TOP 5

VALUES

DISAPPOINT

Chateau Beauregard

Usually a favourite. I loved 2010. Not this time.

85

3

Le Bon Pasteur

Nice grainy entry - warm finish though which spoils it.

89

La Cabanne

Slightly funky mid palate nice bright finish. Overall it's no from me…

86

Clinet

Rather good, dense, more to come, very controlled finish, but what I don't get is character. Will be adored by others no doubt.

93

La Croix de Gay

Lush now, Big powerful flavours, red fruits but actually a proper slug of excitement, lovely concentration, and controlled finish. Yes this is good.

95+

1

Gazin

Depth, grainy tannins, lifted mid-palate, nice intensity, firm finish good length.

94+

4

Petit Villages

Nice density, vinosity, a touch of alcohol evident at this stage  and soft tannins with a fresh finish. The alcohol marks it down.

92

La Conseillante

Velvety texture. Gorgeous fruit on midpalate, lovely progression, extremely ripe, sweet tannins. Extremely silky finish, edgeless which worries me for its future, but overall there's a 3 dimensionality to it that will guarantee it has plenty of fans this year and could augur well.

93-96

Duo de Conseillante

Cedary attack, nice length with a prickle of acidity. Yeasty, meaty midpalate. Tasty but a bit short on refinement, A Marmite wine?

89

Vieux Chateau Certan

Refined nose, liquory, the structure of this wine creates a clear mental image when you taste it, this wine's all about transparency and a firm finish. No excess weight. Porcelain-like beauty.

97+

2

TOP 5

VALUES

DISAPPOINT

Canon La Gaffeliere

Dark colour sweet fruit attack, good fresh progression. Decent, medium finish 

92-93

La Couspade

Porty nose, monster.

82

La Dominique

Balanced fresh quite big middle. Not so long. Sunday lunch candidate.

90

Clos Fourtet

Cedary nose slight touch of alcohol, liquory texture, round fruited entry, nice intensity, balance is there, good controlled finish. 

94

La Gaffeliere

Dark colour big nose . Good attack, slightly rustic finish. Nice though

89

Berliquet

Vinous nose extracted attack, sticky fruit, grippy finish

Larcis Ducasse

Overpowering nose not attractive, more sticky fruit. Thick and sweet.

86

Pavie Macquin

Macerated black cherries nose black cherries on palate very controlled finish, big but I like it. Freshness relieves a long finish, but not enough to lose some definition.

91

Soutard

Lots of extract, bright concentration freshness and a focused finish. But alcoholic with a massive finish. Essence of wine.

87

Troplong Mondot

Creamy, big  too big, firm finish. Over extracted?

89

4

Trottevielle

Flat.

84

Chateau Villemaurine

Strangely aromatic and cheesy.

83

Chateau Cheval Blanc

No Petit Cheval this year. All's in the Grand Vin. It was that good apparently. The wine is lovely but not 2010. Maybe they are preparing for a better release price EP? Aromatic fresh Gorgeous nose, smoky fine attack, great finish. Long of course.

97

L'Angelus

Powerful attack but with lovely mid-palate finesse and a very good finish.

95

Balestard La Tonnelle

Powerful nose of intensely aromatic fruit. Full-on sweet.

86

Chateau Beau-Sejour

Super aromatic nose, powerful, ripe, big

87

Canon

Cedary nose. Very intense, extremely ripe but not overdone, liquorish root, vinous mid palate. Fresh lift. Warm finish. Sweet tannic finish.  Finish lingers, not in a linear way, but it's insinuating and utterly delicious.

96

Chateau Figeac

Super aromatics, svelte, concentrated but not heavy. Character and depth. Great length.

95

Dragon de Quintus

Intense, fresh, balanced with a dumb nose. Better than many of the hotter offerings

89-91

Chateau Quintus

Cool nose. Integrated, alcohol is present, yet more restrained than many.

91+

TOP 5

VALUES

DISAPPOINT

Chateau Bouscaut

Characterful nose with substance

90

Chateaux Carbonnieux

Bright entry, grippy finish, not sure how long this is?

88

Les Carmes Haut Brion

Beautiful vinous nose, fragrant palate, fine tannins. Very good. Exciting.

95

5

Domaine de Chevalier

Fruity attack, pretty mid palate, aromatic lift, excellent intensity and a lovely sweet finish.

94-95+

Chateau de Fieuzal

Vinous nose, a little rustic, good intensity but not such a great finish.

88

Chateau de France

Pretty nose, agreeable with a ripe finish.

89

Chateau Haut Bergy

Bright, a bit unknit.

86-87

Chateau Larrivet Haut Brion

Fruit nose, integrated palate, touch of spice, grippy finish.

91-93

Chateau Latour Martillac

Green finish

83

Chateau La Louviere

Up front caramel flavours, modern, easy, not my style.

83

Malartic Lagraviere

Attractive nose, lovely aromatic mid palate, very grippy finish.

87

Chateau Olivier

Fragrant nose, powerful mid palate, not together at this stage.

86

Chateau Pape Clement

Liquory nose, bright leafy fruit and intense finish. This is gorgeous, in a much more delieated style than I've experienced before from Pape Clement.

97+

5

Chateau Pique Caillou

Pleasant.

87

5

Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte

Vinous nose, powerful, unknit finish, serious.

93+

Chateau Haut Bailly

Aromatic freshly spiced, liqorice, grainy, silky tannins. Fantastic.

95+

La Chapelle de Haut-Brion

This seems to be trying quite hard. Firm entry. Herbaceous. But it improves with length and sweetens in the mouth.

90

Le Clarence de Haut-Brion

Nice nose, lovely grainy entry, nice intensity, mouthwatering finish, with a pruney merlot finish spoiling the shape of the wne's progression…at this stage.

92

Chateau La Mission Haut Brion

Aromatic, grippy, very cool and controlled. Licorice root and large scale fruity mid palate. Long.

95

Chateau Haut-Brion

Great aromatics on the nose. Extremely controlled, tannic, dry and very serious. Very primary though. A tough one to taste, but there's nothing made up about this wine. Could be one to watch as it develops. I'd love to retaste this. Reminds me of the great 1986. Don't buy this to drink unless you know you'll be alive in 25 years.This is not a points-chaser.

95-98

3

Chateau Senejac

Pleasant with a slightly green finish

85

Chateau Chassse-Spleen

Nice entry, firm finish, OK

86

Chateau Cantemerle

Some substance to it, firm with a grippy finish.

87

Chateau Sociando Mallet

Very firm, serious, possibly lacking a little flesh in the middle

88

Chateau Brane Cantenac

Fragrant, firm, solid, fleshy middle with freshness and good build/ progression. Good substance, lovely finish.

92-93

Chateau Cantenac Brown

This has energy and drives through a pure mid-palate. Light on its feet with a long finish.

94

Chateau Dauzac

OK

89

Chateau Durfort Vivens

This is lively, middle weight with nice intensity and is interesting to drink - savoury and balanced. The intensity v weight equation reminds me of Burgundy. Best here for ages? Could be a bargain.

92+

Chateau Ferriere

Extract and elegance in equal measure with a slightly diffuse finish.

90

Chateau Giscours

Powerful. Lovely intensity. Round fruited - meaning it's nice but could do with a touch of excitement.

90

Chateau Desmirail

Substance and good grip.

90

Chateau Kirwan

Lovely fresh nose, lively acidity and extremely good length. I'm impressed with this.

93-94

Chateau Rauzan Gassies

Dry and deep with medium length. Classic.

91

Chateau Malescot St Exupery

As always, denser, more spiced, layered and with nice sweet fruit. Notwithstanding a mildly lifted midpalate and some nice rigour to it. Overall, alluringly plush and homogeneously styled. 

92

Chateau D'Issan

Good intensity fresh, nice definition, much more direct than Brane Cantenac, and the acidity drives it forward. Mouthwatering end of palate. My sort of wine.

93+

Chateau Rauzan Segla

Perfumed nose, as you'd expect from Chanel. Succulence and grip in the right proportions. Excellent intensity.

94+

Chateau Lascombes

Dull.

86

Ego de Palmer

Somewhat mute and fruity nose. Lovely density and aromatic profile. Grainy, cedary mid palate coated in sweet fruit. Nice lift and sweet, sappy quality. If only this wasn't going to be silly money.

92

Chateau Palmer

Impressive nose, sweet aromatic profile on the nose. Lovely sweet fruit, touch of damsons, tannins very sweet, though pushing through and there are lots of them. Big wine but those tannins curtail the length for now. Iron fist in velvet glove. It'll be quite a long wait.

96

Chateau Labegorce

Tannic and grippy but with the guts to make an interesting bottle in the future.

89

Chateau Marquis de Terme

Don't know this wine but it was very pleasant.

90

Chateau Prieuré Lichine

Mid weight

88

Chateau Siran

Fragrant nose,middle of the road. I wanted more after that nose had led me in.

88

Pavillon Rouge

Fabulous mid palate following a beautiful aromatic entry. stunning firm tarry silky tannins. Best second wine?

94

Chateau Margaux

Elegant nose, crystalline, layered, very aromatic entry in the mouth. Stunning length. This is great. 

97+

1

Chateau Gloria

Nice wine, good intensity and freshness. The Martin legacy continues. We approve of the surname and suspect we may not be alone.

92

Chateau Lagrange

Good grippy mid palate, fresh and mouthwatering, well handled tannins. Nice surprise for me now the Lagrange style is back in the fold.

93

Chateau Langoa Barton

Lots of fleshy middle, a bit angular but will be lovely if it can come together with age.

92

Chateau Talbot

Medium full, spiced, open and pretty. Medium long. There's a definite Talbot style emerging since 2010 and it stands out.

92-93

Chateau St Pierre

This is fantastic. Spiced, dense, freshly lifted mid palate and aromatics of the vintage.

94-95

3

Chateau Beychevelle

Delicious mid palate, balance uber alles and a nice bright finish. Reminds me of the '14s in its un-extracted style

93

Chateau Leoville Barton

Nice nose, good intensity, balanced and the progression is very pleasing. Classic style, but is it better than rather good?

93+

Chateau Leoville Poyferré

Very consistent, quite grippy, mid palate is good but a little unexciting.

92

Chateau Gruaud Larose

This is excellent. Good attack and medium weight.

91-94

Chateau Branaire-Ducru

Good balanced wine.

91

Chateau Leoville Las Cases

This is lovely, elegant and restrained wine. Antithesis of the bigger plush styled wines

97+

Chateau Lalande Borie

Nice mid weight pepper and Merlot soft fruit - boring.

86

Croix de Beaucaillou

More modern style, soft approachable sappy finish. Good in its way.

89

Chateau de Ducru-Beaucaillou

Fine nose crystalline fruit nice controlled finish very silky tannins

95

Chateau D'Armailhac

Cedar and perfume nose. Generous attack, and a rather lovely mid-palate. Complete for this level.

93

Chateau Clerc-Milon

Aromatic nose, fresher attack, nice definition, dark cherry mid palate. Builds. Long. Could be a bargain of the vintage.

94-95

2

Petit Mouton

Reductive nose? Dry entry and mid palate, with silky tannins. Not showy but crystalline fruit.

91

Chateau Mouton Rothschild

Vinous nose, refined, liqoury texture and a sappy mid palate. Gravelly notes, mouth-coating fruit. Massive tannic structure and they provide a bitter twist at the end that takes a little away from an otherwise beautiful wine. I think I prefer 2014 ultimately at the same stage of the game.

96

Chateau Batailley

Middle of the road. 

88

Chateau Croizet-Bages

Nice density, liquorice note and tight finish. Real wine!

91+

Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse

This is quite good. Lots of mid palate intensity.

90

Chateau Grand-Puy Lacoste

Fresh, lifted and great mid palate. Lovely lift and it's long. Yes please.

94

Chateau Haut Bages Libéral

OK, grippy finish. Angular.

87

Chateau Lynch Bages

Mid weight. A disappointment given previous vintages and the lovely 2014.

88

1

Chateau Lynch Moussas

Good wine, nice balance.

90

Chateau Haut-Batailley

Nice sappy wine, pretty with a licorice finish.

89

Chateau Pichon-Baron

Extremely good with an expressive nose and very integrated palate. Long.

96

Chateau Pichon-Longueville

Fine, with lovely stuffing and a lifted mid palate. Its long and shapely. The less showy of the two Pichons. I like the restraint. Time will tell, for now it's all potential rather than what it is today.

93-96

Chateau Pontet Canet

Perfumed, ripe nose with just a touch of caramel, fantastic weight, mid palate firmness and with the substance to coat the tannic structure that is clearly there. This is extremely well judged, lovely natural balance to it, and my favourite Pontet Canet for some time. It doesn't have the extraordinary levels of the elements that 2010 exhibited; this is a less elemental wines. Beauty rather than Beast.

97

Chateau Lafon-Rochet

A success, fine and integrated.

91

Chateau Ormes de Pez

Ok only. Something missing in the middle for now, insistent nonetheless.

87

2

Chateau de Pez

This shows nice progression. Nicely judged.

89+

Chateau Phélan Ségur

Bright attack, unknit for now, good weight though, fresh fruit, nicely textured mid palate.

92