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I like the aromas of sliced mushroom, berries and wet earth, that follow through to a full body, with super silky tannins and a chewy finish. A fit, yet polished wine here. Try after 2020.James Suckling | 95 JSAs I wrote in my barrel tasting note, the 2009 appears to be the finest Gruaud Larose since their 1990. Some of my concerns about too much brett in previous vintages are long gone as the purity of the 2009 jumps out. Copious notes of sagebrush, cedar, cigar box, licorice, incense, blackberries and lead pencil shavings suggest a big Pauillac rather than a St.-Julien. Broad, rich and full-bodied with good balance and abundant, but sweet, well-integrated tannin, this big, masculine Gruaud Larose reveals remarkable finesse, richness, extract, density and a cascade of fruit that nearly hides the lofty tannins. This beauty should be at its best between 2020-2045.Robert Parker | 95 RPThe 2009 Gruaud Larose has a fresh, backward, tightly coiled bouquet with ample blackberry and bilberry fruit, fine tension and focus, a nose that is intending to last the distance (and why not?) The palate is very well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, fresh and vibrant, laced-like tannin with a wonderfully detailed and persistent finish. This is some quality winemaking here and it is a wonderful 2009 Saint-Julien. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 95 VMSmoky grilled oak on the nose is joined by some tarry hints. The palate is structured and ambitious, and will take a good few more years to come around. I would go for Branaire or Lagrange as my picks of classified St-Juliens to open soon, but this is an extremely good quality wine that is going to age very well. Drinking Window 2019 - 2036.Decanter | 94 DECVanilla new wood aromas, followed by sweet wood and sweet fruit. There is certainly enough weight here, with ripe, smooth texture and fresh blackcurrants.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThis has good density, with fleshy blackberry and blueberry cobbler flavors laced with anise, sweet spice and smoldering maduro tobacco notes. Long and well-structured, with fresh, embedded acidity. Best from 2013 through 2023. 14,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WSThe 2009 Gruaud Larose is a fine example of the vintage in the making. The bouquet is deep, ripe and promises quite a bit of structure in its mélange of cassis, black cherries, tobacco leaf, espresso, gravelly soil tones and spicy new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and quite buttoned down behind its structural elements, with a rock solid core of fruit, firm tannins and impressive acidity on the long, focused and tangy finish. This will take at least a decade to blossom, but should prove to be a fine vintage of Gruaud. (Drink between 2020-2060)John Gilman | 89-91 JG

An absolutely spectacular effort, the 2009 is one of the all-time great La Gaffelieres produced. One would have to go back to the 2005, 1947 or 1961 to find this level of quality from this ancient, historic vineyard planted adjacent to the walls of St.-Emilion, on the Cote Pavie. Dating back to the 1400s, this estate has been owned for over three centuries by the Malet-Roquefort family. Composed of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc (in the past it was two-thirds Merlot and the rest split between Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc), the 2009 reveals compelling elegance, tremendous intensity and opulence and more viscosity than one normally sees. Lots of kirsch, licorice, incense, truffle, asphalt, blackberry and cassis notes dominate the aromatics and flavors of this full-bodied, viscous, fabulously pure, flamboyant St.-Emilion. Drinking it now may be considered infanticide by some consumers, but it is already attractive, and should last for 3-4 decades.Robert Parker | 95+ RPBig and juicy with loads of ripe fruit and spice. Coffee and chocolate. Full. Powerful and intense. Exotic finish.James Suckling | 94 JSStraight down the line, this wine shows fruit and acidity. The tannins are relatively soft while the fruit is forward. Blackberries, coffee and licorice notes all come together.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEVery fleshy, with lush, velvety-textured plum sauce, currant paste and melted licorice notes, woven with toasty spice and backed by a dark chocolate bark note on the finish. Best from 2014 through 2023. 4,165 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

(Château Canon, St-Émilion, Bordeaux, France, Red) Vivid, crystal-clear fruit aromas, juicy black cherry, ripe plum and succulent blackberry, combining with artisanal dark chocolate, violet and fresh tobacco leaf, making this wine incredibly complex and still very youthful. Its layered and finely textured palate almost hides powerful density, with freshness to balance opulence, leading to a long finish. Serve with beef Wellington. Or cellar for 10 years for more tertiary flavours. (Drink between 2022-2065)Decanter | 98 DECDeep garnet colored, the 2010 Canon features wonderfully expressive notes of dried mulberries, stewed plums and baked black cherries with hints of mocha, bay leaves and fallen leaves. Full-bodied, opulent and super spicy, it has a plush texture with a racy line supporting the hedonic fruit, finishing with jaw-dropping persistence.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96+ RPWonderful nose with strawberries, cherry blossom, and vanilla. The red opens up with blueberries, milk chocolate and sweet licorice. Full and juicy on palate with pure dark fruit and velvety tannins. So nicely layered texture and long in the finish with red fruit and crushed chalk. The texture is superb. Drink from 2018.James Suckling | 96 JSPowerful, complex and ripe, this is a magnificent and concentrated wine. Juicy blackberry fruits, tight acidity and finely integrated tannins give a smooth, rich texture. This beautiful wine has long-term aging potential.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WE(Château Canon) The 2010 Château Canon is one of the absolute successes in the commune in this vintage. The bouquet is deep, powerful and nicely reserved, offering up scents of black cherries, dark berries, menthol, woodsmoke, tobacco ash, soil and just a touch of new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, broad-shouldered, full-bodied and impressively pure for the vintage, with a fine core, substantial, ripe tannins, low acids and excellent length and grip on the chewy finish. The blend this year is comprised of seventy-five percent merlot and twenty-five percent cabernet franc and (sadly), one-quarter of the wine’s malo was done in small barrels this year. There is no mention of the wine’s alcohol level in 2010 in the technical data that I received, but it is probably around 14.5 percent. But a noteworthy success. (Drink between 2025-2075)John Gilman | 93+ JGShows the velvety, more hedonistic style that marked the wines under the previous winemaker, with lush blackberry and boysenberry fruit inlaid with ample toast and singed spice, displaying wonderful integration. This has shed some of its flash, as the vintage is big enough to soak it up. Still has a ways to go to.—Non-blind Canon vertical (December 2016). Best from 2020 through 2030. 6,665 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThe 2010 Canon is a little disappointing on the nose in the context of a strong Right Bank flight. It feels a little loose-knit, lacks the same pixelation as its peers. It almost reminds me of a mature Chambolle-Musigny! The palate is medium-bodied with a slightly minty opening. Matters improve with fine structure, gentle grip and some lovely black truffle notes towards the finish. Perhaps there are better bottles out there? Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 91 VM

One of the finest wines to come from Cantenac Brown for many years, this is powerful and dense, dominated by Cabernet Franc tannins and fruits. The structure has a smooth, polished character that locates it firmly in Margaux, giving elegance and discreet fruitiness. Age this fine wine for many years.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThe greatest Cantenac Brown I have ever tasted, the 2010 is one for the ages. Dense purple, with an extraordinary nose of sweet forest floor, blackberry jam, pen ink and graphite, this wine soars from the glass, giving it an aromatic dimension and intensity I have never seen from this estate. The tannins are present, as they are in most Cantenac Browns, but the wine’s sweetness, broad, skyscraper-like mouthfeel, dense, purple color and spectacular length (close to a minute) make this a giant classic and a fabulous sleeper of the vintage that still remains under-priced, considering how great its potential may be. This is a wine for those with cold cellars and youthful DNA. It is going to need at least a decade of cellaring and should last for 20-40 years. A classic!Robert Parker | 94+ RPThe 2010 Cantenac Brown feels a little muted on the nose compared to its peers, but with modest aeration it develops very attractive, leafy black fruit, tertiary in style and beautifully defined. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, very well judged acidity and plenty of substance towards the finish. I love the cohesion and focus of this Margaux. I wrote to buy this after its impressive showing at Southwold in 2014 - yet another blind tasting confirms its pedigree. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 94 VMBeautiful dark inky purple with ruby highlights. The difference with 2009 is clear in terms of structure, style and knitted-down fruit. They are both brilliant, and quality-wise it’s hard to pick as they have such different personalities. Higher acidity in 2010 set against confident tannins means your mouth is watering by the mid palate and it doesn’t let up. Tons of black fruits and evident spice, slate, cigar box and liquorice bud, savoury and still zipped up. It needs a few more years in bottle before it will really start to soften. 45% of harvest in the 1st wine, 60% new oak. Drinking Window 2022 - 2038.Decanter | 94 DECA wine with firm tannins that are polished and reserved yet there’s an underlying richness of fruit. Plums, blueberries and citrus character. Some tar too. Juicy and delicious to taste. Try in 2016.James Suckling | 94 JSVery fresh, with a bold display of dark blueberry, loganberry and plum fruit aromas and flavors that push ahead, followed by singed spice, black licorice and toasty vanilla bean notes. Displays a polished feel on the finish, kept honest by a buried charcoal accent. Shows plenty of length for the cellar. Best from 2014 through 2028.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

One the finest Clerc Milons I have ever tasted, and showing better from bottle than from barrel, this blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and the rest a tiny bit of Carmenere and Petit Verdot has a complex nose of cedar wood, red and black fruits, white chocolate and creme de cassis. A very powerful wine at 14.5% natural alcohol (quite high for a Medoc), this wine has impressive purity and texture, a full-bodied mouthfeel, relatively sweet tannin, but an already endearing complexity, length and richness that are hard to ignore. This is a superb effort and one of the wines that is usually reasonably priced among the classified growths.Robert Parker | 94 RPRock-solid, with layers of baker’s chocolate and espresso lining the steeped plum and blackberry fruit flavors while intense charcoal fills in on the hefty finish. Backward now, but showing excellent intensity and dark fruit, with a tug of singed iron on the finish. Best from 2018 through 2030. Tasted twice, with consistent notes.Wine Spectator | 94 WSOpulent aromas of plum, blackberry and cassis reveal a still tannic and dense palate: needs five more years to enter a proper drinking window. Though not yet reaching the heights of later vintages (the new winery opened in 2011), 2010 is a star. Given cooler clay soils, the grapes ripen later than at Mouton Rothschild, under the same ownership, but the long hang time of 2010 ensured ripening. Aged beef sirloin in a peppercorn sauce pairs well. (Drink between 2021-2050)Decanter | 94 DECGorgeous currants and spices with licorice on the nose. Full body, with super integrated tannins and a long, long finish. The texture and beautiful fruit just wants you to drink this. Give it time but hard to wait. Try in 2016.James Suckling | 94 JSConfirming its place in the firmament of Pauillac greats, Clerc Milon’s 2010 has huge density, and is packed with dark tannins and blackberry flavor. It has a delicious freshness that cuts right through, lifting the concentration. With its tannins, this promises long-term aging.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThe 2010 Clerc-Milon has a superior bouquet compared to the d’Armailhac with greater precision and purity, gorgeous blackberry, raspberry and cedar, actually not a million miles away from Duhart in style. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, beautifully balanced with just a touch of bell pepper on the finish. This is just beginning to drink well. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 92 VM

Dark fruits such as raspberries and blueberries with subtle perfume on the nose. Full body, with super well-integrated tannins and a fresh and clean finish. Racy young wine. Shows classy structure and richness. Try in 2018.James Suckling | 96 JSThe 2010 Domaine de Chevalier is still a baby, yet with air, offers tons of pleasure. Black currants, truffle, scorched earth, and licorice aromas and flavors all give way to a big, concentrated, unctuous beauty that has ample sweetness to its tannin, a stacked mid-palate, and a blockbuster finish. A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot, it needs an hour in a decanter if drinking anytime soon, and certainly has another two decades of longevity in front of it. It’s a sensational bottle of wine.Jeb Dunnuck | 95+ JDThe kind of stately but not overly exuberant vintage that suits Chevalier down to the ground, and this is bloody brilliant. Fairly open at this point, at the beginning of its drinking window although nowhere near quitting - you have decades ahead to enjoy it. Hard to fault the concentration in the raspberry and blackberry fruits. We could be in Pauillac except the tannins are a little less bristling and a little more seductive. Menthol lashes the final furlong. Drinking Window 2020 - 2042Decanter | 95 DECThis is one of my all-time favorite wines from Domaine de Chevalier, a silky, rather classic Pessac-Leognan with notes of scorched earth, tobacco leaf and black and red currants, but no hard edges. Fragrant, complex aromatics are followed by a savory, expansively flavored wine made from a final blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. The wine hit 13.5% natural alcohol, which must certainly be among the highest they have ever achieved, even eclipsing the 2009. An opulent, precocious style of wine that seems much more developed, complex and delicious than I thought from barrel, this beauty can be drunk in 5-6 years or cellared for 20 or more.Robert Parker | 95 RPFirm and closed, this is a wine with so much power and concentration. It also has beautiful fruit, smooth and opulent, that merges into the complex tannins and brooding, dark structure. It will take many years for this wine to open up.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThe 2010 Domaine de Chevalier shows a little more amplitude compared to the Malartic-Lagravière, red and black fruit, undergrowth, pressed rose petals and a touch of crushed stone all beautifully defined. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins but demonstrating great depth. This feels saline, slightly marine-influenced in the mouth, with outstanding precision on the slightly peppery finish. Oliver Bernard oversaw a magnificent Grand Vin. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 94 VMThis has drive and intensity, displaying lots of steeped currant, anise and blackberry coulis notes pushed by tar and briar flavors. The ample finish sports roasted juniper and iron accents, with nicely inlaid acidity to drive it all home. Should unwind nicely in the cellar. Best from 2015 through 2030.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

A little darker and deeper in colour than the 2009 at this stage, but both remain young, fresh and full of promise. The depth to the fruit is evident, black cherry, chocolate shavings and black truffles with great shots of acidity through the entire body of the wine. Just dripping with succulent fruit and seduction, this is the most Pomerol of the lineup, surprisingly, perhaps, taking that crown from the 2009. Still young even at 11 years old, will settle in and open further over the next few years. Violet aromatics curl out of the glass as it opens. 85% new oak. A yield of 39hl/ha. (Drink between 2021-2044)Decanter | 98 DECBeautiful nose with cocoa powder, exotic flowers, candied violets and loads of dark berries. Great aromatic complexity. Amazing texture on palate with a superb precision and silky tannins. So beautifully composed showing already great harmony. Difficult to wait! Better in 2018.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2010 La Conseillante has a magnificent bouquet with pixelated black fruit laced with cedar and pencil lead aromas. It is a penetrating and multi-faceted bouquet that just blossoms with aeration. The palate is supremely well balanced with filigree tannins and immense purity, very sustained and conveying immense energy on the finish. Surely the best La Conseillante under former winemaker Jean-Michel Laporte. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 97 VMThe 2010 La Conseillante is a tour de force that will rival the 2005, 2000 and 1990 at maturity. Just loaded with notions of blackcurrants, damp earth, tobacco leaf, violets and toasty oak, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, building, ripe tannin, and a huge finish. Sexy and opulent, yet also classy and elegant, it’s a sensational Pomerol that has another three decades of life ahead of itJeb Dunnuck | 97+ JDA brilliant effort from this property, known for the sheer elegance and finesse of its wines, the 2010 La Conseillante offers back-to-back monumental efforts, particularly given the remarkable 2009. This estate has been on a hot streak of late. The 2010 is a slightly bigger, richer wine, but without losing its floral, elegant mulberry, black raspberry and sweet kirsch notes. Combine those with some licorice, subtle new oak and a hint of forest floor, and the result is a medium to full-bodied, rich, complex wine that has striking aromatics and perfect balance in the mouth. Forget it for 3-5 years and drink it over the following 30.Robert Parker | 96 RPFeatures substantial but very velvety structure running from start to finish, delivering a muscular feel for now. The hard edges are fully absorbed by the core of plum sauce, steeped blackberry and warm boysenberry reduction notes. The finish offers gorgeous tobacco and ganache accents lurking in the wings, along with flickers of anise and incense that should guide this version to increased elegance with age. Best from 2016 through 2034. 4,000 cases made, 800 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 96 WSThe tannins are huge, very dense, packing through the ripe fruit. At first it tastes like a mouthful of wood and fruit tannins, then the potential of the fruit becomes apparent. That gives a wine with a great, final acidity and finish.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WE(Château La Conseillante) Despite the 2010 La Conseillante tipping the scales at 14.5 percent alcohol, this wine seems decidedly cooler and more poised than its 2009 counterpart did a year ago. The blend this year is made up of eighty percent merlot and twenty percent cabernet franc. The lovely bouquet is deep, pure and shows no signs of overripeness in its mélange of black raspberries, black cherries, chocolate, gravelly soil tones, smoke and a very judicious base of new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, suave and tangy, with lovely focus and mid-palate depth, moderate, ripe tannins and excellent length and grip on the classy finish. One can certainly sense that the folks at La Conseillante were very careful not to over-extract the wine in 2010, and the result is one of the best, “hot vintage” La Conseillantes that I can ever recall. A superb wine. (Drink between 2020-2060)John Gilman | 93+ JG

This is more precise and focused with black truffle and berry. Full body, layered and refined. Beautiful freshness and form. Framed.James Suckling | 97 JSThis takes the power of the vintage and puts it in its pocket for later, preferring instead to let mouthwatering briar, loganberry, mulberry and blackberry fruit strut its way forward, enlivened with roasted wood spice and supported by suavely but thoroughly embedded iron-tinged structure. Should cruise for two decades. Best from 2016 through 2035. Wine Spectator | 96 WSThe 2010's final blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc offers up impressive levels of red, blue and black fruits as well as some toasty oak and crushed rock, giving it minerality. Of course, the acidity in this vintage, with its lower pHs than 2009, provide a freshness and precision that is rare for wines so rich. This wine has plenty of tannin, so give it 4-6 years of cellaring and drink it over the following 25-30 years.This is a great wine from Comte Leo de Malet Roquefort’s estate, which has been owned by his family since the 1400s. Normally this estate tends to produce a relatively finesse-styled St.-Emilion, and the 2010 still leans in that direction, but it has more fat, muscle and sinew than in most vintages. The choice of Stephane Derenoncourt to manage the vineyard seems to have resulted in much lower yields, and ultimately a wine with much more richness and persistence on the palate.Robert Parker | 95+ RPA big, bold, ripe wine with firm tannins and dark, solid fruits. The wine has acidity coming from the black currant flavors. Continuing the impressive quality of wines from La Gaffelière, it has weight and a rich feel to it, along with a tight, mineral final texture. This is a wine that is elegant as well as powerful.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WELightly savoury nose, but the black fruits still come through. Good natural tannins refresh the palate and there’s very good, lifted fruit, with fine texture and good length. A well-balanced, stylish, poised and elegant St-Émilion.Decanter | 91 DEC

The wine hits all cylinders in 2010. The average alcohol for the bottled wine is 14%. It has a gorgeously sweet nose of creme de cassis, spring flowers, subtle barbecue smoke and charcoal followed by full body, beautiful intensity, great purity, stature and length. The influence of any oak is minimal, despite the fact that 90% new French oak was used. Needless to say, this is an example of modern-styled winemaking at its finest, and arguments that such wines will not age well, do not represent their terroir , and are soul-less, are totally groundless. Give it five or so years of cellaring and drink it over the following 25-30 years. This is one of the great Margaux wines of the vintage.Probably the greatest Lascombes made to date, the 2010 is a blend of 55% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Petit Verdot. The production from this huge estate totals nearly 400,000 bottles.Robert Parker | 96 RPLascombes in 2010 has exuberance and precision and confidence, and a sense of fun. At the 10 year mark the power of the tannins is clear and evident. It’s a big, concentrated, exuberant wine but it has delicacy and construction and persistency. Drinking Window 2020 - 2042Decanter | 94 DECPinpoint but rich fruit in the form of blackcurrants, licorice, fresh herbs, blackberry leaf and cedar. Full body, structured tannins, vibrant acidity and a long finish. Wonderful combination of freshness and fruit. Delicious now but this will hold for many more years.James Suckling | 94 JSWood-driven tannins dominate at this stage, creating a wine that is structured and dense. The tannins are layered with the weight of the black currant and plum fruits. Lascombes is still finding its style, but is definitely on the upward slope.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WEDark and nicely toasty, with ample espresso and ganache up front, followed by steeped fig, blackberry and black currant fruit that rumbles through the finish. Features ample tarry grip, but eschews minerality and finesse for a direct and toast-driven approach. Best from 2014 through 2026. 25,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

We were very much in the years here where Malartic was flexing its muscles and rising through the ranks of Pessac Léognan. With this wine you get not just potential for future development from this point, but also tons of pleasure if drinking today. Clear depth and concentration on display - you just keep on drilling down and finding more truffle, black pepper and chocolate notes alongside the fruit. Drinking Window: 2020 - 2042Decanter | 95 DECImpressive nose with leather, dark polished fruit and flowers. Wonderful mouthfeel with soft silky tannins and beautiful texture. Really well put together. Powerful and rich with loads of fruit and ripe tannins. Very ripe. Try in 2016.James Suckling | 95 JSThe 2010 Malartic-Lagravière has a classic Left Bank bouquet with cedar and tobacco infused black fruit that unfurl nicely in the glass and gain intensity with every swirl. The palate is silky smooth on the entry, a satin textured Pessac-Léognan with well judged acidity and an intense black cherry and blueberry finish, a tang of sea salt on the aftertaste. Excellent. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 95 VMLead pencil shavings, soy and barbecue smoke as well as red and black currants characterize this brilliant effort, which has an expansive, full-bodied mouthfeel yet a sublime elegance and lightness of being. Dense ruby/purple, gorgeous purity and a long, long finish of close to 50 seconds characterize another brilliant effort from this classified growth in Pessac-Leognan. It should drink nicely for 25-30 years yet is surprisingly accessible even today.A fabulous blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, this large (nearly 120-acre) estate near Haut-Bailly and Branon has tuned out another fabulous effort in 2010.Robert Parker | 94 RPContinuing its impressive series of wines, this red from Malartic-Lagravière has all the structure and density of the vintage, packed with plum and black currant fruits. The acidity is almost sweet in its richness, blending easily into the dark texture. Age for many years.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEShows a hefty dose of toast, but remains polished and well-embedded in a core of crushed plum, steeped blackberry and cherry compote flavors. The long finish picks up briary energy, with anise and violet notes checking in. Best from 2016 through 2028. 10,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

A towering, statuesque wine, the 2010 Pavie-Macquin is distinguished by its vertical explosiveness and soaring intensity. Red cherry jam, plums and dried flowers are some of the many aromas and flavors that open up as the 2010 gains breadth over time. Naturally, the 2010 is still a very young wine, but it is incredibly impressive just the same, not to mention one of the highlights of the morning.Vinous Media | 97 VMThis takes the fruit of 2009 but harnesses it even more quickly, with rivets of graphite and apple wood studding the core of plum sauce, blackberry reduction and raspberry pâte de fruit. Ample singed apple wood lines the finish, melded wonderfully with the fruit, while the minerality lingers on and on in the background, waiting in reserve. Around it all, a beguiling violet note dances. The combination of power and purity is a wonderful thing.--Non-blind Pavie Macquin vertical (December 2014). Best from 2020 through 2035. 3,750 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSThis is always an extremely masculine, dense, burly wine, and the 2010, which tips the scales at 14.5% alcohol (just slightly under that of the 2009), has a final blend of 80% Merlot and the rest virtually all Cabernet Franc, with just 1% Cabernet Sauvignon. Loads of crushed rock and chalkiness, along with licorice, black truffle, smoked game and black fruits dominate the aromatics and flavor. Backward, formidably endowed, full-bodied and almost atypically massive and huge, with gargantuan extraction, this is a wine for patient connoisseurs to forget about for close to a decade. Anticipated maturity: 2022-2040.Robert Parker | 95+ RPGorgeous nose with great complexity. Blackberry, licorice and a steely mineral note. Lots of chalk, nutmeg and violets too. Dense and full-bodied on the palate with a beautiful fruit and a sumptuous fruity finish that just goes on and on. Velvety tannins and layered texture with lots of raw licorice. Drink from 2018.James Suckling | 95 JSThis is delicious, walking the line of light and concentrated, showing clever winemaking and highlighting the the slate-filled, wall-climbing brilliance of limestone. Dark fruits again, this vintage really emphasises cassis and blackberry notes, even if the levels of concentration vary. Tannins are elongated, plentiful but delicate, extremely hard to disagree with the quality of this. Drinking Window 2020 - 2042Decanter | 94 DECA juicy and fruity wine that’s sustained by attractive tannins, giving both freshness and a balance of structure. The bright acidity lifts the wine while the tannins promise future aging. The wine is stylish, almost understated, but likely to develop impressively.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WE

The 2012 Cheval Blanc boasts stunning power and a vertical, imposing sense of structure that is quite rare in this vintage. Dark and almost brooding in style, the Cheval is a rare 2012 that absolutely demands cellaring. Smoke, tobacco, incense and dark spices open up with time, but the 2012 is a reticent, tannic wine that is only showing the barest hints of its ultimate potential. This is a magnificent showing and one of the clear highlights of the year.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGA step up over the 2011, the 2012 Chateau Cheval Blanc offers a similar medium to full-bodied, elegant style yet has slightly more freshness and purity. Smoked black fruits, cassis, tobacco leaf, and sappy flower notes all emerge from this thrillingly textured, balanced, focused 2012. It opens up with time in the glass, has ripe, sweet tannins, and it’s another one of those wines that offers pleasure today yet will cruise for decades. The final blend is the usual 54% Merlot and 46% Cabernet Franc. Readers should be happy to have bottles in their cellars.Jeb Dunnuck | 96+ JD(Château Cheval Blanc, St-Émilion, Bordeaux, France, Red) A beautifully balanced claret with a fragrant silky texture, fine backbone and length on the palate, promising a long life. Not a ‘big’ wine but a delicious one with class. Made in the spanking new cellar (inaugurated June 2011). (Drink between 2022-2040)Decanter | 96 DECMedium to deep garnet colored, the 2012 Cheval Blanc reveals lovely cassis, warm black cherries and redcurrant jelly notions with underlying hints of cedar chest, garrigue, Indian spices and damp soil. Medium to full-bodied, it possesses wonderful energy and freshness on the palate with a beautifully poised ethereal nature and long mineral-tinged finish. This elegantly crafted beauty should enter its drinking window in a couple of years and cellar gracefully for another 20+ years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPThis wine is gorgeous in all facets, offering a simultaneously loamy and creamy mouthfeel, seamless layers of red and black currant, cherry, raspberry and blackberry fruit, and a long, tobacco-fueled finish that features alluring hints of black tea and incense. The fruit and terroir shine in this broad, deep and defined style. Best from 2018 through 2030. 7,083 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS(Château Cheval Blanc) The grand vin here this year is comprised of a blend of fifty-four percent merlot and forty-six percent cabernet franc and was produced from yields of thirty-one hectoliters per hectare. It is a great Cheval Blanc in the making, soaring from the glass in a classic blend of dark berries, mulberries, cigar smoke, espresso, lovely, cabernet franc-derived herb tones, menthol and a stylish base of nutty new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and seamless, with a youthful personality, superb focus and balance, a fair bit of tannin and outstanding length and grip on the nascently complex and very, very promising finish. There was a pretty wide variety of samples of this wine on display at the château on the damp morning in early April when the estate was playing open house to visiting journalists (I overheard Michel Bettane comment that “every single bottle is different”), and one had to hunt around a bit to find a bottle that was not totally shut down, but the samples that were open for inspection clearly indicated that this will be a great, great vintage of Cheval Blanc. (Drink between 2025-2075).John Gilman | 95+ JGWith a wonderful 45% blending of fragrant Cabernet Franc, this is a sumptuous, perfumed wine. It’s rich with a velvet texture that hides the dark tannins while bringing out the rich plum flavors. The dense texture is balanced by some fresh acidity and a fruity aftertaste. Drink this deceptively approachable wine from 2024.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEA ripe and fleshy St.-Emilion with an excellent interplay of forest berry fruit, bitter chocolate and a whiff of cinnamon and allspice. Lovely, creamy richness on the mid-palate, but also a hint of warmth from alcohol. The supple tannins make for a very smooth finish, but it’s not so complex there. Drink or hold. Château Quintus vertical tasting. SP.James Suckling | 93 JS

(Château La Conseillante, Pomerol, Bordeaux, France, Red) This has always been one of my favourite vintages of La Conseillante. Here a little Cabernet Franc (11%) goes a long way. Ethereal and utterly beautiful on the nose. Soft, delicate, elegant and subtle. Intensely floral, with violets and little hedgerow spring flowers, freshly cut. Has an exquisite balance and harmony, even if it might be said to lack some of the density of ostensibly greater vintages. I can live happily with that; though I’d drink this sooner. Very attractive and the very essence of plateau Pomerol for me. Soft and seductive, with those little truffle notes, blueberries and raspberries; tender and lithe, nicely compact and juicy on the finish. (Drink between 2022-2040)Decanter | 96 DECAn absolutely amazing wine from the Nicolas family, this is from another estate in Pomerol that is pushing the envelope to higher and higher quality. The final blend has moved to smaller amounts of Cabernet Franc, now approximately 20%, with the balance 80% Merlot. Through crop-thinning, yields have been reduced to an average of 35 hectoliters per hectare. Inky bluish/purple color and stunning sweet tannins embrace a full-bodied opulent Pomerol with beautiful, floral-infused black raspberry, blueberry and cassis fruit. Full-bodied, yet elegant, this is a brilliant marriage between finesse and power. Stunningly pure, this wine can be drunk young or age magnificently for 20 or more years.Robert Parker | 96 RPAnother classic wine from this fabulous estate is the 2012 La Conseillante, which I believe was the first wine made in their newly constructed winery. A blend of roughly 89% Merlot and 11% Cabernet Franc brought up in 70% new barrels, it offers an awesome bouquet of blueberry and smoky black cherry fruit intermixed with loads of Asian spices, melted asphalt, truffle, and licorice. This full-bodied, opulent, incredibly sexy Pomerol stays light and elegant, with silky tannin and sensational purity of fruit. Anyone who owns bottles should count themselves lucky, and those who don’t should buy some as soon as possible. It can be drunk today or cellared for two decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JD(Château La Conseillante) The new chais at Château La Conseillante has now been completed and it is a beautiful new addition to this property. Up above the chais are a pair of large, glass-enclosed tasting rooms that offer a beautiful view of surrounding Pomerol and the graves section of St. Émilion (with Cheval Blanc right across the stretch of vineyards that unfold below your feet). The new chais has clearly not gone to waste, as the team at La Conseillante has fashioned a brilliant utterly classic example of the 2012 vintage, offering up a pure and complex nose of black raspberries, black cherries, Cuban cigars, gravel, fresh herb tones, violets and a stylish base of spicy oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and shows off excellent mid-palate depth, with excellent focus and balance, very fine-grained tannins and outstanding grip and nascent complexity on the very long, velvety finish. This wine reminds me quite a bit of the young 1985 La Conseillante- which is a vintage here that I adore and prefer to the more highly-praised 1982, 1989 and 1990 vintages at this great estate. A stunning wine in the making and clearly one of the greatest wines of the 2012 vintage. (Drink between 2023-2065).John Gilman | 94+ JGAmazing aromas of dried flowers, blueberries and minerals follow through to a full body, fine and polished tannins and a long finish. All in finesse and harmony. Little tight now. Better in 2018.James Suckling | 94 JSThe 2012 La Conseillante takes some time to settle in the glass, gaining harmony after 10 minutes with scents of red cherry, sandalwood, freshly rolled tobacco and clove. This comes across as showier, more extravagant than other 2012 Pomerols. The palate is medium-bodied with silky smooth tannins, harmonious and poised, spicy and perhaps with a little more edge towards the finish. There is a sense of confidence about this La Conseillante. Tasted twice at Bordeaux Index’s Ten Year-On tasting and blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 93+ VMOn the robust side of Pomerol for now, with ganache and tar notes underscoring the core of dark plum, linzer torte, blackberry and black currant fruit. The elements meld nicely through fleshy, cocoa-accented finish, where a lingering iron accent emerges alongside ample yet silky tannins. Shows impressive depth, suggesting that elegance will come from cellaring. Best from 2017 through 2027.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

What a nose of blackberries, blackcurrants, minerals and graphite. Full-bodied and extremely fine and polished. Sexy and ethereal. Harmony. A little salty. Fabulous 2012. Pure silk. Better after 2020 but so wonderful now.James Suckling | 97 JSThis is a beautifully opulent wine, great Mouton in its richness and succulent fruits. It’s combines structure and obvious new-wood aging with hugely ripe black plum and currant flavors. While it is a pleasure to taste now, there is a great tannic structure in the background to give the sense of power and aging potential. Drink from 2024.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WETasted at the Mouton-Rothschild vertical in London, the 2012 Mouton-Rothschild clearly has the upper hand over the 2011, if not quite at the level of the 2009, 2010 and what I envisage will be the 2015. There is obviously greater fruit intensity here, as if the contrast has been dialed up a couple of notches. It is quite showy on the nose, preening in its infancy with pure black cherries, graphite and hints of cold slate-like scents, later that hint of seaweed I observed when tasted blind a few months earlier. The palate is beautifully balanced with great vim and vigor. This is a Mouton that will not be put down - vivacious, vivid and delineated with wonderful focus and crucially, impressive persistence on the finish. Do not underestimate this Mouton-Rothschild, because I can see an upswing as it matures in bottle. Tasted April 2016.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 96 RP-NMThe 2012 Mouton Rothschild comes across as quite dark and ripe in this vintage. One of the richest, most powerful 2012s readers will come across, the Mouton boasts striking aromatics and overall density. Mocha, chocolate, graphite, smoke, licorice and dark-fleshed fruits all meld together in the glass. I imagine the 2012 will need a good decade before it starts drinking well. Slightly roasted notes and copious new oak stick out today, but these wines have a way of coming together in bottle. Antonio Galloni | 95 AGWonderful expression of ’patrician’ black fruits, the expected exotic seduction of Mouton, a perfect blend of power and elegance. Drinking Window 2017 - 2035.Decanter | 95 DECThis is starting to mellow already, featuring dark fig and blackberry notes infused liberally with black tea and smoldering tobacco accents. Shows a light loamy echo through the finish, with a flash of menthol. Offers ample flesh throughout, with a slightly grainy edge to the tannins.--Non-blind Mouton-Rothschild vertical (March 2017). Best from 2020 through 2040.Wine Spectator | 94 WS(Château Mouton-Rothschild) The 2012 Château Mouton-Rothschild is a very good wine, being comprised of fully ninety percent cabernet sauvignon, eight percent merlot and two percent cabernet franc. It was raised in only seventy percent new oak this year- not a concession to the more elegant style of the 2012 vintage, but rather because the new chais includes new large wood fermentation tanks and these were also new oak this year. The wine is complex and classy on the nose, but just a touch overly slick for my pedestrian tastes, as it offers up a blend of cassis, dark berries, coffee bean, a dollop of licorice, dark soil tones and plenty of spicy, smoky new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and pure, with really lovely raw materials very much in evidence. The core is deep, the focus and balance here are very fine indeed and there are plenty of ripe, chewy tannins adding grip and potential longevity on the finish, and yet, for some reason, I am left with the impression that the whole this year is a bit less than the sum of its parts. This is a very well-made wine, but it seems to me to be a bit overly sculpted to ever really reach greatness. I miss the more effortless impression of a wine like the 1985 Mouton- which the 2012 vintage might have been able to reproduce flawlessly! (Drink between 2025-2075).John Gilman | 92 JG

The 2014 Calon Ségur is a real show-stopper. Unusually ripe, powerful and seductive, the wine exudes class. Myriad shades of plum, sweet red cherry, pomegranate, spice and blood orange are all on display. Wild flowers, tobacco and host of more aromatic notes develop in the glass. Above all else, though, the 2014 is a wine of pure power and breadth. This is yet another fabulous showing for the 2014 Calon Ségur, a wine that vies for top honors in this vintage. Don't miss it. The blend is 67 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 19 % Merlot, 15 % Cabernet Franc and 2 % Petit Verdot.Antonio Galloni | 96+ AGThis is real powerful and sexy with a voluptuous style of ripe fruit, mushrooms and wet earth. Leafy. Full and seductive. Better after 2021 but already fantastic.James Suckling | 96 JS(Château Calon Ségur, Merlot, St-Estèphe, Bordeaux, France, Red) In Vincent Millet’s view, this is a vintage in which the St-Estèphe appellation really stood out for quality thanks to very fine weather conditions there from September to October. A nose of complex yet fresh aromatic intensity is composed of blackberry, black cherry, and cassis with a floral flourish to boot. The palate benefits from juicy and ample substance with the effect lengthened thanks to its fine-grained and finely-etched tannic structure. This is a quintessential Calon Ségur that already gives drinking pleasure, but it will also stay the distance for up to twenty years or more. (Drink between 2022-2035)Decanter | 95 DECThis is a beautifully perfumed wine. With a high proportion of ripe Cabernet Franc, it is not only structured but has a fine dried fruit character that gives the wine a memorable richness. The wine is tight with its tannins, likely to age over decades. Drink from 2027.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThe 2014 Calon Ségur has to be considered an undeniable success in the vintage, offering the elegance, balance, and charm that’s the hallmark of this late growing season. Still relatively tight and reserved, with beautiful notes of black currants, smoked earth, graphite, and tobacco leaf, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, beautiful purity, and a layered, elegant style that opens up with time in the glass. It has more density than the 2015 and will keep for two decades or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDOn the darker side of the spectrum, with dark currant, plum and blackberry fruit, inlaid with ample dried bay and tobacco notes. Pepper and charcoal details fill in the finish, adding range and energy. A touch [i]sauvage[n] in style, this will have fans for sure. Best from 2020 through 2030. 6,665 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThe 2014 Calon Ségur has a much more reticent bouquet than either the 2014 Montrose or Cos d'Estournel. There is blackberry here, a hint of cassis and violets, fine purity but bolshie and withdrawn at the moment. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe tannin, more red fruit than the Montrose with a smooth, quite silky Merlot-like, graphite finish. Tasted on two occasions in Bordeaux, the second bottle exuded more panache and joie-de-vivre, coming across a little more spicy with a longer aftertaste.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 92 RP-NM

If you want to know what St.-Estèphe smells like, this is it. Aromas of spices, black truffles, forest floor, dried strawberries and tar. It’s full-bodied yet pinpointed on the palate with fabulous density and richness. It’s opulent but in a reserved and checked way. This needs at least five or six years to come around, but it’s already fantastic. What harmony and structure. Try in 2022 if you can keep your hands off it!James Suckling | 98 JSThis is an immensely dense wine that is going to be a classic. The dark tannins are still lined with wood aging but that will go because the fruit underneath is also just as dense and intense. Blackberry, black plum and damson plum give power and sweetness. This is a great wine with huge potential. Drink from 2028.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThe 2014 Cos d’Estournel is rich, powerful and seductive, with notable unctuousness but a medium-bodied frame. Plum, blackberry jam, bittersweet chocolate and lavender notes flesh out in an effortless, sumptuous wine that will provide superb drinking for the next few decades. The 2014 needs time to shed some baby fat, but it is quite impressive, even in the early going. The blend is 65 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 33 % Merlot and 2 % Cabernet Franc.Antonio Galloni | 95+ AGThe grand vin 2014 Cos D’Estournel is gorgeous, and I think a step up over the 2015. A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, this deep, inky-colored 2014 boasts a gorgeous perfume of ripe currants and cassis fruits, loads of chocolaty oak, cedar and scorched earth, full-bodied richness, and building, firm, yet ripe tannin. It’s certainly one of the gems in the vintage, as well as one of the more structured, opulent and age-worthy. Give bottles 4-5 years of bottle age and enjoy over the following two to three decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDThere’s a clear consistency across Cos d’Estournel’s wines – the quality is absolutely unmissable, but don’t open the 2014 just yet. Remember that from the end of August the weather really favoured St-Estèphe, with the result that all those key elements - tannins, acidity and fruit - are here in force. It’s still young and closed, with tight tannins, but after 10 minutes or so in the glass olive paste and rosemary notes emerge, followed by graphite and bilberry fruit. Give it time, then reap the rewards. Drinking Window 2024 - 2040.Decanter | 95 DECA blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2014 Cos d’Estournel has a deep garnet-purple color and is a little closed at this stage, offering slowly emerging scents of fresh blackcurrants, black plums and blackberries plus nuances of pencil shavings, dried lavender, bay leaves and fertile loam with a waft of iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, it has a generous mid-palate of muscular, youthful fruit with a firm frame of grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and savory.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPIntense, with a roiling core of luscious loganberry, blackberry and black currant fruit. Singed spice, apple wood and black tea accents emerge steadily on the finish. Has a rare combination of density and precision. Will cruise in the cellar. Best from 2020 through 2035. 14,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

This wine, with its massive tannins and rich fruit, is obviously set for a long life. It does have the contrast of fresh black-currant acidity to give it a lift. But with the power behind it, the wine will develop slowly. Drink from 2025.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEVery aromatic with cherries and blackberries. Hints of flowers. Full body, lightly chewy yet ultra-fine tannins and a fresh finish. Tangy and delicious. Racy. Better in 2021.James Suckling | 94 JSThe 2014 Leoville Barton is one of the must-buys of the vintage. Now in bottle, it has a very pure bouquet that gains intensity in the glass, laden with blackberry and raspberry coulis scents, cold wet stone, a wonderful mineralité that becomes more conspicuous with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with tensile tannin, a fine line of acidity that lends this precision and nervosité. There is class and sophistication in situ, not a powerful Léoville Barton, but beautifully poised. This is just a brilliant forerunner to the 2015 and it should represent great value.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 94 RP-NMThe 2014 Léoville Barton has a crisp, poised bouquet with graphite tinged black fruit, hints of crushed flower and clove, nicely define and gaining definition with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, beautifully judged acidity, sophisticated and poised, fanning out with confidence towards the fresh, energetic finish. This is a succinct and beautifully crafted Saint Julien with many years of drinking enjoyment to give. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.Vinous Media | 94 VMThis has a solid core of cassis, blueberry confiture and plum sauce flavors, wrapped with warm ganache and licorice snap notes, kept honest by graphite rivets along the finish. This has lots of muscle, but stays lean and long. Best from 2020 through 2035. 11,667 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WSIntense nose of vanilla and blackcurrant; very elegant. Showing purity of fruit. The attack is strong, with firm tannins and impressive concentration without seeming too extracted. Spicy, complex and vibrant, this is balanced, with a long zesty finish. (Drink between 2020-2040)Decanter | 93 DECWhile a solid step back from the sensational 2015, the 2014 Léoville Barton is still a beauty. Possessing medium-bodied notes of cassis, sweet oak, spice and flowers, this impeccably balanced Saint-Julien is incredibly classy, layered and pure on the palate. While this cuvee can be backward and difficult to taste young, the 2014 has a supple, beautifully textured, fresh style that’s already approachable. Nevertheless, a few years in the cellar will do it well, and it should keep for two to three decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JD

Glorious aromatics with currants, flowers, stones and light mushrooms. Medium to full body and fine tannins that are long and polished. Super linear, structured and long. Drink in 2019.James Suckling | 94 JSThe 2014 Les Forts de Latour is a blend of 71.4% Cabernet Sauvignon and 28.6% Merlot. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs a little coaxing to reveal expanding scents of blackcurrant pastilles, baked plums and boysenberries with suggestions of wood smoke, fragrant earth, cast-iron pan and charcuterie plus a faint waft of black truffles. Medium-bodied, the earthy/savory palate has loads of lively black fruit with a refreshing line and firm, grainy tannins, finishing on a lingering ferrous note.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPThe 2014 Forts de Latour has turned out beautifully. Pliant, supple and open-knit, the wine is super-expressive, even at this early stage. There is lovely depth to the dark red cherry, plum and leather nuances, all in the vivid, articulate style that is found in the best 2014s. Best of all, the 2014 Forts de Latour will drink well with minimal cellaring.Antonio Galloni | 93 AGThe second wine of the estate is the 2014 Les Forts De Latour and this beauty is better than most estate grand vin. Made from 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, and the balance Petit Verdot, this straight up classic Pauillac is loaded with notions of red and black currants, lead pencil shavings, roasted coffee, graphite, and Asian spices. Deep, medium to full-bodied, impressively concentrated, and layered, it’s a seriously good wine that’s going to continue drinking beautifully for two to three decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDHighly enjoyable, has gorgeous elegance and freshness, and is showing better right now than the 2015 Pauillac de Latour. Extremely fresh, hedgerow and cassis bud backed up by richer seams of liquorice and blackberry. Not yet ready but you can see that with a stiff wind and a good carafe, you could get there in the next few years. Tight black spice uncurls to show carefully-delivered smoked cedar on the finish. Drinking Window 2022 - 2038.Decanter | 93 DECPacked with the fruit of the vintage, this wine is bright and crisp. Its acidity and pure black-currant flavors are delicious, juicy, the tannins now sitting easily in the background. The wine, which comes from a specific parcel, is developing well and will be released after 2020. It should be drunk from 2023.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEOffers a core of pure cassis and blackberry fruit, with mouthwatering streaks of graphite and anise. Racy-edged, featuring ample grip buried through the finish. Reveals a violet echo for good measure. Textbook. Best from 2018 through 2030. 9,022 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

Inky plum in colour, you can see this is rich and textured even before going anywhere near the nose, which then displays ripe fruit. Gorgeous quality, a wine that is packed full of graphite, pencil lead, waves of violet, cassis, liqourice, and chewy but well defined tannins. Leaps out of the glass and is clear proof that, when it gets it right, the 2014 vintage equals the 2015 in this northern sector of the Médoc. Good value also compared to the 2015 and 2016 - a must buy for me. 70% new oak,..Jane Anson | 97 JAAromas of currants, blackberries and blackcurrants with hints of chocolate and spices. Full body, firm and silky tannins and a long and flavorful finish. Juicy and muscular wine. Needs three or four years to open. Beautiful.James Suckling | 96 JSFragrant and perfumed, this wine is the epitome of great Cabernet Sauvignon. It is fruity, juicy yet with serious concentrated tannins. There is spice from the wood aging along with a dash of pepper, all the while just bringing out the beautiful black-currant flavors. Drink this wine from 2024.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThe 2014 Lynch-Bages is just as powerful and dense from bottle as it was from barrel. Deep, powerful and bold, it possesses remarkable richness in all of its dimensions. Ripe red cherry, spice, leather, tobacco and rose petal all develop in the glass, but it is the wine’s sheer amplitude today that is quite remarkable. It will need quite a bit of cellaring to be at its best, and is clearly built to age. This is a terrific showing from the Cazes family. The blend is 69 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 26 % Merlot, 3 % Cabernet Franc and 2 % Petit Verdot.Antonio Galloni | 94+ AGThis has beguiling hints of plum cake and melted licorice peeking out, while a core of cassis and blackberry confiture waits in reserve. There’s ample grip, but this remains very polished and integrated, with lovely echoes of anise and fruitcake showing through the very lengthy finish. Will be hard to keep your hands off this while it ages. Best from 2019 through 2035.Wine Spectator | 94 WSThe 2014 Lynch Bages was actually similar to the 2014 Pichon Baron on the nose: tight and surly at first, demanding a lot of coaxing from the glass. It eventually opens up with a mixture of red and black fruit, cedar and tobacco, gaining more harmony and intensity in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, quite linear and focused at the moment, precise if just needing a little more body and depth to evolve on the straight-laced finish. Give this Pauillac 4-5 years in bottle and it is likely to repay you.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 92 RP-NMVery well-expressed natural concentration of fruit, very ripe tannins and lots of complexity to come. A richly textured, firmly structured wine with the Lynch-Bages hallmarks for the future. Drinking Window 2020 - 2035.Decanter | 92 DEC

The 2014 Montrose is without question one of the standout wines of the vintage. Black cherry, plum, smoke, licorice and lavender are some of the many aromas and flavors that open up in the glass. But the 2014 is a much deeper wine than just a bunch of descriptors can conjure. In 2014, Montrose is a wine of exceptional finesse and polish. The late-ripening vintage allowed for perfect maturation of the tannins and resulted in a silky wine that exudes class and pedigree. The 2014 is not an obvious or bombastic Montrose, but rather a wine of sublime enchantment. Don’t miss it!Antonio Galloni | 97 AGIncredible aromas of currants, blackberries, slate and flowers. Full-bodied yet so tight and beautiful with superb polish and brightness. The length is fantastic. Truly superb. Drink in 2021.James Suckling | 97 JSThis is a very fine wine showing a new level of quality at Montrose. With its almost velvet tannins inside the intense black fruits, the wine is rich, smooth and generous. Blackberry and black-plum fruits are to the fore along with the fine acidity and great structure. A wine to age for decades, it will be ready to drink from Wine Enthusiast | 97 WETasted at the château, the 2014 Montrose builds on the promise it showed in barrel with gorgeous blackberry, raspberry, cedar and orange sorbet scents that are extremely pure and refined. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, very precise acidity and layers of crisp black fruit laced with vanilla from the new oak at the moment. That will be subsumed in time. What you have here is a very precise, multi-layered, almost sensual Montrose that is going to delight many for years to come. This is highly recommended—one of the finest Left Bank wines this vintage. Tasted September 2016.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 96 RP-NM(Château Montrose, St-Estèphe, Bordeaux, France, Red) The velvety texture of the fruit and the tannins seem to shine through here, even on the aromatics. It’s one of the wines of the vintage and is showing beautifully after four years. Of course, it’s nowhere near ready to drink, but the tannins have an astonishingly vibrant, tactile quality against the palate. This is coupled with concentrated flavours of cassis, bilberry, charcoal, liquorice, deep woodsmoke and cedar. One for the cellar, and then some. 1% Petit Verdot finishes the blend. Harvested through until 16 October as with many of these St-Estèphes, given the luxury of the beautiful October weather. (Drink between 2024-2042)Decanter | 96 DECThis is seriously built, with an admirable core of red and black currant paste and bitter plum fruit inlaid with notes of tobacco, bay and smoldering charcoal. The finish is ramrod straight thanks to an iron girder supporting everything with ease. A tremendous effort for the vintage. Best from 2020 through 2035.Wine Spectator | 95 WSI loved the 2014 Montrose and it has an incredible purity and elegance that sets it apart from its peers. A blend of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it offers a deeper, richer profile with gorgeous cassis and currant fruits intermixed with licorice, chocolate, graphite and beautiful minerality. A spitting image of class on the palate, with fine tannin, integrated acidity, and medium to full-bodied richness, this terrific 2014 is up with the crème de la crème of the Médoc and keep for two to three decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JD

Intense blackberry and blueberry aromas as well as mushroom undertones. Violets, too. Sweet tobacco. Full-bodied and layered with polished tannins. Very long and beautiful. Give it two or three years to show what it has but already a beauty.James Suckling | 96 JSIn a vintage that can lack a little pizzazz, the 2014 Pape Clement stands out for its exuberant, sexy, full-bodied style. Checking in as a blend of 58% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance Petit Verdot, aged in 60% new French oak, its deep purple color is followed by a layered, ripe, sexy wine that has loads of currants, blackberries, smoke tobacco, and forest floor aromas and flavors, with just a touch of chocolaty oak. Silky and incredibly pure on the palate, with impeccable balance and sweet, yet present tannin, it’s already impossible to resist, yet is going to deliver the goods for another 20-25 years. It’s a beauty!Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDThe 2014 Pape Clement has quite a potent bouquet with lavish red cherry, kirsch, iodine and pastille-like scents, the oak probably needing another couple of years to fully integrate. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, a fine line of acidity, quite refined and focused with appreciable tension towards the finish that comes laden with succulent, tobacco-infused blackberry fruit. This is a sumptuous and yet refined Pape-Clement that demonstrated the most matière or substance out of all the Pessac-Léognan 2014s that I tasted, except for the Haut-Brion. It is certainly a wine destined for a long future.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 94 RP-NMThe 2014 Pape Clément is strikingly beautiful. Dark, sumptuous and creamy, it exudes class. Black cherry, mocha, spice, espresso, menthol and new leather are all pushed forward in a spherical, rich wine that captivates all the senses. As always, this is an overt style, but the purity of the fruit comes through nicely now that the oak has started to integrate. There is plenty of the Magrez trademark richness, but done in a slightly more restrained style than in the past. This is a gorgeous wine by any measure. Tasted three times.Antonio Galloni | 94+ AGRestrained compared to some vintages and all the more successful for it. Fine but firm tannins; grip and lovely hold to the dark, brambly, bilberry and cassis fruit. Great potential. Drinking Window 2023 - 2035.Decanter | 94 DECRipe and richly fruity, the wine is full bodied with great acidity as well as firm tannins. It will keep for many years. Bold tannins and a fine tension between the fruit and acidity are all promising for the future. Drink this impressive wine from 2025.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WELavish in profile, this sports a range of warm fruitcake, anise and black tea aromatics followed quickly by a gush of raspberry, plum and boysenberry confiture notes. Velvety, showing ample structure through the finish, pulling the fruit and wood notes together. A rare bird, stylistically, in this generally understated vintage. Best from 2020 through 2035. 11,667 cases made, 2,500 cases imported. Wine Spectator | 93 WS

One of the stars of the vintage, the 2015 Domaine de Chevalier has turned out even better than I expected. Bright floral notes give striking aromatic lift to the rich, sumptuous fruit. A marvelously complete wine, the 2015 is racy and silky on the palate, yet also has tremendous freshness. Bright red cherry, blood orange, white pepper, spice and dried flowers build into the super-expressive finish. The 2015 has been nothing less than stunning the three times I have tasted it so far. This is a tremendous showing from proprietor Olivier Bernard and his team. The blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. Tasted three times.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGI was able to taste the 2015 Domaine de Chevalier twice and it showed sensationally both times. A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot that was harvested between October 1st and October 15th, this deep ruby/purple-colored effort has soaring aromatics of caramelized black cherries, cassis, lead pencil shavings, and forest floor. Deep, full-bodied, intense and beautifully pure, with fine tannin and moderate acidity, it’s a gorgeous Pessac-Leognan that needs 4-5 years of cellaring and will evolve for three decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDSuave, spicy oak and warm, stony aromas, making immediate interest and giving way to vivid and fresh dark cherries, blackberries and cassis. The palate adds graphite-like, savory cherry-stone flavors amid smooth, velvety tannins. Tangy blackberries through the finish. Impressive. Try from 2020.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2015 Domaine de Chevalier is composed of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. It went through malolactic and aging on its lees during three months in 35% new, 35% one-year-old and 30% two-year-old barrels, with a total aging of 18 months. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, it has lovely spiciness on the nose—Chinese five spice and black pepper—with a core of red and black cherries and smoked meats. Medium-bodied, finely crafted and refreshing, it’s quite minerally in the mouth and persistent on the finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPSexy burnish of charcoal-grilled rich black cherry fruit with firmly held tannins. A lovely wine – fairly high powered compared to some; this is one to cellar for a while. Drinking Window 2025 - 2038.Decanter | 95 DECThis wine is ripe, rich and generous. It brings out the almost-sweet character of the fruit in this vintage. At the same time, the tannins are firm and support all this fruitiness. The wine will develop well. Drink from 2024.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThis has a solid core of gently steeped plum and blackberry fruit inlaid liberally with warm ganache and roasted vanilla notes. Warm, dark earth details pervade the finish, along with hints of tobacco and espresso, though this remains suave and perfumy overall. Best from 2021 through 2031. 9,167 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS