The 20 Mille has a pretty bouquet with raspberry coulis and crushed strawberry scents that are nicely defined. The palate is energetic, lively on the entry with edgy tannin, crisp red cherry and raspberry fruit with a generous pinch of spice. I am cautious with this because the finish was rather brutal, and needed to show more delineation and freshness. Let's see how it performs in bottle. Tasted on three occasions.

The 2014 20 Mille offers ripe mulberry and kirsch on the nose, quite heady and more like a 2015 in style, appealing to those that like opulence in their Bordeaux. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, red and black fruit mixed with Chinese five-spice and a slightly truncated finish that needs to fill out during maturation in bottle. Not bad, but I expect a little more.

This special, experimental vineyard of Jean-Philippe Janoueix, has 4,156 vines per acre. Contrast that with 400 to 600 in most vineyards in California. This is virtually all Merlot, and the 2012 tips the scales at 14.5% natural alcohol. It has notes of mocha, espresso and chocolate, followed by a dense, chewy, medium-bodied wine with excellent concentration, purity and texture. Some light to moderate tannins are also present. This is a relatively serious, well-endowed Bordeaux that will benefit from another 1-2 years of cellaring and should be drunk in its first decade. A sleeper of the vintage.