Jeb Dunnuck (99)

Including slightly more Cabernet Sauvignon than usual, the 2018 Château Clinet is 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon that was brought up in 75% new French oak. One of the superstars of the vintage, it has incredible elegance and finesse as well as gorgeous richness and depth. Notes of cassis and truffly dark fruits as well as tobacco, damp earth, chocolate, and lead pencil shavings emerge from the glass, and it's full-bodied, with a seamless, multi-dimensional texture, gorgeous tannins, and a great, great finish. It already offers incredible pleasure, but it won't hit maturity for another 5-7 years and should evolve for 30 years or more. This magical wine is in the same league as the 2015 and 2016, and drinking these beauties over the coming decades will be an incredible treat.

Vinous - Neal Martin (91)

The 2018 Clos de Boüard has a generous, ripe bouquet of blackberry, boysenberry and light violet aromas that all gain intensity with aeration. The palate is ripe and quite extracted on the entry. A powerful Montagne Saint-Émilion with grippy tannins, though it needs a little more amplitude toward the finish, which feels strict and linear. It does open up with aeration and should come around with 2–3 years in bottle.

Vinous - Neal Martin (91)

The 2018 Clos de Boüard has a generous, ripe bouquet of blackberry, boysenberry and light violet aromas that all gain intensity with aeration. The palate is ripe and quite extracted on the entry. A powerful Montagne Saint-Émilion with grippy tannins, though it needs a little more amplitude toward the finish, which feels strict and linear. It does open up with aeration and should come around with 2–3 years in bottle.

Vinous - Neal Martin (91)

The 2018 Clos de Boüard has a generous, ripe bouquet of blackberry, boysenberry and light violet aromas that all gain intensity with aeration. The palate is ripe and quite extracted on the entry. A powerful Montagne Saint-Émilion with grippy tannins, though it needs a little more amplitude toward the finish, which feels strict and linear. It does open up with aeration and should come around with 2–3 years in bottle.

Wine Spectator (94-97)

Features seamlessly layered dark currant, fig and boysenberry fruit, infused liberally with a tobacco note and backed by a long, smoldering finish. Latent energy keeps this going. An impressive young wine.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (96)

The 2018 Clos de Sarpe has turned out beautifully. Rich and unctuous in the glass, yet with terrific freshness, the 2018 dazzles from start to finish. There is plenty of the flamboyance Clos de Sarpe fans expect, and yet the 2018 is so measured and vibrant. Inky red/purplish fruit, lavender, rose petal and blood orange meld into the sumptuous finish. A slight move away from the very pushed style of years past has paid off big time. The 2018 is simply magnificent.

Wine Advocate (90-92)

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Jeb Dunnuck (94-96)

Rocking stuff, the 2018 Clos du Marquis checks in 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet Franc that hit 14.5% alcohol with a healthy pH of 3.64 and an IPT of 79. It boasts a deep, saturated purple color as well as ripe, powerful, yet complex aromatics. Full-bodied and rich, with a stacked mid-palate, this beauty builds on the palate with ripe, polished tannin, ample oomph, and a great finish. It’s a powerful, concentrated wine from the team at Léoville Las Cases that will benefit from 5-7 years of bottle age and keep for two decades.

Wine Spectator (90-93)

Streamlined and fresh in feel, offering a polished beam of cherry and red currant notes laced with subtle tobacco and mineral hints. Sleek finish

Wine Spectator (90-93)

This white delivers tangy fleur de sel, thyme, lemon and white asparagus notes, with good zing for the vintage.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (98)

The 2018 Clos Fourtet is one of the most elegant, refined wines of the vintage. Silky and aromatically expressive, Clos Fourtet is all grace. Blue/purplish fruit, lavender, spice, menthol and sage all lift from the glass. Even with all of the natural richness of the year, Clos Fourtet sizzles with tension and delineation. Then again, that is the magic of the Saint-Émilion plateau. Clos Fourtet is easy to look past in 2018. It is neither exuberant nor exotically ripe. Instead, everything is in reserve. The 2018 is a magical wine, that's all there is to it. Don't miss it.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (98)

The 2018 Clos Fourtet is one of the most elegant, refined wines of the vintage. Silky and aromatically expressive, Clos Fourtet is all grace. Blue/purplish fruit, lavender, spice, menthol and sage all lift from the glass. Even with all of the natural richness of the year, Clos Fourtet sizzles with tension and delineation. Then again, that is the magic of the Saint-Émilion plateau. Clos Fourtet is easy to look past in 2018. It is neither exuberant nor exotically ripe. Instead, everything is in reserve. The 2018 is a magical wine, that's all there is to it. Don't miss it.

James Suckling (96-97)

Fantastic depth of fruit to this young wine with crushed-berry, tile and stone character. Full-bodied with superb structure. Polished yet intense tannins. Powerful finish. Best ever?

James Suckling (96-97)

Fantastic depth of fruit to this young wine with crushed-berry, tile and stone character. Full-bodied with superb structure. Polished yet intense tannins. Powerful finish. Best ever?

James Suckling (96-97)

Fantastic depth of fruit to this young wine with crushed-berry, tile and stone character. Full-bodied with superb structure. Polished yet intense tannins. Powerful finish. Best ever?

Jeb Dunnuck (94)

Coming from the Moueix team, the 2018 Clos La Madeleine checks in as 76% Merlot and 24% Cabernet Franc from a tiny vineyard (2.3 hectares) on the hillsides of Saint-Emilion, near Belair-Monange. This vineyard was purchased by the Moueix family in 2017, and the 2018 saw malolactic fermentation in barrel and was raised in 40% new French oak. It has classic Saint-Emilion minerality as well as a great nose of blackcurrants, black cherries, chocolate, crushed stone, and graphite. This carries to a powerful, medium to full-bodied 2018 with chalky tannins, terrific mid-palate depth, and a juicy, lively, complex style that keeps you coming back to the glass. Give it a few years and enjoy over the following 15-20 years. It's the finest vintage of this cuvée I've tasted, and I expect the best is still to come.

Wine Advocate (92-94)

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Vinous - Antonio Galloni (89-91)

The 2018 Clos Marsalette is quite bold and racy in this vintage and yet there is a good bit of underlying structure as well. Inky blue/purplish berry fruit, licorice and spice are all given an extra kick of juiciness. I really like the wine's extroverted personality. The blend is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Merlot.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (89-91)

The 2018 Clos Marsalette is quite bold and racy in this vintage and yet there is a good bit of underlying structure as well. Inky blue/purplish berry fruit, licorice and spice are all given an extra kick of juiciness. I really like the wine's extroverted personality. The blend is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Merlot.

Vinous - Neal Martin (92+)

The 2018 Clos René, for me the top-performing Pomerol within the western sector of the appellation, has a very well-defined and focused bouquet of perfumed blackberry, briary and truffle aromas that gain intensity with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, fresh and tensile, leading into a classic Pomerol finish of black truffle, white pepper and light tobacco notes. This is a classy Pomerol that should age with style.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (95)

The 2018 Clos Saint-Julien is much more understated from bottle than it was from barrel, and that's a good thing, especially in this vintage. Inky blue/purplish fruit, lavender, mint and spice-box all meld together effortlessly in the glass. Silky and poised, with exceptional balance Clos Saint-Julien is a winner in 2018. Exquisite.

The Wine Cellar Insider (97)

Sexy, silky, velvety textured ripe, sweet fruits coat your palate. The balance between the weight, depth, layers of voluptuously textured fruits is dead on. Rich, opulent and sensuous, this decadent offering from the plateau of Saint Emilion is going to offer pleasure for at least two decades and probably longer.

The Wine Cellar Insider (97)

Sexy, silky, velvety textured ripe, sweet fruits coat your palate. The balance between the weight, depth, layers of voluptuously textured fruits is dead on. Rich, opulent and sensuous, this decadent offering from the plateau of Saint Emilion is going to offer pleasure for at least two decades and probably longer.

Crafted from sumptuously ripe Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, the Closerie Saint Roc Rouge 2018 hails from the renowned Bordeaux region of France. This opulent red wine is the creation of the respected Les Vignerons de Tutiac winery, who takes a meticulous, handcrafted approach in the vineyard. Closerie Saint Roc Rouge 2018 is known for its impeccably balanced flavour profile, sporting rich berry nuances intertwined with subtle spice and oak undertones, a testament to 18 months of careful oak barrel aging.

Full-bodied yet velvety, it complements hearty roasts and succulent steak beautifully, its bright acidity and firm tannins ensuring a robust structure and long-lasting finish. As a vintage year, 2018 was highly favourable, leading to a Closerie Saint Roc Rouge that radiates charm, elegance, and a depth of flavour that encompasses the very essence of superior French viticulture.

Made with the same care and expertise as its big brother, Collines de L'If is fine and fresh with notes of autumn fruits, liquorice and spices. It conveys an accessibility, good richness and an attractive balance between fruit and soil with a touch of mint. The finish is long with the red fruit character that embodies Saint-Emilion wines.