Wine Spectator: A young wine that electrifies every taste bud in your mouth. Compacted aromas of crushed currants and minerals, with roses and lilacs. Full-bodied, with masses of silky, refin...

Wine Spectator: Extremely attractive aromas of blackberries and currants with just a hint of mineral and oak. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a long, long finish. As it was from barrel; p...

Wine Spectator: Loads of ripe currants, licorice and toasted oak on the nose. Subtle yet impressive. Full-bodied, with a solid core of ripe fruit and chewy tannins. Big and juicy. Deep midpal...

Wine Spectator: This is dense and muscular, but balanced, with the flesh to offset the sinew, as pure mulled black currant, melted fig and crushed plum fruit is caressed by substantial but fi...

Wine Spectator: This is dense and muscular, but balanced, with the flesh to offset the sinew, as pure mulled black currant, melted fig and crushed plum fruit is caressed by substantial but fi...

Wine Spectator: A nice, old-school style, with roasted mesquite, tobacco leaf and espresso flavors up front, following through to bittersweet ganache and mulled dark currant notes on the stil...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: Laville's 1996 is one of the lighter-styled efforts from this estate in the nineties. Nevertheless, it has managed to cram gorgeous levels of complexity and elegance into a ci...

Wine Spectator: Shows mineral, flint, green apple skin and citrus fruit on the nose. Very intense and focused. Racy. Has a powerful, full-bodied palate, with a thick, layered structure, fabul...

Wine Spectator: A forward style, with dark cassis, blackberry and black cherry notes spiked with a hint of damson plum. Long and velvety through the finish, with hints of black tea and tobacc...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: The second wine, the 2009 Le Clementin du Pape Clement, is made from a similar blend. It is more loosely put together with sweet tannin and lots of red and black fruits interm...

Wine Spectator: At its peak. Medium-dark ruby, with an amber edge. Cherry, coffee and cedar aromas. Medium-bodied, with sweet berry flavors and caressing, velvety tannins. Delicious, but slig...

Wine Spectator: Beautiful wine with wonderful subtlety and finesse. Complex aromas and flavors of tobacco, plum and berries, full bodied yet reserved and silky. Drink or hold.--The Bordeaux 5...

Wine Spectator: A mouthful for the vintage, with its lovely berry, chocolate and tobacco aromas and flavors, medium to full body and chewy tannins. Fresh finish. Better in 1999.

Wine Spectator: Gorgeous aromas of crushed blackberries and flowers. Medium- to full-bodied, with well-knit tannins and a silky, caressing palate. Long. This is a wonderful wine. Lots of fine...

Wine Spectator: Very attractive blackberry and vanilla aromas follow through to a full-bodied palate, with chewy tannins and a medium finish...

Wine Spectator: 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 incre...

Wine Spectator: 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 incre...

Wine Spectator: Alluring, with warm fig sauce, plum and currant paste notes liberally laced with espresso bean and dark roasted vanilla bean notes. Fleshy but focused, with the roasted edge a...

Wine Spectator: Still tannic, but there's plenty of fruit and spice to enjoy, if less clearly articulated than in other vintages.--Léoville Las Cases vertical. Drink now through 1994. (HS)