Bordeaux Right Bank Royalty Case

Reassuringly, the leading château in Castillon produced the best wine of the appellation in 2015. A very complete wine whose intense stone-fruit and balsamic aromas on the nose give way to lush fruit and velvety tannins on the palate.

A high-class claret from owner François Despagne, who believes passionately that wine is made in the vineyard, not the winery. Fresh, vibrant aromas of red berries and black pepper, with silky tannins and a plush texture. A Wine Champion in 2022. A perfect Christmas claret for elegant roasts, from nut to baked salmon to rib of beef.

From well-sited, limestone-rich vineyards overlooking the Dordogne river, this excellent-value claret is a blend of 90% merlot and 10% cabernet franc. The wine has deep red colour, a perfumed nose of violets and cloves, and plenty of plush, vibrant black-fruit character on the palate.

Winemaker Eric Monneret was understandably delighted with his 2014, its precision and elegance the result of investment in the vineyards over previous years. A blend of 82% merlot and 18% cabernet franc, it offers a lovely perfume with notes of coffee and chocolate, with structure and balance on the palate.

A generous, chocolatey right bank Bordeaux red exhibiting plump, succulent merlot fruit with a hint of toasty oak, and blueberry and graphite notes on the finish. Textbook Pomerol at a sensible price.

François Mitjavile, owner of Tertre Roteboeuf in Saint-Emilion, makes the star wine of the Bourg appellation in Roc de Cambes. In the 2015 vintage, it is ripe and opulent with real energy and weight, showing notes of incense and coffee on the nose, with perfumed fruit character on the palate.