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This is so fine and refined with currant, crushed stone, lime stone and fresh mushroom. It’s medium-bodied with fine tannins that run the length of the wine. Minerally finish. Tight and racy. Drink after 2025, but already beautiful.James Suckling | 96 JSComing from the home estate of Pierre Seillan, who’s behind the incredible wines of Vérité in Sonoma, the 2019 Lassègue sports a deep purple color as well as a great nose of blueberries, mulberries, tobacco, dusty earth, and flowery incense. It’s an exotic, full-bodied Saint-Emilion with beautiful balance, plenty of ripe tannins, the vibrancy and freshness of the vintage, and a great finish. It’s a beautifully complex 2019 that’s going to evolve nicely for two decades or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 93-95 JDRich plum in colour, this grips right from the off, and moves slowly and carefully through the palate, revealing brambly blue and red fruits, and a lovely sense of energy and uplift. Extremely good quality, with sage and saffron edges alongside layers of fine tannins that close in towards the finish, slowing things down even more. This will age well, and is an elegant yet concentrated wine.Decanter | 94 DECThe 2019 Lassegue is deep purple-black colored. A little closed to begin, it is soon tumbling out of the glass with notes of fresh, juicy blackberries, black cherry compote, and wild blueberries, plus suggestions of menthol, nutmeg, cracked black pepper, and aniseed, with floral touches of lavender and roses. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers fantastic freshness and bags of crunchy black fruits, framed by finely grained tannins, finishing long and with compelling energy. 6,935 cases were made this year.The Wine Independent | 93+ TWIThe 2019 Lassegue unwinds in the glass with aromas plums, wild berries, pencil shavings and dark chocolate. Medium to full-bodied, deep and lively, with powdery tannins, bright acids and a rather understated, elegant profile for an estate that can often deliver rather dramatic wines, this will reward a little patience.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92+ RPThe 2019 Lassègue is packed with super-ripe dark cherry, plum, sweet spice, new leather, licorice, kirsch and a kick of sweet French oak. This is an especially ripe, succulent style, but it works well.Vinous Media | 90 VM

The 2019 Le Tertre Roteboeuf is a terrific success from the Mitjaville family. This amphitheatrical vineyard on the clay-limestone slopes of Saint-Laurent-des-Combes, planted with low, cordon-trained vines, has delivered a striking wine that wafts from the glass with aromas of cassis, blackberries and cherries mingled with notions of violets, cigar box, sweet spices and loamy soil. Full-bodied, layered and concentrated, with a deep core of fruit, velvety tannins and lively acids, it will richly reward a decade and more of bottle age. Interestingly, proprietor François Mitjaville contended that 2019's distribution of rainfall had tended to invert the usual stylistic distinction between Tertre Roteboeuf and Roc de Cambes, his wine from the Côtes de Bourg; yet, on the day of our tasting, geology trumped weather, because as usual the former was more sensual, the latter blockier and more structured.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPThe 2019 Tertre-Rôteboeuf is fabulous. In most vintages, Tertre-Rôteboeuf is exuberant, but in 2019 it is a bit more strict, a bit more linear in construction. That's not a bad thing at all, it just means the 2019 might need a few years in bottle to be at its very best. Black cherry, espresso, licorice, new leather and menthol gradually open in the glass. I especially like the energy here.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGThe 2019 Château Tertre Roteboeuf shows the more elegant, polished style of the vintage nicely yet still has that sexy, perfumed, complex style that's the hallmark of this cuvée. Loads of crème de cassis, kirsch liqueur, tobacco, white chocolate, espresso, and violet notes emerge on the nose, and this full-bodied beauty has a wonderful sense of balance and elegance, present tannins, and a great finish. It's going to be a relatively accessible vintage from this great estate, yet I would bet on it evolving for 25 years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 95-97 JD

One of the biggest successes on the upper plateau is the 2020 Château Clos Fourtet, and it does everything right in the vintage. A magical, perfumed bouquet of red plums, black cherries, white truffle, and white flowers just screams Saint-Emilion, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, flawless overall balance, a dense mid-palate, and a liqueur of rocks-like minerality on the palate. Building incrementally with time in the glass, this is thrilling stuff that should offer some up-front appeal in its youth yet benefit from 7-8 years in the cellar and keep for 30 years or more. Bravo! The blend is 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3% Cabernet Franc that’s still resting in 50% new French oak.Jeb Dunnuck | 97-99 JDThe 2020 Clos Fourtet is a blend of 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc, harvested from 15th to 30th September and weighing in with an alcohol of 14.5% and a pH of 3.6. It is being aged for 14-18 months in 50% new oak barrels, 48% second-fill barrels and 2% amphora. Deep garnet-purple in color, it comes bounding out of the glass with ripe, expressive notes of crushed black plums, juicy black berries and black cherry preserves, followed by hints of ground cloves, cinnamon stick, camphor and cedar chest. The medium to full-bodied palate is jam-packed with bright, vivacious black fruits, framed by velvety tannins and bags of freshness, finishing with great length.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96-98 RPA wine of stature and breeding, the 2020 Clos Fourtet is absolutely breathtaking from barrel. A rush of lavender, graphite, spice, licorice and espresso hits the senses. Vibrant and powerful, yet also remarkably light on its feet, the 2020 has so much of offer. All the elements are so crisp, so beautifully defined. The 2020 is all class. It is one of the most promising wines of this young vintage and a fabulous effort from the Cuvelier family. Don’t miss it.Vinous Media | 96-98 VMPlush damson and blueberry on the nose, there is juice and a tightrope walking concentration of fruits. An excellent Clos Fourtet, with a juicy edge where the magic of limestone in dry summers is very much showing through. A yield of 40 hl/ha. 14 to 18 months ageing in underground limestone cellars. 2021 sees 20 years of the Cuvelier family at Clos Fourtet and this is an excellent wine to showcase what a brilliant job they have done here. Score could go higher after barrel ageing. Drinking Window 2028 - 2044.Decanter | 96 DECThis is really something with so much tension and focus and a persistent, long finish that lasts for minutes. It’s full-bodied, yet tight and so long. Such polish and finesse. Elegance with power.James Suckling | 95-96 JSThe renaissance of Clos Fourtet continues, even in this difficult vintage. This wine has great fruit, layering black currant with berries. It’s a precise wine, pointing up the structured tannins while leaving room for a juicy, fruity aftertaste. Drink from 2020.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WE

The 2020 Franc Mayne is dense, resonant and beautifully explosive in the glass. Sumptuous dark red/purplish fruit, rose petals, mint and lavender all saturate the palate. This heady Saint-Émilion really delivers the goods. There’s plenty of energy and tension to balance the more forward nature of the Merlot. Superb.Vinous Media | 96 VMThe 2020 Franc-Mayne has turned out beautifully, wafting from the glass with aromas of dark berries, spices and licorice, followed by a medium to full-bodied, layered and seamless palate of real class and purity. Vibrant and polished, with vibrant fruit, powdery tannins and a long, perfumed finish, it’s further evidence that this is an estate on the rise.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPA pretty, floral, exotic 2020, the 2020 Château Franc Mayne has ample red and blue fruits as well as flowery incense, orange blossom, and sandalwood notes in a medium to full-bodied, silky, elegant, already irresistible package. While it’s not massive, it has terrific concentration and intensity, supple tannins, and a great finish. It’s going to evolve gracefully for 15 years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDPolished, juicy and with grip. A little austere right now, but this has layered blueberry and black cherry fruits, drawn out by waves of liquorice and slate. Last year with director Martine Cazenave in charge before retirement. Winemaker Sophie Mage used to work with Artemis Estates in the Rhône. 18 months in new oak barrels, wood casks, amphoras and ovoid concrete vats.Decanter | 92 DECThis has a pretty mix of violet and cassis laced into a darker plum core, while lively anise and black tea details add to the finish. Nice streamlined finish. Drink now through 2035. 1,600 cases made, 900 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 91 WSAromas of freshly crushed berries, dried herbs, violets and walnuts follow through to a medium body with fine-grained tannins and a juicy red fruit character. Vivid finish. 100% merlot. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 91 JS

Deep purple-black colored, the 2020 La Gaffeliere gallops out of the glass with exuberant scents of crushed black plums, boysenberries and fresh blackberries, plus hints of eucalyptus, dark chocolate, crushed rocks and iron ore, with a waft of lavender. The medium to full-bodied palate shimmers with compelling energy, delivering layers of black and red berries with fantastic tension and finely grained tannins, finishing very long and wonderfully minerally.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96-98 RPThe 2020 La Gaffelière is simply magnificent. Soaring, regal aromatics are immediately alluring. Deep and beautifully layered in the glass, the 2020 is vibrant and packed to the core. In 2020, the tannins are especially fine and silky for a Saint-Émilion that often shows a bit more tension in its youth. Bright red cherry, blood orange, mocha, spice, dried herbs and leather envelop the palate effortlessly. I imagine the 2020 will provide readers with many decades of exceptional drinking. It is another superb effort from a property that continues to impress.Antonio Galloni | 96-98 AGBlackberry and black-olive aromas and flavors. Full-bodied with layers of fine tannins that fill the mouth. Expansive finish. The tannins are very fine, but abundant. Really impressive.James Suckling | 96-97 JS95–97. Barrel Sample. Incredibly perfumed from the rich Cabernet Franc that gives this wine its real identity. A fine smoky character shines through the firm tannins. This and the wine’s delicious fruits promise great things as it develops.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEAn run of successful vintages at La Gaffeliere, and this again proves why it is an estate to watch, striking an expert balance between power and finesse. Offers a ton of cassis, blackberry, black cherry and damson fruits, licorice root and crushed stone, just gorgeously juicy and stretches out across the palate. Austere tannins at this point, plenty of limestone character, a little tight on the finish but with a velvet texture and promises to age with grace. A yield of 42hl/ha. (Drink between 2028-2044)Decanter | 95 DEC

Rather tropical fruit aromas like pineapple and mangoes, as well as white peaches and lemons with hints of stones and minerals. It’s full-bodied with plenty of fruit, yet it’s fresh and steely. Lots of white peaches at the end. Hints of lees too, like bread dough. 80% sauvignon blanc and 20% semillon.James Suckling | 96 JSCola, liquorice and ripe blueberries on the nose - perfumed, heady and expressive. So delicious on the palate, smooth and driving with excellent energy - a youthful tension to the mid-palate. Sleek and stylish with a gorgeous texture, perfectly weighted to give a mouthfilling expression yet keeping a refined and focused delivery of black fruit, liquorice and floral flavours. Impressive and supremely pleasurable - this makes you want a glass immediately. Spicy, and perfumed because of the Cabernet Franc but all the better for it with 59% Cabernet Franc and 41% Merlot.Decanter | 95 DECThe 2020 Le Petit Cheval is stunning. Rich, deep and expansive, the Petit Cheval is outrageously good. In fact, it could easily be mistaken for a Cheval Blanc from anything less than a great vintage. The aromatics are alluring and the balance is sublime; all that really identifies this as a second wine is a bit of mid-palate depth. Sweet floral and spice accents extend the effortless, gracious finish.Vinous Media | 94 VMI wrote in my note on the 2020 Château Cheval Blanc Le Petit Cheval that this is "one hell of a second wine," and it has a kiss of the elegance and complexity found in the top cuvée. Black fruits, roasted herbs, graphite, and scorched earth notes all emerge from this ruby/purple-hued beauty, which has medium to full-bodied richness, ripe, polished tannins, and a great finish. It will drink nicely for 15+ years.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDThis second wine shows so many of the rich, dense qualities of the top wine. Bold black fruits are sustained by serious tannins and a dry core. It will age well. Drink from 2026Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEThe 2020 Le Petit Cheval offers up aromas of minty cherries, plums, raw cocoa, mint and spices, followed by a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and voluptuous palate underpinned by a broad-shouldered chassis of tannin. A blend of 59% Cabernet Franc and 41% Merlot, it’s a rather structured young Petit Cheval that will reward a bit of patience.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91+ RPSleek and solid, with a well-defined core of dark currant and black cherry puree lined with black licorice and sweet tobacco. Boasts black tea and warm paving stone accents through the finish. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2033.Wine Spectator | 91 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 JSThe 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+ RPThe 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 VMPerfumed 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 DECAlmost 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 JD

The 2020 Pavie Macquin is sensational. Rich, dark and explosive, the 2020 balances the natural richness that is such a signature of the estate with a level of energy and vibrancy I have not seen here in the recent past. The result is a towering, imposing Pavie Macquin that hugely delivers. In this vintage, regisseur Nicolas Thienpont did not use the Cabernet Sauvignon, so the blend is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, with the Franc lending aromatic presence, energy and depth. What a total knock out!Vinous Media | 100 VMI have never had a Pavie Macquin like this. It’s so fresh and vivid with black cherry, currant and raspberry character, as well as citrus. Some mineral and spice. Salt, too. The palate is full and linear with a verticality that takes you so deep and long. Endless. Transparent. Drink after 2028.James Suckling | 98 JSVivid and vibrant nose, full of rose petals, lilac floral edges, strawberries and black cherries. Forward, expressive, perfumed, alive. Sensual on the palate, smooth, velvety soft, intense but well balanced with a gorgeous plush, mouthful of ripe tannins. Really very good with the right intensity, structure and push. Powerful but controlled, poised yet plush, wild and raw yet pretty too with tons of energy and St-Emilion glamour. Has a core of juicy, bright red fruits with a grainy, herbal edge to the strawberries, a lovely bitterness, and edges of liquorice, slate and wet stone - nuanced and aromatic. I love this, they haven’t pushed too far and the acidity is brilliant. Clean and precise.Decanter | 97 DECThe dense purple-hued 2020 Château Pavie Macquin checks in as a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc from yields of 31 hectoliters per hectare and a selection of 85% of the production. Incredibly pure cassis and blueberry fruits as well as complex spring flowers, liquid violets, white truffle, and a liqueur of limestone-like minerality define the aromatics, and it’s medium to full-bodied on the palate, with ultra-fine tannins, the vintage’s pure, focused, structured profile, and a great finish. As in most vintages, this beauty is not for instant gratification and needs 7-8 years, if not a decade of cellaring to show its potential. It’s another true vin de garde from the team of Nicolas Thienpont (Stéphane Derenoncourt also consults) that readers will love to have in their cellar.Jeb Dunnuck | 96+ JDThis full wine’s ripe black fruits are velvety in texture and density. Inherently powerful, the wine keeps a great sense of proportion and balance. It has good acidity, with the freshness and balance coming together. Drink from 2027.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThe 2020 Pavie Macquin is performing well in bottle, unwinding in the glass with aromas of sweet raspberries and cherries mingled with notions of orange zest, violets, spices, bay leaf and vine smoke. Medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, it’s deep and fleshy, its ample core of fruit framed by youthfully firm, chalky tannins. As usual, it’s more structured than Larcis Ducasse, and it remains a bottling that will demand some patience, even if the Thienpont team have subtly eased off on extraction over the last few vintages, a welcome trend that I hope will be pushed further.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPVery expressive, with a lovely violet and cassis set of aromas and flavors that spill forth, though this keeps focus and form, as subtle minerality and a very fine-grained structure allows this to flow gracefully through the finish. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2028 through 2040. 4,800 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

Perfumed nose, full of pot pourri, scented flowers, dried raspberries and cherries. Really quite evocative, maybe in a vertical you’d pick this out from the nose but it smells wonderful and rich with cool blueberries. Round and charming, this is gorgeously soft, tannins are so inviting, caressing the mouth, not deep at all, this is delicate and primed to float across the tongue, registering the flavours but no heaviness. Almost ethereal in its performance. Really very delicious, full of flavour and character. Gorgeous styling and only got better after half an hour in the glass. Succulent, mineral, graphite, limestone touches on the finish remind you where you are.Decanter | 97 DECFull-bodied, but so elegant and fresh, with a silky, elegant tannin texture. Very deep and expansive. Lots going on already with plenty of perfume. Blueberries, cloves, lavender and some wild-berry notes. Dark cocoa, too. Some espresso character at the end. Wonderful interplay of spices and fruit. Long. It keeps going.James Suckling | 96-97 JSWith 65% Cabernet Franc, this is a structured wine. Fine perfumes show in the sandalwood and toast aromas, and this luscious wine is dense and solid with tannins for aging. It is concentrated, but with elegance and a bold freshness at the end. Drink from 2028. Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEA blend of 65% Cabernet Franc and 35% Merlot, the 2021 Ausone has a deep garnet-purple color. It storms out of the glass with an initial burst of juicy black plums, blackberries, and Bing cherries, leading to an undercurrent of fragrant soil, wet slate, lilacs, and tar, with a touch of bay leaves. The light-bodied palate has impressive intensity and tension, featuring a frame of beautifully ripe, rounded tannins to support the tightly stacked black and red berry layers, finishing long and mineral-laced. Around 16,000 bottles were made.The Wine Independent | 96 TWIThe 2021 Ausone is a gorgeous wine, but it is also quite reticent and in need of time to come around. The operative word here is balance, as all the elements are so well put together. Soft, gentle contours wrap around a core of succulent red/purplish fruit, blood orange, spice, lavender, rose petal and dried herbs. The 2021 is compelling.Vinous Media | 95 VMThe 2021 Ausone was the fruit of a challenging growing season, the estate’s second year in organic conversion coinciding with notable diseases pressure, but the resulting blend of 65% Cabernet Franc and 35% Merlot (featuring a touch more Cabernet Franc than normal) was one of the most seductive wines of the en primeur campaign, its exotic perfume and crystalline purity evoking the great Ausone vintages of yesteryear and offering an unvarnished representation of this superb limestone terroir. In bottle, the 2021 remains an excellent wine, but at least out of the gates, its élevage (in 90% new oak, predominantly from Demptos and Taransaud, with four rackings) has taken the lead, intermingling aromas of vanilla, spices and toast with discreet notes of minty dark berries, cherries, petals and pencil shavings. On the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied, layered and fleshy, with an ample and enveloping core of fruit that retains its energy and purity but which gives way to a finish marked by somewhat assertive barrel tannins. Given the inherent quality of the wine and the terroir, I’m sure time will be kind to it, but I’m not quite sure it will ever realize the magical potential it showed in April 2022.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94+ RPThe Grand Vin 2021 Château Ausone is Cabernet Franc-dominated, made from 65% Cabernet Franc and 35% Merlot that saw the same 20 months in 90% new French oak. It offers classic notes of redcurrants, cassis, iron, spicy wood, and graphite, with hints of tobacco and thyme in the background. Rich, medium to full-bodied, concentrated, and tight on the palate, it has beautiful mid-palate depth, ripe, balanced yet present tannins, and a gorgeous finish. It will need 7-8 years, if not a decade, to hit maturity but is a beautiful, elegant, gorgeous Ausone that will be one of the longest-lived in the vintage.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JD

The 2021 Canon shows just how magical this site is. Vertical and explosive in feel, with tons of pure power, it impresses with its intensity, drive and super-classic profile. Bright saline notes and vibrant tannins give the 2021 a feeling of energy that only gains momentum with time in the glass. It’s not an easy Canon, like the 2015 or 2018, but it is incredibly expressive. It is the sort of wine that only truly emerges with time in bottle. I would be thrilled to own it. Canon must surely be one of the great relative values in first-class wine. Wow. Tasted two times.Vinous Media | 97 VMLots of crunchy red cherries and blue plums followed by violets, fresh sage and Christmas spices with baking spice and coconuts. Medium- to full-bodied with superb fine-grained racy tannins and beautifully refreshing acidity that gives an edge to it. Gorgeous finesse and elegance with harmony and precision. Delightful, too. Already drinkable but give this a few more years to come around. Try after 2026 and it should be beautiful for a long time.James Suckling | 97 JSDark chocolate, perfume, violets, wild flowers and bramble berries on the nose, so much going on aromatically. Lovely succulence straight away, the bright acidity giving a mouthwatering effect and really delivering in terms of vibrant and lively fruit forwardness but with these lovely edges of graphite, slate, bitter chocolate, cream and salinity. So elegant and so refined as well as super stylish. I also love the cooling menthol Cabernet aspects you get all the way through and on the long finish. This has real class, but also an effortless quality to it that is so remarkable. One of the most memorable wines of the vintage! 3.37pH. Both Canon, Rauzan-Segla and Berliquet are excellent achievements this year.Decanter | 96 DECRed and black fruits mingle with the firm structure of this dense wine. The tannins are solid while the ripe berry flavors show well against the wine’s richness.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThe 2021 Canon opens in the glass with a pure bouquet of raspberries, cherries and plums mingled with pretty top notes of iris, licorice, mint and sweet spices. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it’s fleshy and sensual, with a deep and seamless core of fruit framed by ultra-refined tannins, a bright spine of acidity and a long, mineral finish. With an impressively low finished pH of 3.37, it was taken out of barrel a month earlier than usual and saw no fining—as has been the case since 2010.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPFrom a château you can’t go wrong with, the 2021 Château Canon is another head-turning, elegant, seamless wine that comes from unquestionably one of the greatest terroirs on the upper plateau of Saint-Emilion. Based on 71% Merlot and 29% Cabernet Franc that hit 13.55% alcohol, it will spend 18 months in 50% new barrels. It shows the vintage’s fresher, elegant style beautifully, with lots of perfumed red fruits, spice, flowers, and chalky notes. These carry to a medium-bodied, seamless, elegant Saint-Emilion that has supple tannins, a notable sense of freshness (although I suspect the pH is solid), and a great finish.Jeb Dunnuck | 93-95 JDThe 2021 Canon is a blend of 71% Merlot and 29% Cabernet Franc with yields of 40 hl/ha and aging for 16-18 months in French oak, 50% of it new. Deep garnet-purple colored, it is slightly closed to begin, revealing subdued notes of juicy black plums and boysenberries, plus hints of Morello cherries, cinnamon stick, clove oil, and Sichuan pepper. Medium-bodied, the palate has a solid backbone of fine-grained tannins and bold freshness (pH 3.37) supporting the vibrant black and red fruits, finishing long and minerally.The Wine Independent | 90-92 TWIFresh and open in feel, with loganberry and blackberry notes laced with mulling spice, black tea and savory hints. Concludes with a potpourri echo. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2035.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

The 2021 La Gaffelière is a wine of sublime elegance and understated finesse. Aromatic and pliant, the 2021 shows the more delicate side of the year, yet all the Gaffelière signatures are present. Lavender, mocha, spice, dried herbs and leather are some of the many notes that grace this exquisite Saint-Émilion. The balance here is mind-blowing. Give this time, as it won’t be ready to drink anytime soon.Vinous Media | 96 VMThe 2021 La Gaffeliere is a blend of 50% Cabernet Franc and 50% Merlot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs a little swirling and coaxing to unleash vivacious scents of wild blueberries, black raspberries, and black cherries, followed by hints of licorice, crushed rocks, wood smoke, and tapenade, with a waft of red roses. Medium-bodied, the palate is beautifully knit with lots of black fruit, floral and savory layers, framed by firm, ripe, grainy tannins and fantastic tension, finishing long and mineral-laced.The Wine Independent | 94-96 TWILovely reduction at first that gives an ashy feel to the red berries, crushed stones, subtle cream, hibiscus and some dark-colored fruit. The medium- to full-bodied palate unleashes plenty of fine-grained tannins. Fresh, bright and more vertically structured than many of its peers from this vintage, but it remains polished and textured. Lingering finish. Drink from 2024.James Suckling | 94 JSThe 2021 La Gaffelière is quite rich and generous by the standards of the vintage, wafting from the glass with aromas of cherries and raspberries mingled with licorice, pencil shavings and creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and seamless, it has good depth at the core, lively acids and a sapid finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPSucculent and supple, sugary, ripe, jammy tannins hit the palate with such a buzz and energy. It’s not so complex at this point but I like the upfront nature: it’s bright and bold, with bitter, salty minerality also coming through at the end - liquorice sticks, cedar, graphite. Clean, crisp and very enjoyable. Tannins are so smooth just perfectly integrated. Will be great in time and I love the cool mint aspect on the finish.Decanter | 93 DECPresents a pretty solid core of black cherry and cassis notes (for the vintage), while apple wood, sweet tobacco and black tea flavors fill in. The finish reveals a sanguine, chalky underpinning, which stays fresh and helps minimize the vintage’s austere side. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2035. 7,500 cases made, 500 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

The 2021 Troplong Mondot is fabulous. It offers up a rush of dark red-toned fruit, crushed rocks, leather, menthol, cedar and blood orange. As always, Troplong Mondot is marked by a strong presence of Cabernet Sauvignon that seems to add brooding intensity, muscle and power. I tasted it three times. A bottle given a brief decant of about 20 minutes showed best. The 2021 spent 13 months in oak (two months less than normal), in a mix of 60% new, 21% 20-hectoliter cask and 19% once-used. The 2021 is a Troplong Mondot of extreme purity and class.Vinous Media | 96 VMBright purple rim to the wine. So many aromas on the nose, really captivating and full - dark chocolate, pink flowers giving a soft perfume, cinnamon, raspberries, black cherries and liquorice too - all intensifying over twenty minutes in the glass. Super bright and charged on the palate, this is off like a firecracker from the initial impact, giving tangy strawberry, red cherry and raspberry fruit flavours. It’s got power no doubt, but a delicate, light style, not so concentrated and intense more lifted and aerial with tension. So much energy here, the flavours come in waves on the palate, red fruits, cooling blue fruits, exotic spices, flowers and fresh minty, stone notes with a real mineral salinity on the finish. It’s perhaps not so weighty or full in the mouth like previous more opulent vintages, but there is clarity and definition of elements on show. I love the mineral finish, so Troplong. Extremely refined. First vintage in the new cellar facilities which helped with precision.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2021 Troplong Mondot unwinds in the glass with aromas of dark berries, cherries and plums mingled with violets, exotic spices and smoke. Medium to full-bodied, deep and complete, the wine is layered and complex, with all the depth and authority that one expects from this clay-driven terroir, its concentrated core of fruit underpinned by sweet tannins and lively animating acids, concluding with a long, resonant finish. A blend of 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc with a remarkably low pH of 3.35, it’s the first vintage produced in the estate’s state-of-the-art new winery.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPElegant and refined nose with a classy touch of spices and mineral to the red currants and berries. Very sleek and linear on the palate with super polished, immaculate tannins and a very long finish. Not a powerful vintage for sure, but this is all about finesse and subtlety. Already drinkable, but can hold for a decade.James Suckling | 95 JSA blend of 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2021 Troplong Mondot is deep garnet-purple colored. Energetic notes of baked plums, wild strawberries, and black raspberries jump from the glass, followed by hints of tar, licorice, black olives, and truffles. Medium-bodied, the palate is plush and energetic, with a lively line and long minerally finish.The Wine Independent | 90-92 TWIFresh, if a touch on the skinny side, with bitter cherry and pomegranate notes carried by a chalky structure, while savory accents dart around throughout. Pretty, silky finish. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2025 through 2033. 10,000 cases made, 1,000 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 90 WS