Graves & Pessac-Léognan

The 2020 Le Pessac-Léognan du Domaine de Chevalier offers an elegant bouquet of blackcurrant, dark cherry, and plum, accented by notes of graphite, cedar, and a hint of tobacco. On the palate, it's medium-bodied w...(read more)

The 2017 Lespault-Martillac is a gorgeous, understated wine, just as it was en primeur. Bright, floral and understated, the 2017 is impeccable from start to finish. Once again, the purity of the red-toned fruit is really...(read more)

A blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot, the 2019 Le C des Carmes Haut-Brion was made with 28% whole-bunch fermentation and has a pH of 3.7. It rolls effortlessly out of the glass with open sce...(read more)

All of the radiance of the year comes through in the 2019 Le Thil. Ample and broad in feel, the 2019 offers up generous dark fruit, leather, tobacco, incense and gravel. There is real weight and substance here. Él...(read more)

The 2019 Le Petit Smith Haut Lafitte is fabulous. Rich, powerful and vibrant, Le Petit packs a serious punch. Readers will have a hard time keeping their hands off this jewel of a wine. Black cherry, plum, new leather, l...(read more)

Slighter in volume than some, but this is a good thing, since it avoids the solid dryness of some of the Graves. Domaine de Chevalier's trademark, marginally herby fruit at this stage, in a fine dry structure. A wine of...(read more)

A powerful 2020 for a second wine with blackberry, black olive and blueberry aromas and flavors. Blackcurrants as well. It’s full-bodied yet racy and structured with a long and intense finish. Give it three or four years...(read more)

Dark crimson to black. Good nose of fresh dark fruit with hints of smoke and spice. Entry is crisp and suave, an immediate (and continued) sense of real vineyard balance. Good concentration and density through the mid-pa...(read more)

The 1996 La Mission Haut-Brion is an improvement on the previous vintage, though it remains a couple of steps behind the high point of the decade, which came two years later. This is quintessential 1996 Pessac, featuring...(read more)

The 2017 Domaine de Chevalier remains a mystery. In multiple tastings I have found the 2017 to be soft and supple, but also lacking complexity and the pedigree that make the finest vintages so exciting. There is good ene...(read more)

Ripe, balanced and harmonious dark fruit nose. Very supple feel on the attack, rich velvet and firm-tannined weight. Some oak evident, but the underlying wine is a match for it. On one sample a tiny hint of jammy fruit,...(read more)