No formal notes. Nice toasty nose with apple and pear notes, fairly creamy mouthfeel with nice acidity. Some yeasty notes as well. Excellent.

This was very forward with a creamy and ripe nose of black and blue fruits, spice and hint of floral. Big, soft and supple mouthfeel with sweet dark fruit flavours, oak and a touch of spice. There’s decent acidity here which adds some lift to the round and warm profile along with ripe but drying tannins. Some heat on the finish as well. A decent drink but this doesn’t show a lot of Margaux typicity and, for my tastes, borders on being too ripe. Drink or hold. Good.

This was quite different after rich and almost jammy Malescot, with a very green and weedy nose, almost sour. With some time the nose did improve dropping the sourness and gaining some sweetness with dark fruit aromas eventually working their way into the mix but overall the nose here is quite green. Unfortunately this profile carried onto the palate which was somewhat quite thin. Roasted notes on the finish with decent acidity and drying tannins. My least favourite of the flight. Average.

A fitting finish to this flight as this was somewhere in between the Malescot (too rich/ripe) and the La Tour-Martillac (too green/thin) with a controlled but appealing Bordeaux-like nose of dark fruit, earth, a hint of oak and a nice herbal note. In the mouth this was balanced and stylish with nice acidity, fleshy tannins and a pleasantly drying finish. Served blind one might not guess this as a 2003. I would give this a few more years. My favourite of the flight. Very good.

This offers a really nice nose of sweet Bordeaux funk, licorice, earth and darker red fruits. Almost similar to the Leoville Barton but with less richness. Smooth on the palate with earthy flavours similar to the palate and nice darker fruit notes coming through on the finish. Well balanced between the acidity and the ripe and soft tannins. Drink or hold. Very good.

Very nice nose, not unlike the Langoa Barton, with sweet funk, ripe red fruits and licorice. On the palate the fruit is sweet but not over the top with solid acidity and ripe but grippy tannins. While this doesn't escape the vintage profile, it is very well balanced and shows some Bordeaux typicity. I would leave these alone for 5-7 years. Excellent. 91+

At first the nose here wasn't very nice at all—boiled cereal, vitamins and some muted stewed fruit. With some time in the glass the aromas did improve as the cereal/vitamin note became more oakish and fruit notes more pronounced, but overall still not a fan. In the mouth this was polished and internationally styled. Warm on the finish. This was the most modern, and least Bordeaux-like wine so far. Average.

Cool and open nose of creamy dark fruits with hints of bell pepper. Palate seemed quite simple and a little stripped and dried out. Other tables liked their bottle more than we liked ours, so perhaps ours was off.

Compared to the others in this flight, this nose is the most polished with the most noticeable oak as well. Slightly warmer nose. Very tight on the palate but also very well balanced. This needs the most time of all the wines tonight but also possibly has the most potential. Excellent. 90+

Earthy nose with sweet peppery funk and darker fruits. Quite tannic and dry on the palate with decent acidity and some warmth coming through on the finish. Most open wine of the flight, but the Pontet Canet has the most potential. Very good.

Safron and sweet pineapple nose with hints of nutmeg. Warm finish. Shows the vintage: very sweet/cloying and lacking in acidity. Good.