This is a delicious, fruit-forward style of wine, which seems to be more and more common among the cru bourgeois – and that’s a smart strategy, indeed. This supple, silky wine has medium to full body, lots of black currant and black cherry fruit with some loamy earthy notes in the background, and hints of herbs, new saddle leather and charcoal. Drink it over the next 7-8 years. A member of the Alliance des Cru Bourgeois du Medoc.

Well-rounded, offering cassis, plum sauce and raspberry fruit, with a hefty dose of roasted vanilla and apple wood integrated on the broad, polished finish. Drink now through 2015. 7,000 cases made. –JM