Saint Julien

Release date: 6/6/2024

This year Sarget is a blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40.5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 3.5% Petit Verdot. It takes about 40% of the crop. A quite enticing dark fruit nose, with ribbons ofThis year Sarget is a blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40.5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 3.5% Petit Verdot. It takes about 40% of the crop. A quite enticing dark fruit nose, with ribbons of powdered chalk and cedar. This precedes an enticing palate, sinewy and fresh, well delineated, with a supple upper surface of blackcurrant and toast, with griottes, chalk and violets, over a rich and modestly grained core of tannins. Fresh, bright, with a loose and juicy poise through the middle, this leads to a richly gripped finish. Gorgeous fruit here, just the tannin quality setting it apart, especially in the finish where they grain the palate. The alcohol is 12.92% on analysis. Rating: 88-90 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2024)

Release date: 6/6/2024

Vibrant colour that speaks of a great En Primeur wine, with the bright acidities that seem typical in these appellations of 2023. More subdued than some sibling St Juliens, this has a serious feel,Vibrant colour that speaks of a great En Primeur wine, with the bright acidities that seem typical in these appellations of 2023. More subdued than some sibling St Juliens, this has a serious feel, with the Cabernets very much on the savoury, stately side, sinewy and with touches of raspberry leaf and peony, fragrant and floral. Plenty of ageing capacity ahead, but don't feel that you will have to wait too long to begin drinking. Old school and delicous. The Cabernet levels are above 80% as has been true for the last few years, a result of the vines coming in to the right age after extensive replanting. Rating: 95 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (May 2024)

Release date: 3/6/2024

A smoky nose, sweet with wild berries, dark chocolate, black pepper and smoke. A tight and light style to the palate that follows, with a gentle and modest silky texture, supporting fresh fruit notesA smoky nose, sweet with wild berries, dark chocolate, black pepper and smoke. A tight and light style to the palate that follows, with a gentle and modest silky texture, supporting fresh fruit notes of wild berries, crystalline cherries and griottes, all underpinned by a core of rich, finely grained yet firm tannins. Charming, but riven with structure and fresh acidity, as per the vintage, as well as perfumed oak. This has charm and it should age well on that grip and acidity. One to revisit. Tasted twice. Rating: 91-93 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2024)

Release date: 23/5/2024

This is tight but has creamy, round tannins and a juicy character. Blackberries, chocolate and spices on the medium-bodied palate. Chewy and polished.This is tight but has creamy, round tannins and a juicy character. Blackberries, chocolate and spices on the medium-bodied palate. Chewy and polished. Rating: 94-95 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2024)

Release date: 23/5/2024

Some 52% of the estate's production was consecrated to the 2023 Les Fiefs de Lagrange, an attractive, medium to full-bodied wine redolent of cassis, licorice and plums. With good depth at the coreSome 52% of the estate's production was consecrated to the 2023 Les Fiefs de Lagrange, an attractive, medium to full-bodied wine redolent of cassis, licorice and plums. With good depth at the core and sweet, powdery tannins, it's a vibrant Saint-Julien that will age with grace. A further 6% of Lagrange's output was bulked out to maintain the quality of this cuvée, and that shows. Rating: 89-91 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Apr 2024)

Release date: 22/5/2024

The 2023 Léoville-Poyferré is positively stellar. Medium in body, vibrant and beautifully persistent, the 2023 is all class. It also signals a shift away from the richer (but equally successful)The 2023 Léoville-Poyferré is positively stellar. Medium in body, vibrant and beautifully persistent, the 2023 is all class. It also signals a shift away from the richer (but equally successful) style favored here in the recent past, now moving toward an approach that favors more vibrancy. Dark red-toned fruit, blood orange, spice, mocha and cedar infuse the 2023 with notable freshness and verve. The new Léoville-Poyferré is quite the stunner. Tasted two times. Drinking range: 2028 - 2063 Rating: 95-97 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (May 2024)

Release date: 21/5/2024

The 2023 Beychevelle has turned out especially well this year, exhibiting a more integrated, seductive style than recent vintages that were constructed in a punchier, more extracted register.The 2023 Beychevelle has turned out especially well this year, exhibiting a more integrated, seductive style than recent vintages that were constructed in a punchier, more extracted register. Offering up aromas of cassis and plums mingled with notions of pen ink, violets and pencil shavings, it's medium to full-bodied, broad and fleshy, with a deep core of fruit and a classy, suave profile that foregrounds the estate's prime vineyard holdings on the plateau around Ducru-Beaucaillou. It's a blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot that represents 50% of the estate's production. Rating: 93-94 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Apr 2024)

Release date: 17/5/2024

Very refined and classy, with ultra-fine tannins and blackcurrant and hazelnut character, suggesting very pure fruit and precise picking times. Medium-bodied and chewy, yet caressing.Very refined and classy, with ultra-fine tannins and blackcurrant and hazelnut character, suggesting very pure fruit and precise picking times. Medium-bodied and chewy, yet caressing. Rating: 94-95 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2024)

Release date: 15/5/2024

Glass-staining violet. A serious Ducru, delivered with precision and balance, with plenty of concentration and a slow, long build, layered, fine and sappy tannins. Proof again that this is a greatGlass-staining violet. A serious Ducru, delivered with precision and balance, with plenty of concentration and a slow, long build, layered, fine and sappy tannins. Proof again that this is a great Cabernet year in this corner of Bordeaux, less velvet concentration than the 2022 Ducru perhaps, but more finesse and packed full of nuance, and a saline mouthwatering finish. 41hl/h yield, 100% new oak, with long seasoning of up to five years, nine different coopers. Drinking range: 2030 - 2050 Rating: 96 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (May 2024)

Release date: 15/5/2024

58 Merlot, 40 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2 Petit Verdot: 13.5% alc: 3.71 pH: 91 IPT: Harvested from 8 September - 3 October While Le Petit has some unpolished wildness due to its chunky Merlot content, it58 Merlot, 40 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2 Petit Verdot: 13.5% alc: 3.71 pH: 91 IPT: Harvested from 8 September - 3 October While Le Petit has some unpolished wildness due to its chunky Merlot content, it is still an impressive wine. But when this wine hits the glass, it is clear there is a big step up to La Croix on both the nose and palate. The fruit is adroit, upright and thrilling, and the tannins made me grin from ear to ear. There is trademark Ducru exoticism here, and it is delivered with aplomb. A chiselled jawline and confident stance make ’23 La Croix seem slightly more civilised and self-assured than the imposing 2022. This is a more athletic wine than I expected. It has a rangy, loping gait and a fair amount of swagger - there is much to admire. A slightly odd equilibrium is found mid-way along the palate when the intense fruit notes encounter sublime freshness coming in the other direction. This is shocking and pleasing in equal measure. La Croix is a superb wine, and while it gains the same score as the 2022, in many ways, I prefer it. It again shows that human intervention and decision-making made the wines of Ducru truly impressive in 2023. 18+/20 Rating: 18+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (May 2024)

Release date: 15/5/2024

This comes from 25 hectares from the western part of the appellation, although about 10 hectares is currently being replanted. It takes fruit from the La Croix vineyards as well though. The blend isThis comes from 25 hectares from the western part of the appellation, although about 10 hectares is currently being replanted. It takes fruit from the La Croix vineyards as well though. The blend is 72% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot. A sweet and fragrant nose, with perfumed black cherry and a charcoal-laced mineral notes. This translates into a linear and beautifully delineated palate, with dark fruit, sinewy and lithe as the vintage should be, underpinned by a firm and fine line of tannins, and showing plenty of freshness and grip, with a long wrap of tannins in the length here. Tension, expression, vigour and grip here; this is bound to offer some great (and great value) drinking. The alcohol level is about 13.7%. Rating: 91-93 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2024)

Release date: 14/5/2024

A dense, sweet and rather perfumed nose, with griottes, dark plum and pressed wild flowers. This precedes a palate with admirable texture, sinewy as per the vintage, although it shows confidence,A dense, sweet and rather perfumed nose, with griottes, dark plum and pressed wild flowers. This precedes a palate with admirable texture, sinewy as per the vintage, although it shows confidence, with a seam of dark and lithe tannin running underneath the fragrant fruit. Perfumed, fresh, floral, with threads of dark cherry and white peach, concluding in a rather smart grip, this shows admirable construct. A sappy finish, but there is some potential here. Tasted twice. Rating: 90-92 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2024)

Release date: 13/5/2024

The 2023 Léoville-Barton marries the classicism the château is so well-known for with an extra kick of textural intensity from the heat of the year. It’s powerful, dark and serious, with compellingThe 2023 Léoville-Barton marries the classicism the château is so well-known for with an extra kick of textural intensity from the heat of the year. It’s powerful, dark and serious, with compelling notes of black cherry, lavender, spice and blackberry. This is an especially dense, somber Léoville-Barton endowed with tremendous presence. The blend is 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc, the first time Franc has appeared in the blend. This will need time to soften, as the tannins are imposing. Tasted two times. Drinking range: 2030 - 2063 Rating: 93-95 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (May 2024)

Release date: 13/5/2024

The 2023 Langoa Barton is packed with dark red cherry, plum, spice, cedar and tobacco. Over the last few years, an updated style of vinification in a new cellar has yielded a bit more mid-palateThe 2023 Langoa Barton is packed with dark red cherry, plum, spice, cedar and tobacco. Over the last few years, an updated style of vinification in a new cellar has yielded a bit more mid-palate sweetness, pliancy and resonance than in the past. It will be interesting to see where this goes, but clearly, we have entered into an era of Langoa. Tasted two times. Drinking range: 2027 - 2043 Rating: 91-93 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (May 2024)

Release date: 3/5/2024

The second wine of Talbot presents a nose of crystalline red cherry and raspberry, pomegranate and currant leaf. This light and herby nose is matched by a palate showing a sweet and herby core ofThe second wine of Talbot presents a nose of crystalline red cherry and raspberry, pomegranate and currant leaf. This light and herby nose is matched by a palate showing a sweet and herby core of redcurrant and red cherry fruits, and a lick of leather, with softly extracted and powdery tannins adding a light touch of grip, before it all fades away very quickly in the finish. A rather light and herby second wine which will make unfussy drinking. Rating: 86-88 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2024)

Release date: 3/5/2024

Jean-Michel Laporte has tweaked the blend this year to give the best vintage expression he could - with about half the usual Petit Verdot quota and Chateau Talbot's highest ever amount of CabernetJean-Michel Laporte has tweaked the blend this year to give the best vintage expression he could - with about half the usual Petit Verdot quota and Chateau Talbot's highest ever amount of Cabernet Sauvignon making up 77% of the blend. This makes perfect sense when you taste, as the Cabernet is just of such a high quality. This is super, with a classic feel and fresh impact early on. Crunch to the dark berries and then a supple depth in the mid-palate where the fruit becomes brighter and more red-centric, with violets and a fresh minty herb note. Really elegant yet - satisfyingly dense feel to the middle. The lovely poised fruit is firm and deep. Lively too with a juicy fresh line to the finish. 13% alcohol. Jean-Michel has really found his stride here now and this Talbot is a great testament to that and a reminder of why the estate's reputation is so strong. A wine that should be in your cellar. 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot.L&S (Apr 2024)

Release date: 2/5/2024

Pretty density and richness this year, with blackberry, blueberry and dark-chocolate aromas. Medium-bodied with a solid core of fruit, creamy tannins and a long, caressing finish. Fresh. NicelyPretty density and richness this year, with blackberry, blueberry and dark-chocolate aromas. Medium-bodied with a solid core of fruit, creamy tannins and a long, caressing finish. Fresh. Nicely framed by the tannins. A blend of 49% cabernet sauvignon, 33% merlot and 18% petit verdot. Rating: 93-94 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2024)

Release date: 30/4/2024

The 2023 Clos du Marquis is a rather serious, structured wine, evocative of cherries, dark berries and kirsch, framed by a touch of creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied and fleshy but structured,The 2023 Clos du Marquis is a rather serious, structured wine, evocative of cherries, dark berries and kirsch, framed by a touch of creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied and fleshy but structured, it's a taut, concentrated wine that will reward some patience. Rating: 91-93 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Apr 2024)

Release date: 30/4/2024

The 2023 Léoville Las Cases is a wine of understatement and class. In so many vintages, Las Cases is quite authoritative, but I find the 2023 rather quiet and unexpressive today. It’s a ratherThe 2023 Léoville Las Cases is a wine of understatement and class. In so many vintages, Las Cases is quite authoritative, but I find the 2023 rather quiet and unexpressive today. It’s a rather intellectual Las Cases, a wine with tremendous potential, but also a wine that is quite reserved at this early stage. Time in the glass brings out hints of blueberry, graphite, spice and mocha. It will be interesting to see where this goes. This is a very austere, classically built Las Cases for readers who can be patient. Drinking range: 2033 - 2073 Rating: 94-97 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (May 2024)