Delicious drinking Clarets...

92 Points - James Suckling

Love the aromas of toasted oak, lemon pie and cream. Full body, with intense tropical and citrus fruit flavors and a long, lightly oily and creamy finish. Fieuzal white may be coming back to its glory days from the 1980s? Best after 2013.

92 Points - Robert Parker "The dense ruby/purple-tinged 2008 Branon displays chocolatey, earthy undertones intermixed with black currants and Asian plum sauce. Medium to full-bodied, rich, impressively endowed, supple and evolved, it can be drunk over the next 10-12 years."

Only available in cases of 12 - just £10.30 per bottle

Many years have passed since we teamed up with Hubert de Bouärd; co-owner of Château Angelus, and the famed Kentish artist Graham Clarke to create our first own-labelled Bordeaux wine. Individually sourced, using carefully selected grapes, resulting in a fabulous table Claret. How does it taste after a decade? We put our own wine to the acid test this week…

Stuart McCloskey tasted 27.11.2019 “A lovely nose of redberries, mulberry, liquorice, clove and a whiff of new oak and graphite unfurl in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied and surprisingly seductive. Merlot is in the driving seat with a lovely spicy and sweet fruit entry. Mid-palate offers more savoury / earthy notes. I detect a Burgundian forest floor intermixed with dried herbs, cedar and sandalwood. The tannins are fine and polished beautifully. A touch of dryness on the finish indicating this should be consumed over the next 2-3 years. Overall, this is a cracking Claret (serve it blind as I am sure most would consider this a £20 / £25 bottle). Decanted for 1-2 hours and served in Zalto’s Bordeaux glassware

94+ Points - Stuart McCloskey

Mature colour; delicate, rich and attractive bouquet. Soft with beautiful balance. On the palate; velvety, towering yet delicate, rich yet dry. A marvellous wine.

The selection process under proprietor Bruno Borie is so severe at Ducru Beaucaillou that readers should be giving serious attention to the second wine, Croix de Beaucaillou, which sports a dramatic black and gold label. The 2011 exhibits attractive black currant and black cherry fruit, medium body, silky tannins and a lush, round, up-front appeal. Enjoy it over the next decade.

94+ Points - Stuart McCloskey "This is quintessential Pauillac and the best Pedesclaux I have sampled from the estate in over 10 years. The palate is full-bodied with copious sweet ripe black fruit, marked by soft tannins and wonderful harmony and tension. This is undoubtedly an outstanding Pedesclaux which could get better?"

91 Points - Stuart McCloskey

Well-structured and concentrated with layers of fruit and an inner-core of minerality. Perhaps lacking the definition of the '99 but a delicious wine nonetheless. Drinking now.

96 Points - Robert Parker

Dense purple, with classic notes of cedar and lead pencil shavings as well as gobs of black currants and licorice, the wine has a full-bodied mouthfeel with fabulous precision and density. It also possesses a long, silky finish with moderately high tannins, but they are ripe and well-integrated. The wood is clearly pushed to the background in this dense, full-bodied Pauillac, which should drink beautifully for 30+ years.

Winemaker "Very intense colour. The nose is dominated by fruit notes such as cherries and blackcurrants. A touch of cedar elegantly brings the nose together as a whole. On the mouth, the wine is well balanced and expresses with subtlety its purity and loyalty to the Pauillac’s territory. It really is Château Pontet-Canet’s little brother."

Stuart McCloskey "It’s difficult not to be impressed, silky / supple tannins work harmoniously with the high quality fruit. Cabernet flavours dominate with blackberry leaf, cassis with a touch of cocoa coming through as the wine starts to reach its tenth birthday. Really delicious but does require 2-3 hours in a decanter."

92-94 Points - Neal Martin "The de Fieuzal Blanc has a lifted, perfumed bouquet with touches of dried orange peel and apricot blossom that are well defined and vigorous, perhaps leaning slightly to the New World (though there is nothing wrong with that.) The palate is well balanced with crisp green fruit, lemongrass and orange zest that builds to a vibrant, satisfying finish. This is a superb white from the estate."