The 2014 Haut Marbuzet has retained that ravishing bouquet that it showed out of barrel: plush red cherry and strawberry fruit, a little warmth, almost a cozy bouquet that you could snuggle up in on a warm night. The palate is medium-bodied with plush tannin, good body and density with kirsch, orange rind and Chinese five-spice. It is an atypical Saint Estèphe, but in 2014 this works a treat, a wine you can just revel in and enjoy, with its untrammeled deliciousness.

The 2014 Haut-Marbuzet is ripe, flashy and totally distinctive. Exotic floral notes are woven throughout a core of dark red cherry, plum, smoke and licorice. This exuberant, racy St. Estèphe should drink well pretty much upon release and for another 10-15 years beyond. The Duboscq family can always be counted on for a unique and deeply personal expression of St. Estèphe.

Tasted blind. Rather scented and opulent. Neat and rewarding even if this is a little sweeter and fleshier than its peers – though pretty dry and raw on the end. Needs lots of time. (JR)

Tasted blind. Deep browning garnet. A mix of ripe, raisiny fruit and leafy notes and plenty of undergrowth-like evolution. Firm, chewy, with the acidity accentuated by the tannins. Not quite harmonious yet though it should come round. (JH)