Bordeaux

The New Dominus Proprietary Red Unveiled in London at the Annual J.P.Moueix Portfolio Tasting…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

One of the added benefits of attending the annual tasting of all the J.P.Moueix Bordeaux En-primeur samples is the opportunity to also get a UK pre-release sneak peek of their finished bottled Californian wines including Othelo, Napanook and their iconic Dominus.

With such strong US home market demand, allocation quantities through Corney & Barrow, the official UK agent for J.P.Moueix and Dominus, have continued to shrink over the past few years as Robert Parker Jr. has dished out 100 point perfect scores to multiple vintages.

Edouard Moueix presenting the family’s Bordeaux and Californian wines in London at private members club Home House.

2015 represents another block buster vintage which also garnered 100 points from Mr Parker, both when tasted in barrel and again in bottle. However, the Dominus proprietary red while always being a big, dense, powerful wine on release also has an incredible propensity to age, evolving into a classical Bordeaux blend expression that often takes your breath away with its sublime mature beauty and balance. The same can certainly not be said for a number of big glossy Napa reds out in the market place.

UK release scheduled for September 2018.

Dominus Proprietary Red 2015, Napa Valley, 14.5 Abv.

A dense dark imposing colour, the 2015 grand vin was bottled in July 2017 and is a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc. The aromatics show a pronounced Cabernet Sauvignon character, packed full of sweet dark earthy cassis fruit, black plum, bramble berry and topped with perfumed notes of lavender, violets, black chocolate and cedar spice. The palate is dense and fleshy, overtly opulent and textural as is to be expected. Very glycerol and broad, there are piquant layers of sweet black currant, brûléed black cherries and spicy graphite tannins that are plush and sweet. A big voluptuous wine that captures your attention and holds it with a certain flashy accessibility not seen in too many young Dominus vintages. But as always, this is the real deal and another seriously fine wine from the Moueix stable that is sure to age very well. Drink from 2020 to 2048+

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Tasting Pomerol Icon Chateau Lafleur 2017 En-primeur with Cellar Master Omri Ram in London …

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 1 Comment

Excellent tasting today with Omri Ram from Chateau Lafleur. A lot of intrigue surrounds the 2017 vintage in general and Omri feels they have a slightly different storyline to their neighbours. For Chateau Lafleur, 2017 was a good continuation of 2016 in a dry mode and rising temperatures. A hot beginning and an early start to the season normally leads to a great finish. But vine growth starting early exposes the vines to a frost risk, which has not struck in a serious way in Bordeaux since 1991. In that year, Lafleur made only 8 barrels compared to a long term average of 40 to 50 barrels and the trauma is sorely remembered.

In 2014 they bought anti-frost bucket candles, deploying 1500 of them in the vineyards in 2017 the day before the frost struck. With forecasts of frost, the candles were lit which acted to stabilised the temperatures to around 0.82 degrees C while neighbours vineyards dropped to -3 or -4 degrees C, resulting in severe losses to young green shoots.

Vintage comparisons… according to Omri Ram…

2015 = like a super 2009

2016 = like a super 2010

2017 = also more like a 2016-styled wine

Chateau Lafleur Cellar Master Omri Ram

Chateau Grand Village Rouge 2017, Bordeaux Superieur

97% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc in the 2017 blend with a very pure clay-limestone expression. Big, plump, opulent nose brimming with black fruits and limestone linearity. The palate is beautifully taut, crisp and pure, showing beautiful freshness, clarity of fruit and wonderful harmonious length. A real triumph for the vintage.

(Wine Safari Score: 89-92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Acte 9 2017

100% Merlot picked on the 21st of September and 2017 is the first and possibly last vintage to be made from pure Merlot. Normally the blend includes up to 50% Cabernet Franc. Almost like a mini-Lafleur in essence, only 1,200 bottles were produced. Full and expressive on the nose, there are wonderful black plum notes, buttered brown toast, blackberry confit with just a dusting of mocha and cocoa powder. Super elegant palate, very pinpoint and precise, excellent purity, harmony and subtlety with a soft, feminine, sultry length.

(Wine Safari Score: 90-92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Les Pensees de Chateau Lafleur 2017

Smallest parcel in Lafleur at 0.69 hectares. Not made as a second wine to Lafleur, more as a defined expression from the same clay dominated parcel. Using 52% Merlot and 48% Cabernet Franc, the aromatics are more vibrant, crunchy and fresh revealing hints of cassis reduction, graphite and a saline, kirsch note. The palate boasts sweet violet tinged black berry, cherry confit with fine core depth and a plush, long length. An accessible, classy expression.

(Wine Safari Score: 91-93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Lafleur 2017

With vineyards unharmed by the frost, the blend is 47% Merlot and 53% Cabernet Franc. Merlot was picked before the rains on the 8-12th September as the fruit was beautifully ripe. The aromatics are wonderfully precise, pure and focused, with black bramble berry fruits, black cherry and blackberry jam on buttered brown toast. The palate is broad and expansive, filling the mouth, coating it with concentrated black plum, creamy saline cassis, milk chocolate nuances and chalky, gravelly fine tannins. Wonderful front palate weight, a dense core of fruit and a really profound textural harmony and elegance. Still embryonic, this wine has the genetics and the pedigree to be another fantastic Lafleur vintage.

(Wine Safari Score: 96-98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Note: The lovely red wines of Lafleur were blended already at the end of January 2018, allowing almost the full passage of maturation to take place as a “finished wine” in oak. Usually a more common practice of the past Omri says, but nowadays, most chateaux show “cleverly constructed wines” with a notional blend drawn from the best barrels to show trade buyers at En-primeur. So yet another subtle level of authenticity in the portfolio of the Guinaudeau family reds.

The Rising Star of Saint Emilion – Tasting a Vertical of Chateau La Croizille 2007 – 2016…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 1 Comment

La Croizille is a wonderfully situated St Emilion Grand Cru Chateau that was acquired by the Belgian De Schepper – De Mour family in 1996 and whose wines are sold mostly in the Benelux. The 5 hectares of vines belonging to the Château benefit from the same remarkable soils, on the borders of the clay-limestone plateau of Saint-Emilion in the commune of Saint-Laurent des Combes, as Chateaux such as Tetre Roteboeuf and Troplong Mondot.

After 1996, the De Schepper family commenced on a large investment spree, bringing the estate into the modern winemaking era, combining its sought after terroir with high-end technology and traditional know-how to create a wine with great opulence, finesse, modernity and personality under the watchful eye of head winemaker, Jean-Michel Garcion.

This winery is a real rising star in St Emilion which you will almost certainly read a lot more about in years to come.

La Croizille Vertical Tasting 2007 – 2016

Chateau La Croizille St Emilion 2007, 13 Abv.

The vineyards on the clay-limestone plateau yielded a spectacularly good offering in 2007. Notes of polished mahogany, earth, tannery leather, cherry kirsch liquer and black current rise out of the glass. Wonderful berry concentration, elegance and subtle evolution are hallmarks on this expertly crafted wine. It will be hard not to finish the bottle once you open this beauty. Drink now to 2025+

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau La Croizille St Emilion 2010, 13 Abv.

From this epic vintage, notes of polished mahogany, boot polish, black cherry kirsch liquer and black current confit rise imperiously out of the glass. Wonderful concentration, elegance and freshness are all wrapped together with a most expertly integrated lick of new French oak. This is everything you would want from an iconic vintage and a real testament to winemaker Jean-Michel’s true skills. Drink now to 2035+

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau La Croizille St Emilion 2011, 13 Abv.

The 2011 shows attractive floral perfume aromatics, polished oak, cherry confit, cherry liquer and saline black current leaf intensity. Superb concentration, sleek textured elegance and freshness and a smattering of the most attractive French oak vanilla spice notes. A noble and impressive follow up to the 2010 and a wine that will happily grace the tables of the most discerning connoisseurs. Drink now to 2029+

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau La Croizille St Emilion 2012, 13 Abv.

A dark cherry black opaque colour greets the drinker. Initially, the nose is broody and closed. But a little glass swirling and coaxing starts to elicit some of the more classical elements of the bouquet… black berry, black cherry pith, cassis, dusty limestone minerality, hints of graphite and a gloss of buttered brown toast. The oaking is almost imperceptible, revealing a very restrained and quite classical expression from this “drinking” Bordeaux vintage. The palate has all the sleekness, suppleness and accessibility that you’d expect from a 2012. A soft fine grained texture, polished powdery tannins, chalky grip and spicy, plummy, peppery black cherry and black berry fruit. It’s all packed into a very classical, medium bodied parcel, that delivers pleasure now but also suggest it is structured enough to be holding back a few surprises in reserve for drinkers in 5 to 8 years time.

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau La Croizille St Emilion 2014, 13 Abv.

This wine is ripe and rich with beautifully plush classical right bank allure and a soft textured, elegant cassis pastille fruit concentration. A complex wine already in its youth, the layers of mocha, cocoa powder spice and sweet damson plum coat the tongue and thrill the palate. This wine has real depth of fruit, vibrant freshness, and superb length. A class act from some of the best terroir in St Emilion.

(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau La Croizille St Emilion 2015, 13 Abv.

The neighbour of Francois Mitjavile’s Chateau Tertre Roteboeuf, La Croizille is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. True to the vintage, this wine has a spectacularly profound quality, and indeed the 2015 La Croizille could be among their greatest ever vintages produced. Certainly on par with the epic 2005, 2009 and 2010, the 2015 has a nose that is seductively perfumed, lifted out of the ordinary by cherry blossoms and an exotic undertone of cherry kirsch liqueur. The caramelized oak notes tease like sprinkles on a chocolate cake! The palate too is dark, dense, powerful and packed full of opulent exotic flavours of Chinese plum sauce, tart cherry confit, sweet cassis and vanilla pod spice. The balance is exceptional, spreading broad and wide across the palate. This is right bank Bordeaux at its seductive, classical best. Plump yet fresh, dense, sweet fruited and gravelly, yet never losing focus. Oh, and the finish goes on and on like a Duracell bunny! Wow. What an impressive wine.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau La Croizille St Emilion 2016, 13 Abv.

The 2016 Château La Croizille has a dense, opulent profuse blue berry fruited nose, high-toned and showy, with all the mineral limestone complexity of its prestigious neighbours such as Tertre Roteboeuf, Troplong Mondot and Rocheyron. The palate is showing some elegant restraint and class with sweet ripe tannins, surly brambly red and black fruits, and an earthy, foresty, rather masculine, slightly introspective finish. So seductive and noble, this wine speaks of great St Emilion terroir with very intelligent winemaking. Superb effort.

(Wine Safari Score: 93-95/100 Greg Sherwood MW, Tasted En-primeur in April 2017 from Barrel)

Exploring Bordeaux Second Wines – Part 5: Chateau Montrose La Dame de Montrose 2005 from St Estephe…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Chateau Montrose is synonymous for the finest age worthy reds from St Estephe on the left bank of Bordeaux. But their La Dame de Montrose second wine is also made to the same rigorous standards as their first wine, from grapes grown in the same vineyards. Consistently reliable and reaching maturity sooner, the wine was created in 1986 in tribute to Yvonne Charmolue, who ran Château Montrose single-handedly from 1944 to 1960. Production varies from one year to another but accounts on average for 30% of the total production of the Montrose vineyard. It is matured for 12 months in 30% new oak barrels.

The 2005 vintage was known as the year of drought. The water deficit was constant and alarming and by harvest time, the volume of rainfall was less than half the average quantity for the past 30 years. However, the clay rich sub-soils of Montrose played an important role in providing moisture to the vines.

On the other hand, the temperatures in the vineyards saw broad fluctuations alternating between hot days and cool nights, assisting good ripening of the fruit. 2005 impresses with its exceptional power and amazing fruit purity as well as the wine’s extraordinary engaging elegance. Stylistically, La Dame de Montrose remains very classical without any austerity.

Chateau Montrose La Dame de Montrose 2005, St Estephe, Bordeaux, 13 Abv.

Supple and silky the 2005 is a blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon and 46% Merlot. It shows very pronounced red fruit aromas with classic notes of red currants, bramble berries, earthy black currants together with hints of chocolate powder, graphite, wet tobacco, vanilla pod and black liquorice. The 2005 is generally regarded as one of the finest second wines Montrose has yet produced and indeed tastes more powerful and profound than many big name Cru Classe Chateau first wines. Full bodied, dense and powerful, there is plenty of meat on the bone here. But the tannins are mineral and supple, balancing the rich dark earthy black berry and black cherry fruits. This is a serious wine in anyone’s book and remains generous and plush with fine definition right to the very last drop in the glass. Drink this now with some decanting, but feel free to age this beauty another 8 to 10+ years.

(Wine Safari Score: 91+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Is There a Silver Lining in the 2013 Bordeaux Vintage Cloud? Tasting Tertre Roteboeuf 2013…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Is there ever a modern vintage from a premium global wine region that can be written off as totally unsaleable!? When you think of the 2013 Bordeaux harvest, it is not exactly a vintage many collectors and connoisseurs can envisage buying and cellaring. Indeed, the 2013 vintage was one of the coldest and wettest growing seasons in the past 40 years. 


In a normal vintage, Bordeaux would be expected to produce 5.5 million hectoliters of red wine. In 2013, this figure was closer to 3.9 million hectolitres, one of the lowest yields since 1970. But was the quality of the wines produced so horrendously below par as wine critics have made out? Personally, I remember returning from Bordeaux after tasting the En-primeur 2013 wines thinking what a delicious, elegant, light, fresh, “bistro vintage” this was going to be and how easy the wines would be to sell if the Bordelais priced them low “to move”. 


But of course, the Bordelais never do what is expected and the 2013 pricing was unreasonably high, out of touch generally, and the wines remained predictably unsold. Fast forward 4 years and it’s a sorry tale hearing of the large, unsold, unsaleable mountains of 2013 Bordeaux clogging up the balance sheets of negociants and Chateaux alike.


So when the opportunity arose for me to drink a bottle of 2013 Tertre Roteboeuf Grand Cru St Emilion, I approached the prospect with a fair amount of circumspection. What should I expect?

Chateau Tertre Roteboeuf St Emilion Grand Cru, 13.5 Abv.

The 2013 has a seductively perfumed nose that shows a wonderfully expressive bouquet of red cherries, red plums, red salty liquorice stick, cedar oak spice and sweet jasmine blossom. The typical Tertre Roteboeuf tasting note always alludes to the wine’s Burgundian characteristics. But with the 2013 Grand Vin, there is not only the pretty fragrant aromatics, but also the lighter, more ethereal texture more reminiscent of a Cotes de Nuits Burgundy than St Emilion Grand Cru. The palate shows beautiful balance and great depth of flavour with nuances of raisined cranberries, strawberry confit, dried figs, earthy red currant and pithy, spicy, picante tannins. Acids are fresh, slightly angular, taught and vibrant, lifting the palate concentration and highlighting its front palate opulence and immediacy before finishing with slightly peppery, spicy, chalky tannin drip. A very pretty wine, yet there is no frivolity in evidence, only focused, elegant, precise winemaking. Drink now to 2027+.

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Seductive Power of Appellation Margaux ~ Tasting the Over-Performing Chateau Haut Breton Larigaudieres…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

End September sees the Bordeaux Cru Bourgeois Trade Tasting return to London. Last year’s tasting was described by the Wine Advocate’s Neal Martin as a very fertile hunting ground for great value, affordable quality, drinking red Bordeaux. 


If the region of Bordeaux is to retain its admired status as the most collectable wine by connoisseur’s, it is crucial that smaller, lesser classifications are bought and drunk by regular consumers. The love affair with Bordeaux has to start somewhere, and for many wine enthusiasts, it starts with drinking tantalising Cru Bourgeois wines. So tonight I’m getting into training for the tasting by drinking a delicious bottle of appellation Margaux Cru Bourgeois. 


Chateau Haut Breton Larigaudiere 2012 Margaux, 13 Abv.

A blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot, this is an absolute cracker from the Margaux appellation. Sweet red plum and blueberry fragrance lift effortlessly out of the glass. Violets, jasmine, dried mint leaf, pot pourri herbs and seductive musk notes add massive complexity. There is also plenty of rich earthy cassis and lush red cherry exotism to excite even the most reluctant Bordeaux connoisseur. Palate concentration is very impressive yet you never lose sight of the wine’s Margaux’esque elegance, allure, perfume and seductive beauty. Creamy, powdery tannins are the order of the day making this a top notch Margaux that is both precise and pretty, yet deceptively powerful and intense. True to the vintage, there is ample accessible upfront fruit, fine balance and harmony and bright pure freshness. This is a fantastic offering that cannot fail to excite. Drink now to 2030.

(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Peter “Pingus” Sisseck Crafting Magic at Chateau Rocheyron in St Emilion…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Château Rocheyron takes its name from its location, Rocheyron. Sharing a boundary with Château Laroque along one side of the estate, its history is linked with that of the neighbouring vineyard, classed as a Grand Cru Classé.


In 2010 Silvio Denz, a co-owner of Clos d’Agon in Spain (Catalonia) and Peter Sisseck, the oenologist of Clos d’Agon, indicated their interest in buying Château Rocheyron under the AOC Saint-Emilion Grand Cru.

Peter Sisseck is off course a native of Denmark, who came to the Bordeaux winegrowing region to spend some time with his uncle Peter Vinding-Diers (of Rustenberg fame), an oenologist working in Bordeaux at the time. Peter then settled in the Spanish Ribera del Duero region in 1990, acting as a consultant oenologist to a major winegrowing estate. In 1995 he created the estate Dominio de Pingus and his first wine, Pingus.


Château Rocheyron now gives Peter the opportunity to rediscover the characteristics of the great wines and terroirs of Bordeaux. Every vintage shows improvements as Peter slowly masters his new Rocheyron terroir and the 2016 probably represents his finest, most complete Bordeaux expression to date.

Chateau Rocheyron 2016 St. Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux (En-primeur Cask Sample)

The fabulous 2016 is comprised of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. This embryonic red, tasted as a barrel sample, is beautifully cool and focused with a fine creamy suave texture and plush, concentrated fruit intensity. Impressive breadth and balance showing tart black cherries, kirsch liquor, red currants and a blue berry opulence. There is very fine clarity and purity and everything about this wine exudes classical precision and finesse. Peter himself regards this as his best effort to date, even surpassing his mighty impressive Rocheyron 2015. A legendary wine in the making. 

(Wine Safari Score: 96-97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW) 

Bordeaux Babble in a Nutshell… The Antidote to Bordeaux En-primeur… (Updated to include EP 2024!)

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 2 Comments

It’s old but it’s still very very funny at this time of year, doing the annual pilgrimage to Bordeaux. So, having spent a week in Bordeaux, having gums assailed by giant tannins, somebody has finally got to grips with some basic French wine terminology …. enjoy! 


French: A good year

Translation: a bad year


French: A classic year 

Translation: most of the wines are undrinkable


French: A Parker wine

Translation: lucky bastards


French: an elegant wine

Translation: a wine with no fruit


French: a wine with great structure

Translation: a wine with ferocious (probably unripe) tannins

French: A vintage for the purist

Translation: please buy my wine – somebody, anybody…


French: prices will be the same as last year

Translation: make me an offer


French: It is a Cabernet vintage

Translation: My winery is in the Médoc


French: It is a right bank vintage

Translation: My winery is in St Emilion / Pomerol


French: It is impossible to generalise

Translation: It was crap everywhere.

En-primeur 2024 update…

French: It’s a micro-climate vintage.

Translation: All the wines are terrible everywhere! But, at least mine are better than my neighbours!

Tasting Chateau La Croizille Saint Emilion Grand Cru, the New Kid on the Cote…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

I first visited the impressively modern Château La Croizille winery in St Emilion at En-primeur time in 2015. Prior to that, I’d only ever cast a curious eye over its large, orange, modern-art tasting room that protrudes from the limestone cote, across the way from Chateau Tetre Roteboeuf. I had never tasted the wines and had never seen them in the UK market, the Claret capital of Europe.


The reason for this relative obscurity perhaps lies in the fact that La Croizille is a St Emilion Grand Cru estate that originally was acquired by the Belgian De Schepper – De Mour family in 1996 and is sold mostly in the Benelux. The 5 hectares of vines belonging to the Château benefit from the same remarkable soils, on the borders of the clay-limestone plateau of Saint-Emilion in the commune of Saint-Laurent des Combes, as Chateaux such as Tetre Roteboeuf and Troplong Mondot.


After 1996, the De Schepper family commenced on a large investment spree, bringing the estate into the modern winemaking era, combining its sought after terroir with high-end technology and traditional know-how to create a wine with great opulence, finesse, modernity and personality.


This winery is a rising Saint Emilion star which you’ll read a lot more about in years to come. Already, the winery’s more recent vintages have garnered several 90 plus point scores from international critics including James Suckling and Decanter Magazine. Buying a few cases of the opulent 2015 or intense 2016 could be a very smart choice.


Tasting Note: Chateau La Croizille Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2012, 13 Abv. ~ A dark cherry black opaque colour greets the drinker. Initially, the nose is broody and closed. But a little glass swirling and coaxing starts to elicit some of the more classical elements of the bouquet… black berry, black cherry pith, cassis, dusty limestone minerality, hints of graphite and a gloss of buttered brown toast. The oaking is almost imperceptible, revealing a very restrained and quite classical expression from this “drinking” Bordeaux vintage. The palate has all the sleekness, suppleness and accessibility that you’d expect from a 2012. A soft fine grained texture, polished powdery tannins, chalky grip and spicy, plummy, peppery black cherry and black berry fruit. It’s all packed into a very classical, medium bodied parcel, that delivers pleasure now but also suggest it is structured enough to be holding back a few surprises in reserve for drinkers in 5 to 8 years time.

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Exploring Bordeaux Second Wines – Part 2: Pastourelle de Clerc Milon 2009, Pauillac, 13.5 Abv.

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

As the Burgundy En-primeur campaign starts to fizzle out after a fantastically successful vintage for merchants and retailers, attention starts once more to turn to the grand region of Bordeaux.


Continuing my new series of tastings reviewing a selection of Bordeaux second wines, today I’m looking at a relatively unknown entity… the second wine of Chateau Clerc Milon, which forms part of the Domaines Baron Rothschild portfolio.

Nature was particularly kind in 2009, providing conditions that favoured an optimal growing cycle which helped the grapes of Bordeaux to reach full maturity. The very fine weather and high level of hydric stress, alleviated by a few well timed showers, enabled the grapes to ripen slowly to full maturity.


Temperatures in August 2009 were 1.4 °C higher than the average. This ideal weather continued into September as cool nights alternated with hot days, encouraging the concentration of aromas and flavours and the accumulation of anthocyanins in a perfectly ripe crop. 2009 will undoubtedly go down as a vintage to match the finest in history.


Tasting Note: 2009 is the first vintage of Pastourelle de Clerc Milon, whose label shows the classic dancers of Château Clerc Milon. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon: 50%, Merlot: 36%, Cabernet Franc: 11%, Petit Verdot: 2% and Carmenère: 1%, the wine has a dense, deep colour with a crimson hue. The aromatics are refined, perfumed, and expressive with black fruits, cassis, kirsch cherry and dusty graphite nuances. There’s an attractive bruleed note showing espresso and mocha coffee bean complexity. The palate is sleek, medium to light weight and overtly polished. There’s an attractive sweet spot on the front of the palate and a pronounced red liquorice, black current and milk chocolate opulence underpinned by soft silky tannins and supple, soft toned acids. There is balance and a real feel of harmony, but the overall package does lack the overt fleshy depth so many other 2009 second wines possess. Eminently drinkable, this attractive Pauillac finishes with lovely bitter chocolate and vanilla wood spice length. Start drinking now and over the next 3 to 6 years.

Second Wine Rating: Attractive, light weight, mid-week Claret with polish. Buy if priced modestly.

(Wine Safari Score: 88/100 Greg Sherwood MW)