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Really smoky, coffee bean aromas on the nose with ripe blackcurrants. Great texture and flavour here, it’s full of herbs and liquorice-tinged black fruits (cherries mainly) but really well integrated so that no one aspect sticks out. Tannins are super fine and smooth and the acidity is well balanced carrying the density of the fruit as well as the freshness. It’s a big shouldered wine there’s no question, power but also poise. Harmonious, charming and elegant. A very complete wine that is balanced with generous fruit, tannins, acidity and mineral freshness. Feels well handled and just excellently executed. Has a real purity to it with sculpting and refinement. Great stuff and still so juicy and appealing at the end. A top buy. (Drink between 2027-2045)Decanter | 95 DECBeautiful clarity of crushed red berries with dried flowers and sliced oyster mushrooms on the nose. Full-bodied with layers of ripe tannins and juicy fruit. Chocolate and walnut character comes through, together with hints of vanilla bean. Beautifully curated. 76% merlot, 20% cabernet franc and 4% cabernet sauvignon. Try after 2025.James Suckling | 95 JSThe 2019 Fleur Cardinale is a real head-turner. Lush and voluptuous in the glass, the 2019 offers up copious dark fruit, along with hints of chocolate, spice, new leather, menthol and licorice. There is no shortage or richness or lushness. While the 2019 is certainly a very, very good wine it is not quite as expressive as it was in barrel. Tasted two times.Antonio Galloni | 94 AGA consistently impressive Saint-Emilion, the 2019 Château Fleur Cardinale shows the vintage beautifully, with a medium to full-bodied, elegant style as well as classic darker cherry and mulberry fruits, notes of dried herbs, loamy earth, and incense, supple yet present tannins, and a great finish. It’s one classy, balanced 2019 to drink over the coming two decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDThe 2019 Fleur Cardinale derives from a late-ripening site on the north-facing side of Saint-Émilion’s limestone plateau. Revealing aromas of jammy cherries, spices, dark chocolate and mocha, it’s full-bodied, broad and velvety, with powdery tannins and a generous core of lively fruit, concluding with a chalky finish. This is a fleshy, front-loaded wine in a contemporary style that will please consumers who favor power and richness, but which will leave purists wondering if less might be more.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPRichly textured, with currant and fig paste notes rolling through slowly, laced liberally with humus, alder and tobacco. A touch burly, but the fruit has an unctuous hint as a counterbalance. This is for fans of the bigger style. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2024 through 2037. 8,750 cases made, 3,000 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WSA rich and smoothly textured wine, this is juicy with black currant fruits and ripe tannins. It has weight and plenty of dense fruit flavors along with tannins that have a fine potential for softening. Wine Enthusiast | 91 WE

The 2019 Figeac is without question one of the wines of the vintage. All the promise it showed as a young barrel sample, is all there in bottle, too. Estate Director Frédéric Faye crafted a towering, statuesque Figeac built on vertical energy and a feeling of vibrancy that never lets up. Deep layers of red/purplish fruit, cedar, tobacco, mint and dried flowers are framed by a super-classic expression of structure that keeps things in balance. There is a bit more Cabernet Franc in this year’s blend, and that definitely comes through. Readers who can find the 2019 should not hesitate, as it is truly majestic.Antonio Galloni | 99 AGThe wine is seriously rich with solid tannins. The tannins are softening into a more velvet texture that suits this style of wine well. It is giving a smoky character to the wine as well as richness. This is a great wine, very aromatic and concentrated. Drink from 2027. Wine Enthusiast | 99 WEThe 2019 Château Figeac checks in as 36% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 30% Merlot, and it’s another brilliant wine from Frédéric Faye. This deep purple-hued effort offers a beautiful Pauillac-like bouquet of ripe black cherries, cassis, damp earth, leafy herbs, chocolate, and smoked tobacco. It has classic Figeac herbal, earthy goodness (no doubt due to its high percentage of Cabernet) and is medium to full-bodied on the palate, has perfect tannins and flawless balance, all making for a brilliant Saint-Emilion that brings richness and power paired with finesse and elegance. Give bottles 4-5 years, count yourself lucky, and enjoy over the following 30+.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDA gorgeous deep purple colour to the rim. Expressive nose filled with blackcurrant pastilles, really quite concentrated and ripe with soft floral hints and some savoury aspects - the Cabernet Franc making itself known. Such texture on the palate, smooth tannins that coat the mouth have a ripe and juicy blackcurrant flavour, backed by a mineral, wet stone, graphite edge. Liner and direct on the palate, this is focussed and controlled, so precise with a real sense of forward motion. Elegant and seductive in a quietly confident way with a long finish. Totally captivating. Drinking Window: 2028 - 2050Decanter | 98 DECThis is a really beautiful red with crushed-berry, plum, bark, mushroom and earth character. It’s full and creamy-textured with lots of tannins, but they are integrated and polished and flow across the palate. So much depth and intensity, yet there’s underlying grace and class. Try after 2025.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2019 Figeac has turned out brilliantly. Wafting from the glass with aromas of blackberries, cassis, warm spices, violets and pencil shavings, framed by a deft touch of nicely integrated new oak, it’s full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with terrific depth at the core, powdery structuring tannins and lively acids, concluding with a long, precise finish. Rich but vibrant, this 2019 reflects the new precision that Frédéric Faye has brought to Figeac; but while it’s richer and more polished than the wines of yesteryear, the estate’s identity hasn’t been lost.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPLarge-scaled, capturing all the rich and flamboyant cassis, steeped plum and blackberry reduction notes that are hallmarks of the vintage, along with a broad swath of loam and warm gravel underneath as tobacco and alder accents fill in wherever possible. Muscular and toothy along the edges but rock-solid in build, with enough fruit to round into form eventually. Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2024 through 2040. 9,062 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

The 2019 La Gaffelière is just as impressive as it was en primeur. Bright and tightly wound, La Gaffelière sizzles with energy. Dark red fruit, mocha, blood orange, mint and dried flowers lend striking aromatic presence. There is some youthful austerity here, but nothing time in bottle won’t take care of. The 2019 doesn’t quite match the stratospheric grandeur of the magical 2018, but it comes close. Antonio Galloni | 96 AGA vibrant, fragrant red with aromas of blackberries, currants, walnuts and mint chocolate. Medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins. Pretty walnut notes on the polished finish. Fantastic length. Driven acidity and focus. Try in 2025.James Suckling | 96 JS95–97. Barrel Sample. This estate has made a dark, dense wine in this vintage. That density is penetrated by the freshness of the black currant fruits. The result is a wine that is powered both by structure and crisp fruit. There is definitely plenty of aging potential here.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThe 2019 La Gaffelière wafts from the glass with a rich bouquet of blackberries and cherries mingled with subtle hints of burning embers and loamy soil that’s framed by a deft application of creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, deep and seamless, it’s a concentrated, vibrant wine built around bright acids and fine, powdery tannins. Its vivid fruit tones and classical balance make this Cabernet Franc-rich blend a promising candidate for sustained bottle age. Anyone who has tasted the great wines this estate produced in the 1950s and 1960s knows how great this site can be; and with stricter selection as well as the elimination of fruit from vines growing on the plain from the blend, that potential appears to be being unleashed at last.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThe flagship 2019 Château La Gaffeliere is mostly Merlot, yet the cuvée always includes around 15% Cabernet Franc. It offers a complex array of spiced red and black fruits, cedary herbs, lead pencil, and a kiss of tobacco to go with a medium to full-bodied, concentrated, impressively balanced style on the palate. It shows the more classic style of the vintage, has no hard edges, and a killer finish. It’s going to be relatively accessible in its youth yet also age gracefully for 15+ years or more. Tasted twice.Jeb Dunnuck | 93-95 JDA rich and round nose, bursting with ripe fruit aromas. Plump and voluptuous on the palate all while having excellent acidity that really lifts it up, so you have depth but also this real aerial aspect. Tannins are smooth and really well framed and this is super fresh. Delicate yet deep, round yet layered with chalky minerality. Elegant and engaging. Drinking Window 2027 - 2045.Decanter | 95 DECThis rolls out dense fig, boysenberry and red currant paste flavors laced with pronounced chalky minerality and notes of tobacco, dried anise and juniper. The serious tannic drive on the finish puts this in the ’classically austere’ camp. Worth cellaring for sure, but patience is required. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2024 through 2040. 7,500 cases made, 500 cases imported. Wine Spectator | 94 WS

Lots of pure cassis, spring flowers, spice, and cedar pencil notes emerge from the 2019 Château Grand-Pontet, a medium to full-bodied, elegant 2019 delivering silky tannins and a great finish. Shining more for its elegance and purity than power, with a terrific sense of minerality, it’s going to drink beautifully for two decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 92-94 JDThe 2019 Grand-Pontet is a very pretty Saint-Émilion. Floral notes, cedar, mint and sweet tobacco give the 2019 lovely aromatic complexity. Medium in body, with gorgeous red berry fruit, the 2019 has a lot to offer. All the elements meld together nicely in this mid-weight, juicy Saint-Émilion that speaks to balance above all else.Antonio Galloni | 91-93 AGDark fruit and rich concentration clear from the first nose, this is certainly trying hard to make an impact. It takes its foot off the pedal just before going over the top, and has a lovely crushed mint leaf finish that is extremely seductive. Impressive, as long as you sit with it for long enough for the minerality and austerity to come through. A yield of 51hl/ha. Owned by the Pourquet-Bécot family, Jean-Philippe Fort consultant. 55% new oak. 5% Malbec completes the blend. Drinking Window: 2026 - 2040Decanter | 92 DECBlackberry, sliced-mushroom and wet-earth character. It’s medium-to full-bodied. Flavorful finish.James Suckling | 91-92 JSThe 2019 Grand-Pontet has a deep garnet-purple color and notes of crushed red and black plums, mulberries and blackberry pie with wafts of nutmeg and forest floor. The medium-bodied palate is packed with juicy, straightforward black berry flavors, framed by chewy tannins and finishing with appealing freshness.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 88-90 RP

A wine of stature and finesse, the 2019 La Tour Figeac is regal in its bearing. An exotic mélange of dark red fruit, kirsch, mocha, dried herbs, licorice, spice and rose petal soars out of the glass. The Cabernet Franc is especially evident, just as it was en primeur. La Tour Figeac is deep and beautifully layered, yet remains medium in body and refined, with notable raciness that is so appealing. A major sleeper for the year, La Tour Figeac is a knock-out.Antonio Galloni | 94 AGLots of ripe black cherries, mulberries, Christmas spice, incense, and dried flower notes emerge from the 2019 Château La Tour Figeac, a classy, medium to full-bodied Saint-Emilion with supple, finely polished tannins, terrific overall balance, and a great finish. This wonderful 2019 already offers loads of pleasure and will keep for 15-20 years, easily.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDThis organic estate has made a lush, darkly tannic wine. Its broad fruit is textured with generous tannins that are bolstered by acidity. It has great potential for the cellar. Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEAromas of currants, blackberries, bark, toasted oak, walnut husk and chocolate orange. Medium-to full-bodied with a rich, flavorful and layered palate. Ripe, well-integrated tannins. Delicious finish. Merlot and cabernet franc. Drink from 2024.James Suckling | 93 JSThe 2019 La Tour Figeac is generous and charming, bursting with aromas of blueberry preserve, sweet spices, dark chocolate and loamy soil. Medium to full-bodied, supple and enveloping, with powdery tannins, succulent acids and a sweet core of fruit, it will offer a broad drinking window. It’s produced from gravely soils and contains an appreciable percentage of very old vine Cabernet Franc.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RP(Château La Tour Figeac, St-Émilion, Bordeaux, France, Red) A little subdued, this has a high tannin count, at least in terms of how it feels on the attack. As it opens, there is some lovely bright spice notes, both pepper and wild herbs, along with blueberry fruits and silky liquorice. Enjoyable. A yield of 37hl/ha, aged in a mix of 225l oak barrels (50% new oak), 400l oak barrels and amphoras - with the aim of decreasing oak influence while keeping the added structure that it brings. (Drink between 2024-2036)Decanter | 91 DEC

This has a really tightly wound ball of fine tannins. Tight, so formed and intense. Really great. Blackberries, black truffles, dark mushrooms and dried flowers. Chewy, yet so integrated and refined. Super wine from here. Try after 2026.James Suckling | 97 JSWonderfully evocative nose, rich and vibrant, floral and perfumed alongside red fruits with a tiny touch of wood spice. Rich but dark and cooling, a brooding and bewitching style with liquorice-laced fruit and firm tannins. Serious, mouth filling, concentrated and rich but well delivered. There is a clarity to the fruit but this is all muscle and sinew at the moment. Lovely but tight and tense, so focussed with a hint of crushed stone and mint on the finish. A characterful style. Drinking Window: 2025 - 2044.Decanter | 95 DECThe high point in the Mouieux portfolio this year is the 2019 Latour à Pomerol, a terrific wine that wafts from the glass with aromas of cherries, sweet berries, rose petals, cigar wrapper and loamy soil. Full-bodied, ample and concentrated, it’s seamless and layered, with lively acids, powdery tannins and a vibrant, beautifully balanced profile.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPThe 2019 Latour à Pomerol is just as impressive from bottle as it was from barrel, if not more so. Creamy and expansive, the 2019 opens beautifully in the glass. Bright acids red fruit, blood orange, tar, gravel and spice build effortlessly with a bit of time. The 2019 is a wonderfully complete, polished Pomerol that will provide pleasure for many years to come.Antonio Galloni | 94 AGThe 2019 Château Latour A Pomerol is terrific, with a spicy, savory herb, tobacco, and leather-driven bouquet as well as a rock-solid core of darker cherry and mulberry fruits. With terrific balance, ripe, velvety tannins, good mid-palate depth, and a great finish, it’s another outstanding 2019 Pomerol that readers will love. It will keep for 20-25 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDThe wine’s richness is concentrated into dark black fruits and spicy wood polish. It is a dark wine, ripe with berry flavors and concentration, Drink from 2026.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEOffers warm plum and cherry paste flavors that roll through slowly, with licorice and dark tobacco hints through a slightly roasted finish. Features a subtle savory streak that keeps it honest in the end. Best from 2023 through 2033. 1,700 cases made, 310 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

A rocking bouquet of blue fruits, dark chocolate, damp earth, and violet emerges from the 2019 Château L’Evangile, a slightly fresher yet still deep, concentrated expression of this château. Full-bodied, with beautiful tannins, a great mid-palate, and certainly no shortage of length on the finish, it has the silky, seamless style of the vintage, yet I’d still give bottles a solid 7-8 years in a cold cellar. It’s a slightly changed style but still gorgeous.Jeb Dunnuck | 96-98 JDA well-articulated wine with elegance and serious expression of place. The 16% Cabernet Franc (alongside 1% Cabernet Sauvignon, the first year in the blend) gives such an enticing nose, so perfumed - you really get a nose full of flowers here which I love. There’s depth on the palate straight away - it’s concentrated but comes across in layers as opposed to overt volume or voluptuousness. Tannins are sleek and well integrated and there’s spice-edged blackcurrant, red and black cherries, plums, liquorice, cedar and cinnamon nuances. There’s succulence to the acidity, which is fresh and cooling, and clear opulence throughout, but it’s still quite shy, just showing signs of life. A sophisticated wine with a long future. Drinking Window: 2030 - 2050Decanter | 97 DECRich, with an exotic tilt to the loganberry, mulberry and fig preserve flavors. Really packed, delivering anise, black tea, singed mesquite, sweet tobacco and ganache accents that all play a part, while a racy cast iron spine holds it all together. Shows more power than seduction in terms of style, but this is clearly in the elite class of Pomerols this vintage. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2025 through 2038. Wine Spectator | 96 WSFruit-tea, blackberry, tile and ripe-fruit aromas follow through to a full body with density and richness. Chocolate and walnut. Dense and seamless with super fruit and length. Lots of fruit. Very polished. Stylized. All the cabernet franc on the estate is in the wine. From organic grapes. Give it at least five to seven years to open. Try after 2026.James Suckling | 96 JSThe 2019 L’Evangile is very good, wafting from the glass with aromas of cherries, sweet berries, warm spices, violets and loamy soil, framed by a nicely integrated patina of new oak that reflects a concerted effort to refine cooperage choices at this address in recent years. Full-bodied, rich and velvety, it’s a broad, textural wine with a richly layered core of fruit, succulent acids and ripe, supple tannins that reflects the warm, dry vintage. As usual, it’s a Merlot-dominant blend, complemented by some 16% Cabernet Franc and now 1% Cabernet Sauvignon.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPI was quite critical of the 2019 L’Évangile when I tasted it as a barrel sample, and of course the winemaking team has changed since this was made. The 2019 has a very floral bouquet of ripe dark berry fruit infused with violet and peony notes. The 15.3° alcohol has slightly blurred the edges since bottling. The palate is medium-bodied and rounded, with fleshy, ripe tannins and no hard edges. And that’s the problem. This just lacks tension and feels static; there’s no "movement" in this Pomerol compared to, say, its neighbor Vieux-Château-Certan, which I tasted immediately before. The succeeding vintage is definitely superior.Vinous Media | 91 VM

Drips with warmed raspberry confiture, plum sauce and blackberry pâte de fruit flavors, delivering light anise, apple wood, sweet bay leaf and black tea notes along the way. The seamless, lengthy finish has very fine detail despite its heft. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2024 through 2034. 2,941 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSThe top wine of the château, the 2019 Château Monbousquet comes from lower down on the plain of Saint-Emilion and is made by the talented team of Gérard Perse. Gorgeous notes of blackcurrants, mulberries, spicy oak, graphite, and tobacco all give way to a full-bodied 2019 with gorgeous depth of fruit, ripe, polished tannins, no hard edges, and a great, great finish. It’s a hedonist, beautifully balanced, seamless 2019 that’s loaded with character. Drink it over the coming 10-15 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDLots of crushed-stone and graphite aromas with dark fruit and walnuts. Full-bodied, yet tight and polished, with a very juicy structure and a long, linear finish. Shows finesse and focus. 60% merlot, 30% cabernet franc and 10% cabernet sauvignon. Better after 2024.James Suckling | 95 JSThis estate is producing some exceptional wines. The latest vintage is solidly structured and dense in black fruits. Bright acidity gives it that fine spark of freshness and balances the power of the wine. It shows good aging potential.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEDark perfumed berries on the nose. Nice and soft in the mouth with a good depth of flavour. Generous fruit, ample and plump with edges of liquorice and sweet spices. Good tension and drive with an airy and lifted mid palate despite being quite plush and softly chewy. Mouth filling with some iron filings and cool mint touches. Easy drinking and easy to recommend. Drinking Window 2024 - 2035.Decanter | 93 DECThe 2019 Monbousquet is packed with blackberry jam, espresso, chocolate, new leather, licorice, spice and graphite. Dark and quite deep, yet with brooding intensity, the 2019 has a ton to offer. Give it a few years to soften. Today, the tannins and overall structure are pretty imposing for a Saint-Émilion that has been much more forthcoming in the past.Antonio Galloni | 92+ AG

Lots of roses and dark fruit, such as blackberries and brambleberries on the nose. Full-bodied, yet tight and poised, with real focus and firmness and seamless tannins that run the length of the wine. Minerality and persistence in a cool way. This is very serious for the vintage and for the cellar. Try after 2025.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2019 Pavie Macquin has turned out very well indeed, unwinding in the glass with aromas of blackcurrants, cherries, burning embers, black truffle and licorice, framed by a deft framing of new oak that’s more discreet than was the case even a few vintages back. Full-bodied, layered and concentrated, it’s deep and layered, with a strikingly vibrant core of fruit, powdery, chalky tannins and a long, penetrating, youthfully firm finish. Tasted alongside older vintages, it’s clear that the Thienpont team have eased off extraction, which allows the quality of fruit that this fantastic vineyard produces to express itself all the more completely, delivering the finest Pavie Macquin since 1998.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96+ RPThe 2019 Château Pavie Macquin comes from a beautiful, cooler terroir located just outside the village of Saint-Emilion. A wine that always demands bottle age, its deep ruby/purple color is followed by a tight, reserved wine with notes of ripe cassis, mulberry, and blackberry fruits as well as notes of spring flowers, sandalwood, and flowers. The purity is truly something, and it’s medium to full-bodied, with a rich, layered mid-palate, beautiful tannins, and a great finish. This is a wonderfully complete, nuanced, flawlessly balanced Pavie Macquin that will round into form with just 5-6 years of bottle age yet keep for 2-3 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 96+ JDGorgeous ripe aromatic blackcurrants on the nose. Seriously expressive with sweet touches of milk chocolate - an element of Black Forest gateau to this. Direct and linear on the palate, focussed and precise but with excellent clarity and minerality. You get the blood iron, wet stone slate in both flavour and texture on the tongue against the high toned cherry and redcurrant fruit. Lots of energy here, it’s almost holding back from being fully expressive. Great potential and lovely finish with chocolate, minty freshness and liquorice spice. Drinking Window 2025 - 2043.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2019 Pavie Macquin is exotic and beguiling right out of the gate. Succulent dark cherry, white truffle, leather, tobacco, blood orange, cedar and mint all meld together in the glass. As always, Pavie Macquin is defined by its sumptuous fruit, plush contours and total allure. Pavie Macquin is not exactly subtle, but it sure is delicious. Antonio Galloni | 95 AGThis unfurls as seductively as a cashmere scarf, offering black tea and incense notes amidst a lush wave of dark plum, fig and blackberry reduction flavors. The subtle inlay of charcoal, tobacco and sweet bay adds length and detail through the finish. Gorgeous. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2024 through 2038. 5,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

This has linear, very fine tannins that make it minerally and long. Medium body. Dark fruit with lavender and violet undertones. Very fresh acidity. Flavorful and fine. 74% merlot, 14% cabernet sauvignon and 12% cabernet franc. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 94 JSThe 2019 Quinault L’Enclos is racy, supple and wonderfully inviting. A wine of depth and texture, the 2019 impresses with its exceptional balance and class. Sweet red berry fruit, cedar, spice, tobacco and licorice build beautifully with a bit of time in the glass. This is a terrific showing from Quinault, which as readers probably know, is owned by Cheval Blanc. Over the last dozen years more than half the property has been developed. The results are starting to show. One of the most unique aspects of Quinault is that 20% of the wine is aged in 550-liter barrels, which are used to confer greater freshness. The 2019 is flat out gorgeous. Antonio Galloni | 93 AG(Château Quinault L’Enclos, St-Émilion, Bordeaux, France, Red) This has intense aromatics and supple tannins. A little subdued at first, then the floral side begins to burgeon out of the glass. Supple and fresh, nuanced blue and red berry fruits, with strength and precision. Harvest September 10 to October 2. A yield of 41hl/ha. Aged in 500l casks and larger 20hl foudres, 50% new oak. (Drink between 2025-2040)Decanter | 93 DECAromas of sweet cherries, rose petals, violets and dark chocolate introduce the 2019 Quinault l’Enclos, a medium to full-bodied, ample and lively wine that’s produced by Cheval Blanc’s winemaking team.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RPRound and ripe in feel, with a savory streak amid cassis, cherry and plum compote notes, while tobacco and red licorice wrap up the finish. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2029. 6,250 cases made.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

Ripe and dried red berry fruit on the nose, raisins, freshly picked raspberries and blueberries. Some wonderful potpourri perfume too. Great grip and hold from the start - this is tannic and they coat the mouth but with such a bright and juicy aspect too. Real energy here, a lighter if you can say that (as still 14.5%) style, with focus on delicate red fruits, perfume and dark chocolate. RIch to start with, muscular with a bold immediate taste then the delicacy comes in. A wonderful aerial style that is all in balance but still needs some time. It will reward cellaring. Great potential here and quality winemaking on show. Tasted twice. (Drink between 2025-2045)Decanter | 95 DECThis is soft and chewy with very round tannins and lots of blackberry, toasted-oak, walnut and earth character. Traditional with a new vibe. Full-bodied, layered and juicy. Some tobacco, stem and chocolate, too. Better after 2026.James Suckling | 95 JSThe 2019 Rouget is bold, plush and racy to the core. Raspberry jam, spice, kirsch, leather, cedar and sweet pipe tobacco all meld together effortlessly. This sumptuous, flamboyant Pomerol captures all of the natural intensity of the year. Antonio Galloni | 94 AGThe 2019 Rouget reveals aromas of cherries, jammy berries, dark chocolate and vine smoke, followed by a full-bodied, broad and fleshy palate framed by ripe but succulent acids and powdery tannins that assert themselves on the finish. This is a broad, demonstrative Pomerol that will drink well with only a little bottle age.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPDeeply hued, the 2019 Château Rouget offers a rich, rock-solid bouquet of spiced currants, leafy herbs, forest floor, and chocolate. This carries to a medium to full-bodied, fleshy, even opulent Pomerol that has velvety tannins, a round, seamless feel, and a great finish. Drink this pleasure-bent beauty over the coming 15 years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 92 JD

Beautiful, intense fruit, dark-earth and chocolate character on the nose. Full-bodied with great density and plush, fine tannins that give a fine-velvet texture. It’s extremely long, polished and sophisticated. Needs time to come together, but expressive and glorious. Fantastic relative value. 80% merlot and 20% cabernet franc. Drink after 2025.James Suckling | 96 JSThe 2019 Tour Saint Christophe builds on the promise it showed from barrel. This sample was actually tasted at my home, where I afforded it a two-hour decant. It revealed precocious yet controlled blackberry and blueberry fruit scents, with that violet component still intact. The tannins have not lost any of their grippiness or assertiveness. This is a Saint-Émilion that is in for the long haul. Great potential.Vinous Media | 95 VM(Château Tour St Christophe, Merlot, St-Émilion, Bordeaux, France, Red) Still available in the UK for an absurdly low price for the quality, this gorgeous wine combines the cooler blue fruit appeal of the 2016 (not quite as sensual today as the 2015), with better density. The palate is more subtle in its opulence than the 2015 and with a fresher finish. A grand example of this underrated terroir, which I had visited back in 2021. Give it a few more years to soften the tannins. (Drink between 2024-2040)Decanter | 95 DECThis estate has been delivering the goods for numerous vintages now, and the 2019 Château Tour Saint Christophe is another terrific wine. Ripe black cherries, black raspberries, graphite, new leather, and chalky minerality all define the nose, and it’s medium to full-bodied, has a tight, straight, focused texture, ripe yet present tannins, and outstanding length. It doesn’t have the mid-palate density or opulence of the 2018, but it’s more pretty, focused, and straight on the palate. Give bottles 4-5 years and enjoy over the following two decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDFrom clay-rich soils opposite Troplong Mondot in the commune Saint Christophe des Bardes, the 2019 Tour Saint Christophe offers up demonstrative aromas of cherries, wild berries, sweet loamy soil, licorice and dark chocolate. Full-bodied, rich and fleshy, with an enveloping core of fruit, lively acids and ripe, powdery tannins, it’s a strong effort in a crowd-pleasing style.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP

The local bad boy of Bordeaux, Jean-Luc Thunevin, continues to fashion truly brilliant wines, and his 2019 is no exception. Based largely on Merlot with small amount of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2019 Château Valandraud is a deep purple-hued beauty offering up a kaleidoscope-like bouquet of black and blue fruits, scorched earth, chocolate, gravelly earth, spicy oak, and sappy flowers. Deep, rich, full-bodied, and wonderfully concentrated, it has insane purity of fruit, brilliant tannins, a stacked mid-palate, and just has everything in the right places. It’s up with the top wines of the vintage and a tour de force that readers should snatch up. It shows a very different style than the sexier 2018, but it’s every bit as good. It needs 4-5 years of bottle age and will evolve for 2-3 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDThis is a dense and luscious wine, the best yet from this estate. Its great structure and tannins show a style that is powerful but all within. This is a magnificent vintage from this Premier Grand Cru Classé estate, and fully deserves to be aged for many years.Wine Enthusiast | 99 WEVivid and focused with brightness and clarity of fruit. Dried flowers, too. Full-bodied with layers of fine, soft tannins that spread across the palate and show class and refinement. It goes on for minutes. A beautiful bottle. Try after 2027, but so attractive already.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2019 Valandraud is sensational. Stunning in its delineation and with sheer energy, the 2019 dazzles right out of the gate. Dark red/purplish berry fruit, mocha, new leather, licorice and lavender all come alive in the glass. In 2019, Valandraud is a towering, statuesque wine that captures all the best the vintage had to offer. I tasted the 2019 three times and it was magnificent on all three occasions. It is a tremendous effort from Jean-Luc Thunevin and his Murielle Andraud. What a wine!Antonio Galloni | 97+ AGHighly charged and high toned on the nose, smells abundant and seriously expressive. Lovely intensity here, tannins are mouth coating and super persistent but this has excellent depth with such concentrated fruit flavours that are balanced so well with acidity and the soft wood spicing around the edges. A bold wine for sure, with tons of flavour and personality, and excellent freshness throughout with minerality and wet stone nuances. One to age, but delivering excellent clarity and confidence. A top buy. (Drink between 2025-2047)Decanter | 97 DECRich and dramatic, the 2019 Valandraud bursts with aromas of berry fruit, plums and licorice, framed by a lavish but far from exaggerated application of creamy new oak. Full-bodied, fleshy and sensual, it’s broad and enveloping, its lavish core of fruit framed by ripe, polished tannins and succulent balancing acids. Seamless and integrated despite its ripe, hedonistic style, this has turned out beautifully and has the balance to perform well for at least two decades, even if there’s no youthful asperity to preclude near-term enjoyment.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPRichly textured, featuring cashmere-like waves of dark plum, cassis and blackberry compote flavors that glide through and are laced with light violet, anise and black tea notes. The rumble of tannins can be heard on the finish, but for the vintage, this is extremely suave in the end. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2025 through 2040. 2,900 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS