Drank over a long afternoon and evening.

Lifted bouquet of promising typicity. Nothing stands out, yet all as it should be. Quite restrained for such a warm vintage offering.

Purple and blackberries dominate, along with pyrazines and graphite. Somewhat sappy middle, which shows a certain bitterness. This element turns prominent at the back and leads to a rather pinched finish. Solid, yet the greenish bite detracts from the whole.

A few years might round this out a touch.

Tasted over a long afternoon and evening, alongside the same vintage Romefort

Bouquet of spring flowers, equal parts red and purple fruits and berries, red berry liqueurs, sweet herbs, and pipe tobacco, with pyrazine, graphite, and worn leather accents.

Notably open knit, typical of this ripe vintage. Red plum and raspberry elements shroud a blackcurrant core. Leaning modern, particularly in terms of fruitiness and paucity of unmistakable terroir. Very clean as well. Also, quite boozy...no bell ringer. The combination of fruitiness, light terroir markers, cleanness, and booziness might reasonably place this, in a blind tasting, as an Argentine - Bordeaux collaboration.

More positively, medium acid and medium minus tannins hold the liquid compactly. Generally balanced oak treatment. Not an extender ager. Holding this through 2038 seems iffy. This noted, cellaring bottles for five to seven years recommended.

My preference ran decidedly to the restrained rusticity of the Romefort.

Tasted over a long afternoon and evening, alongside the same vintage d'Issan.

This traditionally styled, distinctively Left Bank, exceptionally well balanced, 13 abv offering, tore gaping holes in the notion that Classed Growth offerings represent higher quality by default.

Blackcurrant, pyrazines, graphite, savory herbs, and mineral ores show prominently on the bouquet and palate. Medium plus acid, medium tannin, integrating oak. Wines of the Left Bank earth, such as this, particularly from such a ripe vintage, at once satisfy, and create hope that the ancient ways will not be forgotten by all.

I scored this and the d'Issan 92 points, for very different reasons. In QPR, however, the Margaux was never in the race. Always rewarding to find such Old School gems.