Andrew Jefford | Dark, saturated black-red; still opaque at the core. Assertive, emphatic, sweet-toned, with an aromatic Cabernet ripeness that colleagues in St-Estèphe must envy; absolutely claret, more or less ready now. Spot-on for the vintage. Actually less ripe, dense, close-textured, and warm on the palate than the nose suggested; nonetheless, this is satisfying and long, both cool-fruited and vegetal in the best sense, with sap and drive. Frank, fair, and shapely (though not for the long haul). | 86

Michael Schuster | Light, gravelly, blackcurrant-fruited nose; medium-full, fresh in acidity, moderately firm in tannin. A slight austerity here still, a briskly fruity second wine that will need protein-rich fare to be enjoyable early on. This will keep and mellow somewhat, if not a great deal. For me, this is a bit too chewy for the available fruit. Now to 2027+. | 85