(97-99 points) Crème de cassis and black raspberry fruits intermixed with spring flowers, graphite, tobacco leaf, and spicy wood all emerge from the 2025 Château Gruaud Larose, a deep purple-hued Saint-Julien based on 77%...

Aromas of wild herbs, walnuts, sweet tobacco and a gentle earthy note. Medium- to full-bodied with delineated dark fruit and integrated tannins. Elegant and precise, offering wonderful depth. Approachable now, but its...

(97-99 points) Deep purple-hued and completely opaque, the blockbuster 2025 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou checks in as 79% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Merlot, all resting in 100% new barrels. The nose is rich and concentrated...

(97-100 points) Based on a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Merlot that's resting in 80% new barrels, the 2025 Château Léoville Las Cases is one of the wines of the vintage and just has an...

A nose of inviting chocolate powder and dark fruits - very specifically aromatic, after a few minutes the soft florals and medicinal herbs come into play. Super sleek, but not round to begin with, more direct and...

The 2015 Talbot has an exuberant nose with black cherry, bilberry, wild mint and brown spice aromas. This has fine delineation and well-integrated oak. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit mixed with game and...

In 2003, this was the second wine of Leoville Las Cases as opposed to a separate entity. A brilliant effort, it was harvested between September 11 and 26, and boasts 13.3% natural alcohol. The final blend was 54% Cabernet...

This vintage shows great precision at four years of age, though still very young and precocious. Deep mineral tones leap from the glass, the crushed slate, smoke and bright blue fruits accented by a savoury note of...

Good, firm fruits are well placed, with notes of cedar, liquorice and cassis – this really is an enjoyable Talbot that offers the promise of a long life. There's enjoyable grip and tenacity through the palate, with spicy...

An imposing wine with a great sweep of flavors and tannins. Powerful black currant fruits are allied to the elegance and style for which this wine is always noted. Intense acidity is tempered by richness and balanced by a...

A blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc, the 2021 Leoville Barton was aged in 60% new oak. It has a deep garnet-purple color and it gently wafts from the glass with classic scents of cassis...

A spicy and fat, rich wine, atypical of Bordeaux. There is grip and depth of flavour here, with blackcurrant coulis character and some lovely menthol edging. A balanced wine.

(93-95 points) Sporting a vivid purple hue, the 2025 Château Gloria offers up cassis, assorted red and blue fruits, liquid violets, and classy oak. Based on 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, and 4%...

The 2006 Leoville Barton has a deep brick color. It skips out of the glass with cheery, carefree notes of black cherry compote, redcurrant jelly, and cassis, followed by wafts of dried roses, cinnamon toast, and crushed...

This has evolved beautifully. The oak has integrated and the palate has filled out. Now, you find a lush expression of blackberries, cassis, tobacco and dark cherries. Full, deep, rich, and long, with 60 minutes in the...

The 2009 Leoville Poyferre is medium to deep garnet-brick in color. It bursts from the glass with bombastic notions of kirsch, raspberry preserves, warm cassis, and stewed plums, plus suggestions of Ceylon tea, candied...

Generous and stylish, with a mouthwatering apple wood thread that curls in and around a core of gently mulled boysenberry, blueberry and blackberry compote flavors. Flashes of dried anise and cast iron flitter through...

The AOC’s typical forthright spine of graphite runs through this red, along with textbook flavors of black currant, blackberry and boysenberry paste that show intensity and definition. A cast iron accent lurks through the...

Melted tannins, juicy black fruits, finessed appellation signature, this opens to grilled blackberry and bilberries, brambed and pureed, with slate tannins and a wave of campfire smoke. Well balanced acidity also, this is...

The 2021 Léoville Poyferré is deep garnet‑purple in color. Alluring scents of lavender, orange peel, and mint tea pop from the glass, giving way to a core of red currant jelly and red cherry preserves, plus a hint of...

From a château just across the street from Beychevelle, in the southern part of Saint-Julien, the 2010 Château Branaire-Ducru is largely Cabernet Sauvignon yet includes 24% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot...

Deep garnet in color, the 2016 Gruaud Larose slowly unfurls to offer glimpses at gorgeous scents of black cherries, warm cassis, and lilacs, followed by hints of licorice, dried flowers, and crushed rocks with a touch of...

This is a blend of 55.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38.5% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc, the press wine is a confident 18.5% of the total, and the élevage was in 39% new oak. This is dark and brooding on the nose, the fruit...

(96-98 points) A brilliant, deeply hued wine, the 2025 Château Beychevelle is based on 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot, and is still resting in 70% new oak. One of the earliest harvests ever...

The 2023 Branaire-Ducru is a real success, revealing aromas of dark berries, plums, licorice and lead pencil, subtly accented by spice. Medium- to full-bodied, seamless and layered, it is built around a vibrant, finely...

A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot, the 2019 Ducru-Beaucaillou is deep garnet-purple in color. It has closed a little since last tasting a few months ago, requiring considerable shaking to bring out notes of...

The 2003 Leoville Poyferre is medium garnet with a touch of brick. It sashays out of the glass with a beautiful nose of kirsch, raspberry pie, Black Forest cake, and chocolate box plus hints of wilted rose petals...

The 2023 Gruaud Larose has turned out beautifully, unwinding in the glass with complex aromas of cassis, dark berries, burning embers, petroleum jelly and violets. Medium- to full-bodied, it's suave and polished, with...