1994 Château l'Évangile

This brilliant estate, adjacent to La Conseillante, Petrus, and Vieux-Chateau-Certan, has turned in exemplary efforts in 1993-95. One of the vintage's most notable successes, L'Evangile's 1994 possesses a dense, saturated purple color, followed by a gorgeously sweet nose of framboise/cassis, with mineral and licorice notes in the background. This medium to full-bodied wine reveals a seamless, opulent texture, fabulous purity to its layers of fruit, as well as superb extraction and equilibrium. This terrific wine is one of the few 1994s that has most of its tannin concealed by the wine's wealth of fruit. It is a gorgeous L'Evangile. Anticipated maturity: 2001-2020.

This brilliant estate, adjacent to La Conseillante, Petrus, and Vieux-Chateau-Certan, has turned in exemplary efforts in 1993-95. One of the vintage's most notable successes, L'Evangile's 1994 possesses a dense, saturated purple color, followed by a gorgeously sweet nose of framboise/cassis, with mineral and licorice notes in the background. This medium to full-bodied wine reveals a seamless, opulent texture, fabulous purity to its layers of fruit, as well as superb extraction and equilibrium. This terrific wine is one of the few 1994s that has most of its tannin concealed by the wine's wealth of fruit. It is a gorgeous L'Evangile. Anticipated maturity: 2001-2020. Feb 1997, www.robertparker.com

1995 L'Evangile (aged in 42% new oak, a bit higher than average for this property): Deep ruby-purple color. Pristine, minerally, sappy, black and blue fruit nose, with a floral, violety cabernet franc aspect. Creamy-rich in the mouth, but clearly delineated and firmly structured; offers great depth of chocolatey fruit. Great persistence on the palate, with very fine tannins currently buried in fruit. Combines the tendresse of the '85 with the tannic structure of the '89, says Marchive.