The final blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Merlot has resulted in a wine of great power, stature, gravitas and density. The wine has a black purple color and a brilliant nose of scorched earth, creme de cassis, espresso roast, blackberries, truffles and licorice. Full-bodied, extremely powerful, yet with abundant sweet tannin, this stunning effort should prove sensational if given 7-10 years of cellaring. It should also last for 30-40 years. Drink: 2020 - 2060

The final blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Merlot has resulted in a wine of great power, stature, gravitas and density. The wine has a black purple color and a brilliant nose of scorched earth, creme de cassis, espresso roast, blackberries, truffles and licorice. Full-bodied, extremely powerful, yet with abundant sweet tannin, this stunning effort should prove sensational if given 7-10 years of cellaring. It should also last for 30-40 years. This is another brilliant wine from Jean-Louis Triaud, who is also responsible for the brilliant resurrection of the cru bourgeois, Gloria. This is one of the smallest estates in St.-Julien, with only about 6,000 cases produced, and even less were produced in 2010 than in 2009.

Good bright ruby. Knockout nose combines blackberry, cassis, minerals, espresso and nutty oak. Dense, sweet, plush and deep, with a texture of liquid velvet and subtle floral lift. This impeccably balanced and seamless wine actually shut down in the glass and showed a serious underlying structure. A great and eminently ageworthy vintage for this Saint-Julien estate, whose wines have been on fire in recent years.

Deep purple-ruby. Reticent but nuanced nose hints at cassis, brown spices and smoky herbs. Lush and seamless in the mouth, with lovely precision if not palate-busting concentration to the red cherry, blackcurrant, cocoa and underbrush flavors. Really spreads out on the palate and vibrates on the long, aromatic aftertaste. A wine of sneaky concentration and depth, it's a bit more youthfully closed today than usual for Saint-Pierre at this stage, but it still has the typical drink-me-soon appeal of this chateau. I'd forget about it in the cellar for another six or eight years and drink it from 2018 through 2035. Should be an excellent value.

Tasted blind at the Southwold Bordeaux 2010 tasting. This is a strong showing from Saint Pierre. For sure, the 2010 feels more introverted on the bouquet with dusky black fruit, truffle, tobacco and graphite scents that unfold in the glass. There is fine definition here, with a slight meaty character emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with a smooth, ripe opening: spice-tinged black fruit and a saline element accentuated towards the finish. It exerts a gentle grip with very good persistency on the finish. Tasted January 2014.

Dark and winey, displaying a smoke-filled core of roasted plum, fig and anise, with plush tannins and a long finish, where the anise note hangs on nicely. Textbook St. Julien. —J.M.

4th Growth St Julien (44hl/ha, 13.3%) [78CS/22M] Dense, minerally, spicy blackcurrant cabernet to smell; rich, firm, concentrated and vigorous middleweight, packed with sweetly ripe, but crisply defined cassis-dry claret flavour, all framed by a particularly fine tannin; long, elegant, refined, complex and complete St Julien, very Cabernet Sauvignon in flavour and style, with superb spicy, aromatic length. A great St Pierre. 2022-40+ [M.Schuster, Bordeaux Mar/Apr 2011]

Tasted blind. First bottle oxidised. Second bottle: opaque core and bricky rim. Dark, smoky and oaky but deep in black fruit. Savoury, dense but with a stony elegance to the texture. Finesse here. Not trying to charm but dark-suited and refined. Long, too. I love its restraint and power. (JH)

Heavily toasted aromas: charcoal, dark chocolate, roasted coffee. Impressive, bold, in-your-face style, but with freshness and vibrancy on the finish. Starts off seeming over-processed but has a lovely natural effortlessness on the finish. (RH)