En Primeur Bordeaux 2024

A blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc, the 2024 Brane-Cantenac exhibits aromas of sweet berries, vanilla pod and toasty new oak, followed by a medium-bodied, fleshy and youthfully tannic palate that's lent a creamy, lactic quality by its malolactic fermentation in new barrels.

Score: 89 - 91 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com

The 2024 Brane-Cantenac was picked between September 17 and October 8. No Petit Verdot or Carménère were included in the blend this year. It was cropped at 46.6 hl/ha and matured in 80% new oak. This has a refined bouquet, understated at first, opening with black fruit, graphite and deft touches of wild mint. The palate is medium-bodied with sapid black fruit on the entry. With fine grip and very fresh, this is a Brane-Cantenac leaning more toward Pauillac in style as it is sometimes wont to do. Lightly peppery on the finish, this is an elegant Margaux that should be broached before its 2020 or 2022 counterparts.

Score: 91 - 93 Neal Martin, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2029-2050

The 2024 Giscours has turned out very well indeed. Offering up incipiently complex aromas of dark berries and cherries mingled with orange zest, licorice, violets and burning embers, it's medium to full-bodied, with good density and richness, with a layered, rather muscular palate and a long, expansive finish. The 2024 is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. The estate retained cover crops to amplify the dry conditions in July and August, accelerating ripening, and once again picked by vine age within blocks, bringing in the younger-vine fruit earlier before it could rot. Merlot came in between 19 and 28 September, and the Cabernet Sauvignon was picked very late, between 1 and 11 October.

Score: 93 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com

The 2024 Giscours was picked from September 19 to October 11 and matured in 50% new oak. It has a forward and generous bouquet with ripe red cherry, kirsch and cassis scents, with a touch of pencil shavings in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with firm and grainy tannins that frame mainly black fruit. Overall, this is a Giscours cut in a classical style, although the finish needs to cohere and muster more precision during its barrel maturation. An enjoyable Giscours for sure, even if it does not reach the heights of recent vintages. This was tasted three times.

Score: 91 - 93 Neal Martin, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2030-2045

The 2024 D'Issan wafts from the glass with attractive aromas of cassis, burning embers, pipe tobacco and violets. Medium-bodied, pillowy and lively, with a sweet core of fruit framed by powdery tannins, it's an elegant, fine-boned Margaux that will offer a broad drinking window.

Score: 89 - 91 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com

The 2024 Château d’Issan is a classic blend picked between September 26 and October 8, matured in 50% new oak. This has a quintessential Margaux nose with crushed violet permeating the black fruit, fine delineation, focus and satisfying vigor. The palate is medium-bodied with a surprisingly sweet entry and decent grip. Blueberry infuses the mid-palate and a dash of white pepper and a little graphite emerge toward the finish. This d'Issan probably has the legs to mature in bottle for up to 20 years, though its lack of substance means that I would be more inclined to drink this in its flush of youth.

Score: 90 - 92 Neal Martin, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2029-2055

Aromas of cassis, lilac and nicely integrated creamy new oak introduce the 2024 Lascombes, a medium to full-bodied, dense and youthfully structured young wine underpinned by a bright spine of acidity and concluding with gently chewy tannins. This was cropped at 38 hectoliters per hectare and saw a combination of tank bleeds and reverse osmosis to amp up its concentration. Maturation is in 60% new oak, with lighter toasts than was formerly the case at this address.

Score: 89 - 91 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com

The 2024 Lascombes was picked between September 23 and October 9 according to ripeness levels in parcels at 38 hl/ha. This vintage is aged in barrels with less heavy toasting (60% new), 80hl foudres and amphora. The wine is usually finished in the last two or three months in those foudres, though Axel Heinz said that might be omitted this year. It has an elegant and pure bouquet with bright black cherry and cassis fruit. There is remarkable underlying mineralité in this wine. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, quite crisp and linear like many other Margaux wines. Light on its feet and very fresh with impressive precision on the finish, the 2024 is a "nimble" Lascombes that you would never have seen in the 1990s or 2000s. This is a very commendable, classically-styled wine that will give pleasure after three or four years.

Score: 91 - 93 Neal Martin, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2030-2050

The 2024 Château Margaux has turned out beautifully, unfurling in the glass with notes of cassis, violets, cigar box and iris. Medium to full-bodied, deep and vibrant, with excellent density and concentration for the vintage, it's lively and layered, concluding with a long, penetrating finish. This is a serious, youthfully tightly wound blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc that attained 12.8% alcohol.

Score: 93 - 95 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com

Representing 46% of the total crop (a little higher than recent years due to higher yields in the best Cabernet blocks), the 2024 Château Margaux contains slightly less Merlot (5%). It has a sophisticated bouquet in the context of the growing season, with black fruit, pressed violet and hints of pencil box that almost lend a Pauillac-like allure. Very fine delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and modest depth. This is clearly a leaner Château Margaux compared to, say, the 2020 or 2022, but it is razor-sharp with superb tension and mineralité. Unapologetically classic in style with modest length, this noble First Growth will benefit from four to five years in bottle.

Score: 94 - 96 Neal Martin, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2030-2055