In a warm year St Estèphe is always going to do well. The percentage of clay soils really helps deal with drought and heat extremes, and the proximity of the Gironde river helps ameliorate hot temperature. There is no doubt that this appellation has produced some of the best wines of the vintage. Only four wines from the appellation were shown at the MW Institute’s 2018 Bordeaux tasting [way back at the end of 2022], but they did show two of the possible wines of the vintage. Château Cos d’Estournel is wonderful, full of finesse and poise. It’s currently quite tight and needs some more time, but this is a very refined and polished effort. Château Montrose is monumental. It is beautifully pure and close to perfection. Although the prodigious Château Calon Ségur wasn’t on show at the MW Institute’s 2018 tasting, I’ve been struck by the magical quality of that wine several times. I’ve also recently tasted Château Meyney which has lots of extract and tannin. It needs time but is very impressive.

Now returning to my 2018 MW Institute tasting notes from a while back. Cabernet Sauvignon arguably reaches its apogee in the Pauillac appellation. There were two great efforts [from the Pichons] in 2018 here, however I feel that overall the wines here are fractionally less consistent than in 2016 and 2019. Château Pichon Baron has produced a thrilling wine, which has great power and depth. Château Pichon Lalande has more delicacy but is nevertheless its equal. Behind these was a strong effort from Château Pontet Canet, a property that has been on a biodynamic footing for at least a decade now. Though some recent vintages have had a few critics complaining about Pauillac typicity here, this 2018 Pontet Canet is full of finesse and classicism. I’m a great fan of Château Grand Puy Lacoste and the 2018 is forward and attractive, though way off their fabulous 2016. Château Lynch Bages is big and bold. It is for the long haul but you get a lot of bang for your bucks here and I expect that to improve a lot in bottle. It needs a decade.

The MW Institute had three Haut-Médoc wines on offer at their tasting. Château Belgrave delivers a lot of pleasure at a reasonable price. The 2018 seemed to have retreated a bit into its shell and needed a bit of coaxing in the glass. My experience with this wine is that it does age well in the medium term, so I’d give this another two or three years to settle, and it will improve over the next ten years. Château de Camensac has been another good buy for the past decade. This wine has experienced a renaissance over the past fifteen or so years and is worth seeking out, especially in riper vintages. This is a fresh and attractive 2018. Château Cantemerle, a little like Belgrave, has retreated somewhat. Again, Cantemerle offers good value and this 2018 has plenty of extract but currently lacks complexity. It may have opened up since it was tasted [these notes were taken at the end of 2022]. Elsewhere I’ve enjoyed other 2018 Haut-Medocs in the past year, including Château Beaumont and Château Sénéjac from my own purchases. I’ve not taken formal notes but Château Beaumont has lots of bright, juicy fruit tones and Château Sénéjac lots of flesh and texture in 2018.

There are lots of great wines in Pessac-Léognan in the 2016 vintage. You’d expect superlative efforts from the likes of Château Haut-Brion and Château La Mission Haut-Brion. But there are also magnificent wines from the appellation’s defacto first growths Château Haut-Bailly and Château Smith Haut Lafitte. Brilliant, yet contrasting red wines have been made here. Fractionally outside this club, but only fractionally, is Domaine de Chevalier. Year in, year out this is one of the highest quality, dependable but won’t [entirely] ‘break-the-bank’ reds in all of Bordeaux. Fine wines have also been made at Château Bouscaut, Château Fieuzal, Château Malartic Lagravière. Château Latour Martillac is drinking well, already offering textbook earthy Graves. That said, overall, at the top level these are still wines that need another two or three years in bottle to get really into gear. In some senses a few have crept into their shells since earlier tastings. These will improve further in complexity over the next decade and expect them to last well into the middle of the century.