilliant, so much so that I questioned in my notes if this would challenge the 2018. A blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot, from tiny yields of 22 hectoliters per hectare, its mammoth-sized personality offers layers of blue and black fruits, notes of melted chocolate, crushed stone, and spring flowers, building, velvety tannins, and a great, great finish. While many estates commented that they extracted less in the vintage, Palmer went in a different direction and extracted more during the vinifications to provide a solid backbone to match the concentration and power of the vintage. It appears to have worked brilliantly, and hats off to Thomas Duroux for having the confidence to go his own path. He has produced a truly Grand Vin in 2022. The alcohol here is a normal 14.4%, and the pH is a healthy 3.79.Jeb Dunnuck | 97-99 JDSharp, energetic, racy and electric. The power and concentration is evident in the dark, rich, concentrated fruit with tannins that grip and take hold with a crushed stone texture, liquorice, graphite, tobacco and cool mint spice. The expression is exceptionally delineated with focus and push from start to finish. Quite bold and charged, but I love the succulence, the perfumed fruit, chalky sensation and overall sense of confidence. In high definition in terms of sharpness and tang to the fruit. A big wine but delivered with poise. 3.79pH. 13% press wine. Harvest took one month from 7 September to 5 October. 70% grand vin, 30% Alter Ego.Decanter | 97 DECThe 2022 Palmer was cropped at just 22hL/ha due to the berries being 25-30% smaller than usual. It bursts forth on the nose with precocious black cherries, blueberry, violet and touches of marmalade and tobacco in the background. Complex and expressive. The palate is structured, with the tannic backbone, that winemaker Thomas Duroux talked about, lending this Palmer a sense of verticality. Hints of black pepper emerge with time, multi-layered, a powerful Margaux and yet the IPT is actually lower than elsewhere (76). Quite linear on the tobacco-infused finish, which is just quintessential Palmer. Do reserve a bin in your cellar for this and let it gather dust for at least a decade. 14.4% alcohol.Vinous Media | 96-98 VMComposed of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot, the 2022 Palmer is deep garnet-purple in color. It needs a lot of shaking and swirling to lure out a soft-spoken perfume of roses, lavender, star anise, and cloves, leading to a profound core of Morello cherries, fresh, juicy blackberries, and blackcurrant cordial. The full-bodied palate is stacked with layer upon layer of black, blue, and red fruits, supported by a skyscraper structure of very firm, very ripe, grainy tannins and superb tension, finishing with epic length and depth. This is a monumental achievement. pH 3.79.The Wine Independent | 96-98+ TWIAs is the case at neighbor Château Margaux, the 2022 Palmer is one of the most powerful wines this estate has ever produced. A blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot, it offers up aromas of blackberries, burning embers, violets, iris and sweet soil tones, followed by a full-bodied, broad and expansive palate, its velvety attack segueing into a rich and layered core. Supple, seamless and concentrated, it checks in at 14.4% alcohol and a rather high pH of 3.79.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95-97 RP

Stunning aromas of blackcurrants, dark mushrooms and black cherries with forest-floor notes. Full body that fills your mouth with fine, caressing tannins and dark, flavorful fruit. The tannins are very intense and structural, spreading across the palate in layers and giving intensity and energy. Plenty of energy and verve here. This has gravity, too.James Suckling | 98 JSThe deeply colored and glass-staining 2022 Château Giscours is packed with cassis, black cherries, violets, and graphite-like aromatics. Medium to full-bodied, it’s concentrated and intense, with beautifully ripe tannins, a pure, graceful mouthfeel, and a long, structured finish. There’s serious depth here, and while it already shows remarkable balance, I suspect it will shut down for a period before emerging as a classic Margaux a decade or so after the vintage. This beauty is going to be long-lived, and you can expect at least 30-40 years of prime drinking.Jeb Dunnuck | 97+ JDA seriously impressive and beguiling Giscous in 2022 and one of the most elegant. A remarkable wine with gorgeous clarity and purity and just the most gentle seduction, even more so because it really doesn’t feel as if it’s trying too hard yet still delivering depth and complexity. Fresh and lifted, fragrant and so juicy but with textured tannins that give both the weight, structure and density to the quite bright, tangy, vibrant fruit. Nicely composed, feels quite powerful yet restrained and finessed offering lots of immediate drinking appeal but with a serious backbone that suggests long ageing too. Elegant, fineseed, subtle confidence with such cool minerality that gives freshness all the way through. It’s not the most dense, or fleshy, but so refined. A compelling wine. Possible upscore in bottle. 3% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. 3.70pH. A yield of 27hl/ha, the lowest ever. No Sirene de Giscours this year. 100% grand vin. Ageing 17 months, 50% new oak. 10-15% press wine. Tasted twice.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2022 Giscours was picked between 1 and 29 September, one of the earliest ever, with no SO2 added until blending and using bio-protection (yeasts) to protect the must. It has a delightful and sensual bouquet with lifted, violet and peony-scented blueberry and black cherry fruit. This is very well-defined and perhaps the purest I have encountered from barrel. The palate is medium-bodied with a disarming silky texture, harmonious and focused. It’s mineral-driven with a poised and pixelated finish. Certainly, this represents one of the best wines from this Margaux estate in recent years, echoing their golden period of the 60s and early 70s. Tasted twice with consistent notes.Vinous Media | 95-97 VMWarmed cassis and plum notes form the core, while lilting lilac, violet and iris accents stream throughout. Offers a flash of black tea on the finish, along with a beguiling, cashmere-like mouthfeel. Judicious toast lets it all play out beautifully. A pitch-perfect example of the vintage profile. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2026 through 2040.Wine Spectator | 95 WSWith the 2022 Giscours, this estate takes another step up, delivering a deep and characterful wine redolent of cherries, dark berries, violets, peony and forest floor. Medium to full-bodied, broad shouldered and layered, it’s deep and elegantly muscular, with impressive concentration, abundant but refined tannins and a structural authority reminiscent of the great Giscours vintages of the 1970s. Why is it so good? There are many reasons, but one is the high proportion of old vines—almost 60% of the blend deriving from vines that are over 50 years old—in a vintage that favored vines with deep, well-established root systems. Another is the increasing precision of harvesting at this address: Giscours’s old vines are frequently co-planted with younger replacements that have filled any gaps in the ranks over the years; so, blocks are now picked in two or three passages instead of all at once, with the younger vines picked first.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94-96 RPA blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, and 3% Cabernet Franc, the 2022 Giscours has a pH of 3.7 and 13.6% alcohol. It has a deep garnet-purple color and bursts with notes of baked black plums, warm cassis, and blackberry preserves, giving way to subtle suggestions of sassafras, roses, and Sichuan pepper. The delicately played medium-bodied palate is soft-spoken and refreshing, featured very fine, silt-like tannins and seamless freshness to frame the subtle red and black berry layers, finishing on a mineral note. If you love blockbusters, look elsewhere, this is all about grace. Note that no second wine (La Sirène de Giscours) was made in 2022 and the yield for Giscours was just 27 hl/ha.The Wine Independent | 94-96 TWI