En Primeur 2024

The 2024 Beau-Séjour Bécot is deep, vivid and wonderfully alive. Dynamic and explosive, with striking inner perfume, Beau-Séjour Bécot is hauntingly beautiful. Blue/purplish fruit, lavender, menthol, licorice and rose petal soar out of the glass. Silky, refined tannins add to the wine's finesse. The increase of Cabernet Franc in the blend has added aromatic depth and textural elegance. There's a feeling of transparency here that is impossible to miss. Beau-Séjour Bécot has grown into one of the most distinctive wines in Bordeaux. Simply put, the 2024 is magnificent. That's all there is to it. Élevage is 55% in new oak, 15% in once-used barrels and the rest in 20HL casks. Tasted two times.

Score: 95 - 97 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2034-2054

Ruby red colour, vivid reflections, chewy character not just to the tannins but to the fruit, this is on the cool and slim side of the vintage, rose buds, peonies, but with real finesse and character, and excellent texture that keeps focus and interest through the palate, 90-100m on the plâteau, with underground limestone cellars down to 11m. Thomas Duclos consultant. Harvest 25 September to 4 October, latest harvest for Merlot in past 40 years, finishing up this grape on October 3. 3.4 pH 32 hl/ha. Cabernet Franc has been slowly increasing in the vineyard and in the blend of the 1st wine.

Score: 92 Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2029-2040

The 2024 Beychevelle might very well be the wine of the vintage in Saint-Julien. It is certainly among the very best I tasted on the Left Bank. Plush, inky and beautifully layered in the glass, the 2024 is so silky and inviting. Blue/purplish fruit, lavender, mocha and spice are some of the many notes that stain the palate. The sustained, resonant finish is a thing of beauty. Tasted two times.

Score: 95 - 97 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2032-2054

The 2024 Beychevelle was picked from September 24 until October 9 and will mature in 70% new oak. This has a nicely composed, warm and sensual bouquet with plush blackberry, cassis and touches of violet. The 42% Merlot is very expressive. The palate is medium-bodied with, again, quite luxuriant tannins that lend this Beychevelle more comeliness than you would anticipate given the growing season. Perhaps it just misses a little sustain on the finish, but otherwise, this is a fine Saint-Julien. 13.3% alcohol.

Score: 91 - 93 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2029-2050

Just bottled, the 2024 Blanc de Lynch Bages is a gorgeous, refreshing dry white to drink now and over the next handful of years. Lemon peel, white pepper, mint and chalky undertones are beautifully delineated. There's a bit more Muscadelle in this year's blend, but that is not especially apparent. Instead, Sauvignon Blanc drives the feel here.

Score: 93 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2025-2030

The 2024 Blanc de Lynch-Bages, aged in 50% new oak and bottled in March, has an appealing nose with well-defined scents of fresh gooseberry, kiwi fruit and nettle. The palate is fresh and vibrant with crisp acidity, lime and lemon peel, quite "zingy" towards the finish. Enjoy this over the next five or six years.

Score: 89 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2025-2030

The 2024 Branaire-Ducru is a super-classic Branaire. Medium in body and gracious, the 2024 is defined by its lifted aromatics and silky, polished tannins. The proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon is especially high in 2024, a sign that the fruit harvested on the later side benefited from better conditions, namely a lack of rain. The 2024 possesses lovely purity and exquisite balance. Floral top notes and a burst of red-toned fruit reappear on the finish to round things out in style. It will be especially fine if élevage softens the contours. This is a fine effort from proprietor Francois-Xavier Maroteau and longtime winemaker Jean-Dominique Videau. Tasted two times.

Score: 92 - 94 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2032-2049

Lovely bright plum colour, slim blue and black fruits, coffee bean and cedar oak notes, carefully constructed with balance, a little short on the finish compared to the excellent recent vintages at Branaire. 55% new oak. 41.5 hl/ha, this is the first vintage with the new cellars, François-Xavier Maroteaux owner and new president of the Union de Grands Crus de Bordeaux.

Score: 91 Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2030-2042

The 2024 Brane-Cantenac is shaping up to be a gem. Blood orange, crushed flowers, spice, mint and chalk confer notable brightness. The 2024 is marked by a strong red-fruit character, bright acids and mid-weight structure, all of which make for a super-classic, if somewhat nervy, Brane-Cantenac. There's quite a bit of potential here. Tasted two times.

Score: 93 - 95 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2032-2049

Tons of energy, stone fruits, cherry pits, damson, a lovely feeling of fruit that has plenty of life ahead it, fresh and juicy with sapidity. not trying too hard just full of pleasure. Edge of grilled campfire, graphite, generosity, easily one of the wines of the vintage. 11.3% press wine, 3.53pH, 46.6hl/ha yield. Harvest 17 September to 8 October, 80% new oak for ageing.

Score: 95 Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2030-2045