A St-Julien name that I can`t recommend highly enough, Château Saint-Pierre 2018 is extremely architectural in feel, a beautiful, confident, masculine, muscled wine with vertical walls - although it`s interesting to note it has slightly lower alcohol than some other St-Juliens. It`s intense in its black fruit and charcoal character, rippling with tannins. I am full of admiration for this impressive wine that demands your attention. 95 points

Deepest purple colour. Aromatic with dark red fruit and tea leaf, even a touch floral. Sadly, that fruit is rather overwhelmed by the oak on the palate, but the tannins are smooth if quite dense. Chewy finish. 16 points

The deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Saint-Pierre displays shy scents of rose hip tea, dried mint, crushed rocks and lavender to begin, opening out to a growing core of warm blackcurrants, baked blackberries and Morello cherries plus wafts of garrigue and wild sage. Full-bodied and absolutely laden with black fruits and provocative mineral sparks, it has a firm texture of grainy tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing long and savory. Aging is anticipated to be for 14 months in 50% new and 50% second-fill barrels. The blend is currently 77% Cabernet Sauvignon and 23% Merlot. 94-96 points

A powerful, virile wine, the 2018 Saint-Pierre is also one of the highlights of the vintage. Black cherry, graphite, smoke, leather, menthol, violet and spice meld together in a brooding, tannic Saint-Julien that is going to need a bit of time to truly come into its own. Saint-Pierre is muscular, massively tannic and forbidding, and yet there is a ton of fruit behind all of that structure. Cabernet Sauvignon features heavily in the blend, and that comes through in the wine`s flavor profile and overall feel. Readers will have to be patient. I can`t wait to taste it from bottle. The 2018 is 77% Cabernet Sauvignon and 23% Merlot. Tasted four times. 92-95 points

An impressive Cabernet dominance in the blend here, with 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the balance is entirely Merlot. The declared alcohol is a surprisingly modest 13%. It presents a wonderfully evocative style on the nose, all brightly creamed black cherry, with a smoky backdrop. The palate shows an immediate sense of substance and polish, with a great wealth of ripe and seductive tannins, coursing beneath a bed of deliciously creamed and perfumed black plums and black cherries. There is a great grip here, underpinning a fine substance, making this a really strong showing from this domaine, easily matching some of the biggest names in the appellation. A huge result here. Bravo. 96-98 points