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Ripe raspberries and blueberries with hints of fresh flowers. Deep nose of dark fruits. Full body, with silky tannins and a beautifully integrated tannin structure. It’s long and very refined. Better than 2009. Try in 2018.James Suckling | 96 JSRich and ripe black fruits, both concentrated and expressive, florality and fragrance are there waiting to come out. Firmness, breadth and precision, an excellent wine. Drinking Window 2016 - 2040.Decanter | 95 DECFor anybody looking for classic Bordeaux, this is the bottle to seek. “Classic” here means a wine with a tannic structure that also relies on a black currant flavor, with acidity providing freshness but not losing any concentration or aging potential. Keep for many years.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThe 2010 Gruaud Larose has an attractive bouquet with brambly black fruit, freshly tilled loam and melted tar scents that gently unfold in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and a superb line of acidity that keeps this Saint-Julien tensile from start to finish. Plenty of energy here and beautifully proportioned, this is excellent. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 94 VMDark garnet/plum/purple, with loads of spice, earth, underbrush, red and black currants, licorice, and even a hint of Provencal garrigue, this full-bodied, tannic, masculine style of St.-Julien needs 5-6 years of cellaring, but is full, beefy, rich and impressively endowed. There are plenty of firm tannins in the background of this blockbuster wine, which has been built for the long haul. This is one 2010 where patience will be required. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2040.Robert Parker | 93+ RPThis is distinctive, with an aromatic roasted alder wood streak leading the way, quickly followed by dense but sleek blackberry cobbler, currant paste and warm plum sauce notes. Well-polished through the finish, offering deeply embedded acidity. Best from 2015 through 2030.Wine Spectator | 93 WS(Château Gruaud Larose) The 2010 Gruaud Larose has turned out very well indeed and is another of the stars in St. Julien this year. The bouquet is deep, complex and handsomely reserved in tone, as it offers up scents of cassis, dark berries, espresso, cigar wrapper, gravelly soil tones and a deft framing of new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and powerfully constructed, with a rock solid core of fruit, plenty of ripe, well-integrated tannins and a very long, well-balanced and classy finish. (Drink between 2022-2075).John Gilman | 92 JG

The nose is phenomenal with perfect aromas of Cabernet Sauvignon with currant bush, blackberries and minerals. A pure expression of Cab. The palate is perfect with a full body, but has perfectly integrated tannins with a texture like the finest cashmere. It’s strong but noble with perfect form and beauty. All in harmony. A fabulous wine that everyone who loves Bordeaux should have a bottle or case of. Better in 2020.James Suckling | 100 JSWhile I loved the 2010 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou on release I’ve always preferred the 2009. However, the 2010 showed sensationally on this occasion, and while in a different style than the 2009, it’s unquestionably as good. Still ruby/purple-hued, it offers up extraordinary notes of pure crème de cassis, unsmoked tobacco, spice, and damp earth, and it’s the purity of fruit as well as the incredible depth and intensity that makes this wine so special. Full-bodied, deep, profound, and seamless on the palate, it offers incredible pleasure today but it’s going to be a 50-year, if not a 100-year wine. Hats off to Bruno Borie.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDVery deep garnet in color, the 2010 Ducru-Beaucaillou is just slightly closed to begin, featuring subtle wafts of baked plums, espresso and bay leaves before kicking it up a notch with expressive notes of blackcurrant cordial, chargrilled meats, woodsmoke and crushed rocks plus a tantalizing touch of truffles. Full-bodied, concentrated and oh-so-decadently fruited in the mouth, the palate is built like a brick house with firm, ripe, grainy tannins and bold freshness supporting the tightly wound flavor layers, finishing with epic length and depth.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPThere is tannin build up at this point in the vertical, but in the most enjoyable way - a clear indication of how much complexity there is in these wines and how densely knitted together they are, bedding down for the long term. This wine in particular has barely an end in sight, it just stretches out before you, confident in its fleshy texture and layers of expression. This is really at the top of what you hope from St Julien, confident and intense yet still with the balance and freshness of the appellation. It has great persistency and keeps hanging on, delivering flavour an inch at a time. Wonderful. Drinking Window 2023 - 2045Decanter | 98 DECNot shy at all, with a flamboyant, aromatic profile of roasted apple wood and warm ganache, featuring more than enough stuffing in the form of thickly layered blackberry paste, steeped fig and pastis-soaked plum flavors. The structure is massive but incredibly polished, and the fruit displays terrific purity through the graphite-supported finish. Large-scale and extremely well-rendered. Best from 2020 through 2040. 8,416 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSThe 2010 Ducru-Beaucaillou, picked 29 September to 14 October, was matured in 100% new oak for 18 months. This is more backward, sultry compared to the 2009, but there is a payload of black fruit laced with violet and cedar, a very faint ash scent emerging with time. The palate is full-bodied with powerful black fruit, a lovely granular texture and a killer line of acidity. There is a certainly headiness on the finish, atypically more so than the 2009, although it delivers extraordinary persistence. It needs another 10 years before it even thinks about entering its drinking window. Tasted at the Ducru Beaucaillou vertical at the château.Vinous Media | 96+ VMA grand wine, it has great ripeness and richness, majestic in its structure and upright character. It is concentrated, perfumed and opulent. The style of Ducru Beaucaillou is both generous and powerful, and obviously ageworthy.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WE(Château Ducru-Beaucaillou) The 2010 Ducru-Beaucaillou is a riveting success for the vintage and one of the best three or four wines to be found on the Left Bank this year. The bouquet is deep, pure and stunning, as it soars from the glass in a mélange of sweet cassis, dark berries, tobacco, a superb, gravelly soil signature, coffee and a fair dollop of spicy new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and fabulously structured, with great intensity at the core, impeccable focus and balance, plenty of ripe, beautifully integrated tannins and outstanding length and grip on the palate-staining and dancing finish. Here is one of the extremely rare 2010s that actually is worthy of all the hyperbole bantered around about this vintage! (Drink between 2022-2100)John Gilman | 95+ JG

Absolutely remarkable is the 100% destemmed 2010 Cote Rotie Lancement Cote Blonde which sees 50% new oak barrels (175-200 cases produced). It offers spectacular aromas of bacon fat, tapenade, cassis, raspberry jam, graphite, subtle smoke and a hint of acacia flowers. Dense, opulent and full-bodied with decent acidity and sweet, velvety tannin, this stunning wine may merit a perfect score when released.Ogier's wines just keep getting better and better, so if you haven't yet jumped on the Ogier bandwagon, it's time to do so. Michel Ogier, and more recently his son, Stephane, are the leading craftsmen in terms of wines from the steep hillsides north of the old Roman town of Vienne. These are still entitled to only a VDP designation, but current vintages are the finest he has yet produced.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPInky ruby. Powerful, expansive aromas of raspberry liqueur, Asian spices, sandalwood and smoky minerals, with an exotic floral nuance that gains power with air. Deeply concentrated but lively, offering palate-staining red fruit and floral pastille flavors and a strong spicy quality. Fine-grained tannins add grip to an incredibly long, sappy and penetrating finish, which clings with remarkable tenacity. One of the great wines of the Rhone from this outstanding vintage.Vinous Media | 97 VMShows stunning depth and richness, with loads of velvety tannins carrying waves of blackberry, fig and dark plum confiture flavors. The long finish cruises throughout, with charcoal, black tea and roasted alder notes all deftly inlaid. An echo of iron lingers. Best from 2017 through 2035. 20 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 97 WS

The best Pauillac I ever tasted (and this wine has been a revelation ever since they first introduced it), the 2010 from Latour represents 24% of their production. It is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44.5% Merlot and .5% Cabernet Franc. An amazingly opulent, round, delicious wine, and a great buy when they finally release it – assuming it comes in under a three-digit price – it possesses wonderfully silky tannins, classic black currant, cedar wood and forest floor notes, and rich, full-bodied opulence as well as a terrific purity and palate presence. It should drink well for 10-15+ years.Robert Parker | 93 RPA wine with berry, chocolate and spice character. Full body, with velvety tannins and a savory finish. It shows currant and berry. I love the texture to this. Third wine of first growth Latour. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 92 JSLatour’s 2010 Pauillac de Château Latour is a huge overachiever and shows just how compelling this vintage is. The aromatics alone are beguiling, but it is the wine’s impeccable balance and class that are most impressive today. Hints of leather, earthiness, tobacco, licorice and dark cherry are nicely layered into the silky finish. The 2010 is an absolutely delicious wine to drink now and over the next decade or so.Antonio Galloni | 92 AG

Eclipsing even the 2009, the 2010 Cornas achieved one of the highest natural alcohol levels (14%) ever recorded at Clape. This complex, inky/purple-colored effort boasts abundant notes of charcoal, licorice, blackberries and blueberries intermixed with a hint of scorched earth (or is it charcoal embers?), a full-bodied mouthfeel, a seamless personality and a crushed rock-like minerality. The tannins are so sweet it will be drinkable in 2-3 years, and should keep for 25 or more. It is a tour de force in what Syrah can achieve in this hallowed appellation. Kudos to the Clape family, especially Pierre-Marie.An historic reference point in Cornas is the estate of the retired Auguste Clape, which has been run over the last decade by his talented son, Pierre-Marie. This estate may have produced their finest wines to date in 2009, but the 2011s and 2010s rival anything produced at this family-owned, tiny boutique producer. They offer two cuvees of Cornas with the Renaissance representing their younger vines (although most of those are between 30 and 50 years of age). The top cuvee, simply called Cornas, has been a favorite of mine since the late seventies.Robert Parker | 100 RPAn exceptional vintage in the Northern Rhône has produced a very full, lush and ripe style here. It has all the tannin and structure you could hope for, and it’s searingly fresh, with delicious juicy berry fruits and an exceptionally long finish. It’s a tempestuous style, ferric and violet-tinged at the same time. A great vintage for Clape, a soaring wine. Drinking Window 2023 - 2045.Decanter | 99 DECA fantastic wine from an epic vintage, the 2010 Clape Cornas is still at least five years away from hitting its stride, and I suspect it will still be impressing lucky wine-lovers for at least a decade after that. A hugely perfumed bouquet evokes ripe black/blue fruits, candied flowers, incense, olive paste and Moroccan spices, with only a hint of gaminess in the background. Deeply concentrated and energetic, there’s an uncanny balance of richness and energy to the sweet black currant, cherry preserve and fruitcake flavors. Fine-grained tannins make a late appearance but are quickly absorbed by the lush, creamy fruit. I’d be in no hurry to drink this, but with a bit of aeration it’s a stunner.Vinous Media | 98 VMRock-solid and well-built, with a frame of charcoal and tar around a core of dark plum, blackberry and black currant fruit, revealing loads of tobacco, singed bay leaf and graphite notes in reserve. This should age beautifully, showing excellent range, character and definition. Best from 2017 through 2030. 228 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 97 WS

The 2010 La Tour du Pin is showing incredibly well. A blend of 75% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc from just over 17 acres, this wine is a sleeper of the vintage. It offers up loads of blueberry, black raspberry and boysenberry fruit, stunning opulence, freshness and precision, despite its flesh and fat. Pure, fragrant and -open for business,- so to speak, this is a gorgeous wine to drink over the next 10-15 years.Robert Parker | 93 RPThis shows a wonderful nutty character with chocolate. It’s round and soft with a beautiful texture. Wonderful character of jasmine and cocoa powder. Delicious now but wait for four or five years. This is the best wine from here ever. From same owners and team as Cheval Blanc. Mostly Merlot. Try in 2016.James Suckling | 93 JS(3.7 pH; 85 IPT; 14% alcohol) Deep ruby. Fresh aromas of blackcurrant, boysenberry and violet. Enters the mouth tart and fresh, with lively flavors of red berries and minerals, then finishes long and bright, with smooth tannins and a hint of raspberry syrup. This compact, flavorful wine seems to be the most successful La Tour du Pin of the last three vintages. Owned by Cheval Blanc, and made by the same team, this wine was formerly called La Tour du Pin-Figeac.Vinous Media | 87-90 VM

The 2010 Le Gay is performing sensationally, even better than my wildly enthusiastic tasting notes from barrel might have predicted. Inky opaque purple, and presenting a formidable and foreboding nose of camphor, black truffles, graphite, blueberries and blackberries as well as hints of smoked meats and floral nuances. Just about everything seems to be present in this smorgasbord of aromatics delights. The wine hits the palate with power, richness and purity, full-bodied texture, and enormous intensity. The final blend is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. This wine needs at least 8-10 years of cellaring, based on its masculinity and structure, and should easily eclipse 20-40 years in a good cellar.This tiny gem of a property has been pushing the quality envelope aggressively since it was purchased by proprietress Catherine Pere-Verge in 2004, and it has hit pay dirt in 2010.Robert Parker | 99 RPThe 2010 Le Gay is a powerhouse in the vintage and is still young and backward, but oozes potential. Blackcurrants, scorched earth, graphite, wood smoke, and an incredible minerality all emerge from this concentrated, rich, yet oh, so elegant and seamless 2010. Full-bodied, deep, layered and concentrated, with perfectly integrated tannin, acidity, and alcohol, this tour de force needs 4-5 years of bottle age and will keep for another 25-30 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JDFeatures a gorgeous, velvety mouthfeel, offering layer upon layer of crushed plum, warm linzer torte, steeped blackberry and anise notes, lined with black tea and well-singed wood spice notes. A beautiful combination of weight and grace, boasting a long, mineral-tinged finish that lets the fruit drip luxuriously. A real showstopper. Best from 2015 through 2030.Wine Spectator | 95 WSA lovely example of how enjoyable Pomerol can be in 2010, this is already open and relatively accessible, but still powerfully packed with flavour and personality. A truly impressive vintage from this property, showcasing the full potential of this corner of the appellation, rippling with tar, graphite, truffles and vanilla bean. Great stuff from the late Catherine Pere-Verge. 100% new oak. Drinking Window 2020 - 2045Decanter | 95 DECThe 2010 Le Gay has a fabulous concentrated bouquet with black plum, brambly red fruit, orange pith and light black truffle aromas, complex and among the finest that you will find in the appellation. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannin, an equal measure of red and black fruit laced with white pepper, Chinese 5-spice and bay leaf. Very cohesive, this fans out wonderfully on the finish and retains impressive delineation from start to finish. One of the best wines from Le Gay in recent years though my score implies it may be amidst a dumb phase. Tasted at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 94+ VMFeminine violet nose with beautiful polished purple fruit, vanilla and some Seville orange. Dense and full-bodied on the palate with dancing acidity and soft fine tannins. Very pleasant already now. So delicious. Give it time. Try after 2016.James Suckling | 94 JS

A wine with great beauty and finesse. Such elegance and ethereal quality for this estate. Full body, with ultra-fine tannins and a juicy delicious finish. Long and beautiful. This is the best Lynch in a long, long time. I love the precision here. Try in 2018.James Suckling | 98 JSStill a saturated ruby-black in hue, the 2010 Lynch-Bages offers up aromas of rich cassis fruit mingled with hints of pencil shavings, loamy soil and cigar wrapper. Full-bodied, deep and muscular, it’s rich and layered, with a concentrated core of fruit that’s framed by firm, powdery tannins and lively acids. The most brooding, backward Lynch-Bages of the decade and one of the real successes of the vintage, this is a vibrant, tightly wound wine that is still an infant at age 10. Readers with bottles in their cellars might try one now out of curiosity, but this 2010 won’t begin to hit its stride until age 20.Robert Parker | 97 RPDeep inky purple in colour, this is a majestic Pauillac to be savoured by Bordeaux lovers. Again we are far from it being ready to drink and the tannins continue to be dominant, although not hiding the layers of rich earthy loam, slate, pencil lead and concentrated cassis that lie underneath. It’s impressive and built, muscular, taut and architectural. An excellent reflection of what 2010 brought to the wines in this corner of the Médoc. It’s not the most enticing for drinking today; give it another few years to soften and open further, or really allow it to have a good four to five hours in a carafe. But there is no mistaking the future of this wine. Drinking Window 2022 - 2050.Decanter | 97 DECRoasted cedar, tobacco and bay leaf notes start off this structured but lively bottling, with intense currant, blackberry and black cherry flavors at the core. The iron-laced grip and pleasantly austere plum pit and licorice snap accents fill in on the tar-tinged finish. Great range, character and typicity. If you ever need to explain Pauillac to someone, give them this. Best from 2018 through 2037. 25,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSThis sumptuous wine is driven by perfectly ripe fruit as well as dense, dusty and dry tannins. Great swathes of blackberry sweep across the palate, followed by juicy acidity. Such a combination will make this impressive wine a delight to drink in 10 years and beyond. *Cellar Selection*Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThe 2010 Lynch-Bages has a stunning bouquet with pixelated black fruit, crushed stone and graphite aromas that soar from the glass. This is just amazingly focused. The palate is medium-bodied with concentrated black fruit curiously tinged with cough candy, which here I find just a bit out of place. The acidity is extremely well judged and there is immense persistence on the finish. Bold, brassy and ambitious, this is an extremely impressive wine, although I suspect that there are better bottles out there. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 95 VM(Château Lynch-Bages) The 2010 Lynch-Bages is one of the stars in the Left Bank this year, as the Cazes family has fashioned a superb and perfectly balanced example of the vintage. The deep and complex nose soars from the glass in a mélange of cassis, dark berries, espresso, cigar ash, a touch of lead pencil, gravel, leafy young cabernet tones and cedar. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and most impressively soil-driven, with a fine core of pure fruit, excellent focus and balance, bright, well-integrated acids and fine length and grip on the ripely tannic and beautifully delineated finish. A fine, fine vintage for Lynch-Bages. (Drink between 2022-2075)John Gilman | 94+ JG

More closed than when I tasted it earlier this year, the 2010 Cote Rotie Chateau d’Ampuis is an incredible effort that’s made from 93% Syrah and 7% Viognier. Coming from the estate’s top sites and aged 38 months in new oak, it has no problem standing beside the top three single-vineyard releases. Crème de cassis, vanilla bean, smoked meats and licorice all flow to a full-bodied, beautifully concentrated, structured Cote Rotie that needs another 5-6 years of bottle age, but will keep for 2-3 decades.Robert Parker | 99 RPRock-solid, offering dark currant and blackberry paste flavors that race along, thanks to well-embedded graphite and charcoal notes. The finish lets warm fruitcake, plum skin and singed juniper details fill in, with plenty of grip. Mouthwatering acidity and a long echo of sweet tapenade keep this racy and defined. Best from 2015 through 2035. 2,200 cases made, 300 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 97 WSGlass-staining ruby. Potent raspberry, floral pastille and Asian spice scents are complicated by suggestions of mocha, licorice and pipe tobacco. Silky and expansive on the palate, offering sweet red fruit liqueur and cherry-vanilla flavors lifted and sharpened by juicy acidity. Finishes broad, seamless and extremely long, with slow-building tannins adding shape and grip. This expressive wine drinks very well now but has the concentration and structure to age.Vinous Media | 94 VM

A wine that might rival the 2001 when all is said and done, the 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de La Reine des Bois is an incredible effort that does everything right. Possessing a voluptuous, decadent and super-rich profile, it stays graceful and perfectly balanced, with beautiful freshness, a stacked mid-palate and a blockbuster finish. Opening up in the glass, with copious blackberry, cassis, graphite, violets and spring flower-like nuances, it needs another 2-3 years of bottle age, and will have upward of three decades of overall longevity.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPA thrilling Châteauneuf-du-Pape any way you look at it, Domaine de la Mordorée’s 2010 Cuvée de la Reine des Bois is up there with the best of the vintage and is most similar, in my mind, to the estate’s ’05 with its overall elegant, yet incredibly concentrated feel. A completely destemmed blend of 80% Grenache and the rest a mix of Mourvedre, Syrah, Counoise, and Vaccarese that was aged mostly in tank, yet with 30% in barrel, it delivers a pure and intense array of blackberry liqueur, licorice, toasted spice, wild flowers, truffle, and hints of leather on the nose. Clean, fresh, and detailed, with a full-bodied, dense, and stunningly concentrated palate, this nevertheless remains overall elegant, beautifully textured, and restrained, with masses of ripe tannin emerging on the finish. As with most 2010s, this really needs air to show at its best, and ideally should be given 5-7 years of bottle age. It will drink well for two decades or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDOpaque ruby. Sexy, intensely perfumed bouquet presents candied dark fruits, spices and potpourri, with bright minerality adding lift. Deeply pitched but impressively energetic, offering sweet blueberry and cassis flavors and a jolt of cracked pepper. The floral and spice notes come back on the potent finish, which shows harmonious tannins and outstanding persistence. By smoothly playing richness off vivacity it's almost shockingly approachable now, not that I'd be touching mine for at least another five years or so.Vinous Media | 95 VMThe Delorme family's luxury cuvée is aged in a fair bit of small oak, which imparts a plush texture and cedary overtones to the wine. It's full-bodied and powerful, loaded with dark cherry fruit and baking spices that linger on the finish. Drink now–2020 or so.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WE

Wow! This wine exceeded my enthusiastic barrel tasting notes. A big, back-strapping blockbuster from Gazin, in which the oak seems to be pushed into the background (thankfully), the wine offers up notes of caramelized black cherry and black currant fruit interwoven with mocha, white chocolate, subtle toast and hints of coffee beans and tobacco leaf. The exceptional aromatics are easily followed up by a full-bodied, powerful, broodingly backward, rich, intense wine with multiple dimensions, layers of fruit, and a sensational finish of close to a minute. This is one of the all-time great efforts from Gazin. It should be forgotten for 6-10 years and drunk over the following 30 to 40.Robert Parker | 96 RPThe 2010 Gazin has an astonishingly precise bouquet with real intensity and bravura, mainly black fruit laced with truffles and morels, becoming more ferrous with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannins, crisp acidity, a beguiling sense of symmetry and just a little gaminess towards the finish. What a wonderful Pomerol. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 96 VMThe kind of vintage that was always going to suit Gazin, and for certain there is plenty of the estate signature here - dark fruits, bitter chocolate, firm tannins and architectural angles. Excellent persistency, this stretches out through the palate. Impressive rather than loveable perhaps, but there is depth and concentration and it is just about starting to open up, underscoring as ever that Gazin is among the last of the Pomerols to reach its drinking window. Drinking Window 2020 - 2045.Decanter | 95 DECA subtle red with ultra-fine tannins that accentuate a palate of chocolate, berries and nuts. Full and very round. It’s refined and beautiful. Hard not to drink now but wait at least five years. Top wine from Gazin.James Suckling | 95 JSDense, with a dark, smoldering feel as charcoal and coffee weave around a core of mulled fig, blackberry and boysenberry fruit. The long, muscular finish features singed iron and black tea notes for added range. Needs a little time, but should unfurl nicely. Best from 2015 through 2030.Wine Spectator | 93 WSRich fruit currants and berries, intensely juicy, packed with dark very ripe fruit. A powerhouse of berries.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WE

(Château Beauregard, Pomerol, Bordeaux, France, Red) Tighter and more chewy than the 2009, less ready to drink - the two are perfect reflections of their vintage. I love this, it’s the most Pomerol to date in terms of its plush tannins and texture, and its throbbingly dark chocolate-laced fruits. Feels silky and seductive, but still with the balance and mouthwatering final finish that Beauregard does so well. Needs a carafe if drinking soon because there is still austerity here. (Drink between 2021-2044)Decanter | 95 DECWonderful aromas of blueberries, blackberries and dark chocolate. Full-bodied, with polished and juicy tannins and a long finish with a gorgeous depth of fruit and spices. Best Beauregard in years. Better in 2018.James Suckling | 94 JSOn of my favorite Beauregards in many a year, this vintage is very sexy and lush, with caramelized mocha, chocolate, black cherry fruit, some loamy soil notes, sweet tannins and a voluptuous, fleshy, succulent mouthfeel. It is nearly impossible to resist at present and should continue to drink well for at least another 12-15 years.Robert Parker | 91 RPLush fig and raspberry fruit gives this a palate-coating feel, with dark spice, melted red licorice and black tea filling in on the finish. Inviting, warm and succulent, featuring an elegant structure. Drink now through 2017. 4,333 cases made.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

This sports the ample, fleshy, powerful core of the vintage, with dark blue and black fruits, but has extra drive, with mouthwatering acidity and lots of minerality cutting through on the finish. Shows great mouthfeel and purity.Wine Spectator | 93-96 WSThis is incredibly intense and powerful with aromas of iron, spice and berry. Full body with a dense center palate of dark fruits and chocolate. Very long and refined. Balanced. Very closed. Try in 2018.James Suckling | 96 JSThe wine is not as powerful as one might expect, given the owners and winemaking team, coming in at 14.3%. A sensational, rather massive example for a 2010, this opaque purple wine offers up notes of subtle barbecue smoke, blackberry and cassis as well as a hints of lead pencil shavings and a confiture of red and black fruits in the mouth. Full-bodied, unctuously textured and excruciatingly tannic, this is a big, blockbuster style of wine meant for 10-50+ years of cellaring.Robert Parker | 95+ RPSaturated dark ruby. High-toned aromas of black raspberry, blueberry and smoky oak. Superripe, lush, chewy and deep, with a distinctly high-toned quality to the fine-grained flavors of wild dark berries, espresso, graphite and dark chocolate. For all its sweetness, there’s no shortage of acidity here. The broad, sweet, building tannins give shape to the fruit of this massive wine, which remained impressively fresh in the recorked bottle.Vinous Media | 94+ VM

The 2010 Palmer is one of the superstars of the vintage, a blend of 54% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot, which is just slightly different than what I indicated two years ago. The alcohol level hit 14.5%, and the wine comes across like a more stacked-and-packed version of their 2000. It is tannic and backward, but has a sensational black/purple color and a gorgeous nose of camphor, barbecue smoke, blackberry and cassis. Full-bodied, with oodles of glycerin but a relatively healthy pH, this wine has a precision and freshness that belie its lofty alcohol and extravagant concentration. This is a sensationally rich, full-throttle Palmer that could well end up being one of the all-time great wines made at this estate. It needs a good 7-10 years of cellaring and should keep for 50 or more years.There’s no question that Thomas Duroux and the staff at Palmer are producing wines of first-growth quality, and have been for nearly a decade.Robert Parker | 98+ RPOne of the great years of Bordeaux now at 10 years old and showing why this is such an unusual vintage in terms of the depth of structure and muscular concentration that was achieved. In fact, I am upping the drinking window from the last time I tasted this, as there is such a pulse of life and grip that shows no signs of going anywhere. The initial layers are starting to be peeled back, but this retains primary black and blue fruits that are still full of flesh alongside baked earth, tons of liquorice and black chocolate with a grippy tannic structure, fresh acidities and a serious attitude. Brilliant stuff, that is clearly going to power on for decades. Harvest September 22 to October 20. Drinking Window 2022 - 2048.Decanter | 98 DECA purity of fruit here with plum and dark chocolate undertones. Spices and treacle tart as well. Full body, with ultra-fine tannins and a long, long finish. Very fine indeed. Fit, fruity and reserved. Superb. Try in 2020.James Suckling | 98 JSWhile outwardly this wine is generous and opulent with great juicy sweetness, the core is structured and powerful. The wine is concentrated and complex, with dark tannins and a brooding, dense texture. This is a wine with a long-lived future.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThe 2010 Palmer has an outgoing, intense and multifaceted bouquet with black cherries, boysenberry, crushed violets and hints of cassis - your quintessential Margaux turned up to eleven. The palate is medium-bodied with very supple tannins and a fine bead of acidity. Headier than its Margaux peers, it builds in the mouth with a complex, marine-tinged finish with cracked black pepper lingering on the aftertaste. This is an outstanding Palmer but it needs more time in bottle. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 96 VMThis is riveting, with terrific tarry grip coursing underneath layers of smoldering bay leaf, warm plum confiture, freshly brewed espresso, dark cassis and well-steeped black tea. The charcoal and tobacco backdrop is gorgeous and should move forward through the core of fruit over time. Be patient though, as the structure is ironclad. This will really be electric once mature. Best from 2017 through 2040. 8,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WS(Château Palmer) The 2010 Château Palmer is a quite powerful rendition of this fine estate, but without any signs of the ripeness here obscuring any of the potential purity that makes this great estate so beloved by claret fans the world over. My notes do not include the alcohol level on the grand vin this year (which was also absent from the technical sheet handed out by the estate), but the literature from Palmer this year does observe that “although the alcoholic degree is very high, like in 2009, the acidity and tannic concentration are greater (than 2009), making for wines with an extremely solid foundation.” Given a cépage in 2010 that is comprised of fifty-four percent merlot, forty percent cabernet sauvignon and six percent petit verdot, one has to assume that the alcohol level is in the range of 14.5 percent in this vintage. But the wine shows no ill effects from this level of ripeness, as it offers up a superb nose of black cherries, blackberries, coffee bean, tobacco smoke, gravel and a suave base of new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and quite powerful for Palmer, with a rock solid core of fruit, very good focus and balance, substantial, but well-integrated tannins and excellent length and grip on the tangy finish. Stylistically, this will probably never be my favorite vintage at Palmer, as I tend to prefer this wine when it is at its most elegant, but there is no denying that the 2010 is beautifully-made and does show extraordinary purity and focus for such a broad-shouldered wine. (Drink between 2025-2100)John Gilman | 95 JG

Even at 10 years old this is fairly closed and austere, but there is so much to look forward to. It’s a serious wine that deserves your full attention, and would definitely be ready to go with a good hour or two in a carafe. But don’t just open and drink, because it needs time to let the fruits soften, and to release the myriad layers of liquorice, cigar box, chocolate and black berry flavours. Very impressive, easily rivalling classified wines in this vintage. 3.67pH. Harvest from September 5 to 28. Drinking Window 2020 - 2040.Decanter | 94 DECThe 2010 Phelan Ségur has a really lovely bouquet with brambly red fruit, brown spices, touches of damp undergrowth and tobacco. This feels complex and very well defined. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannins, good acidity, very harmonious with an elegant off-dry, slightly savoury finish. It is not the most ambitious Saint-Estèphe but there is plenty of charm here. I marked this wine down in the past, but it certainly beginning to blossom. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 93 VMAromas of blueberries and spices with hints of licorice too. Full body with firm tannins and a chewy finish. Extremely well-integrated. Beautiful. One of the best ever from here. Try in 2016.James Suckling | 93 JSAllies solid density to subtle refinement, with steeped plum, currant, singed iron and charcoal notes. Lightly firm through the finish, showing a lovely tobacco edge, this should age gracefully. Best from 2014 through 2025. 15,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WSThe best wine from Phélan Ségur for several years, this shows less of the often-intrusive new wood and more of the fruit that had been missing in past vintages. It shows a subtle level of toast and a black currant flavor, plus great acidity and freshness on the finish.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WEDeep garnet in color, the 2010 Phélan Ségur boldly springs from the glass with open-for-business notes of baked blackcurrants, blueberry tart and chocolate covered cherries followed by hints of cardamom, camphor and charcoal. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a firm line of grippy tannins and just enough freshness to support the maturing black fruits, finishing with a fair bit of chew.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

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

Dark fruits such as raspberries and blueberries with subtle perfume on the nose. Full body, with super well-integrated tannins and a fresh and clean finish. Racy young wine. Shows classy structure and richness. Try in 2018.James Suckling | 96 JSThe 2010 Domaine de Chevalier is still a baby, yet with air, offers tons of pleasure. Black currants, truffle, scorched earth, and licorice aromas and flavors all give way to a big, concentrated, unctuous beauty that has ample sweetness to its tannin, a stacked mid-palate, and a blockbuster finish. A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot, it needs an hour in a decanter if drinking anytime soon, and certainly has another two decades of longevity in front of it. It’s a sensational bottle of wine.Jeb Dunnuck | 95+ JDThe kind of stately but not overly exuberant vintage that suits Chevalier down to the ground, and this is bloody brilliant. Fairly open at this point, at the beginning of its drinking window although nowhere near quitting - you have decades ahead to enjoy it. Hard to fault the concentration in the raspberry and blackberry fruits. We could be in Pauillac except the tannins are a little less bristling and a little more seductive. Menthol lashes the final furlong. Drinking Window 2020 - 2042Decanter | 95 DECThis is one of my all-time favorite wines from Domaine de Chevalier, a silky, rather classic Pessac-Leognan with notes of scorched earth, tobacco leaf and black and red currants, but no hard edges. Fragrant, complex aromatics are followed by a savory, expansively flavored wine made from a final blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. The wine hit 13.5% natural alcohol, which must certainly be among the highest they have ever achieved, even eclipsing the 2009. An opulent, precocious style of wine that seems much more developed, complex and delicious than I thought from barrel, this beauty can be drunk in 5-6 years or cellared for 20 or more.Robert Parker | 95 RPFirm and closed, this is a wine with so much power and concentration. It also has beautiful fruit, smooth and opulent, that merges into the complex tannins and brooding, dark structure. It will take many years for this wine to open up.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThe 2010 Domaine de Chevalier shows a little more amplitude compared to the Malartic-Lagravière, red and black fruit, undergrowth, pressed rose petals and a touch of crushed stone all beautifully defined. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins but demonstrating great depth. This feels saline, slightly marine-influenced in the mouth, with outstanding precision on the slightly peppery finish. Oliver Bernard oversaw a magnificent Grand Vin. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 94 VMThis has drive and intensity, displaying lots of steeped currant, anise and blackberry coulis notes pushed by tar and briar flavors. The ample finish sports roasted juniper and iron accents, with nicely inlaid acidity to drive it all home. Should unwind nicely in the cellar. Best from 2015 through 2030.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

The 2010 is a more structured, masculine and steely version of the utterly compelling 2009. Tasting like black raspberry confiture with subtle notes of graphite and crushed chalk along with enormous floral notes, the wine displays a slightly smoky character but a voluptuous attack, mid-palate and finish. Its is full-bodied and massively endowed, with every component perfectly etched in this extraordinary wine, which should be drinkable after 7-8 years of bottle age and last for a half-century or more. This is brilliant stuff. Composed of 73% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Franc and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon from yields of 21 hectoliters per hectare, the alcohol is the highest ever registered at Beausejour-Duffau, coming in at 15%, but remarkably, the pH is modest and the acids relatively elevated, giving the wine an astonishing freshness and precision that is hard to believe in view of its power, density and length. Anticipated maturity: 2025-2055+.Anyone who has read this publication or visited St.-Emilion knows that this is a magical terroir capable of great things. It was only fully exploited in the past in the 1990 vintage, but has reached more consistently great heights over the last three or four years. Kudos to the duo of Nicolas Thienpont and Stephane Derenoncourt for what they have achieved over the last few years at Beausejour-Duffau.Robert Parker | 100 RPClearly the best wine from here since 1989 or 1990. The intensity of dark fruits is insane with citrus and flowers as well as dark fruits. Full and lively with a finish that lasts for minutes but it is dense and impressive.James Suckling | 98-99 JSThe Left Bank character of this St-Émilion 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 2022 - 2045Decanter | 97 DECA beautiful, floral-tinged style, with a delightfully expressive core of kirsch and linzer torte that bursts forth, while lots of red licorice, bergamot, black tea and blood orange notes fill in the remaining space. This has terrific range, with a long, creamy finish as well, but don’t be fooled, there’s serious grip in reserve and should cruise in the cellar. Best from 2015 through 2030.Wine Spectator | 95 WSVivid ruby. Captivating aromas of blackcurrant, red cherry, sweet spices and minerals are complemented by a strikingly pure violet nuance. Enters the mouth lush and concentrated, offering sweet dark berry and coffee flavors lifted by notes of black pepper, graphite and Asian spices. Turns more austere on the back half but remains very pure, hinting at uncommon depth and complexity. This classic, elegantly styled BDL finishes long and crisp, with very polished tannins and floral and mineral echoes.Vinous Media | 95 VMA solid and dense wine, showing the big improvements at this château. It hovers deliciously between acidity and ripe, forward fruit. The touch of smokiness from the wood aging goes with the fragrant, juicy black cherry and berry fruits. The wine will certainly age over many years.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WE

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

(Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru Red) A notably floral character adds breadth to the highly spiced and exceptionally fresh nose of cool red currant and plum. The rich, refined and admirably pure middle weight flavors are supported and shaped by ultra-fine tannins that coat the mouth on the incredibly long finish. Despite the underlying tension, this is essentially a wine of finesse and harmony that should also age for a very long time if desired. Brilliant and remarkably complex. (Drink starting 2025)Burghound | 96 BHGood full red. Vibrant perfume of raspberry, spices and minerals. Boasts outstanding dark berry intensity, with powerful crushed-stone minerality and a saline quality giving great energy and tension to the middle palate. Finishes with remarkable rising length, utterly suave tannins and superb lift. Like the Suchots, this is already wonderfully aromatic but is built for a decade or two of improvement in bottle.Vinous Media | 95+ VM(Romanée-St.-Vivant- Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux) The 2010 Romanée-St.-Vivant from Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux, not surprisingly, ash the best depth of fruit to stand up to the wood tannins here, and this wine is not bad at all. The nose is a complex and classy blend of cherries, orange peel, coffee, Vosne spices, lovely soil tones and plenty of smoky, luxe-styled new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and complex, with a good core of fruit, fine focus and very good length and grip on the chewy and only modestly over-oaked finish. This will have no trouble eventually absorbing its wood tannin, as it is only showing a touch of backend dryness at this time, and it will be a pretty good bottle at its apogee. But, should one expect more from an expensive example of Romanée-St.-Vivant in a great year? This will certainly not offer up even a modicum of value. (Drink between 2016-2040)John Gilman | 91+ JG

Dense ruby/purple, it tips the scales at 15% natural alcohol and was bottled unfined and unfiltered. Full-bodied in texture, it offers up loads of blueberry, blackberry and raspberry fruit intermixed with some cedar, vanilla and a touch of spring flowers. Impressively built, with good acidity and light tannin, this is a superb example of wine that reaches its prime in 3 or 4 years and lasts two decades. It’s right up there with their brilliant 2005.From an estate owned by Dominique and Florence Decoster, this wine has been a real treasure to follow over the last decade. Another over-achieving, brilliant effort from the Decosters, the 2010 from their 45-acre vineyard is a blend of 70% Merlot and the rest equal parts Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.Robert Parker | 95 RPThis for me has a better balance than the 2009, same alcohol but here it is effortlessly eaten up by the rich dark fruits, with cassis, blueberry, bilberry and blackberry all apparent, with texture and juice. It’s gourmet, with a black chocolate, slightly bitter edge, even with traces of menthol as the Cabernets take the lead here. Small yield at 36hl/ha. Harvest October 18 right through to November 5, which sounds extreme but bear in mind this is the cooler section of the plateau back towards the border with Castillon and these soils take longer to fully ripen their grapes. Drinking Window 2019 - 2044.Decanter | 94 DECBlack ruby. Superripe, sexy aromas of blackberry pastille and blueberry. Creamy-sweet-verging-on-confectionery, but with harmonious acidity giving shape and energy to the wine's superconcentrated dark fruit and floral flavors. Best today on the broad, energetic finish, which features substantial ripe, fine-grained tannins and slowly mounting floral persistence. A knockout.Vinous Media | 94 VMWow. This shows an impressive richness on the nose of cappuccino, ripe berries and dried flowers. Full body with velvety tannins and a fine finish. Rich and delicious. Harmonious and luscious. So delicious now but better in 2017.James Suckling | 93 JSThis is rich and very plush, but really pure as well, with gorgeous macerated cherry, cassis and blackberry preserves flavors gliding along, carried by remarkably polished tannins. Flecks of bergamot, blood orange and apple wood fill in on the finish, with a fine minerality buried as well. This should be lovely after some cellaring. Best from 2015 through 2030. 6,083 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

The wine has an opaque blue/black color and abundant notes of forest floor, spring flowers, black raspberry and blueberry liqueur in the aromatics along with hints of espresso and white chocolate. The wine is dense, full, rich, unctuously textured and very full-bodied, with its extravagant glycerin, fruit and extract covering the wine’s somewhat tannic structure. This is a bigger, more restrained and structured wine than the outrageously flamboyant and prodigious 2009. Give it 5-8 years of cellaring and drink it over the following 30-40 years.This property has been on fire, qualitatively speaking, for well over a decade. Another compelling effort from the Cuvelier family, the 2010 Clos Fourtet is a blend of 87% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc that came in at 14.5% alcohol. Yields were modest at 31 hectoliters per hectare. The harvest was late, starting at the very end of September and not finishing until the beginning of the third week of October.Robert Parker | 98 RPThe 2010 Clos Fourtet has a well defined and focused bouquet with tarry black fruit, black pepper and tobacco notes, almost equidistant between Left and Right Bank in style. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins, supple and underpinned by a fine bead of acidity. Very harmonious towards the finish with well-integrated oak, this is a superb Saint-Émilion. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 95 VMVery winey, with a saturated, sappy feel as kirsch, blackberry preserves and blueberry coulis notes tumble around, while the frame of charcoal, smoldering tobacco and licorice root keeps them penned together. The tannin structure is significant, but very refined, and that should carry this through extended cellaring while the aromatics and midpalate develop harmony. Best from 2016 through 2030. 4,167 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSA beautiful wine, with everything in the bottle. Blackberries, minerals and blueberries. Full and silky. Long, long finish.James Suckling | 93-94 JSThis chunky, fruity wine is full bodied and rich. It shows all the structure and weight of the vintage allied to ripe black fruits and a dense texture edged with minerality. Still very firm and youthful, it will need many years to mature.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WE

This wine displays plenty of black raspberries, black currants, espresso roast, Asian soy and plum sauce along with some mocha and chocolate. Beautifully rich, firm, and full-bodied, with sweet but abundant tannins, this is a classy, noble style of wine that should be forgotten for at least 5-7 years and drunk over the following 20. Remarkably, the alcohol, like most of the wines in the J. P. Moueix stable of Pomerols and St.-Emilions, hit 14.5%.A tiny production of only 1,000 cases in 2010 (versus 1,500 in most vintages), its proprietor Christian Moueix has turned out a more tannic, structured, backward style of Hosanna than the 2009 or, for that matter, the 2008.Robert Parker | 96+ RPBeautiful nose with ripe strawberries, red apple and vanilla. Wonderful floral notes too. Sumptuous ripe red fruit and juicy acidity on the palate with finely knit tannins. Full-bodied and very juicy with a soft silky texture and good length. It's hard not to drink it now. But much better in 2017.James Suckling | 96 JSA fleshy, alluring style, with strong structure, displaying plum, fig and boysenberry fruit laced with incense, Lapsang souchong tea and violet notes. Almost creamy, this features a thread of charcoal lending extra drive and depth on the finish. Seems to expand rapidly in the glass, boding well for cellaring. Best from 2017 through 2030. 1,000 cases made, 212 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 95 WSHigh-quality, 40-year-old Cab Franc planted on fine gravelly soil gives Cheval Blanc-like results. The 2010 is the best Hosanna ever, offering fragrant raspberry, blackcurrant, espresso and soy notes. Power in spades! Drinking Window 2025 - 2050Decanter | 94 DEC(Château Hosanna) The 2010 Hosanna is one top Pomerol that seems better in 2010 than it did in 2009, as this is an impressively tight, complex and refined example of this rather exuberant vintage. The bouquet is deep, classy and nicely reserved out of the blocks, delivering a blend of dark berries, black cherries, cigar smoke, gravelly soil tones, a touch of espresso and a stylish framing of new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, suave and very refined, with the inherent power of the vintage felt here as great intensity of flavor at the core. The ripely tannic and well-balanced finish delivers excellent grip, and this wine should be absolutely stunning with a decade’s worth of bottle age. (Drink between 2020-2070)John Gilman | 94 JGThis is a wine that is all tannin at this young stage. It is firmly dry and structured with a tight, dark texture. It has the concentrated fruit to sustain this initial severity, but will need many more years to show its power.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThe 2010 Hosanna shows much more ripeness on the nose compared to its peers, more red fruit with perfumed cherries and bergamot tea aromas, rose petal and sage. The palate is silky smooth with what feels like a fair proportion of Cabernet Franc. It does not quite kick on towards the somewhat oaky finish, though this is very seductive. Unlike other Pomerols, you could broach this now. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 91 VM

I certainly underrated the 2010 Pape Clement from barrel, rating it only 93-95+. (Thank God I put a “plus” there!) Having tasted it four times in Bordeaux, and rating it perfect three times and 99 the fourth time, this final blend of 51% Merlot, 47.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 1.5% Petit Verdot is perfection in a bottle. Tipping the scales at 14.5% natural alcohol, there are 8,000 cases of it. Its sublime elegance, the power, the medium to full-bodied texture, the silky tannins, the subtle notes of smoke, lead pencil shavings, black currants, charcoal, camphor, blueberry and cassis fruit are all remarkable. It is a rich, full-throttle wine, but the elegance and the great terroir of Pape Clement come through in abundance. It is slightly more developed and evolved than the 2005 was at a similar point in its evolution, but it certainly needs another 5-7 years to develop further nuances, which it surely will. This wine will last 30-40+ years.Kudos to proprietor Bernard Magrez, who has built an empire based on high quality more than any other characteristic.Robert Parker | 100 RPIntense blueberry nose with great precision and expression. Full and vibrant on the palate with a minty note. Vanilla. Wonderful structure. Firm but ripe tannins and very long. Needs time to soften. Great potential. Try in 2016.James Suckling | 96 JSThe 2010 Pape Clément has a gorgeous bouquet with vibrant red berry fruit, camphor, raspberry preserve and just a hint of marmalade - very seductive and classy. The palate is medium-bodied with lithe tannins and good density, as you would expect. Whilst a little grainy in texture it feels structured with tarry black fruit, although I would have liked to see a touch more persistence on the aftertaste. As such, leave it for another three or four years because it has a lot of potential. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 95 VMNicely toasty, with a lovely broad stroke of mocha and ganache spread over the velvety core of plum sauce, blackberry coulis and steeped currant fruit. The long, polished finish keeps a tarry thread running along with the fruit, adding length and range. Not shy on style. Best from 2018 through 2035. 7,966 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSA smooth, dense wine, ripe and polished. It brings out a modern view of Bordeaux, dark and concentrated, hinting at the new-wood aging. At the same time, the wine has a serious edge that promises proper aging.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEPape Clement was still all about shoulders and pecs at this point; and even at 10 years old this is a serious beast. There is a lovely elegant uptick through the finish, offering a counterpoint to black chocolate shavings, black olive, cut herbs, rosemary and cinnamon, just full of spice and power. It’s a good wine, no question; if not particularly signature Pessac. Drinking Window 2020 - 2042Decanter | 93 DEC(Château Pape Clément) The 2010 Pape Clément has turned out very well indeed, and while I would still prefer to see it in the guise of an unabashed champion of traditionalism, it is hard not to enjoy the more modern rendition in the context of its success in this challenging vintage in the Graves. The ripe nose is deep, complex and classy, as it offers up scents of black cherries, cassis, Cuban cigars, soil tones and plenty of spicy new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very suave on the attack, with impressive complexity, good depth at the core and very good length and grip on the fairly tannic finish. Today the new oak obtrudes a bit on the finish, but one hopes that there is sufficient stuffing to carry the wood tannins along with those from the skins. I am still not convinced that the new style here is an improvement upon the old, but this is at least very well done in 2010. (Drink between 2020-2060)John Gilman | 90+ JG

Aromas of orange peel, walnuts and berries follow through to a full body, with a luscious tannins and fruit structure. Long and delicious. The second wine of Palmer. Try in 2017.James Suckling | 93 JSThe second wine of Château Palmer is a rich, floral, smooth and perfumed wine. It has layers of dark plums and almost sweet acidity, with tannins that are buried in the voluptuous palate. The finish shows intense black currant acidity.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEThe 2010 Alter Ego De Palmer is a beauty. Made from close to an even split of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (from 50% of the total crop), it offers a deep purple color as well as a smoky, chocolatey style in is cassis, espresso and tobacco aromas and flavors. Big, rich and loaded with fruit and texture, it’s still a baby, with ripe, sweet tannin, yet certainly offers ample pleasure. Drink it any time over the coming 15-20 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 92 JDOffers a tarry frame melded to a core of plum sauce, tobacco and dark currant preserves. Fleshy and broad, with a good charcoal spine for freshness. Approachable now, but should improve with cellaring. Best from 2014 through 2025. 7,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WSThe Alter Ego in 2010 is quite ripe, as the wine weighs in at 14.4 percent alcohol, but never strays over the line into notes of sur maturité or shows any heat on the palate. The bouquet is deep, complex and quite lovely, as it offers up a mélange of plums, black cherries, tobacco smoke, dark soil tones and just a touch of new wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and plush on the attack, with a fine core of fruit, plenty of ripe, well-integrated tannins, bright acids and very good length and grip on the finish. This is quite a big wine, but it has not lost the inherent elegance of Palmer. (Drink between 2018-2045)John Gilman | 91 JGAn equal-part blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2010 Alter Ego represents 50% of the crop at Palmer. It has been an interesting second wine to take note of ever since the first vintage in 1998. The 2010 displays loads of chocolaty espresso notes, with plenty of punch, glycerin and unctuosity as well as some tannin like its bigger sister, but it is clearly meant to be drinkable at a much earlier age. It will still require several years of cellaring and should last 12-15 years.Robert Parker | 91 RP