Andrew Jefford | Dark, dense black-red, just easing off opacity. A little more vegetal and less pure- fruited than many of its peers, and cherry rather than blackcurrant for the fruit allusions. In fruit terms, there is a little more lightness and sweetness than for many of its peers (hence black cherry and blackberry at least as much as blackcurrant), and the (ripely) vegetal, sappy, fennel-like marrow to the palate is welcome, as are its relatively generous tannins. Very little wood makes a refreshing change and marks this unusual yet successful wine out from its peers. Licorice and leather to finish. There’s less of the cool, wintry, driving acidity in this wine than most. | 92

Michael Schuster | A lovely ripe blackcurrant fruit to smell, herbal-tinged, subtle, and stylish; a rich, fresh, medium-full wine, finely firm in tannin, a particularly nice 2017 balance. Long, sweet- cored, and juicy for the year; complex, well sustained; a very complete and satisfying Pauillac within the vintage, which will need time but certainly repay the wait. 2030–45+. | 92