Well there is no doubting the richness of Château Calon Ségur in 2019. They have produced another profound St Estèphe to rival 2018 here. For me that remarkable wine still pips this 2019, but only just. Château Calon Ségur is decadent, verging on the unctuous in 2019. It displays beautiful blackcurrant and violent scented fruit and there is a boatload of ripe extract and tannin here too. The 2018 felt a fraction more nimble from memory, but I’d really like to see these two vintages side by side when there bottled. Obviously 2019 is a terrific wine regardless of the comparison. Both Le Marquis de Calon Ségur and Château Capbern weigh in at a heady 15.1% alcohol. Le Marquis impressed much more. It has plenty of rich fruit and volume and feels decadent almost.

Margaux was an appellation that was also affected by the frosts in April 2017. Château Angludet, for example, made no wine at all. Others properties have had volumes reduced, but more importantly, blending components affected. This variation in experience will amplify the appellation’s overall diversity of style. Margaux is a large geographical district and covering such diverse terroir the wines are always somewhat heterogenous. The best at the UGCB’s 2017 in bottle tasting last autumn showed freshness but also substance. Some lacked middle and flair. Across a pretty big sample [16 wines] Château Brane Cantenac and Château Rauzan-Ségla were tops with Château Lascombes and Château Kirwan not that far behind. Very good wines were also made at Château Cantenac Brown, Château Monbrison and Château Siran [in very different styles]. Château Marquis de Terme, Château Dauzac and Château Ferrière produced good wine too [again in contrasting styles]. That said, do search out 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 over 2017 which are finer and generally more consistent vintages. 2015 and 2016 are especially fine in Margaux and worth the premium.

I love Château Latour. It has to be one of the most remarkable wines in the world. It is the gold standard to which other ambitious producers of [predominantly] Cabernet Sauvignon all aspire to emulate, if not in style, certainly in substance. That legendary California winemaker Paul Draper spoke frequently of Latour when working on Ridge’s own super Cab, Ridge Monte Bello in the ‘70s and ‘80s, as the Bordeaux he most admired and took inspiration from. The no expense spared approach, financed by billionaire entrepreneur François Pinault, is beyond the pockets of many producers, of course. The same affordability question is true of the grand vin itself. A single bottle of Latour, even in an average year, is still typically more expensive than a top-label washer dryer or fridge freezer. Remarkably, there are even more expensive Cabernets in the world than Latour, but rarely any better. I’ve pulled together notes taken over the last two years at the property – a baker’s dozen of wines from the estate, spanning a number of vintages between 2018-2006.

Finally notes taken on wines tasted at the Bordeaux Grand Cru Classé tasting in London last year. While the majority of these were 2018s that I’d missed during primeurs week, it was also a good opportunity to look at other recent vintages. In Margaux, Château Rauzan Ségla had made a sublime wine in 2018, so too Château Branaire-Ducru and Château Léoville Poyferré in St Julien. In Pauillac, Château Pontet Canet was astonishing, paralleled in different ways by extraordinary wines at Château Montrose in St Estèphe and Château Smith Haut Lafitte in Pessac-Léognan.