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1990: In terms of the brilliant complexity and nobility of the aromatics, scorched earth, black currants, plums, charcoal, cedar, and spices, the 1990 offers an aromatic explosion that is unparalleled. It is always fascinating to taste this wine next to the 1989, which is a monumental effort, but much more backward and denser, without the aromatic complexity of the 1990. The 1990 put on weight after bottling, and is currently rich, full-bodied, opulent, even flamboyant by Haut Brion’s standards. It is an incredible expression of a noble terroir in a top vintage. While it has been fully mature for a number of years, it does not reveal any bricking at the edge, and I suspect it will stay at this level for another 10-15 years ... but why wait? It is irresistible now. Release price: ($1200.00/case).Robert Parker | 98 RPVery close to Margaux in terms of its level of success, although with a more exuberant feel, touches of cinnamon, smoke, truffles and meat. Overall it is more opulent and rounded in the mouth than the other four firsts at this point and a seriously impressive glass of wine. This was an early harvest, and is clearly ready to drink with an exotic charm, but there is still a softly brushed tannic frame, and plenty of life ahead. A great period at Haut-Brion, with Jean Bernard Delmas at the helm of the winemaking. Drinking Window 2021 - 2040.Decanter | 97 DECThe 1990 Haut-Brion is exotic, flamboyant and super-expressive. Dark fruit, leather, licorice and grilled herbs are all amped up. Although the 1990 doesn’t quite have the aromatic depth and intensity of the very finest years, it is nevertheless a stunning, gorgeous wine of the highest level.Antonio Galloni | 96 AG(Château Haut-Brion) A lot has seemingly changed at Haut-Brion since I wrote my historical piece on the estate back in 2007, with a quest for more ripeness and power in this wine (sadly) now quite well established in the last several vintages. That chimeric quest was inconceivable back in 1990, and this wine is a beautiful testament to just how magical this terroir can be when it is the focal point of the wine. This is one of the top 1990s to my palate, soaring from the glass in a beautifully youthful nose of cassis, dark berries, tobacco leaf, a whisper of leather, fresh herb tones, a complex base of gravelly soil tones, cigar smoke and a suave base of new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, seamlessly complex and still quite closed, with a fine core of fruit, superb focus and balance, ripe, beautifully integrated tannins and outstanding length and grip on the refined and very intensely flavored finish. A great 1990 in the making. (Drink between 2020-2075).John Gilman | 95 JGRacy and refined, with firm, silky tannins and a long finish. Full-bodied. Mushrooms and ripe fruit on the palate. Needs some bottle age to open. ’89/’90 Bordeaux non-blind horizontal. Best after 2006. 12,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

Interestingly, a bottle of 1990 Lafite Rothschild I pulled from my cellar for a video blog on my web site was still buttoned down, tight, and even with extended decanting was not showing as much as I would have hoped. However, a bottle tasted, of all places, in Seoul, Korea in February, was only a few points short of perfection. That amazing performance motivated me to pull another bottle out of my cellar and follow it over the course of two days. Sure enough, by the second day the wine was roaring from the glass. The 1990 Lafite has turned out far better than my early assessment. While it still possesses some firmness, and performs like a late adolescent in terms of its evolution, it boasts gorgeous aromas of cedar, tobacco leaf, cassis, and lead pencil shavings. The explosive aromas are followed by a fleshy, full-bodied wine that should hit its peak in 5-8 years, and last for 25-30 more. Robert Parker | 96 RPVery serious fruit, with juicy berry, tobacco and cedar character. Slightly more body than the 1989, but they are very close in character. I would give this a little more time. ’89/’90 Bordeaux non-blind horizontal. Best after 2007. 25,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS(Château Lafite Rothschild, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, Red) A smoky, slightly baked character to the fruit and an undercurrent of dark chocolate and ground coffee. The texture is soft, sunny, and supple, with agreeable plumpness on the finish. 1990 was another sunny year that produced a lush, ripe result for Lafite that is immediately approachable. Although it should continue to show well, it lacks the incisive character of cooler years. The growing season was easy, with warm weather throughout and a successful flowering that set a large crop. There was sufficient sun to ripen all the fruit, however, and the final result was 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 13% Cabernet Franc. (Drink between 2022-2042)Decanter | 95 DECThis bottle of 1990 Lafite-Rothschild replicates the one poured at the château several months earlier. The bouquet offers black fruit, a little dustiness, leather and light marine notes, but again, it never slips into fifth gear. It just lacks vivacity. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly hard tannin, modest fruit concentration and a monochromatic finish that feels suppressed by that summer’s warmth. To reiterate, there are Super Seconds that clearly outperform this First Growth in 1990. Tasted at Noble Rot’s “Xmas” dinner.Vinous Media | 90 VM

The 1990 Château Margaux is really beginning to hit its stride at age 31, soaring from the glass with aromas of blackberries and cassis mingled with notions of licorice, cedar and violets, framed by subtle hints of vanilla and spice. Full-bodied, deep and multidimensional, it’s seamless and complete, its velvety tannins and ripe acids entirely cloaked in a lavish but vibrant core of fruit. This is an especially dramatic, fleshy rendition of Margaux, yet it remains impeccably balanced and has decades of longevity ahead of it.Robert Parker | 100 RPFull ruby-red. Wonderfully perfumed nose combines redcurrant, plum, mocha, minerals and rose petal. Plush, fat and rich, with great sweetness and class. This has utterly compelling mouthfilling richness. Finishes smooth and endless, with great breadth. This wine showed fabulous potential from barrel, but this is the first truly outstanding bottle I’ve had. Drink 2005 through 2035.Vinous Media | 98 VMA brilliant wine, still star bright in colour, and full of flesh and fruit. Opens with smoky cigar notes, touches of figs, blackberries, cedar, fine tannins, violet and peony aromatics even at 30-plus years old, and it certainly stays with you long after the glass is finished. Owner Corinne Mentzelopoulos was celebrating 10 years at the helm at this point, with (the late) Paul Pontallier just promoted to MD after arriving at the property in 1983. Drinking Window 2021 - 2040.Decanter | 98 DECA stunner, with a glorious aromatic display of mulled plum, blackberry and cherry notes seamlessly melded with rooibos tea, singed balsa wood and ground vanilla bean accents. The structure is so fine-grained that it’s almost hard to find, but the marathonesque length shows it’s there. As gorgeous as it is, this remains a hair behind the modern greats in terms of concentration. Still, it should hold at this peak for some time. Awfully close to the ’89, but sometimes we have to split hairs.--Non-blind Château Margaux vertical (December 2013). Drink now through 2025. 25,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

A time of serious changes at Mouton, with Baron Philippe de Rothschild passing away in 1988 after having overseen seven decades worth of harvests, and his longtime winemaker Raoul Blondin retiring in 1989. It was also three years before the introduction of Petit Mouton under Baroness Philippine (even Aile d’Argent the white wine didn’t arrive until 1991). Does all of this explain why the 1990 has suffered with its reputation from the beginning? Certainly it is far more mature at this 31-year-checkin than the others in the tasting, with strawberry and raspberry notes rather than the darker fruits that you more usually find in great Pauillac, with clear tertiary notes of tobacco, rust and woodsmoke. I had a better bottle of this in December 2020, and also in October 2018, so do expect bottle variation and you just might get lucky, but this was not the wine of the night. Label artist Francis Bacon, with one of his last works. Harvest 18 September to 3 October. Drinking Window 2021 - 2030.Decanter | 91 DECNotorious for not living up to the estate’s nor the vintage’s reputations, I have to say this 1990 Mouton Rothschild was not looking nearly as bad as I was expecting. This was a hot, dry vintage, which can be a challenge for vines on such free-draining soils as the deep gravel-mounds composing the backbone of Mouton’s vineyards. The effect of the struggling vines is apparent in the wine, yielding less density and chewier tannins. Nonetheless, the terroir’s pedigree clearly glimmers in the background.The wine displays a brick color with subtle, compellingly elegant redcurrant jelly, dried cranberries and powdered cinnamon notes plus wafts of potpourri, dried figs, unsmoked cigars and dusty soil. Medium-bodied, it is notably far more delicately fruited than one would expect of Mouton, structured with bold freshness and a light chew of tannins before finishing on a mineral note. Indeed, it is skinny compared to great vintages, but it is aging gracefully. For readers who love those soft-spoken, more delicately expressed styles, this one’s for you!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RPA less-than-extraordinary Mouton with licorice and sandalwood on the nose. But this is still lovely and easy to drink. Medium body, good fruit and soft tannins.James Suckling | 90 JS

A little maderized with raised volatile acidity, but some tobacco and berry underneath. Turns fruity and even jammy.James Suckling | 90 JS

Dark ruby color. Decadent aromas of meat, figs and ripe fruit. Full-bodied, with a very good, compacted, fruity structure and a long, long, ripe fruit and earth finish. This is a seriously good bottle. Great value. Love it.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

Outstanding quality from a weak year. Good darkruby color. Intense aromas of chocolate, berry andcedar. Full-bodied, with firm tannins and a longfinish. Starting to show some bottle bouquet, butgood backbone and firmness. Textbook Latour from adifficult vintage.--Latour vertical. Best after 2004.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

Rich, powerful, stylish and expressive. Petit Mouton is always the most exuberant of the First Growth second wines, and here it rewards with layers of spiced black chocolate, cinnamon-laced blackberries, cherry pits, cassis and caramel. This was the vintage that benefitted from Philippe Dhalluin’s new regime of tightening production on the main wine, ensuring that certain lots that would have previously been selected for Mouton Rothschild now made it in here. As such, 2005 can be seen as the first vintage of the new era where Petit Mouton has grown to be one of the most sought after second wines of the region, with a clear personality and ageing trajectory. 3.62pH. | 92 DEC

Aromas of peat and fruits, with hints of cedar and berries. Full and velvety with good fruit and a medium finish. Goes mushroomy. A little light.James Suckling | 91 JS

A terrific wine for the vintage, Latour’s 1993 reveals an opaque purple color, a backward, cedar, black walnut, cassis, and earth-scented nose, medium to full body, gorgeously rich, concentrated fruit, moderately high tannin (but no astringency), and a sweet, long, powerful finish. The wine does not possess any of the vegetal, green pepper characteristics of the vintage, nor any hint of hollowness or harshness. This wine may prove to merit an even higher rating. Is this vintage the modern day clone of the 1967 and 1971? Anticipated maturity: 2007-2025. Last tasted 1/97Robert Parker | 90 RPSlightly oxidized with a coffee and spice character, as well as fruit. Medium body. Tea, tobacco and some fruit.James Suckling | 90 JS

A luscious Lafite that is silky and elegant with layers of wonderful violet, berry, cherry and chocolate flavors. It’s full-bodied, with racy, refined tannins and good length. Drinkable now, but best from 1999 and through another decade. 18,750 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSBecause Lafite-Rothschild (1) tends to lack the weight of many wines of the northern Medoc, and (2) is never a flashy, ostentatious style of wine, it is often more difficult to evaluate when young than some of its neighbors. Made from nearly 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, this dark ruby/purple-colored wine is stubbornly backward, unappealing, and severe and astringent on the palate. There is plenty of weight, and the wine possesses admirable purity, with no suggestion of herbaceousness or underripe fruit, but the wine’s personality refuses to be coaxed from the glass. The 1994 Lafite may turn out to be austere and disappointing flavor-wise, but possesses a fabulous set of aromatics (does that sound reminiscent of the 1961, another Lafite that was primarily Cabernet Sauvignon?). I am not giving up on this wine, but purchasers should be willing to wait 15-20 years before pulling a cork. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2030.Robert Parker | 90 RPThe 1994 Lafite-Rothschild is a vintage that I have not tasted for some time. Poured blind, it has a healthy colour with modest signs of aging on the brick rim. Since this is 99.5% Cabernet Sauvignon (I always thought it was 100%!) it is dominated by classic aromas associated with that variety: undergrowth and tobacco, just a touch of graphite. Like the 1961, I actually miss the Merlot component because the wine does feel a little two-dimensional. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity. That tannins are coarser than recent vintages, and there is a little hardness on the finish that would have been mollified by the Merlot, but this stocky Lafite-Rothschild is still going strong. Just partner it with the right dish rather than drink on its own. Tasted at the Lafite-Rothschild 150th anniversary dinner at the estate.Vinous Media | 90 VM

Drunk from magnum, the 1994 Latour is showing brilliantly, bursting with aromas of dark fruits, English walnuts, cigar wrapper, loamy soil and woodsmoke. Medium to full-bodied, deep and fleshy, it’s layered and concentrated, with sweet tannins, succulent acids and a long, sapid finish. The wine of the vintage in Bordeaux, I just wish I owned a case.Robert Parker | 94 RPVery deep ruby-red. Pungent, inky, nutty aromas of blackcurrants and minerals; very sexy oak treatment gives the nose a wonderful sweetness. Big, minerally, and shapely, with lovely purity of dark berry flavor. Has clarity and grip, but not quite the richness of the ’95. The tannins build in the glass, but are in harmony with the wine’s middle palate material. Uncanny length for the vintage.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMClassic Cabernet style. Intense aromas of plums and cherries, with hints of new wood. Full-bodied, with juicy and ripe tannins and a long finish. Very well-structured.--Latour vertical. Best after 2003.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

This largely forgotten vintage seems to have turned the corner in the last year or two. Because of strict selections made at the top chateaux, the wines always had density, but the level of tannin was frequently too high, and the type of tannin was more green and astringent. Chateau Margaux’s 1994 has always been one of the candidates for the “wine of the vintage.” The wine still has a dense plum/purple color and a big, sweet nose of black fruits intermixed with licorice, camphor, vanilla, and a hint of flowers. The wine is dense and powerful, but the tannins have softened and do not seem as hard and intrusive as they did in the late nineties. This wine will last for decades and hopefully become even more seamless, although it is hard to believe all the tannin will gradually dissipate. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2025. Last tasted, 10/02.Robert Parker | 91+ RPVery good bright red-ruby color. Sappy, very floral nose hints at toasty oak. Sweet, supple. smooth and oaks in the mouth. A very consistent though fairly tannic wine without the grip or structure of the ’95. In fact, tasted after the ’95, this seemed much oakier and even a bit monolithic.Vinous Media | 90-91 VMNot a big Margaux, this is all in refinement. Pretty aromas of berries, raspberries and toasted oak and warm flavors that build on your palate. Medium-bodied, with fine, well-integrated tannins and a caressing finish. Better in 1999.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

This is still youthful in appearance with dark ruby color. It sets an excellent example for the 1994 vintage with a spicy, toasty nose showing lots of black currants and tar. It’s full-bodied, refined and chewy. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 91 JSAfter less than persuasive performances in two potentially great years, 1989 and 1990, Mouton-Rothschild appears to have settled down, producing fine efforts in recent vintages, culminating with the enormously promising, unquestionably profound 1995. The 1994 appears to be the finest Mouton-Rothschild made following the 1986 and before the 1995’s conception. The wine exhibits a dense, saturated purple color, followed by a classic Mouton nose of sweet black fruits intermingled with smoke, pain grillee, spice, and cedar. Medium to full-bodied, with outstanding concentration, a layered feel, plenty of tannin, and rich, concentrated fruit, this wine is similar to the fine 1988. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2025. By the way, the Dutch artist, Appel, has created a gorgeous label for the 1994. Although Mouton-Rothschild can be among the most inconsistent first-growths, when this estate gets everything right, the wine can be as compelling as any produced in Bordeaux.Robert Parker | 91 RPDark-colored, with intense aromas of blackberries, tar and spice, and toasted oak notes as well. Full-bodied, with very silky tannins and a chewy, ripe fruit-accented finish. An impressive Mouton. Better in 1999.Wine Spectator | 91 WS1994 Mouton Rothschild: Sexy smoky, gingery oak, along with a hint of herbaceousness. Fruity and vinous, with good inner-mouth perfume, but the level of extract seems rather low for this wine. Finishes with slightly harsh tannins and some caramel oak. Lacks real precision and class. Not a strong performance for Mouton.Vinous Media | 88-90 VMThe great Michael Broadbent MW noted ’this is what my friends from across the pond would describe as a proper, classic luncheon claret’. Elegant and lighter on the palate, the fruit character here is more subdued with a cool, leafy edge. Toasty wood and spice notes in evidence but the acidity is more dominant than with the other vintages. Feels just a bit stringy and lean. At its best. Harvested 19 September to 1 October. 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot. (Drink between 2021-2021)Decanter | 90 DEC

It is fun to go back and forth between the 1995 and 1996, two superb vintages for Haut-Brion. The 1995 seems to have sweeter tannin and a bit more fat and seamlessness when compared to the more structured and muscular 1996. Certainly 1995 was a vintage that the brilliant administrator Jean Delmas handled flawlessly. The result is a deep ruby/purple-colored wine with a tight but promising nose of burning wood embers intermixed with vanilla, spice box, earth, mineral, sweet cherry, black currant, plum-like fruit, medium to full body, a high level of ripe but sweet tannin, and a finish that goes on for a good 40-45 seconds. This wine is just beginning to emerge from a very closed state where it was unyielding and backward. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2035. Last tasted, 11/0Robert Parker | 96 RPThis 1995 Haut-Brion was served blind during the summer at a private dinner in Bordeaux, a bottle with perfect provenance. It is a vintage that I have drunk several times, but not since 2013. Deep in colour, the 1995 has plenty of black fruit on the nose, displaying a distinctive briny influence, classic in style with stunning definition. There is something regal about the aromatics. The palate is well-balanced, with fine acidity and black fruit once again, sappy and saline, with an underlying ash-like note emerging as it opens in the glass. Though quite linear towards the tobacco and sous-bois finish, the 1995 conspicuously gains weight and breeding with time. Therefore, I would afford this First Growth four to five hours of decanting as it remains more backward than I imagined.Vinous Media | 95 VMSweet tobacco, blackberries and violets on the nose. Subtle. Full-bodied and very tight, with fantastic tannins and a long caressing finish. Wonderful texture. All in reserve still. Give this time.--’95/’96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2010.Wine Spectator | 95 WS(Château Haut-Brion (Graves)) The 1995 vintage of Haut-Brion is excellent, though still a few years away from primetime drinking. The bouquet is deep, pure and classical in profile, delivering scents of cassis, sweet dark berries, singed tobacco, a touch of coffee bean, fresh herb tones, a complex base of gravelly soil tones, cedary oak and just a hint of the more red fruity elements that are sure to emerge here with further bottle age. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep, complex and seamlessly balanced, with ripe, buried tannins, fine focus and grip and outstanding length on the vibrant and very classy finish. This is a superb Haut-Brion in the making. (Drink between 2025-2085).John Gilman | 94+ JG

I pulled this lone bottle out of my cellar at the last minute to remind some Italian vintners of the great quality of the 1995 Bordeaux vintage. They seem to be finally opening up! What a red with incredible depth and finesse. Cedar, cigar box and toabaaco character with currants and fresh tobacco undertones. It’s full-bodied yet tight and dense. Precision. So refined and intense. Such freshness and beauty. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 98 JSIntense aromas of blackberries, black licorice and currants, with mineral undertones. Full-bodied, with a solid core of tannins and a long, silky finish. Still holding back, but is concentrated and powerful. The 1996 is always talked about, but I think this is superior and will be in the future.--’95/’96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2010. 20,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSThe 1995 Lafite-Rothschild (only one-third of the harvest made it into the final blend) is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 8% Cabernet Franc. The wine was showing spectacularly well when I tasted it in November, 1997. It exhibits a dark ruby purple color, and a sweet, powdered mineral, smoky, weedy cassis-scented nose. Beautiful sweetness of fruit is present in this medium-bodied, tightly-knit, but gloriously pure, well-delineated Lafite. The 1995 is not as powerful or as massive as the 1996, but it is beautifully made with outstanding credentials, in addition to remarkable promise. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2028.Robert Parker | 95 RPDark ruby-red. Sappy, expressive aromas of cherry, plum, minerals, woodsmoke and game, plus an exotic suggestion of baked apple. Rather subtle on the attack, then quickly expands to fill the mouth. A big, deep, very rich vintage for Lafite, unusually generous at this early stage and extremely long on the aftertaste. But went into a shell with aeration, and showed a hint of tobacco leaf vegetility. Finishing notes of coconut, woodsmoke and tobacco add flavor interest.Vinous Media | 93+ VM

A beauty, the opaque dense purple-colored 1995 exhibits jammy cassis, vanillin, and minerals in its fragrant but still youthful aromatics. Medium to full-bodied, with exceptional purity, superb concentration, and a long, intense, ripe, 40-second finish, this is a magnificent example of Latour. As the wine sat in the glass, scents of roasted espresso and toasty new oak emerged. This classic will require considerable cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2050.Robert Parker | 96 RPDeep ruby-red color. More expressive aromas of crystallized dark berries, dark chocolate and animal fur. Lush and sweet; thick but delineated. Wonderfully concentrated. This, too, seems rather withdrawn today, but the strength of material is clear to see. Finishes with firm tannins and explosive fruit that goes on and on.Vinous Media | 94+ VMBlack licorice, cedar, cigar box and fresh herbs. Full-bodied and very structured, with firm, silky tannins and a long finish. Needs time.--’95/’96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2009.Wine Spectator | 94 WS(Château Latour) Latour made a very good wine in 1995, but my gut instincts are that the property in the twenty-first century is making even better wines than was the case in the decade of the 1990s. The 1995 Latour offers up a complex, promising nose of cassis, dark berry, French Roast, Cuban cigars, gravelly soil tones and a well-done base of toasty new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full and broad-shouldered in profile, with a fine core of fruit, ripe, chewy tannins, fine focus and grip and a long, still quite youthful finish. This is at least eight to ten years away from starting to drink, and probably at least twenty away from really hitting its apogee. (Drink between 2025-2075).John Gilman | 93 JG

This still broods seriously, with dark plum, currant and blackberry fruit, studded with charcoal, singed tobacco and cedar notes and backed by a serious grip of roasted earth. The gorgeously long finish is driven by old-school tannins, with the smoldering edge going on and on. A brick house of a Margaux, with more charcoal than graphite, more austerity than elegance and more power than refinement.--Non-blind Château Margaux vertical (December 2013). Drink now through 2034. 18,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSBottled very late (November, 1997), the 1995 has continued to flesh out, developing into one of the great classics made under the Mentzelopoulos regime. The color is opaque ruby/purple. The nose offers aromas of licorice and sweet smoky new oak intermixed with jammy black fruits, licorice, and minerals. The wine is medium to full-bodied, with extraordinary richness, fabulous equilibrium, and hefty tannin in the finish. In spite of its large size and youthfulness, this wine is user-friendly and accessible. This is a thrilling Margaux that will always be softer and more evolved than its broader-shouldered sibling, the 1996. How fascinating it will be to follow the evolution of both of these vintages over the next half century. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2040.Robert Parker | 95 RPThe 1995 Château Margaux is a vintage perhaps unfairly over-shadowed by the imperious 1996. That is unfair because the late Paul Pontallier crafted a great First Growth this year. It has a very impressive, quintessential Margaux bouquet that is undimmed after 23 years: black fruit, graphite, crushed violets and a touch of tobacco. If anything it becomes more and more pure with aeration and demonstrates exquisite delineation. The palate is very finely balanced. No, it does not have the intensity, the crystalline nature of the 1996 and yet there is a femininity and a finesse here that sweeps you off your feet. It is entertaining the possibility of secondary flavours but it remains focused on the red and black fruit, tensile on the almost balletic finish. Bon vin! Tasted blind at Philip’s February Christmas Party.Vinous Media | 95 VM

Still remarkably dark, intense and youthful in appearance, this Mouton shows more flamboyant characters on the nose than other vintages, with spices, cigar-box and blackcurrant leaf all to the fore. Rich, dense and fleshy palate with plenty of stuffing for further ageing. An impressive Mouton which lives up to the ‘star’ billing for the 1995 vintage with nearly all of the components in great balance. The only question mark regards the firm, slightly drying tannins, which still need to fully integrate. I suspect they will, but the 1995 may not quite reach the height of the 1996. Harvested 12 September to 27 September. 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc.Drinking Window 2021 - 2030.Decanter | 97 DECBottled in June, 1997, this profound Mouton is more accessible than the more muscular 1996. A blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 19% Merlot, it reveals an opaque purple color, and reluctant aromas of cassis, truffles, coffee, licorice, and spice. In the mouth, the wine is "great stuff," with superb density, a full-bodied personality, rich mid-palate, and a layered, profound finish that lasts for 40+ seconds. There is outstanding purity and high tannin, but my instincts suggest this wine is lower in acidity and slightly fleshier than the brawnier, bigger 1996. Both are great efforts from Mouton-Rothschild. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2030.Robert Parker | 95 RP(72% cabernet sauvignon, 19% merlot and 9% cabernet franc; pH 3.68; IPT 64; 12.4% alcohol; 88% new oak; 95% selection for the grand vin): Very dark, fully saturated ruby to the rim. Deep, brooding, rich aromas of blackberry, violet, milk chocolate, black pepper, cedar and incense; sexy and captivating. Bright and focused on entry, then rich, very smooth and suave, with highly concentrated flavors of red berries, dark plum, cedar and graphite. The extremely long, juicy finish features lively acids, great balance and persistent notes of underbrush and minerals. The mounting tannins coat the palate dry and are still years away from resolving fully. Harvested from September 12 through 27, which suggests that the merlot was probably very ripe. According to Tourbier, "We included a bit more merlot than usual because we felt the cabernet sauvignon had particularly tough tannins in 1995 and we didn’t want to risk making too tough or structured a wine. So we used the merlot to soften it up a bit." The estate was so happy with the quality of the wine (and the rather high 95% selection for the grand vin speaks volumes), said Tourbier, that they only made 15 barriques of the second wine Petit Mouton, which was launched with the 1993 vintage. A huge volume year, 1995 was characterized by very fine weather through most of the growth cycle but was marred by September rains.Vinous Media | 95 VMThis explodes on the nose with prunes, blackberries, mushrooms and fresh tobacco. Full body, ripe tannins and a juicy finish. Big and powerful. Still could do with a decade or more of aging.James Suckling | 95 JSAromas of ripe fruit and grilled meat follow through to a full-bodied palate, with velvety tannins and a long caressing finish. Very beautiful wine. Mouton shows finesse yet richness in this vintage.--’95/’96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2007.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

An elegant but muscular Lafite, really summing up the trajectory that this wine takes over decades in a good vintage. It started out in its early years with huge concentration, more in fact than in many vintages, but it is now showcasing the subtlety and infinite range of flavours and aromatics that makes Lafite such a singular wine. Expect layers of earth, cigar box, liquorice, cold ash, blackberry, cassis, pencil lead, mint leaf and crushed rock minerality. The first Lafite to be put in an anti-fraud engraved bottle. 38% of overall production in the first wine, quite low at the time although typical today. 3% Petit Verdot completes the blend. Drinking Window 2024 - 2040.Decanter | 100 DECTasted three times since bottling, the 1996 Lafite-Rothschild is unquestionably this renowned estate’s greatest wine. As I indicated last year, only 38% of the crop was deemed grand enough to be put into the final blend, which is atypically high in Cabernet Sauvignon (83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 7% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot). This massive wine may be the biggest, largest-scaled Lafite I have ever tasted. It will require many years to come around, so I suspect all of us past the age of fifty might want to give serious consideration as to whether we should be laying away multiple cases of this wine. It is also the first Lafite-Rothschild to be put into a new engraved bottle (designed to prevent fraudulent imitations). The wine exhibits a thick-looking, ruby/purple color, and a knock-out nose of lead pencil, minerals, flowers, and black currant scents. Extremely powerful and full-bodied, with remarkable complexity for such a young wine, this huge Lafite is oozing with extract and richness, yet has managed to preserve its quintessentially elegant personality. This wine is even richer than it was prior to bottling. It should unquestionably last for 40-50 years. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2050.Robert Parker | 100 RPThe 1996 Lafite-Rothschild is consistent with the bottle shown at the Hong Kong vertical. It has an intense bouquet with blackberry, cedar and a pencil box of graphite. The adjective I use whilst writing this note is that the aromas are "cool". Perhaps given its provenance, this is one of the most backward bottles of 1996 that I have tasted. There are those fine but rigid tannins that lend this Lafite such beguiling symmetry, copious cedar and graphite with vein of brine and oyster shell. I love the precision of this wine and the sappiness on the finish. At the moment, maybe more impressive than enjoyable, so if you can, cellar it for another 5 to 8 years. Tasted at the Lafite-Rothschild 150th anniversary dinner at the estate.Vinous Media | 97+ VMThe beauty and balance of this are phenomenal. Seamless tannins and fruit. Full body yet so balanced and refined. Sweet tobacco and berries. Minerals and cedar. A beautiful wine. The depth is superb. Drink now.James Suckling | 97 JSGorgeous aromas of currant, berries and licorice. Full-bodied, with supersilky tannins and a long, caressing finish. Still holding back. People talk about this as one of the greatest Lafites ever, but I don’t think so.--’95/’96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2008.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

A spectacular Latour, the 1996 may be the modern day clone of the 1966, only riper. This vintage, which is so variable in Pomerol, St.-Emilion, and Graves, was fabulous for the late-harvested Cabernet Sauvignon of the northern Medoc because of splendid weather in late September and early October. An opaque purple color is followed by phenomenally sweet, pure aromas of cassis infused with subtle minerals. This massive offering possesses unreal levels of extract, full body, intensely ripe, but abundant tannin, and a finish that lasts for nearly a minute. Classic and dense, it displays the potential for 50-75 years of longevity. Although still an infant, it would be educational to taste a bottle. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2050.Robert Parker | 99 RPFabulous aromas of crushed raspberries, plums and blackberries. Mind-blowing nose. Full-bodied, with soft and silky tannins and a long caressing finish. Hard not to drink now, but leave it alone.--’95/’96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2010. 17,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WS(Château Latour) The last bottle of the 1996 Latour that I tasted was part of a mini-vertical that was one of the most ingenuous and generous flights of wine I have tasted in a long time, as my friend paired the 1996 Latour up with the 1896 Latour at a double blind tasting in February of this year! Needless to say, the one hundred years’ worth of bottle age between the two vintages was sufficient to convince none of us that it was the same property, but both wines acquitted themselves beautifully. I was surprised at how well the 1996 Latour was starting to show, given that it is a classically-styled Latour from a very tannic and powerful vintage in the Medoc, but the wine is already starting to drink with some generosity. The bouquet is superb, offering up scents of black cherries, cassis, cigar ash a touch of tariness, gravelly soil tones, smoke and a whisper of balsam bough in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with firm, still plenty chewy tannins, fine focus and balance and a very long, nascently complex and quite promising finish. This is nowhere near as unapproachable as I would have supposed the combination of Latour and 1996 would be, but I would be inclined to give it another decade in the cellar and really let the fireworks get rolling properly. (Drink between 2027-2085)John Gilman | 94+ JGThe 1996 Latour is a wine that I often find overrated and did not achieve everything that might have been possible in this favourable growing season. That said, this might well be the best of around two dozen bottles I have encountered over the years. As usual, the 1996 is decidedly austere at first, standoffish, looks down its nose at you. Yet it coalesces with time and develops engaging cedar-scented black fruit tinged with pencil box and a touch of iris with time. The palate (again) is a little muted at first but it soon found its voice and evolved very fine tannin allied with a crisp line of acidity. It is not quite as demonstrative as it was even just a couple of years ago, gained some detail and perhaps it will continue to meliorate. Very fine, very fine indeed - but not a patch of say, the Château Margaux or perhaps even Léoville Las Cases. Tasted at the International Business & Wine Latour dinner at Ten Trinity.Vinous Media | 94 VM(Château Latour, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, Red) This highly anticipated bottle was a bit of a disappointment. One of the two bottles was oxidised, and the other seemed a bit more mature than I would have hoped, with a meaty, savoury note to the black fruit, accented with leather and smoke. The grapes were picked from 17th September to 2nd October, and slightly more than 50% of the fruit was used in the grand vin. A blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. (Drink between 2022-2042)Decanter | 92 DEC

The 1996 Chateau Margaux, a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc, must be a strong contender for wine of the vintage. It offers everything you desire from this First Growth. It is blessed with breathtaking delineation and freshness on the nose, understated at first and then blossoming with mineral-infused black fruit, hints of blueberry, crushed stone and violet. The palate is perfectly balanced with filigree tannin, perfect acidity, a wine where everything seems to be in its right place. Blackberry, crushed stone at the front of the mouth, just a touch of spice towards the finish that shows supreme control. This is a Margaux that seems to light up the senses. It was outstanding in its youth...something that has not changed one bit over the intervening two decades. This may well turn out to be the Left Bank pinnacle of the 1990s. Tasted July 2016.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 100 RP-NMSoftly spoken, fine tannins, pencil lead and leather, with truffle, earth, campfire and spice. Long drawn out finish, achingly slow, crushed stone, tobacco and dried roses. As with the 2001, the generosity and beauty of the aromatics tells you that this is absolutely ready to drink - although in many ways it feels like it will last longer than the 2001, as the tannins are still holding everything in place. This got the audience award on the night, and no question it is a stunning wine that is still giving so much pleasure at 25 years old. The 1996 has really grown into itself - it was a late harvest at the time after a burst of rain at the end of September that they decided to wait through before picking, and were rewarded with beautifully ripe Cabernet that was high in dense tannins and a little surly at first, but that has turned into one of the greatest vintages of the 1990s (rivaled only by the 1990 itself in my opinion). 2% Cabernet Franc completes the blend, 100% new oak. (Drink between 2021-2040)Decanter | 100 DECWhile the 1996 Château Margaux has been closed and difficult to read for the past decade, it showed beautifully on this occasion, with its hallmark elegance and purity paired with a dense, powerful profile. Still youthfully ruby-hued with notes of pure crème de cassis, unsmoked tobacco, incense, and chocolate, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, building yet seamless tannins, and an awesome finish. This is pure class as well as a quintessential Margaux! To be on the safe side, give bottles another 4-5 years and it’s going to keep for 50-75 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDBright full ruby. Pure, perfumed aromas of cassis and violet. Dense and tactile in the mouth; a huge, chewy wine with major extract but also considerable refinement. Almost painfully backward today, and a bit less perfumed than it was in the year or so after the bottling, but the huge tannins show no hardness. Another great expression of cabernet sauvignon from the ’96 vintage. Drink 2015 through 2040.Vinous Media | 96+ VMFully formed now, with a rush of steeped currant and black tea notes that are melded with a backdrop of anise, sandalwood, bergamot and charcoal. The long, suave finish lets the perfume linger, with a weighty feel. This seems to mark the start of the refinement of tannins; despite the power, this is all grace and elegance.--Non-blind Château Margaux vertical (December 2013). Drink now through 2031.Wine Spectator | 95 WS