Wine Ratings

wines

Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Cheval Blanc is still incredibly primary at this very youthful stage. With coaxing, it unfurls to reveal beguiling notions of ripe black cherries, mulberries, licorice, baking spices and smoked meats with touches of incense and potpourri plus wafts of cast iron pan and crushed rocks. Full-bodied, very rich, very firm/taut and with very ripe, fine-grained tannins, it allows a glimpse at its incredible depth of flavors with a very long multi-layered finish. Wow.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPMade with 45% Cabernet Franc, this great wine offers a beautiful, rich and perfumed character. It was an exceptional vintage for the estate, which incorporated fruit from parcels of the vineyard that would normally be used for the chateau’s second wine into this blend. It is packed with black-fruit flavors and broad tannins, with a background of juicy acidity and a firm structure. Drink from 2027.Wine Enthusiast | 100 WEPhenomenal aromas of cherries, flowers, blackberries and sandalwood. Pure fruit. Full-bodied, dense and polished with incredible tannin quality like the finest, densest silk ball. In perfect proportions. Compact. Seamless and endless. Gorgeous to taste now but give it six or seven years to understand it better.James Suckling | 99 JSA lovely sanguine hint leads off, followed by racy, elegant juniper, tobacco, red currant and damson plum notes that move in unison. Broadens and deepens, adding notes of currant preserves, warm ganache and smoldering tobacco, with a swath of loamy structure. Yet even as the bass line increases in volume through the finish, this maintains purity and poise. Should deliver some stunning aromatics at peak, which will take awhile to achieve. Best from 2025 through 2045. 8,250 cases made.Wine Spectator | 98 WSI continue to absolutely love the 2015 Chateau Cheval Blanc. It’s one of those powerful, sexy, yet also weightless and elegant wines that’s going to drink well all its life. Checking in as a blend of 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Franc brought up in new barrels, it offers a kaleidoscope of aromas and flavors led by beautiful sweet fruits as well as incredible floral, spice, and graphite nuances. It’s full-bodied, with a rich, rounded, opulent texture, sweet tannins, and a blockbuster finish. As with a lot of 2015s, it has the sweetness of fruit and ripe tannin that allows it to drink well today, but it’s going to be very long-lived and have 3-4 decades of prime drinking.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDLovely perfumed fruit on the palate, this has well integrated tannins that have a soft gentle mouth coating texture, with excellent juicy appeal straight away. Really quite herbal here, lots of mint and eucalyptus with tons of liquorice and some mint chocolate. Like the 2016, everything is so well balanced, just giving you hints of different elements. Here it is the cool blue fruit, liquorice and mint. So well executed, defined, precise and svelte. It is mouthfulling too though, you know this is a big wine with plenty of power and structure but so supple and agile. Excellent precision. Still super young and a bit shy, it’s not giving away all its secrets right now but you’d never guess this was from a warm, ripe vintage such is the freshness. Such class on show. (Drink between 2027-2050)Decanter | 97 DECTotally seamless in the glass, with no beginning and no end, the 2015 Cheval Blanc is simply extraordinary. It’s hard to describe the 2015, because all of its elements are so perfectly in place. Beautifully delineated aromatics make a strong opening statement. Vibrant and wonderfully nuanced on the palate, the wine exudes energy and vitality through to the persistent, silky finish. Many other 2015s speak with more assertiveness and volume, but Cheval Blanc is more understsated. In 2015, Cheval Blanc created quite a stir in announcing that a whopping 91% of their crop would be bottled as Grand Vin. There will be no Petit Cheval, while the rest of the wine was sold internally. Antonio Galloni | 96+ VM

The 2015 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de Mon Aïeul is another gorgeous wine from this family estate. As always it comes from three Grenache parcels: la Serres, La Crau and La Guigasse (there are 2 hectares in each parcel). In both 2015 and 2016 this cuvée wasn’t destemmed and was brought up mostly in tank, with 15-20% in demi-muids. The 2016 spent a huge 45 days on skins before being pressed to barrel. This beauty offers the fine, finesse-driven style of the vintage, yet has full-bodied depth and richness as well as sensational notes of framboise, crushed flowers, licorice, Christmas fruitcake and spice. It’s in the top handful of wines in the vintage and will benefit from short-term cellaring and have 20+ years of overall longevity.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDA bolder, more concentrated and compressed expression with darker plum and cherry fruits on the nose and palate. The power and concentration here is impressive. Gently chocolate-flavored at the finish. Terrific wine. Drink now.James Suckling | 94 JS(aged entirely in concrete vats) Lurid ruby-red. Exotic, intensely perfumed aromas of candied red and blue fruits, lavender and peppery spices, joined by a slowly emerging hint of garrigue. Fleshy and expansive on the palate, offering concentrated raspberry, cherry and fruitcake flavors and a spicy suggestion of white pepper. Shows excellent focus and a seamless quality on the finish, which is framed by suave, slow-building tannins.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMNext to the traditional cuvée, the 2015 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de Mon Aieul is even riper and more concentrated, but that’s not always a good thing. This all-Grenache cuvée offers fudge-like density and rich tannins but also cooked, dead-fruit flavors and bright acidity on the finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

One of the finest Pauillacs of 2015, Lynch-Bages is rich, racy and voluptuous. A rush of dark red and purplish stone fruit, mint, new leather, spice and blood orange give the 2015 a very decidedly exotic character that is impossible to miss. Raspberry jam, mocha, new leather and expressive floral notes appear with time in the glass, rounding things out nicely. Even though the 2015 is quite forward and open at this stage, the wine has plenty of stuffing as well as the underlying structure to support many years of exceptional drinking. This is a stellar showing for Lynch-Bages. Antonio Galloni | 96 AGThis vintage was ideal for the rich style that this estate has made its own. This wine is full bodied and ripe with black-currant and dark berry fruits. The tannins fall into the cushioned wine with ease and richness. Of course, the wine should be aged, so wait until 2026.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEBrambly and attractive ripe blackberries and red-plum aromas with some floral accents, too. The palate has a very plush, polished and regal shape as tannins frame up a core of ripe black fruit. Succulent, impressive finish. Best from 2022.James Suckling | 95 JSThis has an ample core of plum, fig and blackberry compote flavors, underlined liberally with graphite and smoldering tobacco notes. Fleshy and focused, with ample grip through the juniper- and tar-accented finish. Well-built. Best from 2023 through 2038.Wine Spectator | 94 WSThe inky colored 2015 Château Lynch-Bages is a seriously impressive Pauillac that’s up with the crème de la crème of the appellation in 2015. Notes of ripe blackcurrants, caramelized cherries, tobacco leaf and a kiss of lead pencil all emerge from this textbook Pauillac that has medium to full-bodied richness, notable concentration, and building structure. Made from 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot that saw 75% new barrels, it needs 5-7 years of cellaring and will be one of the longer-lived wines from the Médoc.Jeb Dunnuck | 94+ JDThis is powerful and deep with high but careful extraction and firm tannins. At this stage it feels so much younger and more closed than almost anything else I’ve tasted from this vintage in Pauillac. This is going for a firm, impressive impact and it manages it, but it lacks some generosity in the fruit character that it has in spades in 2016. 2% Petit Verdot. 75% new oak. One-third malolactic fermentation in vats, two-thirds in barrel. Drinking Window 2025 - 2040.Decanter | 94 DECMedium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2015 Lynch Bages offers up crushed black berries, black cherries and dried herbs with an earthy undercurrent. The medium-bodied palate is firm and taut with lively fruit and a chewy finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92+ RP

Intensity and clarity of fruit is so insane. Blackberries, spices such as cloves, blueberries, sandalwood and dried lavender. Full body and such a beautiful, dense center palate with perfectly polished tannins. Extremely long and beautiful. One of the best young Montroses in a long, long time. Drink in 2024.James Suckling | 98 JSThis sumptuous, powerful wine has a great sense of structure and tannins. It is also overwhelmingly dense with black fruits and swathes of rich black currants. In this vintage, even more Cabernet Sauvignon than usual in the blend has given a ripe wine set for a far-distant future. Drink from 2026. Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThe deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Montrose opens with broody black fruits, menthol and anise notes with a core of cassis, blueberries and mulberries plus a touch of cedar chest. The medium-bodied mouth is firm and chewy with a good core of muscular fruit and a long, earthy finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThe 2015 Montrose has a very intense bouquet of blackberry, raspberry coulis, iodine and violet scents that blossom in the glass, demonstrating more exuberance than (what transpired to be) the 2015 Meyney. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, very well judged acidity, taut and linear with satisfying freshness and poise on the finish. Maybe this just has the edge over the Meyney. Superb. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 95 VMAnother wine I was able to taste on multiple occasions, the 2015 Montrose is a certainly the wine of Saint-Estèphe in 2015. Notes of cassis, damp earth, violets, and graphite/lead pencil notes all flow to a beautifully pure, elegant and multi-dimensional 2015 that has fine, polished tannin, perfect balance, and a great finish. The 2015 is a blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc, all of which was brought up in 65% new oak. This isn’t a blockbuster yet is pure class all the way. It will be better in 4-5 years and keep for 2-3 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JD(Château Montrose, St-Estèphe, Red) An imposing wine which shows the excellence of the winemaking and terroir, but it’s not as deft or effortless as the 2016. Montrose is often austere in its youth, and the well-knitted black fruits wound with tight strands of liquorice are clearly capable of long ageing. There is something extremely special here, although the tannins are very much closed up right now. The smallest selection for the grand vin for 15 years. (Drink between 2025-2040)Decanter | 93 DECFleshy for the vintage, with good plum and dark currant fruit lined with ample tobacco, warm paving stone, bay leaf and alder notes on the slightly dusty finish. Not a charmer, but this is integrated and shows range and depth for the vintage. Best from 2020 through 2035. Wine Spectator | 92 WS

The 2015 L’Eglise-Clinet is one of the wines of the vintage. Even better from bottle than it was from barrel, the 2015 towers out of the glass with stunning power and richness. Super-ripe black cherry, plum, licorice, tobacco and menthol are some of the many notes pulse through this riveting Pomerol. There is plenty of structure, but the tannins are nearly buried by the sheer intensity of the fruit. Hints of lavender, smoke, spice, licorice reappear to round out the finish. L’Eglise-Clinet is 90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, aged in 70% new oak. More importantly, the 2015 is a total pleasure bomb. This a fabulous wine from Denis Durantou. Don’t miss it.Antonio Galloni | 99 AGThe violets, roses and dark fruits are so evident but they entice you in a subtle and fresh way. Full-bodied, dense and tannic, yet everything is so in tune with everything else and there are no hard edges or loose ends. It’s like a whirlpool that draws you down and then shows you its beauty. The harmony and complexity is phenomenal. Try in 2024 but I don’t want to wait.James Suckling | 99 JSComposed of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the 2015 L’Eglise Clinet comes bursting out of the glass with a gorgeous perfume of exotic spices and potpourri over a core of blueberry compote, red currant jelly, spiced black plums and mulberries with touches of unsmoked cigars, powdered cinnamon and licorice. Big, rich and full-bodied, the palate offers exquisite harmony, packed with exotic spice and red and black fruit layers, finishing on an epically long-lasting mineral note. In an understated word: WOW.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98+ RPThis delivers a fresh, enticing beam of raspberry, boysenberry and blackberry coulis flavors that stretch out admirably while light anise, singed apple wood and fruitcake notes check in. Picks up some sneaky grip and a pretty mineral twinge through the finish. Rather elegant overall considering how much is here. Best from 2020 through 2035. 1,510 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WSThe second wine of Eglise Clinet, the 2015 La Petite Eglise is a pretty, elegant, even Burgundian, 2015 that opens up beautifully with time in the glass, Ripe red currants, cherries, sandalwood, cedary spice, and dried floral notes all emerge from this medium-bodied 2015 that has fine tannin and a great finish. It’s certainly not a blockbuster but excels on its finesse and elegance. Drink it anytime over the coming decade. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to taste the top cuvee from this estate.Jeb Dunnuck | 92 JD

Very deep-set aromas of blackberries and red and dark plum fruits, set amid integrated oak spices, cedar and hints of earth. The palate has a super plush feel with intense flavors of blueberries and dark plums. Succulent tannins that are smooth, entrancing and very long. Try from 2022.James Suckling | 95 JS93–95. Barrel Sample. Smooth and opulent, this is a densely tannic wine. Its dark fruits and dusty texture are backed by juicy acidity and a core of framing tannins. It will be powerful and rich with age.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThe 2015 Faugères is plush, deep and inviting. Succulent red cherry, plum, tobacco, cedar, licorice and new leather are some of the many nuances that take shape, and attractive floral notes add brightness and lift. This is a very pretty and alluring Saint-Émilion from Silvio Denz. The blend is 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Tasted two times.Antonio Galloni | 93 AGBeautiful aromas and flavors of warm fig and boysenberry reduction lead off, with extra raspberry and cassis notes filling in behind them. Lush in feel, with the structure nicely embedded, letting extra licorice, fruitcake and singed mesquite details chime in. The finish ripples with fruit and fresh acidity. Best from 2023 through 2035. 7,917 cases made. Wine Spectator | 93 WSThe 2015 Faugeres is a blend of 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon aged for 15 months in French oak, 50% new. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, it has a nose of baked plums, warm cherries and black berries with touches of meat and fried spices. The full-bodied mouth is rich, opulent and spicy with firm, velvety tannins and lovely freshness lifting the finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPThe 2015 Château Faugeres includes slightly less Merlot than the 2016 and is 75% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc. Like a lot of 2015s, it’s already open and approachable and offers lots of cassis and black cherry fruits, plenty of spice, herbs and earth nuances. With medium to full-bodied richness, terrific purity and elegance, and present, yet sweet tannin, I suspect it will fill in with 2-3 years in the cellar and keep for 15+. Tasted twice.Jeb Dunnuck | 92 JD

Intense, with candied lemon peel, glazed yellow apple and honey notes streaming through, picking up mirabelle plum and papaya accents through the finish, which is carried by a buried racy streak. This has a good bright feel overall. Best from 2020 through 2040. 5,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS94–96. Barrel Sample. This wine is packed with dry botrytis flavor, but also a bright freshness. Together they give an obviously sweet wine good structure as well as ripeness. The tension between the fruit and the mineral texture will allow this wine to age for many years. Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThe lemon colored 2015 Guiraud features beautiful lime juice and lemon curd scents with paraffin and honeycomb nuances plus touches of chalk dust, ginger and candied peel. It has gorgeous tension in the mouth with tons of citrus, mineral and savory layers, finishing on a zesty note.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94+ RPNo heavy caramel here; rather, a lot of candied citrus on the nose ranging from lemon right across to bitter orange. On the palate this is both creamy and fresh. The sweetness and alcohol are already beautifully integrated. Drink or hold (and this has at least a couple of decades of ageing potential).James Suckling | 94 JSThe 2015 Guiraud appears to have acquired quite a bit of body during its aging. Rich and deep in the glass, but with lovely nuance, it offers tons of immediacy. Orange peel, pineapple, mint, honey, chamomile and sweet French oak notes are nicely pushed forward. Best of all, the 2015 is ready to provide pleasure with minimal cellaring.Antonio Galloni | 93 AGOne of the few Sauternes I was able to taste, the 2015 Château Guiraud is well worth spending money on. Boasting tons of tangerine, caramelized citrus, honeyed peach and white flowers, this full-bodied beauty has good acidity, ample concentration, and a clean, balanced style on the palate that’s going to allow it to age gracefully. (Drink between 2018-2043)Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDBright apricot aromas and a touch of oak. Sleek, fresh and precise; admirable clarity of fruit. Zesty thanks to fine acidity. While not showing a lot of depth now, it has a welcome light touch (Drink between 2020-2040)Decanter | 93 DEC

Showing even better now than on release, the 2015 Château Clos de Sarpe might be one of the greatest wines to ever emerge from this tiny vineyard just outside of Saint Emilion. Dense purple/plum-hued, with an enormous bouquet of blueberries, blackberries, white truffles, violets, and spring flowers, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, an incredible sense of opulence, and silky, polished tannins. It’s absorbed just about every trace of its oak élevage, and while it’s an incredible drink today, it’s going to evolve for 30+ years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 97+ JDThe 2015 Clos de Sarpe boasts off-the-charts richness. Full-throttle and unapologetically opulent, Clos de Sarpe is probably the most exotic of the more modern, sumptuous Saint-Émilions. Super-ripe black cherry, chocolate, leather, spice and new French oak are all pushed forward. Ripeness and unctuousness are taken to the edge in this exotic beauty.Vinous Media | 95 VMDeep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Clos de Sarpe gives up gorgeous blackberry, black cherries and warm plums notes with sparks of redcurrants and anise with a potpourri, tilled soil and bay leaves undercurrent. Full-bodied and packed with spicy energy in the mouth, it has a firm yet plush texture and fantastic freshness, finishing on a lingering earthy note.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPA riper expression with aromas of tea, plum cake and dark spiced raisins. The palate has the same tendency to riper fruit with plum paste. Essence-like. Chewy tannins. Try from 2022.James Suckling | 93 JSThis sports a juicy, enticing feel, with good energy to the mix of raspberry and blackberry compote flavors. Singed cedar, tobacco and ganache notes fill in through the finish. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2019 through 2024. 900 cases made, 250 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

A super-complex Champagne with chewy tension. Aromas of coffee beans, lemon peel, burnt sugar, chalky minerality, barley candy and tarte tatin. Fine pinprick bubbles with flavors of lemon leaves, aspirin and Mirabelle plums, plus a touch of grapefruit bitterness keeping the tension. Zesty yet integrated chewy acidity and a medium body with a toasted finish. Drink of hold.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2015 Dom Pérignon is terrific. Bright and poised, the 2015 shows terrific energy. Citrus peel, white flowers, mint, white pepper and slate all race across the palate. There’s gorgeous tension and backbone here, with bright saline notes that extend the mid-palate and finish. This is a fine showing in a vintage that has proven to be tricky. I am intrigued to see how the 2015 develops in the coming years.Vinous Media | 96 VMDisgorged in January 2023, the 2015 Dom Pérignon shows a singular, ethereal profile with aromas of white pepper, iodine, ripe orchard fruits, toast, smoke, herbs and spices. Medium to full-bodied, layered, and structured, it’s enveloping and round with a delicate phenolic mid-palate that underlines chalky dry extracts, concluding with a sapid, penetrating finish with gastronomic bitterness. This iteration of Dom Pérignon, though replete with the customary charm and vinous generosity that typify the label, distinguishes itself by its structural delicate austerity and a notably phenolic profile, giving rise to a remarkably linear and well-defined style that diverges markedly from the more familiar expressions of Dom Pérignon. This is a blend of 51% Pinot Noir and 49% Chardonnay with a dosage of 4.5 grams per liter; it will age wonderfully and can be enjoyed now or over the next 20 years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPBurnished gold color with a fine, effervescent bead, the Grand Vintage 2015 shows abundant ripeness on the nose with notes of white peach, quince, butter pastry, elderflower and nougat. A 44% Pinot Noir 32% Chardonnay and 24% Meunier, it was disgorged in May 2022 and finished with a five gram per liter dosage. The medium to full-bodied palate possesses a straightlaced acid-line that lifts the rich orchard fruit core through the honeyed finish.The Wine Independent | 91 TWI

Here the kaleidoscopically spicy nose is slightly riper with its beautifully layered range of both red and blue pinot fruit, sandalwood, anise, hoisin and rose petal. The rich, classy and ultra-refined medium weight flavors possess a caressing mouthfeel before terminating in a marvelously complex, driving and explosively long finish. This almost thick effort is quite firm but not at all austere though I have a sneaking feeling that this is going to shut down significantly once it is in bottle and thereafter, plenty of patience will be requisite.Burghound | 96 BHThe 2015 Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru is lovely, revealing a beautifully pure bouquet of cassis, plum, clove, violets, rose petal and spice. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied and complete, with supple, fine-grained tannins and excellent depth and dimension, with the most flesh on its bones of all the domaine’s grands crus. The inherent elegance of Romanée-Saint-Vivant really plays into Charles Lachaux’s hands.Robert Parker wine Advocate | 95 RPFull dark red. Musky, wild scents of raspberry, espresso and mocha quickly shut down in the glass. Plump, sweet and quite powerful, with its very ripe, almost liqueur-like dark fruit flavors a bit blurred today by the wine’s significant baby fat. Finishes broad, dry and very long but downright inscrutable. Today I don’t find the sappy minerality or lift this wine displayed from barrel a year ago but it’s stubbornly backward today and will need at least six or seven more years of cellaring.Vinous Media | 93+ VM

The 2015 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots, matured in two-thirds new oak, has a bewitching bouquet that is very pure and intense, layers of dark cherry and wild strawberry fruit tinged with iodine that seems to blossom in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with quite firm tannin and structured, underneath those intense dark berry fruit, a touch of salinity towards the finish that keeps the senses searching and eager for the next sip. Typical of Cathiard’s style of winemaking, this is just a brilliant Les Suchots from one of its finest exponents.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95-97 RP(August malo): Full, bright red. Showy aromas of black raspberry, licorice and violet convey excellent cut and mineral lift. Savory, penetrating wine with strong early personality to its deep flavors of black fruits, salty minerality and spices. Has the old-vines density of texture to carry its ripe tannins effortlessly.Vinous Media | 92-94 VMJuicy raspberry nose packed with fruit. Good attack, with vibrant fruit and fine-grained tannins. Taut and concentrated with a piquant complexity and good depth of flavour.Decanter | 92 DECA brilliantly spicy nose is comprised by notes of violet, plum, lavender, soy, Asian-style tea and black cherry. There is more volume and richness if less precision and delineation to the velvety and seductive-textured medium weight plus flavors that coat the palate on the beautifully well-balanced, persistent and equally classy finish that is quite firmly structured. The sheer level of dry extract buffering the ripe and dense tannins is impressive and as such this terrific effort should age effortlessly.Burghound | 92-94 BH

Stunning concentration of perfectly ripe blackcurrants here with a delicate whiff of vanilla oak and extremely fine tannins that are almost perfectly integrated on the seductive and delicate palate, right through the almost literally breathtaking, super-long and very polished finish. Try from 2022.James Suckling | 98 JSTasted on two separate occasions, the 2016 Château Pape Clément never failed to impress, offering a huge, powerful, full-bodied personality as well as beautiful notes of cassis, graphite, high-class cigar tobacco, asphalt, and graphite. About as sexy as it gets in the vintage, with silky tannins and loads of fruit, it’s perfectly balanced and has a great finish. The 2016 is a blend of 60% Merlot, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the balance Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, all raised in 60% new barrels.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDBlended of 60% Merlot, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, the 2016 Pape Clement has a deep garnet-purple color and quite a serious, earthy nose with truffles, tilled soil, underbrush and smoked meats over a cassis, baked plums and redcurrants core plus a touch of lavender. Medium to full-bodied, firm and grainy, the palate is built like a brick house, supporting muscular black fruit and earthy notions and finishing very long and mineral laced.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThe 2016 Pape Clément is fabulous. Racy and sumptuous in the glass, the 2016 captures the style that now characterizes Bernard Magrez’s wines from his estate in Pessac. Specifically, the 2016 is wonderfully deep in the glass, and yet retains terrific freshness as well. A rush of dark cherry, plum, smoke, scorched earth, grilled herb, leather and menthol builds as the 2016 shows off its compelling, inviting personality. I would prefer to give the 2016 at least a few years in bottle to allow its full breadth of aromatics to develop. Even so, there is so much to like. Pliant, supple and super-expressive, Pape Clément is gorgeous in 2016. Tasted two time Antonio Galloni | 96 AGThis takes a slightly different tack than many of its Pessac colleagues, relying less on bramble and tar and more on alluring toast, with mocha, anise, wood spice and black tea notes draped liberally over the core of sappy kirsch and cherry preserve flavors. Plush and suave through the finish, though this needs a bit of time for the wood elements to be fully integrated with the fruit. For fans of the flashier, cashmere-textured style. Best from 2023 through 2037. 12,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSThe 60ha of vineyards are situated on an ancient alluvial terrace topped by a thin layer of more recent Garonne gravel. The winery’s 28 wooden fermentation vats correspond to individual parcels, and the grand vin red (in 2016, equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot) is aged for 18 months in 70% new oak barrels. Andy Howard MW: Intriguing wine with an extra layer of aromatics. Floral, leafy, a touch herbal. Great purity allied with fresh acidity and integrated oak. A very fine Pessac. Robert Mathias: A brooding nose, coffee, cedar and dried tobacco. Broad structure with black cherry fruit. Tannins very fine, some warmth on the finish. Tim Triptree MW: Hedonistic aromatics of ripe black cherry, plum and blackberry, complex notes of smoke and cedar, leather, dried meats, tobacco and cinnamon spice. Opulent, ripe, great balance and length. Harmonious, ageworthy Pessac. (Drink between 2022-2040)Decanter | 96 DECThis rich, warm wine offers tannins cushioned within layers of black fruits. It is dense with structure and fruit while also having the freshness and acidity typical of this vintage. The wine will age for several years, becoming richer and more opulent. Drink from 2025.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WE

Composed of 74% Merlot and 26% Cabernet Franc and aged for 18 months in 70% new French barriques, the 2016 Canon is medium to deep garnet-purple in color, and—WOW—it opens with the most stunning perfume of violets, red roses and kirsch, giving way to a core of black cherry preserves, chocolate box, licorice, warm plums and Chinese five spice plus an earthy waft of underbrush. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is completely filled with expressive, perfumed black berry layers accented by lively red fruits and exotic spices, supported by impressively fine-grained tannins and fantastic tension, finishing very long with jaw-dropping energy. Tasted three times, I had one opportunity to taste the 2015 and 2016 Canon side by side. While I love the bold, rich, seductive nature of the 2015, this 2016 kicks it up a notch in terms of polish, precision, depth and persistence. Most notably, the superbly ripe, exquisitely fine-grained tannins on this 2016 bring to the table a whole other level of sophistication. Bravo!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98+ RPThis wine is impressive both from its structure and its fruit, one of the stars of the vintage in Saint-Émilion. It has great weight, concentration as well as style and aging potential. The ripe fruit shines through the structure, promising an elegant maturity. Drink from 2025.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEThe 2016 Canon has the unenviable task of following the astonishing 2015, and it does a damn good job, even if it doesn’t reach the same ethereal heights. There is a pleasing strictness and poise on the nose; this is less immediate than the 2015, yet intellectual, a Canon that expresses its terroir rather than tons of fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, a fine bead of acidity, a smooth texture and a slightly savory but persistent finish, which feels a little plusher than the 2015, implying that this might drink a little earlier. But there is unquestionably immense breeding locked into this rejuvenated Saint-Émilion, which is now firmly ensconced among the top-flight Right Banks.Vinous Media | 97 VMLike Rauzan-Segla, Canon is owned by Chanel with 2016 being the second great vintage for winemaker Nicolas Audebert. After the top-scoring 2015, 2016 is a more restrained wine which demonstrates elegance rather than power. Dark berry and cherry fruit dominate the palate, with pronounced, leafy red-fruit/violets and roses on the nose. Fine-grained tannins, some smokiness from 70% new oak, this is another glorious St-Emilion with a long future ahead. (Drink between 2023-2045)Decanter | 97 DECComplex aromas of blackberries, iodine, oyster shell and wet earth. Ever so perfumed. Full-bodied, yet reserved and tight with very silky tannins that are energized and minerally. Takes off at the end. The freshness lifts it. Try after 2024.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2016 Château Canon is another beautiful wine from this estate, made in a more streamlined, elegant style compared to the richer, sexier 2015. Checking in as a blend of 74% Merlot and 26% Cabernet Franc all from a magical terroir situated on the upper plateau just outside of the village of Saint-Emilion, it saw a small percentage of the blend go through malolactic fermentation in barrel, and the wine spent 18 months in 70% new French oak, with the balance in once-used. Gorgeous notes of blueberries, cassis, spring flowers, white truffle, and crushed rock nuances all come soaring from the glass and it has notable intensity as well as complexity. Medium to full-bodied, with vibrant acidity, ultra-fine tannins, and a straight, silky texture, I don’t think it matches the 2015 on concentration, but it’s perfectly balanced and has a texture to die for. It needs a good 4-5 years of bottle age (or more) and it’s going to be long-lived. Tasted three times.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDThis delivers a pretty serious ball of fruit, with a mix of raspberry, blueberry and black currant flavors providing range, while sweet tobacco notes and chalky minerality impart texture and detail. There’s a fresh savory echo on the finish. Much less reliant on toast than most of its peers. Best from 2022 through 2037. 6,667 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

An enticing nose oscillating between pure black fruit and fine spices that becomes more floral in character after airing and refreshed by minty notes. This is a wine of remarkable finesse thanks to the harmonious proportions of its tannic and acidic architecture that shapes its juicy substance. This is a vintage marking a change of style towards more precision and purity, as well as finesse, without losing the essential aging capacity that should impart even more delicacy to this outstanding wine. (Drink between 2030-2060)Decanter | 100 DECSuperb aromas of crushed berries, violets and sandalwood with hints of cedar and roses. Full body, very fine tannins and savory, delicious fruit. Vibrant acidity combines beautifully with the fruit and structure. Harmonious and attractive. Fine-toned. Try after 2024.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2016 Calon Ségur is dense and radiant on the palate, just as it was from barrel. Even with all of its intensity, the 2016 is distinguished by its sense of freshness, lift and nuance, much of which comes from the 18% Cabernet Franc in the blend. Sweet floral, spice and minty notes add aromatic intensity to a core of sweet red cherry and plum fruit. There is plenty of underlying structure, but the tannins are sweet, silky and perfectly ripe. In short, the 2016 Calon Ségur is a wine of pure and total sensuality. Technical Director Vincent Millet and his team did a tremendous job with the 2016. Tasted three times.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGA monumental wine in the making, the 2016 Château Calon-Ségur is blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot that spent a full 20 months in all new French oak. It offers an incredibly powerful, concentrated, classic style in its crème de cassis, graphite, scorched earth, tobacco, and lead pencil aromas and flavors. These give way to an inky, full-bodied 2016 that has perfectly integrated acidity and tannins, subtle background oak, thrilling depth and purity of fruit, and a great, great finish. My money is on it being the greatest wine ever made at this address. Although it shines even today on its purity and balance, it needs 5-7 years of bottle age to hit prime time and will keep for three to four decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDThe 2016 Calon-Ségur is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot aged in 100% new French oak for 20 months. Deep garnet-purple colored, it is a little closed to begin, slowly revealing warm red and black currants, kirsch and plum preserves with wafts of fragrant earth, violets, chocolate box and wood smoke. Medium to full-bodied, elegantly expressed and finely crafted, it has a wonderfully fine-grained texture and bold freshness supporting the densely packed black fruits, finishing long and mineral-laced.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThis sports a big, juicy core of delicious dark plum, blackberry and black cherry compote flavors streaked with violet, bay and tobacco notes that add energy. Loam and charcoal accents add the bass line on the finish, where the fruit really kicks into second gear. A no-brainer for the cellar. Best from 2025 through 2040. 6,667 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSFine perfumes from the 18% Cabernet Franc in the blend are balanced by the firm, dark tannins of the Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine has weight and richness as well as a bold, dark structure. It is going to take its time and this powerful wine will not be ready before 2025.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WE

The 2016 Gigondas Les Souteyrades checks in as 80% Grenache and 20% Mourvèdre that was brought up all in foudre. It’s another powerful, concentrated, awesome wine that has slightly more exotic notes of black raspberries, crushed flowers, spice, and sappy garrigue. I almost always find a citrus note in this cuvée, which is full-bodied, opulent and mouthfilling on the palate, yet always stays graceful and lively.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDEven among a lineup of fantastic peers in a fantastic vintage, this bottling of Les Souteyrades is a stunner. It’s intensely rich, bursting with mulberry and cherry flavors, yet not brawny or dense. Finessed and fine in texture, it’s marked by soft, chalky tannins and bright, sunny acidity. The finish is long, offering lingering hints of crushed earth and garrigue. A treat to savor now– 2030.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEA blend of 80% Grenache and 20% Mourvèdre grown on north-facing gray clays, the 2016 Gigondas les Souteyrades has closed down since bottling and now looks was if it will need short-term cellaring to bounce back. It’s full-bodied, rich and tannic, with peppery notes accenting the intense raspberry and stone fruit flavors that come to the fore on the finish, always a good sign for the future. Tasted twice, with consistent notes.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPLimpid violet color. A suave, expansive bouquet evokes ripe cherry, raspberry, floral and exotic spice qualities and picks up subtle garrigue and earth nuances as the wine opens up. Alluringly sweet and seamless in texture, offering palate-staining red fruit liqueur, star anise and candied violet flavors that put on weight through the mid-palate. Discreet, polished tannins lend shape to an impressively long, smooth finish that emphatically echoes the floral and spice notes.Vinous Media | 94 VM

Coming from one of the coolest terroirs in Saint-Emilion, the 2016 Château Troplong Mondot is a blend of 89% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2% Cabernet Franc brought up in 77% new French oak. This deep purple-hued effort offers a smorgasbord of powerful blue and black fruits, smoked earth, truffle, chocolate, and licorice. Full-bodied, deep, and opulent on the palate, it’s a truly great wine as well as one of the superstars in 2016. It should drink well for upwards of three decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDThe 2016 Troplong Mondot is fabulous. Powerful, dense and explosive, the 2016 has a lot to say. Super-ripe dark cherry, raspberry jam, chocolate, spice and new oak give the wine much of its lush, exotic feel. The château has moved in a totally different stylistic direction since this wine was made, but there is no denying the 2016 is striking. Tasted two times.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGLove the aromas of redcurrants and cherries with flowers. Full body and tight, finely chewy tannins that impress. Linear and focused young red. Try from 2021.James Suckling | 96 JSAged in 77% new and 23% one-year-old French oak barrels and composed of 89% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2016 Troplong Mondot has a deep garnet-purple color and comes bursting out of the glass with bold preserved plums, Black Forest cake and Indian spices scents plus suggestions of espresso, black olives, cigar box and tilled soil. Full-bodied, rich, plushly textured and oh-so-decadent, it packs in the spiced black fruit layers and finishes with fantastic persistence.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPRipe and focused, with a pure, unadulterated beam of raspberry and cherry preserve flavors that is both wide and deep, gilded prettily with a lilting violet note and infused with subtle chalky minerality through the finish. Beautiful. Best from 2023 through 2038.Wine Spectator | 95 WSThis is stunning. Troplong never has trouble conjuring up wonderfully rich fruit, but here it is plump and dense without being pumped up. The tannins are chewy rather than chalky, but the elegance of the vintage is unmistakable, and the rich chocolate flavours are dusted with mint. There is a very pretty salinity on the finish that lasts for minutes. I had a fascinating visit here at the start of the week, and retasted several times as this is a wine that I sometimes have trouble understanding. My main takeout is that the majority of the richness here is found naturally in the terroir - limestone on the plateau but with cool clay over the top, which explains why they are such late harvesters. But there are always winemaking and viticultural choices coming into play in any wine, and here there are adjustments being made to bring out a more finely wrought version of what is always a high impact and successful wine. Yields are higher this year, up at 48hl/ha, which helps, as does the style of the vintage and quieter extraction in the cellar, but Troplong remains true to itself. 90% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc. Drinking Window 2027 - 2050.Decanter | 95 DECThis wine has power and a rich character that almost overwhelms. Intense tannins along with dark-chocolate flavors and huge concentration give a massive wine that shows some of the alcohol in its edge of pepper. The wine will calm and soften although it will always remain huge.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WE

Broader-shouldered and ampler than the Romanée-St-Vivant, the 2016 Richebourg Grand Cru unfurls in the glass with a lavish bouquet of cassis, dark plums, candied peel, potpourri, Asian spices, peonies and smoked duck. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, rich and expansive, with considerable depth and dimension at the core, and a gourmand, almost fleshy profile that marries beautifully with its cool, precise fruit tones and its velvety structuring tannins. This is a superb Richerbourg that to my palate surpasses the 2015 rendition.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RP(Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg Grand Cru Red) An exuberantly fresh if restrained nose offers up a panoply of spice elements that add breadth to the mostly dark berry fruit and plum aromas that are laced with smoky hints of violet, rose petal, lavender and a whisper of sandalwood. The tautly muscular broad-shouldered flavors possess outstanding mid-palate density as well as evident minerality on the focused, impeccably well-balanced and hugely persistent finale that just goes and goes. The '16 Riche is a bit more refined than usual thanks to the beautifully fine-grained tannins and a wine that could aptly be described as a lovely combination of power and refinement that should also successfully age for a very long time. (Drink starting 2038).Burghound | 96 BHThe Richebourg has discreet yet powerfully brooding aromatics, mingling a hint of whole-bunch fruit with a spicy undertone of oak. It has energetic drive from exotic mulberry fruit, with an immediate fleshy, sweet dark berry impact on the tongue. Super-juicy loganberry flavours come in on the mid-palate, with the tannins tucked behind the fruit for a while. The texture is voluptuous and the structure stealthily emerges as the supple tannins and fresh acidity combine together in a tapering, slow-burning finish. Drinking Window 2030 - 2040.Decanter | 95 DECThe 2016 Richebourg Grand Cru was picked on September 23–24 at 24hL/ha. It is much more intellectual and, you might argue, more challenging on the nose. Initially it feels a little green, not through underripeness but due to a stemmy element that is not quite as well enmeshed with the fruit. This seems to dissipate with time, and after two or three minutes it evolves an extraordinarily complex mélange of red and black fruit (more the latter), briar, rose petals, crushed stone and just a touch of seaweed. The palate is medium-bodied with quite firm tannin, not as silky as the Romanée-Saint-Vivant, and a little more angular and masculine by comparison. This is one of the most saline Richebourgs that I have encountered from the domaine. Clearly a wine that is going to require a decade in bottle to really find its groove. Compelling, but not the most straightforward Richebourg in the pack. Then again, don’t we all like a puzzle? 868 cases produced. Tasted at Corney & Barrow’s annual in-bottle tasting in London.Vinous Media | 95 VM

The 2016 Beychevelle has a stunning bouquet of vibrant, shimmering blackberry and wild strawberry fruit laced with crushed stone and rose petals. The well-balanced palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin and a slightly savory/dried blood finish that lingers in the mouth. Tasting both in London and in Bordeaux, I found the latter bottle to have a little more precision and race on the finish. This will surely be a benchmark for this Saint Julien estate.Vinous Media | 96 VMI was able to taste the 2016 Château Beychevelle on two occasions, and it showed beautifully both times. This is also the first vintage made in the new cellar. Medium to full-bodied, incredibly seamless and elegant on the palate, yet beautifully concentrated, it offers a heavenly perfume of spring flowers, violets, saddle leather, and blueberry and cassis fruit. A blend of 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and the rest Cabernet Franc, brought up in 50% new oak, it’s still tight, taunt, and reserved on the palate, yet has the hallmark purity of fruit and balance of the vintage front and center. Hide bottles for 4-6 years, and it will keep for 25+ years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDThe 2016 Beychevelle is comprised of 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc. It spent 18 months aging in 50% new and 50% second use barrels. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it is a little broody to begin, opening slowly to reveal subtle savory notes of dried herbs, charcuterie and black olives before breaking through to a profound core of warm cassis, baked black plums, red currant jelly and candied violets. The palate is medium-bodied and delicately played with a quiet intensity of tightly wound nuances and fantastic freshness, finishing with a lingering savory lift. This latent beauty will require a bit more time than most 2016s, but it promises to overdeliver to those prepared to wait. Around 19,000 cases were made.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPStacks of cassis, graphite and smoke on the nose of this rather full-bodied St.-Julien with a ton of velvety tannins that drive the long finish that’s simultaneously sweet, fresh and powdery. Try in 2022.James Suckling | 94 JSNow with a brand-new, see-through glass winery, this estate is showing its true elegance. The wine does not have great power but it offers a ripe, smooth, sophisticated texture and black fruits. It already shows delicious flavors that will improve. Drink from 2025.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThis has a slightly beefy edge, with warmed plum and blackberry paste flavors pumping through. Shows a touch of heft on the back end, with dark tobacco and earth notes leaving a subtly chewy feel, though there’s ample fruit to soak that up. Best from 2024 through 2038. 19,167 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSBy this vintage, the gravity-operated vat room and cellar were in operation, with smaller steel vats allowing for greater parcel selection. Still closed on the nose, though with firm blackcurrant and blackberry aromas in the background, it’s suave and concentrated, showing ripe tannins and ample acidity. The wine seems balanced, though it’s not showing much complexity yet. Structured and persistent. Drinking Window 2024 - 2045.Decanter | 92 DEC

This is so vivid as it brims with pastis-soaked plum, blackberry, black currant and blueberry paste flavors, all carried by a perfectly integrated brambly spine. Tar and ganache notes give the finish an extra kick while everything stays within the mouthwatering roasted apple wood frame. Both regal and rambunctious, this is St.-Julien to a T. Best from 2025 through 2040. 11,667 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSTerrific intensity of dark berries, almost peppery blackcurrants and violets with attractive and integrated, spicy oak and an earthy edge. The palate has a super powerful and long, linear core with plenty of fruit flesh strapped in tight for a long and thrilling ride into the finish. A blend of 86 per cent cabernet and 14 per cent merlot. Try from 2024.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2016 Léoville-Barton is fabulous. A wine of breadth and power, the 2016 has so much to offer. The black cherry, chocolate, gravel, smoke and licorice flavors are all boldly sketched. A host of expressive savory and mineral notes develop into the substantial finish.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGDeep purple-colored and a classic Saint-Julien with its pure crème de cassis, graphite, liquid rock, and essence of lead pencil shavings, the 2016 Château Léoville Barton is full-bodied, concentrated, and backward, with bright acidity and ripe yet certainly present and building tannins. This old-school, classic Léoville Barton has a fine thread of acidity keeping the wine focused and fresh. It’s a beauty, but mostly potential at this point, although it does have beautiful fruit. Savvy readers will hide bottles at the back of their cellar, and I wouldn’t start to think about opening bottles for a least a decade. It’s going to be incredibly long-lived. The blend of the 2016 is 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Merlot, brought up in 60% new French oak.Jeb Dunnuck | 96+ JDThe Barton family’s flagship wine benefits hugely from the age of the vines. This wine is ripe and concentrated, rich in tannins but with the wonderful black fruits that can be conjured from this vineyard. It will age well and is likely to be ready to drink from 2026.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEDeep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Leoville Barton delivers a superstar nose of crème de cassis, plum preserves and blueberry compote with suggestions of fragrant earth, unsmoked cigars, licorice and cedar chest. Medium to full-bodied, rich and seductive with firm yet velvety tannins, it has a decadently rich finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPIntense, luxurious, fresh yet also very classically Bordeaux on the nose. Loads of dark berry and currant fruit, allied to a touch of oaky spiciness. Density on the palate but also refined, elegant, and smooth. (Drink between 2021-2045)Decanter | 94 DEC

Wow. This is very polished and full of purpose with dark berries, hazelnuts, cedar and chocolate, as well as black olives. Full-bodied, chewy and intense with a focused tannin backbone and intensity. Loads going on here. Finishes strong. This could be the best wine ever from here. Try from 2024.James Suckling | 96 JSThe 2016 Rouget is a total turn on. A rush of red cherry/raspberry jam, sweet spice, chocolate and tobacco builds as this exotic Pomerol shows off its racy, opulent personality. The full throttle-style works beautifully. There is not a whole lot of subtlety, but the Rouget is undeniably delicious. I loved it. Tasted three times.Antonio Galloni | 94 AGThe 2016 Rouget is deep garnet-purple colored with baked plums, dried mulberries, tobacco and crushed rocks scents with wafts of beef drippings and Indian spices plus bay leaves hints. Medium to full-bodied, firm, grainy and laden with earthy layers, it has a savory finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPThe 2016 Rouget is deep garnet-purple colored with baked plums, dried mulberries, tobacco and crushed rocks scents with wafts of beef drippings and Indian spices plus bay leaves hints. Medium to full-bodied, firm, grainy and laden with earthy layers, it has a savory finish.Wine Spectator | 92 WSThe alcohol gives a slight headiness to this wine, but it’s balanced by plenty of succulent red and black fruits that power through the palate, driving forward with a real lilt and liveliness. It’s restrained on the finish, held in by bitter chocolate and liquorice. Drinking Window 2024 - 2036.Decanter | 92 DECShowing lots of upfront oak influence, the 2016 Château Rouget nevertheless has some serious density and depth, with beautiful fruit. Notes of chocolate, smoked earth, and camphor all develop with time in the glass, and on the palate, it’s full-bodied, firm and chewy. It could use more elegance, but this is going to round into form with 2-4 years of bottle age, at which point the tannins are going to be more integrated and it’s going to show more charm. It should keep for 15 years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 90+ JD

The 2016 Les Forts de Latour is the clear highlight among these new releases from Latour. The first thing that is evident about the 2016 is the pedigree of the vintage. Undisputedly great. Readers will find a potent, dark Forts de Latour endowed with massive concentration and tons of depth. The 2016 won’t be ready to drink anytime soon, but it holds tons of promise. Hints of gravel, sage, licorice and pencil shavings linger. The 2016 was impressive a few years ago. It is even better today.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGLots of blueberries, ripe blackberries, violets, peppercorns, olives and cloves on the nose. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, fleshy tannins. Beautiful blue fruit and flowers. Layered and long. Drink after 2023.James Suckling | 96 JSThe 2016 Les Forts de Latour is superb, unwinding in the glass with notions of blackcurrants, wild berries, sweet loamy soil, cigar wrapper and English walnuts. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it’s concentrated and tightly wound, with superb depth at the core, lively acids and ripe, powdery tannins. This is an impeccably balanced, utterly classical Forts de Latour worth a special effort to seek out.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThe second wine of this great château, the 2016 Les Forts De Latour continues to impress. I commented on release that it was the best wine in the vintage, and my opinion hasn’t changed. This beauty offers plenty of classic Latour character as well as notes of blackcurrants, saddle leather, lead pencil shavings, and dried flowers. Full-bodied, concentrated, and perfectly balanced, it’s just now starting to round into form and will no doubt continue drinking well for another 2+ decades. It’s a gorgeous Pauillac.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JD(Château Latour, Les Forts de Latour, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, Red) Violet scented dark black cherries and figs on the nose, quite powerful. Tannins are generous but they’re juicy and plump, soft almost chalky, they have a really great impact, filling the mouth together with the fruit. Everything has melded together, super balanced and all very harmonious - still clearly powerful with precision and sculpting of the fruit and a long finish with the flavours going on and on. Good acidity gives freshness and a real rush of strawberry and cherry juice on the first sip lifts and sustains the palate the whole way. Such a charming wine with great impact and presence. (Drink between 2021-2030)Decanter | 95 DECThis is a great wine, with superb tannins and rich fruit flavors that are in balance. Made from 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, the palate is dominated by black-currant flavor and a pleasant structure from the very fine tannins.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEA bit fleshier and more caressing than a typical Pauillac, this has flavors of warm fig, currant and blackberry preserves inlaid with charcoal and smoldering tobacco notes. There’s grip for sure and a twinge of warm cast iron on the finish, but the fruit detail keeps the upper hand throughout, showcasing the purity on the finish. Very, very solid. Best from 2023 through 2035.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

Located just to the east of Angélus and bordering Canon, the 2016 Vieux Château Mazerat is 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc brought up in 80% new oak. Huge blackcurrant, smoke, and barbecue notes along with some hints of meat, licorice, and spice all emerge from this rich, full-bodied, fleshy, meaty effort. It displays plenty of underlying minerality, some charcoal, and gravelly minerality, building tannins, and a long finish.Jeb Dunnuck | 97+ JDA blend of 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc aged in 80% new French oak, the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Vieux Chateau Mazerat rocks up with nonchalant, bold, expressive scents of baked black cherries, plum pudding and baked blueberries with touches of molten chocolate, star anise, cardamom, cast iron pan and tapenade plus a waft of balsamic. Full-bodied, rich and seductive in the mouth, the voluptuous fruit is framed by plush tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long and laden with exotic spices.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThe 2016 Vieux Château Mazerat has a ripe bouquet of black cherries, blueberry, crème de cassis and vanilla – powerful but in need of more delineation and terroir expression. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit and much better grip than, say, Les Astéries. Touches of brine and sea salt lend complexity toward the finish. This is a bold Saint-Émilion at the moment but it should age well over the next 15 to 20 years.Vinous Media | 93 VMDespite only being 35% of the blend, the tight Cabernet Franc fruit dominates at this early stage with real sapidity and freshness. This is a rich wine that tends to plump up further over time, and I like the potential enormously. It has a tension to it and the tannins have a life, breathing through the structure of the black fruits. 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc from clay over limestone soils, fermented in 80% new oak. 3.82pH.Decanter | 93 DECFresh, juicy and focused, with a nice ball of cassis, plum and raspberry fruit that has yet to unwind fully, backed by mouthwatering bramble and tobacco accents. Light juniper and black tea hints flicker through the finish. Best from 2021 through 2031. 833 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WSA very intense wine with a rich, ripe dark-plum core, as well as chocolate and very rich, ripe dark peaches. There’s a riper edge to the full-bodied palate with plenty of extract, depth and drive. Some chew at the finish. A little extracted. Needs time. Try from 2023.James Suckling | 92 JSA perfumed wine, this combines elegant tannins, acidity and structure. Its spice and mineral texture reflect the Cabernet Franc in the blend as well as the prime terroir. Drink this wine from 2024.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WE

Pale lemon-gold colored, the 2016 Climens is a little youthfully mute, revealing notions of ripe peaches, mango and musk melon with touches of cedar chest, orange blossoms, candied ginger and baking bread. Bursting in the mouth with vibrant, energetic stone fruit and tropical layers, it is framed by fantastic freshness, finishing long and creamy.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96+ RPMy favourite sweet wine at the tasting (including Yquem). Already glorious, this will live decades. Burnished gold hue, botrytis notes on the nose, some leafy, spicy, lemongrass hints and a palate with just the right balance between lusciousness and freshness. Extremely subtle oak. A wonderful Barsac to drink between now and 2060.Decanter | 95 DECThe 2016 Climens has a wonderful bouquet similar to my last bottle, more expressive now with orange pith, wild honey and quince. Like before it opens wonderfully in the glass. The palate is very well balanced with fine definition, fresh and vibrant with a creamy honeyed texture, praline and apricot, on the seductive finish. Superb. Tasted at the Climens vertical at the château in April 2022.Vinous Media | 94 VMExpressive, with peach, mirabelle plum, mango and pear fruit flavors running along in unison, lacing with light bitter almond and orange notes and a flash of honeysuckle. Best from 2022 through 2038.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

Similarly colored, the 2016 Ermitage Le Méal Blanc comes from a warmer terroir of pebbly and more loess soils and was brought up in 10% new demi-muids. It’s a bigger, richer wine than the de l’Orée and boasts rocking notes of honeyed citrus, orange marmalade, baking spices, and licorice. Rich, powerful, and layered on the palate, it’s another rocking white from this team that will drink nicely for two decades or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDA two hectare plot of 50+ year old vines on a steep south facing slope of alluvial deposits and large stones. Deep gold in colour, this is fresh with a lifted apricot aroma. It’s very full and opulent in the mouth, almost too full - a point that’s emphasised by blocking malo. This is distinctly bright, refreshing yet powerful, with mineral notes and a saline finish. It has real relief and detail of texture despite its rich, flowing body. A wonderful wine, but be aware of the low acidity this year.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2016 Ermitage Blanc Le Méal is much more developed than the 2015 Ermitage Blanc De L’Orée tasted alongside. Deep straw-yellow in color, the 2016 exhales pronounced quince, hay, acacia honey, dried apple and toasted bread aromas. Powerful and deep, it hits the palate with full force. Opulent and flashy, the 2016 Blanc Le Méal closes with distinctive phenolic grip. Although it’s not the most elegant rendition, it does show the great potential that aged Marsanne can bring when made in the right hands.Vinous Media | 95 VMThe 2016 Ermitage le Meal Blanc is all Marsanne and all power, with ample weight and richness on the full-bodied palate. Grilled melon and tangerine flavors are big, bold and round yet balanced by a hint of bitterness on the finish. It should drink well for two decades or more.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPSeductive and creamy nose with baked lemons, orange rind, rusks, flower honey, green apples and fresh flowers. Full body with such an ample, round dimension to it. It’s expansive and extensive with controlled power. It’s flattering with so much volume and weight on the palate. Long finish. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 94 JS