Vinous - Score: 92 (2006 May)

Deep ruby-red. Very ripe yet fresh on the nose: cherry, raspberry, graphite, chocolate, minerals. Lush, velvety and sweet, with unusual vivacity for a 2003 from the right bank thanks to the 50% cabernet franc component. Really coats the mouth with flavors of black raspberry, currant and chocolate. Not yet hugely complex, but the wine's freshness, ripe tannins and superb persistence suggest that aging will bring greater nuance. Has the stuffing to buffer its chewy tannins. This was bottled in September of 2005.