I think St Emilion has made a good fist of 2008. There’s plenty to enjoy in a lot of the wines if you can get past the winemaking in some cases – unless you’ve a fondness for treacle and liquorice. The best here are full and generally have plenty of fruit and no shortage of ripe tannin. There are quite a few who seem to like to make their wines super-ripe and super-reduced – wines of staggering concentration without regard for drink-ability – though the modesty of the vintage has largely kept things in check.

Vineyards at Chateau Beau-Séjour Bécot in St Emilion

The wines of St Emilion felt less promising than I remember tasting a couple of years back in 2009 at UGC. Again dryness to the tannins here and a forced/overly worked style of winemaking seemed the main [and considerable] drawback. That said a few looked pretty good and had harmony and balance. Others too thick and extracted. Those that opted for elegance over extraction have fared the lest, like Chateau Figeac, as usual, and Chateau Canon and Chateau Magdelaine.