Tasting Notes :
The 2014 Grand-Puy-Lacoste has a much more approachable nose than usual, vibrant with red cherries, wild strawberry and cedar aromas, backed up with mineral-soaked blackberry fruit. This gathers momentum wonderfully in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. The acidity is very well judged with purity and elegance on the finish, if not the structure or backbone commonly found is very top vintages. I've been a bit conservative with my score at the moment, but I am sure it will prove its worth with 3-5 more years in bottle, hence the plus sign. One to watch. (Neal Martin)

Tasting Notes :
Scented of crushed black raspberries, black cherries and currants with touches of herbs, garrigue and aniseed, the medium garnet-purple colored 2015 Talbot is medium-bodied and taut with firm, chewy tannins and an earthy finish. (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)

Tasting Notes :
This is the Right Bank outpost of the Delon family that also owns Leoville Las-Cases. While they have made major improvements to Nenin, I feel it still has a Medoc-like personality in spite of the fact it is about 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. The 2011 Nenin displays an attractive, clean, raspberry and black currant-scented nose, good richness, and a Medoc-like firmness. It is a medium-bodied, pleasant 2011 to drink over the next 7-8 years. (Robert M. Parker, Jr.)

Tasting Notes :
One of the oldest family-owned vineyards in St.-Emilion, La Gaffeliere has been owned by the same family since the 1400s. The 2011 performed slightly differently in multiple tastings, but overall, it appears to be an outstanding, elegant, restrained, somewhat austere, but impressively built wine. The final blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc produced nearly 5,000 cases from their 42+ acre vineyard. The wine exhibits lots of earthy, balsam, resiny notes interwoven with red and black currants, cedar and underbrush. This elegant, dense, medium to full-bodied St.-Emilion should drink nicely for 15-20 years. (Robert M. Parker, Jr.)

Tasting Notes :
The 2014 Domaine de Chevalier has a wonderful bouquet with pure blackberry, raspberry coulis and iodine-tinged aromas that seem to envelop the senses. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, superb acidity and a sense of symmetry that is uncommon in the 2014 vintage. This is a sophisticated, precise wine from Olivier Bernard that could be one of top wines of the vintage. There is an approachability to this Domaine de Chevalier, which you do not always find, however I would be inclined to give this 3-4 years in bottle. (Neal Martin)

Tasting Notes :
A blend of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc, the medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Clos du Marquis gives up expressive notes of warm mulberries, kirsch and blackberry pie with touches of sandalwood, potpourri, anise and charcuterie. The palate is medium to full-bodied with a great core of rich, spicy fruit framed by plush tannins and finishing with an invigorating lift. (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)

Tasting Notes :
The 2014 Brane-Cantenac has a very classy bouquet, very well defined with blackberry, cedar and tobacco scents, that trademark graphite scent emerging with a few swirls of the glass. It is exactly what you expect from this Margaux estate. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, well-judged acidity, graphite and cedar towards the linear finish that will clearly need several years to unfold. Classic Margaux really, but wise owls will cellar it away for several years. (Neal Martin)

Tasting Notes :
I have always held up the 2010 La Pointe as one of the high points of recent vintages of this Pomerol estate. After five years in bottle, it has retained that quintessential Pomerol bouquet with black fruit laced with truffle and a touch of iron filings. The palate is still quite structured, although the tannins appear to have melted slightly since I last encountered it. It leads to an intense graphite finish that might lead you astray to the Left Bank, and the aftertaste remains long and satisfying. This is just a superb wine from Eric Monnoret that shows no signs of falling short of the promise that is has shown ever since I first tasted it in barrel. Tasted August 2017. (Neal Martin)

Tasting Notes :
Composed of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, the 2015 D'Armailhac displays a medium to deep garnet-purple color and exuberant notions of exotic spices and potpourri over a core of black and red cherry preserves plus wild blueberries and a waft of tar. Medium to full-bodied, the palate reveals mouth-filling, juicy black berry flavors with approachable, grainy tannins and wonderful freshness on the finish. (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)

Tasting Notes :
Fruity, soft, round and easygoing, this medium-bodied blend of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot and the rest mostly Cabernet Franc with a touch of Petit Verdot is a charming, consumer-friendly red to enjoy over the next 5-8 years. (Robert M. Parker, Jr.)

Tasting Notes :
The 2016 la Lagune has a medium garnet-purple color and nose of intense cassis, warm cherries, redcurrants and spice box with earth and bay leaves in the undercurrent. The medium-bodied, earth-laced palate is plush and lively, finishing long. (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)

Tasting Notes :
Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 D'Armailhac comes bounding out of the glass with bold notions of baked plums, redcurrant jelly and crème de cassis plus wafts of violets, dark chocolate and fragrant earth. Medium-bodied, the palate bursts with energetic red and black fruits, framed by ripe, grainy tannins and oodles of freshness, finishing long and vibrant. (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)

Tasting Notes :
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 D'Armailhac opens with gregarious crème de cassis, blackberry pie and mulberries scents with hints of chocolate box, roses and charcoal with a waft of dried sage. Medium-bodied, the palate has a rock-solid frame of firm, grainy tannins and wonderful freshness, finishing long and earthy. (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)

Tasting Notes :
An attractive and seductive style of wine, the 2005 Réserve de la Comtesse has lots of black currant fruit, earth, spice and a touch of oak. It is easygoing, seductive, and best drunk over the next 7-8 years. (Robert M. Parker, Jr.)

Tasting Notes :
The 2013 Domaine de Chevalier has a refined bouquet, laid back and languorous with blackberry, briary notes, a touch of bay leaf developing in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp, quite edgy tannin, nicely balanced and fresh with a simple but harmonious finish. It's the kind of 2013 that you'll just enjoy as a fine Claret, leaving you with a smile on your face. This constitutes a very commendable effort in such a challenging vintage, the bottom line being that it is one of the most pleasurable releases in 2013. (Neal Martin)

Tasting Notes :
The 2014 Giscours has come on leaps and bounds since I tasted it twice in barrel. It is clearly more sophisticated and complex than the du Tertre on the nose. For a start, there is more fruit concentration with red cherries, raspberry and blackcurrant laced with cedar and graphite. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, pure red cherry and crushed strawberry fruit with a precise finish that the property never used to be able to offer. This is a lovely Margaux that should drink well for 20 years. (Robert M. Parker, Jr.)

Tasting Notes :
The 2016 Reserve de la Comtesse is a blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 4% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple colored, it leaps from the glass with beautiful kirsch, cassis and redcurrants with hints of red roses, black tea, black pepper, chocolate box and cloves. The palate is medium-bodied, very elegant and fresh with gorgeous silken tannins and loads of bright fruit, finishing spicy. (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)

Tasting Notes :
The 2014 Reserve de Comtesse de Lalande has a very fresh and vibrant bouquet with lovely cedar-infused black fruit that sings of Pauillac-ness (apologies for the made-up word!). The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp and elegant with a keen line of acidity. This feels quite linear at the moment and perhaps the finish could have dealt more complexity commensurate with the aromatics. Yet there is bundles of freshness infused into this Deuxième Vin and there is a palpable salinity on the aftertaste. (Neal Martin)

Tasting Notes :
Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Rauzan-Gassies rolls out of the glass with expressive notes of baked plums, warm cassis and kirsch plus wafts of cedar chest, oolong tea and lilac. Medium-bodied, the palate delivers loads of perfumed black berry flavors with a fine-grained texture and long, pure finish. Nice! (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)

Tasting Notes :
Now a completely separate entity from Leoville Las Cases, Clos du Marquis is produced from Las Cases vineyards, but only from those that are outside the famous walled sector (referred to as Le Clos), which are reserved for Leoville Las Cases. The 2011 Clos du Marquis, which is meant to compete with second growths, possesses a dark ruby/plum color along with classic black cherry and black currant fruit intermixed with hints of minerality and spice. This pure, medium-bodied, well-endowed beauty can be drunk over the next 10-15 years. (Robert M. Parker, Jr.)