There is no doubt that Alexandre Thienpont at Vieux Château Certan has produced one of the purest wines in Bordeaux 2013. The wine has wonderful clarity and delicacy. There was a risk that no wine might be produced at all. The blend took time to work out and Thienpont admits to being in a fog about its composition in the early part of this year. The final blend for the grand vin represents just four barrels of wine with half a barrel reserved for topping-up.

Pomerol has made a really serious fist of 2012. There is plenty of creamy, fat Merlot on offer and with diligent vineyard work and a steady nerve it was possible to harvest ripe and flavoursome Cabernet Franc. There is wonderful freshness and vibrancy to the best wines, and generally much more flesh on offer than in 2011. There is also impressive structure too. Some estates are comparing the vintage with 2001 in terms of balance. At Vieux Chateau Certan they talked about 1985 while Christian Moueix has even been comparing it with 1971. What’s in the glass is delicious in my opinion and there is considerable depth on offer too.