SF | Hint of terracotta at the rim; otherwise saturnine dark. Nose informed by oak ( nutmeg and vanilla pod) maybe at the expense of fruit, such are the rigours of youth. A touch of bitumen, charcoal even; high toast maybe! Black tea, loganberry and violets too. A warmth on the palate, the alcohol high, the tannins robust and resilient, the 'burnt' character liminal and reluctant to cede ground. The upshot is a degree of uncertainty as to the direction of travel and anxiety that the alcohol will overwhelm the ensemble. Concentration and innate quality of fruit are blameless here. 90
AJ | Saturated deep black-red, opaque at the core. Brooding, earthy, ripe, seigneurial: great aromatic assurance and command here. It's less 'fruity' than Hosanna or Trotanoy (in their different ways); here you smell the warm gravels, the meat and the milk, and the fleshy sensuality of the appellation. As with many of its peers, this is beginning to be complex and secondary in a way that isn't true at all on the left bank. On the palate, it is remarkable, with a weight of flesh which would surely have eluded La Fleur Petrus before the recent rearrangement of the parcels. Grand, broad, amply and regally textured, this is a concentrated wine which needs very long ageing. Huge presence and command as well as flesh and charm.Drink Dates: 2028 - 2050. 96
MS | A hint of early bouquet already, truffle, earth, blackberry; rich, full, vital, very fine in tannin; generous, fleshy, sweetly ripe yet vivid too, just a touch of alcohol warmth, long, succulent, Pomerol fleshy, warm, mouthcoating, long and graceful; power, freshness and plenitude at once, with a slightly alcohol hardened texture, and great sweet length to finish. A sort of glorified 1982/90 with more matter, structure, class. Wonderful LFP. Drink Dates: 2030 - 2050+. 94