Dark, deep, rich, earthy, chocolatey, tobacco-stained black currants that caress your palate with a serious depth of flavor, density, richness, and density. This has just entered the start of its drinking window. Drink...

The 2018 La Gaffelière is hands down one of the wines of the vintage. Towering in its stature and vertical lift, the 2018 dazzles right out of the gate. Inky dark fruit, mocha, spice, licorice and leather all run through...

Inky in color, you have a hard time seeing into the glass. The wine opens with notes of wet clay, flowers, black plums, truffle, black currants, and blackberries. On the palate, the wine is intensely concentrated with...

This is a very linear red and layered at the same time, showing blackberry, blueberry, black-truffle, bark and stone character. Chalk and minerality, too. It’s full-bodied and well framed with gorgeous intensity and...

Ripe black fruits shine through this balanced wine, showing strongly against a backdrop of rich, generous tannins. This estate is one to watch as it achieves the form the vineyard deserves. Expect this wine to be ready to...

An immensely structured wine, this is complex, concentrated and yet so contained. The wine impresses with its balance, layers of succulent black-currant fruits and effortless style. A wine for the long term, it should not...

Aromas of currants, walnuts and blackberries follow through to a full-bodied palate with fine, chewy tannins and a linear finish. Shows polish and beautiful length. Lovely second wine. Try after 2025.

Every bit as good as the 2009, and I think better than the 2010 and 2016, the 2018 Château Léoville Poyferré is a total thrill that tops out my scale. Based on 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet...

Coming from 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc brought up in 60% new French oak, the 2018 Château Pape Clement from Bernard Magrez is a gorgeous wine that's performing even better from bottle...

(98+ points) 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...

Aromas of blackberry, plum, cocoa, iodine, clove and graphite. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, silky tannins. Tightly wound and mineral at the moment, with dusty gravel and graphite notes, yet with focus and...

A brilliant Léoville, continuing to impress as it has every time I have tasted it. The width and depth of the ripe tannins is matched pace for pace by an elegance to the cassis, bilberry, blackcurrant fruit. As it opens...

(98+ points) The 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...

One of the more notable successes in Pessac-Léognan is this 2018 thanks to its wonderful bouquet of red cherry, spring flowers, cedar and liquorice, graphite aromas and elegant earthy notes. With building tannins, a...

If awards were given out for sensuality, this gem would take the trophy. Incredibly sexy, with its velvet drenched textures, silky tannins and opulent personality, this wine stands out in a crowd. The nose, with its...

(93 - 95)Blended of 85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, the deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Mangot is a little closed to begin, unfurling to show off bright blackberry, crushed blueberries and warm...

Wow, that's what I am talking about! Flowers and crushed rocks galore, with layers of sweet, perfectly ripe, cherries and plums that offers incredible purity. Elegant, silky and sexy, with a seamless finish gracefully...

This estate is in a cool, limestone terroir on the eastern side of Saint- Emilion, and it's been firing on all cylinders over the past decade, in no small part due to the talented director, David Suire. The 2018 Château...

Blackcurrant, pine cone, walnut, crushed gravel and dried flowers on the nose. It’s medium-bodied with firm, fine-grained tannins and fresh acidity. Sleek and refined. Try from 2023.

This could be the wine of the vintage! Profound in every sense, the wine smells like you walked into a flower shop carrying a bushel of just picked red and black pit fruits and berries and your pockets were filled with an...

This estate is in a cool, limestone terroir on the eastern side of Saint- Emilion, and it's been firing on all cylinders over the past decade, in no small part due to the talented director, David Suire. The 2018 Château...

Aromas of ripe berry, mushroom, ash and smoke follow through to a full body with a ripe, juicy center palate and lots of creamy tannins that are balanced and refined. Generous and very intense. Tight palate now. Give it...

Owned by the Kressmann family, this estate has released an ageworthy wine. Rich tannins are balanced by dark, juicy blackberry fruits and dense, concentrated tannins. The wine needs to age, so drink from 2026. - Roger Voss

This great estate in southern Pauillac, facing the Latour vineyard, is at the top of its game. In this release, the tannins are as impressive and dense as the black fruits. Together they form a harmonious ensemble, richly...

(92-95 points) Warm and steeped in feel, with fig, blackberry and plum fruit notes, layered with tobacco and warm earth details. A strong showing. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now. - JM

With a remarkable depth of color, the wine opens from the glass with touches of espresso, smoke, tobacco, flowers, spice and an array of red and black fruits. Full-bodied, richly textured, opulent, velvety and silken, the...

This one I found more difficult en primeur - more austere than Les Argileuses, but as is often the case in a more limestone-dominant wine, it just needed a few years to unwind. Lovely now, very different from its sibling...

The 2018 Haut-Brion is composed of 49.4% Merlot, 38.7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11.9% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, the wine needs a lot of swirling before it begins to release a whole complex melody of...

(94-96+ points) The 2018 Château La Fleur De Boüard Le Plus is cut from the same cloth yet has another level of density and richness on the palate. Blackcurrants, cassis, smoked tobacco, graphite, and charcoal notes all...

Coming from 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc brought up in 60% new French oak, the 2018 Château Pape Clement from Bernard Magrez is a gorgeous wine that's performing even better from bottle...