94 pts - Wine Advocate
The finest Giscours in my professional career (I said the same thing from barrel), this dense purple wine has a stunning nose of burning embers, charcoal, creme de cassis, new saddle leather and damp, forest floor notes. It is full-bodied, with exceptionally sweet, well-integrated tannins and a multi-dimensional, almost skyscraper-like mid-palate and finish. With its low acidity and remarkable substance and depth, this gorgeous wine should age beautifully for 20-30 years. - WA, RP (2/2012)
93 pts - Wine Spectator
This is alluring, with lots of incense, warm espresso and roasted mesquite notes leading the way for a sleek core of mouthwatering black currant and blackberry fruit. The long finish lets the mesquite edge linger, with well-embedded grip. Rock-solid. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2014 through 2029. 21,665 cases made. - WS (3/2012)
91 pts - Vinous
Good dark red. Blackberry, licorice, leather, chocolate and a whiff of peat on the nose. Intensely flavored, fine-grained and lively, with noteworthy energy to its dark berry and dark chocolate flavors. A firmly built wine in a rather cool style for the year, finishing with chocolatey tannins, a lightly herbal quality and very good length. Very well done. - IWC (7/2012)