Michael Schuster: Dense and very Cabernet to smell. Concentrated, vital, finely and firmly tannic; a rich, sweet-cored wine, long, fresh, graceful, complex and close-grained, gently mouth-coating, noticeably aromatic, long, subtle, and satisfying, and with a lovely fruit-packed finish. Class, scope, definition, persistence. As in 2015, a great second wine. 2030–45. 93–94

Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve: Great aroma of cedar, a more apparent “Mouton” personality than in the grand vin, which is obviously ampler and purer. It will, however, largely console those who cannot afford the grand vin at its current price. 96