Andrew Jefford | Dark black-red. This Pagodes has more evidently sweet aromas than does the Dame de Montrose it sits alongside—dry blackcurrant and sweet cherry both, with some straw, hay, and dry leaf to add a little quasi-floral complexity. Attractive, but it suggests that the wine is relatively developed for its years. On the palate, it is smooth and light in terms of fruit weight, though with some sinewy tannins. The fruit is rather dry and acid-led; it may become gaunt. I can’t honestly say it’s a great success, though it has concentration. It’s a second wine with some of the awkwardness and sense of compromise that you find in second wines (quite understandably) in rather difficult vintages. | 85

Michael Schuster | Very nice, fragrant nose; elegantly balanced, medium-full wine, fresh and finely tannic. Classic, light, flowing, flavory, but of modest depth and scope; good without being special. That said, a nice glass of “classic” dry claret. Now to 2027+. | 88