Great vintage and a really good small Barsac property that is next door neighbours with Ch Doisy Daene, the excellent Grand Cru.

The 2020 vintage allows the Sauvignon Blanc to really express itself. On the nose are pronounced aromas of grapefruit, tropical fruit and mint with notes of boxwood. The Semillon adds texture and richness to the palate and the finish is refreshing and long.

Lovely little property turning out ripe fruity claret at a good price. More of these please!

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.

CWM Ranking: First Class 61% CS 34% M 5% PV deep ruby, gravelly Cabernet nose, plenty of ripe fruit and oak, ripe fruit, quite elegant medium body, decent level of tannin and acidity. Balanced and structured. Drink in 5-10 years.

Château Haut Boutisse, Saint Emilion Grand Cru, is a family property that has existed since the middle of the 19th century. Located on the foothills of Saint Emilion, the soil (Graves, clay-limestone and sandy loam) is similar to the greatest properties in Saint-Emilion.. A beautiful garnet colour. The complex nose presents a beautiful synergy between aromas of jammy strawberry and rose accompanied by fine smoky notes and dried figs. The mouth has a very nice balance between volume and freshness. The harvest is done manually. Vinification is a cold pre-fermentation maceration followed by alcoholic fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats with pumping over/punching down. The wine is aged for 15 months in new barrels (90%) and concrete vats (10%).

This 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Merlot blend comes from an estate just north of Saint-Estèphe. It reflects the structure and density of that appellation. Bold, ripe and fruity, it will age well. Drink from 2020

The vines of this 50-acre estate, close to Listrac, have produced a rich wine in this vintage. With its spice and toast character and ripe berry fruits coming together nicely, the wine will develop well. Its potential is for medium-term aging, meaning it will be ready to drink from 2022

From vineyards across the Garonne river from Sauternes. Similar style, less expensive. Full burnished gold, not particulalry aromatic, syrupy, nice apricoty baked apple flavours , decent oak grip and acid.

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.

90-92/100 Wine Advocate "Dominique and Florence Decoster, owners of Fleur Cardinale, acquired this 4.5-hectare vineyard in Saint-Étienne-de-Lisse adjacent to their own in April 2012. Not surprisingly, the soils are quite similar, composed of clay and limestone. The average age of the vines was 37 years in 2018. Yields were 40 hectoliters per hectare. Aging is projected to run for 12-14 months in 100% new French oak barrels. The blend is 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc, and the wine has 14.5% alcohol. From the Thibaud lieu-dit, the 2018 Croix Cardinale is deep garnet-purple colored and sings of crushed red and black cherries, wild blueberries and fragrant earth with wafts of garrigue and lavender. Medium to full-bodied, soft, lively and juicy in the mouth, it delivers great purity and poise."

Floral, supple, elegant. Lovely ripe fruit, blackcurrant with coconut-y oak. Well formed, ripe tannin. Slightly coffee / toffee finish. Surprising.

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.

This dry white Bordeaux from a great producer in Sauternes has a new name in 2021, Lions de Suduiraut Sec. Half of the wine is aged in oak barrels, the other half in stainless steel. With bright acidity and plenty of lovely citrus fruit the wine is ready to drink but will keep for 4 years.

The 2016 Domaine de Chevalier is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple colored, it rocks up with expressive warm plums, blueberry compote and cassis scents with suggestions of sandalwood, baking spices and potpourri. Medium-bodied and delicately styled yet with a rock-solid frame of grainy tannins, it sports restrained earth-laced fruit and a long finish.

RS 140 g/l, TA 4.0 g/l. Pale gold. Quite mineral/oily on the nose, some very ripe fruit underneath. Honey and lemon on the palate. Rich apricot fruit, very tangy and full. Touch of barley sugar on the finish. Warm and full and luscious so much so that the freshness is not so obvious.

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"

Big, rich and velvety like a decent Margaux should be with a modern glossy feel on the palate. Designed for earlier drinking as a second wine, with extended barrel ageing. Delicious fruit, ample weight and body, ripe 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.

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.

2nd wine of Chateau Fonplegade. A lovely aromatic wine with mint lift and oak weight. Plenty to love here, rounded and rich but needs to to harmonise.

This 20ha estate has been owned since 1994 by Florence and Daniel Cathiard, who also own Château Smith Haut Lafitte and are making some of the most exciting, perfectly honed wines in Bordeaux. Their top wines ell north of £80 a bottle so this wine appears relatively good value, particulalry since it came out top at a recent Decanter tasting of Red Graves from 2016. Bravo. Planted to 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot, on mostly gravel soils with some clay. Grapes are handpicked and sorted twice, whole-berry fermented in large oak vats before ageing 14 months in 25% new French oak barrels. This is intense, fruity and a real joy to drink now or keep for another 10 years.

2nd Wine of Ch Laroque, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé. Made of 96% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc from vines more than 50 years old, the medium to deep garnet-purple coloured 2018 Les Tours de Laroque opens with pretty raspberry coulis, black cherries and warm plums scents with underlying fungi, black loam and cracked pepper hints plus a touch of beef drippings. Medium to full-bodied, elegant and fresh, with a firm line of grainy tannins, it delivers a graceful, earthy finish.

This Claret is fresh and balanced. The blend is Merlot-based and the wine is aged in French oak barrels for 12 months, giving a nice aroma of spice and wood smoke. The palate is fleshy with a hint of plum, the tannins fine and firm, leading to a generous finish. Drink now to 2036

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

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..

Another classic vintage for Caronne Ste Gemme, but with some lovely rich ripe fruit. This is a very classic ‘Claret’, taught perfectly balanced acidity and lots of light touches. Only 13% which is where I think good Bordeauxs should be. There is good aging potential here.

A great follow up to the excellent 2016 vintage from this petit chateau that shows what great value can be found at the lower prices in Bordeaux. Velvety tannins and sweet blackcurrant fruit, it's very approachable although young.nd ready to drink.

Mid ruby, garnet rim, ripe and juicy, sweet fruit, lovely and a bargain for real Pauillac.

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

Pessac-Leognan, just south of the city of Bordeaux, features gravel-rich soils that produce wines with excellent clarity and definition. Odyssée is a cuvée by Château Haut Nouchet, and its vines are some of the highest elevation in the appellation. The blend is about 60/40 Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot, with a splash of Petit Verdot. We found this wine impressive in its combination of intensity and restraint. The nose is dark and polished with plum and wild cherries, and notes of liquorice and spice. The mouth is inky and dark but the fruit is laid over a beautifully clean structure of fine gravely tannin. This is a classy, sleek Bordeaux with a beautifully balanced mouthfeel, that tastes a lot more expensive than it is.

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

The 12 hectare vineyard of Chateau Faizeau is planted to 94% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc. The entire vineyard is one large block of vines. The terroir is a mix of sand, clay and limestone soils. On average, the vines are close to 50 years of age. However, the vineyard has some of the oldest vines in the Right Bank. The oldest vines survived the devastating frost of 1956. In fact, they have vines that are more than 100 years of age, as they were planted all the way back in 1911! More than just old vines, their hillside terroir is on perhaps the highest elevation in the appellation. The vineyard, located on the hill of Calon hits 89 meters at its peak.

A delicious sweet wine. Essences of pear and honey, with a long delicious finish. The perfect sauternes substitute. Dreamy with blue cheese

85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc. Attractive, complex fruit nose. Black fruits and some toasty oak, cocoa. Ripe and juicy flashy, plump, well built but not OTT.

Chateau Citran is one of the best performing Crus Bourgeois wines and this second wine is suave and sophisticated. Mint, blackcurrant and cigar box aromas lead to a velvety pallet. A second wine means that it's made from slightly younger vines than the Grand Vin, but with just as much care. An excellent freshness, balancing acidity, ripe fruit flavour and a great potential to improve with age. It has perfumed notes of raspberry, black cherry and strawberry, a great texture and a long finish

A rich effort from this well-known property in St Christoly. Lovely rich mouthfeel, ripe and tannic with a luscious long finish. Low acidity suggests drinking this wine young, say 2018-2024.

Great vintage and a really good small Barsac property that is next door neighbours with Ch Doisy Daene, the excellent Grand Cru.

Starred First CWM Rating "Great structure. Grippy ripe tannins and juicy acidity. Ripe fruit throughout and excellent freshness"