This shows a frankness and beauty for a 2011 from the third wine of Latour. Bright and fresh with firm tannins and a currant and berry character. A little lean. Better in 2016.

While it is often released much later in the marketplace, a wine to keep a look out for is Latour's third wine, the 2011 Pauillac. An elegant, fresh, lively wine dominated by Merlot blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, it exhibits deep, elegant, rich berry fruit intertwined with tobacco leaf, underbrush and subtle wood as well as earth notes. This pure, richly endowed, supple-textured wine should be consumed over the next decade.

Features a pure core of fruit, offset by a pleasantly firm edge, as plum skin, red currant and blackberry coulis notes pick up hints of stone and singed iron. Not superdense, but has range and character. JM

The Pauillac de Latour 2011 preceded the release of the 2010 Pauillac de Latour. It has a pleasant sous-bois and cedar-scented bouquet with a mote of chalk dust. The palate is medium-bodied with a sweet and surprisingly supple core of lightly spiced black fruit with hints of bay leaf and white pepper towards the easy-going finish. You could drink this now, but it will also age over several years.

Certainly speaks of its appellation with the cedar and cigar and wonderfully just-ripe cassis. No expense spared on the nose, it would seem – and the palate is equally fine-tuned, made in a very accessible style that is entirely drinkable now. Perhaps falls a bit short in terms of length, but there is no doubting the pedigree of the ingredients and winemaking. (RH)