Andrew Jefford | Dark, deep black-red. Pure, sustained, graceful, and refined aromas, and hugely classy—a kind of wine aromatherapy, since one sniff is liable to bring on a sigh of happy relaxation and recognition. The Left Bank incarnate. Not hugely detailed, but every note is correct: It just works. On the palate, too, this is a supremely drinkable wine yet at the same time close-textured, poised, classy, and classical. The blackcurrant fruits have been picked very much on the first cusp of ripeness so all is fresh and dancing; indeed, there are even a few bourgeons de cassis (blackcurrant tips or buds) left in there, too. Fresh, fresh, fresh... delicious. An interesting comparison with Clos du Marquis and Petit Lion, whose fruits are even more driving and intense. Here that little note of Pauillac ease and respiration is what accounts for the wine’s supreme drinkability. | 93

Michael Schuster | A fine, restrained, aromatic, and earthy Cabernet-based nose; a rich, medium-full wine, with a fine-grained tannic frame; sweetly ripe and complex in core flavor, long and fresh and subtle, a beautiful second wine with considerable scope and class. Also needing a fair amount of time: the tannin texture is Lafite-fine, yes, but firm, too. 2030–45. | 92+