James Suckling (99-100)

This shows the purity of Angelus. I have never tasted a wine from here with such incredible clarity. Full body, full fruit and full beauty. Super silky tannins. A joy to taste. Makes you want to drink it. 62% merlot and 38% cabernet franc.

Wine Enthusiast (100)

This is a rich, perfumed wine, with dense tannins and intense layers of black plum and spice. The palate is firmly built yet broadened out by plump dark-fruit tones and honed by a solid, dry core. Drink from 2025.

Expertly crafted by the esteemed Barons de Rothschild, the Reserve Pauillac Speciale 2019 is a sublime testament to the excellence of Pauillac terroir. Sumptuously blended from the finest Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes, meticulously handpicked from the heart of Bordeaux, the Barons de Rothschild Reserve Pauillac Speciale 2019 showcases the signature depth and complexity associated with Rothschild wines. Extensively matured in French oak barrels, this masterpiece accentuates a profound, velvety palate bursting with decadent notes of dark fruit, truffle, and spices.

Committed to sustainability, Barons de Rothschild meticulously adopts Low Environmental Impact Viticulture, preserving the land for future generations. Embodying over two centuries of winemaking heritage, this extraordinary cuvée continues to uphold the Rothschild family's enduring commitment to quality. The Barons de Rothschild Reserve Pauillac Speciale 2019 is truly a rendezvous of opulence, elegance, and sophistication. Esteemed among aficionados and critics alike, this gem is an absolute must-have in any fine wine collection.

James Suckling (96)

Shows beautiful, ripe cabernet aromas with currants, plums, meat and smoke. Flowers, too. Full body, deep and ripe fruit and exquisite, ripe tannins. Flavorful finish. Tight right now, but shows excellent potential. Best ever. Try after 2024.

Decanter (97)

Vibrant and intense colour in the glass, richly scented, floral and perfumed, open and inviting. Intense and concentrated, the fruit is dark and ripe but there’s no hint of over ripeness here and instead you get cool blue fruits, chalky tannins and minty freshness with accents of liquorice, coffee, tobacco, cedar spice and clove. Tannins are clearly at the fore, giving the structure and the frame while the juicy acidity gives the energy and life. Still on the serious side, not tense so much as there’s good persistence, it’s lean and streamlined, but refined in a spiced and mineral way. Gorgeous terroir markers, lovely detail and precision, you can feel they haven't worked too much or tried too hard. It carries the signature of the estate in the serious structure, it’s a big wine, there’s such power here but so well controlled and delivered. Razor sharp, focussed and persistent. A gorgeous 2022, well executed and will be a clear success.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (97)

The 2020 Beau-Sejour Becot is a dense, powerful wine. A rush of black cherry, plum, chocolate, new leather, licorice, spice and sweet oak builds as this towering, vertically explosive Saint-Émilion opens in the glass. This is an especially broad, expansive Saint-Émilion, much of that attributable to the clay in these soils. The 2020 is magnificent in its intensity and overall volume. Superb.

Wine Advocate (95+)

An extraordinary effort in this vintage, this 2008 was made from lower yields than the 2010 (the 2008's equaled 20 hectoliters per hectare) and is a blend of 90% Merlot and equal parts Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon that came in at 14% natural alcohol. Michel Rolland has been the consultant for all the Perse estates since their acquisition, and the 2008's fruit was harvested very late, October 20. The result is a backward, dense purple-colored wine revealing a crushed rock-like liqueur along with highly extracted, massive flavors of black currants, sweet cherries, licorice and toast. This full-bodied effort requires 5-6 years of bottle age and should last for 25-30 years.

Decanter (97)

One of the standouts of the vintage that impressed equally on three different occasions. Fragrant and expressive on the nose, lovely scents and dark fruits. Smooth and crisp, silky but concentrated, such precision and detail straight away with succulent and juicy acidity. There’s concentration no doubt, it’s ripe and intense, the dark perfumed blackcurrants and black cherries give a serious backbone and tension to the wine, while the minty, stony freshness carries the flavour and gives the energy and definition. Excellently weighted on the palate, with structure and a mouthwatering sensation that comes in once the weight settles. So well constructed with a beautiful texture and overall integration of all the elements. Exceptional quality and drinkability on offer with a delicious salty, graphite and flint finish that puts you at the estate. Overlook this at your peril. 2.5% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 3.65pH. Harvest 12 - 24 September. 60% grand vin production. A yield of 34hl/ha. Tasted three times. This vintage was the first to be made 100% in the new cellar with double the number of vats than were available in 2020 for more precise fermentations. HVE3 certified. Harvest 12 September - 24 September.

Jeb Dunnuck (96-98+)

I continue to love the wines from this estate, and the 2020 Château Clinet is no exception. Straight-up sensational notes of blueberries, cassis, violets, tobacco, and earth all emerge from the glass, and this beauty is full-bodied, with a rich, concentrated mid-palate, flawless balance, and a great finish. It shows the tighter, fresher, more focused style of the vintage, yet it still brings plenty of mid-palate depth as well as an expansive texture. It has enough oak to warrant short-term bottle age but will have 25-30 years of overall longevity. This is a gorgeous wine.

The Wine Independent (100)

Deep garnet in color, the 2016 Cos d'Estournel is quite closed to start, requiring a lot of coaxing to bring out profound notions of creme de cassis, wild blueberries, black cherry compote, and rose oil, leading to suggestions of Indian spices, crushed rocks, and dried lavender. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is both opulent and energetic, revealing loads of perfumed black fruit layers and a plush, polished texture, finishing with epic length and depth.

Wine Advocate (98+)

Composed of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, yields for the grand vin in 2017 were 43 hectoliters per hectare, and it was aged in 60% new oak. It came in at an alcohol of 13% and an IPT of 68. Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Cos d'Estournel needs a little coaxing to unfurl, revealing beautiful expressions of preserved plums, boysenberries, blackcurrant pastilles and wild blueberries with hints of Indian spices, menthol, lilacs and mossy tree bark plus a compelling suggestion of iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a solid backbone of firm, grainy tannins and well-knit freshness supporting the tightly wound blue and black fruits layers, finishing long and fragrant. This wine will need a good 5-7 years in bottle before it begins to blossom and should go on for at least another 40 years. I expect this wine to be a blockbuster of a head-turner when I come back and taste it at 10 years of age!

James Suckling (96-97)

A dense, creamy DC white with lots of rich cooked-apple, mineral, cream and praline character. It’s full and very layered with chewy intensity and a long, bitter-lemon and almost honey finish. Pretty phenolic tension, too.

Wine Advocate (96)

The 2019 Grand-Puy-Lacoste exhibits notions of minty cassis, plums, loamy soil, burning embers and cigar wrapper, followed by a medium to full-bodied, rich and velvety palate that’s deep and concentrated, its generous core of lively fruit concealing an elegantly muscular chassis of ripe, powdery tannin. Consisting of fully 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is another true classic from the Borie family.

Wine Advocate (100)

Deep garnet colored, the 2010 L'Eglise Clinet begins unassumingly with gentle notions of fragrant dried flowers and wild sage leading to savory nut and meat characters over an expanding core of preserved plums, blueberry compote and black cherry coulis plus a waft of menthol. Full-bodied, concentrated and wonderfully decadent, the palate is absolutely packed with rich, ripe black fruit preserves and loads of spicy sparks, framed by super ripe, super plush tannins, finishing very long and decadent. I love the interplay of subtly and power here - this is truly a WOW wine!

Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux (97)

You just know that this estate is well placed to succeed in the vintage, and this really does walk the line of ripeness and salinity, such gorgeous definition and vivid energetic fruit. Stretches out through the palate also, has a relaxed confidece to it that is quite unusual in such a full--on vintage. Really impressive, Beaumartin family, David Suire director.

James Suckling (95-96)

This is a tighter and more compact Petit Mouton with a full-bodied, compact palate that is framed nicely by the tannins. Savory and juicy. Structured. Contained. 79% cabernet sauvignon, 12% merlot, 7% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot. Better than 2022?

Vinous - Neal Martin (95)

The 2014 Léoville Poyferré has a very complex bouquet with blackberry, bilberry, crushed stone, cedar and hints of violet. It is extremely focused, intense rather than overtly powerful. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp and generous, conveying much more tension and precision than the Léoville Las-Cases. It gradually fans out in the second half with real mineralité, quite profound in the context of the vintage. Outstanding. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

James Suckling (95-96)

This is an excellent Lynch that starts off slowly and then drives at the end with dark fruit and hints of hazelnuts. Strong and focused tannins. A beautiful young wine.

Jeb Dunnuck (98+)

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.

James Suckling (96)

I love the deep and complex nose, in which the cassis and mint of cabernet sauvignon are beautifully married to the more generous blackberry of ripe merlot and the vanilla and toasty notes from the oak are marvelously integrated. On the palate it creeps up on you slowly; the first impression is ripe yet delicate, then the fine-grained tannins charge through and light up the sky. Very long finish. Drink or hold.

Vinous - Neal Martin (95)

The 2020 Malartic-Lagravière, which represents just 40% of the total production, was cropped at 26hL/ha. It has a very delineated nose with intense blackberry, raspberry, sous-bois and incense aromas that just "sing" of Pessac-Léognan. The palate is medium-bodied, finely-knit tannins, fresh and vibrant with beguiling purity. Harmonious and silky smooth, it belies the depth and complexity of this marvelous Malartic. This is superb and it will mature beautifully in bottle.

Wine Advocate (96)

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Marquis d'Alesme Becker leaps from the glass with gregarious notions of plum preserves, crème de cassis and Black Forest cake with hints of potpourri, star anise, menthol and tapenade. Full, rich, firm and grainy, with fantastic freshness lifting the densely packed palate, it has a long, beautifully fragrant finish.

Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux (98-100)

High Cabernet, and the grape is dominant not just in blend but character, totally delicious, with tension, flesh, and confidence, building layers of black fruits, graphite, cocoa bean, espresso, pomegranate and smoked earth throughout the palate. When Cabernet works at Mouton, it is hard to beat, and it's on full display in 2023. One of my clear wines of the vintage. Of any vintage. 100% new oak for ageing. 40% grand vin, harvest September 7 to 30.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (93)

The 2019 Paveil de Luze is bursting at the seams with super-ripe dark red fruit, kirsch, blood orange, rose petal and spice. There's good freshness to play off some of the more exotic flavors. This is an especially racy Margaux with tons of character. The 2019 is impressive, just as it was from barrel.

Wine Advocate (98)

The 2018 Pontet-Canet is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. It was aged in 55% oak barriques and 45% amphorae. Deep garnet-purple colored, it explodes from the glass with an atomic perfume of raspberry pie, blackcurrant pastilles, rose oil and Chinese five spice, giving way to suggestions of cinnamon stick, dusty soil, pencil lead and underbrush. The rich, seductive, full-bodied palate is a hedonist's dream, delivering layer-upon-layer of black and red berry preserves with loads of fragrant accents, a beautifully firm yet plush texture and tons of freshness, finishing long with a whole firework display of exotic spices. This is pretty much out-of-the-gate delicious, but it has the backbone to evolve over three decades or more.

James Suckling (99)

The aromas to this are really amazing, with a potpourri of spices and dried flowers, as well as redcurrants, sweet plums and even some peaches. Full-bodied with layers of ripe fruit and ultra-fine tannins that spread across the palate in an encompassing yet always elegant and pure way. It’s succulent and unadulterated. Like crushed, perfectly ripened grapes. The length is rather endless. The tannins build. Fabulous young red. 35% in amphora and the rest in 50% new oak and 15% one-year oak. 65% cabernet sauvignon and 30% merlot, the rest cabernet franc and petit verdot. From biodynamically grown grapes. Try after 2028, but an absolute joy to taste now.

James Suckling (92-93)

A solid red with a dense palate of ripe fruit, chewy tannins and a savory finish. This shows structure and reserve. Excellent second wine from Rauzan.

Jancis Robinson (18)

Tasted blind. Rich and rather opulent nose. Simple and easy with good refreshing raciness. Could be Rauzan-Ségla? Good and complete. Really zesty. Likely to be VGV.

Scoring 98 points from the Wine Advocate's Lisa Perrotti-Brown, 97 points from Decanter's Jane Anson and 18.5/20 from Jancis Robinson MW, this 2009 "remains the benchmark Suduiraut of recent years".

 

Still taking a while to open up fully, indicting a very long life ahead, it has a "divine bouquet... building layer upon layer" (NM) that "seductively unfurls" (WA) with gorgeous notes of honey, dried pineapple, chamomile tea, yellow flowers and nectarine. The rich, viscous and satiny texture of the palate is "effortlessly" countered by a "beautiful razor-sharp line of acidity" (NM) that gives this Sauternes bags of freshness. With "epic length and depth" (WA) on the finish, this is a wine that will span generations with Neal Martin giving it a drinking window up to 2070.

James Suckling (96-97)

Blueberry and blackberry character with hints of white pepper and chalk. Salty, too. Full-bodied, tight and polished with fantastic texture and length. Very closed and tight with gorgeous tannin quality.