Pure and beautiful aromas of blueberries and dark chocolate that follow through to a full body, with fine tannins and a silky finish. Very fine indeed. Wonderful length to this. Best wines in years from here. Try in 2018.

Currants and dark fruits with hints of licorice. Full and silky with ripe tannins and berry. Cigar tobacco and berry. Sweet tobacco. This is a wine that shows serious depth of fruit and refined tannins. Better in 2016.

Layered, textured, deep, cigar box, cassis and earth, managing to simultaneously stretch out, and burrow down. The edges open slowly but surely and seductively. Still inky in colour, this has all the powerful texture and...

This vintage featured a cold winter and cool weather at flowering, followed by a dry summer with a hot July and warm days and cool nights in August and September. The season delivered a wine with an inky dark colour and...

(91-94 points) (Note: from vines next to the wall by Grands Echézeaux) Here too there is mild reduction that does not completely hide the subtle aromas of red berry fruit, crushed herbs, earth and a hint of the sauvage...

The 2010 Branaire-Ducru has a lovely mélange of red and black fruit, hints of dried blood and autumn leaves suggesting that this is moving into its secondary phase. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, a fine...

This the greatest Pavillon Rouge ever made. Aromas of flowers, smoke, currants and raspberries follow through to a full body, with super silky tannins and a long, long finish. This is balanced and refined with wonderful...

Another big vintage, when it became clear that Clerc Milon was hitting a different level, and you feel it in the glass simply by hovering your nose in its vicinity. This is serious, monumental, will benefit from a few...

Opulent, lush, and loaded with layers of perfectly ripe, black and red plums, chocolate, cherries, flowers, truffle, licorice, smoke, and a background note of mint. The wine is concentrated, long, deep, and fresh, with...

This is a fine, beautifully controlled wine. Its dark black currant fruits and firm dense texture are restrained, stylish and delicious. At the same time, the fruits offer a smooth, juicy aftertaste. Keep for 6–7 years.

A very rich, layered red with blackberry, fresh mushroom and some hazelnut. It’s full-bodied, layered and extremely intense. Velvety and chewy tannins. Still extremely powerful and young. Last tasted in 2015. Better after...

Somewhat like the white of the same vintage, this is a taut wine, but time in glass yields impressive, cool,blueberry fruit that tastes more youthful than its age. The Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the palate with vivid...

A true “Wow!” wine from the American Adam’s family, who acquired this estate a little over a decade ago, the 2010 Château Fonplegade is the normal blend of 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc brought up in plenty of new...

Inky ruby colour even at 10 years old, easily as good as the 2016 and possibly even better. You can spend a lot more money on wines of this vintage and not get as much pleasure as you are getting in the glass here. Pure...

This full, fruity wine is packed with acidity as well as ripeness. It has a fresh black-currant character, and the structure underneath is strong. It will develop relatively quickly, but then could hold at its peak for...

Aromas of jam and sweet dark fruits. Mint too. Full body, with velvety tannins and plenty of ripe fruit. Long and caressing finish. Second wine of Giscours. Better in 2016.

(93-94 points) Very spicy and intense with dark berries and sweet tobacco. Full and velvety. Very long and intense.

Tasted blind at the Southwold Bordeaux 2010 tasting. This is a great La Tour Martillac that must be one the finest releases from the estate in recent years. It has quite an elegant understated bouquet with autumn leaves...

(94-95 points) Coffee and currants with hints of sweet tobacco and vanilla bean. Subtle yet intense. Full body, with sexy tannins and a sweet fruit coating around it. Very fine and linear. Direct. Gorgeous. Better than I...

This wine was added to the output of Château Léoville Las Cases alongside Clos de Marquis from the 2007 vintage. It is technically the ‘true’ second wine as Clos de Marquis comes from entirely separate vines. Not an...

2010 was a very dry vintage of exceptional quality, producing incredibly structured and complex wines that are a little formidable when young but should age incredibly. Deep garnet-purple colored, the nose of the 2010 Les...

Over the years, this has really moved up in class. On the nose, with its cedar, tobacco leaf, smoke and cassis profile the wine smells great. Medium/full-bodied, with ample currants, spice, wet earth and blackberry on the...

I tasted two vintages of L'Evangile at separate events while in Australia this year, both the 2010 in Melbourne and the 2011 in Sydney. A tough choice, but I think I am going to have to go with the 2010, although both are...