Andrew Jefford | Dark, brooding purple-black, still opaque at the core. Very lovely and very expressive: graceful, fine-pressed blackcurrant, with a little sweet leaf to lift the fruit-fragrance further; a hint of citrus zest and violet beneath. Haute couture. A gorgeous nose that keeps drawing you back into the glass. Cool tones, as ever in this vintage, but played out deftly here: smooth, shapely, long, vivid, elegant, fine-sewn, and detailed. Perhaps there are more concentrated and driving wines from 2017, but there surely aren’t many that can charm and seduce like this, nor many that will drink as softly and as satisfyingly. Very fine yet ample tannins bring the wine profundity and definition. | 94

Michael Schuster | While quite tight still to smell, you sense the close-grained finesse just on the nose; medium-full, fresh in acidity, with particularly fine-textured tannins. A lovely sweet core of fruit here, long and graceful across the palate, subtle, succulent, and very long in aftertaste; a classy, complete 2017, a deliciously graceful Pauillac. Needs time, but a high-end reward guaranteed. 2030–45+. | 93