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Borderline perfection in a bottle, the 2010 Pichon-Longueville Baron (79% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Merlot) boasts a saturated purple color as well as truly extraordinary aromatics of crème de cassis, licorice, crushed rock-like minerality, graphite, and spring flowers. Possessing full-bodied richness, a huge, unctuous mid-palate, and building tannin, it shows the purity, grandeur, and precision that makes this vintage so remarkable. Hide bottles for another 4-5 years, count yourself lucky, and enjoy bottles over the following 2-3 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 99+ JDIncredible depth apparent from the first whiff as well as powerful aromatics combining graphite, black fruit and spices. The palate is concentrated but brimming with energy, yet what really stands out is its confounding freshness as well as the finesse and precise contours of the tannic framework. An already profound wine that will reach new heights over the next two decades. (Drink between 2022-2050)Decanter | 99 DECAdministrator Christian Seeley thinks the 2010 is the greatest Pichon Longueville Baron he has ever made, equaling some of the estate’s colossal wines from vintages such as 1989 and 1990. It was certainly showing well when I stopped by the chateau in January. Opaque purple, with loads of charcoal, licorice, incense and some exotic Asian spices along with abundant cassis liqueur, blackberry and hints of roasted coffee and spring flowers, it is full-bodied and opulent, with relatively high tannins, but they have sweetened up considerably and seem less aggressive than they did from barrel. The oak is clearly pushed to the background by the wine’s wealth of fruit, glycerin and full-bodied texture. This sensational Pichon Longueville Baron needs 5-6 years of cellaring, and should keep 30+ years.Robert Parker | 97+ RPThis is quintessential Pauillac, a great wine with its Cabernet proudly at the fore. It ranks with the 2009 and, with its tannins, is sure to age longer than that vintage. Solidly structured, powerful and dense, with fruit promised for the future, it succeeds with its weight and great concentration.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThe 2010 Pichon-Baron is simply one of the greatest wines produced under Christian Seely’s tenure. It has a stunning bouquet with penetrating black fruit, wilted violet and a touch of sea spray, a distinctive marine note verging on shucked oyster shells. The palate is very well balanced with fine grain tannins, layers pf graphite infused black fruit and a very detailed, captivating finish. Brilliant. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 96 VMA dense and layered wine with lots of ripe and sweet fruit. Loads of currants, plums and tar. This is concentrated and almost jammy with velvety tannins. Powerful. Chewy. Try in 2020.James Suckling | 95 JSSolidly built, with a roasted edge to the steeped fig, blackberry and black currant flavors, quickly followed by brambly tannins and notes of bay leaf and espresso. Stays dark and tarry through the finish, with superb drive and verve. Best from 2017 through 2030.Wine Spectator | 95 WS(Château Pichon-Longueville) The 2010 Pichon-Longueville is also quite ripe at 13.75 percent alcohol, and includes a higher percentage of cabernet sauvignon than usual at seventy-nine percent in this vintage. However, with most of the merlot exiled to the second wine, the result is a more precise and focused wine than the Les Tourelles de Longueville, as it offers up a ripe and pure nose of black cherries, cassis, coffee bean, cigar ash, herb tones, gravelly soils and a generous base of smoky new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and shows a very nice note of youthful cabernet tobacco leaf, with a fine core of fruit, ripe, well-integrated tannins and excellent length and grip on the chewy and slightly oaky finish. The 2010 Pichon-Baron was raised in eighty percent new wood this year (with thirty percent hailing from Taransaud), and the wine is currently showing just a bit of oak spice and uncovered wood tannins on the backend. I expect that this is just a reflection of the extreme youth of the 2010 and that it will eventually absorb its wood seamlessly. This will be a very long-lived wine and will need plenty of time in the cellar to start to blossom. (Drink between 2022-2075)John Gilman | 92+ JG

Tasted the following day from the rest of this vertical, because I couldn’t resist adding another wine, and I had kept this one in my own cellar for the past decade. It was too young to open to be honest, but was just stunning, and kept getting better over the two days following opening. Opulent and luscious, with balsamic, black chocolate and cloves, damson, kirsch and black cherry fruit, and the precision and swirl of campfire, ash and incense that mark out François Mitjavile’s approach. 100% new oak. An exceptional vintage with many great wines, and yet this stands out.Jane Anson | 99 JAWhile I don’t think the 2010 Château Tertre Roteboeuf matches the 2005 (or 2016), it’s a brilliant Saint-Emilion that offers textbook Tertre notes of cassis, spicy wood, graphite, white truffle, sappy tobacco, and earth. Taking lots of air to open up and integrate its ample tannins, this beauty is full-bodied, has a seamless, layered texture, flawless balance, and a rock star of a finish. It’s beautifully done and just now at the early stages of its prime drink window. It needs at least 2-3 hours in a decanter at this stage (and was even better on the second day). It’s going to evolve for another 20-30 years in cold cellars.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JD Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Le Tertre Roteboeuf reveals notes of leather, cedar and balsamic with a core of raisin cake and unsmoked cigars. Full-bodied, the palate is firm and chewy with a lively line cutting through the dried berries and savory layers, finishing just a little warm.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPThe 2010 Le Tertre Rôteboeuf has an impressive bouquet with a mixture of red and black fruit, melted tar on a hot summer day, warm gravel and allspice. This exhibits very fine delineation and focus. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, a fine bead of acidity, a little toasty towards the finish where the oak seems to obscure the terroir and fruit expression, even after ten years. Hopefully that will be addressed with further cellaring because otherwise this is a fine Right Bank. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 92+ VM

The richness and beauty of this wine is impressive with blackcurrant, cherry, berry and fresh cloves. The fruit is so pure here. Full-bodied with tannins that are so integrated and refined that you don’t feel them, yet they are there! Very creamy and layered with great length and beauty. It turns to tar and licorice at the finish. Tight now, but the texture is special. Try after 2027.James Suckling | 98 JSAn incredible wine from this estate that’s as good as anything in the vintage, the 2018 Château Cos D’Estournel checks in as 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot that was brought up in 50% new French oak. While some 2018s are going to offer pleasure right out of the gate, this isn’t one of them, but rather it’s a backward, tannic powerhouse of a wine that has flawless balance as well as a level of purity that’s off the charts. Thrilling crème de cassis fruit, notes of lead pencil, damp earth, cedarwood, violets, and acacia flowers, full-bodied richness, masses of ultra-fine tannins, and a great, great finish all make for a legendary Saint-Estèphe that will need a good decade of bottle age yet evolve for 50 years or more. If you are tempted to try a bottle in its youth, it needs lots of air.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JDThe 2018 Cos d’Estournel is a blend of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, aged in 50% new oak barriques. The alcohol weighs in at just over 14.5%. Sporting a deep purple-black color, it needs a lot of swirling to begin to unlock a powerful nose of crème de cassis, stewed plums, wild blueberries and chocolate-covered cherries, followed by nuances of Sichuan pepper, star anise, tree and clove oil, plus a waft of charcoal. The full-bodied palate is densely packed with taut, muscular black fruits and earthy layers, framed by super firm, ripe, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long and wonderfully earthy. A very impressive behemoth, this is going to need a good seven to 10 years to truly show its stuff and should drink for a good 40 years and beyond.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98+ RPThe 2018 Cos d’Estournel is a racy, powerful Saint-Estèphe that is going to need quite a bit of time to find its center. Today, it is tightly wound, but all the energy is there. Lush and extravagantly ripe, the 2018 possesses tremendous depth and plenty of energy to back it all up. Here, too, I found the wine a bit more expressive and giving en primeur.Antonio Galloni | 98 AGA little closed on the nose, and also on the attack. There is a wall of tannin here but backed up by voluptuously ripe fruits that major on damson and fig, overlaid with cinnamon and saffron spices. Lilting acidity through the finish keeps a sense of momentum. This is powerful with ambition, and it carries it off perfectly. 65% of production went into the grand vin. 1% Petit Verdot makes up the blend, and the wine was aged in 50% new oak (a little lower than the usual 60%). Drinking Window 2028 - 2045.Decanter | 97 DECBig, rich and smoky in nature, with powerful fruits and dense tannins, this is a wine that is straining at the limits but still within balance. Rich, smoky flavors shine along with the black plum fruit and bright acidity. It will age for many years.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThis is a bird of a different feather, with a ripe, sleek, and very polished feel as creamed loganberry, plum and boysenberry flavors spill forth, flanked for support by singed alder and incense notes, while black tea and savory threads curl around the finish. Long, showy and lovely. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2024 through 2038. 16,600 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

Incredible purity of fruit here with blackberry, black olive, concrete, stone and violet in the nose. It’s full-bodied with a powerful palate of fruit that shows a wet-earth and black-truffle undertone. The tannins are intense and chewy, yet wonderfully polished and poised. Superb length in the finish. One built for long cellaring. Try after 2027.James Suckling | 99 JSOne of the blockbusters in the vintage is Denis Durantou’s 2018 Château L’Eglise Clinet, which is a normal blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc brought up in 70% new French oak. This deep purple-hued beauty boasts an awesome, full-bodied, opulent personality as well as classic Pomerol notes of blackcurrants, black cherries, damp earth, chocolate, tobacco, and flowers. Rich, concentrated, and sexy, yet not over the top in any way, it expands on the palate, has sweet tannins, background oak, and a great, great finish. It already offers pleasure yet won’t hit prime time for another 7-8 years and is going to evolve for 25-30 years or more, and probably have a gradual decline after that.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDA blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 L’Eglise Clinet has a 3.63 pH and 14.5% alcohol. It was aged in 70% new barriques. Deep garnet-purple in color, it opens with a stunning fragrant-earth perfume, accented by notions of wild mushrooms, mossy tree bark and crushed rocks, giving way to a core of black raspberries, plum preserves and fresh blueberries, plus wafts of lavender and clove oil. Medium to full-bodied, the palate shimmers with energy, delivering slow-releasing black fruit and earthy layers, framed by very ripe, finely grained tannins and fantastic tension. It finishes with epic length and subtlety. It is already so evocative and beautifully expressed at this youthful stage that is tempting to broach straight away, but give it another 5-6 years to really fan its feathers, and drink it over the next 40 or more years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPThe 2018 L’Eglise-Clinet is insanely beautiful and vivid, not to mention one of the wines of the vintage on the Right Bank. Vertical and explosive in feel, the 2018 is rapturous from the very first taste. Inky dark red and purplish fruit, mocha, lavender, crushed rocks and rose petal are some of the many aromas and flavors that build through to the exceptionally long, vibrant finish. But L’Eglise-Clinet is so much more than that. It’s a Pomerol of tremendous distinction and class. Give it a few years in bottle and then enjoy over the next several decades.Antonio Galloni | 98 AGLush in feel, with boysenberry reduction and crushed plum flavors, carried by a polished, solid structure. A mineral hint filters through on the finish, adding length and cut. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Score rangeWine Spectator | 95-98 WSThis is plush, with touches of chocolate shavings, olive paste, clove, rosemary and sage right from the opening beats. Blackberry and raspberry layer up flavours that lift out of the glass, then the aromatics take over with soft smoke and grilled almonds. Seductive, a reminder of Durantou’s ability to tease layers and nuances out of even warm vintages. Austere on the finish, with chalky tannins at this stage - this is knitted down and will reward patience. Low temperature fermentation at around 22C. A yield of 45hl/ha. Drinking Window 2027 - 2044.Decanter | 97 DEC

Purple berry and blackberry aromas with cracked black pepper, violets and lavender. It’s full-bodied and layered and broadens in the mouth. Gorgeous, ripe tannins. Long and thought-provoking. A milestone for the vineyard.James Suckling | 99-100 JSOne of my favorite wines in the vintage is the 2020 Château La Fleur-Petrus, which reminds me slightly of the 2016, even though the growing season was quite different. A blend of mostly Merlot with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, its dense purple color is followed by a heavenly, ethereal Pomerol offering a powerful, almost Petrus-like sense of stature and density that carries incredible cassis and currant fruits as well as notes of graphite, crushed stone, chocolate, and violets. Flawlessly balanced on the palate, with a dense, layered mid-palate and building, perfect tannins, I just hope it shows this well from bottle! It should, at a minimum, match – and probably surpass – the 2009, 2016, and 2018.Jeb Dunnuck | 97-100 JDThe tannins clamp in on the opening beats of the wine and then spend the rest of the palate gently relaxing to let the juice out from the tight black fruits. The frame is both tactile and fresh, a brilliant La Fleur Petrus full of character and spice, bedded down but with a sense of energy and uplift. Black chocolate shavings shot through with eucalyptus, sage, rosemary, spices and cigar box - all of which really extend through the finish. Harvest September 10 to 20. A yield of around 42hl/ha. Deep gravels over clay. Drinking Window 2028 - 2045.Decanter | 97 DECVery deep purple-black colored, the 2020 la Fleur-Petrus leaps from the glass with bold expressions of baked black plums, molten licorice, Indian spices and blackberry preserves, plus hints of charcuterie, black olives and crushed rocks with a touch of unsmoked cigars. The full-bodied palate delivers compelling tension to the rich, hedonic black fruits, framed by firm, grainy tannins, finishing very long and tantalizingly savory.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95-97 RPThe 2020 La Fleur-Pétrus is wonderfully elegant and polished. Fine tannins give the 2020 its sophisticated feel. Succulent red cherry, cedar, tobacco, smoke and dried herbs all build. A whole range of floral, savory and mineral notes infuse the finish with tons of character. Medium in body and persistent, with real linear energy, the 2020 is all class. La Fleur-Pétrus is, above all else, a wine of understatement and elegance. The 2020 is especially fine.Antonio Galloni | 94-96 AGThe cool clay of this vineyard shows well in the freshness of this impressive wine. It gives the structure that will allow it to age. With richness assured through the tannins, the wine has great promise.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WE

An estate that has been on fire of late, the 2020 Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse De Lalande is another brilliant wine in a succession of brilliant wines. Revealing a dense purple hue as well as full-bodied aromas and flavors of blac currants, scorched earth, tobacco leaf, and violets, it hits the palate with an expansive, rich, yet pure, precise texture that carries fabulous tannins, perfect balance, and a stacked mid-palate. Based on 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet Franc, it’s an incredible wine that’s going to flirt with perfection and is unquestionably one of the finest, if not the finest, Left Banks in the vintage. Bravo. Tasted twice.Jeb Dunnuck | 98-100 JDThis is extremely structured, but with a level of polish and refinement that highlights the excellence of the terroir. Very long and expansive on the palate, showing class and beauty. Powerful, yet comes across refined and curated at the end. Lovely texture.James Suckling | 97-98 JSDeep purple-black in color, the 2020 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande begins on a single, well-defined, wonderfully pure note of ripe blackcurrants, opening out to a melody of redcurrant jelly, kirsch, ripe blackberries and tar, with emerging suggestions of dark chocolate, cardamom, ground cloves and violets, with a waft of black truffles. Medium-bodied, tightly wound and with loads of fantastically nuanced black fruit layers, it has a rock-solid frame of finely grained tannins and bags of freshness, finishing long and mineral laced. The blend this year is 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95-97 RPThe 2020 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is holding so much in reserve. Tightly wound and not fully expressive, the 2020 is going to need at least a few years to come out of its shell. Bright acids and persistent tannins give the 2020 a super classic, mid-weight feel. I very much like the wine’s persistence. Readers will have to be patient with the 2020. The exuberance of some recent vintages is not present today. The blend is 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc, which means a touch more Cabernet Sauvignon than in recent years, and quite a bit more than in the past. Harvest ran from September 7 to October 1, which is about ten days earlier than normal. In the cellar, Estate Manager Nicolas Glumineau opted for light extractions, with minimal pumpovers of just one volume of wine per day, at no more than 25 degrees Celsius. Time on the skins was 21 days, pretty much the norm these days. Tasted two times. (Drink between 2032-2060)Antonio Galloni | 95-97 AGSofter and silkier than many Pauillacs in the vintage, this is a clear success. Hugely silky and seductive, with grip, power and finesse. One of the best of the appellation, with finessed tobacco, heather and plump blueberry and cassis fruit, expertly managing the low 30hl/ha yield. 60% new oak. Tasted twice. (Drink between 2030-2048)Decanter | 96 DEC

Winemaker Jean-Luc Thunevin has hit a home run in the vintage, and his 2020 Château Valandraud is unquestionably up with the crème de la crème out there. Made in a ripe, sexy, plush style, it brings an incredible amount of ripe black fruit, chocolate, vanilla, espresso, and leafy herb-like aromas and flavors. This carries to a full-bodied, powerful Saint-Emilion that somehow stays weightless and graceful on the palate, with moderate acidity, ripe tannins, and a great, great finish.Jeb Dunnuck | 97-99 JDWow. This is really super polished with incredible length and intensity, offering blackberries and hazelnuts. Superb richness that is reserved and poised. Great length. Full-bodied, extremely long and exciting.James Suckling | 97-98 JSOpaque purple-black colored, the 2020 Valandraud bursts with scents of crushed black plums, boysenberries and blackberry preserves, followed by hints of dusty soil, garrigue and clove oil. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers a lot of energetic, crunchy black fruits with a lively backbone and beautifully ripe, rounded tannins, finishing long and fragrant.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95-97 RPThe 2020 Valandraud is impressive. Inky, deep and exquisitely layered, it possesses tremendous richness in every dimension. crème de cassis, chocolate, licorice, new leather, spice and lavender build as the 2020 gains volume in the glass. Silky and plush, with magnificent balance, this is shaping up to be one of the wines of the year. A magnificent effort from Muriel Andraud and Jean-Luc Thunevin. Superb. Tasted two times.Vinous Media | 95-97 VMThis wine from the premier classé estate is seriously structured, dense and firm. At the same time the beautiful black currant fruits, acidity and fine perfumed character balance its richness. It is an impressive, memorable wine that will develop well over many years.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WE(Château Valandraud, St-Émilion, Bordeaux, France, Red) This is excellent, broad-shouldered with ample depth to the brambled fruits, liquorice, cigar box spice, with a gorgeously saline finish. Chalky, grippy tannins keep tugging you back into the body of the wine. The tannic grip is helped by a linen rather than silk texture that stops things being overly smooth and instead adds depth and interest to the powerfully knitted body, as do white flowers on the aromatics as it opens. Good stuff. 100% new oak for 24 months. A yield of 49hl/ha. Thunevin has sold a 50% stake in Valandraud to the Lefevre family at Sansonnet (also the new owners of Villemaurine, so a busy year for them). (Drink between 2029-2046)Decanter | 96 DEC