A bit woodsy in feel now, with a youthfully raw edge, as singed sandalwood and alder notes liberally frame the core of dark cherry, plum and black currant fruit. This has length and drive, with a smoldering feel echoing...

The brilliant 2011 Troplong Mondot is one of the superstars of the vintage. The final blend was 89% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, and the wine tips the scales at 14.5% alcohol. Its opaque...

Less celebrated than 2009 and 2010, and you can feel the fruit is a little less intense through the mid-palate. Heaped with blackberry and morello cherries, the fruit is carefully placed though, well balanced and with...

The savoury, floral edge of Cabernet on gravel is fully on display, and it needs time in the glass to soften and unroll. After a few minutes, the smoky side comes out, and the lean but concentrated berry fruit, although...

Great swathes of fruit cross the tannic core in this impressive wine. Hints of wood aging peek out from beneath the sumptuous richness and spice. It is ripe, dense and obviously set for long aging. Drink from 2018.

(94-96). Barrel sample. Showing a judicious blend of new wood and ripe fruit, this is a wine that has a creamed-apple texture. It's full of bright grapefruit, sweet apple and green plum flavors.

(WE93-95 points) A firm and tannic wine, it has the weight to support its tannins. It's balanced, solid and dense, with a powerful shot of black fruits.

At first the tannins keep this pretty tight, but as it opens up there is an elegance and finesse, along with a subtle floral expression that is clearer in the Château Margaux than the Pavillon. Juicy on the finish, and as...

Exhibits very pretty red currant violet and red licorice notes with a sleek mineral-tinged finish. This is also sneakily long relying more on purity than power. This could move up if it puts on weight.-J.M.

(WE94-96 points) Big and powerful this is a wine that is supported by dense tannins. The feeling is dry and firm with a brooding black-currant character.

The structure remains fairly closed, with the emphasis on floral notes. Elegant raspberry fruits, finessed, crushed stone and slate texture, with gentle peony and smoke aromatics. It suits the style of Armailhac as it was...

This wine is based on tannins yet it also has weight and a complex fruit structure. Its power lies in the density of its texture.

The 2011 Pape Clement, a blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, was aged 18 months in new French oak before being bottled unfiltered. Absolutely profound, with a complex...

The 2011 Pavie is composed of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon (14.3% alcohol). It possesses a certain approachability, which is somewhat disarming for the big, robust, super-concentrated and...

A Duhart that was particularly subdued when young, it is continuing to develop and will be even better in two or three years. Plenty of juice, dark fruits and firm tannins. It's a wine with so much freshness that you get...

This is typical of the ripe and opulent style of this property with superripe black currant fruit. It's concentrated in flavor, but also structured with smooth tannins. It's a wine both for short-term fruitiness and...

Fabulous aromas of crushed berries, black truffles and cocoa. Full body with super-integrated tannins and a beautiful finish. This is fantastic for the second wine of Lafleur although the owner says the wine comes from a...

The 2011 Hermitage Cuvee Emilie has closed down since I tasted it on release, yet it still shows ample potential. Black fruits, smoked herbs, leather, charcoal and ample meatiness all give way to a full-bodied wine that...

Complex aromas of blackberry and whole white truffles with hints of wet earth and stones. Full body and structured with gorgeous, velvety tannins, but reserved and polished. Very long finish with fabulous fruit. Goes on...

This is the first vintage of Jacques Thienpont's new wine, over the border in St-Émilion. Eight hectares of 30-year-old vines, harvested three weeks later than at Le Pin. 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. Spicy, ripe and...

While the increments to which I refer are small they are nonetheless noticeable as this is aromatically slightly fresher, more elegant and more complex all at once. The highly expressive nose is gorgeously layered, spicy...

(91-92) Scents of creme de cassis, chocolate, and nutmeg entice from the glass of Liger-Belair’s 2011 Moulin-a-Vent La Roche, though the torrefactive aspect here is no doubt prompted in large part by the wine’s low-sulfur...

This rich red is suave and ripe, laced with black cherry, black currant and oak spice flavors. Balanced and supple, with complexity and a lingering aftertaste of sweet fruit, mineral and spice. Best from 2016 through...

This complex wine has rich tannins and layers of new wood atop dark black berries. At the same time, it is rounding out well, offering spice, sweet acidity and a terse freshness that is infectious. It's a very fruity wine...

Delivers a solid, racy beam of raspberry coulis, black currant paste and blackberry fruit, underscored by a racy graphite spine. Flashes of fruitcake and tar show on the finish. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from...

Fabulous aromas of crushed berries, black truffles and cocoa. Full body with super-integrated tannins and a beautiful finish. This is fantastic for the second wine of Lafleur although the owner says the wine comes from a...

Clos Fourtet is a continuing success. This 2011 is both rich and seriously structured. Ripe, with a mineral character, it starts firm and then shows generous blackberry fruits. Still young, it should not be drunk before 2018.

The 2011 Nuits St.Georges Les Allots has a striking bouquet, more immediate than the Pommard with lifted mineralite, beautifully defined and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with filigree tannins, waves of black...