Robert Parker - 91

The wine displays oodles of strawberry jam intermixed with kirsch, dusty, loamy soil notes, garrigue, spice box and vanillin. It is full-bodied, opulent, very flamboyant and showy, with a hint of chalky minerality to add complexity and precision. It should drink well for up to 15 or more years. Showing far better than it did from barrel, this wine comes from a beautiful southwest-facing hillside slope near Angelus. With the 2009, Berliquet has turned out one of their best wines in many a year. Yields were only 21.5 hectoliters per hectare, and the wine is a final blend of 73% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon that tipped the scales at 14% natural alcohol under the guidance of Stephane Derenoncourt.

Antonio Galloni Vinous Media - 92

Full red-ruby. Lively nose offers cassis, minerals, licorice and a note of cherry-almond. Broad and large-scaled for this Saint-Emilion, with sweet, concentrated cassis, black cherry and soil flavors joined on the back by a smoky quality. The classically dry, long finish features serious building tannins, noteworthy energy and excellent punch. I haven't tasted a stronger young wine from this property in recent memory.

Jancis Robinson - 16/20

Very dense, glowing crimson. Big and ripe. Chock full of ripe, opulent fruit with fully melded tannins and lots of alcohol on the finish.

Robert Parker - 90

Antonio Galloni Vinous Media - 89

(a 60/40 blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot) Good ruby-red. Sexy aromas of currant, black cherry, licorice, flowers, toffee, menthol and chocolatey oak. Juicy, pure and fairly tightly wound, with lovely acidity giving a briskness to the flavors. Finishes with good definition and grip, and a slight dry edge.

Jancis Robinson - 17/20

A big crop in 2004 so there was aggressive green harvesting. Dark crimson. Notably savoury nose with strong relationship to the 2000. Admirable intensity with a hint of pimento. Great balance and real freshness. More concentrated than the 2000! Though the tannins are more evolved. 

Robert Parker - 90

The estate's second wine continues to go from strength to strength. The 2004 Forts de Latour (includes 75% Cabernet Sauvignon) reveals a deep ruby/purple hue, classic evolved cedary, lead pencil, and cassis characteristics, medium body, beautiful sweetness of fruit, and a more forward, evolved character than its big sibling. Enjoy it over the next 15+ years. Also tasted: 2004 Pauillac (87; $38.00)

Antonio Galloni Vinous Media - 91

Deep red. Aromas of blueberry, plum, leather, tobacco and mocha. Sweet, plummy and pliant, with a creamy, fine-grained texture for the vintage. Very plush wine, richer than the 2006 and at least as long. Finishes with big but ripe tannins.

Jancis Robinson - 18/20

Quite a star, this wine! Perhaps the surprise of the lot. Very dark crimson and looks a lot younger than the 2005. Very winning and glossy. Dense and savoury unlike 2005's ripeness and sweetness. Youthful and zesty. Beautiful balance. If pushed you could serve this now with a steak.

Robert Parker - 90

Lafite's second wine has become stronger over recent vintages as the selection for the grand vin has become Draconian under administrator Charles Chevalier. The dense ruby/purple-tinged 2004 Carruades de Lafite (48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot) exhibits sweet, crunchy, savory, black cherry, and raspberry fruit along with hints of road tar, spring flowers, and a touch of minerality. Give it 1-2 years of cellaring, and drink it over the following 12-13.

Antonio Galloni Vinous Media - 88

Medium red-ruby. Plum, currant, brown spices, leather and tobacco leaf on the nose, along with some smoky oak. Distinctly firm and herbal but with a sweetly spicy quality to the flavors of cassis, lead pencil and tobacco leaf. Finishes with a fine dusting of tannins and a repeating herbal note.

Jancis Robinson - 17/20

[CS 48%, M 47%, CF 4%, PV 1%] Deep purplish crimson. Definite top drawer nose - that oak they use is awfully good - but clearly a bit skinny. Some obvious fruit on the front but lots of leanness behind. Slightly green note. Lots of vegetation invoked by the nose - quite stern structure but very competently made. This should not disappoint - a fair representation of the vintage without too much meanness on the palate even if on the nose there's a little herbaceousness. Dry, slightly hollow finish but that nose wins me over.

Robert Parker - 86

Tasted ex-chateau and single blind in Southwold. The La Lagune has a more herbaceous, undergrowth-scented bouquet with moderate definition. Very soft on the entry, high extraction, New World like with a plush finish that could come from anywhere. I would have liked to have seen more site expression in this wine. Tasted January 2012.

Antonio Galloni Vinous Media - 90

The 2008 La Lagune has a forward and quite intense bouquet with blackberry, tobacco, cooked meat with hints of white pepper and then later, pressed rose petals. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, well knit together with neatly integrated and judicious use of oak. There is a gentle but firm grip on the palate, hints of allspice, sea salt and a chalkiness to the tannins towards the finish, suggesting that this will benefit from another couple of years in bottle. Good potential. (Tasted at BI Wine & Spirit’s annual 10-Year On tasting.)

Jancis Robinson - 16/20

15% Petit Verdot. Very dark and shiny. Fresh, spicy nose. Very sweet start - but a little spindly underneath. No enormous concentration but certainly very winning. Round but a little chewy without great depth of ripe fruit. Perfectly nice but not outstanding. A note of green on the finish. A bit skinny after a deceptively sweet start.

Robert Parker - 89

A sleeper of the vintage, the 2003 Le Petit Cheval includes the highest percentage of Cabernet Franc used in this cuvee to date. Composed of 77% Cabernet Franc and 23% Merlot, it displays an incredibly complex nose of sous-bois, freshly chopped porcini mushrooms, blueberries, raspberries and coffee. The beautiful aromatics are somewhat of a let-down once the wine hits the palate, but there is enough fruit, texture and interest to hold the taster's interest. This lovely second wine may deserve an outstanding rating. Enjoy it over the next 3-4 years. One of the principal theories of the bizarre, historically hot and dry summer of 2003 is that grapes planted in gravelly and sandy soils were the least successful. If that was true 100% of the time, Cheval Blanc would have made a horrible wine. In fact, both the grand vin and second wine at Cheval Blanc did well in this vintage. It was the earliest harvest in over 110 years at this estate, and the resulting wine is a beauty.

Antonio Galloni Vinous Media - 88

(a 50/50 blend of merlot and cabernet franc) Ruby-red. Pure aromas of blackberry, cassis, violet and bitter chocolate. Fresh and juicy, with sappy flavors of dark berries and violet. Conveys a lovely sweetness, but finishes with a slight tart edge.

Jancis Robinson - 16/20

Deep, serious, savoury crimson. Mossy, 'interesting' nose - VERY different from the mainstream of St-Emilion. Quite chewy with lots of acidity. Not really gracious or graceful - and at this stage it shows the same lack of definition.