Sweet licorice, chocolate and tobacco at first. Opens up with blueberries, dark plums and a steely mineral core. Full and really smooth texture. Velvety tannins and a wonderful long finish with a very attractive fruit. Enjoyable already but tannins will integrate further with time. Try in 2016.
-www.jamessuckling.com, 'Tasting Report: 2010's Greatness Across The Board in Bordeaux', 17 Feb 2013

(92-93 pts)
There's a lot of sweet fruit here with tobacco, berry and milk chocolate aromas and flavors. Full and silky. Long finish. Best in a long time.

This is loaded with enticing raspberry and blackberry fruit, along with crushed plum and cherry sauce notes. Sleek and racy through the finish, with the graphite edge starting to take form. Shows nice purity and length. —J.M.

This wine has turned out well and is one of the strongest efforts from this estate in many a year. Three-fourths Merlot and the rest mostly Cabernet Franc, the wine offers up oodles of sweet black raspberry, camphor and black currant along with some forest floor and roasted herbs. Super-fruity, opaque ruby/purple, medium to full-bodied, hedonistic and lush, it should drink nicely for at least 10-12+ years. Drink: 2013 - 2025
-Robert Parker, Wine Advocate #205 Feb 2013

(90-92 pts)
2010: Consulting winemaker Dr. Alain Raynaud has produced a beautiful dense ruby/purple-colored effort offering abundant aromas of licorice, black currants, crushed rocks and flowers. Medium to full-bodied with fresh acids, high but ripe tannins and a long finish, this cuvee is usually fairly priced. It should drink well for 15+ years.

Tasted twice with consistent notes, the Clos des Jacobins has a ripe, pure bouquet of dark cherries, liquorice and a touch of crème de cassis with creamy new oak on top. Moderate definition. The palate is medium-bodied with a grippy entry, a lot of dry extract here leading to a mouth-puckering finish. Very compact...maybe this will show a little more flesh and generosity after bottling? Tasted March 2011.