French

"Sweet berries, blackberries, raspberries and violets follow through to a full body with extremely creamy, polished tannins that caress the palate....

"Inky plum in colour, firm tannins, Cabernet dominant at 10 years old, savoury and balanced and one to look out for, a totally brilliant, delicious...

"As with most of these St Juliens, the colour is medium intensity ruby with lovely reflective pools. Sweet notes of smoked caramel, graphite and ca...

"A magnificently solid wine, initially severe. At this young stage, the tannins dominate in a wine that also reveals a full fruit salad bowl of bla...

"As so often, Leoville-Barton stands out for its style and elegance. With fresh fruit and acidity allied to generous tannins, it sums up the charac...

"A major success of the vintage. The wine exhibits extreme richness of the fruit, with all its sweet blackberry flavors. It also has underlying fir...

"Glorious finesse, depth, density and length. An amazing wine that deserves to be a first growth. Such vivid expression of bright fruit and floral ...

"A typical Palmer showing finesse alongside strength. I love the blackberry, plum, chocolate and cedar character. It’s very long and beautiful. The...

"Caramel, smoke, stone, blackberry, plum and cherry notes lead to a primary wine that offers all the right stuff. But it's a long way from maturity...

"This wine reveals a dense ruby/purple color in a style somewhat reminiscent of the 1988 but with more power, concentration, and volume. It has a b...

"The 2000 Margaux kicked off a string of great wines. The aromas are spellbinding, with notes of raspberry and strawberry. The palate is incredibly...

"Caramel, sweet strawberries and a hint of herbaceous Cabernet tones on the nose. Smooth, sensual and light almost - a delicacy to the frame but st...

 "Better on the nose than on the palate with its austere, rustic edge to its tannins, there is a wealth of ripe fruit, but the finish is a bit roug...

"Loads of ripe currants, licorice and toasted oak on the nose. Subtle yet impressive. Full-bodied, with a solid core of ripe fruit and chewy tannin...

"The nose showed warm and sunny, baked black and red fruit on the nose and a supple but dense texture. The impressive level of tannin noted in earl...

"Honey, apple tart and lemon rind. Full-bodied, medium-sweet and very spicy with intense flavors of mace, apple and honey. Long finish. Thick and p...

"Deep garnet colored with a touch of brick, the 2000 Mouton Rothschild (composed of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Merlot) boldly bursts from the g...

"Firm, fiercely tannic, strict, and young, this bottle remains stubbornly adolescent. Incredibly concentrated, powerful, long and intense, this is ...

"A clear candidate for wine of the vintage, this stunner is concentrated, full-bodied, deep, long, and intense Multi-faceted and multi-layered, the...

"Loads of crushed berries, with mineral, lightly toasted oak and licorice. Full-bodied, with big, velvety tannins and a long, caressing finish. Thi...

"Strong ruby, purple reflections, subtle ochre brightening on the rim. Sweet wood notes, hints of nougat and figs, blackberry confit, black cherrie...

"Always showing well, this bottle of 2005 Château Pontet Canet was just about pure perfection in a glass. Still youthful ruby/purple-hued, with a g...

"Drinking in its sweet spot, with its blend of crushed rocks, salt, dark red fruits, flowers, wet earth, and bushels of red and black blue fruits, ...

"Opulent yet restrained aromas which give the impression of ripeness. A sense of hedonism pervades here – and it’s very welcome too. Long and elega...

"The 1996 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is really beginning to drink with style, wafting from the glass with an inviting nose of blackberr...

"In short, I find this to be a spectacular Pichon Lalande. Dense purple in color, with loads of coffee, mocha, creme de cassis, and chocolate notes...

"Another absolute legend in the vintage is the 2005 Château Pape Clément, which is just now starting to hit prime time. Based on 55% Merlot and 45%...

"Angelus really nailed the vintage, and has produced a fully mature wine that’s truly strutting its stuff. Dense, bluish/purple, it offers gorgeous...

"This is glossy and sophisticated, with so much graphite, ink, pencil shavings, blackberries, blackcurrants and blackberry leaves on the nose. Clas...

"Sweet tobacco and plum with hints of leather and cassis on the nose. Full bodied, with big velvety tannins and lots of fruit. Very rich and powerf...

"A meaty and decadent Lynch with very ripe currant aromas on the nose. Full body, velvety-textured tannins and a powerful finish. It shows so much ...

"Really starting to show its stuff as it approaches its 25th birthday. Sensual, soft and elegant in texture, full-bodied with vibrant, earthy, flor...

"This is a giant wine with lots of muscular tannins and rich fruit. Full and beautiful, very ‘Cabernet’ with currants and spices in the forefront. ...

"Still young, tannic and slightly muscular, the wine has character, complexity, opulence, balance and freshness. I would like to see a bit more of ...

"The first of the great wines produced under the direction of Denis Durantou, picture a boatload of chocolate covered cherries, truffle, plum lique...

"The 2000 Montrose is a straight-up gorgeous bottle of wine that while, still young, is offering up tons of pleasure. Classic Saint Estèphe notes o...

"Intense blackberry and cherry, with hints of currant. Toasted oak and sweet tobacco too. Roses and other flowers, such as lilacs. Full-bodied, wit...

"A stunningly, rich, concentrated effort, the 2005 may be one of the finest whites Smith Haut-Lafitte has ever produced. It exhibits notes of honey...

"Starting to open and show nicely with a nose packed with spicy black raspberry, kirsch, jammy cherries, pepper, earth and garrigue. Rich textures ...

"Dense, opulent, sensuous, richly textured and layers with ripe, sweet, fresh tropical fruits, lemon zest, white peach, flowers and minerality. The...

"There is a lot to like about this wine. The nose serves up ripe berries, garrigue and pepper. The wine is medium bodied, soft textured and drinkin...

"A cooler year than 2003 or 2005, and the precision is clear, with layers of tight black fruits, cedar and fresh mint confidently on display. It's ...

"It is tough to put into words how much I love this wine, alongside its slightly more concentrated cousin, Leoville Las Cases from the same vintage...