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A beauty, the opaque dense purple-colored 1995 exhibits jammy cassis, vanillin, and minerals in its fragrant but still youthful aromatics. Medium to full-bodied, with exceptional purity, superb concentration, and a long, intense, ripe, 40-second finish, this is a magnificent example of Latour. As the wine sat in the glass, scents of roasted espresso and toasty new oak emerged. This classic will require considerable cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2050.Robert Parker | 96 RPDeep ruby-red color. More expressive aromas of crystallized dark berries, dark chocolate and animal fur. Lush and sweet; thick but delineated. Wonderfully concentrated. This, too, seems rather withdrawn today, but the strength of material is clear to see. Finishes with firm tannins and explosive fruit that goes on and on.Vinous Media | 94+ VMBlack licorice, cedar, cigar box and fresh herbs. Full-bodied and very structured, with firm, silky tannins and a long finish. Needs time.--’95/’96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2009.Wine Spectator | 94 WS(Château Latour) Latour made a very good wine in 1995, but my gut instincts are that the property in the twenty-first century is making even better wines than was the case in the decade of the 1990s. The 1995 Latour offers up a complex, promising nose of cassis, dark berry, French Roast, Cuban cigars, gravelly soil tones and a well-done base of toasty new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full and broad-shouldered in profile, with a fine core of fruit, ripe, chewy tannins, fine focus and grip and a long, still quite youthful finish. This is at least eight to ten years away from starting to drink, and probably at least twenty away from really hitting its apogee. (Drink between 2025-2075).John Gilman | 93 JG

The 1999 Château Margaux is an immensely charming wine that’s drinking beautifully today from both bottle and, in this case, magnum. Bursting with aromas of blackcurrants, blackberries and violets framed by subtle hints of cigar box, it’s medium to full-bodied, supple and sensual, with an enveloping core of fruit, ripe and melting tannins and a long, penetrating finish. Analogies with the immensely charming 1985 vintage are very persuasive, as the 1999 is quite reminiscent of how the 1985 tasted fifteen years ago.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPMedium ruby. Expressive aromas of black raspberry, Cuban tobacco and grilled nuts; a bit more red fruit in character than either the 2000 or the 2001. Silky, seamless and enveloping, but the wine’s excellent vinosity gives its creamy fruit very good definition. Consistent from start to finish. Tannins are substantial but fine, allowing the fruit and floral flavors to linger impressively. Along with Latour, an early candidate for the wine of the vintage.Vinous Media | 93 VMThis has a rather friendly, fleshy feel, with a plump core of crushed plum, currant and cherry notes out front, backed by bergamot, lilac and sandalwood accents. Not superdense, but with lovely mouthfeel and a balance that carries the finish gracefully. A beautiful wine in a vintage where most of the Médoc struggled.--Non-blind Château Margaux vertical (December 2013). Drink now through 2022. 16,665 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

Beginning to open magnificently, the still dense purple-colored 2000 reveals a blossoming bouquet of blackberries, cassis, graphite and pen ink. Full-bodied with velvety tannins that have resolved themselves beautifully over the last eleven years, this wine is still an adolescent, but it exhibits admirable purity, texture, mouthfeel and power combined with elegance. One of the all-time great examples of Lynch Bages, the 2000 is just beginning to drink well yet promises to last for another 20-25+ years.Robert Parker | 97 RPThis has a dense but well-defined core of currant and fig paste flavors supported by a gorgeous graphite spine. Long and authoritative, with notes of bay, pepper, leather and juniper slowly emerging on the finish. Terrific structure and integration give this a chiseled feel. No rush here.--Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Drink now through 2033.Wine Spectator | 96 WSFinally rounding the corner, the 2000 Château Lynch-Bages is mature, with classic Pauillac darker currants, lead pencil, tobacco leaf, and spice-laced aromatics. With a deep plum color and slight lightening at the edges, it’s medium to full-bodied and has a layered texture as well as integrated tannins. A classic, elegant, yet still powerful Lynch-Bages, it delivers plenty of sweet fruit and a great finish. It benefits from an hour of air and will certainly hold at this stage for another 10-15 years with no issues.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDAnother wonderful 2000 coming out of its long sleep. Beautiful aromas of berry, tobacco, herb and spice that follow through to a full palate with round, textured tannins and lots of fruit.James Suckling | 95 JSTypical of Lynch-Bages in its sumptuous rich style, this is a resounding success for the team of Jean-Michel Cazes. With its sweet fruit, opulent but balanced wood and red and black fruit flavors, it is a wine that will develop relatively quickly but will certainly age.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WE71% cabernet sauvignon, 16% merlot, 11% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot; 5.5 g/l total acidity; 13.3% alcohol): Deep ruby-red. Knockout aromas of blackcurrant, blackberry, mocha and cedar complicated by scorched earth and tobacco. Big, ripe and dense, with flavors similar to the aromas and a seamless, rich texture. Though powerful and rich, with a sensual mouthfeel, it maintains a graceful, light-on-its-feet quality. Finishes with ripe, fine-grained tannins and excellent length. Still an infant, but clearly a great vintage for this property.Vinous Media | 94+ VMNo written review provided. | 92 W&S

This wine is superb. With its power and structure it will age over 20 years or more. Backed by blackcurrant and jelly flavors, it shows great fruity attractiveness even at this early stage in its development. It will develop slowly and evenly to become a reference point for the vintage.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEI love the chocolate and blackberry character, with hints of cedar. Nicely perfumes. Full and very creamy, with soft tannins and a long finish. The tannins compliment the creamy texture perfectly, wait two more years to pull the cork. 2012.James Suckling | 94 JSThis elegant St.-Emilion has filled out nicely over the last decade. From barrel and post-bottling, I thought it might turn out austere, but that does not appear to be the case. It offers a deep ruby/purple color as well as copious aromas of black cherries, crushed rocks, and earthy undertones. While not a blockbuster, it is beautifully balanced and pure, revealing slightly more depth and richness than I expected. Drink it now and over the next 10-15 years.Robert Parker | 90 RP

Right now, at 20 years old, this wine is approaching its perfect drinking beginning - by which I mean it is now stepping up onto the plateau that the best wines get to, where you don’t need to worry about opening them immediately, but you can feel confident that you are going to be getting the best of them if you choose to do so. Although we didn’t taste the 2000 in this particular lineup, on recent openings it is a more muscular and closed down than the 2001, and will probably last longer, but this is just blindingly delicious right now. The descriptions that are most often associated with Château Margaux must surely be finessed tannins and floral aromatics, and you have both of them in spades, along with gentle roasted fruits of plum and blackberry, violet, cedar spice, liquorice and tobacco. The tannins are fine and full of pleasure. 4% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. 100% new oak. Drinking Window 2021 - 2038.Decanter | 97 DEC“For me, this vintage is what makes Margaux special,” says Margaux winemaker Paul Pontallier. He is right: With its denseness, spice, flavors of black currants layered with dryness and fresh acidity, this is a huge and impressive wine that never forgets that it is Margaux. It is still young, and the dry tannic aftertaste, which lasts for many minutes, shows this.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WESuave from the start, with beguiling tea, singed sandalwood and lilac notes backed by alluring, gently steeped red and black currant fruit. The long finish has an alder edge that stays in lockstep with the fruit, ending with a minerally echo.—Blind ’01/’03/’05 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2017). Drink now through 2030. 10,833 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSThe 2001 Chateau Margaux continues to evolve in impressive fashion. The nose feels sensual, veering towards red rather than black fruit, with disarming purity and perhaps showing more floral/violet character than the 1999. Both display tremendous precision and delineation. The palate is medium-bodied, edgy and tensile with crisp acidity, so fresh and vital in the mouth. Tasted next to the 1996 Château Margaux, it is clear to see that the 2001 is several steps behind, yet the way it fans out with such confidence and brio on the finish assures that this has a prosperous future. Tasted May 2016.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 94 RP-NMThe 2001 Château Margaux, last tasted five years previously, is slightly deeper in color compared with the 2001 Pavillon. Featuring black plum, raspberry and touches of orange peel, rose petal and light bay leaf aromas, the bouquet is not intense, but it is well defined and focused. The palate is fresh on the entry with fine-boned tannins and a taut line of acidity – a strict Château Margaux that doesn’t want to muck about. It’s little short on the finish, yet sophisticated and providing unadulterated buvabilité. Drinking perfectly now, and it will be enjoyable over the next 15–20 years.Vinous Media | 94 VMNo written review provided. | 91 W&S

Extremely lively palate, really quite bright, bold, powerful, chewy tannins fill the mouth but you get such power and concentration here. Feels more alive, slightly linear than the 2008, real tension still, so lively with energy that shoots across the palate. Such depth and just so drinkable. Tannins are mouth filling no doubt, they completely cover the mouth but so expressive, and elegant. Such refinement here but also such power. Only just at the start of its drinking window but one to carry on ageing, . First vintage with Didier Thormann as cellar master. 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot.Decanter | 97 DECVery clear and translucent with currants, blueberries and fresh mushrooms. Full-bodied with velvety tannins that are layered and beautiful. Together and polished with plushness and beauty. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 96 JSThis wine’s heady rush of flavor gave one taster goosebumps. She called it sexy. ’Formidable.’ Other technical descriptions included ’the shazam,’ ’has zazz,’ and ’unprintable. That’s some serious s#¡†.’ At the en primeur tastings, this ap­peared to be chunky and superripe. Now it’s massive, with dark extract and exotic spice, a sophisticated wine that ends on sweetness, bitter chocolate and dark berry fruit. With all the flash, it will give a lot of pleasure as a young wine, but it has the plump Poyferré terroir drive to sustain that pleasure for years to come.Wine & Spirits | 95 W&SHugely concentrated and packed with tannins, this wine shows considerable amounts of dark, extracted fruit. It wins out on impressive power, driving the fruit through the tannins, giving great richness.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WELéoville Poyferré’s dense ruby/purple 2005 is soft, round and juicy, with lots of blackcurrant fruit, plum and Asian spice. It is medium to full-bodied and, along with Léoville Las Cases and Saint-Pierre, probably one of the best St.-Juliens I tasted in this retrospective. It is surprisingly supple and accessible. Drink it over the next 15 or so years.Robert Parker | 93 RPThe 2005 Léoville-Poyferré really needed a number of hours to come together. An old school, powerful Saint-Julien, the 2005 Léoville-Poyferré packs a serious punch. Inky dark red fruit, iron, smoke, cedar, mint and white pepper lend striking aromatic depth. This virile, tannic Saint-Julien is a bruiser, but it is also pretty impressive. Tasting it feels like taking a step back in time.Antonio Galloni | 93 AGDark ruby red in color, with aromas of currant, blackberry, toasty oak and light cappuccino. Full-bodied, with ultrafine tannins and a beautiful, caressing aftertaste. Touches every part of the palate. Outstanding, but slightly disappointing after such a great showing from barrel. Best after 2009. 18,915 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

The Château Canon 2005 has a more complex nose than the Clos Fourtet tasted alongside. It is tightly wound at first with black cherries and dried violet petals, terracotta tiles and brown spices. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and very well-judged acidity. This is very harmonious in the mouth, nicely structured with great precision and persistence. There is a sense of reserve here, but it has a compelling complexity that will surely be enhanced with bottle age. It’s wines like these that remind you why this has such as devoted following that includes yours truly among its number.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 96 RP-NMThe 2005 Canon is all brawn and muscle. Chunky tannins give the 2005 a decidedly virile feel. There is plenty of depth and freshness - this is after all one of the very best sites in all of Bordeaux - so the 2005 will hold for many years to come. Dark fruit, leather, smoke, gravel, crushed rocks and spice linger on the potent finish. Tasting the 2005 today really highlights how far Canon has come in recent yearsVinous Media | 95 VMThe 2005 Château Canon is beautiful, although I think it checks in behind vintages such as 2009, 2015, 2016, and 2017. Revealing a deep ruby/purple hue as well as mineral-laced notes of black raspberries, black cherries, white flowers, crushed rock, and Asian spice, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, incredible purity, and flawless balance. It stays more compact and tight, with little in the way of baby fat, but it’s incredibly elegant and pure. A gorgeous, layered, seamless wine that blossoms with a decant, it unquestionably has another 20-25 years of prime drinking.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDAromas of fresh cep mushrooms, berries, spices, roses, and sous bois, give way to hints of milk chocolate and vanilla. Full and rich, with beautifully balanced tannins and a long finish. Loads going on in this wine, yet it remains subtle and beautiful. This needs time. Pull the cork after 2015.James Suckling | 94 JSShows a lightly roasted edge at first, with raspberry and boysenberry confiture notes laced with melted licorice, singed alder and firm graphite details. Reveals a fine chalky hint, but this has more bass than treble overall. Still rather tight.—Non-blind Canon vertical (December 2016). Best from 2020 through 2030. 4,200 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSFreshness and richness combine in this wine. There’s a eucalyptus freshness that goes with the intense acidity. But alongside this is the dark, dense blackberry fruit that layers with the hints of wood. Keep this for six years before tasting, and then for many more.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WE(Château Canon) While the 2006 Canon is still open and quite easy to project on into its future, the 2005 has gone into hibernation and is not particularly forthcoming at the present time. The bouquet reluctantly yields up scents of black cherries, dark chocolate, tobacco leaf, some gravelly soil tones and a bit of spicy new wood that is buried deep in the other aromatic elements. On the palate the wine is very full-bodied, deep and rock solid at the core, with the vintage’s beautiful taught acidity really sealing up this beauty from the mid-palate back. The finish is long, firmly tannic and superbly well focused, with excellent grip and a palate-staining persistency. Today this wine is hermetically sealed, but it will be superb at its apogee. (Drink between 2025-2075)John Gilman | 92-94+ JG

A sensational effort, the 2006 Mouton Rothschild exhibits an opaque purple color as well as a classic Mouton perfume of creme de cassis, flowers, blueberries, and only a hint of oak. Dalhuin told me that in whisky barrel-tasting vintages such as 1989 and 1990, Mouton was aged in heavily-toasted barrels, and they have backed off to a much lighter toast for the barrels’ interior. I think this has worked fabulously well with the cassis quality fruit they get from their Cabernet Sauvignon. The full-bodied, powerful 2006 possesses extraordinary purity and clarity. A large-scaled, massive Mouton Rothschild that ranks as one of the top four or five wines of the vintage, it may turn out to be the longest-lived wine of the vintage by a landslide. The label will undoubtedly be controversial as a relative of Sigmund Freud, Lucian Freud, has painted a rather comical Zebra staring aimlessly at what appears to be a palm tree in the middle of a stark courtyard. I suppose a psychiatrist could figure out the relationship between that artwork and wine, but I couldn’t see one. This utterly profound Mouton will need to sleep for 15+ years before it will reveal any secondary nuances, but it is a packed and stacked first-growth Pauillac of enormous potential. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2060+.Ever since owner Philippine de Rothschild put Philippe Dalhuin in charge at Mouton in 2004 there has been a dramatic reduction in the amount of wine produced under the Mouton Rothschild label. The selection process has been ratcheted up to the level of other first-growths, and that is reflected in what is clearly the greatest Mouton produced since 1982 and 1986. As I indicated in my barrel tasting notes, only 44% of the crop made it into the 2006 grand vin, which is the lowest percentage in more than fifty years. The final blend includes a high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon (87%) and the rest Merlot (13%). No Cabernet Franc was utilized in 2006, and purchasers will have a long wait until this wine reaches full maturity. Keep in mind that, where well-stored, the 1986 currently tastes like a 4-5 year old wine, and the 1982 is just beginning to enter early adolescence. If you extrapolate from that, the 2006 will need at least twenty years to reach a teen-age status, and probably will not hit its plateau of maturity for three decades.Robert Parker | 98+ RPAt the time it was shown as a barrel sample in early 2007, this was the best wine of 2006. That accolade remains. It has all the power of the Cabernet Sauvignon in Pauillac, which was the greatest success of the vintage. That power comes from the dense tannins as well as the black plum and spice flavors and minerality. The texture becomes velvet, giving a final richness, but never losing its long aging potential. In a year that is good, but not at the top, Mouton has made a great wine.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThis is in an interesting spot right now, still sporting some youthful blackberry, cassis and plum fruit, with only secondary hints starting to emerge. Yet those secondary hints are very tantalizing, with well-worn cedar, tobacco and sanguine notes adding range and cut. There’s a freshness throughout, yet also a supple edge, which allows the fruit to drape prettily on the finish.--Non-blind Mouton-Rothschild vertical (March 2017). Drink now through 2034. 15,830 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSThe breadth and depth of this wine is impossible to ignore. Tobacco notes blend with cappuccino, cedar and grilled almonds. This is classy, with just the right amount of abandon. Grilled black fruits are very Mouton, but with the touch of austerity and pulled-in, pared-down tannins that tell you it’s 2006. Complex and complete. Drinking Window 2018 - 2040Decanter | 95 DECThis is an eye-opener with a tight core of complex fruit character as well as subtle chocolate and spices. Full body, firm tannins and a classy finish. Holding back. Much better than expected. A vintage forgotten. Better in 2018.James Suckling | 95 JSThe 2006 Mouton Rothschild is dark, powerful and intense, with firm tannins that need time to soften. This is an especially dark, somber Mouton. Dark black fruit, smoke, menthol gravel and cured meats are some of the signatures. Slight vegetal notes underpin the fruit. I am not sure the 2006 has enough freshness to be a long-term ager or the depth of fruit to outlast the tannins. The blend is 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Merlot, harvested between September 20 and October 5.Antonio Galloni | 92 AG

As to the Grand Vin, the 2006 Latour showed beautifully. A blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance mostly Merlot, with a splash of Cabernet Franc, it offers a deep ruby/purple color to go with straight up classic Latour graphite, lead pencil and minerality all balanced by terrific cassis and blackcurrant fruit. With medium to full-bodied richness, present, yet silky tannin, impeccable balance and a great finish, it’s terrific today and I suspect on the early edge of a long drinking plateau.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDDense and rich Latour with layered and velvety tannins and gorgeous fruit. At the same time, there’s lots of wood. Coffee flavor, too. Full-bodied, layered and structured. Needs more time to soften the tannins. Try in 2021.James Suckling | 96 JSLatour has always had the reputation of producing great wines in the less great vintages. The 2006 is a case in point. It brings structure and ripeness into a form that is almost ethereal. That elegance doesn’t take away from the powerful fruit. The fruit in fact melds into the structure with ease. And, as a reminder this is a 2006, the density gives way to freshness on the finish.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThe 2006 Latour performed even better from bottle than from barrel. Only 38% of the production (10,000 cases) made it into the grand vin, a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest primarily Merlot and a small amount of Cabernet Franc. From barrel, I thought it was a modern day version of the 1996 or 1986, and certainly the 1996 comparison still holds. I thought it was somewhat austere from barrel, but that is no longer an issue. This is a beautifully rich Chateau Latour boasting a dense ruby/purple color, a sweet, smoky, charcoal, cassis, graphite, and forest floor-scented nose, full body, an attractive freshness, and sweet, noble tannins. This layered Latour is one of the vintage’s top dozen or so wines. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2030.Latour’s brilliant manager, Frederic Engerer, has purchased 15 hectares of old vine Grenache and Syrah in the Cotes du Rhone region, the Drome, at a cool-climate elevation. I can’t wait to see the first vintage from this Cotes du Rhone project.Robert Parker | 95 RPOffers a pure nose of currant and blackberry, with crushed fruit. Full-bodied, with a solid core of fruit and very polished, refined tannins. Long and classy. Best after 2016.Wine Spectator | 95 WS(Château Latour, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, Red) Soft and lush, this perhaps shows a hint of dilution from harvest rains. The texture is firm and dense without being forbidding. It is less angular than the 2007 vintage on the palate, but there is a similar length and weight here. The result has a ripe currant and plum fruit with a bit of leather, spice and just a suggestion of violets. The harvest began with the Merlot on 19th September and the Cabernets on 9th October. The final blend is over 91% Cabernet, and here Latour has used a splash of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, with Merlot making up the balance. (Drink between 2022-2042)Decanter | 95 DECIn describing the feel of this wine, Lacey Burke of Gotham Bar & Grill said it was "like a cat wrapping around your ankles." Such a sensation clearly separates the ’06 Latour from the ’05, which is anything but cuddly. This does have the gravity of classic wines from the deep pile of river stones that counts for soil in this vineyard-its harmonious intensity a direct result of the superior drainage of those stones (and the rigorous farming and selection of the fruit). The tannins hold their share of mystery, both luscious and muscular at once, the source of the wine’s minerality and strength. The fruit is black and compact, completely filling those tannins, with a hint of earthy root vegetable flavor that gives the sweeter aspects a savory cut. Diageo Château & Estate Wines, NYWine & Spirits | 95 W&SThe 2006 Latour is a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. It is a vintage that I have followed closely since first tasting the wine from barrel, both in sighted and blind conditions. The 2006 has long been one of the best offerings from the Left Bank and this bottle was consistent with previous notes. It retains a disarming sense of purity on the nose: blackberry, raspberry, cedar and pencil shaving scents that seem to burst from the glass with a sense of vim and vigor. There is an underlying ferrous note, signs of secondary scents emerging over the horizon. The palate immediately exerts an insistent grip in the mouth, maybe a touch more backward than I expected. But it still conveys a sense of energy and there is a sense of brightness that Latour does not necessarily always possess. Laden with black fruit, with aeration it leans more towards red and manifests impressive depth allied with a fine bead of acidity that imparts mouth-tingling tension. In banal terms, it is an unashamedly “drinkable” Latour rather than one predisposed to impress and though it does not offer the persistence of giants like the 2005 or 2010, its joie de vivre will be appreciated by those tempted to splash out on one of around 4,000 cases kept back from its original release.Vinous Media | 94 VM

Beautiful, rich and incredibly softly textured, this is still very young. Also supremely measured and stately, with buttery tannins. The palate is just starting to show truffles and leather, but is still set against game, cassis and liquorice root. Great persistency and a real sense of lift on the finish. Drinking Window 2016 - 2038Decanter | 95 DECThe first vintage under new owner Martin Bouygues,who convinced Jean-Bernard Delmas to come out of retirement to produce this wine, the 2006 Montrose is an undeniable success. A blend of approximately two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon, one-third Merlot, and a tiny dollop of Petit Verdot, the most dramatic difference between the 2006, and wines made by the previous administration is that Jean Delmas produces wines with sweeter, silkier tannins, although analytically, they are as high as those found in the great Montrose vintages of the past. The 2006 is extraordinarily elegant and finesse-styled, but it exhibits stunningly concentrated, sweet blackberry and cassis fruit with hints of flowers and minerals. Full-bodied with a savory, expansive mid-palate as well as sweet, noble tannins, this beauty will benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age, and should drink well for 20-25+ years.Robert Parker | 94+ RPYes, this wine is tannic. To begin with it seems austere and mineral. But then the substrate of black berry juice asserts itself. The fruits are fresh rather than sweet, combining with leather, spice and a presence of new wood. Typical of Montrose, it is hard to appreciate this young, with those tannins needing to open out. But wait 10 years.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WELocated on one of the deep gravel promontories of the Médoc, Montrose has long been known for impenetrable wines on release. In 2006, the Charmolüe family, who had owned the vineyard since 1896, sold it to Martin Bouygues, a French construction magnate, and his brother, Oli­vier. The new owners brought in Jean Delmas, recently retired from his brilliant tenure at Haut-Brion, to direct winemaking. This first release from the new team is a lovely, fragrant cabernet, its deep earthiness and dark mushroom tones the only clues that it’s a Montrose. The wine may be compressed in its structure, but it’s supple and elegant, with purity and precision to its layers of currant, fennel, blueberry and blackberry. Lively acidity drives the fruit, its freshness lengthening the flavors. Built for 20 or more years of development, this young Montrose makes its beauty apparent from the outset.Wine & Spirits | 94 W&SThere’s currant, spice, chocolate and berry character on the nose. Deep, complex and full-bodied, with chewy tannins and a long, flavorful finish. A solid wine. Chewy. Best after 2014.Wine Spectator | 93 WSMontrose is so typically Saint-Estephe in 2006, with dried spices such cardamom and cloves as well as delicate currants. Full-bodied, with firm tannins and a dense center palate. It needs another three or four years of bottle age to soften.James Suckling | 92 JS

The 2009 Les Forts de Latour is engaging and quite complex on the nose with blackberry, bilberry, hints of brine and freshly rolled tobacco, all very well delineated and gaining vigor with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with fine but firm tannin that frame layers of black fruit laced with pencil lead and tobacco, very convincing on the finish that has one of the longest lengths of any Pauillac in this flight. Excellent. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 96 VMDeep and dark with a ton of smoke and earth, the cassis fruit very much in the background, this is a concentrated and complex wine. Powerful yet racy palate with an elegant mineral finish. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019)James Suckling | 96 JSPossibly the best second wine ever made at Latour (and I love how the 1982 is drinking at age 30), the 2009 Les Forts de Latour is composed of two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot blended with a tiny dollop of Petit Verdot, and finished at 13.5% alcohol. Juicy notes of creme de cassis, licorice, camphor, smoke and crushed rocks are followed by a rich, unctuously textured, thick, juicy, exceptionally pure, long wine. This beauty will be at its finest in several years and should keep for three decades.Proprietor Francois Pinault and his director, Frederic Engerer, have pulled out all the stops to produce one of the most monumental Latour’s ever made.Robert Parker | 95 RPMint aromas hint at the wood, but more important is the massive Merlot fruit that is an essential element in the blend. The result is a wine that blends richness and power with an initially severe character. Slowly it opens to reveal opulent blackberry jam flavors, immensely ripe.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEMore muscular and closed than the Petit Mouton, here the tannins are beautifully flexed, with real purity of fruit and lovely texture. It’s excellent quality, showing focus and a sense of poise and purpose. A brilliant wine, and one that will age well. These first-growth second wines in 2009 are amazing! Drinking Window 2019 - 2038Decanter | 94 DECThis has purity and precision, with mouthwatering blackberry, black currant and steeped plum fruit racing along, nicely laced with graphite and studded with enticing ganache and iron notes through the finish. Sleek, but the grip is there. Best from 2014 through 2028. 10,830 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS(Les Forts de Latour (barrel sample)) The 2009 Forts de Latour is the spitting image of the grand vin, as it is deep, pure complex, broad-shouldered and quite structured. The bouquet is a very fine, quite reserved mélange of black cherries, dark berries, tobacco leaf, a great base of complex, gravelly soil tones and cedary wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and tight, with a rock solid core of fruit, plenty of ripe tannins, very good acidity for the vintage and a very long, firm and classy finish. A superb Forts de Latour in the making (Drink between 2022-2050)John Gilman | 90-91+ JG

What a nose of blackberries, blackcurrants, minerals and graphite. Full-bodied and extremely fine and polished. Sexy and ethereal. Harmony. A little salty. Fabulous 2012. Pure silk. Better after 2020 but so wonderful now.James Suckling | 97 JSThis is a beautifully opulent wine, great Mouton in its richness and succulent fruits. It’s combines structure and obvious new-wood aging with hugely ripe black plum and currant flavors. While it is a pleasure to taste now, there is a great tannic structure in the background to give the sense of power and aging potential. Drink from 2024.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WETasted at the Mouton-Rothschild vertical in London, the 2012 Mouton-Rothschild clearly has the upper hand over the 2011, if not quite at the level of the 2009, 2010 and what I envisage will be the 2015. There is obviously greater fruit intensity here, as if the contrast has been dialed up a couple of notches. It is quite showy on the nose, preening in its infancy with pure black cherries, graphite and hints of cold slate-like scents, later that hint of seaweed I observed when tasted blind a few months earlier. The palate is beautifully balanced with great vim and vigor. This is a Mouton that will not be put down - vivacious, vivid and delineated with wonderful focus and crucially, impressive persistence on the finish. Do not underestimate this Mouton-Rothschild, because I can see an upswing as it matures in bottle. Tasted April 2016.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 96 RP-NMThe 2012 Mouton Rothschild comes across as quite dark and ripe in this vintage. One of the richest, most powerful 2012s readers will come across, the Mouton boasts striking aromatics and overall density. Mocha, chocolate, graphite, smoke, licorice and dark-fleshed fruits all meld together in the glass. I imagine the 2012 will need a good decade before it starts drinking well. Slightly roasted notes and copious new oak stick out today, but these wines have a way of coming together in bottle. Antonio Galloni | 95 AGWonderful expression of ’patrician’ black fruits, the expected exotic seduction of Mouton, a perfect blend of power and elegance. Drinking Window 2017 - 2035.Decanter | 95 DECThis is starting to mellow already, featuring dark fig and blackberry notes infused liberally with black tea and smoldering tobacco accents. Shows a light loamy echo through the finish, with a flash of menthol. Offers ample flesh throughout, with a slightly grainy edge to the tannins.--Non-blind Mouton-Rothschild vertical (March 2017). Best from 2020 through 2040.Wine Spectator | 94 WS(Château Mouton-Rothschild) The 2012 Château Mouton-Rothschild is a very good wine, being comprised of fully ninety percent cabernet sauvignon, eight percent merlot and two percent cabernet franc. It was raised in only seventy percent new oak this year- not a concession to the more elegant style of the 2012 vintage, but rather because the new chais includes new large wood fermentation tanks and these were also new oak this year. The wine is complex and classy on the nose, but just a touch overly slick for my pedestrian tastes, as it offers up a blend of cassis, dark berries, coffee bean, a dollop of licorice, dark soil tones and plenty of spicy, smoky new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and pure, with really lovely raw materials very much in evidence. The core is deep, the focus and balance here are very fine indeed and there are plenty of ripe, chewy tannins adding grip and potential longevity on the finish, and yet, for some reason, I am left with the impression that the whole this year is a bit less than the sum of its parts. This is a very well-made wine, but it seems to me to be a bit overly sculpted to ever really reach greatness. I miss the more effortless impression of a wine like the 1985 Mouton- which the 2012 vintage might have been able to reproduce flawlessly! (Drink between 2025-2075).John Gilman | 92 JG

Inky plum in colour, you can see this is rich and textured even before going anywhere near the nose, which then displays ripe fruit. Gorgeous quality, a wine that is packed full of graphite, pencil lead, waves of violet, cassis, liqourice, and chewy but well defined tannins. Leaps out of the glass and is clear proof that, when it gets it right, the 2014 vintage equals the 2015 in this northern sector of the Médoc. Good value also compared to the 2015 and 2016 - a must buy for me. 70% new oak,..Jane Anson | 97 JAAromas of currants, blackberries and blackcurrants with hints of chocolate and spices. Full body, firm and silky tannins and a long and flavorful finish. Juicy and muscular wine. Needs three or four years to open. Beautiful.James Suckling | 96 JSFragrant and perfumed, this wine is the epitome of great Cabernet Sauvignon. It is fruity, juicy yet with serious concentrated tannins. There is spice from the wood aging along with a dash of pepper, all the while just bringing out the beautiful black-currant flavors. Drink this wine from 2024.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThe 2014 Lynch-Bages is just as powerful and dense from bottle as it was from barrel. Deep, powerful and bold, it possesses remarkable richness in all of its dimensions. Ripe red cherry, spice, leather, tobacco and rose petal all develop in the glass, but it is the wine’s sheer amplitude today that is quite remarkable. It will need quite a bit of cellaring to be at its best, and is clearly built to age. This is a terrific showing from the Cazes family. The blend is 69 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 26 % Merlot, 3 % Cabernet Franc and 2 % Petit Verdot.Antonio Galloni | 94+ AGThis has beguiling hints of plum cake and melted licorice peeking out, while a core of cassis and blackberry confiture waits in reserve. There’s ample grip, but this remains very polished and integrated, with lovely echoes of anise and fruitcake showing through the very lengthy finish. Will be hard to keep your hands off this while it ages. Best from 2019 through 2035.Wine Spectator | 94 WSThe 2014 Lynch Bages was actually similar to the 2014 Pichon Baron on the nose: tight and surly at first, demanding a lot of coaxing from the glass. It eventually opens up with a mixture of red and black fruit, cedar and tobacco, gaining more harmony and intensity in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, quite linear and focused at the moment, precise if just needing a little more body and depth to evolve on the straight-laced finish. Give this Pauillac 4-5 years in bottle and it is likely to repay you.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 92 RP-NMVery well-expressed natural concentration of fruit, very ripe tannins and lots of complexity to come. A richly textured, firmly structured wine with the Lynch-Bages hallmarks for the future. Drinking Window 2020 - 2035.Decanter | 92 DEC