Michael Schuster: A subtle mineral and black-fruit nose; rich middleweight, crisp in acidity, very firm, but very fine in tannin, a slightly more austere expression of the year? Long and linear, ripe-red-fruit sweet, both silky and firm at once, all the time under the long palate there is a quiet “energy of freshness,” a wine abundant in matter and scope, with great definition, and exceptional persistence on the aftertaste. An understated, firmer expression of the appellation, and of the property. The very fine first-growth quality is there, but you need to look closely and, particularly in Margaux’s case, the outstanding 2015 was always going to be a difficult act to follow. 2032–50+. 96–98

Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve: Intensity, finesse, and tannic structure worthy of the cru, even if the sample was a bit too warm to give a good sense of its aromatic potential. Without doubt the highest proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the Médoc. 98