PESSAC-LEOGNAN & GRAVES
Pessac-Léognan
WHITES 13 TOP SCORING Château HautBrion 96
Grippy, fresh and green-tinged characters, a little more evident than in the La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc – here you get more angular acidities, and yet it works well. Sauvignon-dominant flavours, rosemary, mint, lime blossom, turmeric and steely citrus. Excellent persistency and deliciously mouthwatering. Drink 2022-2034 Alc 13.9%
TOP SCORING Château Smith Haut Lafitte 96
Depth and power, concentrated and hugely saline from the start. Rich texture, layers of stone fruits and a steely edge that squeezes through the fruit and adds persistency. A delicious white, with the point of bitterness on the finish adding another dimension. Average yields 29hl/ha for the whites, 50% new oak. Certified organic as of 2019 in the vineyard. Drink 2022-2036 Alc 14.2%
14 Château Pape Clément 94
Has flesh, power, depth, character and a ton of juicy minerality with white pear, peach and a slate-filled texture that adds grip and saline freshness. Well balanced and easy to recommend. Drink 2022-2032 Château Carbonnieux CCG 93 £21.17-£24.84 (ib) Cru, Millésima, Nickolls & Perks, Uncorked, VinQuinn
One of the benchmark wines for white Pessac, and it has succeeded here. Plenty of curling aromatics out of the glass, a lovely grip and bounce. Good stuff. Yield 47hl/ha, 25% new oak. Drink 2022-2032 Alc 13.3%
TOP VALUE Château d’Eyran 90
Poised and focused, this is a lovely white wine, with white flowers and rippling citrus fruits. Easy to recommend. Drink 2021-2025
REDS 15 TOP SCORING Château La Mission Haut-Brion CCG 98
A kick of black fruit and confident spice right from the first nose, this is intense and concentrated, tightly in control, not letting up from beginning to end. Low yields of Cabernet mean Merlot is the majority in the blend this year (46%), but the intensity of
the Cabernets mean it still has an influence on profile, with pencil lead and bitter dark chocolate layered in between the cassis notes, grilled coffee beans overtaking at the close. This is seductive and switches beautifully between the tannins pressing in on the palate and the juice expanding things outwards. Drink 2030-2050 Alc 14.7%
Château Smith Haut Lafitte CCG 97
Powerful on the attack, dense at first then brighter with layers of spice, liquorice and flowers. Intense but beautifully precise, iris and peony aromatics coming in strongly as it opens. Nuance and complexity, really takes its time: a masterclass in restrained Pessac glamour. Average yields 30hl/ha for the reds; 60% new oak; 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot complete the blend.
Drink 2030-2050 Alc 14.5%
Château Haut-Bailly CCG 96
Rich in texture and colour, clear layers and complexity: a wine for slowing down and enjoying. Has a precision and a clarity to the aromatics; a gentle buzz of minerality gives a physical reaction in the mouth. Less exuberant than 2018 or 2019, making this a vintage that suits the style of Haut-Bailly. A slight austerity to the tannins on the finish gives a blueberry-redcurrant edge. 3% Petit
Verdot (vines now about eight years old) in the blend, usually co-fermented with the Cabernet Sauvignon (sometimes with Cabernet Franc, 4% of the blend). Could be upscored. Drink 2030-2050 Alc 14.3%
Domaine de Chevalier CCG 95
A little subdued on the nose, built with structure and power, concentrated and should age well. Classical, powerful, not exuberant, an impressive Chevalier that has tannins and fruit and freshness, nothing shouting too loud. As it opens, you see a peony floral edge that is very attractive. Easily among the best in Pessac. Yield 38hl/ ha, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc in the blend. Drink 2027-2042 Alc 13.5%
TOP SCORING Château MalarticLagravière CCG 94
Concentration and intensity to the cassis and bilberry fruits. Well expressed, carefully extracted and there is good balance with a crushed mint freshness on the finish. Shows subtle floral edging with time in the glass, has a silky texture and a finessed fresh core that holds interest from beginning to end. Yield 26hl/ha (24hl/ha Cabernets, 28hl/ha Merlots) compared to 46hl/ha last year; 65% new oak; 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot complete the blend. Second year with Eric Boissenot as consultant.
Drink 2029-2044
16 TOP VALUE Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Le C des Carmes 93
Deep, vibrant colour. Finesse, precision and depth join low-lying aromatics and juice that flows in across the palate: peony and violet met by liquorice, plum and blueberry. The tannins exert a tug back towards the close, but this is a delicious wine that I strongly suggest trying. You could drink this soon, because of the mouthwatering juice, or keep for a good decade. 20% stems, 25% new oak, 75% in large casks for 13 months’ ageing. Drink 2023-2038 Alc 13.8%
Graves
WHITES TOP VALUE Château Cazebonne 91
A lovely wine worth looking out for. Gentle and unobtrusive yet full of pep. Bright citrus and stone fruits, given nuance by saffron, rosemary and lemongrass. The Sauvignon Blanc also contains Sauvignon Gris, although I am not sure of the exact percentage. No added sulphur until just before bottling. Organic and biodynamic conversion. Drink 2021-2025 TOP VALUE Clos Floridène 90 £11.67-£14.17 (ib) Christopher Piper, Cru, Nickolls & Perks, VinQuinn
Yellow-green reflections, soft citrus notes, and a slate minerality giving whispers of freshness together with subtle sage and rosemary. This really grows in the glass, but does not have the immediate grip and punch of some vintages of Clos Floridène, and for me it is the red that shines in this vintage. Drink 2021-2026
REDS TOP VALUE Château Roquetaillade La Grange 92
This is always a densely concentrated Graves that focuses on black fruit in a firm frame, and it suits this vintage. Just the right tug of acidity that adds lift and focus, and this is a well balanced, classic Graves. Ageing for 16 months in oak, this comes from a 25ha vineyard at Mazères, on clay-gravel soils that range from 70m-113m in altitude (and yet was still impacted by the frost in 2021). Drink 2022-2034
TOP VALUE Château de Cérons 91
Gentle brambled fruit flavours; beautifully balanced and fresh, full of signature Graves finesse, sappy and enticing. 50% new oak barrels give the barest smudge of smoke.
Drink 2022-2028 ▶
TOP VALUE Château de Rolland 91
Bursting with flavour, clear lip-smacking minerality makes things pretty austere now, but this is confident, with a silky texture, and will develop beautifully. Red sands over limestone in the village of Pujols-sur-Ciron (same as Clos Floridène), and this is a lovely wine with sappy, easy-to-enjoy pleasure. 33% new oak. Small production mainly due to hail. Drink 2022-2028 Alc 13.5%
RIGHT BANK
St-Emilion 17 POTENTIAL 100 Château Ausone 1GCCA 99
This is powerful and blows away much of the competition with its depth and layers. There is so much density to the blueberry, bilberry and smoked raspberry fruits that they start out knitted down, then as the oxygen opens them up the body of the wine widens and becomes fleshier and creamier, adding chocolate and mocha notes. The limestone scrape is there in spades through the finish, and this is a masterclass. First year of official conversion to organic farming. 100% new oak, some in 30hl oak casks. Drink 2028-2048 Alc 14.5%
18 RIGHT BANK WINE OF THE VINTAGE POTENTIAL 100 Château Canon 1GCCB 99
Intense, structured and concentrated yet with an abundance of violet and peony notes that curl up through the tannins, combining mid-palate with blueberry, raspberry, tobacco, gunsmoke and precise, sculpted pulses of chalk minerality. The overall impression is of dozens of carefully crafted elements that steal up on you. As ever with Canon, no doubt as to how well it will age. Gorgeous. Yield 40hl/ha, 50% new oak. Drink 2027-2050 Alc 14.5%
POTENTIAL 100 Château Cheval Blanc 1GCCA 99
Spice, anise, rosemary, blackcurrant leaf, redcurrants, mint, peonies – the full array of aromatics are on display here, and there is an enveloping aspect to the fruit in the body of the wine. Tannins are compact and powerful, but wrapped in plump raspberry and blackberry fruits. Feels full of life, with acidity that pulls the palate forward from the first moment, before austerity kicks in on the finish and closes things in, suggesting an extremely long life ahead. Hard to argue with this. The driest year at Cheval Blanc since 1959. Drink 2028-2048 Alc 14.5%
TOP SCORING Château BélairMonange 1GCCB 98
The gunsmoke character is immediately evident on the nose, as is richly expressed damson and raspberry fruit. This is pared back right now, elegant, showing a seductive edge without trying too hard. The texture is pure, softly brushed velvet, tannins front and centre but so fine and so precise that they don’t get in the way of the fruit. Salinity from the limestone is evident on the finish, bringing a moreish juiciness. Austere in all the right ways, with just the most incredible depth and layers. Love it.
Drink 2027-2050 Alc 14.5%
Château Angélus 1GCCA 97
I love the aromatics on this and the striking fruits. Silky in texture, balanced and elegant, there are big tannins that slowly but surely creep up on you through the palate. Sleek, poised and confidently constructed, with depth to the olive, chocolate and cassis body and a crushed mint leaf kiss on the finish. Not exuberant, it is more about discreet power and gorgeous stealing-up of flavours and textures giving depth and subtle power. Yield 37hl/ha, ageing in large-sized oak casks and oak barrels. Drink 2028-2048 Alc 14.5%
19 OVERALL WINE OF THE VINTAGE OVERPERFORMER Château Larcis Ducasse 1GCCB 97
Great consistency over the past few years at this property, but this is really stepping things up a level. With poise and depth of flavour, we are digging down through the layers. Extremely elegant, a wine that is precise and pared back and delicious. You can almost feel the points of minerality poking into your tongue, but then they melt into a softer, more luxurious whole, with blackberry, cassis and black chocolate. Great stuff. Yield 38.5hl/ha, 50% new oak. Nicolas Thienpont's team oversees the winemaking. Drink 2028-2046 Alc 14.5%
OVERPERFORMER Château Rocheyron GC 97
Peter Sisseck’s estate, always one of the real sleepers of the vintage. Powerful floral aromatics alongside dense, brushed berry fruits. Sit back and let the quality of this wash over you. It is relatively subdued on the nose now, but the texture, fruit quality and precision, the push-and-pull of intense flavours and gentle featherlike tannins is just so enjoyable. Has the tightrope feel of a wine that isn’t trying overly hard, but just delivering the goods and hanging on with a saline persistency. Drink 2026-2042
Château Trotte Vieille 1GCCB 96
Excellent grip and tension, well-judged and balanced, doing exactly as well as expected in a vintage that favours clay and limestone soils that keep freshness and focus. Elegant and sleek, plenty of tight blackberry fruit and a mouthwatering finish. Expands through the mid-palate then closes in on the finish: a confident wine where you feel the terroir is pulling the strings, not the winemaker. Drink 2028-2044 Alc 14.5%
Château Valandraud 1GCCB 96
Excellent, broad-shouldered, with ample depth to the brambled fruits, liquorice, cigar box spice, a gorgeously saline finish. Chalky, grippy tannins keep tugging you back into the wine. A linen rather than silk texture stops things being overly smooth, instead adding depth and interest to the ▶
‘The Right Bank has had an easier time of it in many ways – less rain in August, with clay-limestone soils that kept freshness’
Esprit de La Commanderie, Pomerol 2015 88
An inviting nose of dark chocolate and cherries. The palate is juicy with firm red berries and grippy tannins giving way to liquorice, menthol and herbal elements that coat the mouth. For immediate drinking. Drink 2021-2024 Alc 14% La Commanderie, Pomerol 2015 90
This has powdery tannins and a silky texture, clearly powerful with dense, opulent flavours of dark fruits and bramble on the nose but bright red fruits on the palate – strawberries, cherries and a touch of liquorice spice. It feels in a good phase to drink – round, plump and full of life but will continue to age. Drink 2023-2029 Alc 14% Esprit de La Commanderie, Pomerol 2016 89
A welcoming nose of milk chocolate, blackcurrants and cherries. This has a lovely smooth texture with a succulent and vibrant mid-palate. Raspberry and strawberries combine with a good attack and a round finish. Drink 2022-2025 Alc 14% La Commanderie, Pomerol 2016 92
Intense and radiant, this has a seductive nose with soft florality. The palate is fresh and zingy, juicy and alive with an enjoyable creamy touch. It’s mouthwatering with a great balance between freshness and ripeness. Can drink now but it would be better to wait a few years. Drink 2025-2032 Alc 14.5%.
powerfully knitted body, as do white flowers on the aromatics as it opens. Good stuff. Yield 49hl/ha, will age 24 months in 100% new oak. Drink 2029-2046 Alc 15.5%
TOP SCORING Château Fonplégade GCC 95
Beautiful aromatics, vibrant, full of clarity and bright fruit delivery. Plum, blueberry, bursting with juicy life. Keeps delivering on the palate, too, sprightly and vibrant, and soaked in limestone, wet-stone personality. Has good depth of flavour, with a kick on the finish. Will age well. Yield 35hl/ha. First year certified biodynamic (certified organic since 2013). Drink 2026-2044
OVERPERFORMER Château La Gaffelière 1GCCB 95
A run of successful vintages here, and this again proves why it is an estate to watch. Offers a ton of cassis, blackberry, black cherry and damson fruits, liquorice root and crushed stone, just gorgeously juicy and stretches out across the palate. Austere tannins at this point, plenty of limestone character, a little tight on the finish but with a velvet texture and promises to age with grace. Yield 42hl/ha. Drink 2028-2044
TOP VALUE Château Tour de Pressac GC 89
Powerful tannins balanced by fingers of honeysuckle, juicy redcurrant and raspberry fruit. A sense of uplift through the finish; this has delicacy despite the firm frame, and is enjoyable. Drink 2023-2036
Pomerol
TOP SCORING Château Lafleur 98
I was a little unsure of how the gravels here would react to the dry summer, but the first hit of graphite and smoky berry fruit makes it clear Lafleur has taken the vintage in its stride. An excellent wine, barely showing its potential right now – it’s a big year, with knitted-down tannins, serious and powerful, not austere so much as layered, complex and full of concealed energy. The floral aromatics curl up after 10 minutes in the glass, as do bitter chocolate and crushed mint. Drink 2027-2050 Alc 14.5%
Château L’Evangile 98
A gorgeous wine: pristine fruit, silky with a whoosh of menthol. Both dense and light, with blueberry and raspberry fruits, and pulses of bitter almond and honeysuckle on the finish giving focus and spice. Juliette Couderc joined L’Evangile in September 2020, in time for the harvest, working with technical director Olivier Trégoat. No Cabernet Sauvignon this year because it was so over-concentrated. Selective harvesting meant going through vineyard plots six times to bring in the grapes as they ripened. Yield 32hl/ha. In the final year of organic conversion, so the 2021 vintage will be certified. Drink 2028-2050 Alc 14.5%
POTENTIAL 100 Château Trotanoy 98
Pared back and precise on the nose, showing damson, gunsmoke and rose petal. This is all about the crouching fruits and fine but utterly confident tannic structure.
There’s just so much happening underneath the layers of blackberry fruit – the rose petal from the nose becomes more evident, as does the depth and the texture to the tannins. A brilliant Trotanoy, showcasing so much of its personality, and why this is a long-living Pomerol that has menace and bite, but also beauty. Yield about 42hl/ha.
Drink 2027-2048 Alc 14.5%
20 TOP SCORING Petrus 98
Extremely powerful, this has the concentration of the vintage, no question, but it is oh-so slowly dealt out. The Merlot slowed down its ripening over the dry summer – just 30mm of rain fell here in August – before suddenly accelerating in September. Abundant acidity alongside silky seductive tannins, dense and powerful with violet floral notes streaking through the fruit as it opens. Gorgeous balance with unmistakable personality. Yields about 39hl/ha. Has the potential to go to 100 points in bottle. Drink 2029-2050 Alc 14.6%
TOP SCORING Château La Conseillante 96
There are some beautifully fragrant floral aromatics here with concentration through the mid-palate and effortless balance. There was a little more width and opulence in the 2019, perhaps, but here you get precision and purity, and a feeling of 2010 levels of concentration. Elegant, bright, confident, bursting with life. Yield 39hl/ha, 70% new oak. To keep freshness they left crop cover on the old vines, but on the ▶
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