Chateau Alter Ego de Chateau Palmer 2014The Alter Ego de Palmer 2014 is a blend of 52% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Petit Verdot. It has an opulent, glossy bouquet with layers of small dark cherries and plenty of glycerin. The palate is more reserved than the bouquet suggests: saturated tannins, a little chewiness on the entry but suppler towards the finish. It feels very linear in keeping with the style of the vintage, the finish a little sweet than its peers with a dab of

It will have more to give down the line and the strictness implies that this La Mission Haut Brion should be afforded a decade in the cellar before it will show what it can do

Top 100 wines 2016: White wine of the year awarded by PEAK SPH magazines

It has a lucid purple hue in the glass

with hints of coffee and earth in the background

but (as usual) it just seems to do everything right

garrigue and new leather with a core of cassis

Merlot 46%

licorice and tobacco leaf

Grape Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon 81%

The 2015 La Mondotte is a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc picked on 18 September and 7 October respectively

the 2016 Léoville Poyferré hits the ground running with intense cassis

This is the first wine to really display a generous dollop of wood along with mentholated character present on the dark berry fruit and earth-suffused nose