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Perfumed, with raspberries and flowers and hints of lemon. Full body, with ultra-fine tannins and a chewy finish. Austere now, but stylish. Best after 2018.James Suckling | 93 JSServed blind at the Southwold 2009 tasting. The Ferriere '09 is a little disjointed on the nose at the moment and lifted floral notes and an agreeable sense of space and airiness. The palate is medium-bodied with a sappy, iodine tinged entry. It is sweet and rounded in the mouth, although it does not show great weight, but the finish is long and graceful, underpinned by fine tannins. Lovely. Tasted January 2013.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RP-NMA solid effort, with attractive, balanced black currant fruits and ripe acidity. The wine layers fruit and integrated tannins. It feels chunky and dense, finishing dryWine Enthusiast | 90 WESmoky and silky, with enticing black tea, mulled spice and fleshy plum and black currant fruit that melds nicely together through the tobacco-filled finish. Drink now through 2019. 6,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

Lots of currants, berries and chocolate on the nose and palate. Full and chewy. Solid tannin structure. Better in 2015.James Suckling | 92 JSLove the nose of currant and mineral, with hints of mint. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a medium finish. Tannic. Maybe too much. But I think it's going to come out excellent.Wine Spectator | 91 WSThis uncompromising property has turned out a backward, forbiddingly tannic wine that, even in this very opulent and flamboyant vintage, will need a minimum of 10-15 years of cellaring yet keep for 40 or more years. Opaque black/purple, with notes of crushed rock, white flowers, graphite, blueberry and cassis, the wine is tight and needs to be coaxed from the glass. It is medium to full-bodied, with an excruciatingly tough-textured finish. Everything is here, and the wine is set for a long life, but it is not the least bit charming and certainly won’t be for at least another decade.Robert Parker | 90 RP

One of the most distinctive wines made in Bordeaux, Le Dome has one of the highest percentages of Cabernet Franc of any claret I can think of. Composed of 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot, it exhibits a certain delicacy and elegance (due to the Cabernet Franc component) in addition to resounding power, concentration, depth and multidimensional personality. Black/purple to the rim, it offers strikingly intense notes of spring flowers, raspberries, mulberries and wood smoke, medium to full body, sweet tannin and a cunning intensity and texture that suggest finesse and delicacy. However, the wine’s richness, length and lingering depth build incrementally in this exceptional St.-Emilion. It will be drinkable in 4-5 years and should age for two decades or more. This is Jonathan Malthus’ finest wine to date.Robert Parker | 99 RP(mostly cabernet franc): Bright medium ruby. Knockout nose combines black fruits, bitter cherry, licorice, violet and crushed rock. The wine’s great energy and vibrancy give it buns of steel, with the fine-grained black fruit, violet and licorice flavors conveying a strong impression of dry extract. Tannins are firm but fine on the extremely long, gripping finish. Wonderful elegance allied to great thrust here. The best wine I’ve tasted to date from Jonathan Maltus, but then all of his 2009 releases are outperformers.Vinous Media | 95 VMA gorgeously perfumed wine, dominated by the ripest Cabernet Franc, combining richness and an intense structure. With its tannins, it will age well over many years. The fruit is finely textured, deliciously juicy, showing the most complex series of flavors.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WELoads of blueberries, with hints of wet earth and fresh mushrooms. Full-bodied, with layers of ripe tannins and juicy fruit. Goes on for minutes. Best wine from this estate ever. Try after 2018.James Suckling | 95 JS

The wine boasts 14.6% natural alcohol and is a final blend of roughly three-fourths Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc, cropped at a ridiculously low 19 hectoliters per hectare. Notes of licorice, garrigue, incense, smoked meats, espresso, creme de cassis and blackberry liqueur jump from the glass of this unbelievably intense wine. Remarkably full, with compelling freshness and precision, this is a fabulous effort in 2010. It will probably close down over the next several years, and not re-emerge for at least a decade, something that often happens with the bigger, richer, more muscular St.-Emilions from the limestone hillsides and plateaux. This is one of the superstars of the vintage and a profound wine. Drink it between 2020 and 2045.Robert Parker | 98+ RPOne of the highlights in this tasting, the 2010 Larcis Ducasse is simply stunning. Although quite fresh, vibrant and intense, the 2010 is also very closed in on itself. Violet, lavender, graphite and menthol are some of the many notes that give the 2010 its energy and tension. Still very much closed, the 2010 is going to need a good few years to come into its own. Still, it is pretty impressive today. With time in the glass, the 2010 gives a very good idea of what is to come for those who can wait.Antonio Galloni | 97+ AGWow. This is really intense with amazing dark fruit character of crushed blueberries and minerals. It’s full-bodied, with super integrated tannins and a superb finish that lasts for minutes. A fabulous wine. Better in 2019.James Suckling | 97 JSThe Left Bank character of this St Emilion wine is on full display. Concentration and depth, liquorice root and dark bitter chocolate. This is intense and the tannins remain just a little impenetrable. An impressive wine that speaks of its terroir and is packed with estate signature. Will age extremely well (I enjoyed a 100 year old wine from Larcis Ducasse in 2019, and wouldn’t bet against this one making the grade). 60% new oak. Drinking Window 2020 - 2045.Decanter | 94 DECThis seems complete, with intense, vibrant currant preserves, blackberry coulis and dark cherry fruit seamlessly layered with graphite and melted red licorice notes. Dense, with lovely definition, offering black tea, toasted alder and ganache notes that fill and expand on the finish. Shows great length and drive.—Larcis Ducasse non-blind vertical (December 2012). Best from 2018 through 2030.Wine Spectator | 94 WS89-91 Firmly structured, while also boosted with sweet, smoky fruits and ripe tannins. The wine has style more than power, and the juicy berry fruits give it acidity and a fresh after taste.Wine Enthusiast | 90 WE

This full, fruity wine is packed with acidity as well as ripeness. It has a fresh black-currant character, and the structure underneath is strong. It will develop relatively quickly, but then could hold at its peak for many years.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEAs with other 2010s, this Kirwan is especially youthful in aspect and rather foreboding, with power and structure coming to the fore. Time in the glass reveals fine-grained tannins and a sense of overall balance, marked with flavours of cassis, mint leaf and liquorice. I appreciate the impressive mid-palate density leading to a finish with pleasing lift, although this is more about power than floral elegance.Decanter | 94 DECDried berry and plum character on the nose and palate. Full body, with chewy tannins and a juicy finish. Lots of beautiful and ripe fruit here. Better after 2017.James Suckling | 93 JS(Château Kirwan) The 2010 Kirwan is a very good example of the vintage, with impressive balance and a sense of measured ripeness that is most refreshing in this over the top year. The deep and classy nose jumps from the glass in a mélange of cassis, dark berries, coffee bean, gravelly soil tones, tobacco leaf, new oak and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and nascently complex, with a rock solid core of pure fruit, firm, ripe and well-integrated tannins and impressive length and grip on the finish. A fine result. (Drink between 2020-2050)John Gilman | 92 JGAs always, this estate has produced a blockbuster style of Margaux in 2010, with the more masculine side of the appellation providing density, power, big body, loads of fruit, extract and richness. This wine is powerful and concentrated, but by no means excessively extracted. Dense purple, muscular, deep and impressive, it is a wine that allows for no compromise among wine lovers. Forget it for 6-10 years and drink it over the following 20-40 years.Robert Parker | 92+ RPBright ruby-red. Brooding aromas of boysenberry, licorice and shoe polish. Dense, sweet and creamy but serious too, with excellent definition and underlying minerality to the blueberry, cassis and spice flavors. For all its richness, this rather powerful wine is currently dominated by its structure, but the tannins are supported by mid-palate concentration of material.Vinous Media | 91+ VMTangy and elegant, with lilac, iron, red currant and cherry notes all mingling together and carrying through the focused finish. Not big, but pure, lengthy and showing fine minerality. Drink now through 2025. 9,166 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

The wine shows the power typical of a Lafite but within the context of the fruity 2011 vintage. The immensely dense tannic structure gives the wine a solid feel that is lifted by so much ripe black currant and berry fruits. At the back, the wine has a more brooding, dark character that suggests great aging potential. Drink this wine from 2019.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEDeveloping into classical Lafite - meaning the frame comes from fine tannins, and the overall impression is of subtle complexity, still extremely young but with energy and lift. A gentle cedar smoke and liquorice edging becomes clear as it opens up, and the black fruits are savoury. The St-Estephe plot was hailed on in early September, but the fruit was already relatively ripe, so even though they harvested 15 days earlier than ideal, it was ripe enough to use in the Grand Vin, and the overall yield was 52hl/ha. Higher Merlot in the blend than you would find today (now closer to 10%). Drinking Window 2024 - 2045.Decanter | 95 DECLove the nose on this, with sweet tobacco, delicate currant, cedar and blackberry. Full body with integrated tannins and a juicy, fruity, subtle finish. The texture to this wine is beautiful. Better than I remember from barrel. Try in 2019.James Suckling | 94 JSThis delivers pronounced tobacco and bay leaf notes up front, with a core of steeped plum and currant fruit and a fleshy edge through the charcoal-lined finish. There’s some serious buried minerality, which should emerge with cellaring. Best from 2018 through 2031.Wine Spectator | 94 WSA blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot (harvested between September 3-21), the 2011 Lafite Rothschild came in at 12.6% natural alcohol (considerably lower than in 2010 and 2009). Exhibiting a deep ruby/purple color, lots of crushed rock, red and black currant, forest floor and underbrush characteristics, moderate tannin and medium body, it is built somewhat along the lines of the 1999 and 2001. It should be a 20- to 25-year wine, but it is not at the level of the 2008, 2009 and 2010. Fresh acids give the wine a somewhat more clipped feeling than most great Lafites have exhibited. Nevertheless, there is a lot of freshness and vibrancy to this vintage.Robert Parker | 90-93 RP(Château Lafite Rothschild) The 2011 Lafite Rothschild is a pretty good example of the vintage, but it is a bit lean by the contemporary high standards of this estate. The nose is deep, dark and quite reserved in its aromatic mélange of cassis, dark chocolate, dark berries, gravel, cigar smoke, fresh sage and a well-gauged base of cedary oak. On the palate the wine is fullish, closed and quite tannic, with a pretty good core of fruit, plenty of touch tannins and very good length and grip on the well-balanced finish. If this can put on weight in the mid-palate during the course of its evolution in barrel and bottle, then it will land at the high end of my projected range. It is not a great Lafite by any stretch of the imagination, but it could end up being a very good bottle in twelve to twenty years’ time. (Drink between 2025-2075).John Gilman | 89-92+ JGThe 2011 Lafite-Rothschild was impressive from barrel. It is very composed on the nose with brambly red fruit, loam, touches of sous-bois (decayed autumn leaves). After five minutes, there is a noticeable liquorice scent. The palate is medium-bodied with chewy tannins, a little soft in the middle with a fleshy tarry, liquorice-infused finish that just tapers away. Elegant, refined, but not the First Growth’s strongest effort from this period. Tasted blind at the annual 10-Year-On tasting..Vinous Media | 91 VM

The 2015 Pichon Comtesse is a towering wine, as it has always been. Rich, sumptuous and totally hedonistic, the 2015 melds together intense fruit with structure. Far from an easygoing wine, the 2015 is going to need a number of years and will then drink well for several decades. Grilled herbs, smoke, new leather and licorice are some of the many notes that are layered into the dark-fleshed fruit for complexity. As good as the 2015 is today, it also has room to grow. Technical Director Nicolas Glumineau has done a tremendous job with the 2015s at Pichon Comtesse. The blend is 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, aged 18 months in oak, 55% new.Antonio Galloni | 98+ AGThis shows spices, pepper, blueberries and blackcurrants on the nose. Full body, very polished tannins and a long and beautiful finish. Shows such gorgeous texture. Precise and transparent. Try in 2022.James Suckling | 97 JSI tasted the 2015 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande on three separate occasions rating it 97 twice and 98 once. Checking in as a final blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, this is a nuanced style of wine that grows on you with time in the glass, and the larger Merlot component always gives it a more supple, seductive texture. Crème de cassis, black raspberries, spring flowers, leafy herbs and lead pencil notes all flow to a full-bodied, ultra-pure, seamless beauty that builds on the palate, has fine tannin and a great, great finish. As classy as they come, it will continue to impress for two to three decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDBeautifully extracted, this is rich, ripe and layered. It is utterly gorgeous and has real precision and tension. It delivers its Pauillac swagger with the most gentle of hands - the tannins are fine, layered-up and building their defences without imposing too heavily on the succulent black fruits. It judges the vintage extremely well and is the best in this line-up for me. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 60% new oak. Drinking Window 2025 - 2042.Decanter | 97 DECA blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot aged for 18 months in barrels, 60% new, the 2015 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande displays a medium to deep garnet-purple color and is elegantly fruited with crushed red currants, black raspberries and cassis with touches of lavender, rose hips, tilled soil, fungi and charcuterie. Medium-bodied, finely crafted, remarkably pure and beautifully poised, it has a firm frame of very fine-grained tannins and oodles of freshness, finishing on a lingering mineral note.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThis is the new taste for this estate: richly endowed while remaining elegant and suave. Certainly, there is great concentration here as well as rich black fruits. But they are given a sense of style and poise that will remain with this wine as it ages. Drink from 2026.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEA fresh and focused style, with a terrific beam of black cherry and black currant compote flavors. Strong graphite and black tea notes harness the finish, ending with alder and tobacco echoes. This has serious length without losing any drive along the way. Best from 2022 through 2038.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

So much floral and dark-fruit character with almonds and walnut shell. Full body and ultra-fine tannins. Powerful. Classic style with a harmony and energy. Goes on for minutes. A superb wine with great fruit. Real Bordeaux. Try in 2025.James Suckling | 98 JSSucculent fruits, rich tannins and juicy acidity are in perfect harmony in this wine produced from biodynamic grapes. It has a rich, velvet texture and dense structure, sumptuous and already balanced and delicious. However do not be fooled, this is a serious wine for aging. Drink no earlier than 2026. Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEDeep garnet-purple in color, the 2015 Pontet-Canet comes charging out of the glass with fantastically expressive notes of black cherry preserves, black raspberries and blackcurrant pastilles plus touches of kirsch, wilted roses, tobacco, camphor and cinnamon stick with a waft of fragrant soil. Full bodied, the palate is laden with black and red fruit layers, supported by very firm, very finely grained tannins and provocative freshness, finishing with incredible length and stunningly perfumed.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPProprietor Alfred Tesseron and winemaker Jean-Michel Comme produced an absolutely stellar Pontet-Canet in 2015. Sumptuous, racy and totally inviting, the 2015 is all class. Super-ripe dark cherry, plum, spice and exotic floral notes build as the 2015 shows off its alluring personality. Even with all of its raciness, the 2015 speaks with authority and power. Fine tannins extend the persistent, highly nuanced finish. The 2015 is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot aged 50% new oak, 4% in terra cotta and 15% in neutral oak. Tasted three times.Antonio Galloni | 97+ AGThe 2015 Pontet Canet is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot brought up in 50% new oak, and 35% in amphora. With textbook Pauillac notes of lead pencil shavings, tobacco leaf, smoke, and licorice, as well as a core of pure crème de cassis fruit, this beautiful, full-bodied, impeccably balanced is one of the few 2015s that’s going to demand cellaring. The tannin are high, yet sweet, and like its bright acidity, nicely integrated into the wine. Forget bottles for 5-7 years and enjoy over the following three decades. I don’t put this as the level of the 2009 and 2010, but it’s still a beautiful wine. Tasted three times.Jeb Dunnuck | 95+ JDRuby with a purple rim, no second wine made starting with this vintage. More expressive and opulent aromatics than in 2014, with ripe red and black fruit. The irresistible, juicy palate with creamy texture recalls the 2010, but lacks the same tension and structure. It resembles the 2009, enjoyed over lunch after the morning vertical, but with more focus and fruit purity, including primary blackberry, plum and cassis. Long finish. Aged 50% new oak , 35% amphora. Drinking Window 2021 - 2060.Decanter | 95 DECThis sports a lovely core of gently steeped plum, blackberry and black currant fruit, carried by velvety structure, while smoldering tobacco and charcoal notes fill in through the finish. Fleshes out steadily in the glass, revealing more juniper, bay leaf and loam accents. Best from 2022 through 2035. — JMWine Spectator | 94 WS

The crème de la crème from the northern Médoc is the 2015 Mouton Rothschild and this incredible wine flirts with perfection. Made from 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot, this inky purple-colored effort offers sensational Cabernet flare in its crème de cassis, graphite, lead pencil shavings, floral, and Asian spice aromas and flavors. It is full-bodied, dense, and incredibly concentrated, yet still has the sexy, opulent, seductive style of the vintage front and center. It will be a candidate for perfection in 10-12 years and is going to be one of the longest-lived wines in the vintage. Hats off to Philippe Dhalluim and his team for this incredible effort that’s a step up over just about every other northern Médoc out there!Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDDecadent and rich aromas of black cherries and plums with wet earth and sandalwood. Turns to dried mushrooms. Full-bodied, tight and closed with big, polished tannins, yet this is very closed and shy right now. Despite this, underneath it shows such depth and beauty. Tangy acidity. This is a combination of 2005 and 2009. Try it in 2024.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2015 Mouton Rothschild is a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc aged in 100% new oak with a mid-July 2017 bottling. Deep garnet-purple colored, this Mouton pulls off an incredibly impactful entrance, emerging from the glass with profound notes of blackberry preserves, plum pudding, crème de cassis and grilled meats, featuring perfectly accessorized accents of sandalwood, cinnamon stick and fenugreek with wafts of dried roses, unsmoked cigars and tilled soil. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is completely packed with rich, ripe black fruits sparked with blue and red fruit undertones and an incredible structure of very firm, very ripe tannins, with seamless freshness and an epically long, earth-laced finish. Possessing striking natural beauty framed by impeccable crafting, this 2015 is a total diva and well worth attention. Give it a good 7-8 years in bottle, at least, and drink it over the next 30+ years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPGorgeously confident and rich in colour, you can see the silkiness in the glass from the first look. This has 11% press wine, which tells you how good the skins were and how gently they extract at first. Winemaker Philippe Dhalluin and team have really succeeded in this vintage. It is beautifully integrated, and full of verve and sexiness, just stopping short of swagger. It approaches the heights of 2015 in the most successful appellations and will age well. Bottled in June, with zero oxygen added at bottling and just 25 ppm of SO2. Drinking Window 2025 - 2045Decanter | 98 DECThis is a hugely opulent wine, packed withblack fruits, rich tannins and great concentration. It is a gorgeous wine that’s full of potential, with the dense, dark core showing how well this wine will age. Drink this complex wine from 2027.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEIn 2015, Mouton Rothschild is fabulous. A big, towering wine, the 2015 makes its presence felt with layers of super-ripe dense fruit and striking textural resonance that carries all the way through to the finish. The 2015 is much more reticent from bottle than it was from barrel, which is not at all surprising, but is something readers should take into account. Even with all of its obvious intensity, the 2015 Mouton is a wine of classically inspired proportions. I can’t wait to taste it in another 15-20 years. The 2015 is 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc that spend 19 months in 100% new French oak.Antonio Galloni | 97+ AGOffers a prodigious core of steeped fig, black currant and blackberry compote flavors, enmeshed with notes of smoldering tobacco, charcoal and licorice. Broad, deep and long, with a deep foundation of graphite through the finish. Despite the heft, this manages to show off some purity too. Best from 2025 through 2045.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

A hold onto your hat wine, the 2015 Château Figeac is pure perfection and one of the wines of this terrific vintage. A blend of 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot and 28% Cabernet Franc, its deep purple color is followed by a huge nose of crème de cassis, black raspberries, smoked earth, and graphite. This is followed by a full-bodied, opulent and incredibly concentrated Saint-Emilion that has everything in the right places, no hard edges, thrilling purity of fruit, and a great, great finish. This is one of those rare gems that carries huge intensity and richness, yet still glides across the palate with no sense of weight or heaviness. Winemaker Frédéric Faye thinks the 2016 is even better but that certainly isn’t stopping me from giving this crazy good wine a triple digit score. Everyone owes it to themselves to try and taste this wine at least once!Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDIntense, yet extremely precise nose of red fruit with hints of pomegranate and vanilla. Stunning balance of great ripeness and very fine tannins that give this a wonderfully rich and plush texture at the very long and lingering finish, which gives you so much to think about. Drink or hold. Château Quintus vertical tasting.James Suckling | 99 JSDominated by the two Cabernets—Sauvignon and Franc—this is a beautifully structured wine. Firm tannins and ripe black currants give a perfumed character that is ripe, dense and impressive. The wine has enormous potential, with great tannins and fruit. Drink from 2027.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEThe recent leaps and bounds in improvements that have occurred at this great estate, equating to a dramatic increase in intensity and complexity—without compromising the husky, soft-spoken, sultry voice that is Figeac—is a monumental achievement. Kudos to Frederic Faye and his team for so beautifully expressing what was clearly an extraordinary vintage at Chateau Figeac! Blended of 29% Merlot, 43% Cabernet Sauvignon and 28% Cabernet Franc, the deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Figeac reveals vibrant black cherries, cassis, red currants, black plums and licorice notes with touches of cigar boxes, bouquet garni, potpourri, damp soil and black pepper. Medium-bodied, delicately crafted and with nuanced, quietly intense layers of vivacious red and black fruits, the palate features a solid frame of polished, rounded tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and minerally.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97+ RPThe 2015 Figeac is a step up from the 2014 with exquisite scents of red berry fruit, incense, rose petal and crush stone. Pixelated with wonderful precision. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, wonderful backbone allied with a sense of symmetry. It is more saline than previous vintages, with saliva flowing after the wine has exited. One of the standouts from the Right Bank in this vintage. Tasted at the château.Vinous Media | 97 VMThis is rich and exuberant, showcasing the warmth of the vintage. It’s still basically a primeur wine with beautiful blue-violet reflections, although it was bottled in April and will stay at the estate until January 2018. With silky-smooth tannins, this is a seriously elegant and delicious wine. The coffee stained palate is full of rich black cherries, tight cassis and finely grained tannins. The 2016 has just a touch more focus but that is splitting hairs, as both are exceptional vintages at Figeac. This has real persistence and a mouthwatering quality on the finish, a seriously enjoyable wine that never tries to overpower or show off.Decanter | 97 DECDensely packed, with crème de cassis, raspberry reduction and plum sauce flavors allied to notes of loam, warm cast iron and roasted apple wood. Shows terrific cut and energy, with the iron element helping to push the finish along and letting the fruit linger. Among the more backward wines of the vintage, so patience is required. Best from 2028 through 2045. 8,333 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

The 2018 Lafite Rothschild is blended of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8.5% Merlot and 0.5% Petit Verdot and has 13.3% alcohol. Deep purple-black in color, it needs a fair bit of swirling to unlock intoxicating scents of blackcurrant cordial, baked plums and black cherry compote with an undercurrent of dark chocolate, licorice, cast-iron pan, cedar chest and fertile loam, plus a waft of pencil lead. The delicately crafted, medium-bodied palate is dripping with class, featuring layers of mineral-laced black fruits and exquisitely ripe, singularly Lafite tannins, finishing with epic length and depth. This simply stunning, delicately crafted expression of 2018 with its singularly evocative imprint of Lafite will require a good 7-8 years in bottle, then should continue to inspire awe over the following 40+ years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPAn immensely structured wine, this is complex, concentrated and yet so contained. The wine impresses with its balance, layers of succulent black-currant fruits and effortless style. A wine for the long term, it should not be touched before 2029.Wine Enthusiast | 100 WEWow. The aromas are so intense and refined at the same time, offering gorgeous blackcurrant, lead-pencil and orchid character. Such purity of fruit. Sleek and finely polished with a fine cut to the tannins that provide such grace and glamor. Yet, it’s got the power and structure to age for decades. On and on. Try after 2029.James Suckling | 99 JSThis stood out during en primeur, not just for itself but also in comparison to so many estates around it. While several properties had an unusual vintage, where their personalities were subverted by the weather conditions, Lafite just continued being Lafite, a true mark of its character and its terroir. This is still of course extremely young, keeping its cards close to its chest; the power for now is hidden, waiting, and will slowly unveil. This is going to be a beautiful Lafite in the future, a brilliant wine with bilberry, slate and pencil lead character, and a eucalyptus mint wash. 3.75pH. A yield of 40hl/ha. 40% of the production went into the grand vin. 74IPT. Drinking Window 2028 - 2050.Decanter | 98 DECChecking in as a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8.5% Merlot, and the balance Petit Verdot, the 2018 Château Lafite-Rothschild is one of those magical Lafites that offers an already up-front, complex, nuanced style yet has the class and balance to evolve for 40-50 years. As always, this wine is never about sheer power, and the 2018 offers a full-bodied, incredibly elegant and weightless style that carries textbook blackcurrant fruits, lead pencil shavings, green tobacco, cedarwood, and camphor aromas and flavors. I compared this wine to a more elegant version of the 2016 from barrel and I think that comparison still holds. Incredibly up-front and charming, and already drinkable with sweet tannins, it will unquestionably pick up more complexity and nuance over the coming 4-6 years. It should hit maturity around age 10 and evolve for 75 years or more given its perfect balance. This is a beautiful, quintessential Lafite that exudes elegance and charm.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDThe 2018 Lafite-Rothschild is a stunning wine. Silky and floral, the 2018 offers all the signatures of the Grand Vin, but amplified by the radiance of the year. In the glass, Lafite is rich and exotic, yet it also retains tremendous vibrancy. The interplay of Merlot picked early and Cabernet Sauvignon harvested late makes for wine of extraordinary dimension, complexity and class. Graphite, dark red fruit, spice and leather linger on the huge finish. Magnificent!Antonio Galloni | 98 AGVery pure, with a sleek and extremely focused beam of cassis, black cherry puree and blackberry preserves streaming through, lined along the edges with savory, sweet bay leaf and black tea details. Those extra notes assert themselves through the finish, but without intruding too much on the fruit, letting it play out over a long iron spine. Hums with precision. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2030 through 2045.Wine Spectator | 97 WS

Easily the greatest example from this château that I’ve tasted, the 2018 Château Calon Ségur checks in as 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Petit Verdot aged 20 months in new French oak. This dense purple-hued beauty boasts a stunning nose of blackcurrants, crème de cassis, tobacco, baking spices, chocolate, and cedarwood. With full-bodied richness, a layered, multi-dimensional texture, gorgeous tannins, and one seriously long finish, it hits that palate with 15% alcohol, yet you wouldn’t know it by tasting it, and the wine is perfectly balanced, has incredible purity of fruit, and stays fresh and lively, with a clean finish. This magical Saint-Estèphe can be drunk any time over the coming 20+ years.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDA distinctive bouquet with notes of iodine, flowers, fresh fruit and graphite, but its floral character takes on a dominant role with airing. Gorgeously juicy mouthfeel brimming with energy lengthening a finish that consolidates its profound substance but also reveals surprising subtlety and delicacy. This 2018 is perhaps an atypical Calon Ségur in the context of recent vintages, but it joins the ranks of the great ones and should gain in elegance over time. Cellaring may be required for up to twenty-five years. (Drink between 2030-2060)Decanter | 99 DECThe 2018 Calon-Ségur is blended of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot (14.9% alcohol). It is anticipated to age for 20 months in barriques, 100% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs just a little coaxing before it reveals seductive notes of baked cherries, warm cassis, licorice and smoked meats with nuances of hoisin, camphor, Chinese five spice and dried roses with a waft of cardamom. Full-bodied and completely packed with concentrated black fruit and spice layers, it has a firm frame of grainy tannins and a wicked backbone of freshness giving an energetic lift to the very long finish. There’s lots of brightness coming from the Cabernet Franc component in here, but it is nonetheless a decadent expression.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96-98 RPAromas of redcurrants and plums with blueberries and black licorice, following through to a full body that’s so refined and polished, the tannins integrated wonderfully into the fruit. Fresh, linear and persistent. Real clarity and purity to this. Try after 2025.James Suckling | 97 JSThis is a dense, generous wine. Swathes of black fruits are packed with concentrated tannins. Its power is palpable, as is its luxuriously rich future. The wine will take plenty of aging, so don’t drink before 2027. .Wine Enthusiast | 97 WERipe, fresh and well-defined from start to finish, this lets cassis and dark plum notes race through, carried by a graphite edge and backed with dark tobacco, warm earth and chestnut accents on the finish. Has serious grip and drive. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2024 through 2038.Wine Spectator | 95 WSThe 2018 Calon-Ségur has a classic Saint-Estèphe nose. Rather obdurate at first, it takes time to coalesce, revealing black fruit, charcoal and warm gravel scents, well defined but distant and not predisposed to charm the imbiber. In a funny way, I quite like that stubbornness. The palate is well balanced with firm tannins and fine acidity. Maybe this feels a little pinched compared to recent vintages; it does not possess the amplitude of the 2016 and 2017 and it is rather serious on the brine-infused finish. This is a fine and very typical Calon-Ségur, though it is not the most finessed in recent years.Vinous Media | 92 VM

A seriously impressive Petrus in 2020. Less hedonistic and instantly emotional than 2019, more sultry, almost shy and reserved but with definition, weight, succulence and suppleness that shines through. It has a silky tannic tension and clear power but not heft, only a soft muscular expansion that comes with a grip and chew to the black fruits with medicinal, liquorice edges and mouthwatering acidity. Understated yet utterly captivating, it takes its time to come out of its shell - a little serious right now but at the same time it’s stylish with a bright, lifted finish reminding you of the juicy freshness that’s possible even in such warm vintages. A shining star that will be magnificent in time.Decanter | 100 DECAs I observed to Olivier Berrouet, it’s hardly very original to find a wine critic extolling the virtues of this Pomerol reference point; and yet, whether one likes it or not, there’s no denying that the 2020 Pétrus is a brilliant achievement and indeed one of the very finest vintages at this address over the last two decades. Unwinding in the glass with a deep bouquet of dark berries, cherries and cassis mingled with hints of exotic spices, violets and vine smoke, it’s full-bodied, layered and concentrated, with huge depth at the core, exquisitely refined tannins and a youthfully reserved, even restrained profile despite its power and size. This serious, classically proportioned Pétrus is a monument in the making.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPThe transparency and complexity in the nose is wonderful, with so much floral character like violets and roses with some fresh spices. Dark berries, too. Sandalwood. It’s medium-bodied but then it just opens and unfolds with incredible depth of fine tannins and great length. It goes on for minutes. It opens like butterfly wings. What a wine. Superb. Drink after 2028.James Suckling | 100 JSThe 2020 Pétrus is a wine of pure and total sensuality. Silky, creamy tannins wrap around a core of dark red and black fruit. A wine with explosive depth but no hard edges and mind-blowing balance, the 2020 is so alluring, even in the early going. Time in the glass brings out lifted floral top notes that add freshness. What strikes most is the elegance of the tannins. I don’t think I have ever tasted a young Pétrus like the 2020. Technical Director Olivier Berrouet gave the 2020 a bit more time on the skins than is normal. Aging was 17-18 months in oak. Let’s cut to the chase. The 2020 Pétrus is profoundly great.Vinous Media | 99 VMWonderfully aromatic, this wine offers ripe tannins that give the appearance of softness. That’s deceptive because the wine’s structure is massive and concentrated. Velvet black fruits are embedded in the texture, superripe without losing freshness. Drink from 2027.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEDelivers a fairly gorgeous beam of ripe, lush, unadulterated raspberry fruit flecked with light anise, apple wood and sweet tobacco hints along the way, but this is driven from start to finish primarily by the fruit. Showing a subtle mineral edge that adds detail on the finish, this has impressive poise for the vintage. Finishes with a burnish leather feel rather than succulence, but that’s the vintage’s fault in the end. Best from 2026 through 2040.Wine Spectator | 96 WS