Wine Ratings

wines

The best since the 1990, the 2000 Pichon-Longueville Baron is just now starting to shed some baby fat and develop additional complexity and layers. This still ruby/plum-colored beauty boasts a phenomenal nose of blackcurrants, tobacco leaf, lead pencil shavings, and new saddle leather. It’s deep, full-bodied, and sexy, with incredible amounts of texture and opulence that keeps you coming back to the glass. It makes a mockery of so many Bordeaux today that are made in a so-called elegant style yet lack the fat, richness, and density to ever hit this high a level. With low acidity, beautiful purity of fruit, sweet tannins, and a great finish, it’s in the early to middle range of its drink window (I love it today) and has another two decades of sensational drinking ahead. Readers wanting to know what truly great Bordeaux tastes like should open a bottle of this!Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDThis is one of the great wines of the vintage, and certainly a candidate for one of the finest wines made at this estate under the management of Christian Seeley and proprietor AXA. Showing incredibly well at two tastings of 2000s, the wine has a dense bluish/purple color and a beautiful nose of incense, melted asphalt, and creme de cassis as well as hints of new saddle leather and licorice. It is superbly concentrated and very pure, with excellent texture and opulence. The acidity seems low, the tannin high but well-integrated. This is a compelling 2000 that is just closing in on its window of maturity and should stay there for at least 20 or more years. Bravo!Robert Parker | 97 RPA rich and spicy wine with lots of walnuts, dried berry and plum. Full and very savory. So much tobacco and sous bois. Roasted fruit too. Classic 2000. Drink now.James Suckling | 95 JSThe 2000 Pichon Baron is consistent with the bottle tasted at the vertical back in 2018. It has a very elegant nose featuring a mixture of red and black fruit, fresh mint and touches of graphite (though in this bottle, it is not quite as prominent). The palate is medium-bodied with a crisp entry, offering vibrant black fruit laced with graphite and dried blood; I find more complexity here compared to the 2000 Pichon-Lalande that I tasted at the property just an hour earlier. Quite spicy and peppery, leading to a vibrant finish. This is imbued with wonderful tension. A Pauillac that is approaching its peak.Vinous Media | 95 VMRock-solid, with a block of currant, fig and blackberry paste notes forming the core, while youthful brambly-edged grip still holds sway throughout. Lots of enticing licorice root and sweet tobacco flavors wait in reserve, and there’s nice lift from a light savory hint at the very end. Still has a ways to go.--Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Drink now through 2028.Wine Spectator | 94 WS(Château Pichon Baron, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, Red) On the nose, graphite notes combine with black fruit including prunes, which highlight its solar character, but a minty and floral freshness adds aromatic lift after aeration. Similar impression on the palate with a juicy yet elegant mouthfeel that has a tightly-wound yet harmonious structure. Now at its apogee. (Drink between 2022-2030)Decanter | 93 DEC

Intense blackberry and cherry, with hints of currant. Toasted oak and sweet tobacco too. Roses and other flowers, such as lilacs. Full-bodied, with masses of tannins yet incredibly long and seductive. Best after 2012. 18,330 cases made.Wine Spectator | 98 WSThe 2003 Léoville Barton was sensational on release, closed down slightly for 4-5 years, and is just now starting to emerge from its adolescence and is on the early side of its drink window. Possessing a saturated purple/ruby color as well as a sensational bouquet of crème de cassis, charcoal, lead pencil shavings and damp earth, it’s full-bodied, gorgeously concentrated, balanced and long. While from a freakishly hot vintage, it has terrific purity as well as complexity. In short, it’s a blockbuster yet classic wine from Anthony Barton that’s going to provide incredible amounts of pleasure over the coming 2-3 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDA spectacular success, the opaque plum-colored 2003 Leoville Barton is still on the young side of its plateau of maturity. It exhibits a striking bouquet of forest floor and black currants as well as a full-bodied, exuberant, youthful style, an opaque plum/ruby color, a lot of complexity, and striking depth and richness. This is a profound, stunning effort from Anthony Barton and his team. Bravo! It should continue to provide immense pleasure for 20-30 years.Robert Parker | 96 RPSomehow Barton has overcome the heat of the 2003 vintage and has come out with a new wine that is rich and elegant. There are generous tannins, ripe black currant fruits, balancing acidity, all in an ensemble that is so much more than the sum of its parts.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEGood medium ruby. Explosive nose of black raspberry, coffee and leather. Hugely rich, dense and sweet, with deep flavors of currant, plum and chocolate complicated by underlying minerality. Wonderfully dense and full on the back end, with broad tannins and palate-staining length. Today, the 2005 comes off as dry by comparison. A standout of the vintage, and likely to be long-lived in the context of the year.Vinous Media | 93 VM69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc. Majoring on gourmet chargrilled black cherries, you feel the heat of the vintage, but in its exotic expression rather than a dusty one –there is clear integrity in the fruit, which is helped perhaps by the estate’s location close to the river. Luscious, with exotic spices; elegant and holding together well. Ready to drink now but will hold on. Drinking Window 2017 - 2032Decanter | 93 DECCurrants and plums with mint on the nose follow through to a full body, with soft and velvety tannins and a new wood, ripe fruit aftertaste. Tight and firm, but wait until after 2012 to pull the cork.James Suckling | 92 JS

Always showing well, this bottle of 2005 Château Pontet Canet was just about pure perfection in a glass. Still youthful ruby/purple-hued, with a gorgeous core of pure cassis and darker currant fruits, it’s full-bodied and has a stacked mid-palate, building tannins, and textbook Pauillac graphite, lead pencil, and subtle tobacco and cedar aromas and flavors. It’s a big, rich, powerful 2005 with flawlessly integrated tannins, remarkable purity, and a finish that won’t quit. While it’s still another 5-10 years away from being completely mature, it unquestionably offers incredible pleasure today.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDClass in glass. Deep ruby, youthful tone. Such sumptuous red berry, cassis and tobacco aromas. Juicy and full bodied, with smoothly textured tannins. The creamy mid palate texture is framed by an impressive arc of tension and balancing acidity, ensuring long life. Long finish. Super! Aged 50% new oak.Decanter | 97 DECPossibly the youngest wine of all the 2005 Médocs in terms of its evolution, at age 10 the inky purple 2005 Pontet-Canet tastes more like a two-year-old wine. Loads of pure blueberry, blackberry and cassis fruit are present along with a hint of licorice and background oak. It is full-bodied, ripe, and excruciatingly fresh, vigorous and exuberant. This is a tour de force, and a sensational effort that rivals the first growths. Give it another 5-10 years of cellaring, and drink it over the following 30-40 years.Robert Parker | 97+ RPThe 2005 Pontet-Canet is a heady, exotic wine. Inky dark fruit, mocha, chocolate, licorice, spice and tobacco are front and center. Readers will find an unabashedly opulent, full-throttle 2005 with quite a bit more oak influence and overall extraction than is the norm these days. Even so, the 2005 is a young, young wine with a bright future. This is one sexy Pauillac, that’s for sure.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGWarm, fleshy and inviting, featuring a gush of blackberry, fig and boysenberry compote flavors that are both primal and approachable, with light anise, sweet tobacco and ganache notes filling in behind. Shows a serious, deeply buried iron and cedar spine, as the fruit is just pumping forth now.—Blind ’01/’03/’05 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2017). Drink now through 2035. 20,830 cases made. Wine Spectator | 96 WSDespite its core of strength and power and obvious aging ability, this is already a delicious wine, with mint aromas, ripe fruit masking the solid tannins. This estate has been on a roll for several years, and this 2005 shows why.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEDrawn into a tannic trance, this wine’s fresh black raspberry flavor moves through blueberry skin into a graphite, mineral blackout. Before the tannin, it shows a deep reservoir of fruit and the rich espresso-roast scent of fine oak. The texture is meaty, the structure set for long evolution in the cellar. Diageo Château & Estate Wines, NYWine & Spirits | 90 W&S

Performing even better from bottle than it did from barrel, this appears to be the finest Lynch Bages since the 2000, 1990 and 1989. According to the chateau, the 2009 has the highest level of polyphenols ever measured as well as high alcohol (nearly 13.5%). A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest largely Merlot with touches of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it is an expressive, voluptuously textured effort with unctuosity and powerful, juicy, succulent blackberry and black currant flavors, low acids, a layered, massive mouthfeel, but no sense of heaviness or fatigue. This exquisite Lynch Bages should drink well for 30+ years.Robert Parker | 98 RPA powerful and ripe wine with a wide-screen personality, this makes a very bold statement without becoming a jot heavy. Serious tannins at the long finish suggest this has long-term aging potential. Drink now with a big steak or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019).James Suckling | 96 JSA dense, immense, solidly powerful wine. The ripest fruit overflows, paralleling the dark, solid tannins. As so often, Lynch-Bages is a blockbuster, dark and concentrated, with immense aging potential.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WETight and backward, this has dense, almost chewy layers of fig, currant and plum cake behind a very solid wall of cedar, roasted vanilla and charcoal notes. There’s serious grip on the finish, with an iron edge that won’t quit. Best from 2015 through 2035. 31,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSThis is a little more subdued than some right now, needing a good five minutes in the glass before revealing layers of rich olive, cassis, exotic spices, cracked pepper and garrigue. You get the heat of the vintage and the ripeness of the fruit, balanced by muscular, chewy tannins and gorgeous chocolate notes. This is great, although for me the 2010 just pips it. Drinking Window 2020 - 2040Decanter | 95 DECThe 2009 Lynch-Bages has an intense bouquet which is more forward than Grand Puy Lacoste, albeit without the same complexity. Layers of blackberry, bilberry, brine and a touch of graphite. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannin, slightly lower in acidity than the 2010 Lynch Bages, dense and quite sinewy towards the finish. It might miss the class of its peers but you cannot help but admire the brawn underneath its aristocratic coat. Tasted at BI Wines & Spirits’ Ten Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 93 VM(Château Lynch Bages) I tasted two sample bottles of the Lynch Bages at the UGC tasting at Branaire-Ducru, but probably neither bottle was a pristine example. I tried to find time to swing by the château and taste another sample, but could not squeeze it into my already densely packed schedule, sop this note will have to suffice. I have given a wider range than customary for a sound wine, and I suspect that the ’09 Lynch Bages is probably likely to reside at the upper end of the range when all is said and done. The nose is deep, complex and classy, as it offers up notes of cassis, espresso, tobacco leaf, cigar smoke and cedar. On the palate the wine is deep, full, long and complex, with ripe tannins and quite a bit of structure on the finish. These samples were just not as vibrant or as long as I would expect from the ’09 Lynch, particularly based on the fine quality of the nose, and hence my equivocation on the score. (Drink between 2018-2050)John Gilman | 87-92+ JG

Let yourself go and sink into this deep dark chasm that will swallow you whole if you let it. Enormous concentration, but every bit as much finesse, the finish extremely long and fine. And this is just beginning to give its best! Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019).James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2009 Leoville Las Cases may be the most open-knit and forward Las Cases I have tasted to date. Analytically, it is high in tannin and the alcohol is 13.8%, nearly a record at this estate. This blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc was showing brilliantly at the 2009 tasting I did in Hong Kong and at a later tasting. It boasts an inky/purple color, monumental concentration and lots of sweet, jammy black currant, black cherry and kirsch fruit intermixed with crushed rock and mineral notes. As always, proprietor Jean-Hubert Delon has built a massive wine with exceptional precision, unbelievable purity and aging potential of 40-50 years. I was surprised by the lusciousness of this cuvee on several occasions, and how much more forward it is given the fact that Las Cases can often be forebodingly backward and in need of 10-15 years of cellaring (at age 30, the 1982 is still a baby in terms of development!). The super-concentrated 2009 needs another 5-7 years before additional nuances emerge. This is a brilliant, full-throttle St.-Julien.Robert Parker | 98+ RPThis is gorgeously layered with cassis bush, anise, roasted fig and plum reduction notes all framed by racy espresso and graphite. Very deep and very long, with terrific intensity on the finish thanks to razor cut from the seemingly endless iron spine. With its purity and precision, this mineral-driven Cabernet should cruise for two decades. Best from 2020 through 2035. 14,165 cases made.Wine Spectator | 98 WSStill a baby, the 2009 Château Leoville Las Cases is largely in the mold of the 1990 and 1982, offering a sexy opulence while staying in the classic, structured style of the estate. Based on 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, and the balance Cabernet Franc, its still ruby/purple hue is followed by a sensational array of blackcurrants, cedar pencil, green tobacco, exotic spices, and incense. With incredible purity, ultra-fine tannins, full-bodied richness, and that rare mix of power and elegance, this magical Saint-Julien is just now starting to reveal some secondary nuances and won’t hit full maturity for another decade. It should see its 75th birthday in fine form.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDA beautifully structured wine, with its tannins layered between the ripest black plums, damsons and black currants. It is opulent while remaining dense, concentrated and very serious. Certainly a wine for long-term aging.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEThe 2009 Léoville Las-Cases simply delivers on the nose with intense blackberry, wild hedgerow, graphite and crushed stone aromas on the nose. You would put this down as a Pauillac if served blind, unsurprising given that it borders that appellation. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, silky smooth in texture with immense depth. It is blessed with quite brilliant delineation and the precision on the finish is magnificent. Chapeau Mon. Delon. Tasted at BI Wines & Spirits Ten Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 97 VMBeing Léoville-Las Cases, it is, as you would expect, still pretty determined to play its cards close to its chest. And yet the exuberance and generosity of 2009 is beginning to peep though. For those of us who lack patience, these kind of years are just brilliant for checking out what Las Cases is all about: brooding tannins are just starting to stir, controlling a tight-knit cassis, cigar box, pencil lead and liquorice body. You feel the skill in the unpeeling of the tannins, opening to reveal the perky fresh core, and you can see just why this is such a great estate. Drinking Window 2022 - 2040.Decanter | 97 DEC(Château Leoville las Cases) The last vintage of Leoville las Cases to really move me was the 1978, so I am probably underrating this very powerful and seamlessly constructed wine a bit. The nose today on the ’09 is very deep, sappy and quite primary at this point in its evolution, as it offers up scents of black cherries, cassis, a touch of blueberry, dark chocolate, tobacco smoke and raw (but integrated) new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full and sappy at the core, with plenty of firm tannins, excellent focus and balance and a very long, still somewhat woody finish. There is little doubt that there is sufficient stuffing here to fully absorb its sixty-five percent new oak with further evolution, and I am sure that there are other tasters that will really love this wine for its deep and powerful personality. But for me it is a bit of a brute and I have a hard time imagining the wine ever developing any breed or nuance to go with its raw power. Very well made in its style. (Drink between 2020-2050).John Gilman | 90-92+ JG

A wine with great beauty and finesse. Such elegance and ethereal quality for this estate. Full body, with ultra-fine tannins and a juicy delicious finish. Long and beautiful. This is the best Lynch in a long, long time. I love the precision here. Try in 2018.James Suckling | 98 JSStill a saturated ruby-black in hue, the 2010 Lynch-Bages offers up aromas of rich cassis fruit mingled with hints of pencil shavings, loamy soil and cigar wrapper. Full-bodied, deep and muscular, it’s rich and layered, with a concentrated core of fruit that’s framed by firm, powdery tannins and lively acids. The most brooding, backward Lynch-Bages of the decade and one of the real successes of the vintage, this is a vibrant, tightly wound wine that is still an infant at age 10. Readers with bottles in their cellars might try one now out of curiosity, but this 2010 won’t begin to hit its stride until age 20.Robert Parker | 97 RPDeep inky purple in colour, this is a majestic Pauillac to be savoured by Bordeaux lovers. Again we are far from it being ready to drink and the tannins continue to be dominant, although not hiding the layers of rich earthy loam, slate, pencil lead and concentrated cassis that lie underneath. It’s impressive and built, muscular, taut and architectural. An excellent reflection of what 2010 brought to the wines in this corner of the Médoc. It’s not the most enticing for drinking today; give it another few years to soften and open further, or really allow it to have a good four to five hours in a carafe. But there is no mistaking the future of this wine. Drinking Window 2022 - 2050.Decanter | 97 DECRoasted cedar, tobacco and bay leaf notes start off this structured but lively bottling, with intense currant, blackberry and black cherry flavors at the core. The iron-laced grip and pleasantly austere plum pit and licorice snap accents fill in on the tar-tinged finish. Great range, character and typicity. If you ever need to explain Pauillac to someone, give them this. Best from 2018 through 2037. 25,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSThis sumptuous wine is driven by perfectly ripe fruit as well as dense, dusty and dry tannins. Great swathes of blackberry sweep across the palate, followed by juicy acidity. Such a combination will make this impressive wine a delight to drink in 10 years and beyond. *Cellar Selection*Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThe 2010 Lynch-Bages has a stunning bouquet with pixelated black fruit, crushed stone and graphite aromas that soar from the glass. This is just amazingly focused. The palate is medium-bodied with concentrated black fruit curiously tinged with cough candy, which here I find just a bit out of place. The acidity is extremely well judged and there is immense persistence on the finish. Bold, brassy and ambitious, this is an extremely impressive wine, although I suspect that there are better bottles out there. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 95 VM(Château Lynch-Bages) The 2010 Lynch-Bages is one of the stars in the Left Bank this year, as the Cazes family has fashioned a superb and perfectly balanced example of the vintage. The deep and complex nose soars from the glass in a mélange of cassis, dark berries, espresso, cigar ash, a touch of lead pencil, gravel, leafy young cabernet tones and cedar. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and most impressively soil-driven, with a fine core of pure fruit, excellent focus and balance, bright, well-integrated acids and fine length and grip on the ripely tannic and beautifully delineated finish. A fine, fine vintage for Lynch-Bages. (Drink between 2022-2075)John Gilman | 94+ JG

Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Cos d’Estournel unfurls slowly, measuredly, releasing delicate notes of dried mulberries, stewed plums and blackcurrant pastilles before giving way to notions of potpourri, black cherry compote and chocolate box plus touches of dried sage, tobacco and new leather. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a rock-solid foundation of very firm, grainy tannins and very lively acidity supporting the remarkable intensity of tightly wound fruit layers, finishing very long and fragrant. Give it another 4-5 years in bottle and this will be stunning!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPThe 2010 Cos d’Estournel is a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet colored, it needs a lot of shaking and swirling to unlock notes of crème de cassis, blueberry pie, and Indian spices, leading to fragrant wafts of dusty soil, cigar box, and dried lavender. The palate gracefully grows into a rich, full-bodied behemoth, delivering a rock-solid structure of firm, grainy tannins and bold freshness to support the taut, muscular fruit, finishing long and minerally.The Wine Independent | 99+ TWIThere’s clarity and beauty to this wine as always with pure dark berry, stones and spices. Some clove too. Full body, firm and silky tannins and a long finish. Pure and precise wine with so much class. Try in 2020.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2010 Cos d’Estournel is initially backward on the nose, yet it eventually unfurls to reveal pixelated black fruit, crushed stone, cedar and pine cones, wonderful precision and focus. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannins that frame the multi-layered black fruit laced with cedar and black pepper. Great body, superb length and outstanding precision on the finish - what more would you want? Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.Vinous Media | 97 VMA great contrast to the ’09, this feels even denser, with dark plum, black currant and fig sauce flavors that pump along. The spine is all graphite and chalk, giving this a riveting feel through the finish. The cut is terrific, no easy feat considering how dense the fruit is. A stunning wine.—Non-blind Cos-d’Estournel vertical (December 2015). Best from 2025 through 2045. 16,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WS(Château Cos d’Estournel, St-Estèphe, Bordeaux, France, Red) Starting to really open up at this 11 year point, although the tannins remain in full control. Deep rich chocolate, edges of smoked cinnamon, anis, Crème de cassis, cigar box and earth. Plenty of the Cos signature of exotic spices on display, making it a little more exuberant than some 2010s at this point, balanced beautifully by the savoury edge of Cabernet that means it narrows to a fresh and mouthwatering finish. This is young but you can see where it is going, and 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend. (Drink between 2021-2045)Decanter | 95 DECThis is a complex and rich wine dominated by superripe fruit. It is a wine of extremes, of fruit, of dark tannins allied to some bitterness from the black chocolate extract. Ripe plums and sweet black fruits are given a lift at the end with bright acidity.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WE(Château Cos d’Estournel) The 2010 Château Cos d’Estournel is the ripest of the three wines at the estate this year, as it weighs in at a hefty 14.5 percent alcohol, but this is most certainly down significantly from the 2009. On the nose the wine is remarkably pure for its octane level, as it offers up a reasonably complex mélange of black cherries, a touch of kirsch, stony soil tones, fine cigar smoke and a very, very refined base of new oak that is mostly redolent of lead pencil. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very, very powerful in personality, with stunningly fine balance for such a large scale wine. The mid-palate depth here is absolutely exceptional, and the very firm tannins are seamlessly integrated into the body of the wine. The finish is truly massive, but I find no signs of uncovered alcohol on the backend and the balance here is remarkably suave for such a big-boned wine. Like several other high alcohol 2010s, the ripeness here really is most keenly felt in a loss of focus and precision from the high octane, in addition to a touch of overripe aromatics and flavors. But in comparison to what was an egregiously out of balance 2009 Cos, the 2010 is remarkably more impressive in terms of harnessing its power and crafting a perfectly balanced wine. It must be said that if I were the proprietor at this fabled estate, this is emphatically not the kind of wine I would be making from such a great terroir, but the 2010 Cos d’Estournel is a dramatic step up in quality from the 2009. It is still a very tannic 2010 and will need plenty of cellaring to start to soften, but it should prove to be extremely long-lived as well. I would score it even higher, for to achieve this kind of seamless balance at this alcohol level is no small feat, but there is a slight lack of focus and some notes of sur maturité here that has to result in the deduction of at least a few points. (Drink between 2025-2100)John Gilman | 91+ JG

Borderline perfection in a bottle, the 2010 Pichon-Longueville Baron (79% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Merlot) boasts a saturated purple color as well as truly extraordinary aromatics of crème de cassis, licorice, crushed rock-like minerality, graphite, and spring flowers. Possessing full-bodied richness, a huge, unctuous mid-palate, and building tannin, it shows the purity, grandeur, and precision that makes this vintage so remarkable. Hide bottles for another 4-5 years, count yourself lucky, and enjoy bottles over the following 2-3 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 99+ JDIncredible depth apparent from the first whiff as well as powerful aromatics combining graphite, black fruit and spices. The palate is concentrated but brimming with energy, yet what really stands out is its confounding freshness as well as the finesse and precise contours of the tannic framework. An already profound wine that will reach new heights over the next two decades. (Drink between 2022-2050)Decanter | 99 DECAdministrator Christian Seeley thinks the 2010 is the greatest Pichon Longueville Baron he has ever made, equaling some of the estate’s colossal wines from vintages such as 1989 and 1990. It was certainly showing well when I stopped by the chateau in January. Opaque purple, with loads of charcoal, licorice, incense and some exotic Asian spices along with abundant cassis liqueur, blackberry and hints of roasted coffee and spring flowers, it is full-bodied and opulent, with relatively high tannins, but they have sweetened up considerably and seem less aggressive than they did from barrel. The oak is clearly pushed to the background by the wine’s wealth of fruit, glycerin and full-bodied texture. This sensational Pichon Longueville Baron needs 5-6 years of cellaring, and should keep 30+ years.Robert Parker | 97+ RPThis is quintessential Pauillac, a great wine with its Cabernet proudly at the fore. It ranks with the 2009 and, with its tannins, is sure to age longer than that vintage. Solidly structured, powerful and dense, with fruit promised for the future, it succeeds with its weight and great concentration.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThe 2010 Pichon-Baron is simply one of the greatest wines produced under Christian Seely’s tenure. It has a stunning bouquet with penetrating black fruit, wilted violet and a touch of sea spray, a distinctive marine note verging on shucked oyster shells. The palate is very well balanced with fine grain tannins, layers pf graphite infused black fruit and a very detailed, captivating finish. Brilliant. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.Vinous Media | 96 VMA dense and layered wine with lots of ripe and sweet fruit. Loads of currants, plums and tar. This is concentrated and almost jammy with velvety tannins. Powerful. Chewy. Try in 2020.James Suckling | 95 JSSolidly built, with a roasted edge to the steeped fig, blackberry and black currant flavors, quickly followed by brambly tannins and notes of bay leaf and espresso. Stays dark and tarry through the finish, with superb drive and verve. Best from 2017 through 2030.Wine Spectator | 95 WS(Château Pichon-Longueville) The 2010 Pichon-Longueville is also quite ripe at 13.75 percent alcohol, and includes a higher percentage of cabernet sauvignon than usual at seventy-nine percent in this vintage. However, with most of the merlot exiled to the second wine, the result is a more precise and focused wine than the Les Tourelles de Longueville, as it offers up a ripe and pure nose of black cherries, cassis, coffee bean, cigar ash, herb tones, gravelly soils and a generous base of smoky new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and shows a very nice note of youthful cabernet tobacco leaf, with a fine core of fruit, ripe, well-integrated tannins and excellent length and grip on the chewy and slightly oaky finish. The 2010 Pichon-Baron was raised in eighty percent new wood this year (with thirty percent hailing from Taransaud), and the wine is currently showing just a bit of oak spice and uncovered wood tannins on the backend. I expect that this is just a reflection of the extreme youth of the 2010 and that it will eventually absorb its wood seamlessly. This will be a very long-lived wine and will need plenty of time in the cellar to start to blossom. (Drink between 2022-2075)John Gilman | 92+ JG

The 2016 Domaine de Chevalier is a thrilling wine. Dense and beautifully layered, the 2016 is also quite a bit richer than it usually is. Cabernet Sauvignon aromatics and structure pulse through the wine. The red-toned fruit is incredibly primary at this stage. Readers should be prepared to cellar the 2016 for at least a handful of years. It has been nothing short of magnificent on the three occasions I have tasted it so far.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGAs to the reds, the 2016 Domaine de Chevalier is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, and the balance Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc that saw an extended maceration, malo in barrel, and 18 months in just 35% new French oak. This deep purple-hued beauty boasts a powerful bouquet of tobacco smoke, damp earth, gravelly, rocky minerality, wood smoke, and loads of dark fruits. Full-bodied, deep, concentrated yet incredibly elegant and seamless on the palate, it’s a legendary Chevalier in the making. While I rated this as high as 99 points on one of the four separate occasions I was able to taste it, I’m being conservative with the score. it has some upfront charm but needs 4-5 years of cellaring and will keep for 3-4 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDAromas of blackberries, red and dark plums, cedar and gravel, as well as red flowers and brown-leaf tea. It offers a very sleek and powerful array of ripe dark fruit and a very plush, focused and elegant bed of fresh, fine and powerful tannins. Plenty of aging potential, this is still quite tight. A blend of 55 per cent cabernet sauvignon, 35 per cent merlot, five per cent cabernet franc and five per cent petit verdot. Try from 2024.James Suckling | 97 JSThe core of fruit flavor here is sappy and dense, with lots of kirsch, raspberry pâte de fruit and plum reduction notes, yet this stays fresh and racy overall, with a bright iron spine, flashes of tea and tobacco and a long finish that shows a wonderful infusion of alder and tobacco flavors. Offers a lovely combination of prodigious fruit details, with a tug of earth. Best from 2024 through 2038. 12,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSThis elegant wine wears its firm tannic structure lightly. It is densely textured, just starting on its road to maturity. Black-plum and berry fruits give the wine its weight as much as the tannins. It will age well over many years. Drink from 2026.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThis is so young right now, which seems crazy to say for a white wine, I know. But at two years old it has hardly begun to gather us to its side, let alone reveal its secrets. This will clearly have plenty to show in a few years’ time - white peach and pear flavours, and a gorgeous texture of slate caught against saline minerality. This is going to age, and then some. It has closed down since 2016 En primeur. Drinking Window 2020 - 2032.Decanter | 95 DECThe 2016 Domaine de Chevalier is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple colored, it rocks up with expressive warm plums, blueberry compote and cassis scents with suggestions of sandalwood, baking spices and potpourri. Medium-bodied and delicately styled yet with a rock-solid frame of grainy tannins, it sports restrained earth-laced fruit and a long finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94+ RP

The richness and beauty of this wine is impressive with blackcurrant, cherry, berry and fresh cloves. The fruit is so pure here. Full-bodied with tannins that are so integrated and refined that you don’t feel them, yet they are there! Very creamy and layered with great length and beauty. It turns to tar and licorice at the finish. Tight now, but the texture is special. Try after 2027.James Suckling | 98 JSAn incredible wine from this estate that’s as good as anything in the vintage, the 2018 Château Cos D’Estournel checks in as 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot that was brought up in 50% new French oak. While some 2018s are going to offer pleasure right out of the gate, this isn’t one of them, but rather it’s a backward, tannic powerhouse of a wine that has flawless balance as well as a level of purity that’s off the charts. Thrilling crème de cassis fruit, notes of lead pencil, damp earth, cedarwood, violets, and acacia flowers, full-bodied richness, masses of ultra-fine tannins, and a great, great finish all make for a legendary Saint-Estèphe that will need a good decade of bottle age yet evolve for 50 years or more. If you are tempted to try a bottle in its youth, it needs lots of air.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JDThe 2018 Cos d’Estournel is a blend of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, aged in 50% new oak barriques. The alcohol weighs in at just over 14.5%. Sporting a deep purple-black color, it needs a lot of swirling to begin to unlock a powerful nose of crème de cassis, stewed plums, wild blueberries and chocolate-covered cherries, followed by nuances of Sichuan pepper, star anise, tree and clove oil, plus a waft of charcoal. The full-bodied palate is densely packed with taut, muscular black fruits and earthy layers, framed by super firm, ripe, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long and wonderfully earthy. A very impressive behemoth, this is going to need a good seven to 10 years to truly show its stuff and should drink for a good 40 years and beyond.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98+ RPThe 2018 Cos d’Estournel is a racy, powerful Saint-Estèphe that is going to need quite a bit of time to find its center. Today, it is tightly wound, but all the energy is there. Lush and extravagantly ripe, the 2018 possesses tremendous depth and plenty of energy to back it all up. Here, too, I found the wine a bit more expressive and giving en primeur.Antonio Galloni | 98 AGA little closed on the nose, and also on the attack. There is a wall of tannin here but backed up by voluptuously ripe fruits that major on damson and fig, overlaid with cinnamon and saffron spices. Lilting acidity through the finish keeps a sense of momentum. This is powerful with ambition, and it carries it off perfectly. 65% of production went into the grand vin. 1% Petit Verdot makes up the blend, and the wine was aged in 50% new oak (a little lower than the usual 60%). Drinking Window 2028 - 2045.Decanter | 97 DECBig, rich and smoky in nature, with powerful fruits and dense tannins, this is a wine that is straining at the limits but still within balance. Rich, smoky flavors shine along with the black plum fruit and bright acidity. It will age for many years.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThis is a bird of a different feather, with a ripe, sleek, and very polished feel as creamed loganberry, plum and boysenberry flavors spill forth, flanked for support by singed alder and incense notes, while black tea and savory threads curl around the finish. Long, showy and lovely. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2024 through 2038. 16,600 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

One of the finest vintages I’ve ever tasted from this address, the 2018 Château Lynch-Bages has everything you look for in a great wine: incredible aromatics, richness without weight, perfect balance, and a purity of fruit that’s just about off the charts. Dense purple, it reveals a glorious perfume of blackcurrants and blackberry fruits, a deep, unctuous mouthfeel, building tannins, and a complex array of cedar pencil, tobacco, wood smoke, and chocolate. A true blockbuster in every sense, with masses of fruit and tannins as well as moderate acidity, it will probably merit a triple-digit score in a decade and is a 50+-year wine from this team.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JDAromas of blackberries, cloves, licorice, dried leaves, graphite and black olives. It’s full-bodied with firm, tight tannins. Structured and tannic with beautiful austerity and a long, mineral and layered finish. The tannins grow on the palate. Try from 2026.James Suckling | 97 JSVibrant, with a violet and cassis lead-in that then expands to include steeped black cherry and plum fruit as well as extra savory, iron and licorice root notes. Nice latent grip too, with a mouthwatering tug of earth at the very end. The fruit is so vibrant, it’s a tease now, but there’s structure here for the long haul, so be patient. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2025 through 2040.Wine Spectator | 97 WSDeep, rich black fruits on the nose followed by a powerful punch of spice alongside a ferocious tannic structure that will benefit from the extra polishing of bottle ageing. Combines tannic heft with cassis, bitter chocolate shavings, sage, cardamom and smoke. This is impressive, with a solidly confident, classic Pauillac character and a great example of the confidence of Lynch-Bages right now. A yield of 38hl/ha. Drinking Window 2028 - 2048.Decanter | 96 DECComposed of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, the 2018 Lynch-Bages was aged in 75% new barriques. Deep garnet-purple in color, it soars out of the glass with a magnificently expressive nose of blueberry compote, black cherry preserves and blackcurrant pastilles, plus suggestions of dark chocolate, licorice, tar and violets with a waft of hoisin. The medium to full-bodied palate is just as impactful as the nose, coating the mouth with juicy black berry and spicy layers, supported by firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long with a refreshing earthiness coming through at the end.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPAn utterly fabulous wine, the 2018 Lynch-Bages captures all of the richness and generosity that make the year so appealing, and yet doesn’t stray too far from its classic feel. Rose petal, lavender, spice, sweet red berry fruit and mint are all beautifully lifted in the glass. Racy and silky to the core, the 2018 is a real head-turner from the very first taste. All the elements fall into place effortlessly. Readers will have a very hard time keeping their hands off this jewel of a wine.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGThe Lynch-Bages style is unmistakeable in this wine’s richness and the density of its structure and tannins. In addition it conveys a great sense of style, restrained power and opulence. Drink this wine from 2027.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WE

Detailed and delicate, this has a seductive charm to it, slowly displaying scented blueberries and raspberries, before layers of salty minerality, liquorice, and cooling blue fruits come into play as well as tobacco and liquorice adding a savoury touch. It’s not immediately upfront - more calm and collected, slowly growing in stature and presence. Tannins are fine but mouthcoating, giving the structure, this isn’t a light wine, but it’s supremely elegant and excellently textured. Impressive complexity and drama here, still very serious but it’s sublime too. A luminous wine I’d love to own.Decanter | 98 DECA lovely softness and texture to this wine with a medium to full body, plenty of fruit and fine velvety tannins. It’s lovely to taste now and will age beautifully. Really seductive. Hard not to drink now but one for the cellar. Best to try after 2025.James Suckling | 96 JSThe 2020 Gruaud-Larose is a powerful, dense wine. Super-ripe dark cherry, kirsch, menthol, licorice, rose petal and espresso infuse the palate with tons of intensity. Unctuous and flamboyant, the 2020 also offers a good bit of energy to keep things in balance. The 2020 is very much an extrovert, a gorgeous extrovert at that. Sweet floral and spice accents, along with a kick of sweet French oak, linger.Vinous Media | 95 VMRock-solid, with a core of dark plum, boysenberry and blackberry compote flavors held together with cedar, savory, tobacco and monkeyd apple wood notes that add texture and energy through the finish. Built for the cellar. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2030 through 2040. 9,250 boxes made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

An estate that has been on fire of late, the 2020 Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse De Lalande is another brilliant wine in a succession of brilliant wines. Revealing a dense purple hue as well as full-bodied aromas and flavors of blac currants, scorched earth, tobacco leaf, and violets, it hits the palate with an expansive, rich, yet pure, precise texture that carries fabulous tannins, perfect balance, and a stacked mid-palate. Based on 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet Franc, it’s an incredible wine that’s going to flirt with perfection and is unquestionably one of the finest, if not the finest, Left Banks in the vintage. Bravo. Tasted twice.Jeb Dunnuck | 98-100 JDThis is extremely structured, but with a level of polish and refinement that highlights the excellence of the terroir. Very long and expansive on the palate, showing class and beauty. Powerful, yet comes across refined and curated at the end. Lovely texture.James Suckling | 97-98 JSDeep purple-black in color, the 2020 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande begins on a single, well-defined, wonderfully pure note of ripe blackcurrants, opening out to a melody of redcurrant jelly, kirsch, ripe blackberries and tar, with emerging suggestions of dark chocolate, cardamom, ground cloves and violets, with a waft of black truffles. Medium-bodied, tightly wound and with loads of fantastically nuanced black fruit layers, it has a rock-solid frame of finely grained tannins and bags of freshness, finishing long and mineral laced. The blend this year is 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95-97 RPThe 2020 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is holding so much in reserve. Tightly wound and not fully expressive, the 2020 is going to need at least a few years to come out of its shell. Bright acids and persistent tannins give the 2020 a super classic, mid-weight feel. I very much like the wine’s persistence. Readers will have to be patient with the 2020. The exuberance of some recent vintages is not present today. The blend is 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc, which means a touch more Cabernet Sauvignon than in recent years, and quite a bit more than in the past. Harvest ran from September 7 to October 1, which is about ten days earlier than normal. In the cellar, Estate Manager Nicolas Glumineau opted for light extractions, with minimal pumpovers of just one volume of wine per day, at no more than 25 degrees Celsius. Time on the skins was 21 days, pretty much the norm these days. Tasted two times. (Drink between 2032-2060)Antonio Galloni | 95-97 AGSofter and silkier than many Pauillacs in the vintage, this is a clear success. Hugely silky and seductive, with grip, power and finesse. One of the best of the appellation, with finessed tobacco, heather and plump blueberry and cassis fruit, expertly managing the low 30hl/ha yield. 60% new oak. Tasted twice. (Drink between 2030-2048)Decanter | 96 DEC

A return to form in my eyes for Calon Ségur after the atypical 2018, rippling with elegance, balance and savoury blue fruits of Cabernet, with rose and peony flowers. Concentrated, chiselled and juicy, this has clear personality and equals the great, classically balanced vintages of Calon like 2016. A yield of 33hl/ha, 3.85pH, 100% new oak. Vincent Millet is now overall director as well as technical director, since the departure of Laurent Dufau in 2020. Drinking Window 2029 - 2048.Decanter | 98 DECThe 2020 Calon-Ségur is a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. It is aging in 100% new French oak barrels for an anticipated 18 to 20 months. The alcohol is 13.8%. Displaying a deep purple-black color, it straight away springs up with bright scents of freshly picked black raspberries, kirsch and blackberries, needing considerable swirling to reveal a vast array of nuances—rose oil, cardamom, iron ore, graphite, lavender and aniseed. The medium-bodied palate has a solid structure of firm, ripe, grainy tannins and plenty of freshness supporting the tightly wound red and black fruit layers, accented by lots of mineral and floral sparks, finishing with impressive length and depth. Beautiful, beautiful wine!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95-97+ RPThe flagship 2020 Château Calon Ségur is also brilliant and certainly brings up the intensity, depth, and richness, although it’s nowhere near the exotic, almost over-the-top style of the 2018. Gorgeous crème de cassis, tobacco, roasted coffee beans, lead pencil, and sappy herbs all define this beauty, which is full-bodied, beautifully balanced, and has incredible purity of fruit. It might have some up-front appeal as well, yet smart money will hide bottles for at least 7-8 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 95-97 JDTobacco and tea aromas with currants and wet earth. Full-bodied and chewy with blackcurrant flavor. Tannins build on the finish with lots of structure and intensity. Quite muscular.James Suckling | 95-96 JSThe powerful tannins of this wine cannot mask the beautiful fruits and acidity. Rather the tannins enhance them, giving structure to the wine’s fine blackberry fruitiness that leaves a refreshing character at the end. With this structure the wine will take its time and will need to age for many years.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThe 2020 Calon Ségur is a dark, brooding wine that is going to need a number of years to become approachable. Black fruit, gravel, smoke, chocolate, leather and licorice give the 2020 its distinctly virile feel. In two separate tastings, the 2020 has come across as quite potent and forbidding. This sample is more convincing than a sample I tasted this past spring, but I still don’t see Calon-Segur as having reached the level that has become customary over the last few vintages.Vinous Media | 91-93 VM

The 2021 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is very possibly the wine of the vintage. Vertical and explosive, the 2021 possesses mind-blowing intensity and dynamic energy to burn. The 2021 is a heady, racy wine that captivates all the senses. Tobacco, mocha, cedar, leather, dried herbs, menthol, licorice and plum saturate the palate in a wine that dazzles from start to finish. The 2021 was bottled in late September 2023, much later than most wines, yet it is so expressive today. It was magnificent from barrel, and it is every bit as breathtaking today. Quite simply, Les Carmes is on another level. Bravo!Vinous Media | 98 VMThis is a special wine for the vintage with a wonderful and impressive tannin texture that melts into the wine, giving softness and finesse. Medium-bodied, showing a solid core of fruit with beautiful, focused cassis, blackberry and crushed-stone character. The unique terror of this estate, which is surrounded by houses in a suburb of Bordeaux, has produced a gorgeous wine in this difficult vintage. 45% whole bunches. 40% cabernet franc, 35% cabernet sauvignon and 25% merlot.James Suckling | 96-97 JSA gorgeous aromatic display draws you in: crystalline, floral with iris, peony and violet, herbal, earthy and fruity. Sumptuous, this is a classy wine, beautifully smooth but with powdery tannins that give grip and intensity to the structure. It’s grippy at the moment, not as ethereal or silky as some right now, but it’s characterful with power, all while being nuanced and detailed. Charming but still yet to fully come out of its shell. Crunchy, great energy and focus with salty minerality on the finish. This will be a beauty.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2021 Les Carmes Haut-Brion has turned out beautifully in bottle, though it is more introverted and brooding than it appeared during en primeur tastings, unwinding in the glass with aromas of dark berries mingled with spices, loamy soil, licorice, rose petals, gentian and black pepper. Medium to full-bodied, deep and seamless, with a concentrated core of fruit framed by ripe but abundant structuring tannins and bright acids, it concludes with a long, palate-staining finish. As readers may remember, it’s a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPI’d put the 2021 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion up with the crème de la crème of the vintage. Based on 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Merlot, aging in 80% new barrels, it offers a brilliant perfume of plum and black raspberry fruits supported by lots of spice and exotic floral notes. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has a rounded, expansive mouthfeel that’s rare to find in the vintage, terrific mid-palate depth, moderate acidity, and a great finish. It’s a singular, brilliant Pessac that will benefit from 2-4 years of bottle age and cruise for 20-25+ in cold cellars. Enough can’t be said about the quality and passion being brought to this estate by winemaker Guillaume Pouthier, and this is an estate readers need to be purchasing.Jeb Dunnuck | 93-95 JDThe 2021 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 25% Merlot, aging in 70% new barriques, 20% new 18 hl foudres, and 10% amphoras. Deep garnet-purple colored, it shoots out of the glass with vivacious notes of kirsch, black cherry preserves, cassis, and blueberries, plus hints of candied violets, star anise, cinnamon toast, and Ceylon tea. Medium-bodied, the palate shimmers with intense red and black fruit sparks, framed by grainy, multi-layered tannins and fantastic tension, finishing long and mineral-laced. While the weight is ethereal, the intensity is mind-blowing and an amazing achievement in this vintage. The Cabernet Franc contribution makes this a triumph, as does the inspired use of stems. Batches with ripe stems are selected for whole-bunch fermentation and the rest are destemmed. 45% was selected for whole-bunch fermentation this year, 10% less than in 2020. if you can put aside your stylistic preconceptions of what Bordeaux is and embrace this bright, energetic style with amazing textural complexity (from oak, stem, and grape skin tannins), you will love this evocative, age-worthy beauty. pH 3.6.The Wine Independent | 93-95+ TWI