This vintage has a lean structure with firm tanins, ripe plums and truffle; the oak dominates from start to grippy finish. - SUZANNE MUSTACICH

The 2019 Malescot St. Exupery has a deep garnet-purple color. It is a little broody and subdued to start, opening out to notes of tar, fragrant earth, and crushed rocks, over a core of fresh blackcurrants and stewed...

The 2019 Clos de l'Olive, crafted from vines planted on clay and limestone soils, shows a darker, somber bouquet of dark wild berries, spices and dark chocolate mingled with gently green bell pepper notes, followed by a...

Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Poesia rolls out with ready-to-go notes of fresh blackberries, red currant jelly, and juicy black plums with hints of rose oil, dried lavender, and tar. The medium to...

(97 + points) Les Carmes Haut-Brion 2019 has a deep garnet-purple color. It has a lifted nose of kirsch and redcurrant jelly, with hints of rose oil, Indian spices, and tobacco leaf. The medium-bodied palate is intense...

A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc, the 2019 Lafon-Rochet is deep garnet-purple in color. It is quite closed to begin, revealing glimpses at blackcurrant jelly, fresh blackberries, and...

The 2019 Chinon Clos de l'Echo, showing less oak influence than its 2018 counterpart, offers a bouquet of flowers, dark wild berries, baked plums and spices. Medium to full-bodied, enveloping and round, it’s concentrated...

Made from 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc, the 2019 d'Aiguilhe is medium to deep garnet-purple colored. It needs a little swirling to reveal notes of crushed black cherries, black raspberries, and violets, plus wafts of...

The 2019 de Fieuzal has a deep garnet-purple color. It bursts with ripe notes of prunes, fruitcake, and Chinese five spice, plus touches of dried lavender and black olives. The medium-bodied palate coats the mouth with...

The 2019 Canon la Gaffeliere, a blend of 49% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Franc, and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, is deep garnet-purple in color. Wild blueberries, kirsch, and black raspberry notes waft from the glass with hints of...

After 12 months in wood, the wine has a fine spicy edge. That balances the rich black fruits with their floral character. This is a ripe wine that has plenty of potential. Drink from 2026. ROGER VOSS

A blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, the 2019 d’Armailhac has a deep garnet color, with a touch of purple. It gallops out with open-knit, flamboyant scents of black...

The 2019 Bellefont-Belcier is composed of 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple in color, it opens with cedar and clove oil scents over a core of plum pudding, blackberry preserves...

The 2019 d’Issan has a deep garnet-purple color. It features notes of redcurrant jelly, kirsch, and cassis, with nuances of tobacco leaf and cedar. The medium-bodied palate is chewy and refreshing, with soft-spoken fruit...

95+ The 2019 Laroque, composed of 97% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc, is deep garnet-purple in color. It sports cedary overtones to start off, giving way to notes of stewed black plums, blueberry pie, and Chinese five spice...

The 2019 Prieure-Lichine has a medium to deep garnet-purple color. It rolls out with open-knit notes of plum preserves, wild blueberries, and cardamom, leading to suggestions of pencil shavings and raspberry leaves. The...

Focused and structured, this generous wine offers a freshly picked basket of ripe lemon verbena, Bosc pear, Gala apples and pomelo balanced by a delicate, nervy finish of freshly cut grass, wet stone and button mushrooms...

The 2019 Haut-Batailley has a very attractive, wonderfully delineated bouquet, with blood orange tincturing the vibrant black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, slightly peppery in style with real depth...

Love the depth of the palate, this is delicious with a scrape of tannins that are ripe and powerful without straying over the line into heavy. Love the balance of this 2019, sculputed cassis and bilberry fruits...

More mineral and tense than the 2020, the 2019 Saumur Blanc Clos Romans reveals aromas of flowers, acacia, crushed stones, lemon, ripe orchard fruits and spices. Medium to full-bodied, round and precise, it’s dense and...

Slightly denser and more concentrated than the 2018, the 2019 Côtes Du Roussillon Villages Les Trois Marie reveals a deep ruby/plum hue as well as classic Grenache notes of candied strawberries, blueberries, peppery...

This is sufficiently reduced that I would strongly advise giving it a thorough aeration if you're tempted to try a bottle young. The sleek, intense and delicious bigger-bodied flavors possess excellent verve while...

(91-93 points) This too is sufficiently reduced to mask the underlying fruit, but it seems clear that it is ripe. More interesting are the finer and less powerful though no less concentrated medium weight flavors that...

The 2019 L'Evangile is composed of 83.5% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Franc, and 0.5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple in color, it has classic notes of plum preserves, crushed rocks, and tar with nuances of cedar chest...

The 2019 Malartic Lagraviere is deep garnet-purple in color. It is quite closed to begin, delivering notes of cedar and tar, before opening out to an array of black cherries, mulberries, cassis, and fragrant earth scents...

This has a perfumed, pretty nose of dried violets, cloves, blackberries, chocolate cherries and tobacco leaves. Full-bodied with firm, fine and powdery tannins. Mouth-coating and expansive, with sweet spice to close...

An alluring red, with fresh boysenberry and black pepper-dusted plum flavors underscored by smoked bacon, charred cedar and mocha. Pure and polished, this is well-built and seductive. Drink now through 2030. - J.M.

A glorious iteration of the superb Clos de l’Echelier cuvée, coming from a 2.5ha vineyard of 40-year-old Cabernet Franc surrounded by a 300-year-old wall. Having implemented organic farming in the 1990s, and biodynamic...