Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve: The great terroir really shines through in this blind tasting: a noble structure, deep, elegant, wonderful mouthfeel; long. Without a doubt, the most complete wine of modern times in structure, as well as in its expression of terroir at this early stage. 19

John Gilman: An impressively modern, overwrought wine that is completely devoid of soil nuance. The nose offers up scents of black cherries, mocha, a bit of tar, tobacco smoke, and plenty of toasty new oak. On the palate, the wine is deep, full-bodied, and spit-polished on the attack, with a solid core and a dry, out-of-balance finish that is nicely roughed up by a fair degree of uncovered wood tannins to go along with the hard skin-tannins of the vintage. 2017–35? 13.5

Michael Schuster: Rich and fine but closed, new wood and stoniness and blackberry-sweet cassis fruit; beautifully balanced wine, with a superb concentration of core fruit, a vital acidity, and marked but very refined velvety-textured tannins; long and energetic to taste, great complexity, and thoroughbred feel; superb fruit presence; great fruit-core length. This appears to have even more of everything than the fine 2009—above all, terrific freshness, tenacity, and persistence. A great Poyferré; the best since 1961? Great matter but entirely without excess or asperity. Very complete! Long-term class and splendor. 2024–40+. 17.5/18