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The 1996 Leoville Barton is deep brick-colored. It gallops out of the glass with powerful, classic scents of blackberry preserves, dried mulberries, and tobacco leaf, with hints of cedar chest and crushed rocks, plus a waft of wild sage. The light-bodied palate has a sturdy backbone of chewy tannins and a lively line to frame the impactful, mature, Cabernet flavors, finishing long and lifted.The Wine Independent | 95 TWIThe 1996 Leoville Barton appears more youthful than the 1996 Langoa Barton in the glass with a healthy deep garnet core. The aromatics unfurl gracefully in the glass revealing briary, wild hedgerow, black truffle and sandalwood scents -- firmly in secondary aroma stage but with appreciable presence and intensity. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannin that form its firm and classic structure, spice, white pepper and cloves infusing the slightly animally red berry fruit. This is an adorable Léoville Barton that is occupying a very "happy" place at the moment -- superb precision, old school claret at its best. Decant for an hour no more, then enjoy. Tasted July 2016.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 93 RP-NMFull ruby color. Blueberry, roasted nuts, mint and a hint of game on the nose. Fat, sweet and multilayered; rich, ripe and deep. Offers a generous mouthfeel for a young ’96 from the Medoc. Substantial ripe tannins spread out over the palate. Very long, ripe aftertaste.Vinous Media | 92 VMWild berries on the nose, with an exotic flower undertone. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a long, rich finish. Gorgeous red. Give it time.--’95/’96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2008.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

Hello. Take textbook St.-Julien warmed fig, blueberry compote and blackberry reduction notes along with ample graphite, bramble and tobacco flavors, then dial it up a notch. This has terrific energy to offset the admirable depth and length, and hasn’t even started a second phase yet. One of the stars of the vintage.—Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Best from 2018 through 2033. 20,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSDecadent aromas of strawberry tart, earth, meat, spices, that gives way to flowers and currants. Full and very soft, with refined tannins with a very long finish. This is just starting to open up right now, a real beauty. Soft and delicious with a great future. This will be better in 5 years, but you can enjoy this now. Pull the cork in 2015.James Suckling | 96 JSRight from the early days of tasting in spring 2001, this was going to be one of the stars of the vintage. And a star it remains. There is big, ripe fruit, with solid, ageworthy tannins. It may not be as powerful as some of the blockbusters of the vintage, but it is certainly more opulent, less classical than Léoville-Barton can sometimes be.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEI found this to be one of the more backward wines of the 2000 vintage and gave it a window of maturity of 2015-2040 when I reviewed it in 2003. In my two recent tastings of it, I changed that window to 2018-2050, which probably says more than the following tasting note could say. This is a behemoth – dense, highly extracted, very tannic, broodingly backward, with a dense purple color and very little evolution since it was bottled 8 years ago. Wonderfully sweet cedar and fruitcake notes are intermixed with hints of creme de cassis, licorice, and earthy forest floor. It is full-bodied and tannic, with everything in place, but like so many wines that come from Leoville Barton, it makes a mockery of many modern-day consumers wanting a wine for immediate gratification. Those who bought it should continue to exercise patience and be proud to own a wonderful classic with five decades of longevity ahead of it.Robert Parker | 95+ RPNo written review provided. | 94 W&SThe 2000 Léoville-Barton has a juicy, ripe bouquet of macerated black cherries, incense, potpourri and veins of blue fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, good density, nice structure and a sappy conclusion. This has opened up in recent years and displays a touch of ash toward the finish. Drinking perfectly now, it’s a decent Léoville-Barton that never quite achieves the heights of recent stellar vintages.Vinous Media | 90 VM

The completeness of 2001, with its miraculous balance, is present in this wine. The acidity, ripe blackcurrants sit comfortably on top of dry tannins, the fleshiness of the fruit taking the edge off the tannins. It seems to bring out the structure, the fruit and the refreshing acidity of great Cabernet.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThis is one of the best vintages of the past 30 years, utterly and absolutely gorgeous. It was first vintage made with Isabelle Davin as the in-house oenologist. Rich and welcoming fruit structure, effortless in how it makes its presence felt, with a mouthwatering finish of charcoal and slate that tempers any suspicions of over-ripeness. This is floating out of the glass, it’s currently at that moment when the great Médoc wines take flight. Even with the gloss of Léoville Poyferré there is no mistaking those Médoc tannins. Drinking Window 2018 - 2040Decanter | 94 DECThe 2001 Léoville Poyferré, which I had not tasted for a decade, is very harmonious on the nose and features slightly darker fruit than the 2000, offering blackberry, cedar, fresh tobacco and smoke aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with rounded, lithe tannins, fresher than the 2000 and more backward. It has a disarming velvety texture and turns spicy toward the finish. Hints of clove and bay leaf linger on the aftertaste. Excellent.Vinous Media | 93 VMNo written review provided. | 93 W&SSweet notions of plums, black currants, caramel, and spicy oak are provocative and alluring. Subtle but substantial, layered, and textured, with medium body as well as sexy, up-front flavors, low acidity, and ripe tannin, this beauty is among the most evolved and flamboyant of the appellation. Nevertheless, it should age well. Anticipated maturity: now-2016.Robert Parker | 90 RPSmoky and rich with lots of spice and berries. Medium- to full-bodied, with very good tannins with soft and silky texture and a medium finish. Not as impressive in bottle as barrel, but outstanding. Best after 2008. 20,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

The spectacular 2003 Leoville Poyferre exhibits a dense purple color with a touch of lightening at the edge as well as notes of creosote, barbecue smoke, jammy black currants, licorice and spice box. This intense, voluptuously textured, full-bodied St.-Julien possesses low acidity and ripe tannin. Still fresh and exuberant, it is just entering its plateau of full maturity where it should remain for 10-15+ years.Robert Parker | 96 RPI love the rich and opulent nose to this with flowers, plums and currants. Full and powerful with great freshness and balance. Still a little tight, yet dense and intense. Wonderful wine through and through. Leave it alone for five or six years still. Pull the cork after 2016.James Suckling | 95 JSPure cassis on the nose. Impressive. Full-bodied, thick and powerful, with loads of fruit and big, velvety tannins. Goes on for minutes on the palate. Huge wine. Very, very impressive. This is one of the big surprises of the vintage. Best after 2012. 19,165 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS(Château Léoville Poyferré, Cabernet Sauvignon, St-Julien, Bordeaux, France, Red) Smells really lovely, you get that burnt caramel note, cola, sour cherry, some bramble blackcurrant and dried flowers in the background. Really chewy and mouth filling, I love the texture - tannins, fruit and acidity are well integrated and gently mouth filling - a charming success without the markers of the hot vintage. You get the minerality on the tongue, the soft cinnamon and turmeric spice with blackcurrant and blackberry fruits and a cooling, lifted finish. Excellent expression. A joy to drink now, and perfect with food. A fantastic 2003. 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot. (Drink between 2022-2036)Decanter | 94 DECA huge, opulent wine that packs sweet, rich tannins and spicy fruit. In the midst of all this decadence, though, is a kernel of tannic dryness. This estate, long the weakest of the three Lèoville wines, is now back in top form. Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEVibrant red in color, reserved behind a wall of new oak, this wine offers concentrated black cherry and damson plum flavor with delicious richness. Then the tannins strike, mostly mineral in the end, fine, but not fresh (as the color and fruit had initially led me to believe). Give it a few years to mature, then serve it with a steak for pure hedonism.Wine and Spirits Mag | 92 W&SThe 2003 Léoville-Poyferré has always been one of this infamous vintage’s success stories. Perhaps in recent years it has lost some of its vigour on the nose with black plum, brown spices, leather and that light Bovril aroma, but there is better delineation than many others. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and quite savoury. It is beginning to show some dryness and little monotony on the finish. I wonder whether its best days are behind it? Still a very decent showing however. Tasted at the Léoville-Poyferré vertical at the château with Sara Lecompte Cuvelier..Vinous Media | 91 VM

Extremely lively palate, really quite bright, bold, powerful, chewy tannins fill the mouth but you get such power and concentration here. Feels more alive, slightly linear than the 2008, real tension still, so lively with energy that shoots across the palate. Such depth and just so drinkable. Tannins are mouth filling no doubt, they completely cover the mouth but so expressive, and elegant. Such refinement here but also such power. Only just at the start of its drinking window but one to carry on ageing, . First vintage with Didier Thormann as cellar master. 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot.Decanter | 97 DECVery clear and translucent with currants, blueberries and fresh mushrooms. Full-bodied with velvety tannins that are layered and beautiful. Together and polished with plushness and beauty. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 96 JSThis wine’s heady rush of flavor gave one taster goosebumps. She called it sexy. ’Formidable.’ Other technical descriptions included ’the shazam,’ ’has zazz,’ and ’unprintable. That’s some serious s#¡†.’ At the en primeur tastings, this ap­peared to be chunky and superripe. Now it’s massive, with dark extract and exotic spice, a sophisticated wine that ends on sweetness, bitter chocolate and dark berry fruit. With all the flash, it will give a lot of pleasure as a young wine, but it has the plump Poyferré terroir drive to sustain that pleasure for years to come.Wine & Spirits | 95 W&SHugely concentrated and packed with tannins, this wine shows considerable amounts of dark, extracted fruit. It wins out on impressive power, driving the fruit through the tannins, giving great richness.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WELéoville Poyferré’s dense ruby/purple 2005 is soft, round and juicy, with lots of blackcurrant fruit, plum and Asian spice. It is medium to full-bodied and, along with Léoville Las Cases and Saint-Pierre, probably one of the best St.-Juliens I tasted in this retrospective. It is surprisingly supple and accessible. Drink it over the next 15 or so years.Robert Parker | 93 RPThe 2005 Léoville-Poyferré really needed a number of hours to come together. An old school, powerful Saint-Julien, the 2005 Léoville-Poyferré packs a serious punch. Inky dark red fruit, iron, smoke, cedar, mint and white pepper lend striking aromatic depth. This virile, tannic Saint-Julien is a bruiser, but it is also pretty impressive. Tasting it feels like taking a step back in time.Antonio Galloni | 93 AGDark ruby red in color, with aromas of currant, blackberry, toasty oak and light cappuccino. Full-bodied, with ultrafine tannins and a beautiful, caressing aftertaste. Touches every part of the palate. Outstanding, but slightly disappointing after such a great showing from barrel. Best after 2009. 18,915 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

The first vintage made at the new winery, the 2008 Cos d’Estournel is drinking beautifully today, with terrific complexity as well as a silky, polished style on the palate. Made from 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc and revealing copious amounts of crème de cassis and black cherry fruit intermixed with notes of toasted bread, spice, and cedar, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a silky, sexy texture, and sweet tannin. Count me in as a fan. This beauty can be drunk today or cellared for another 15-20 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDThe medium to deep garnet colored 2008 Cos d’Estournel is blended of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. Pow! The nose explodes with notes of baked cherries, preserved plums, fried herbs, beef drippings and warm cassis with wafts of wood smoke, salami and tobacco leaf. Medium-bodied, the palate is elegant and earthy/savory in character, sporting beautifully ripe, grainy tannins and bags of freshness, finishing on a lingering mineral note.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThis big, smoky wine has great richness and a big, concentrated structure. The feel is dark, solid, based on spice, new wood and ripe black plums touched with red berries, the tannins sheltering beneath.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEA very decadent wine on the nose with so much meat, spice and ripe fruit character. Sea shell as well. Full body, tight and structured with silky tannins and a lots of intense fruit. Vibrant wine. Better in 2020 but already fascinating to drink.James Suckling | 94 JSThe 2008 Cos d’Estournel had one of the most backward, reticent bouquets that I encountered during my tasting. This is so sultry and broody, begrudgingly offering some lovely brambly red fruit mixed with pencil box. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin, plenty of black fruit laced with allspice, black pepper and sage, leading to a dense and concentrated finish that should see this age for 20 or 30 years. It does not really serve as a forerunner to the blockbuster 2009 because this is cut from a completely different cloth. (Tasted at BI Wine & Spirit’s annual 10-Year On tasting.)Vinous Media | 94 VMThis has a slight hint of the vintage’s crisp, angular feel, but there are impressive layers of fruit here, with a bright mineral edge cutting through the damson plum and red currant notes. This has put on a little bit of weight in the bottle, too. Showing well.—Non-blind Cos-d’Estournel vertical (December 2015). Drink now through 2021. 20,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS2008 was a fairly late and fresh vintage, with a low yield of 28hl/ha, which helped to ripen the Cabernet Sauvignon. The new cellars meant they could carefully isolate plots and carry out more precise extractions at low temperatures (maximum 16°C) to protect the fruit. This wine was austere and tight when young, full of rigidity that needed time to soften, but it now feels precise and carefully-wrought. This is just beginning to open up, showcasing clear spice notes. It’s a little hesitant, but there’s plenty of Cos d’Estournel signature polish. Drinking Window 2018 - 2036Decanter | 90 DEC

A dense, beautifully structured wine. It shows intense, ripe fruit with balanced acidity. It’s the fine tannins that give it such class, surrounding the fruit, promising long aging. This is a classic for Léoville-Barton.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThis was always one of the wines of the vintage with currant, cassis and chocolate aromas and flavors. Full body, chewy and polished tannins and a fresh and fine finish. Tight now but so beautiful. Decant a couple of hours before serving.James Suckling | 94 JSThe 2008 Léoville Barton has a lovely, heart-warming bouquet of ripe blackberry and cedar, touches of graphite, precise and supremely well focused. Classic Barton. The palate is medium-bodied, fresh and lively with impressive density; structured with a firm backbone on the graphite-tinged and tensile finish that suggests that it deserves another 3-4 years in bottle. Excellent. (Tasted at BI Wine & Spirit’s annual 10-Year On tasting).Vinous Media | 93+ VMTypically extracted and powerful (which is atypical in a vintage such as 2008), this offering may lack charm, but it is “locked and loaded” with plenty of background oak, huge black cherry and black currant fruit, medium to full body and a boatload of tannin. Forget it for 8-10 years and drink it over the following three decades.Robert Parker | 92 RPA fresh, elegant, incredibly classic wine from this estate, the 2008 Léoville Barton shows the concentrated yet focused, masculine style of the vintage. Ample graphite, cassis, violets, and cedarwood notes all flow to a medium-bodied Saint-Julien that has good acidity, present tannins, and terrific purity of fruit. It offers pleasure today, in a firm, classical sense, yet needs another 4-5 years of bottle age to hit maturity and will cruise for another 25+ years.Jeb Dunnuck | 92 JDThis is an excellent St-Julien with a brisk attack and a rather lovely restrained, savoury edge to the tightly structured black fruits. It has great texture, and a silkier flesh to the fruit which has depth and persistence. Fully ripe but not tiptoeing a single centimetre over the line - nor under it, unlike a few in this vintage. A good job. Drinking Window 2018 - 2035Decanter | 92 DECAlluring, with warm fig sauce, plum and currant paste notes liberally laced with espresso bean and dark roasted vanilla bean notes. Fleshy but focused, with the roasted edge adding definition and length. Drink now through 2019. 16,665 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

Super-ripe black cherry, plum, smoke, licorice make a strong opening statement in the 2008 Pichon Lalande. The late harvest that year yielded a decidedly super-ripe, exotic Pichon Lalande with captivating inner sweetness and gorgeous textural finesse. Naturally, the 2008 is young. Very young. Even so, it is stunning. Readers looking for an under-the-radar vintage to cellar of Pichon Lalande will find tremendous satisfaction and pure pleasure in the 2008. An Indian summer saved what had up until that time been a rainy and not especially promising vintage.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGThis displays real elegance without sacrificing power and impact. Flavours of damson, liquorice, charcoal and tobacco are layered, sexy and polished. I’m not going too far when I say that I love this. You can start drinking it soon, but it will stay on this current plateau for a good while. Drinking Window 2019 - 2036Decanter | 94 DECStylish wine, balanced, intensely elegant. It has freshness and also weight, encased in a structure that is poised, beautifully integrating black currant fruit and chocolate flavors.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThe 2008 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is a complex, elegant wine that offers pretty notes of blueberries, violets, plums, and flowers, with even a hint of menthol with time in the glass. Beautifully balanced, medium-bodied, and vibrant, with good acidity and moderate tannins, it shows the elegant, seamless style of the estate beautifully and can be drunk any time over the coming 20 years or more. The blend of the 2008 is 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot that represent a selection of 38% of the total production.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDA tight and tangy red with currant, spice and dried mushroom character. Full body, chewy tannins and a fresh finish. This needs time to open. Decant two hours or wait until 2020.James Suckling | 93 JS(Château Pichon-Lalande) The 2008 Pichon-Lalande is really a beautiful example of the vintage, and while it does not share the larger than life style of the 2009, it is a vintage that I decidedly prefer at this superb Second Growth. The nose on the ’08 soars from the glass in a beautifully complex and classy mélange of cassis, dark berries, coffee bean, a touch of youthful bell pepper, tobacco leaf, lovely soil tones and cedar. On the palate the wine is fullish, pure and intensely flavored, with fine mid-palate depth, stunning elegance and nascent complexity, moderate, refined tannins and exceptional length and grip on the seamless and utterly beguiling finish. This is a very, very strong vintage of Pichon Lalande. (Drink between 2018-2050)John Gilman | 93+ JGThe 2008 is a beauty in the style of the 1988. Although not performing as well as I predicted last year, it is unquestionably an outstanding effort as well as one of the better values from Pichon Lalande in many years. Its dense plum/purple hue is accompanied by sweet aromas of red and black currants, charcoal, herbs, underbrush and a hint of truffles. This medium-bodied, rich, concentrated blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc is an elegant, supple Pichon Lalande that can be drunk now or cellared for 15-20 years.Robert Parker | 92 RPBuilds slowly, as the mesquite and roasted plum aromas slowly give way to more layers of tobacco, hot stone, cassis, chestnut and graphite. The long finish really stretches out with mineral and tobacco notes. Best from 2013 through 2020. 15,571 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

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

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

Rich, dark and spicy in its aromatics and its fruit - really get that feel of a red wine steeped in aromatic herbs and spices. Less evident austerity than the Montrose although that is not to say that this is a generous vintage at Cos, more that it benefits from a sense of powerful exoticism. The hail meant picking the Cabernet a little earlier than they might have wanted (harvest was September 5th to 16th), but they have handled it well, and this still has plenty to give with a little more ageing in bottle. 80% new oak. Drinking Window 2021 - 2040.Decanter | 95 DECThis is really excellent for the vintage with currants, dark berries and minerals on the nose and palate. Full body, firm tannins and a long finish. It’s a bit linear but racy and superb. One of the best of the vintage. Better in 2020.James Suckling | 95 JSComposed of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc, the deep garnet-purple colored 2011 Cos d’Estournel gives up compelling notes of roasted nuts, black cherry compote, blueberry pie and red and black currants with touches of yeast extract and smoked meats. Medium to full-bodied, very firm, grainy textured and with a great core of youthful black fruits, the palate reveals loads of savory layers on the very long finish. This is very youthful and slowly maturing—a very impressive showing for this vintage!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPPowerful, very rich and very concentrated, this epitomizes the opulent style of Cos d’Estournel. A sense of extraction is overwhelmed by the huge, ripe fruit. It shows velvet texture at first, but then the tannins come on strongly, leaving a wine that will age over many years. Drink from 2022.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WE(Château Cos d’Estournel) Like the 2011 Les Pagodes, the Château Cos d’Estournel this year shows an awful lot of sappy ripeness that strongly suggests that there was some back-blending to add some mid-palate muscle to the hail-strafed fruit this year. This is, of course, all perfectly acceptable under the rules in Bordeaux, where up to fifteen percent of a different year can be blended into the current vintage. In fact, it was probably just in case of depredations like the September 1st hail storm that the regulations were left in place. The nose on the 2011 Cos d’Estournel is ripe and sappy, offering up scents of black cherries, a touch of black raspberry, coffee bean, gravelly soil tones and plenty of nutty new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and shows off the “cool season” structure in its hard and quite substantial tannins, but with a thick and sappy core to support this wine’s tannic clout. The finish is very long, focused and backwards. At this point in time, it is hard to be sure how well this wine will integrate all of its tannin over time, so I have scored the wine within a range. But, it is a very well-made wine from what were near catastrophic conditions. (Drink between 2027-2075).John Gilman | 90-92+ JGThe 2010 is hard to follow, but this presents a lovely beam of raspberry and cassis fruit, with light bay and savory notes and flashes of violet and chalk on the finish. This has tightened up a little in bottle, which is good, and represents a fine effort considering the hail that came at the end of the season.—Non-blind Cos-d’Estournel vertical (December 2015). Drink now through 2025. 12,667 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WSGood deep ruby. Spicy aromas of dark plum, red cherry, botanical herbs and graphite. Dense, bright and energetic, with good herbal lift to the precise blackcurrant and dark plum flavors. This fresh, lively wine picks up flesh and depth with aeration. The tactile, chewy finish is pure, long and perfumed.Vinous Media | 90 VM

Huge structure, huge potential, a wine that will bring out all the fruit and density of the vintage while remaining very fresh. Black plums are already showing strongly along with the dry core that promises aging. It’s serious while alive and bright. Drink this major wine from 2022.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThis has some toast to shed, but retains a terrific core of crushed plum and blackberry confiture. Has a beautiful ripple of charcoal for texture, honest acidity for balance and a bolt of iron that keeps this firmly grounded. A brick-house Cabernet. Best from 2018 through 2030. 8,330 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS(Château Leoville Las Cases) The 2011 Château Leoville Las Cases is a classic in the making, but like the 1986 that Monsieur Rolland compares this wine too, it is going to take a long time to come around from behind its substantial wall of tannin. The superb nose offers up a classy and very pure blend of cassis, black cherries, tobacco leaf, gravelly soil tones, cigar smoke, espresso, a touch of tobacco leaf and a discreet base of nutty new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and quite pure on the attack, with a very tightly-knit personality, a rock solid core of fruit, seamless and very firm tannins and outstanding length and grip on the laser-like finish. This will be a superb vintage of Leoville Las Cases in the fullness of time, but plan on cellaring it at least fifteen years before opening a bottle and most likely, the wine will take every bit of thirty years in the cellar to really reach its apogee. (Drink between 2027-2075).John Gilman | 94+ JGA very, very good wine with creamy oak across ripe summer pudding and poached purple berries; superb balance and drive. The tannins are assertive but never threaten. Sweet ripe fruit is served up with bright, vibrant and ripe style; raspberry, mulberry and red plum flavors, great sustain, long and impressive.James Suckling | 94 JSOne of the more formidably backward and potentially long-lived wines of the vintage, the medium to full-bodied 2011 Leoville Las Cases behaves like a first-growth, which in a sense it truly is. Revealing a dense inky/purple color, it is a structured, rich, impressively endowed effort that is meant for the long haul. Atypical for this vintage, it requires 5-7 years of bottle age and should drink well for two decades thereafter. The final blend was 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Yields were a low 27 hectoliters per hectare, and the natural alcohol achieved 13.4%.Robert Parker | 93+ RPThe 2011 Léoville Las-Cases is much more introspective on the nose than its peers, though it unfolds to reveal quite mineral-driven black fruit, leather and graphite aromas. It never fully lets go. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, fine acidity, fresh and lively with a focused, graphite-tinged finish. Maybe a little conservative in keeping with the vintage, though this is well crafted. Tasted blind at the annual 10-Year-On tasting.Vinous Media | 92 VM

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

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

I absolutely loved the 2015 Léoville Barton and this has everything you could want from a Left Bank Bordeaux. Cassis, smoked earth, graphite, tobacco leaf, and thrilling amounts of minerality all emerge from this inky colored, full-bodied, power-packed, brut of a Saint-Julien that holds everything together and stays pure, balanced and elegant on the palate. It has a lot of tannins, yet more than enough fruit. The 2015 is a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Merlot, brought up in 60% new French oak, and it needs 7-8 years of bottle age and will shine for 2-3 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDRich, generous and elegant, this is a very dense wine but with great black fruits to balance this structure. The elements are already coming together to create another great wine from this property. Drink from 2026.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThis is a very focused Barton with ultra-fine tannins that are so polished and chalky. It drives through the center palate with currant and berry character. Full-bodied, polished and straightforward with driving tannin. Love the texture. Class. Yes. Drink in 2021.James Suckling | 96 JSA dense, powerful wine, the 2015 Léoville-Barton is going to need quite a bit of time to come together, as it is massively tannic and structured at this stage.Antonio Galloni | 96+ AGDeep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Leoville Barton offers up notions of warm red currants, black raspberries and dark chocolate with wafts of cigar box, violets and bay leaves. Elegant, medium-bodied and sporting great freshness, the taut, tightly wound palate of intense red fruits and floral accents is well-framed with firm, grainy tannins, finishing on a lingering mineral note.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThis delivers some serious wow, dripping with warm fig, blackberry and boysenberry reduction notes, along with melted black licorice and fruitcake flavors. Shows ample grip but remains beautifully polished, letting the fruit sail on. Don’t worry though, as long echoes of roasted apple wood and tar signal that this is built for the long haul. Best from 2025 through 2042. 11,667 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSOne of the deepest, richest and darkest of the St-Juliens in 2015, showing a lick of tar and a crack of cassis. Confident and settling in for the long haul, a salty minerality kicks in on the finish to give a mouthwatering quality. 60% new oak barrels. Eric Boissenot consults. Drinking Window 2025 - 2040Decanter | 94 DEC

I underrated the 2015 Rauzan-Ségla on release. It’s a big, rich, incredibly sexy wine that’s certainly in the same ballpark as the 2016 (and 2018). Full-bodied, ripe, and concentrated, it has a wonderfully expansive, layered texture as well as an incredible sense of balance. Lots of cassis, leafy herbs, flowery incense, and tobacco notes all emerge from this beauty, which offers sweet tannins as well as a huge finish. This is magical stuff that’s going to keep for three decades or more. (Drink between 2019-2049)Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDDeep garnet-purple in color, the 2015 Rauzan-Ségla offers up an expressive nose of baked blackberries, kirsch, warm cassis and baked plums with hints of cigar box and tilled soil. Full-bodied, rich and expansive in the mouth, it has layer upon layer of bold red and black fruit preserves with earthy accents and a velvety texture, finishing long and lively.The blend this year is 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, harvested between September 10th and October 9th, at an average yield of 40 hectoliters per hectare. It was aged for 18 months in French oak, 65% new. The alcohol is 14%, and the pH is 3.7.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPExtremely aromatic with dried flowers, perfumed and sandalwood and blackcurrants. Full body, ultra-fine tannins, a gorgeous core of ripe fruit and blackcurrants and blueberries. Racy and very long. So impressive. This needs four or five years to come around but already so fine.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2015 Rauzan-Ségla is every bit as impressive as it was from barrel. Rich, sumptuous and super-intense, the 2015 envelops the palate. Super-ripe dark cherry, plum, licorice, leather, tobacco and menthol are all given an extra kick of richness in a dramatic, exceptionally beautiful Rauzan-Ségla that clearly swings for the fences. Although quite concentrated and sumptuous, the 2015 also retains considerable nuance. Readers lucky enough to own the 2015 can look forward to several decades of fine drinking. This is terrific effort from estate manager Nicolas Audebert, who wasted no time in sending a strong message about his ambitions in his first full-time vintage at Rauzan-Ségla. The 2015 is 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGDating back to 1661, Rauzan-Segla had under-performed for many years prior to its purchase in 1994 by Chanel owners, the Wertheimer family. With significant investment, the estate has regained its former glory. Highly successful in 2015, this is refined, elegant and precise with a bright red/black fruit character and lovely freshness on the palate. It will benefit from a few more years in bottle but undoubtedly has star-quality. (Drink between 2023-2045)Decanter | 96 DECStructure is the watchword for this wine. With dark tannins and concentration, it obviously has long-term potential. At the same time, the black-currant fruits are ripe and full bodied, giving rich contrast to the tannins. These two elements will allow this wine to age. It will be ready to drink from 2025.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThis takes a very fresh approach, with a seemingly open-knit feel to the mix of mulled raspberry and red currant fruit. Pretty lilac, incense and singed apple wood notes underscore the fruit, while silky but persistent tannins carry the finish. Delivers latent depth and precise balance, so don’t let this early charm fool you, as this should unfurl beautifully in the cellar. Best from 2022 through 2040.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

Terrific intensity of dark berries, almost peppery blackcurrants and violets with attractive and integrated, spicy oak and an earthy edge. The palate has a super powerful and long, linear core with plenty of fruit flesh strapped in tight for a long and thrilling ride into the finish. A blend of 86 per cent cabernet and 14 per cent merlot. Try from 2024.James Suckling | 97 JSThis is so vivid as it brims with pastis-soaked plum, blackberry, black currant and blueberry paste flavors, all carried by a perfectly integrated brambly spine. Tar and ganache notes give the finish an extra kick while everything stays within the mouthwatering roasted apple wood frame. Both regal and rambunctious, this is St.-Julien to a T. Best from 2025 through 2040. 11,667 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSDeep purple-colored and a classic Saint-Julien with its pure crème de cassis, graphite, liquid rock, and essence of lead pencil shavings, the 2016 Château Léoville Barton is full-bodied, concentrated, and backward, with bright acidity and ripe yet certainly present and building tannins. This old-school, classic Léoville Barton has a fine thread of acidity keeping the wine focused and fresh. It’s a beauty, but mostly potential at this point, although it does have beautiful fruit. Savvy readers will hide bottles at the back of their cellar, and I wouldn’t start to think about opening bottles for a least a decade. It’s going to be incredibly long-lived. The blend of the 2016 is 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Merlot, brought up in 60% new French oak.Jeb Dunnuck | 96+ JDThe 2016 Léoville-Barton is fabulous. A wine of breadth and power, the 2016 has so much to offer. The black cherry, chocolate, gravel, smoke and licorice flavors are all boldly sketched. A host of expressive savory and mineral notes develop into the substantial finish.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGThe Barton family’s flagship wine benefits hugely from the age of the vines. This wine is ripe and concentrated, rich in tannins but with the wonderful black fruits that can be conjured from this vineyard. It will age well and is likely to be ready to drink from 2026.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEDeep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Leoville Barton delivers a superstar nose of crème de cassis, plum preserves and blueberry compote with suggestions of fragrant earth, unsmoked cigars, licorice and cedar chest. Medium to full-bodied, rich and seductive with firm yet velvety tannins, it has a decadently rich finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPIntense, luxurious, fresh yet also very classically Bordeaux on the nose. Loads of dark berry and currant fruit, allied to a touch of oaky spiciness. Density on the palate but also refined, elegant, and smooth. (Drink between 2021-2045)Decanter | 94 DEC