A seductive mix of powerful, opulent blackberry and raspberry fruits cut through with vibrant juice, flint, crushed rocks, chocolate and liquorice. The texture is lucious on the opening, but as you sit with it, the...

95+ The 2018 Pichon Baron has a deep garnet-purple color. It starts off with savory notes of black olives, sauteed herbs, chargrill, and beef dripping, over a core of crème de cassis and stewed plums. Medium to...

Expressing notes of cherries, graphite, shaving pencil, flowers and cassis, the 2018 Marsau is medium to full-bodied with a textural attack and juicy texture that is round and pleasant on the mid-palate. However, it...

Impressive linearity and salinity. For once, I notice the winemaking, with greater fruit purity such as juicy plum and ripe blackberry. Gone is the drying finish of noticeable oak tannin from earlier vintages. 'In 15...

This is richly textured, velvety with dark black cherry and damson fruit character, reflecting the higher alcohol typical of the vintage. Violet floral notes add balance, and this has lenght and sllky tannins, with...

The 2018 La Rose Perrière has come together beautifully since I last tasted it. Rich, deep and sumptuous, the 2018 possesses terrific depth and density from start to finish. Inky dark fruit, chocolate, licorice, spice...

(91+ points) A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot and aged in 50% new oak, the deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Fonbadet rolls effortless out of the glass with evocative scents of stewed black plums...

A wine that will take time to balance out, this has dense, dark and dry tannins at this stage. These underline the richness of the black fruits and acidity, giving a wine that will need to age to lose its firm edge. Drink...

The Bonnies' work in the vineyard and the vines' maturity is paying off in more complexity, precision and silkier tannins, with elevated, layered aromas and flavours. The bouquet is herbs and lavender, the juicy, open and...

A field blend of 41% Merlot, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc, the 2018 Klein BX Blend is straight-up brilliant stuff, offering a killer bouquet of ripe darker cherry and currant fruits as well as dried...

The 2018 Grand Mayne has a deep garnet-purple color. It delivers notes of cedar chest and new leather, over a core of ripe, juicy plums, blackberry preserves, and menthol. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is firm...

(97+ points) Composed of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc with a pH of 3.57 and 14.52% alcohol, the 2018 Pavie Decesse is deep garnet-purple in color, bounding out of the glass with exuberant notes of stewed black and...

(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...

From the partner estate to Château Giscours, this wine is as elegant as you would expect. While it is structured, it also has ripe fruits, rich tannins and great potential. The dry and firm core of this wine will propel...

Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Les Rocheuses offers notes of baked blackberries, preserved plums and dried mulberries with touches of spice box, unsmoked cigars and potpourri. The full-bodied palate (15%...

Beautiful black cherry and blueberry fruits as well as spice, cedary pencil, violets, and chocolaty earth emerge from the 2018 Château Vieux Maillet. Medium to full-bodied, it has a rounded, elegant texture, beautiful...

A blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot, the 2018 d’Armailhac has a deep garnet color, with a touch of purple. It charges out of the gate with notes of crème de cassis...

An exuberant vintage all around, and this is in the zeitgeist of the year, if not the appellation. Trace of heat, and the extraction is pretty charged, which makes things abrupt on the finish but the tannins are chewy and...

Blackberries, elderberries, incense and subtle licorice and thyme on the nose. The palate is full-bodied with firmness, delicate dark berry flavors, structured tannins and ripe fruit. This needs aeration or time in the...

The 2018 Mouton Rothschild is deep garnet-purple in color. It sashays out of the glass with vibrant scents of kirsch, juicy blackcurrants, and black raspberries, plus suggestions of lavender, cedar, and camphor, with a...