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Bottled in June of 2018, the 2016 Château La Conseillante is a beautifully seamless yet powerful version of this cuvée that has the hallmark fragrance and elegance of the estate front and center. Complex blackberries, cassis, flowers, incense, forest floor, and floral notes all soar from this full-bodied, pure, and polished Pomerol that has an undeniable class as well as wonderful purity of fruit, perfect integration of its tannins and acidity, and a blockbuster finish. It’s an incredibly complete wine that flirts with perfection and will keep for 30-40 years. The blend is 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, aged in 70% new French oak, with the balance in once-used barrels. There are less than 4,000 cases made, but this is a wine you want in your cellar.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDThe aromas of violets and dark berries with licorice and sweet black tea are so attractive. What really impresses is the sweet fruit in the dense middle palate. So attractive. At the same time, there’s plenty of plush and ripe tannins that give the wine form and brightness. And it still remains bright on the finish, as the tannins roll on. A great Conseillante. Try after 2024.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2016 La Conseillante is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc aged in 70% new and 30% one-year-old French oak for 17 months. Deep garnet-purple colored, it slips provocatively out of the glass with a lifted perfume of roses, candied violets and lavender over a core of warm red and black plums, chocolate box, unsmoked cigars and baked cherries with wafts of wild thyme and tilled soil. Medium-bodied, the palate exudes polish and sophistication with bags of fragrance, freshness and energy, sporting exquisitely fine-grained tannins and finishing very long and minerally. Around 3,808 cases produced.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98+ RPI love the depth and character to the fruits on this wine. Still extremely young, in a closed phase with plenty of tannic grip, but there are layers upon layers of blueberry, cassis, raspberry, mint, saffron, slate and liquorice. Clear acidity also, ensuring this succulent, juicy character to the fruits. A brilliant example of an excellent vintage in Pomerol. 70% new oak. A yield of 39.5hl/ha. Drinking Window 2024 - 2046.Decanter | 97 DECThe 2016 La Conseillante comes across ripe and generous on a nose of strawberry, blackberry, rose petal and vanilla, before more tertiary and nobler scents develop. The palate is well balanced with supple tannins and fine acidity. This is disarmingly fleshy, almost corpulent, with impressive depth, though it tightens up toward the finish. Its grace and class still come through, however. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.Vinous Media | 95+ VMFeatures a terrific core of dense and winey cassis, blackberry and plum reduction notes that will need time to unfurl, during which time the flickers of alder, tobacco and black tea lurking throughout should emerge further. Shows a solid graphite element through the finish. Best from 2022 through 2038. 3,333 cases made. — JMWine Spectator | 95 WSBeautifully perfumed and rich, this wine comes from the eastern edge of the great plateau of Pomerol. It shows the density and concentration of impressive Merlot. Offering powerful fruits as much as tannins, the wine also has a mineral edge plus fresh acidity to give it a lift. Drink from 2024.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WE

A warm wine rich in tannins and with succulent berry fruits, this is both powerful and elegant. Its density doesn’t detract from the fruitiness that shines out of the wine and balances with the structured aging potential. Drink the wine from 2025.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThe 2016 La Gaffelière is superb. Vivid and precise, with layers of nuance, the 2016 is a wine of real clarity. Blood orange, lavender, rose petal and mint add brightness to this stunningly beautiful Saint-Émilion. La Gaffelière is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc, and it is the Franc that gives the wine so much character and complexity. This is just an irresistibly captivating Saint-Émilion. Stéphane Derenoncourt and Simon Blanchard consult.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGThis was delicious En Primeur and is even better now with three years under its belt. It’s had time to bed down and is fully set for the long term. Wonderfully rich, intense dark fruits are joined by grip and supple tannins through the palate. It has hints of dark chocolate, and a floral edge from the Cabernet Franc. Be in no rush to open this, because it’s clearly going to deliver over the next few decades. As of this vintage, we are seeing the blend that the estate hopes to maintain (60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc). Drinking Window 2025 - 2044.Decanter | 96 DECThis is really decadent and rich with great aromas of earth, spice, frost flowers and fresh mushrooms that follow through to a full body, firm and chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. Very, very serious from here. A blend of 70 per cent merlot and 30 per cent cabernet franc. Try after 2025.James Suckling | 96 JSMedium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2016 La Gaffeliere opens with compelling wild blueberries, freshly crushed plums and kirsch scents plus hints of garrigue, underbrush, rose hip tea and pencil lead. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is wonderfully elegant with a soft, velvety texture and seamless freshness carrying the multilayered fruit to a long finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPThis has a suave, cashmere feel, with waves of blackberry and plum reduction rolling through, infused liberally with dark tobacco and black licorice notes. A black tea accent smolders on the finish, complemented by a faint floral echo. This should age into a charmer. Best from 2022 through 2037. 7,917 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

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

With its rich swathe of Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine has density and immense structure balanced by stunning black fruits that give impressive promise. This powerful wine is probably the greatest ever produced from this estate. Drink from 2027.Wine Enthusiast | 100 WEThe 2018 Figeac is a regal, aristocratic Saint-Émilion. Vertical in feel, Figeac possesses stunning energy and vibrancy right out of the gate. Dark cherry, plum, mocha, licorice, rose petal and spice all open with a bit of coaxing. Figeac is a bit restrained today, but it won’t be an issue in another few years’ time. Figeac is not an obvious wine, but it is superb.Antonio Galloni | 98 AGReminiscent of the 2016 with its incredible purity and elegance, the 2018 Château Figeac offers a terrific perfume of crème de cassis, redcurrants, dried earth, tobacco, lead pencil, spring flowers, and exotic spice-driven nuances. Playing in the medium to full-bodied end of the spectrum, it’s flawlessly balanced, has silky, polished tannins, and a stunning sense of purity. It doesn’t have the sexiness of the 2015, but it’s very much in the style of the 2018 vintage with its pure, elegant, haut couture-like style. And it doesn’t show a hint of its 100% new oak élevage. Give bottles 4-5 years of bottle age and enjoy over the following 20-30 years. It’s not the biggest or richest Saint- Emilion, yet the balance, finesse, and elegance are something to behold. I think it’s going to check in behind the 2015 (and maybe the 2019) when all is said and done, but it’s unquestionably one of the greatest Figeac in the past 20-30 years. The blend is 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, and the balance Cabernet Franc, raised all in new oak. Another big “Bravo” to the talented director, Frédéric Faye!Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDI loved this en primeur, and it absolutely lives up to billing now that it is in bottle. It has put on a little weight through the mid palate, closed down further as you would expect at this point, but retains all the depth and texture of the black fruits, burnished with coffee beans, liquorice and crushed stone. It has much in common with the 2016 but there is a juicier, more succulent quality to the finish than the 2016 had at this stage, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out to be even better. Harvest ran from 17 September to 12 October, giving a yield of 39hl/ha (with 70% organic farming, 30% bio-control). 65% of the crop went into the grand vin. 3.7pH. Drinking Window 2026 - 2045.Decanter | 98 DECA powerful, structured Figeac, offering loads of blackberry, blueberry, chocolate, walnut and mushroom with some tobacco. It’s full-bodied with layered, chewy tannins that are polished and beautiful. So impressive and solid. Better than the great 2010? Time will tell. Goes on for a long time. Try after 2026.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2018 Figeac is composed of 37% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Cabernet Franc, with a 3.7 pH and 14% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple in color, it soars out of the glass with opening notes of freshly crushed red and black cherries, mulberries and ripe, juicy plums, followed by hints of violets, damp soil, cedar chest, crushed rocks and pencil shavings. The medium-bodied, elegantly styled palate features bags of freshness and exquisitely ripe, beautifully poised tannins to support the bright, energetic black and red fruit layers, finishing on a lingering fragrant earth note. This is absolutely recognizable as being cut from the same cloth as old-school Figeac, but all the recent vineyard and winemaking improvements have unveiled the beautifully ripe, intense, nuanced potential here. Bravo to managing director/winemaker Frédéric Faye and his team! Although there is a lot to love about this wine right now, give it 5-6 years for the oak to fully integrate and the underlying perfume suggestions to emerge, then enjoy over the next 20-25 years or more.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97+ RPSleek and tightly focused, this is a racy style marked by a pure beam of cassis and cherry purée and infused with red tea, bergamot and bay hints. Very fresh and refined through the finish, with a long chalky thread lingering after everything else. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2024 through 2038. 10,830 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

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

The 2018 Château Larcis Ducasse checks in as 89% Merlot and 11% Cabernet Franc that comes from a gorgeous hillside terroir on the Côte Pavie, located between Château Pavie and Château Bellefont-Belcier. Aged 18 months in 60% new barrels, it offers a truly sensational bouquet of ripe blackcurrants, espresso roast, scorched earth, bloody meat, chocolate, iron, and bouquet garni. A massive, super-rich Saint-Emilion with a dense, concentrated, layered mouthfeel, it has building yet sweet tannins and incredible purity of fruit. Reminding me of the 2005 shortly after release, this heavenly juice offers astonishing richness and depth while staying flawlessly balanced and elegant. Sadly, there are less than 3,000 cases produced, but this monumental, legendary wine won’t hit maturity for a good 8-10 years and will have 40-50 years of longevity if well stored. Hats off to Nicolas Thienpont and consultant Stéphane Derenoncourt for producing one of the wines of the vintage as well as one of the greatest young Bordeaux I’ve ever tasted.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDThe 2018 Larcis Ducasse is one of the real overachievers of the vintage. Richness and classicism meld together in a Saint-Émilion that dazzles from the very first taste. Rich dark fruit, mocha, licorice, espresso and leather all open in the glass. Time brings out bright acids and that firm spice of Larcis tannin. More than that, though, Larcis impresses with its exquisite balance and class. It is easily one of the most undervalued wines on the Right Bank. Don’t let its modest price fool you. Larcis is one the most compelling wines of the vintage. Don’t miss it!Antonio Galloni | 97 AGPolished aromas of lavender, plum, dried blueberry, clove, sandalwood and dark chocolate. Hints of praline. It’s full-bodied with firm, tightly knit tannins. Supple, seamless layers with great length and precision. Still reserved and tight. A toned and textured red with great structure. Try from 2026.James Suckling | 97 JSDeep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Larcis Ducasse needs a fair bit of swirling to unlock notes of crushed blackberries, plum preserves and boysenberries with suggestions of black truffles, tapenade and crushed rocks coming through, building to a subtle underlying perfume of roses and cloves. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers mouth-coating black fruits and loads of savory sparks, framed by firm, slightly chewy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long and earthy.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPPowerful but with a sense of restraint, this is extremely well handled in 2018. The difference between this and a more massive St-Emilion is subtle for sure - it’s unquestionably on the dark fruit register - but you notice it in the way that the tannins respond and bounce rather than stiffen up in the mouth. You can enjoy them as they close in around you rather than beg for air. The palate has lots of dark chocolate, liquorice and slate notes, with cassis and blackberry fruits. This is from south-facing slopes, so there’s plenty of ripeness in the grapes, but the limestone helps to temper it, along with the natural water sources that are found at this spot. Owned by Famille Gratiot-Attmane, but with the Nicolas Thienpont team overseeing winemaking. Drinking Window 2026 - 2040.Decanter | 95 DECWarm cherry, raspberry and plum preserve flavors form the core here, with nicely polished structure supporting it through the finish where anise, black tea, singed alder and savory details steadily emerge. A touch austere in feel, but the breed and length is there. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2023 through 2035. 2,416 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSA concentrated wine with big tannins and a smoky character, this is rich, darkly textured and full of blackberry fruit. The wine is powerful, spicy and fresh on the end.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WE

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

One of the wines of the vintage is the 2018 Château Pavie, and Gérard Perse continues to produce one of the greatest wines in the world, in just about every vintage. Based on 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2018 shows the slightly more restrained style of the estate today yet still brings classic Pavie richness, depth, and grandeur. Revealing a deep purple color as well as a sensational bouquet of crème de cassis, damp earth, tobacco, chalk, and lead pencil shavings, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, incredible purity, a dense, concentrated mid-palate, and a liqueur of rocks-like sense of minerality on the blockbuster finish. There’s a backward, inward style here that actually reminds me of the 2000. This is another magical, probably immortal wine from this terroir that marries power with elegance perfectly. Don’t miss it!Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDThe 2018 Pavie is a blend of 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine has a 3.58 pH and 14.48% alcohol. Very deep garnet-purple in color, it bursts from the glass with a fabulously expressive nose of crème de cassis, baked plums and blueberry preserves, leading to an impressive array of nuances, featuring notions of dark chocolate, camphor, licorice, rose petals and fertile loam, plus hints of crushed rocks and iron ore. The rich, full-bodied palate offers layer upon layer of opulent black and blue fruits with loads of exotic spice sparks and pretty floral and mineral accents, supported by firm, super plush tannins and remarkable tension, finishing with epic length and depth. This could only be Pavie. It makes for a seductively stylish glass now, but patience will be rewarded if it is afforded 5-7 years in bottle, at least, then drink it over the next 30+ years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPImpressive aromas of pure, crushed blackberries and brambleberries with red and black licorice and black olives, as well as incense, following through to a full body with round, creamy tannins and lots of fruit. Yet, it’s tight and reserved at the finish. Needs three or four years to open and start showing its true character. Powerful and linear. Cellar-bound. Try after 2026.James Suckling | 99 JSThis is packed with raspberry, plum and boysenberry compote flavors that sail through thanks to the unencumbered feel provided by the polished structure. Fine chalky threads curl throughout as this opens in the glass, with flamboyant flashes of apple wood, anise and violet emerging through the finish. Youthfully dense, but everything is in proportion. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2025 through 2040.Wine Spectator | 98 WSPavie is positively striking in 2018. Rich and sumptuous to the core, the 2017 possesses stunning depth and impeccable overall balance. Dark cherry, mocha, plum, spice, new leather and licorice all build as the 2018 shows its allure. Silky, polished tannins round out the finish. This is a stellar showing from the Perse family. The 2018 is absolutely gorgeous.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGNot so long ago, Pavie would have rejoiced in the massive tannic and alcohol potential of this vintage, but they really have done a great job practicing restraint. It doesn’t sacrifice Pavie’s power but of all the wines in this particular lineup it’s the one that carries the weight of the vintage the best, building power by stealth rather than grabbing it from you. This is great quality, with inky depths to the black fruits, accompanied by liquorice and chocolate, and the beautiful salty lick on the finish really completes the picture - your tongue just licks the wall and it’s highly enjoyable! Harvest began on 26 September, later than some in the appellation, with a 38hl/ha yield. Although extraction was kept gentle, with the grapes given a week-long cold soak before fermentation at no more than 28°C, then a five-week maceration (longer than some, but these guys used to do eight weeks or more!), they have achieved a high tannin count of 97IPT and 3.58pH. Drinking Window 2028 - 2042.Decanter | 96 DEC

This is just so good. Not overly big, it has nuance, sapidity and grace, with space between the lines. It’s not sacrificing its concentration but it gives you a chance to get onboard and accompany it along the way. I love the quality of the brambled blackberry and loganberry fruit here, and the touch of austerity that gives a welcome note of bitter chocolate to the finish. It has great tannic grip and there’s no question that this will age well, but it’s also extremely drinkable now. Tasted several times, and each occasion blew me away. My favourite vintage to date from this property.47hl/ha yields, as in 2016.Drinking Window 2027 - 2042Decanter | 98 DECThe 2018 Pavie Macquin is a blend of 78% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it slowly, sensuously unfurls to reveal a gorgeous perfume of Black Forest cake, Morello cherries, baked plums and violets, with nuances of licorice, Indian spices and fertile loam. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has achingly plush tannins and fantastic freshness framing the spicy black fruit and mineral layers, finishing long and so, so fragrant. Wow—just stunning!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPOne of my favorite wines, the 2018 Château Pavie Macquin is 78% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon that comes from a cooler terroir above Pavie. This Cuvée is always hard to judge in its youth, since it’s often closed and reserved, but it builds beautifully with bottle age and offers an incredibly classic, complex, powerful, and elegant profile at maturity. Brought up in 70% new French oak, the 2018 reveals a dense purple hue as well as classic Saint-Emilion notes of cassis, black cherries, white truffle, chalky minerality, violets, and tobacco. Playing in the medium to full-bodied end of the spectrum, it has polished tannins, a wonderfully pure, elegant texture, and the balance and class to benefit from a decade of bottle age and keep for three decades or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 97+ JDViolets, blackcurrants, cloves, tobacco, orange zest and dark chocolate on the nose. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, silky tannins and fresh acidity. Sleek and refined with elegant floral and spice notes on a long finish. Interesting hint of bitterness at the end. Try from 2025.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2018 Pavie Macquin was impressive out of barrel. It has retained its opulent bouquet, perhaps becoming even more luxuriant and plush, offering copious black cherries, cassis and violet aromas and hints of vanilla pod and iodine in the background. The palate is where this really impresses, because its opulence is effortlessly counterbalanced by a bead of acidity that imparts freshness and tension. This is a multilayered Pavie-Macquin endowed with tremendous length on the aftertaste. Even after 60 seconds I can still feel this Saint-Émilion lapping upon my senses. Superb.Vinous Media | 96 VMSleek, pure, aromatic and streamlined version, with lovely cassis, cherry puree, violet and mesquite notes tightly wound together, while anise and savory hints peek in. Long finish is carried by chalky minerality. A wine of poise. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2024 through 2037. 5,500 cases made. Wine Spectator | 96 WSThe pure black currant fruits of this exemplary wine are matched with bright acidity and ripe, solid tannins. It is impressively rich and will certainly age well.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WE

This is a very linear red and layered at the same time, showing blackberry, blueberry, black-truffle, bark and stone character. Chalk and minerality, too. It’s full-bodied and well framed with gorgeous intensity and freshness. Muscular with wonderful structure and brightness. Salty and savory notes on the finish. Try after 2024.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2018 Troplong Mondot will take readers who haven’t tasted these wines in a few years aback. Stunning in its aromatic presence, the 2018 is silky, medium-in body and super-refined. Once again, I am blown away by the wine’s total sense of precision. The Cabernets are only 15% of the blend, and yet the 2018 is so strongly marked by floral and savory accents. Sweet red cherry, blood orange, mint, rose petal and lavender all build in the glass. The 2018 is regal, refined and absolutely exquisite.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGThe 2018 Troplong Mondot is blended of 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, with 15% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple colored, with considerable coaxing and swirling it slowly emerges from the glass like a waking giant, building to a towering bouquet of preserved plums, blueberry pie and Morello cherries with gentler wafts of violets, star anise, fruitcake and cast-iron pan. The concentrated, full-bodied palate possesses impressive purity and brightness of fruit commingled with richer, riper elements and supported by firm, velvety tannins, finishing with lovely freshness and on a lingering ferrous note. It’s a wine that’s not just delicious, it’s seriously interesting too.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThe 2018 Château Troplong Mondot showed beautifully. Based on 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc, it reveals a dense purple color as well as ripe beautiful aromatics of black cherries, red plums, graphite, espresso, Asian spices, and gravelly earth. Beautiful on the palate as well, it’s medium to full-bodied and has a rounded, expansive texture, plenty of mid-palate depth, building tannins, and present yet integrated oak. This classic, impressive Troplong Mondot will need 5-7 years of bottle age but will evolve for 30 years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDThe tannins are beautifully integrated into this velvet-textured wine. It has density and richness allied to concentration. At the same time, it has kept wonderful freshness and acidity to give it fine lift. The aging potential is obvious.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThis is a dense and profound wine, but it’s a little shy aromatically at present. The palate is juicy and well constituted with attractive volume, beautiful texture, silky tannins and an unreserved but unaggressive power behind. The finish is firm and persistent. Despite the alcohol, everything is balanced and contained. Aged in 60% new oak barrels. Drinking Window 2025 - 2040.Decanter | 95 DECThis shows the profile of the vintage, with a touch of plum pit and savory austerity along the edges of a core of red and black currant and cherry paste flavors. Late tugs of warm earth and tobacco on the finish. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2023 through 2035. 8,333 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

The 2018 Canon is every bit as magnificent from bottle as it was from barrel. Maybe more so. Vertical and explosive in the glass, Canon sizzles with tension and vibrancy. Readers will find a majestic, soaring Grand Cru Classé that captures all the magic of Saint-Émilion’s limestone plateau. Canon exudes mind-blowing precision and deliciousness. It is another magnificent effort from Technical Director Nicolas Audebert and his team.Antonio Galloni | 98 AGThe Grand Vin is the 2018 Château Canon, which is based on 72% Merlot and 28% Cabernet Franc brought up in 52% new French oak. Its incredible bouquet delivers richness paired with amazing freshness and precision, offering loads of crème de cassis and darker berry fruits intermixed with classic Saint-Emilion chalky minerality, graphite, scorched earth, and spring flowers. Gorgeous on the palate as well, with medium to full-bodied richness, ultra-fine tannins, flawless balance, and again, this wonderful sense of freshness paired with ample richness, it needs 4-5 years of bottle age and will evolve for 30+ years. The 2009 and 2015 are still my favorite vintages of this wine, but this is up there with the best of them.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDA beautiful Canon that performs the 360-degree trick in your mouth of expanding up, down and out. Of course a little austere right now at this young age, but already walking the tightrope towards richness; the creaminess in the texture becomes clear after 20 minutes in the glass. This has salinity, purity, precision and grip, showing its distinct personality and its ability to draw juice and mouthwatering expression from the fruits. Drinking Window 2026 - 2048Decanter | 98 DECBlackberries and tar with wet-earth and dark-bark aromas. Dark-chocolate and brownie notes, too. It’s full-bodied with creamy tannins and a round, caressing finish. Lovely focus and intensity, though dense and layered. Extremely creamy and polished. Really precise and bespoke. It already opens beautifully on the palate. Drink after 2025.James Suckling | 98 JSA blend of 72% Merlot and 28% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 Canon has a pH of 3.69 and 14% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple in color, it tumbles effortlessly out of the glass with a gorgeous perfume of candied violets, preserved plums, black cherry compote and Ceylon tea with hints of kirsch, powdered cinnamon, chocolate box and fertile loam. The medium to full-bodied palate is packed with juicy black fruit layers, supported by plush, oh-so-soft tannins and well-knit freshness, finishing long and fragrant.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97+ RPThis estate owned by the Chanel luxury group continues its winning streak with this latest release. Dark and firm at this stage but with obviously powerful, rich black fruits, the wine is destined for a long aging. Tannins and structure pour through dense blackberry and damson flavors, leaving room for a succulent aftertaste. Drink from 2026.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WERipe and focused, with a core of plum, black cherry and raspberry compote notes that are still a bit coiled up, though inlaid with a racy chalky spine and notes of black tea and tobacco that should all meld as it stretches out in the cellar. A restrained, refined, lengthy wine that drips with class. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2024 through 2038.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

Château Canon has been taking off over the past few years, and here you see why. Just so much complexity, depth, power, interest in the whole thing. This buzzes with life, rises above the palate, full of gunsmoke, truffle, raspberry, blueberry, so delicious. | 100 JAThe 2019 Canon is creamy and layered. A wine of immense charm and sensuality, the 2019 is immediately appealing today, but also clearly has the potential to age for many decades. The 2019 is not as exuberant as most recent vintages, and yet its balance is simply magnificent. Readers can expect an aristocratic Saint-Émilion that is holding so much in reserve. Patience is key. Tasted three times.Antonio Galloni | 98 AGThe 2019 Château Canon is another brilliant wine from this talented team that delivers everything you could want from this incredible terroir located on the upper limestone plateau. Based on 74% Merlot and 26% Cabernet Franc, it has a pure, incredibly refined, yet still powerful profile that takes time to unwind. Offering up beautiful notes of black raspberries, wild strawberries, spring flowers, chalky minerality, and graphite, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a layered, multi-dimensional mouthfeel, ultra-fine tannins, and a finish that’s something to behold. This isn’t the massive style of the 2015 and reminds me slightly of the 2016. It’s perfectly balanced and, again, the purity and finesse are off the charts. It needs to be forgotten for 4-5 years and enjoyed over the following 2-3 decades. Hats off to Nicolas Audebert for another sensational wine.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDSleek, elegant and appealing even before you get your nose near the glass. Aromatically it is deep and rich, and then it revs up and takes off. Dense, compact and intense, zingy limestone vibrancy and grip. Winemakers say they are looking for balance all the time, but here you feel it, with tiny pulses of electricity that appear from beginning to end of the palate. Salinity on the finish with gunsmoke and extremely moreish blueberry and blackberry fruit, with a creamy texture as things open up. 50% new oak. Thomas Duclos consults. (Drink between 2028-2050)Decanter | 98 DECThe 2019 Canon has turned out brilliantly in bottle, wafting from the glass with complex aromas of raspberries and red plums mingled with notions of raw cocoa, dark chocolate, pencil shavings and rose petals. Medium to full-bodied, seamless and multidimensional, it’s one of the most refined, elegant right bank wines of the vintage, with a deep core of fruit, beautifully refined tannins, lively acids and a long, perfumed finish. This is a superb achievement for Nicolas Audebert and his team.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPBlackberries, blueberries and dark chocolate with bark, mushrooms and chalk. Lavender, too. Full-bodied with firm tannins that are polished and velvety. White pepper, gesso and crushed stone. It’s full-bodied and layered with tightness and focus and a long finish. It’s solid and stalwart, as usual. Reminds me of the very special 1955. One for the cellar. Give this until 2026 to see what it really has.James Suckling | 97 JSViolet, cassis, plum purée and blackberry reduction notes are layered together without being compacted, giving each space to breath and unfurl while letting the fine lacy thread of chalky minerality to flow in between. This shows the heat and slight grain of this distinctive vintage, but manages those aspects better than most. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2025 through 2038.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

Lots of roses and dark fruit, such as blackberries and brambleberries on the nose. Full-bodied, yet tight and poised, with real focus and firmness and seamless tannins that run the length of the wine. Minerality and persistence in a cool way. This is very serious for the vintage and for the cellar. Try after 2025.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2019 Pavie Macquin has turned out very well indeed, unwinding in the glass with aromas of blackcurrants, cherries, burning embers, black truffle and licorice, framed by a deft framing of new oak that’s more discreet than was the case even a few vintages back. Full-bodied, layered and concentrated, it’s deep and layered, with a strikingly vibrant core of fruit, powdery, chalky tannins and a long, penetrating, youthfully firm finish. Tasted alongside older vintages, it’s clear that the Thienpont team have eased off extraction, which allows the quality of fruit that this fantastic vineyard produces to express itself all the more completely, delivering the finest Pavie Macquin since 1998.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96+ RPThe 2019 Château Pavie Macquin comes from a beautiful, cooler terroir located just outside the village of Saint-Emilion. A wine that always demands bottle age, its deep ruby/purple color is followed by a tight, reserved wine with notes of ripe cassis, mulberry, and blackberry fruits as well as notes of spring flowers, sandalwood, and flowers. The purity is truly something, and it’s medium to full-bodied, with a rich, layered mid-palate, beautiful tannins, and a great finish. This is a wonderfully complete, nuanced, flawlessly balanced Pavie Macquin that will round into form with just 5-6 years of bottle age yet keep for 2-3 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 96+ JDGorgeous ripe aromatic blackcurrants on the nose. Seriously expressive with sweet touches of milk chocolate - an element of Black Forest gateau to this. Direct and linear on the palate, focussed and precise but with excellent clarity and minerality. You get the blood iron, wet stone slate in both flavour and texture on the tongue against the high toned cherry and redcurrant fruit. Lots of energy here, it’s almost holding back from being fully expressive. Great potential and lovely finish with chocolate, minty freshness and liquorice spice. Drinking Window 2025 - 2043.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2019 Pavie Macquin is exotic and beguiling right out of the gate. Succulent dark cherry, white truffle, leather, tobacco, blood orange, cedar and mint all meld together in the glass. As always, Pavie Macquin is defined by its sumptuous fruit, plush contours and total allure. Pavie Macquin is not exactly subtle, but it sure is delicious. Antonio Galloni | 95 AGThis unfurls as seductively as a cashmere scarf, offering black tea and incense notes amidst a lush wave of dark plum, fig and blackberry reduction flavors. The subtle inlay of charcoal, tobacco and sweet bay adds length and detail through the finish. Gorgeous. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2024 through 2038. 5,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

Has any Bordeaux château realized a more wholesale stylistic revolution in so short a time than Troplong Mondot? Since Aymeric de Gironde arrived at the estate in late 2017, the ultra powerful "shock and awe" style of the 2000s is out, and a new refinement is in. Of course, the deep clays that define the core vineyards around the château itself are never likely to produce light or ephemeral wines, but de Gironde has astutely understood that (to develop an analogy), when driving down hill, one can ease off on the accelerator. The 2019 Troplong Mondot is a ringing endorsement of the new direction, wafting from the glass with complex aromas of wild berries, violets, coniferous forest floor, licorice, raw cocoa and subtle spices, followed by a full-bodied, velvety and layered palate that’s seamless and perfumed, its enveloping core of succulent fruit framed by rich, powdery tannins and lively acids. Harmonious and penetrating, I never thought I’d taste a wine like this from Troplong Mondot.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPThe purity of fruit is pretty phenomenal here with blackcurrants, cherries and crushed-stone undertones. Floral notes of roses and violets, too. Full-bodied, yet this is a linear style with super fine tannins and great length and beauty. You really want to drink it. It grows on the palate and shows real power, with breadth and depth. Remains fresh throughout. Really something. Try after 2026.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2019 Troplong Mondot is without question one of the wines of the vintage. Vertical and explosive in feel, the 2019 dazzles with its magnificent balance. Inky red/purplish fruit, cinnamon, chocolate, dried flowers and lavender open with a bit of time, but Troplong is not a wine for the here and now, but rather a wine for readers who can be patient. The 2019 is all class and refinement. Those qualities become increasingly apparent over time, once some of the initial power and density subsides with air. This is the first time the Grand Vin was blended before the malolactic fermentation. Antonio Galloni | 97 AG96–98. Barrel Sample. With its rich tannins and serious, concentrated structure, the wine is obviously set for a great future. The Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend offers structure as well as the fine line of blackberry flavors. Filled out with ripe Merlot, the wine shows richness with everything in balance.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WE

The 2019 Château Pavie is another beauty that offers more density and sexiness than just about every other wine in the vintage, yet it is still an unnecessarily restrained expression of this terroir, which is the fad in Bordeaux these days. Based on 50% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc, and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon that was brought up in 80% new French oak, this deep purple-hued effort has a great bouquet of ripe black cherries, darker currants, tobacco leaf, violets, and graphite, with a beautiful sense of minerality and salinity on the palate. Full-bodied, concentrated, and powerful, it has plenty of background oak, a deep, layered mid-palate, terrific tannins, and a great finish. It shows the more understated, elegant style of the vintage yet is still pure Pavie. Hide bottles for 5-7 years and enjoy over the following 30+.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDLots of blackberry and grilled meat with earth and spice. Some smoky undertones, too. Blackcurrants. Complex. Full-bodied with round, juicy tannins, yet they turn extremely fine and very linear and go on for minutes. Great length. A blend of 50% merlot, 32% cabernet franc and 18% cabernet sauvignon. Try after 2027, but already a joy to drink.James Suckling | 98 JS97–99. Barrel Sample. This wine has an aristocratic air. The tannins and fruit flavors are rich but not showy, indicating how this estate has found its stride. With its firm structure and bold black fruit tones, it is going to be a wine for long-term aging.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEThe 2019 Pavie is incredibly elegant right out of the gate. Aromas of crushed rose petal, cedar, mint and sweet pipe tobacco are immediately alluring. The 2019 is sensual and inviting, with no excess weight and fabulous overall balance. Blood orange, red/purplish fruit, cinnamon and mint develop effortlessly. Time in the glass brings out Cabernet Franc aromatics and structure, leading to a feeling of vertical intensity that is hugely appealing.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGDreamy right from the start, with a seductive mouthfeel to its mix of raspberry puree, cassis and creamed plum flavors infused with rooibos tea, black licorice and alder accents. Long and extremely fine-grained through the finish, with subtle floral lift and a lingering hint of chalky minerality. Gorgeous. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2025 through 2040. 8,000 cases made. Wine Spectator | 97 WSSuch an expressive nose, especially after five minutes, dark black bramble fruits with raisins and plums on the nose alongside touches of tobacco and coffee too. Quite refined on the palate, less upfront plump fruit and chewiness, more knitted and focussed with a juicy core yet still powerful, underlying and driving. It’s serious, muscular and strong, really a vein of direct fruit coated in wet stone minerality. I love the tension and acidity with the heady density of fruit and soft perfume around the edges. So much going on here. It’s a bold, confident style, but overall feels well made and purposeful. (Drink between 2026-2046)Decanter | 96 DECWhile the 2019 Pavie does display a touch more restraint that the wines produced here a decade ago, it remains one of the most powerful, extracted wines in all of Bordeaux, exhibiting a glass-staining, opaque purple-black color and a rich bouquet of cherries, blackberries and berry fruit liqueur mingled with sweet spices, loamy soil, licorice and rose petals. Full-bodied, powerful and muscular, it’s thick and textural, with a layered, multidimensional mid-palate laden with ripe fruit and rich, chewy tannins, concluding with a long, youthfully grippy finish. The evolution of the early Pese-era wines at age 20 leads me to suspect that time will be kind to this 2019, but couldn’t this great site—which naturally delivers elevated maturity combined with low pH—be rendered with more charm and sensuality?Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94+ RP

Like a bouquet of fresh flowers on the nose, as well as blackberries, raspberries and blackcurrants. Sandalwood as well. Full-bodied with incredibly polished tannins that have the texture of the finest velvet. The palate is very fine, oriented with fabulously pure fruit and minerally and stone undertones at the finish. It’s so classical in nature. Essence of Ausone. 60% cabernet franc and 40% merlot. From organically grown grapes. Best after 2027.James Suckling | 100 JSThe 2019 Ausone was picked September 20-27 for the Merlot and October 3, 5 and 7 for the Cabernet Franc, then matured for 20 months in new French oak with light toasting. This is very refined and focused on the nose, less opulent compared to recent vintages, and very sophisticated, with hints of Montecristo cigar interwoven through the red fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine but quite firm tannins that frame the lightly spiced black fruit. Touches of pencil lead and white pepper appear toward the prolonged finish. This very composed Ausone might actually drink earlier than other vintages but unequivocally has the substance to age with grace in bottle. There is an abiding sense of completeness here.Vinous Media | 99 VMUnwinding in the glass with deep aromas of wild berries, vine smoke, orange rind, exotic spices and violets, framed by a deft application of classy new oak, the 2019 Ausone is full-bodied, rich and concentrated, with beautiful purity of fruit, lively acids and ripe but abundant structuring tannins. Deep, layered and vibrant, it’s full of potential and will likely emerge as one of the most long-lived 2019s. This is another magical wine from what many consider to be Saint-Émilion’s greatest terroir, and it will demand and richly reward patience.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98+ RPThe en primeur sample of the 2019 vintage, as I did not taste in the spring. Full of vivacity and austerity, dominated by the Cabernet Franc, showing roundness and depth to the black fruits as they open, with clear bilberry, cassis and blueberry, a ton of gentle charred smoke notes and graphite. Strong opulence and huge tannins. A wine that is going to age for decades.Drinking Window 2029 - 2050Decanter | 97 DEC

The 2019 Château Nenin is truly fantastic, and my money is on it being the finest vintage to date for this estate. Based on 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc brought up in just 45% new French oak, it offers a pure, medium-bodied, ethereal style carrying gorgeous red and black fruits, spring flowers, damp earth, and chocolate aromas and flavors. It’s not a blockbuster and is all about purity, finesse, and elegance, yet it still brings beautiful richness and length. This gorgeous, seamless 2019 will drink well for 20-25 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDPerfumed nose of crushed stones, blackberries and violets. Medium-to full-bodied with very fine tannins and fresh, minerally undertones. So long, showing bitter chocolate that turns to hazelnut and cocoa bean. Tight and precise at the end. 70% merlot and 30% cabernet franc. Try after 2025.James Suckling | 95 JSThe layers of fruit come through strongly on the nose. Plum and raspberry richness wrapped up with raspberry leaf and sage, this just gently tiptoes through the palate. Extraction is careful and delicate and yet there is a lot of power. This is always a Left Bank style of Pomerol giving a restrained savoury feel with freshness and classicism. Opens slowly in the glass and needs time over ageing. In the cellar, they cut the extraction time down by half compared to 2018, because the skins were so thick. 40% new oak. (Drink between 2026-2040)Decanter | 94 DECThe 2019 Nénin has turned out very well. A burst of red berry fruit, blood orange, mint, sweet spice and floral accents gives Nénin its effusive, charming personality. Best of all, the 2019 will be easy to drink pretty much upon release. All the elements are impeccably balanced throughout.Antonio Galloni | 93 AGA Merlot-dominant blend complemented by 30% Cabernet Franc, the 2019 Nenin offers up notes of sweet berries and plums framed by creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, supple and fleshy, it’s rich and enveloping, with an ample core of fruit and supple structuring tannins. Four hectares on gravel soils adjacent to Trotanoy lend structure, but the 2019 is so polished out of the gates that it might be easy to miss it.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RP91–93. Barrel Sample. This Pomerol estate, owned by Domaines Delon, has produced a structured, dense wine, dominated by 70% Merlot. Rich tannins and black currant fruits are knit together by the wood aging that shows in the spiciness. The wine’s core of tannins is sure to give it aging potential. Wine Enthusiast | 92 WEDelivers warm plum sauce and blackberry reduction flavors that cruise through, with a velvety structure and a finish marked by licorice root and anise accents. A solid, forthright Pomerol. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2023 through 2035. — JMWine Spectator | 91 WS

Sweet dark fruits on the nose, like black cherry jam with lovely touches of Cabernet Franc apparent in the herbal, perfumed nuances. Super soft and succulent, this is rich and concentrated but delivered in a velvet glove - sculpted. Clearly powerful with a dark core of black fruits but with such an appealingly smooth texture and lift all the way through. Freshness is key here and this has a cooling mint, liquorice and mineral aspect from start to finish. Svelte and supple, this has structure and sophistication. A classy, well made wine. Easy to recommend. Tasted three times.Decanter Magazine | 95 DECFrom an estate that appears to be on an upward trajectory, the 2019 Château Beauregard is a textbook 2019 with its pure, elegant, seamless style. Black cherries, darker currants, leafy herbs, and floral notes all emerge on the nose, and its wonderfully textured, medium to full-bodied, has gorgeous tannins, and a great finish. It’s up with the 2018 and certainly one of the finest vintages I’ve tasted from this address. It will drink well for 15-20 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDA perfumed nose of blackberries, blueberries, dark cherries, sweet praline, chocolate and dried lemons. Medium-to full-bodied with fine tannins. Beautiful sweetly spiced fruit with a fleshy texture and a flavorful, creamy finish. Drink from 2025.James Suckling | 93 JSThe 2019 Beauregard is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, it prances out with a fragrant nose of dried roses, fallen leaves, and tilled soil over a core of plum preserves and kirsch. The full-bodied palate delivers a grainy texture and seamless freshness to support the muscular fruit, finishing savory.The Wine Independent | 92 TWIThe 2019 Beauregard offers up a rich bouquet of plums, cherries, baking chocolate and licorice, followed by a full-bodied, fleshy and sumptuous palate that’s broad and enveloping, with an ample core of fruit, melting tannins and ripe but succulent acids. This is a gourmand, demonstrative Pomerol that’s already drinking well. This certified-organic estate on the edge of the Pomerol plateau, opposite Petit Village, has been replanted at higher density and benefits from carefully winemaking.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

Lovely soft spicing on the nose, liquorice touches and bramble fruits - gorgeous aromatics on show. Excellent clarity on the palate, this has a silky smooth texture with bright fruit flavours. Extremely youthful and brimming with energy. Fruit forward with cherry and cherry stone nuances. Really quite playful in the best way with charming fragrant touches from start to finish, - 2019 was the ’year of perfume’ according to Alexandre Thienpont. So much to like here.Decanter | 94 DECThe 2019 La Gravette De Certan is a solid second wine offering plenty of up-front richness and suppleness as well as classic Pomerol darker cherry and currant fruits, notes of damp earth, tobacco, and hints of flowers, beautiful balance, and enough ripe tannins to keep it drinking well for over a decade. I’d be thrilled with a bottle on the table.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDThe 2019 La Gravette de Certan, 100% Merlot, is deep garnet-purple in color. It races out with bright, expressive notions of black cherries, raspberry preserves, and fresh plums with hints of crushed rocks and black olives. The full-bodied palate delivers a lively backbone and nice ripe, approachable tannins with a lifted finish.The Wine Independent | 93 TWIThe 2019 La Gravette de Certan is a fleshy, charming wine, bursting with aromas of cherries, minty blackberries and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, ample and giving, it’s sensual and succulent, with an enveloping core of fruit, supple tannins and lively acids. It’s entirely composed of Merlot this year and largely derived from vines planted in 2010, supplemented by a plot planted in 1998.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RP

A brilliant success for this property in the ascendant, the 2020 Berliquet opens in the glass with aromas of dark berries and cherries mingled with hints of warm spices and violets. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it’s vibrant and dynamic, with polished tannins, a bright spine and a long, elegantly chalky finish. It represents another step up for Berliquet, which will soon benefit from a new winery.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPAnother brilliant Saint-Emilion in the vintage, the 2020 Château Berliquet is mostly Merlot yet includes close to a third Cabernet Franc, which no doubt contributes to its elegant, finesse-driven, floral character. It’s incredibly pure and classy, with notes of red and blue fruits, sappy spring flowers, graphite, and baking spices all emerging on the nose. These carry to a medium-bodied, ultra-fine, pure, seamless 2020 that offers pleasure today and will offer pleasure in 15+ years as well. This wine is never the biggest or richest in a vintage, but it shines for its purity, balance, and elegance. It’s beautifully done.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDBlackberry with charcoal and dark earth aromas that follow through to a medium to full body with fruit, iron and moss flavors. It’s structured and well-formed with excellent balance of acidity. Drink after 2027.James Suckling | 94 JSGorgeous fragrance on the nose, really so inviting and scented. Smooth and supple, crisp and fresh, lovely purity of expression here, still quite subtle and delicate, salty, tangy, wild herbs, liquorice, clove and dark chocolate. Not bright in so much as the fruits are quite dark - blackcurrant and cherry, but such concentration with a lightness of touch. Very well worked, focused, pure, detailed, decisive and forward with chalky tannins, expressive of terroir. Lovely style on show here. Another amazingly good wine from this stable in 2020.Decanter | 93 DECA big wine with rich tannins and a dense structure, the wine is solid, the clay soil showing both in the wine’s ripeness and its power. It is a fine wine, concentrated and with layers of black plum flavors. Drink this wine from 2026.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEThe 2020 Berliquet is another step in a direction favoring finesse over the burly power that often marked the wines of the past. Delicate and nuanced, with pretty floral top notes, this mid-weight Saint-Émilion is a charmer. Drink it over the next decade or so.Vinous Media | 92 VMNicely rendered, with a fresh, focused core of damson plum and red currant coulis laced with a floral edge and backed by a refined chalky note. The finish features warm tobacco accents to the blossom notes. A restrained style. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2024 through 2035. 3,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

From the up-and-coming Castillon region, just east of Saint-Emilion, the 2020 Château D’Aiguilhe has a floral, cassis, and black raspberry-driven style that shows more tobacco and classic limestone minerality with time in the glass. It’s medium to full-bodied, has fine tannins, and the balance and class to evolve for 10-15 years. It’s a seriously good Castillon, even better than the brilliant 2019.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDViolet reflections, great clarity of colour and immediate whoosh of salinity through the redcurrant fruits. Powerful and focused with bright berry flavours, it practically defines the term crunchy fruit, then softens to show creamier black cherry purée as it relaxes in the glass. Really a very tasty d’Aiguilhe from Vignobles Comtes von Neipperg. Extremely moreish. Harvest September 17 – 28, 30% new oak.Decanter | 93 DECAromas of cassis, dark berries and cherries mingle with subtle hints of incense and spices in an inviting bouquet to introduce the 2020 d’Aiguilhe, a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered wine with powdery tannins and the lively acids that are typical of this later-ripening, limestone-rich sector. Always a notable value, this age-worthy cuvée has turned out very well this year.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPThe 2020 d’Aiguilhe captures all of the exuberance of the vintage. Jammy and explosive, the 2020 offers up a heady mélange of raspberry preserves, mocha, spice and rose petal. This lush, extravagantly rich wine is a real beauty, but the style is definitely pushed in the direction of ripeness and textural intensity. Give the tannins a few years to soften.Vinous Media | 92 VMNicely rendered, with a very pure beam of cassis and cherry puree leading the way, gently infused with violet and savory accents. The fresh, focused finish is sneaky long. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2034. 20,000 cases made, 2,200 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WSBlack cherry, black berry and orange peel with some cedar aromas, follow through to a medium body with fine and chalky tannins. Dried herb and bark undertones. Some salt, too. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 92 JS

This is from only the old vines in the clay and gravel soils on the plateau. Really fantastic. It’s medium-to full-bodied and the tannins just roll off the palate at the end. Dark fruit and spices. So long. One of the best modern wines from here? 68% merlot and 32% cabernet franc.James Suckling | 97-98 JSThe 2020 Nénin is compelling from bottle. Crushed flowers, bright red-toned fruit, blood orange, cinnamon, spice, leather and incense give the 2020 tons of aromatic and flavor complexity. The 2020 offers a striking balance of textural richness and vibrancy. I very much admire the energy and overall class here.Vinous Media | 94 VMAn estate that seems to have hit new heights as of late, the 2020 Château Nenin is another beautiful, ripe, yet balanced and elegant wine from this château. Ripe black cherries, hints of cassis, leafy herbs, chocolate, and earth all define the aromatics, and it’s medium to full-bodied, with fine, integrated tannins and a great finish. I like it today, but this has two decades of prime drinking ahead of it.Jeb Dunnnuck | 94 JDBlack pepper, liquorice, cedar, cinnamon, some dark chocolate on the nose, quite savoury and dark in nature. Floral and aromatic, with some potent black fruit aromas. Heady, smooth and succulent, quite mouthwatering but also a bit severe, the liquorice tang coming through and giving this a bit of potency. A touch woody and lacking in charm right now, but packs a punch and is glamorous. Structured for the long run.Decanter | 94 DECBig, ripe and smoky with already a good balance between the black plum fruits and the sweet tannins. The wine is certainly rich, given structure by the Cabernet Franc. The finish brings great freshness. Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEAromas of cherries, sweet berries, rose petals and orange rind introduce the 2020 Nenin, a medium to full-bodied, pure and lively wine with a deep core of fruit, powdery tannins and a penetrating finish. This serious, age-worthy Pomerol illustrates this estate’s upward trajectory.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93+ RPEnticing, with a mix of boysenberry, mulberry and blackberry fruit moving along seamlessly, infused with black tea, anise and apple wood accents. Reveals a savory flicker that sparkles on the finish. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2036.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

This is linear and creamy with lovely, fine tannins and dark-berry, violet, stone and licorice character. Medium-to full-bodied, racy and fresh. Charming. Freshness at the end.James Suckling | 93-94 JSPerfumed and heady with blue fruits and bramble. Lean and straight, there’s a real austerity to this, serious liquorice on the palate, a touch dry, you get the feeling of heat and fruit. A little reserved right now; tense and serious, but has backbone and weight. It’s dark, savoury, coiled and tense, with drive and texture, displaying tobacco, graphite and an iron, mineral tang.Decanter | 92 DECThe 2020 Monbousquet is a blend of 70% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, coming in with an alcohol of 14.69% and a pH of 3.75. It is aging in French oak barriques, 50% new. With a deep purple-black color, it prances out of the glass with showy scents of crushed black plums, mulberries and Morello cherries, plus touches of dried Provence herbs, charcoal and forest floor. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers expressive black and red berry layers, framed by plush tannins and just enough freshness, finishing on a fragrant earth note.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93+ RPAlmost always a winner, the 2020 Château La Tour Carnet offers a terrific, medium-bodied, concentrated style as well as classic notes of ripe currants, darker cherries, spicy wood, and graphite. It has the vintage’s more focused, classic, structured style, with ripe tannins and outstanding length. It’s well worth seeking out and is going to evolve for at least a decade.Jeb Dunnuck | 91 JDThe 2020 Monbousquet is a heady, exotic wine. Blackberry jam, bittersweet chocolate, spice, new leather and espresso are all kicked up. Explosive and deep, the Monbousquet packs a serious punch. The tannins are pretty imposing today, but élevage should take care of that.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM

A ripe, rich red that delivers loads of crushed-berry, chocolate and walnut character, as well as fine tannins through the center palate. Layered texture.James Suckling | 94-95 JSLots of mulled cherries, blueberries, iron, and bouquet garni emerge from the 2020 Château Faugeres, a rich, focused, yet fruit-loaded barrel sample that has a good sense of purity and elegance. I was able to taste two bottles, both showing medium to full-bodied richness, with one having slightly more precision. Both showed great mid-palates, and this is certainly a beautiful wine in the making. Two to four years should do it well and it’s going to have two decades of longevity.Jeb Dunnuck | 93-95 JDDeep purple-black colored, the 2020 Faugères stampedes out of the glass with a herd of powerful black fruit notes: blackberry pie, baked black plums and ripe, juicy black cherries, plus hints of wild mushrooms, damp soil, tar and star anise with a waft of tobacco. The full-bodied palate is chock-full of black fruit preserves, framed by ripe, rounded tannins and oodles of freshness, finishing long and earthy.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93 RPThe 2020 Faugeres offers ripe black plum and boysenberry fruit on the nose, which is extravagant and verging on ostentatious, though somehow it maintains focus and delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with red cherries, boysenberry, cola and light allspice notes on the entry. Well balanced with impressive depth toward the fleshy finish, leaving a lick of dark chocolate on the aftertaste. This is a fine Faugeres that should be afforded 4–5 years in bottle.Vinous Media | 91-93 VMAlways a concentrated wine and with low 23hl/ha yields it is expectedly so. This translates as intense charred oak on the nose, but they have done a good job of balancing it with ripe berry fruit alongside liquorice and black chocolate. Sleek and confident with clear depth. Another wine that shows the success of Cabernet Sauvignon in the right places of St-Emilion.Decanter | 91 DEC

The 2020 Château Chauvin offers up a vivid purple hue as well as a meaty, powerful nose of ripe black cherries, roasted herbs, jus de viande, graphite, and a terrific sense of minerality. Showing more floral nuances with time in the glass, it’s medium to full-bodied, has a concentrated, layered mouthfeel, the building tannins of the vintage, and outstanding length. Give it 2-4 years and enjoy over the following two decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 94+ JDChocolate, bay leaves, oregano and blackcurrants. Full-bodied, with firm yet nicely ripe and polished tannins. Broad and seamless. Caressing and velvety at the end. Try from 2026.James Suckling | 93 JSThe 2020 Chauvin has a clean and precise bouquet with dark berry fruit, cedar and crushed stone, becoming more floral with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, again, as it showed from barrel, overtly peppery in style but not excessively so. Fine delineation on the saline Valrona chocolate-tinged finish, this is a very capable Saint Émilion Grand Cru.Vinous Media | 92 VMBeautiful aromatics on the nose which is fragrant and full. Bright acidity and a lively red fruit profile on the palate, more strawberry and redcurrant than black fruits, with searing acidity that does come across as a touch drying right now, along with some salty, wet stone notes and lashings of dark chocolate, cedar, cocoa and liquorice. The grainy tannins and woody elements linger on the cheeks and stop the fruit progression a little early, but this has good potential.Decanter | 92 DECThe wine has richness that imbues the tannins with generosity. The juicy berry flavors and acidity are already succulent. It is the core of dryness that promises the agingWine Enthusiast | 92 WEComposed of 70% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, aging in French oak barrels, 60% new, for 15-18 months, the 2020 Chauvin has a deep purple-black color and vibrant scents of crushed black cherries, black raspberries and juicy blackberries, plus hints of violets, clove oil and dusty soil. The medium to full-bodied palate is densely packed with muscular black and red berry layers, framed by firm, fine-grained tannins and bags of freshness, finishing long and fragrant.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93 RP