Michael Schuster | Very dense to smell, by some way the most closed and tight of the Mitjaville trio, but also the most subtle; very full, fresh, firmly framed in very fine-textured tannin, currently just a touch oak-dry; powerful and delicate at once, deep, warm, and sweetly ripe, fleshy yet contained, long and tenacious across the palate, mouthcoating, and with great fruit-cored, aroma-resonant length. A wine of considerable presence, polish, breadth, and scope, which will need at least a decade to begin to show its paces. François’s wines are now noticeably more alcoholic than they used to be. My experience of fully mature examples (20+ years), however, is that they always develop wonderfully seductive bouquets with bottle age, and remain most distinctive, harmonious Bordeaux. So, let’s hope this remains the case at around 14 or 15% rather than at 13.5% ABV. 2030–50+.