After tasting more than 800 Bordeaux 2019 wines in bottle, Georgie Hindle has given her verdict on how the wines are tasting now.
Here we present a quick and easy way to see tasting notes and scores for all 18 St-Estèphe wines tasted.
| Producer | Appellation | Vintage | Score | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Château Montrose | St-Estèphe (2ème Cru Classé) | 2019 | 99 | A generous and abundant nose full of fruit and aromatic intensity followed by a gorgeous mouthfeel showcasing fruit density and concentration wrapped up in soft, velvety-smooth tannins. Just so much depth but also refinement here, it feels well made with just the right amount of fruit, toasty spice, tannins, freshness and acidity. The overall structure is gently framing all the elements - big and bold but quietly confident. The tannin impact is also enjoyable giving a feeling of approachability despite the long life ahead. Just superb - one of the best in 2019. A blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. 12% press wine. 60% new oak. Drinking window: 2029-2046 Click to see full details | |
| Château Cos d'Estournel | St-Estèphe (2ème Cru Classé) | 2019 | 98 | Vivid red-purple rim to the glass; blue fruits, plums and black cherries presented with pleasant floral aspects alongside a wonderful freshly brewed coffee aroma, soft and delicate but just noticeable. This is absolutely delicious, round and plump on the palate but not heavy, well defined with a fruit precision marrying blackcurrants and cherries with some cocoa and liquorice nuance. The velvety texture and overall clarity stands out, driven and precise with layers of pretty chewy, perfumed fruit underpinned by generous acidity. Sophisticated and enjoyable. Wonderful styling at Cos in 2019. Drinking window: 2028-2045 Click to see full details | |
| Château Ormes de Pez | St-Estèphe | 2019 | 94 | Intense nose, smells powerful, strong and structured. Excellent energy, this is good quality, quite bold and rich, velvety and clearly powerful with tannins that are at the fore right now and totally cover the mouth. This has a juicy appeal though with bright strawberry and cherry fruit flavours and a minty fresh finish. Lovely overall appeal. One to hold on to for a few years before opening. Drinking window: 2024-2038 Click to see full details | |
| Château Phélan Ségur | St-Estèphe | 2019 | 94 | Serious and seductive on the nose, full of ripe black fruits and faint florality. A sophisticated style, clearly powerful and concentrated with a core of succulent blackcurrant and black cherry fruit but delivered with poise and refinement. Round, generous and juicy with lashings of slate, liquorice and menthol freshness with tannins that are both abundant and well integrated, cushioning the fruit and driving it through to a long finish. Excellent clarity and confidence here. A top buy. Drinking window: 2024-2034 Click to see full details | |
| Château Cos d'Estournel, Pagodes de Cos | St-Estèphe | 2019 | 93 | Floral and perfumed fruit straight away on the nose, smells so inviting with black cherries and plum notes. The texture is sweet, juicy and succulent but with lashings of dark, almost bitter chocolate that marry the plush black fruits so well. On the darker side, with a pleasant, cooling menthol freshness. Good impact and character. Drinking window: 2023-2042 Click to see full details | |
| Château Haut-Marbuzet | St-Estèphe | 2019 | 93 | Lovely fragranced nose, heady perfumed, full. This has a silky texture, smooth and driven with vibrant energy and a coolness to the fruit profile, blueberries and cherries with some definite liquorice spicing. The overall frame is dense and still knitted down right now. You can feel that this has underlying power but it's still well balanced and integrated at this stage with a lovely freshness. Great potential for ageing. Drinking window: 2024-2038 Click to see full details | |
| Château Lafon-Rochet | St-Estèphe (4ème Cru Classé) | 2019 | 93 | A bit rustic and wild on the nose, in a good way, not savoury tones so much but brambles with cocoa powder, black pepper and spice - lots going on. The palate has a lovely soft but sumptuous aspect to it, rich fruit flavour with a deep core and soft tannins that settle giving a super comforting feeling. There is also a cooling effect in the mouth, refreshing and tinged with pencil led, wet stone and dark ripe fruits. A heady style but enjoyable with a sweet, lively lift at the finish. You could almost drink this now and enjoy the youthfulness or it will age gracefully. Drinking window: 2023-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Château Le Crock | St-Estèphe (Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel) | 2019 | 93 | A dark and herbal nose, liquorice-dominant with cloves and cinnamon - lots going on. Gorgeous on the palate, bright juicy fruit, firm and mouth filling tannins and tons of acidity lift the overall frame. Strawberry, red cherry and plum fruit is polished and pristine and this offers lots of enjoyment. Lovely personality to this. Drinking window: 2025-2039 Click to see full details | |
| Château Tronquoy-Lalande | St-Estèphe | 2019 | 93 | Savoury aspects to the nose here, black truffles and dark chocolate. Such a dark fruit profile - black plums, cherries, prunes, some fig, really majoring on the ripe black fruits with some treacle and coffee notes. Fine but grippy tannins also really take hold in the mouth producing quite a full style - dense and filling. An intersting, nuanced palate with just enough acidity to keep things fresh and balance the deep fruit profile. I like this style a lot. Drinking window: 2023-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Château Cos Labory | St-Estèphe (5ème Cru Classé) | 2019 | 92 | Wonderfully fragrant nose, smells rich and perfumed with high toned fruit nuances. Quite a fresh, juicy style, light almost with a distinct clarity of flavour even without a particularly big structure. Linear and direct, this just gently moves through the palate with a persistent drive of cherry and black plum flavours and high acidity. Bright, lively and charming with a long finish. Drinking window: 2023-2033 Click to see full details | |
| Château Le Boscq | St-Estèphe (Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel) | 2019 | 92 | Nicely concentrated rich, ripe nose. Lovely sculpting here, the fruit feels well handled and although there are tannins that are quite pronounced right now you do get the lovely quality of blackcurrant and cherries and a chalkiness that's really appealing. Great freshness too, good sustaining acidity that keeps the palate lifted. A cooling aspect comes in on the finish. Just needs a little time to integrate fully. Captivating. 2% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. Drinking window: 2024-2039 Click to see full details | |
| Château Meyney | St-Estèphe | 2019 | 92 | Smells quite medicinal and herbal on the nose. This has nice energy on the palate, lively acidity drives the fruit, the tannins are a bit pronounced at this stage and this is drying towards the finish but overall it's balanced, soft and smooth with great freshness and fun juicy strawberry fruit. The tannins just need to soften and integrate. Drinking window: 2025-2036 Click to see full details | |
| Château Montrose, Dame de Montrose | St-Estèphe | 2019 | 92 | Generous nose filled with sweet blackcurrant fruit. This is dense and impactful, chewy with fine but grippy tannins making their presence known straight away. I love the texture though, it's mouth coating in the best way - refined, with bright berry fruit and liquorice edges, particularly on the finish. Everything feels in balance with plenty going on and lots to like. A blend of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Merlot (which is unusual because normally there is a majority of Merlot) with 3% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot. Drinking window: 2023-2030 Click to see full details | |
| Château Lafon-Rochet, Les Pelerine de Lafon-Rochet | St-Estèphe | 2019 | 91 | Restrained on the nose, not giving much away. This has a nice core of generous, plush red and black fruits. It has a touch of sweetness to the lively acidity which gives lift and a finish tinged with fresh liquorice spice. Drinking window: 2023-2027 Click to see full details | |
| Château Le Boscq, Heritage de Le Boscq | St-Estèphe | 2019 | 91 | Softly sweet and ripe fruit on the nose - Parma Violets and strawberries. Juicy and fresh, this has a good burst of energy at the beginning. Part of ageing is in used barrels which gives the tannins a real presence but they are fine and grip to the sides of the mouth. High-toned fruit, good juice and acidity. Approach earlier. Situated between Sociando Mallet and Calon-Ségur. Drinking window: 2022-2035 Click to see full details | |
| Château Lilian Ladouys | St-Estèphe (Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel) | 2019 | 91 | Lovely, expressive nose of sweet ripe fruits. The tannins are a bit too present at the moment, they take over and have a drying effect due to quite high acidity. There is definitely a core of ripe dark fruits with herb and liquorice edges but this needs more time to integrate. Drinking window: 2025-2029 Click to see full details | |
| Château Petit Bocq | St-Estèphe (Cru Bourgeois Supérieur) | 2019 | 90 | Expressive and characterful on the nose. Great clarity and drive on the palate, fresh with firm but fine tannins that support the blackcurrant and damson fruit. A touch of cocoa powder compliments the palate. Fruity and fresh with lots of life. Not massively complex but good personality. Drinking window: 2025-2039 Click to see full details | |
| Château La Commanderie | St-Estèphe (Cru Bourgeois) | 2019 | 89 | Beautifully expressive nose: rich, ripe and characterful. Freshly picked summer berries on the palate. Toned down, fresh acidity, marked at first but then settles, although it's not quite integrated with the core of dark fruits yet. Some spiced edges and dry tannins that need to soften a little but this has a nice structure and good concentration. Drinking window: 2025-2039 Click to see full details |