Stephen Brook: Opaque red. Superb nose of distilled blackcurrants and crème de cassis, but refreshed by a mintiness that may be oak-derived. Has purity and elegance, and it really isn’t fanciful to discern a cousinhood with neighboring Mouton. Plump, voluptuous, highly concentrated; has punch, intensity, and vigor. But it’s not just a massive mouthful of fruit and ripe tannin; there’s freshness here, too, and even delicacy. A year ago, I thought this was one of the wines of the vintage, and nothing here dissuades me from that view. Has stunning impact and weight, with no trace of blowsiness or overextraction. 19

Andrew Jefford: Dense purple-black; still opaque. Meaty, solid, beefy fruits with a sweet hinterland, hugely attractive. Intense, full-flavored, and full-textured, with a fine fruit core of wholly ripe Cabernet. An outstanding effort for the vintage: long, exciting, spicy, mutilayered. An assured midterm wine, and textbook Pauillac at its most accessible. It doesn’t quite have the grain or subtlety of Léoville Barton or Pichon-Lalande, but if you’re looking for pure textural comfort and flavory amplitude, this is it. 17

Michael Schuster: Very sweet, seductive, cassis and new oak vanilla nose; a combination of very ripe fruit, and very dry oak tannin—quite how the two will mature, I’m not sure. Good length, plenty of matter, but this just seems a bit parched by its oak at present. Will certainly need plenty of time. 2014–24+. 15.5–16