Characterized by gravelly soils, the 2019 Pontoise Cabarrus is a successful effort for this 28-hectare Haut-Médoc estate located not far from Sociando Mallet. Delivering aromas of rich berries, cherries, sweet soil tones and spices, it's medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy, with good depth at the core, powdery tannins and a youthfully structured finish.

Tasted at the Cru Bourgeois annual tasting, the 2015 Pontoise Cabarrus offers ripe black cherry and boysenberry fruit on the nose, perhaps just missing a little personality at the moment. It is very youthful and a bit stubborn. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe black plum and boysenberry jam, smooth and velvety in texture with quite a long and sensual finish. What a satisfying 2015 from this estate. This is a big step up from the 2014. Tasted September 2017.

The 2014 Pontoise Cabarrus has an attractive, high-toned, minty bouquet with plenty of saturated red cherries and kirsch notes. The palate is sweet and a little cloying, modern and forward in style, lush and copious fluffy blueberry and cassis fruit, but lacking real Bordeaux character. Enjoyable, but lacking typicité. Tasted September 2016.

This impressive, concentrated blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot and the rest tiny dollops of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot shocked me with its opaque ruby/purple color and its rich, concentrated, intense style. Probably meant for 10 or more years of aging, this is a serious wine that comes close to cru classé quality. It is one of the few cru bourgeois that I would actually cellar for 1-2 years then drink over the following 10-15. A definite sleeper of the vintage.

From a good-sized estate where the average age of the vines is 60 years, this impressively saturated ruby-colored wine was fashioned from a blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. A big, hefty Cru Bourgeois with lots of masculine richness and power, it is atypical for this lighter-weight vintage. Pure and rich with enough tannins to support it for 5-6 years, this is a beefy, red and black fruited wine to drink over the next 5-6 years. It is a sleeper of the vintage.