Tasted at Vintex and at the Margaux UGC, a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot. This has a very sweet, prune-tinged nose with opulent black cherry and blueberry fruit. This seems just a little too over-powering. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins, firm grip, slightly meaty and savoury (from some Cabernet Franc) with a finish that is a little hard at the moment. A curious Gassies! Tasted March 2010.

A masculine-styled, dense purple-colored 2009, this cuvee offers up scents of charcoal, asphalt, black currants, incense, and crushed rocks. This deep, medium to full-bodied, well-made Margaux is broader, richer, and more substantial than usual, with more alcohol as well as substance. The tannins are ripe and well-integrated. This is a 30-year wine. (Tasted two times.)

Inky purple. Initially closed nose opens with air to show aromas of black plum, coffee, dried herbs and spicy minerals. Smooth, dense and suave, with a restrained sweetness; hints of flint, truffle and smoke add interest to the black fruit flavors. Finishes dense, thick and serious, with smooth tannins and noteworthy length. This represents a real step up in concentration and precision from this ch a teau's performance over the last couple of decades.

Medium red-ruby. Musky black fruits, Christmas spices, cedar and tobacco leaf on the nose. Spicy and classically dry, with dark berry flavors complicated by herbs and menthol. Good intensity and length. The wine's substantial dusty tannins will require at least several years in bottle to soften.

Tasted blind. More floral on the nose and bit more opulently fruity on the palate than its peers. A bit of sweet oak stops it being super-refreshing but makes it easy to like. Pencil shavings. (JR)