Tasted at a negociant. This has a typical Haut-Marbuzet bouquet: soft and rounded, very plush with unashamed exotic fruit interlacing the red-berries, hints of honey and marmalade. The palate is full-bodied with grippy tannins, very toasty at the moment with the new oak dominating. But there is good balance on the finish, a firm backbone here and the persistency is linear but long. Very fine.

For the last ten years, many Bordeaux chateaux have backed off the oak treatment, but not Haut-Marbuzet. Vivid, even aggressive vanillin and toast wage an inner struggle with some black currants and black cherries in this flamboyant, overtly woody style of wine. It is medium-bodied, has good to very good concentration, but is certainly not one of the great classics from this well-known property in St.-Estephe. Drink it over the next 10-15 years.

Tasted blind. Particularly deep, evolved colour. Blackish ruby. Rather beautiful, mature nose. And then still quite a bit of tannin on the palate. You could drink this with food but you’d be well advised to wait – even though it’s softer than most. (JR)