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The 1989 Palmer has vied with the 1983 as the highlight of the decade, so it is fascinating to revisit it at 30 years old. It has a wonderful bouquet of degraded red berry fruit, singed leather and hints of game and mint, beautifully defined and still so fresh, yet undeniably old-school in style. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin and still brimming with vigor, delivering a fine bead of acidity and a touch of cracked black pepper. A very detailed, engaging finish urges you back for another sip. A brilliant Palmer, and judging from this showing, it has another two decades of pleasure to give. Tasted from an ex-cellar bottle at the château.Vinous Media | 97 VMTasted 6 Times Since Bottling With Consistent NotesPalmer has done a magnificent job with their 1989, which continues to be a wine of immense seduction. The expansive, rich, fat texture owes its opulence to the high percentage of Merlot used by this property. Opaque deep ruby/purple, this full-bodied, satiny wine has considerable alcoholic clout, is low in acidity, but splendidly concentrated and abundantly full of velvety tannins. It will be fascinating to see if this wine ultimately rivals the great Palmers made in 1983, 1970, 1966, and 1961. This is a thrilling 1989! Anticipated maturity: Now-2012.Robert Parker | 96 RP(Château Palmer) At our vertical tasting in October of 2007, the ’89 was corked, so I have had to go back to a note on this wine that is a few years old. I have always liked the 1989 Palmer quite well, but have never ranked it quite in the same league as the greatest vintages of this château. The nose on the ’89 offers up scents of ripe plums, mulberries, dark chocolate, tobacco, minerals, violets and toasty new oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied and quite lush and voluptuous on the attack, with a firm tannic structure kicking-up in the mid-palate, and a long, complex and chewy finish. While there is plenty of depth in the mid-palate, I do not find quite the reserves of fruit at the core as found in vintages such as the 1983 at a similar stage of development. The tannins here are ripe and quite buried in the fruit, and while it is more than drinkable today, it clearly will need another decade to allow some of the secondary layers of complexity to emerge.John Gilman | 92+ JGDisplays impressive sweet berry and floral aromas, with hints of cedar and light new oak. Medium- to full-bodied, offering fine tannins and a fresh finish. This wine is just now opening, with a racy backbone of tannins and dark fruits on the finish. This is turning out to be more balanced than I remember. Ready.--’89/’99 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2009). Drink now.Wine Spectator | 92 WSI find this a little austere with mineral, tar, and currant character. It’s a little subdued. Full and silky on the palate, it’s firm and bright, even tight. Served from imperial bottle.James Suckling | 91 JS

Shows beautiful age and character now after all this time in the bottle. Notes of earth, spice and ripe berries. Full and juicy, with round tannins.James Suckling | 95 JSBlockbuster. Dark ruby color. Intense aromas of blackberries, currants, cherries and minerals.Full-bodied, very tannic yet velvety in texture.Black licorice and berry character lasts forminutes. Long, chewy finish. A monster.--1990Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2010. 20,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSOne of this estate’s superstars (only rivaled by the 1986 and 1996), the 1990 Lagrange exhibits sweet toasty oak notes intermixed with jammy blackberries, cassis, licorice, smoke, and underbrush. Full-bodied with lovely melted tannins, an opulent, fleshy mouthfeel, and loads of purity as well as depth, it has reached full maturity, but is capable of lasting another 10-15 years. Release price: ($210.00/case)Robert Parker | 94 RP The 1990 Lagrange is a terrific wine, and clearly one of the top vintages to be produced at the estate since Suntory purchased it in 1983. The bouquet today is deep and beautiful, as it offers up a mélange of very pure black cherry fruit, cigar ash, woodsmoke, a fine base of soil, espresso and a deft framing of new oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and very pure, with great refinement to its balance and focus, very classic structure, fine-grained, ripe tannins and excellent length and grip on the complex and elegant finish. A superb wine that only needs a few more years to really reach its apogee, but which should offer up a very long plateau of maturity. Fine juice. (Drink between 2010-2060)John Gilman | 93+ JGThe 1990 Lagrange was picked from 22 September until 10 October. I have always been lukewarm to the 1990 when others have been more adulatory, though this is the best bottle that I have encountered. The bouquet is well defined with pressed flowers, orange pith, brambly red fruit and warm gravel, warm and inviting aromatics. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins and shows more harmony and cohesion than the 1989. There is more finesse, commendable in a hot season, with Indian spices lining the harmonious finish. A touch of dryness suggests that it may well be commencing a downward slope, but it will be a gentle one! Tasted at the Lagrange vertical at the estate.Vinous Media | 92 VM

The last in a series of three stellar vintages with the 1988-1989-1990, with this one delivering concentrated wines in its early years that took their time to develop but are now at the peak of their pleasure. At 30 years old it is not the power that immediately strikes but the aromatic complexity, and the gentle dance that it performs between finessed fruit and soft saffron-laced spices. The concentration comes in slowly, in waves, gathering cedar, menthol and finely spun tannins. It has been at this plateau for at least 10 years now, and there is no reason to think it is going anywhere for another decade or two. Harvest September 18 to October 6. Petit Verdot completes the blend with 2%, meaning all four main Médoc varieties here, unusually (all Cabernet Franc was pulled up in 2004). Drinking Window 2020 - 2038.Decanter | 96 DEC(Château Palmer (Margaux) served from magnum) I get the distinct feeling that I have not been drinking enough Château Palmer in recent times! This magnum of the 1990 Palmer was absolutely stunning, jumping from the glass in a beautiful blend of black cherries, mulberries, black truffles, cigar smoke, a fine base of dark soil tones, tobacco leaf and a well done framing of toasty new oak. On the palate the wines is pure, full-bodied and nicely sappy at the core, with extra depth and grip clearly apparent from the magnum format. The finish is very long, complex and still moderately tannic, with very buried tannins, a velvety palate texture and great lift and bounce on the backend. This is simply gorgeous in magnum! (Drink between 2019-2060)John Gilman | 94 JGThis was the finest bottle of the 1990 Palmer I have yet tasted, and it appears I slightly underrated it in earlier reviews. A complex bouquet of earth, blue and black fruits, licorice, incense, and spice box is followed by a round, silky, voluptuous wine that falls just short of achieving the depth and richness found in such recent vintages as 2000, 2005, 2006, and 2008. A very strong, fully mature effort, its balance, purity, depth, and texture suggest it will provide plenty of pleasure over the next 10-12 years.Robert Parker | 92 RPA beauty. Seductive, with currant, berry, tobacco, cedar and flowers on the nose. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a long, caressing finish. A joyous Palmer.--1990 Bordeaux retrospective. Drink now through 2010. 16,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WSSubdued but classy new-oaky nose hints at flowers, chocolate, and cinnamon. A spicy, beautifully delineated wine of great class and hidden depths. Very subtle, long aftertaste. A crowd-pleaser. The ’90 is more typical for this château than the fatter but more alcoholic and soft ’89.Vinous Media | 91 VM

This stunning wine is one of the vintage’s great successes. Administrator Thomas Duroux has fashioned a modern day version of Palmer’s brilliant 1966. Displaying a rare combination of power and elegance, this dense purple-colored offering exhibits notes of blackberries, truffles, flowers, incense, and camphor. Long, classic, and medium to full-bodied with stunning texture and richness, this superb effort is a candidate for the finest Margaux of the vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2025+. Robert Parker | 94 RPWell-integrated tannins and the first stirrings of tertiary flavours. Not quite ready to drink, but the rich swirl of blackberry, soft cedar and autumnal hedgerow is already clear. This is a slightly more traditional take on Margaux than recent vintages of Palmer, but it has a glorious sense of earthy pleasure. From the first year that Thomas Duroux arrived at the estate, though he did not get involved in winemaking until the 2005 vintage. Drinking Window 2019 - 2030.Decanter | 93 DECThis wine hits the opulent end of the spectrum, with its dense, velvet structure, and superrich fruit. But it is not weighed down with this richness, because the pure fruit, the fine lines of the tannins and the very precise character of the vanilla from the wood all give liveliness.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEDeep red. Rich aromas of plum, redcurrant, chocolate and smoke. Sweet, lush and smooth, with a wonderfully fine-grained texture for the year. Highly expressive flavors of currant, cedar, chocolate and tobacco. The wine’s subtle sweetness, suave tannins and sneaky persistence convey an impression of very regular ripeness.Vinous Media | 92 VMAromas of licorice, tar and mineral follow through to a full-bodied palate, with silky tannins and a medium finish. A very pretty wine already. Falls a little short, but still outstanding. Best after 2009. 6,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS(Château Palmer) The 2004 Palmer is one of my favorite wines of the vintage that I have sampled from the couple dozen various châteaux that I have crossed paths with here in New York from the ’04 vintage. The wine is deep and nicely structured, but not overly extracted or inky (as is unfortunately the case with so many examples I have tasted of ’04 claret), as it offers up a stylish nose of cassis, black cherries, tobacco leaf, soil tones and a deft framing of cedary new oak. On the palate the wine is medium-full, focused and beautifully balanced, with firm, but well-integrated tannins, and lovely length and grip on the finish. A very stylish middleweight in the making. (Drink between 2014-2035)John Gilman | 90 JG

This strikes exactly the right note aromatically: it’s wonderfully sexy, smoky, intriguing and tantalising. On the palate it follows up these aromatics perfectly with silky-smooth tannins and well brushed damson and black cherry fruits. It’s fully ripe but still with give and subtlety. Great stuff! 2009 saw the highest percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon ever included in this wine. Drinking Window 2020 - 2044Decanter | 96 DECThe 2009 Calon-Ségur is deep garnet in color and opens with a beautiful fragrance of redcurrant preserves, cassis, black cherry compote and red roses plus nuances of cigar box and cinnamon stick. Medium-bodied and wonderfully elegant in the mouth, it has a compelling line of very ripe, fine-grained tannins and oodles of freshness supporting the fragrant layers, finishing long and perfumed.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPDelivers gorgeous aromas of blackberry, blueberry and licorice, with hints of tobacco and spice. Full-bodied, offering a lovely texture and refinement. Very long and beautiful, with tangy acidity and lively fruit. A rich, yet very balanced, Calon. This is almost all Cabernet Sauvignon instead of the normal blend with 40 percent Merlot. The château is now using 100 percent new wood. Like the changes.Wine Spectator | 96 WSWith a lot of fennel and earth character this is a classic St.-Estèphe, but on the palate it has a suppleness that’s modern in the best sense. Needs time to soften. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSA big step up over the 2008 and, I suspect, the finest wine from this estate in the 2000s, the 2009 Château Calon Ségur reveals a healthy ruby hue to go with textbook notes of red and black currants, tobacco leaf, damp earth, gamey meats, and Asian-like spices. This is classic, traditionally made Bordeaux, with full-bodied richness, a layered, structure mouthfeel, wonderful sweetness of fruit, and a great finish. A wine that starts out tight and reserved yet builds with air, don’t be afraid to give bottles plenty of air if drinking any time soon. It’s certainly in its drink window, yet also has another 30-40 years of longevity ahead of it.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JD(Château Calon-Ségur) Our vertical tasting in Washington was again the first time I had seen the 2009 Calon- Ségur, as I had not tasted the wine during En Primeur, and I was very, very impressed with the quality and style of this wine. The cépages is fully ninety percent cabernet sauvignon in this vintage, and the perfectly ripe, but not overripe cabernet has made this an instant classic. The beautifully ripe and pure nose wafts from the glass in a vibrant blend of black cherries, sweet dark berries, cigar smoke, dark soil tones, pungent violets and a suave base of nutty new wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very classy on the attack, with a rock solid core of pure fruit, superb soil inflection, impeccable focus and balance, ripe, fine-grained tannins and outstanding length and grip on the seamless and youthfully complex finish. This is a great vintage of Calon-Ségur in the making! (Drink between 2022-2065)John Gilman | 94+ JGThe 2009 Calon-Ségur has a classic Saint-Estèphe bouquet with pencil box and freshly tilled earth on the nose, beautifully defined if not with quite the same pedigree that François Millet imparts into the Grand Vin nowadays. (Less Merlot here than other examples.) The palate is medium-bodied, masculine in style, a little closed at first, strict and detailed yet missing some flesh and density on the finish. Unlike the bottle poured blind a week later that was much more exuberant and higher-toned. It is a fine Calon-Ségur but it is shaded by say the 2014, 2015 and 2016. Tasted at BI Wines & Spirits’ Ten Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 93 VM

This is an architectural wine, very classical in its structure like so many of the top wines of 2010. It’s powered by ripe tannins and beautiful black currant fruits. While the wine is gorgeously ripe, it also has a powerful dark and structured character. For long-term aging.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WESure pure fruit to this red with a minerality and floral undertone. You can smell the warm stones. Full body, with a beautiful depth of fruit and velvety tannins. Dense and balanced. Layered with a light salty and meaty character as well. Great length. Mostly Cabernet Sauvignon. Try in 2017.James Suckling | 96 JSThe 2010 is performing well,. With Cabernet Sauvignon dominating the blend, the wine has a dense plum/purple color along with notes of underbrush, black currants, plum, licorice, smoky charcuterie and some roasted herbs in the background. Full-bodied, moderately tannic and set for an extremely long life, this will not be a wine to please those looking for immediate gratification. Rather, I would suspect this wine will close down even further in bottle and, despite its full-bodied, powerful, massive size, it will need at least a decade of cellaring before it is accessible. This is another 2010 capable of lasting 35-50 years.Robert Parker | 94+ RPThe 2010 Calon-Ségur has a slightly gamey bouquet, vibrant and energetic with plenty of red and black fruit. This appears to gain complexity with aeration, revealing hidden facets with each swirl of the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, a fine bead of acidity and a really gorgeous, surprisingly fleshy but focused finish that exudes style and class. What a lovely wine. You could almost broach this now although I prefer to leave this a few more years. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 94 VMOn May 9, 2010, a hailstorm took a heavy toll on the estate’s vineyard, so yields were down to around 30hl/ha. The resulting wine is both profound and seductive, expressing a compelling combination of fresh and floral but also powerful and spicy scents. The ample palate also presents a marvelous mix of delicacy and racy tannic force, and even the long finish has this element of a double character, in this instance, a sun-drenched style and structure that ends with a final flourish of freshness. Drinking Window 2022 - 2035.Decanter | 94 DEC(Château Calon-Ségur) I did not have the opportunity to taste the 2010 Calon-Ségur during my En Primeur visit in the spring of 2011, as Madame Gasqueton was a bit difficult to make an appointment with that year and she condescended to receive my friends only on a day while I was still in Germany tasting the 2010ers. Consequently, I was very curious to see how this wine had turned out in this difficult and overrated vintage, and I found it to be one of the better 2010s that I have tasted, though with a bit of the grittiness to the tannin structure that is emblematic of this year. The bouquet is ripe, but pure in its blend of red and black cherries, Cuban cigar wrappers, dark chocolate, dark soil tones, smoke and nutty new wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and still quite primary, with a fine core of fruit, ripe, slightly harsh tannins and excellent length and grip on the decidedly “cool-fruited” finish. This is a very good 2010, but to my palate, it was not in the same league as the other two wines in this flight- the 2009 and 2008 Calon. I would also have to give the slight edge to both the 2012 and 2011 at this estate over this more powerful 2010 Calon. But, that said, this is a very strong example of this vintage. (Drink between 2025-2065)John Gilman | 92+ JG

The 2020 Cantenac Brown is an outrageously beautiful wine. Ample, vertical and soaring in its intensity, the 2020 is shaping up to be a jewel of a wine. Punchy red berry fruit, lavender, spice, mint and rose petal abound. What I like most about the 2020 is the way it balances fruit intensity with vibrancy and energy. Cantenac Brown is shaping up to be one of the wines of the vintage.Vinous Media | 94-97 VMFantastic depth of fruit with layers of firm, chewy tannins that are medium-grained and long in the mouth. Full and dynamic. One of the best ever.James Suckling | 96-97 JSThis grand estate that recently changed hands has produced a seriously promising wine. Bold black fruits and dark tannins are just beginning a fine interplay, reinforced by the wine’s acidity. Expect a good future for the wine. Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEI loved the 2020 Château Cantenac Brown, a pure, medium to full-bodied, beautifully textured Margaux that shines in the vintage. Offering up lots of classy cassis fruits as well as spicy oak, violets, and flowers, it has plenty of mid-palate depth, outstanding balance, and a great finish. There’s no trace of the often firm chewy tannins found in this appellation in 2020, and it’s unquestionably a beautiful wine.Jeb Dunnuck | 92-94 JDDeep garnet-purple in color, the 2020 Cantenac Brown slides effortlessly out of the glass with pronounced notes of licorice, tar, tapenade and fertile loam over a core of warm cassis and plum preserves, with a waft of charcuterie. The medium-bodied palate is refreshing, bursting with crunchy black fruit and herbal sparks with a well-managed, grainy texture, finishing long and earthy.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93+ RPSilky with touches of caramel, chocolate, blueberry, raspberries and boysenberries - all those autumnal fruits that have texture and acidity to them, with the signature gloss of Cantenac Brown. Clear peony, violet notes also. A linen texture that slows the passage of the wine through the mouth. Retasted at UGC and this is again good quality, the austerity on the tannins is marked right now, but there is plenty of life ahead here. New owner Tristan le Lous as of 2019, and this wine also includes the new 9.5ha vines of vines from Château Charmant and la Galiane (bought in July 2020). The fermentation was conducted at temperatures 4-5 °C lower than average to preserve fruit. 60% new oak. Harvest 10 to 30 September. Drinking Window 2028 - 2044.Decanter | 93 DEC

Extremely floral and fruity with currants and blackberries. It’s full-bodied and very layered with delicious, dense character. Full-bodied with dusty, layered tannins. Rich, but not heavy. Long and chewy on the finish. 55% cabernet sauvignon, 39% merlot, 3% cabernet franc, 2% petit verdot and 1% malbec.James Suckling | 97-98 JSThis is a sinewy, powerful and forward-moving wine with a sense of momentum. Moreish, with the elegance and plump damson fruits that Issan delivers so well, but more muscular than some years with the impact of both Petit Verdot and Malbec that are in the blend for the first time in this vintage. These add layers of spice and the overall architecture is clear. Peony and violet notes add a kick upwards on the finish, this has a delicacy even though it is intense. Less Cabernet in the blend in 2020 than in 2019, as is often the case in the Médoc due to low yields. This new blend in Issan will be seen going forward after the addition of plots from the purchase of Château Pontac-Lynch. Drinking Window 2028 - 2045.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2020 D’Issan is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec, aging in French oak barriques, 50% new. It has an alcohol of 13.29%, a pH of 3.71 and an IPT (tannin index) of 73. Displaying an opaque purple-black color, it has vibrant notes of Bing cherries, boysenberries, ripe redcurrants and juicy black plums, plus hints of pencil shavings, wild thyme, lavender and forest floor. The medium-bodied palate has impressive energy with crunchy red and black fruits and compelling tension, framed by fine-grained tannins, finishing long and mineral laced.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-95 RPThe 2020 d’Issan is the first vintage that incorporates Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec to complement the traditional Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the blend. Pretty floral and savory accents complement a core of ripe red/purplish berry fruit. Medium in body and vibrant, with superb persistence, Issan is shaping up to be a jewel of a wine. The purity of the flavors is striking. Harvest took place over three weeks between September 17 through October 2, which is only about a week earlier than normal, so not that displaced relative to what was the norm in much of Bordeaux. Tasted three times.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMMore backward, dense, and concentrated, the Grand Vin 2020 Château D’Issan offers darker currant and cassis notes as well as gorgeous floral, sandalwood, graphite, and chocolate nuances. Medium to full-bodied, voluptuous, and layered on the palate, with sweet yet building tannins, this is a gorgeous Margaux that brings ample depth and richness while still showing the classic elegance of the appellation. The blend is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec, raised in 50% new oak, and it’s a selection of only 45% of the total production. It’s going to have some up-front appeal and a broad, lengthy drink window over the following 2-3 decades. Tasted twice.Jeb Dunnuck | 93-95+ JDThe walled vineyard of Issan has produced a beautifully elegant wine. It has structure while bringing out bright berry fruits and already integrated acidity. The wine has all the elements for long-term aging.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WE