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Pure perfection in a glass and unquestionably one of the great vintages for this cuvée, the 2015 Pavie is a blend of 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon that was brought up in 80% new French oak. Sharing some similarities with the 2009, this tour de force sports a saturated purple color as well as a sweet bouquet of crème de cassis, crushed rocks, white truffle, and licorice. Its oak is perfectly integrated and balanced by this wine’s massive fruit and structure. Full-bodied, deep, and superbly concentrated, with building tannins, it’s a massive wine by any measure, but what sets it apart is that it still glides across the palate and retains an incredible sense of purity, balance, and elegance. It’s drinking well today due to the vintage’s opulence, yet won’t hit prime time for another 5-10 years and I suspect will keep for upward of 50 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDIn 2015, the blend is 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the wine was matured 80% in new French oak. Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2015 Pavie is still sporting a bit of its oak to begin, giving way to a glorious nose of crushed black cherries, blackberries and mulberries plus hints of dried roses, stewed tea, unsmoked cigars and garrigue. The rich, concentrated, full-bodied palate delivers an incredible structure of very firm, very ripe tannins and a racy line of freshness cutting through the dense layers of perfumed black fruits and savory notions, finishing with epic length.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPHeady, exotic and absolutely compelling, the 2015 Pavie is one of the standouts of the vintage. Soaring aromatics meld into a core of super-ripe red plum, cherry jam, rose petal, mint and lavender in this sensual, voluptuous Saint-Émilion. Even with all of its flamboyance, the 2015 possesses remarkable nuance and delineation. This is an overwhelmingly beautiful wine that seduces both the intellectual and hedonistic senses. Don’t miss it. Tasted two times.Antonio Galloni | 98 AGThis start off richly, featuring beautifully rendered layers of fig, boysenberry and plum pâte de fruit flavors coursing through. The structure is refined and integrated, with a light chalky edge adding tension and vivacity while being absorbed by the fruit. The finish has pyrotechnics of anise, black tea and singed mesquite that are formidably long. Best from 2025 through 2045. 5,833 cases made.Wine Spectator | 98 WSGigantic nose of very ripe black fruit. Enveloping richness, but the abundant fine tannins make this feel remarkably elegant and decisively dry for the richness. Very long and firm finish that has extraordinary energy and vibrancy. Great aging potential. Drink or hold. Château Quintus vertical tasting. James Suckling | 98 JSDeep and rich in both colour and taste, this is a monument to the fine wine triumvirate of tannins, fruit and acidity. It’s extremely muscular, with layers of black fruits, graphite and pencil shavings, as well as a smoky, tarred edge and the telltale salinity on the finish that places you on the limestone plateau of St-Émilion. There’s impressive fruit density and finely-worked tannins, although I found the 2016 Pavie to have better balance - the 2015 is rather one to admire in my eyes, not to love. It should go 30 years easily. 70% new oak. (Drink between 2025-2045)Decanter | 96 DECAlthough this wine is ripe, it is the fruit that sings. Firm and rich, the tannins support the wonderful fruitiness. Its perfumed Cabernets give the wine great presence as well as freshness. It is ready for long aging. Drink from 2027.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WE

Blended of 97.1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2.6% Merlot and 0.3% Petit Verdot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Latour is exquisitely perfumed, displaying fragrant notes of crushed black cherries, raspberry preserves, cassis and black plums with nuances of roses, dark chocolate, garrigue, menthol and a waft of sandalwood. The medium-bodied palate beautifully struts its taut, toned, muscular fruit with a frame of very firm, smooth, rounded tannins and compelling freshness, finishing with alluring earth and mineral layers. At once intellectual and sexy, this truly evocative vintage brings to mind the Melanie Griffith line from “Working Girl," possessing a sultry “head for business and a bod for sin."Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPReally gorgeous aromatics, so perfumed, acutely aromatic, pristine, clear and precise with tobacco, cocoa, ash and liquorice. Round, heady, a sexy wine, with a lot to say, generous and open, smooth and layered - this deepens straight away vertically. I love the juiciness, there’s clarity to the raspberry, blueberry and blackcurrant fruit, sleek and joyful but the texture is there with a wet stone and liquorice to the tannins that gives such grip and edge of power. Still youthful and quite serious but there’s something so appealing about it with a sexy character and complexity. Bright and sharp but also with sweetness from the ripe vintage and savoury notes of truffle, cocoa, dark chocolate giving contrast. Such enjoyable floral violet scents too that follow the wine from start to finish. Excellently controlled and delivered with supreme appeal. One you want to sit with and take your time over, and then gulp down! 69 IPT, 30% of production. Harvest 15 september to 10 October. Technical director Hélène Genin.Decanter | 98 DECAromas of iron, oyster shell, rust and stones with blueberries and blackberries. Full-bodied, yet ever so polished and refined. It rolls off the palate with fruit and salty flavors. Tight, focused and always refined. Pretty length. 97% cabernet sauvignon gives this brightness. Drink in 2022.James Suckling | 98 JSSeriously structured and yet also so smooth, this wine has great concentration and powerful tannins. There is wonderful juiciness here as well as dense, dusty tannins that are never hard, always velvet. It is going to be a great wine when it is released in maybe 10 years time. The wine comes only from vineyards that are biodynamic.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEThis packs some serious warm dark currant, fig and blackberry compote flavors together at the core, with charcoal, singed bay leaf, tobacco and roasted alder notes forming the foundation. Grippy for sure, but there’s already alluring perfume and violet elements weaving around here. This has put on some serious weight and dark fruit since the barrel tasting, but remains all tensile strength. It will be fun to watch this age. Best from 2025 through 2045.Wine Spectator | 97 WSThe 2015 Latour has a sensual, richer and more exotic bouquet than its peers, featuring plush red fruit intermingling with raisin and fig, although there is no sur-maturité here; the wine is just crafted in a more opulent style for this First Growth. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin and a fine bead of acidity. This feels very cohesive and focused, and more saline than its peers. Veins of brown spice and leather surface toward the complex, engaging finish. I would have liked a little more length, but otherwise this is very fine. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 96 VM

A wine that will be a candidate for perfection at maturity, the 2015 Valandraud is a heavenly wine that exhibits a deep, saturated ruby/purple color as well as a sensational bouquet of blackcurrants, cassis, crème caramel, graphite, and chocolate. This full-bodied, expansive, super concentrated 2015 is a hedonistic dream and has exceptional purity, balance, and equilibrium. While it offers pleasure today, it needs short-term cellaring and will keep for 20+ years.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDPlenty of toasty oak and extract here. This has immensely concentrated fruits with powerful yet silky tannins. Blackberry and dark-plum aromas dominate the nose with hints of dark chocolate and candied orange. Flavors follow suit amid fluid, muscular tannins that hold long into the finish. Great wine. Try from 2023.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2015 Valandraud is blessed with a stunning, brilliantly defined and focused bouquet, quite penetrating in style yet so young and primal. This is all about potential. The palate is supremely well balanced with perfectly assimilated oak, satin-like in texture with wonderful precision and length. About as good as it gets. Class, class, class. Jean-Luc hits the ball out of the park. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 98 VMSince the first vintage in 1991, this wine and its vineyard have travelled far. Now close to the top of the classification tree in Saint-Émilion, this vintage shows the impressive nature of this powerful wine. With a good balance between acidity and black fruits backed up by tannins, the wine is powerful and stylish. Drink from 2027.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEJean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud acquired their first 0.6 hectare site near Château Pavie-Macquin in 1989. They continued to purchase further plots in Saint-Émilion over the years and now own eleven hectares in total. Closely associated with the garagiste movement and much heralded by Robert Parker, the couple’s wines are often described as pioneering. Château Valandraud was promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé status in 2012 and has an annual production of 30,000 bottles. The vines are an average of 30 years old and are grown on limestone clay soils.JA: This is an excellent flight so far, real depth and quality on display, gorgeous juice and texture and definition. Persistency through the finish, this hangs on and delivers, clear sapidity and salinity on the finish.AH: Needs a little more time to fully resolve. Firm tannins, quite dry on the palate at the moment. Lots of ripe fruit here, dark berry and plum but restrained oak and potential to age. Tannins a little grainy. Great focus and depth. Classy and memorable.TT: Opaque ruby. Very intense aromatics ranging from violet fragrance to black ink to cherry to allspice. Rich concentrated plum and cherry fruit flavours and velvety fine tannins with a long finish and mouth-filling flavours. (Drink between 2024-2043)Decanter | 97 DECThe 2015 Valandraud is medium to deep garnet-purple in color with a profound nose of baked cherries, warm black plums, blueberry preserves and smoked meats with tilled earth, mocha, Indian spices and dried herbs nuances plus a touch of licorice. The mouth is big, full-bodied and powerful with notable, velvety tannins and it is packed with savory and spice flavor layers, finishing with epic length. This big-boned, voluptuous, Rubenesque beauty will blow hedonists’ minds!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96+ RPMelted licorice, plum sauce and blackberry puree notes flow through here, with ample but velvety structure running underneath. Alluring ganache, violet and tobacco accents add nuance on the finish. Long and beguiling, featuring echoing fruit and a captivating mouthfeel. Drink now through 2035. 3,417 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

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

A wine I was able to taste on multiple occasions, the 2015 Troplong Mondot is a tour de force that readers need to snatch up. This cuvee comes from the cool, clay and limestone soils on the upper plateau (it’s the highest point in the appellation) and is a blend of 92% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, harvest between September 30th and October 21st, that was brought up in 85% new French oak. Sporting a deep, inky color as well as a sensational bouquet of creme de cassis, blackberry, toasted spice, licorice and spring flowers, it’s another huge wine from this estate that has perfect balance between its fruit, oak and tannin, a stacked mid-palate, and an incredible finish. I wrote "crazy good" more than once in my notes. It has enough fruit and texture to drink nicely even today, yet needs 4-5 years of cellaring and will keep for two to three decades. It’s one of the great wines of the vintage.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDExpressive, ripe dark plums swathed in aromas of mocha, toasted baking spices, graphite, blackberries and mulberries. The flavor-soaked palate arrives on suave, velvety tannins, delivering flavors of vibrant, concentrated dark plums, mulberries, dark chocolate and cocoa in a youthful, fresh style. Terrific wine with ultra-long finish. An essay in power and elegance. Essence-like. Best from 2020.James Suckling | 98 JSOne of the stars of the vintage, the 2015 Troplong Mondot has come together beautifully over the last year and half. Rich and sumptuous to the core, it is a classic wine from this property, built on serious fruit density and textural richness. Dark red cherry, plum, chocolate, new leather and spice are some of the many notes that build as the 2015 shows off its irrepressible personality. A viscerally exciting, resonant wine, it just needs a few years to shed some of its baby fat. Tasted two times.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGBlended of 90% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc aged in French oak, 85% new, the deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Troplong Mondot is redolent of warm plums, blackberry tart and blueberry pie with suggestions of underbrush, bay leaves, cedar chest and lavender plus a waft of baking spices. Full-bodied and full-throttle in the mouth, the palate is decadently packed with a solid core of black and blue fruit layers, supported with firm, grainy tannins and finishing with loads of spicy layers. This pedal-to-the-metal beauty is the ultimate indulgence for the hedonists!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPIn keeping with the new style from this estate, this is a powerful, opulent wine. Its density, concentration and layers of dark fruits are all of a piece, held together by powerful tannins. Touches of black coffee and spice emphasize the richness of the fruit and the opulent aftertaste. Drink from 2025.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEOffers a gorgeous, caressing, velvety feel, with waves of warmed plum, fig compote and blackberry reduction gliding through, inlaid with notes of graphite, sweet tobacco and black licorice. A light loamy echo adds a pleasant tug of earth at the very end. Best from 2022 through 2040. 10,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSMellow aromas of cassis and blackberries infused with vanilla and coconut oak; generous and mouthfilling with a silky viscosity. Drinking Window 2023 - 2040Decanter | 93 DEC

An immaculate wine with pristine blackberries and dark plums as well as fresh, earthy nuances and dark crushed violets. An upright palate with lightly peppery dark berries and plums. The inflection of cabernet here makes for an impressively powerful wine that still exudes Pomerol’s suave, seductive charm. Chalky, seamless tannins. Super fresh. Try from 2022.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2015 Château Clinet from this terrific estate is up there with some of the finest vintages out there. A blend of 90% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc, it has a concentrated, powerful style not far from the 2005 and offers loads of spiced blackberries and cassis fruits intermixed with notions of lead pencil, tobacco, and a distinct gravelly minerality. Rich, powerful and admirably endowed on the palate, with serious tannins, it’s best forgotten for 4-6 years and should keep for two decades or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JDAn elegant, powerful and accomplished wine in 2015, with finely-knitted tannins and dark fruit which is pushed impercetibly upwards from start to finish by the grippy acidity. All the strands are held together, seemingly almost too measured until it has spent a few moments in the glass. Then, the flavours come alive and you have something really special, and long-lasting. Drinking window 2023-2040.Decanter | 98 DECA blend of 90% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 1% Cabernet Franc matured in 65% new and 35% one-year-old French oak for 16 months, the 2015 Clinet offers a medium to deep garnet-purple color and slowly, provocatively unfurls in the glass with notes of crushed black cherries, warm black raspberries and red cherry compote plus nuances of bay leaves, cinnamon stick, star anise, fenugreek and forest floor and wafts of potpourri and mocha. The palate reveals a sensuous medium-bodied style offset beautifully by very firm, very silky tannins and packed with energetic, multifaceted fruit as well as great tension, finishing long with an arresting spice and floral perfume. A real stunner!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPA dramatic, sweeping Pomerol, the 2015 Clinet is ample, racy and voluptuous from the very first taste. Those qualities are going to make the 2015 nearly impossible to resist young. Readers who can wait will be rewarded with a racy, deeply layered Pomerol of the highest level. For now, the raciness of the dark red cherry and plum fruit suggests a very bright future. Hints of rose petal, mint and licorice add the closing shades of nuance. What a gorgeous wine this is.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGJuicy and very fresh, with a lovely beam of raspberry and cherry compote notes infused with red licorice and floral hints. Certainly ripe, but on the refined side, with the purity of fruit singing over a light tug of apple wood through the lengthy finish. This has dropped a darker, more hedonistic edge since the barrel tasting. Best from 2020 through 2032. 4,400 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

Super aromas of nutmeg, cloves and dried flowers with plums and blackberries. Subtle yet so complex. Full-bodied, tight and integrated with ultra-fine tannins and a beautiful finish. Lasts for minutes. Very, very Cos. Harmony. Texturally marvellous. Drink in 2024.James Suckling | 98 JSWhile this wine is rich, it has a classical demeanor, with fine tannins that support but never dominate the ripe black fruits. Full of juicy acidity, it offers black currants and some fine, firm tannins at the end. This will take some time to mature, and the wine will not be ready to drink before 2027.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEComposed of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23.5% Merlot and 1.5% Cabernet Franc, the deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Cos d’Estournel is muted at this very young stage. The nose offers fleeting glimpses at provocative cherry tart, chocolate mint, baked redcurrants, warm cassis and wild blueberry scents plus suggestions of lilacs, cinnamon stick and Indian spices. Medium to full-bodied, the palate absolutely explodes with vibrant red and black fruit bursts and tons of exotic spice accents, framed by super ripe, super firm tannins and a lovely line of freshness, finishing very long.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPOpulent and generous, this is a sexy and confident Cos d’Estournel. After only one year in bottle this already has strong caramel notes. It’s more marked by the heat of summer than the 2014, displaying sweet, rich fruit. Although almost accessible today, I predict that it will close down over the next few years. It’s very good, so look to drink this in four to five years, and have no worries about it continuing for another decade after that. The wine suggests an evolution in how this château began approaching warm vintages after the 2009 vintage. (Drink between 2023-2042)Decanter | 94 DECThe 2015 Cos d’Estournel is a little recalcitrant and broody on the nose, like it always has been from bottle, unfolding gradually with enticing, quite intense blackberry, pencil box and subtle tobacco scents. The medium-bodied palate immediately impresses by its volume and depth, the new oak neatly embroidered with layers of tightly coiled tobacco and graphite infused fruit whose veins of earthiness betray its origins. Whilst it does not quite deliver the flair and untrammeled ambition of the 2016, this is a very impressive forerunner. Wise owls will afford it a decade bottle age before reaching for the corkscrew. Tasted at the Cos d’Estournel vertical in London.Antonio Galloni | 94 AGThe 2015 Cos D’Estournel is a classic wine from this estate and a terrific effort from the northern Médoc. Compared to both 2007 and 2004 by the estate and representing only 39% of the total production, it offers a fresh, classy bouquet of crème de cassis, black raspberries, toasty oak, graphite and damp earth. Made from 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc, this medium to full-bodied 2015 has solid mid-palate depth, fine, polished tannin, and a great finish. It’s going to improve with short-term cellaring and keep for two decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDThis has a gently steeped core of currant, plum and black cherry fruit, infused with black tea, singed juniper and smoldering tobacco notes. The vintage’s overt austerity is less evident here, with a gloss of alluring toast adding polish to the finish. A strong effort. Best from 2020 through 2032. 15,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS