Richly sweet fruit. Really ripe and sweet cassis. Gorgeously exuberant if almost too much like a fruit coulis. But fun! 88

From Denis Durantou of L'Église-Clinet fame, this is cracking. Amazingly attractive already. 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. Cool and classic blueberry and cassis. Very dense, very sensual. Feels lighter and more elegant than so many of the other wines tasted alongside from the vintage. The fruit is rich and nicely ripe. A touch of toffee and beautifully fine tannin on the finish - this will be great drinking from quite early on. 91

85% Merlot with 15% Cabernet Franc. Rich almost plummy nose. Plump and yet not sweet, very richly full of black fruit flavour. Fleshy and goes on well. Second sample away from Chateau was oxidised on nose, but all the body and richness still there. This is the first vintage which is officially organic. 90

They've made a lovely wine here again - dark and penetratingly tight, but good drive and energy.90-91

More joy to taste from Denis Durantou. The nose here is elegant and floral - violet notes and some cedary toast. On the palate this is more serious and focused than Chenade or Cruzelles. Lovely clean, precise fruit, Cabenernet Franc giving an intensity of cherry and blueberry. Lovely firm tannin and a hardish mineral structure frames the intense dark fruit below. The long and spicy finish is punctuated with bright high-toned, red fruit almost cranberry-like notes. Really very good. 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc.91++

Penetrating pure raspberry nose. Pure pleasure. Raspberry coulis juiciness. High-toned yet weighty, very precise, very delightful. 91

Fragrant Pomerol, slighly spicy, fresh, will make a lovely bottle - from 2017. 90

81% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc. Now owned and run by the same team as at Cheval Blanc. This is the first vintage produced entirely organically. Nose is floral, wine is lively, bright. Instantly you sense this is a grown-up style. Nicely put together. It has a proper feel to it. Good fruit power and drive. Attractively ripe and this flows right through to the longish finish. Lovely vanilla notes and long lasting spice. 91

Jean-Philippe is on song here. Rich round and lively, ripe fat and full, with black fruit and a mildly confit edge. pure. Good juice, and enough constitution to be fat and generous. Very long. 91

There is lovely weight here - but less tightly wound than many of these 2012s. The tannin is firm but the weight of fruit is in great balance - quite bright and restrained but finishes with persistence and great intensity. Seamless richness but still there's a side of cool dryness. Great success in the vintage. 91

Really good this year. Real and expressive. Ripe Merlot, but not overripe - or nearly not. Movement and freshness. Rounded ripe and flowing. Alcohol shows a bit in the warmth of the finish.91+

Clearly Jean-Philippe Janoueix has made a very good fist of this vintage. His Pomerol is very very dark, with a plump smooth entry, lots of fruit, lots of weight, but also a restraint, a sense of more to come. Very well made in a modern style. 91

Completely inky purple-edged black. Expressive nose of ripe black fruit, and there's real lift on the mid-palate too, almost a surprise but a welcome one. Very rich and dark and palate coating. Impressive and should train on well.92++?

Pretty nose - quite bright and lifted for these parts. Then some good gloss and nice weight, more on the stewy cherry style of fruit, quite intense and tightens up a little on the firmish finish.

100% Merlot. Very dark vibrant purple to black. 'This is much better than the 1998,' says owner Jean-Luc Thunevin, 'it is arguable that 1998 was a better vintage, but our techniques are much better now.' And, one should, add, the terroir, because in 1998 Valandraud was a 'garage' wine produced on the plain, whereas the 2012 is produced of a fine vineyard on the calcaire plateau between La Fleur Cardinale and de Pressac. Very intense and yet retains gracefulness. Big curranty plummy flavour is still building on the finish. It is a dark, big, modern, oaky style, but done with panache and energy, and since he has almost halved ther price compared with last year in response to the economic conditions, this makes it into my list of recommended wines - but do read the note this is no St Julien classic!94+

Penetrating nose of black fruit, quite floral and pointed. Silky cool volume and again a penetrating freshness. It is still fat with the broad shoulders of the vintage, but instead of drying its keeps flowing, quite gravelly tannins toward the finsih seem to add to the energy and movement. Very beautifully presented - a class act from start to finish. 94

Another really enjoyable wine to taste from Denis Durantou of L'Église-Clinet. 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. More clay here and therefore more stuctural density. Fabulous density, even on nose where there is gloss and ripeness. Palate is not massive but has 'enough'. Very soft feel to the tannins, the volume is sort of 'bouffant', a downy, cotton-wool, cushiony texture. Rich and broad, supple and has lovely pure fruit expression, stops short of being overblown and over-ripe. Lovely structure builds and there is lovely soft tannin that holds this all together really well.92+