Bordeaux

R.P. 89 pts.

The 2012 La Croix de Beaucaillou has a reserved but clean and focused bouquet of earthy black fruit, tobacco and a touch of bay leaf. It just needs a little more vigor. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. There is an attractive pencil lead note, fine balance with quite a long tail on the finish.

W.A. 92pts.

Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 La Croix de Beaucaillou gives up aromas of cassis, earth, black plums, black cherries and mulberries with wafts of menthol, cigars and crushed rocks. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is lively and earthy with firm, grainy tannins, finishing long and mineral-laced.

R.P. 94 pts.

A superb second wine, opulent and substantively textured, it shares more in common with a flamboyant, exuberant year such as 2009 than most 2010s. Dense purple, its oodles of fruit, luxurious mouthfeel and terrific finish make it a sleeper of the vintage.

R.P. 90 pts.

The 2015 Pavillon de Léoville Poyferré is medium garnet-purple in color with a nose of black fruits, earth, olives and savory notions. Medium-bodied, firm and taut in the mouth, it has lovely vibrancy and pleasantly grainy tannins, finishing long and earthy.

Stylish and pure, the 2005 Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux is soft and round, with a deep ruby color, silky tannins, medium body and a lush, seductive mouthfeel.