John Gilman: Potensac tips the scales at 13.6%, which is quite tame by the standards of the year. However, the additional ripeness makes itself felt in a more liqueur-like aromatic profile: the wine offers up scents of kirschy cherries, cigar smoke, nice soil tones, a bit of chocolate, a stylish base of new wood, and a violet top note. On the palate, the wine is deep, full-bodied, and a bit chocolaty from its ripeness, with a good core of sappy fruit, firm well-integrated tannins, and quite good length and grip on the finish. The wine is very well made, but it is a prime example of how additional ripeness takes away more than it adds in most good terroirs on the Gironde. 2018–35+. 16