Tasted at the chateau, I wrote at primeur that Francois Mitjavile might deserve a higher score once in bottle. This is a sensational Saint Emilion. It has a pastille-like exuberance on the nose with red fruits mingling with blueberry and a touch of Hoi Sin and crushed stone. The palate is underpinned by very fine tannins and possesses a beguiling sense of symmetry. The finish has 2009 trademark touches of white pepper and bay leaf that demonstrated great persistency, but it has barely begun showing exactly what it can do. Tasted November 2011.
-Wine Journal Jan 2012

(93-95 pts)
Tasted at the chateau. This finished its alcoholic fermentation 8-10 days ago. This has a supremely pure, delineated bouquet that reminds me of a Grand Cru Burgundy! Blackberry leaf, a touch of raspberry, limestone and just a faint hint of orange-blossom. Very fine definition. There is a little gas on the entry from the fermentation, but the palate is well balanced, nice tension and purity, demonstrating a vibrant sense of minerality. Very linear towards the finish, stricter than the 2008 with a tensile blackcurrant and raspberry finish. Good length. This will surely blossom by the time of bottling, whereupon it may deserve a higher mark. Cerebral (as ever.) Tasted March 2010.
-Wine Journal May 2010

[85M/15CF] Black red; intense, dense, roasted fruit to smell, with a touch of 'game'; powerful and yet refined, finely tannic, very rich, very concentrated yet without any asperity or excess weight whatsoever. At 15.6% alcohol this has a remarkable balance: a little warmth, yes, but nothing tiring, no bitterness, no hardness, no burn. It's all in the balance of constituents. Very sweet in fruit, but a wonderfully grand impression of overall balance; harmonious, complex and fine, retaining its characteristic 'burgundian' transparency and finesse, and, the alcohol notwithstanding, with no feeling of excess or weight at all. Effortless, subtle, complex, mouthcoating and very long in ripe, sweet perfume to finish. Extra-ordinary and individual. Expressive of the year, the Cru, and François Mitjaville's gifted winemaking skills. 2018-40+