Chateau Croizet Bages Pauillac 2019 93pts

93 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Displaying a deep garnet-purple color, the 2019 Croizet-Bages comes skipping out of the glass with bright, cheery notes of Morello cherries, black raspberries, redcurrant jelly and cassis plus hints of chocolate mint and wild thyme. Medium to full-bodied, the palate really packs a wallop of vibrant fruit, supported by firm, grainy tannins and loads of zing, finishing on a lingering minty note. Yum!

93 points James Suckling

Blackcurrants, spices and blueberries with some lead pencil on the nose. Medium body with fine tannins that are polished and pretty. Nice finish. Not the most structured 2019, but very attractive and well crafted. Best from 2025.

One former owner of Croizet-Bages was the American Jean-Baptiste Monnot, son of Jean Ferreol Monnot, creator of the Klaxon horn (as well as being a successful miner of gold, silver and copper). Owners Anne Francoise Quié and Jean Philippe Quié, who took over from their father Jean-Michel at the estate in 2001, are twins. The family has three Médoc estates that are all 30 hectares.

The original chateau building for Croizet-Bages was built in 1875 along the quays of Pauillac, away from the vines (as is true for Grand-Puy-Ducasse and Duhart-Milon) but it was sold to the town, leaving this estate without the focal point of a grand building. The former chateau is now the Maison de la Culture de Pauillac.

All the purity of crunchy and charming fruit lingers on candied cherry notes. A touch of petit verdot gives the wine all its colorful verve. The cabernet sauvignon, the true backbone of this great wine, brings an aromatic power and length that will reveal itself in the coming years. With notes of black fruit and cedarwood, the tannic structure combines lovely fatness and fullness with remarkable generosity.