While it is easy to lose sight of this wine, given the prodigious 2005 that was produced, this is another outstanding effort from an estate that has been doing everything right for some time. Notes of graphite, black currant liqueur, incense, and camphor make for a complex and intensely penetrating set of aromatics. Dark ruby/purple, medium to full-bodied, with superb concentration and moderate tannin, this is a beauty of finesse and substance that should be at its best between 2012 and 2024.

Tasted at the property as part of a vertical tasting, the 2006 Château Malescot St Exupery is a blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 4% each of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, picked between 25 September and 12 October. It has a detailed, quite mineral-driven bouquet with blood orange scents infusing the red berry fruit, the oak neatly integrated. The palate is well balanced with edgy red berry fruit on the entry, a stoniness underneath, a Margaux of the earth not the air. Correct and linear, with good depth and ample freshness, it actually reminds me of Brane Cantenac in style and the salinity on the finish is just wonderful. Returning after 30 minutes, you notice the acidity coming through more and more, though it is in sync with the fruit. This is a delightful Margaux to enjoy over the next 10-15 years. Tasted March 2016.

Tasted blind. Evolved, slightly pruny nose. Thick and slightly heavy but a solid – mot juste? – effort. (JR)