Tasting Notes :
In 2003, this was the second wine of Leoville Las Cases as opposed to a separate entity. A brilliant effort, it was harvested between September 11 and 26, and boasts 13.3% natural alcohol. The final blend was 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot. Its deep garnet/ruby/plum color is followed by notes of bay leaf, black currants, licorice and lead pencil shavings. The wine is deep, full-bodied, rich and fully mature, but its length, richness, freshness and complete feel suggest it will continue to drink well for 7-8 years. It’s a beauty. (Robert M. Parker, Jr.)

Tasting Notes :
The deep garnet colored 2014 Rauzan-Ségla reveals an open-knit, expressive nose of potpourri, unsmoked cigars, spice box and red loam with a core of plum preserves, blackcurrant jelly and bay leaves plus a touch of garrigue. Medium to full-bodied with compelling earthy layers and a real savoriness in the mouth, it has firm, chunky tannins and bold freshness, finishing on a lingering mineral note.

The blend this year is 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, harvested between September 22nd and October 16th, at an average yield of 37 hectoliters per hectare. It was aged for 18 months in French oak, 60% new. The alcohol is 13.5%, and the pH is 3.59. (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)

Tasting Notes :
The 2013 Léoville-Poyferre has a lovely nose with simple blackcurrant and wild strawberry fruit, maintaining Didier Cuvelier's more opulent style while retaining delineation and focus. The palate is medium-bodied with gently grippy tannin, good acidity and structure, not complex but with a very impressive blackberry and cassis finish that lingers in the mouth. Chapeau Monsieur Cuvelier - one of the best Saint Juliens this vintage. (Neal Martin)

Tasting Notes :
The beautiful second wine, the 2012 La Chapelle de La Mission Haut Brion, has a dense ruby/purple color, sweet raspberry and blackcurrant fruit, subtle earth and spice, supple tannins and an opulent fleshy mouthfeel. It is a terrific second wine and outstanding in its own right. Drink it over the next 12-15 years. (Robert M. Parker, Jr.)

Tasting Notes :
The saturated ruby/purple-hued 2011 Haut-Bailly exhibits a glorious, subtle, noble set of aromatics consisting of red and black currants, sweet cherries, graphite, truffles and a faint hint of wood spice. The wine hits the palate with the profound elegance and purity that have become so much a characteristic under Wilmers and Sanders. Still youthful, with good acidity and freshness, this brilliant, medium-bodied 2011 needs another 4-5 years of bottle age, and should evolve effortlessly for 20-25 years.

Ever since the acquisition of Haut-Bailly by American banker Robert Wilmers, he and his winemaker Veronique Sanders have dramatically led this estate to the top of the qualitative pyramid. (Robert M. Parker, Jr.)

Tasting Notes :
The 2015 Grand-Puy-Lacoste is medium garnet-purple colored with a nose of red and black currants, cedar chest and roses with a touch of dusty earth. The medium-bodied mouth is chewy, with lively fruit and good balance. (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)

Tasting Notes :
Tasted at Bordeaux Index's annual 10-Year On tasting in London.The 2006 Clos du Marquis has a typical bouquet for this cru with forward and lavish black cherries, cassis and incense aromas, perhaps more oaky than some of its peers. The palate is medium-bodied with an insistent grip in the mouth. This is surprisingly backward with impressive density. You can feel the weight of black fruit in the mouth, although it needs more finesse and precision on the finish. Give this another five years and you could have a "dark horse" on your hands. Tasted January 2016. (Neal Martin)

Tasting Notes :
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Lascombes features beautiful candied violets, Black Forest cake, cassis and menthol with hints of underbrush, cloves, pencil lead and tar. Medium-bodied with good intensity and firm, grainy tannins, it finishes long and perfumed. (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)

Tasting Notes :
Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2015 Lascombes has a beautiful nose of black forest cake, violets, cassis and tilled soil with wafts of garrigue and potpourri. Medium-bodied, very fine and elegant with great intensity of restrained, earthy flavors, it has a long, savory finish. (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)

Tasting Notes :
The 2005 La Dame de Montrose is a gorgeous second wine. Dark ruby/purple, with sweet black cherry and blackcurrant fruit, soft tannins, and a round, generous, medium to full-bodied mouthfeel, it is an excellent, soft wine to drink over the next 15 or so years. (Robert M. Parker, Jr.)

Tasting Notes :
The 2011 La Chapelle de La Mission reveals abundant quantities of round, generous, black cherry and black currant fruit intermixed with hints of gravel and earth, sweet tannin, decent but unobtrusive acidity, and a nicely textured, lush mouthfeel. It is perfect for drinking now and over the next 10-15 years.

Jean-Philippe Delmas continues to quietly and authoritatively turn out one great wine after another at La Mission-Haut-Brion and Haut-Brion. (Robert M. Parker, Jr.)

Tasting Notes :
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2015 Giscours opens with expressive cassis, blackberry and red currants on the nose with touches of cedar chest, roses and pencil lead. Medium to full-bodied with a good core of muscular fruit and firm, grainy tannins, it finishes long. (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)

Tasting Notes :
The 2013 Léoville-Barton has a more backward bouquet compared to the Langoa-Barton 2013, but there is more perfume here with blackberry, a touch of sea spray and cold limestone. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe tannin, a crisp line of acidity with finesse and elegance on the finish, which is one of the best you'll find in Saint Julien. This finishes with a flourish after a conservative opening and it should yield a decade of pleasure, maybe more. This is a solid showing in a tough vintage. (Neal Martin)

Tasting Notes :
An intriguing blend of 48% Merlot, 48% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot, this inky purple-colored wine is ripe, progressively styled, big, rich, thick and juicy. In other words, the 2012 Lascombes is loaded. No doubt the high percentage of Merlot in the final blend gives this wine a fleshiness and succulence that is unusual in the Médoc. Rich, pure and full, it should hit its prime in another 4-5 years and last at least two or three decades. (Robert M. Parker, Jr.)

Tasting Notes :
The 2015 La Croix de Beaucaillou is a blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot. It has a floral note on the nose: small black cherries, blueberry and wilted violets, the last becoming more intense as the initially tight-fisted wine opens in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannin. There is very well-judged acidity and its texture is harmonious and silky smooth. The quality is loaded more in the mouth than on the nose at the moment, but it is a seriously classy "deuxième vin" that just needs a little more persistence on the finish. (Neal Martin)

Tasting Notes :
The 2014 La Croix de Beaucaillou has enjoyed a purple patch in recent vintages. The nose on the 2014 appeared to have closed down after bottling, but the quality is still tangible, almost sedate, but exquisitely defined tertiary red berry fruit gradually opens in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp and energetic, very focused with superb mineralité. There is just a mote of hardness and rigidity on the finish, but that will be abraded by bottle age (and this is one Deuxième Vin that benefits from bottle maturity). (Neal Martin)

Tasting Notes :
A sleeper of the vintage, Ducru’s second wine, the 2003 Croix du Beaucaillou is a complex, fully mature effort displaying notes of cedarwood, incense, spice and red and black currants. With medium body as well as a spicy, round finish, it can be enjoyed over the next 5-6 years. (Robert M. Parker, Jr.)

Tasting Notes :
Always a favorite among consumers, Xavier Borie’s is a fifth-growth Pauillac that consistently performs at a much higher level. The 2012 Grand-Puy-Lacoste has the classic, tell-tale crème de cassis as well as some bluer fruits and floral notes. Medium-bodied, its ripe tannin, beautiful fruit and low acidity give it an up-front appeal. There’s no harm in drinking it now or cellaring it for another 12-15+ years. (Robert M. Parker, Jr.)

Tasting Notes :
Blended of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc, the 2016 Clos du Marquis has a very deep garnet-purple color and is a little broody to begin, giving way to notes of crushed blackcurrants and black cherries with touches of warm plums, pencil shavings, earth and new leather with a waft of yeast extract. Medium-bodied with a rock-solid frame of grainy tannins, it has bold fruit matched by freshness, finishing long and mineral laced. (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)

Tasting Notes :
Tasted blind at the Bordeaux 2012 Southwold tasting. The 2012 Clos du Marquis has a very intense bouquet, the more fruit-driven of all the Saint Julien 2012s with layers of black cherries and cranberry fruit, an undercurrent of autumn leaves and cigar box. The palate is medium-bodied with fine definition: smooth and very harmonious, quite intense on the entry and yet without that long sustain on the finish. That does not matter too much, because what comes before is very precise and pure, the class of the terroir evident from start to finish. Tasted January 2016. (Neal Martin)