IT'S ALL IN THE DETAILS

It has long been known that this Credit Agricole owned Chateau occupies a fabulous site in the southern section of St Estephe, near to Chateau Montrose. Alas, look as we often did, the wines never lived up to their potential. 2014 is perhaps the turning point. This has a wonderfully dark, brooding Cabernet character with deeply impressive concentration.

Hubert de Bouard has clearly extracted huge levels of colour, flavour and substance, without inflicting any rusticity or aggressive tannins. This really was our find of 2014 - a superb St Estephe loaded with Pauillac style fruit, but perhaps just the tell-tale minerality one expects from this commune. A hugely impressive wine and sure to be a lot of bang for your buck!

With Hubert de Bouard as their consultant, this once popular estate seems to be positioned to shake things up in terms of the overall quality hierarchy in St. Estephe. The 2014 is a major sleeper of the vintage. A blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot and 11% Petit Verdot, it exhibits a deep ruby/plum/purple hue along with notes of creosote, charcoal, blueberries, black raspberries, graphite and spice. This lovely, charming, fruit-filled 2014 should drink well during its first 6-8 years of life. 2