Margaux

56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot. Very satisfying Margaux at this level. Really soft fruit - but plenty of it in the nicely concentrated middle - framed with a good level of du...(read more)

Powerful stuff from the dynamic Claire Villars. The sample is from only new barrels - the finished wine will be a blend of old wood too - with new wood making up just 40% of the total. As such, for now...(read more)

50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 48% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot. This is an attractive effort. Good deep, quite rich fruit - a suedy feel of nicely succulent tannin and just a whiff of wood-spice. Quite p...(read more)

Fruit is the dominant note. Close-textured and cool and fresh youthful purple flavours to the fore. Tannins solidly gripping and blackly pure. Big and long.

Darker, blacker colour than the 1996. Light nose. Very airy-fairy Margaux on the nose. Denser on the palate than the 1996 but a bit savage and aggressive in terms of both flavour and texture. Pre...(read more)

The Grand Vin is 86% Cabernet (the highest percentage ever) 7% Merlot (the lowest percentage ever) and 2% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. Very fine Cabernet nose, very suave, red and black fr...(read more)

Tastes very natural, as though made of warm fruit on a hot summer's day. Nice nose of creamy ripe blackberry. Soft and cushiony, dry oak (tight grain) giving a little tug; easy. Well-done if a li...(read more)