Bordeaux

R.P. 94 pts.

Dense ruby/purple in color with a glorious nose of melted licorice, lavender, barbecue smoke, black currants, and graphite, the wine is tannic, classically structured with an opaque ruby/purple color, beautiful definition, and a 1996-ish personality.

R.P. 91 pts.

A very strong, powerful wine with an opaque ruby/purple color and a tight but promising bouquet of black currants intermixed with iron, smoke, licorice, and dried herbs, this muscular, very masculine, brawny wine seems built for the long haul.

R.P. 96 pts.

The medium to deep garnet colored 2009 Lynch Bages is boldly scented of crème de cassis, blackberry pie and baked plums with chocolate box, incense and underbrush suggestions plus a waft of bay leaves. Medium to full-bodied, taut and well sustained in the mouth, it has a firm, grainy texture and a lively backbone lifting the black fruit core to a nice long finish.

R.P. 94+ pts.

Plenty of pure ripe blackberry and raspberry fruit, hints of cold slate and even charcoal emerging with time. The palate is not as complex as the aforementioned 2005, yet there is wonderful backbone and focus; towards the finish there is a sense of suppleness and refinement

Exhibiting a dark ruby color with purple nuances, it is open-knit, with plentiful quantities of roasted herbs, smoky oak, vanillin, and creamy black currant fruit. A lush texture, low acidity, and an accessible, velvety-textured style will have many admirers.

R.P. 90 pts.

Ducru-Beaucaillou's 1994 displays a dark purple color, a textbook, cassis, mineral, licorice, and floral-scented nose, medium body, outstanding extract and purity, moderate tannin, and a persuasively rich, sweet, spicy finish.

R.P. 99 pts.

Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Cos d'Estournel unfurls slowly, measuredly, releasing delicate notes of dried mulberries, stewed plums and blackcurrant pastilles before giving way to notions of potpourri, black cherry compote and chocolate box plus touches of dried sage, tobacco and new leather. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a rock-solid foundation of very firm, grainy tannins and very lively acidity supporting the remarkable intensity of tightly wound fruit layers, finishing very long and fragrant.

R.P. 95 pts.

The impression is one of a structured wine with considerable density, a ruby/purple color, layers of flavor, and a classic overall personality. The wine exhibits pure black currant, licorice-infused fruit, huge body, a viscous mid-palate, and a long, heady finish.