The 2021 Clerc Milon is a success, bursting with aromas of blackberries, cassis and plums mingled with violets, tobacco leaf and nicely integrated new oak. Medium to full-bodied, layered and seamless, it's deep, fleshy and complete, with a rich core of succulent fruit, beautifully polished tannins and a long, sapid finish, it's a compelling, characterful wine that transcends the vintage. Apr 29, 2022 The Wine Advocate William Kelley
The 2021 Lynch-Bages is one of the vintage's bigger, broader-shouldered wines, offering up aromas of crème de cassis, plums and spices, framed by a generous application of creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, dense and chunky, with a velvety attack that segues into a layered core of fruit framed by generously extracted tannins, it concludes with a long, lusty finish. Fully 40 hectares of this estate is now cultivated organically, principally those parcels that adjoin the houses of Pauillac. As is almost invariably the case with this estate, it will repay a bit of patience. The Wine Advocate William Kelley, Feb 09, 2024
A brilliant achievement, the 2021 Pichon-Longueville Baron opens in the glass with aromas of dark berries, blackcurrants, cigar wrapper, loamy soil, pencil shavings and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it's concentrated and penetrating, with terrific concentration and a beautifully refined, classy profile. A blend of fully 89% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Merlot, it represents the wine this great estate could have produced in 1996. One of the real successes of the vintage, readers who overlook this wine will live to regret it. Apr 29, 2022 The Wine Advocate William Kelley
The vintage that inaugurated the estate's new state-of-the-art winery, the 2020 Lynch-Bages has turned out very nicely, offering up aromas of crème de cassis and blackberries mingled with notions of pencil shavings, spices and classy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with good concentration, ripe, powdery tannins and a seamless, integrated profile for such a young Lynch-Bages, it shows considerable promise. The blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot incorporates more Merlot than usual, reflecting relative yields in the vintage more than any stylistic shift. April 2023 Week 1, The Wine Advocate, 6th Apr 2023, William Kelley
The 2019 Giscours has turned out very well in bottle, wafting from the glass with aromas of sweet berries, cherries, burning embers, lilac and violets framed by a discreet patina of new oak. Full-bodied, layered and concentrated, it's polished and perfumed, with a velvety, seamless profile and bright animating acids, concluding with a long, resonant finish. Alexandre Van Beek and his team are taking this estate to heights it hasn't hit since the 1970s, and this is another of the great bargains of the 2019 en primeur campaign. April 2022 Week 1, The Wine Advocate, 7th Apr 2022, William Kelley
The 2015 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a blend of 44% Cabernet Franc, 32% Merlot and 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged 24 months in 80% new and 20% one-year-old oak. Deep garnet-purple colored, it has pronounced notes of crushed black and red currants, warm blackberries and black pepper with touches of cedar chest, pencil lead and tilled soil. Medium-bodied, very fine and with plenty of black and red fruit layers, it has a plush backbone and seamless acid, finishing earthy. Interim Issue Mid-February 2018, The Wine Advocate, 22 Feb 2018, Lisa Perrotti-Brown
They 2015 Lynch Bages is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot that was picked from 23 September until 2 October, matured in 75% new oak. There is an overwhelming sense of purity on the nose: perfumed, almost floral blackberry, wild strawberry, graphite and cedar scents, unmistakably Pauillac in style. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannin, a keen citrus thread that impart tension and ample freshness. Tasting this as the first wine of the day, it instantly refreshes the mouth and leaves it tingling with energy after it has departed. This is an excellent, top-grade Lynch Bages that deserves 8-10 years in bottle and then will offer three decade of pleasure, maybe more. eRobertParker.com (224), Apr 2016, Neal Martin
The 2014 Les Carmes Haut Brion has a very ripe, fig-tinged bouquet with red cherries, orange sorbet and faint tarry scents. This has more bravado than many of its Pessac-Léognan peers. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannin. It comes across as more modern in style than its peers, silky smooth with caressing succulent red cherry and blackberry fruit leading to a polished finish. It has very good body and density, though I find much more complexity on the 2015. I remarked that I wanted to see how well the oak integrates with this Les Carmes Haut-Brion and at this early stage, I wait to be totally convinced that all the constituent parts are singing from the same hymn sheet. Interim End of March, The Wine Advocate, 1st Apr 2017, Neal Martin
The Château Lynch Bages 2014 is a blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot matured in 75% new oak. Yields were a respectable 40 hectoliters per hectare, although that figure is less than Jean-Charles Cazes predicted earlier in the season. The nose is well defined with veins of graphite infusing the black fruit: quite strict for Lynch Bages, a little reserved at this early stage. The palate is medium-bodied with chalky tannin, racy acidity although the pH is around 3.7, linear and a little austere on the finish. This is tightly coiled at the moment, gritty in the mouth but I like the Pauillac typicité here – not a million miles away from Grand Puy Lacoste in style. This deserves respect and I suspect it will age with the style of Jean-Charles's father, who turned 80 on the day of my visit. Wine Advocate (218), 30th Apr 2015, Neal Martin
The 2012 is the first truly profound Canon under the administration of the Wertheimers, the family that owns the famous haute couture house of Chanel. Improvement has been noticeable for a number of years, but this wine is remarkable, particularly in view of a more challenging vintage. The color is a healthy dark ruby/purple, and the wine offers up great minerality along with floral, black-fruited characteristics. What’s not a surprise are the nobility, elegance and finesse of this wine (70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc) married with serious richness and intensity. Give it another 5-6 years and drink it over the following 20-25 years. eRobertParker.com (218), Apr 2015, Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Very floral and elegant with raspberry and blackcurrant fruit mixed with toasty oak/vanillin, followed by a medium to full-bodied, stylish, polished wine that is the quintessentially refined style of Pessac-Léognan. Nevertheless, the complexity and nuance has yet to fully emerge. This medium to full-bodied Domaine de Chevalier is poised for a bright future. It is tight and backward now, as well as restrained aromatically, but everything is there for the future. Forget it for 5-7 years and drink it over the following 30 years. 218, The Wine Advocate, 30 Apr 2015, Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The dense ruby/purple-tinged 2011 Vieux Chateau Certan offers a beautiful bouquet of plums, black cherries, cassis and hints of graphite as well as spice, an excellent texture and medium body. A success in this difficult vintage, it should age easily for 10-15 years. Yet after the trilogy of great wines in 2008, 2009 and 2010, few consumers are likely to pay much attention to this 2011. Wine Advocate (212), Apr 2014, Robert Parker
Still 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. The Wine Advocate, Mar 01, 2022, William Kelley
Head and shoulders above its stablemate, Langoa Barton, proprietor Anthony Barton’s 2009 Leoville Barton is another massive, excruciatingly rich, tannic, potentially long-aged wine. Meant for consumers with old fashioned tastes, it boasts a dense opaque purple color as well as a bouquet of licorice, forest floor, unsmoked cigar tobacco and a hint of earth. The wine reveals tremendous denseness and richness, a broad, savory mouthfeel and elevated tannins in the finish. However, there is a sweetness to the tannins and no trace of bitterness and astringency, always a sign of a top vintage as well as fully mature grapes. Still a monolithic baby, this 2009 should be forgotten for at least a decade, and consumed over the next 30-50 years. Wine Advocate (199), Feb 2012, Robert Parker
The all-time greatest wine I have ever tasted from Saint-Pierre, this estate, the smallest of the grand cru classes of St.-Julien, has an opaque purple color and a spectacular nose of subtle charcoal, creme de cassis, blackberry, and incense. Full-bodied, with striking intensity and flamboyantly rich, exuberant flavors bursting with extract, the St. Pierre has no hard edges, but rather massive, incredibly well-endowed blockbuster style, which should prove to be monumental. Give it 6-8 years to take on more definition and calm down, but this is a 30- to 40-year wine. Bravo! Wine Advocate (199), Feb 2012, Robert Parker
Consultants Nicolas Thienpont and Stephane Derenoncourt have produced a beautiful St.-Emilion that tastes like the quintessence of crushed rocks intermixed with blueberry, blackberry, black raspberry, licorice, camphor and truffle notes. This full-bodied effort should drink well in 4-5 years, and last for two decades or more. It achieved 14.5% natural alcohol. Wine Advocate (194), May 2011, Robert Parker
Along with Lafite Rothschild, Ausone, and l’Eglise Clinet, Pavie is one of the wines of the vintage. An inky/purple color is accompanied by notes of creme de cassis, kirsch, graphite, and toast. A massive wine for the vintage, the 2007 Pavie is very full-bodied with extraordinary intensity, power, and richness. Its structure and tannin suggest 2-4 years of cellaring is required, and it should evolve for 25 years thereafter ,an unusually long aging curve for most 2007s. Yields were 25 hectoliters per hectare, and the wine is a classic blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. The natural alcohol level came in at 14%. Wine Advocate (188), Apr 2010, Robert Parker
A slightly more elegant nose freely reveals its aromas of black cherry, pretty floral and more evident spice nuances. The super-sleek and well-detailed medium weight flavors possess excellent punch while delivering slightly better length on the firm, dusty and robust finale. This is not a Chambolle of lace and grace but it's quite good all the same. Jan 10, 2024, Allen Meadows' (Burghound.com)
Weber indicated that the yield was about 25 hl/ha in 2021. An overtly floral-suffused nose of red currant and dark raspberry displays a background hint of herbal tea. There is focused power to the nicely detailed if only moderately dense flavors that exhibit very fine length on the balanced and youthfully austere finale. This could use better depth though given the underlying material and structure, more should reasonably develop. Apr 10, 2023, Allen Meadows (Burghound.com)
Much like the Bonnes Mares, there is a plethora of floral elements adding a touch of elegance to the decidedly cool and airy aromas of wild berries, earth and a smoky component. There is excellent density and richness to the powerful and muscular yet relatively refined mineral-driven flavors that terminate in a youthfully austere, linear and built-to-age finale. Patience strongly recommended. Apr 10, 2023, Allen Meadows (Burghound.com)
Once again there is a green tea component to the more elegant aromas of fennel, red cherry and a pretty floral top note. There is good volume to the seductively textured middleweight flavors that are supported by a firm tannic spine on the slightly longer and more complex finale. Jan 10, 2023, Allen Meadows (Burghound.com)
Here too there is a touch of crushed leaf character to the brooding aromas of wild berries, game and forest floor along with a similar hint of menthol. There is more size, weight and muscle to the more concentrated medium-bodied flavors that are at once succulent but powerful on the mineral-driven, very firm and lingering finish. Good potential here but patience also necessary as this too is a bit strict at present. Jan 10, 2023, Allen Meadows (Burghound.com)
A spicy and more deeply pitched nose features notes of black raspberry, pepper and plenty of newly turned earth wisps. The sleek and almost painfully intense flavors are crystalline in their purity and seem to be built on a base of minerality, all wrapped in a powerful, linear and very long if moderately strict finish. Patience absolutely advised as this is not likely to make for interesting early drinking. Jan 10, 2023, Allen Meadows (Burghound.com)
Ripe and fresh aromas include those of plum, red and dark cherry and a whiff of crushed fennel. The sleek, wonderfully refined and equally energetic flavors exude a subtle bead of minerality on the lacy, focused and bitter pit fruit-inflected finale. This is very "Chambollesque". Jan 10, 2023, Allen Meadow's (Burghound.com)
Here too there is a hint of herbal tea to the more deeply pitched and earthier aromas. There is almost painful intensity to the sleek medium-bodied flavors that also conclude in a superbly long if decidedly austere finale. This is definitely a dense wine in the context of the 2021 vintage and not surprisingly, one of the more powerful ones as well. Patience strongly advised. Jan 10, 2023, Allen Meadow's (Burghound.com)
This is also exuberantly spicy with more earth influence on the red and black currant-scented nose. The sleek, concentrated and muscular larger-scaled flavors possess evident power on the dusty and firmly austere finish that leans out as it sits on the palate. It's hard to discern how much of the leanness is due to the relatively high level of gas so this may well better harmonize once it has been bottled. Jan 10, 2023, Allen Meadow's (Burghound.com)
A gorgeously spicy nose includes notes of plum, dark pinot fruit, crushed leaf, violet, clove and plenty of exotic Asian-style tea. There is fine volume and richness to the attractively textured, even velvety, larger-scaled flavors that display excellent balance on the firm, moderately austere and built-to-age finale. Jan 10, 2024, Allen Meadow's (Burghound.com)
Here the expressive nose offers up plenty of forest floor, indeed almost a sous-bois element, on the spicy and floral-suffused nose. The intense and refined middleweight flavors possess a silky mid-palate texture that contrasts markedly with the powerful, serious, youthfully austere and quite firmly structured finale. This is impressive but note well that's not a seductive RSV, indeed it's also going to require extended patience to arrive at its peak. Jan 10, 2024, Allen Meadow's (Burghound.com)
A more deeply pitched nose offers up overtly spicy notes of plum, dark berries and cool floral nuances. The succulent, round and delicious medium-bodied flavors possess better mid-palate density if not quite the same refinement on the lingering and balanced finish that could use a bit more depth. Jan 10, 2024, Allen Meadow's (Burghound.com)
Here the expressive nose is spicier but not more elegant with its combination of exotic tea, orange peel and star anise aromas. The vibrant medium weight flavors are also super-sleek with a caressing, but punchy mouthfeel while exuding evident minerality on the clean, moderate austere and linear finale. This isn't seductive but it is both stylish and classy. Jan 10, 2023, Allen Meadows' (Burghound.com)
A more deeply pitched, and equally spicy, nose reflects notes of plum and various dark berries along with exotic tea hints that include jasmine and orange peel. As is usually the case, there is more size, weight and richness if less minerality and detail to the medium-bodied flavors that possess a velvety mid-plate along with excellent depth and persistence on the somewhat raspy and overtly austere finale that may be too much for some. I suspect that this too will better harmonize with time in bottle. Jan 10, 2023, Allen Meadows' (Burghound.com)
Here the restrained nose is cooler and not quite as ripe on the fresh aromas of rose petal, spiced tea and a broad array of mostly red berry scents. The intense medium-bodied flavors aren't quite as dense but they are finer while flashing focused power on the strikingly long, even explosive, finish that just goes on and on. This is a seriously impressive and very classy example of a Clos de Bèze that embodies power without weight. Apr 10, 2023, Allen Meadows' (Burghound.com)
This is also quite restrained and requires aggressive swirling to reveal the gorgeously spicy and beautifully layered nose of cool but ripe aromas of violets, plum and exotic tea. Here too there is impressive volume to the full-bodied and opulently rich mineral-driven flavors that are blessed with a similar abundance of mouth coating sap that imparts a velvety mouthfeel and buffers the very firm tannic spine supporting the strikingly long and balanced finish. This muscular effort is terrific though like the Cros Parantoux, a wine that is going to need extended patience. Jan 10, 2023, Allen Meadow's (Burghound.com)
Here the expressive nose freely reveals its overtly exotic aromas of orange peel, jasmine tea, star anise, sandalwood and violet. The rich and impressively concentrated medium-bodied flavors are also blessed with an abundance of tannin-buffering dry extract while displaying outstanding length on the firm, serious and youthfully austere finish. This beautifully balanced if compact effort should also amply reward longer-term cellaring. Jan 10, 2023, Allen Meadow's (Burghound.com)
This isn't as fresh on the nose of baked dark berries and roasted cherry. The round, rich and velvet-textured larger-scaled flavors coat the palate with sappy dry extract on the somewhat one-dimensional finish. While there is nothing technically amiss, this doesn't have the same verve and overall appeal of the best in the range. Jan 10, 2022, Allen Meadows (Burghound.com)
Slightly riper aromas are comprised by notes of poached plum, cassis and anise wisps. The solidly concentrated medium-bodied flavors also possess an attractive open knit mouthfeel before tightening up on the succulent, powerful and borderline rustic finale as the supporting tannins are presently somewhat raspy. This is also very good for a villages-level wine though it's somewhat atypical. Jan 10, 2022, Allen Meadows (Burghound.com)
There is a hint of bitter chocolate to the ripe aromas of plum, wild red berries, warm earth and whiffs of violet and anise. Once again there is excellent volume to the bright and vivacious big-bodied flavors that possess fine mid-palate density on the silky but punchy, lingering and impeccably well-balanced finish that is supported by even firmer tannins. Lovely. Jan 10, 2022, Allen Meadow's (Burghound.com)
A moderately toasty nose speaks of various dark berries, a variety of floral elements, along with notes of exotic tea, sandalwood and soy. There is excellent volume to the gorgeously textured larger-scaled flavors that also coat the palate with sappy dry extract on the similarly dusty, austere and serious finish. Here too I suggest exercising at least moderate patience. Jan 10, 2022, Allen Meadow's (Burghound.com)
Here too the expressive nose is exuberantly spicy with its ripe aromas of violet, lavender, plum and jasmine tea. The slightly finer medium weight flavors possess a lovely sense of underlying tension with the same attractive texture, all wrapped in a balanced, long and slightly more complex finale. Very good potential quality here. Jan 10, 2022, Allen Meadows' (Burghound.com)
Once again there is lovely freshness to the cool and airy aromas of red cherry, dark raspberry and spice. I very much like the texture of the mineral-driven, chiseled and vibrant medium-bodied flavors that culminate in a dusty bitter pit fruit-inflected finish that offers excellent depth and persistence for a villages-level wine. One to strongly consider. Jan 10, 2022, Allen Meadows' (Burghound.com)
