The dried-fruit and wet-earth character are eye-catching with some cedar and sandalwood. Full body, tight tannins and super polish and finesse. Velvety. A great second wine of Château Pavie. Try in 2022.

Grand-Puy Ducasse 2015 is medium to deep garnet in color. It slips slowly and sensuously out of the glass with notes of blackcurrant preserves, warm plums, and mulberries plus hints of baking spices, potpourri and bay...

A sinuous line of tannins runs through this structured wine. It lifts the dark plum and berry fruits and give shape to the spicy, firm wine. As the estate builds in strength, the style of this perfumed, stylish wine will...

Cellar Selection. This is a great vintage from Lafite. The profile is rich in feel, with a seriously firm tannic structure. Solid, complex and with great authority, this Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant wine, is impressively...

Plenty of spicy, savory oak influence comes to the fore above a vibrant array of cassis, blackberries and plums. The palate has rich and powerful tannins that roll sturdy and long, carrying plenty of deep cherry and plum...

Impressive richness and clarity of red and dark berries. Lightly spiced-pastry aromas, too. The palate has a very crisp, polished and groomed tannin texture, as well as super fresh flavors that carry long. Great wine. Try...

This family-owned estate has produced a structured and dark wine with great concentration balanced by acidity and pure, creamy fruit. It is a wine with a good future. The aftertaste leaves juicy acidity and firm tannins...

Solid tannins mark this still very young wine. At the same time, the fruit is rich and well proportioned. Black currants dominate the fruity spectrum, giving the wine richness as well as great potential. Drink from 2025...

Impressive depth to the wine from the outset with a gently smoky edge to the ripe blackberries, blueberries and red plums. Some attractive spicy oak here, too. The mid-weight palate has a very composed and linear shape...

A wine I was able to taste on multiple occasions, the 2015 Troplong Mondot is a tour de force that readers need to snatch up. This cuvee comes from the cool, clay and limestone soils on the upper plateau (it’s the highest...

Showing just a hint of lightening in the color, the wine is showy from the get-go with its nuances of black and red currants, spice, flowers, creme de cassis, thyme, smoke, and licorice in the perfume. On the palate, the...

Pure perfection in a glass and unquestionably one of the great vintages for this cuvée, the 2015 Pavie is a blend of 60% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon that was brought up in 80% new French...

There’s immediate appeal to the nose and palate. Both are bathed in blackberries and dark plums. The tannins are superbly cut and very long and fresh. The oak chimes in with spicy flavors and bolsters plush grape tannins...

2015 was an exceptional vintage in this part of the world, making many second wines a shrewd value purchase. Luckily this doesn't disappoint, although I cannot recommend highly enough that you go for the 2010 at this...

Attractive red berries and light licorice notes with a lick of iodine lead to a palate that has plenty of red-fruit and -licorice flavors. Smoothly groomed tannins and a fresh cherry-pip finish. Try from 2020.

This is very tight and compacted with a condensed palate of currant and dark-berry character. A salty and mineral undertone to the wine. Full body and firm and linear tannins. Focused and intense. Long and precise on the...

This wine is a little austere, while showing good aging potential. It has spice, acidity and the weight of fruit as it develops. With its juicy berry flavors still submerged by the firm tannins, it will take its time...

(WE94-96 points) Beautiful dusty tannins permeate this ripe wine. It has a smooth and rich texture, with bright blackberry flavors and a refreshing, vibrant close.

A clarity and transparency to this pretty red with currant, lemon-peel and lemon-grass character. Full body, very fine tannins and a pretty texture. Precise wine. Drink or hold.

This could hit 100 Pts when fully mature. And, why not? There is a gorgeous symmetry here, balancing intensity, concentration, length, purity, and elegance, along with a close to seamless finish that delivers layer after...

This is extraordinary. The wine is so silky, it is effortless to taste and drink. The fruits paint your palate. But the wine is light on its feet. Sensuous, sexy and racy, the fruit offers a melange of red and black...

This firm wine shows the tannic side of the vintage. Those tannins are dusty, enriched with black-currant fruits and a dense backdrop. The wine is concentrated and elegant, very ageworthy and not likely to be ready before...

The 2015 La Closerie de Fourtet is silky, perfumed and quite pretty. Sweet red cherry, tobacco, dried cherry and mint grace this second wine of Clos Fourtet.

Inviting dark violets on the nose with a fresh earthy undercurrent and intense blueberries, cassis and blackberry fruits. Some orange peel, too. The palate’s silky, smooth, supple and seamless. Superb. Drink or hold.

Sweet floral aromas, as well as potpourri, earth-dusted dark berries and cassis. The palate’s dusty tannins are bathed in rich, dark berry and plum flavors. Great plushness and intensity here. A weighty finish. Drink or hold.

So much floral and dark-fruit character with almonds and walnut shell. Full body and ultra-fine tannins. Powerful. Classic style with a harmony and energy. Goes on for minutes. A superb wine with great fruit. Real...

Aromas of iron, rust and hot stones with currants and dark berries follow through to a full body, firm and ultra-silky tannins and a long and polished finish. Racy and driven. Drink in 2022.

This 17-hectare estate has been rejuvenated by owner Jean-Louis Triaud and is certainly producing some of the top wines from the appellation today. I tasted the deep, inky-colored 2015 Château Saint-Pierre twice and it’s...

The firm tannins in this wine are dense and concentrated, ripe rather than dry. The fruit and juicy acidity give the wine richness and crispness at the same time. It has a great future. Drink from 2025.