Listrac is a commune close to Margaux that fans of Bordeaux should really check out. Fonreaud is one of its chief exponents and currently producing terrific wines that, were they to have Margaux on the label, should cost much more. The 2016 is one its best ever wines, It has very good structure underlying delicious dark fruits. Fresh acidity too helps make the wine sing from the first sip.

A Starred First from our buying team "Deep colour. Peppery spice on the nose. Charming blackcurrant fruit on the palate, with a creamy texture, and fresh acidity. Very good tannic hold. Slightly toasty, smoky note, but pure fruit that wears it well. Slightly blue. Medium plus acidity, but glamorous, and good length"

50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 48% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc. Spicy new oak amid bright red fruits. Smooth and sweet berry fruit, with a high kick of spice.

2nd Wine of the excellent Ch Peyrabon this is a Cabernet Sauvignon dominated claret from vineyards near Pauillac from the great 2010 vintage. Drinking beautifully, with ripe blackcurrant fruit and smooth tannins.

The Guimberteau family has owned the Château Franc-Baudron estate since 1923. This is a vineyard on a human scale where each generation has left its footprint on the family heritage. Since 2010, the new generation of Château Franc-Baudron has embarked on an environmental approach by converting the entire vineyard to organic farming. The area hosts bee-hives, uses plants for treatments (horsetail, nettle and ferns) and seeds flowers to encourage biodiversity of wildlife in the vines. They have begun implementing new winemaking techniques by using minimal inputs to express at its best the nature of the grapes and the type of soil. Most of the family’s plots of Montagne Saint-Emilion are located on a clay-limestone plateau. Bright and intense in colour with aroams of blackcurrant, blackberry and oak notes.Well balanced, powerful and velvety.

16.5/20 Richard Hemming, jancisrobinson.com "Violet, cooked bramble fruit, excellent woodspice giving a savoury but not severe palate. Dry but balanced, light on the palate (but that's no bad thing) and decent persistence leaving a bitter chocolate note. "

Alternative label to Ch Haute Breton Larigaudiere, and much easier to say, this is classic Margaux at an affordable price. This wine is a deep ruby-red with intense, refined ripe red fruit aromas and elegant notes of vanilla and violet. It starts out powerful on the palate with a long, fresh aftertaste..

Deep ruby red in appearance. The nose is complex, dominated by black pepper and fruity aromas of blueberry, raspberry and cherry. The palate follows the nose, is well balanced with smooth tannins and a powerful spicy aftertaste.

Gold Medal at the 2016 Bourg International Wine Challenge Aged in French oak barrels. Light straw in colour with fresh grassy stone & citrus fruit nose upfront with a background of butteriness similar to an oak aged chardonnay. Dry, medium acidity and body, with a rich, fat mouthfeel. Flavours of buttery stone fruit and melon with a touch of citrus. Interesting. Good balance. Elegant medium length finish

From a small 7ha vineyard on the plain just below the town of Saint-Emilion, owned by the Gagnaire brothers. 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. Bright deep ruby, with appealing aromas of plum, blackberry and vanilla. Charming body, very drinkable young, but well balanced between acidity and tannins, with lots of pretty fruit.

I remember buying wines from this estate in our very early days, from the excellent 1990 vintage. The 2016 is even better than that, with ripe Merlot fruit and fresh acid blending with silky tannins to make a full bodied and very civilised wine at an exceptional price for really good claret.

Bright ruby, sweet ripe fruit, vanilla, lot sof sweet fruit, good density and nice acidity, long and very moreish,

Cabernet Sauvignon dominant with a nice black fruited nose, this petit chateau tastes anything but from a great vintage. Supple tannins and ripe fruit. Very good value

Good depth of fruit, nicely-judged acidity and velvet-fine tannins. There's wood spice and even cigar-box giving an extra dimension to the cherry-plum fruit.

Jean Christophe Meyrot, ex La Violette (one of the top properties in Pomerol) . Full on but good structure. Juicy palate. Certainly ripe. Warm, good acid, persistent. More powerful than elegant. Forthright. Dark ruby color with black fruit notes like blackberries and black cherries, violet and dry herbs, leather and black pepper, nice minerality and French oak, some vanilla and tobacco. Nice balance and structure with a long finish

A marvellous wine from the great team at Dourthe, who own Ch Belgrave and other up and coming properties in Bordeaux. Voluptuous, decadent and hugely drinkable.Jancis Robinson likes it too "Rather luscious and sweet – even chocolatey...overall a lot of pleasure in the short term. Does persist quite impressively!

16.5 points CWM and Julia Harding jancisrobinson.com "Mid cherry red. Lovely cherry fragrance too. Cool and silky. Relatively lightweight but fine and gentle on the palate. Pretty and elegant. The producer was worried that this was a lighter-tasting sample than the rest and the second bottle was indeed firmer and richer. Bravo"

CWM Ranking - First Class Perfumed nose. Cream, cassis, blueberry cheesecake - really inviting, if primary and oak derived. Juicy, plenty of tannin but fun blueberry fruit. Well structured. Fruit remains though. As does acidity. Totally charming.

It shows a lovely pale yellow colour with greenish tinges. Fresh and expressive on the nose, with superb notes of pink grapefruit, mango and some slightly toasted hints. Its fine balance on the palate is remarkable, with a lot of roundness and body, as well as pure, elegant freshness. The flavours of Sauvignon are delicate and persistent, giving this wine length and vibrancy.

A large property we like to follow with vineyards in and around Pauillac on deep gravels and with lots of Cabernet Sauvignon character. Deep-hued with light garnet tints. Fine oakiness on the nose with great berry presence of redcurrants and raspberries. Supple palate with refined tannins. Nice density, fruity freshness, length and subtle oakiness. A Médoc with very pure aromas.

Very dense red, quite intense concentration of Cabernet fruit, lots of extraction but elegance as well, a fine wine that needs time.

Ruby with hints of purple, not showing real signs of ageing. Elegant blackcurrant and plum on the nose, followed by some pepperiness and spice, ultimately autumn leaves. On the palate tannins softened by oak dominate. Quite high acidity, A serious Bordeaux wine, begs for a rib of beef or leg of lamb. This wine is perfectly ready to drink. Cocoa, tobacco, leather, liquorice, violet, plum and most of all blackberry. Full, with a long dark fruit finish. Great value cru bourgeois

Firm juicy red and black plums. Sweet spice. Fine grained tannin. Fresh, and youthful. A High 2.1 Rating by our buying team. Chateau Larrivaux is situated near Pauillac and Saint-Estephe with illustrious neighbours like Ch Lafite-Rothschild and Ch Cos d'Estournel. Very fine gravelly terroir capable of making the finest wines. Well rated by Jane Anson and Jancis Robinson, which is always enough for me to take the wine seriously.

92-93 CWM rating. Extracted cherry fruit, very ripe aromas and flavours, good length, low acid but some subtlety. Very appealing. Persistent. Sylviane Garcin-Cathiard owns properties in Pomerol, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru and Pessac-Léognan, and we love them all for their exuberant pleasure-giving wines. In Pessac she operates Château Haut-Bergey, around 40 ha acquired in 1991, Her son Paul is now in charge.