92 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon (Santa Ynez Valley) is a classic Los Olivos wine endowed with tons of inky dark fruit and plenty of complicating earthy, savory undertones. Blue/purplish fruit, sage, lavender, licorice and chocolate are front and center in this potent Cabernet.

93 Joe Czerwinski - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"Gandona's 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Encosta features scents of crushed stone and pencil shavings layered atop ripe plums and black cherries. While it's full-bodied, with some grainy tannins, it's not unapproachable, with a long, dusty-textured finish. For those keeping track of the minutia, it was aged in two-thirds new French oak and there's a tiny proportion (less than 2% in aggregate) of other grape varieties: Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Previous vintages are still on the market for around $100, so this may be the rare affordable bottling from Pritchard Hill (1,050 cases produced)."

99 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

A beautifully layered red with blackcurrant, hazelnut and lead-pencil character and fine, velvety tannins. Full-bodied and reserved. It’s like a tightly knit ball of polished tannins that are cashmere in texture. So very long and impressive. Give this time. A terrific Lynch. Better after 2027.

98 Decanter

"One of my favourite wines of the vintage, this is a wonderful example of high definition winemaking but still offering plenty of Pauillac swagger. Smells dark and slightly savoury, full of black fruit and toasted aromas. Bright and lively on the palate with clarity and precision to the berry fruit, shining and clear with juicy, mouthwatering acidity - so much energy in the glass. Chalky, graphite-laced tannins fill the mouth, giving structure and clear terroir markers with a lingering minerality on the finish. Perfectly weighted with incredible delectability and drinkability. Persistent with a long finish. Superb effort. (GH) (1/2023)"

97 Wine Enthusiast

Bold black fruits and dense, textured tannins are very much in the style of the estate. What is new in this vintage is the extra precision that lifts the wine, bringing together the beautiful black currant flavors of ripe Cabernet Sauvignon with a refined texture of sophisticated tannins. This is an impressive wine, sure to age over many years.

96 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

The 2020 Château Lynch-Bages brings even more density and depth and is another vin de garde in the vintage. A blend of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, aged in 75% new barrels, this inky hued beauty boasts a ripe, powerful, full-bodied style that carries serious concentration as well as building, ripe, velvety tannins. While it doesn't have the elegance of the 2019, it brings beautiful cassis and blackberry fruit, lots of spice, graphite, and lead pencil aromatics, terrific balance, and a blockbuster finish. It's going to need at least a decade and will have 40-50 years of prime drinking.

96 Wine Spectator

#3 Top 100 Wines of 2023
"Gorgeous from the start, with cassis and violet notes leading off, followed by additional waves of black cherry and blackberry fruit as well as sweet tobacco and iron. Shows subtle savory and cedar hints that stay in the background, as the iron note pierces through the fruit on the finish. Almost approachable for the fruit, but wait if you can. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2026 through 2040."

96 Neal Martin - Vinous Media

"The 2020 Lynch-Bages, the first vintage vinified at the new winery, has a beautifully-defined bouquet with a strong estuarine influence, brine and seaweed infusing the black fruit. It's almost understated at first, but it opens wonderfully in the glass - quintessentially Pauillac. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, quite concentrated that is counterbalanced by a fine bead of acidity. The saline note on the finish is superb, lingering in the mouth. What an absolutely delicious Lynch-Bages for the long-term."

95+ William Kelley - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"The vintage that inaugurated the estate's new state-of-the-art winery, the 2020 Lynch-Bages has turned out very nicely, offering up aromas of crème de cassis and blackberries mingled with notions of pencil shavings, spices and classy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with good concentration, ripe, powdery tannins and a seamless, integrated profile for such a young Lynch-Bages, it shows considerable promise. The blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot incorporates more Merlot than usual, reflecting relative yields in the vintage more than any stylistic shift."

94 The Tasting Panel

Ripe boysenberry preserves are amplified by a wash of milk chocolate and almond brittle. Sumptuously textured, with sleek tannins enveloped in sandalwood

94 Wine Spectator

"Intense, powerful and complex, this features heady aromas and flavors of toffee, marzipan, butterscotch and chocolate. Notes of mocha and French roast chime in as well, with a long, glorious fin- ish of dried white fruits and spice. Drink now." —K.M.

89 Wine Spectator

Lively and light on its feet, this creamy white offers a pretty mix of poached apricot, tangerine, stone and white blossom flavors. Snappy finish. Drink now. 15,000 cases imported.

89-91 Neal Martin - Vinous Media

There are just two barrels of the 2020 Chambolle-Musigny Aux Combottes 1er Cru this year. Pretty blackcurrant and redcurrant fruit laced with sous-bois unfurl on the nose, though it is not intense. The mineral component becomes more accentuated with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with crunchy red fruit on the entry. There is just a touch of greenness here, just around the edges, a hint of bell pepper towards the finish. This is one that I would drink earlier than others as it just needs more substance on the finish. Maybe that will develop during the remainder of its barrel maturation? We will see. If so, I will dutifully raise my prudent score.

88-90 Neal Martin - Vinous Media

The 2021 Chambolle-Musigny Aux Combottes 1er Cru, reduced to just 450 bottles, has a fragrant, open-knit bouquet with loamy scents percolating through the red fruit. The palate is very smooth, with fine acidity, airy and light with a subtle meaty note towards the finish. Not bad, though it needs to manifest more substance on the finish.

94-95 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com

This is really minerally with crushed stones and dark berries. Some licorice. Medium to full body, firm and silky tannins and a beautiful, tight and focused finish. Such energy, delivered down a straight line.

94-95 VERT DE VIN

The nose is elegant and offers delicacy, a beautiful finesse of the grain as well as deepness and a small concentration. It reveals notes of ripe blackberry, raspberry, small notes of crushed strawberry associated with touches of violet, cornflower, small blue fruits as well as hints of Cuben pepper, cherry/cherry flowers, gravels (terroir), very discreet hints of nutmeg and cardamom. The palate is fruity, elegant and offers a beautiful definition, precision, a beautiful finesse of the grain, a beautiful structure, a beautiful guideline, delicacy, freshness as well as a fine acidulous frame. On the palate this wine expresses notes of crunchy/juicy raspberry, small red berries and small notes of violet associated a touch of juicy blackberry as well as a hint of juicy/fresh strawberry, sweet spices, nutmeg and a discreet hint of toasted/caramelization. Tannins are elegant and well-build. A very discreet hint of chocolate and sapidity on the finish.

94 Antonio Galloni - Vinous

Powerful and dark in the glass, the 2017 Les Forts de Latour is super-impressive. Black cherry, plum, spice, chocolate and leather are just some of the many aromas and flavors that flesh out as this ample, heady Pauillac shows off its considerable personality. Medium in body, yet with terrific depth and substance, the Forts de Latour is an absolute winner in 2017.

94 Wine Enthusiast

This bold, structured wine is packed with blackberry fruits and ripe tannins. Freshness and structure from the Cabernet Sauvignon are very present, giving a crisp edge to the solid backbone. This is a wine for aging. Don't drink before 2023.

94 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

A blend of 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 0.8% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2017 Les Forts de Latour is deep garnet-purple in color and strides confidently out of the glass with classic notes of plum preserves, warm cassis and pencil shavings with nuances of mulberries, pencil lead, Indian spices and forest floor. Medium-bodied, the palate packs a lot of fruit into a very elegant, tightly knit palate, delivering expressive blackberry and spicy flavors with a firm frame of grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing long with a peppery kick.

94 Decanter

Smells lovely, really aromatic and shining out of the glass, forward and expressive with clarity and precision on the nose full of red fruit and floral scents. Sleek and crisp, this has energy and lifeforce, I love the shape and straightforwardness but it’s the texture that’s so captivating - slightly firm but dense and chalky tannins give the bounce and cushioning on the palate while the fruit is lean and well defined. So well worked, feels careful, controlled, refined and polished. Sophisticated and just so seamless. Extremely young right now, coiled and tense still, direct from start to finish, it needs to slow down and soften and relax. Lovely pure and perfumed red fruits raspberry and blueberries alongside a slightly sharp, bitter grapefruit edge to the tannins as well as graphite and slate which lingers on the tongue and gives the mighty grip that doesn't let go. Stylish and enjoyable. 64 PIT, 6.7% press wine. 45.4% production. Harvest 11 September to 4 October. Technical director Hélène Genin. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend.

94 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Independent

A blend of 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 0.8% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2017 Les Forts de Latour has a medium to deep garnet color with a lingering hint of purple. It prances out of the glass with fragrant scents of black raspberries, mulberries, and black currant pastilles, leading to suggestions of lilacs, iron ore, fragrant earth, and black truffles, plus a waft of fallen leaves. The palate delivers an elegantly styled, medium body with fantastically ripe, ever so fine-grained tannins and beautiful tension supporting the intense black and red berry layers, finishing with impressive length and loads of mineral and floral sparks.

93 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com

A step up, the 2017 Les Forts De Latour includes more Cabernet Sauvignon and is 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, and the balance Petit Verdot and a splash of Cabernet Franc. Creme de cassis, unsmoked tobacco, damp earth, and a touch of cedar pencil all emerge from the glass, and it's beautifully textured and medium to full-bodied, with terrific purity and a great finish. While it's a second wine, I suspect it will evolve for 20-30 years.

94 Wine Spectator

A polished red, boasting bright cherry and raspberry flavors that cozy up to toasty oak, with accents of hay, juniper and suede adding depth. Poised, vibrant and long, with an aftertaste of red fruit, vanilla and mineral. Best from 2025 through 2042. 250 cases made, 80 cases imported.