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Pungent aromas of ripe fruit and white truffles, turning to blueberry. Full and very ripe, with velvety tannins and a long, lightly raisiny finish. Open it and see.--’88/’98 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2008). Drink now. 9,580 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSA wine of beautiful purity, symmetry, and grace, this complex, dark purple-colored 1998 reveals abundant quantities of black fruits infused with notions of new oak and graphite, medium to full body, sweet tannin, admirable elegance, and beautiful richness. Anticipated maturity: now-2015Robert Parker | 90 RP

A full-bodied red with soft and silky tannins that gives the wine definition and brightness. Savory and fresh. Beautiful now.James Suckling | 93 JSA revelation, this stunning wine (also reasonably priced) has turned out to be even better than I thought. Opaque purple-colored, with gorgeous ripeness and richness, a big, sweet mid-palate, and a seamless finish revealing loads of fruit, chocolate, glycerin, and ripe tannin, this opulently-styled 2000 will have few detractors. It is hard not to be totally seduced by this effort. Kudos to proprietor Bernard Magrez and his omnipresent oenologist, Michel Rolland. Bravo! Anticipated maturity: Now-2015.Robert Parker | 91 RP

Made in an elegant, surprisingly low key style for La Mondotte, the concentrated, delicious, opaque purple-colored 2001 builds incrementally on the palate. An impressive bouquet of black cherries, creme de cassis, toast, and minerals is followed by a medium to full-bodied effort with nicely integrated wood, acidity, and tannin as well as a long finish. This is a brilliant wine, and one of the finest efforts of the vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2017.Robert Parker | 94 RPSolid red with loads of spicy, rich berry fruit, with just the hint of spice. Full-bodied, with a well-integrated fruit and tannin structure. Long finish. Tight and firm now. Needs time. This is very serious. Best after 2006. 740 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThe 2001 La Mondotte, which I had tasted twice before, has a pleasant bouquet of raspberry coulis and crushed strawberry scents, hints of peppermint and orange blossom emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with simple red berry fruit, maraschino cherries and touches of blueberry, fine acidity and dark chocolate and espresso notes toward the finish. This was always a more elegant style of La Mondotte, one that did not appeal to me in its youth, but does now. Cropped at 20hl/ha and matured in 100% new oak for 18 months.Vinous Media | 92 VM

This estate continues to merit substantial praise. Let’s hope in the upcoming revised Classification of the Wines of St.-Emilion, Troplong Mondot merits elevation to Premier Grand Cru Classe, which it has deserved for some time. Not far off the pace of the spectacular 2000, the 2001 is performing even better from bottle than it was from cask. A gorgeous perfume of plum jam, creme de cassis, flowers, licorice, black fruits, a hint of graphite, and well-integrated wood notes is followed by a medium to full-bodied St.-Emilion with superb texture, great flavor purity, and tremendous harmony as well as elegance. Remarkably approachable despite its impressive concentration and well-concealed tannin, this is a beauty. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2017.Robert Parker | 93 RPThe 2001 Troplong Mondot, which is almost entirely Merlot, has a little more amplitude and personality on the nose than the previous vintage, offering a mélange of red and black fruit, blood orange and a sprinkling of white pepper. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins and crisp acidity. It tightens up in the glass, turning slightly powdery in texture, and delivers dark cherries, sloe and fig with good persistence. Like the 2000, this is quite precocious and forward, but it shows more tension and complexity toward the finish. Still solid after two decades, this should be decanted or left for another 5­–7 years in bottle.Vinous Media | 92 VMThis is a dark and rich red with lovely spice, berry and dark chocolate character. Slightly overextracted, but there is a good core of fruit and silky tannins. Give it time in the bottle. I like it as much as the 2000, though it’s slightly sleeker in style. Best after 2007. 5,415 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

Troplong Mondot’s 2003 is a brilliant success in this vintage, largely because of the limestone soils and incredibly low yields. There are nearly 70 acres of vines in production, yields were tiny, and the harvest was early. Nevertheless, there is an opulence and youthfulness in this wine that suggest it has at least a decade of life left. A luxurious effort with high glycerin, loads of blueberry, mulberry, black currant, licorice and charcoal ember-like notes, full body, low acidity and sweet tannin, this beauty is close to full maturity and can be drunk now as well as over the next decade.Robert Parker | 94 RPRed-ruby. Sappy aromas of very ripe redcurrant, tobacco and minerals. Fat, sexy and deep, with flavors of redcurrant, plum, tobacco and spice lifted by the wine’s mineral component. Wonderfully rich, full-blown wine, finishing with serious toothcoating tannins that call for at least four or five years of patience. This is close to 14% alcohol, but even this vintage of Troplong-Mondot has more acidity than the 1990.Vinous Media | 92 VMBeautiful plum, berry and raspberry aromas follow through to a full-bodied palate, with refined tannins and a long, caressing finish. Very nicely done. Best after 2009. 3,915 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

This is certainly one of the stars of the vintage. With its solid tannins and dark, smoky character, it is going to be powerful, but with such elegance. The fruit flavors combine richness and freshness in fine harmony.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEIntense aromas of tar, blackberry and wet earth, with just a hint of tobacco and flowers. Full-bodied, chewy and long. Extracted, yet turns caressing and velvety in texture. Broad-shouldered and muscular for this estate. This is better than the 2000. Best after 2012. 3,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WSThe 2004 Cheval Blanc has always been a wine that I felt needed patience on behalf of the wine lover, and so it is proving to be the case. Served blind I remarked upon a surprisingly Burgundy-like bouquet with ample red cherries, candied strawberry and redcurrant scents, the Merlot clearly more conspicuous than the Cabernet Franc, at least for now. The palate is medium-bodied with just a touch of coarseness on the entry. I appreciate the weight and balance here and belatedly the Cabernet Franc begins to express itself on the latter half, lending structure and grip, a dash of spice and a bit of sinew. Whilst it will never have the persistence of other vintages and regrettably continue to be dwarfed by the 2005, it remains a very fine Cheval Blanc from Pierre Lurton and his team. Tasted September 2016.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 92 RP-NMGood bright ruby-red. Subdued but pure aromas of plum, flowers, licorice, menthol and Asian spices. Suave on entry, then dry and tight in the middle; extremely backward and shut down. Most impressive now for its finesse of texture. But today there’s little sign of the fleshiness the wine showed in the spring after the harvest. Lock this one away for a while and forget about it. This vintage has more cab franc than merlot.Vinous Media | 90+ VM

Stunning aromas of black truffles and blueberries, with Valrona milk chocolate undertones. Full body, with a wonderful core of fruit. This just dances on your palate. A wine that makes you smile. Superb. Best Valandraud ever? Try in 2002.James Suckling | 97 JSDeep garnet colored, the 2009 Valandraud is truly strutting its stuff right now with a bold, flamboyant nose of Black Forest cake, molten licorice, blackberry preserves and baked plums plus touches of kirsch, candied violets, star anise, unsmoked cigars, incense and a compelling waft of smoked meats. Full-bodied, the palate is a pedal-to-the-metal, fruit-n-spice blockbuster with a full-on sexy texture of beautifully plush, rounded tannins and tons of freshness to lift the very long, very perfumed finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPShowing beautifully, the 2009 Château Valandraud has shed considerable baby fat and reveals an incredibly classic, balanced, nuanced style today. Textbook notes of blackcurrants, white truffle, lead pencil, balsam wood, and hints of chocolate emerge from the glass. These carry to a full-bodied, concentrated Saint-Emilion with a layered, multi-dimensional texture, sweet tannins, and just a sexy, opulent, undeniably delicious style that’s a joy to drink. It’s rock star stuff today yet has another 10-15 years of prime drinking, after which I suspect a gradual decline.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDThe 2009 Valandraud has a ripe and opulent bouquet with precocious red fruit, fig and rose petals, a little warmth of alcohol blurring the edges and becoming more tarry with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent plush, saturated tannin. This is sleek and modern in style, heady and concentrated with a decadent finish. It conveys a sense of purity. The bottle tasted in 2017 showed a tad more precision on the finish. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 94 VMRacy and beautifully defined, with a sleek graphite frame to the mouthwatering loganberry, blackberry and linzer torte flavors. Shows lots of toasted spice on the finish, but is well-integrated, with a gorgeous mouthfeel. This has ample fruit, but remains very suave. Best from 2013 through 2025. 1,080 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WSBig, floral, ripe and juicy, this epitomizes the richness of the 2009 vintage. It offers firm tannins and generous, forward fruits.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WE

Tasted from several bottles in recent months, the 2012 Canon is a stupendous wine for the vintage and if anything, it appears to be improving with each encounter. It clearly serves up more than enough volume and fruit intensity on the nose compared to the impressive 2011 Canon: it is very pure with black cherries, wild strawberry, asphalt and blood orange. This is very well defined and beautifully focused. The palate is medium-bodied, silky smooth and with that thrilling sense of frisson. There is so much vivacity wound up inside this Saint Emilion that it would not surprise me if it turns out to be one of the very best in 2012. Tasted January 2017.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 94 RP-NMThe 2012 Canon is a rich, smoky, meaty 2012 that checks in as blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc. Ripe black cherries, melted licorice, chocolate, and a touch of scorched earth all emerge from this classic, structured effort that has terrific concentration, a pure, backward style, ripe tannin, and a great finish. It’s nowhere near ready for primetime (this wine didn’t start to open up until the second day after opening) and needs a solid 5-7 years of cellaring but will see its 30th birthday in fine form.Jeb Dunnuck | 93+ JDA red with blueberry, blackberry and walnut character. Chocolate too. Medium to full body, fine tannins and a fresh finish. This is tight and dense. Extremely polished tannins and a long finish. Another 2001. Better in 2018.James Suckling | 93 JS(Château Canon) Château Canon is one of the top wines yet again in St. Émilion in the 2012 vintage, despite the percentage of the blend undergoing malo in barrel creeping up to thirty percent in this vintage (it was about twenty-five percent in 2010- though I am not sure when this practice started here). The cépages this year is seventy percent merlot and thirty percent cabernet franc, the alcohol content is fourteen percent, and the wine was raised in eighty percent new wood. The harvest started here on October 3rd for the merlot, and was completed by October 16th for the last of the cabernet franc. The superb nose offers up a ripe and very pure blend of blackberries, black cherries, menthol, Cuban tobacco, a great base of soil, espresso and a stylish base of nutty new oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with ripe tannins, excellent focus and balance and a long, nascently complex and very, very classy finish. A beautiful Canon in the making. (Drink between 2025-2070).John Gilman | 93+ JGThis dense, extracted wine has dark coffee and bitter chocolate flavors that are followed by wood and tannins. The fruit is still obscured, and may need many years for its dark character to emerge.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEGood bright red-ruby. Coffee and chocolate scents of new oak complement deep strawberry and dark cherry aromas on the brooding nose. On the palate, sweet cassis, black plum and mineral flavors are lifted by an element of peppery herbs. Finishes youthfully dry, with building tannins and suggestions of herbs, pepper and mint. Lovely balance and precision here: Canon has really turned the corner in the last several years.Vinous Media | 89-92 VMDisplays a rather firm coating of chalk dust and vanilla notes, with a core of subdued plum and blackberry fruit. Verges on an extracted feel, but comes out solid and sculpted in the end.Wine Spectator | 88-91 WSBeautifully poised wine. Fresh, elegant and perfumed on the nose. Juicy and fine on the palate. Delicate extraction. Fine, long tannins. Drinking Window 2020 - 2030.Decanter | 91 DEC

A full-bodied, firm and intense red with blackcurrants, toasted walnuts, violets, smoked paprika and dried herbs on the nose. Sturdy frame from firm yet polished tannins. Powerful and wonderfully integrated. Better from 2026.James Suckling | 94 JSI loved the 2020 Château Bellevue, and this might be the finest vintage I’ve tasted from this address. Lots of cassis and blue fruits as well as toasted spice, chocolate, and chalky minerality emerge from the glass, and it’s medium to full-bodied, with a great texture, ripe tannins, and a nice mix of freshness and richness.Jeb Dunnuck | 92-94+ JD

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 RPBlackberry 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 JSAnother 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 JDGorgeous 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 WENicely 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 WSThe 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 VM

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+ JDComposed 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 RPChocolate, 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 WE

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