En Primeur 2024

The 2024 Les Cruzelles is shy and introverted, offering up aromas of pepper, oak and incense. Moderately weighted, supple and lively, it's built around tangy acids and powdery tannins.

Score: 85 - 87 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2026 - 2030

The 2024 Les Cruzelles was picked on September 20 and 22 with the Cabernet Franc picked on September 28, and matured in 57% new oak. This has more harmony and sensuality on the nose with a mixture of very pure black cherry and blueberry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied and very well balanced, with supple ripe tannins and real delineation and poise on the finish. This surpasses many Pomerols in this vintage and, given its potential price, comes highly recommended.

Score: 90 - 92 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2028-2045

Cropped at 30 hectoliters per hectare (the lowest yield at this address since 1991), the 2024 Lynch-Bages is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc. Opening in the glass with aromas of minty berries and creamy new oak, it's medium to full-bodied, dense and heavily extracted, with firm, chalky tannins that assert themselves on the mouth-puckering finish. Lynch-Bages has historically performed well in challenging vintages, but the 2024 will demand considerable patience.

Score: 87 - 89 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com

The 2024 Lynch-Bages was cropped at just under 30 hl/ha and aged in 75% new oak for a planned 18 months. It has some initial reduction that is shaken off after several minutes. Very pure blackberry and blueberry fruit emerges with hints of melted tar and graphite, and iodine eventually lends more complexity. The palate is medium-bodied and quite focused with grippy tannins that are impressive for their fineness. The 2024 possesses palpable mineralité and a poised finish. Though this does not touch the skyscraping heights that have been achieved in recent years, it is a "capable" Lynch-Bages that might warrant two or three years in the cellar and drink well for up to 15 years or possibly longer.

Score: 91 - 93 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2030-2048

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, Vinous.com Maturity: 2030-2055

Notes of dark berries, spices, mulberries and discreet hints of new oak preface the 2024 La Mission Haut-Brion, a medium to full-bodied, dense and attractively seamless wine for the vintage, with a textural mid-palate that's underpinned by a firm chassis of tannins, concluding with a long, broad and rather ripe finish. Slightly austere at this stage, it is likely to flesh out with élevage, developing into a structured and serious La Mission with promising aging potential. Like its sibling Haut-Brion, the estate benefited from its intramural location in Pessac, which allowed for more complete ripening in a year that posed greater challenges for some other Pessac-Léognan properties.

Score: 93 - 95 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2027 - 2044

The 2024 La Mission Haut-Brion has a beautifully defined bouquet with pure, mineral-led black fruit, hints of blueberry and a subtle sea spray influence. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly chalky tannins. Fresh and vibrant, this La Mission feels very cohesive and sophisticated. No, there is not the depth and persistence of a top-drawer vintage, but its noticeable complexity is a cut above.

Score: 93 - 95 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2031-2050