Over £75 per bottle

One can't help but be impressed by Château Ausone, set at the top of a tortuously twisted road, with its caves and chapelle dug into the limestone cliff. It is a fittingly romantic location for one of the world's greatest wines. A blend of 55% Cabernet Franc and 45% Merlot, this is dark and brooding in the glass. The nose is exceedingly rich and dense, with attractive black cherry and bramble fruit characters. The tannins are firm and structured, yet ripe and well integrated with the rich core of dark cherry, cassis and damson fruit. A stony minerality and a dart of refreshing acidity reflect the terroir and lend backbone to the rich succulent fruit.

When asked whether the Château was having to change anything to compensate for climate change, Marie Descotis, who heads up the Château's research and development department, explained that their terroir is proving to be perfect for the somewhat warmer and drier conditions over the last few years, allowing their Cabernet Sauvignon to flourish. The blend this year is made up of 86% of this Cabernet, 10% Merlot and the rest split between Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. The resultant wine is the most concentrated they have ever produced, yet it is also incredibly poised and balanced. Dark berry fruits, notes of woodsmoke and spice come through on the nose. The palate is immediately fresh and pure, with a layered sense of fine tannin, depth and power. There is a graphite-like grip to the structure, a definite minerality and a core of cool-natured, classic fruit. Despite the concentration and density in the wine, the balance is such as to give it an almost approachable sensation. Beautiful rather than pretty, this is an elegant and refined wine that shows what could be achieved in 2011 with great terroir and a deft hand.

93% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Cabernet Franc. The 2019 from Rudd Oakville Estate is focused with pure, ripe blackcurrant and plum aromas, with more floral notes from the Franc and a stony, graphite finish. There's more blue fruit as time goes on with damson and blueberry, with a juicy, succulent feel on the palate and soft, rounded tannins.

With only 3000 bottles produced, the fruit for this wine comes from the oldest vineyard plots of Vigna Romirasco, Vigna Cicala and Vigna Colonello and is only produced in the best vintages. The wine is aged for 33 months in large Slavonian casks and spent a further 9 years in bottle before release. Expect fresh and dried fruits combined with liquorice, mushrooms, blood orange and wild flowers. The tannins have resolved and balance perfectly with the silky core.

A touch of coconut is present along with the cinnamon-spiced oak here. Again the fruit core is compact, dense and concentrated with the promise of power and weight to follow. The palate is incredibly taut with intense, tightly bound raspberry and dark cherry. The tannins are ripe, full, and assertive while the acidity brings the trademark long, juicy character. This is currently showing all the potential of a beautifully constructed Gran Reserva. An exciting prospect indeed.

A candidate for the wine of the vintage, the 2009 La Mission-Haut-Brion stood out as one of the most exceptional young wines I had ever tasted from barrel, and its greatness has been confirmed in the bottle. A remarkable effort from the Dillon family, this is another large-scaled La Mission that tips the scales at 15% alcohol. A blend of equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (47% of each) and the rest Cabernet Franc, it exhibits an opaque purple color as well as a magnificent bouquet of truffles, scorched earth, blackberry and blueberry liqueur, subtle smoke and spring flowers. The wine-s remarkable concentration offers up an unctuous/viscous texture, a skyscraper-like mouthfeel, sweet, sumptuous, nearly over-the-top flavors and massive density. Perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime La Mission-Haut-Brion, the 2009 will take its place alongside the many great wines made here since the early 1920s. The good news is that there are nearly 6,000 cases of the 2009. It should last for 50-75+ years. Given the wine-s unctuosity and sweetness of the tannin, I would have no problem drinking it in about 5-6 years.

100 points Robert Parker

Deep amber-red in colour with toasty, dark caramel aromas, alongside dried fruits and fresh tangy orange. Gently sweet and very intense with clean, high acidity.

With an average of 50 year old vines, this is so complex and profound, with a real intensity to the tannins, and notes of minerals, as well as lots of wild flowers on the finish. Such a complex wine.

Yet another wine that shows just how good the 2014 vintage is. Soaring aromatics, incredible finesse, and remarkable length. A complete wine.

This 2017, sourced from 54 year old vines in La Morra’s Brunate vineyard, is rich and concentrated, with plenty of dark fruit, cedar and liquorice notes. Brunate is always among Barolo’s densest bottlings, but Vietti’s expression of the vineyard is as balanced a wine as we’ve tasted. It’s incredibly precise, and the extraction is masterfully handled.

"Another spectacular effort from L’Evangile, the 2010 is a close rival to the 2009 and should be fascinating to compare with that vintage over the next 30 or so years. Stunningly rich and black/purple in color, the 2010 L’Evangile offers up the tell-tale floral note as well as black raspberry jam intermixed with cassis and kirsch. There are also ethereal floral notes and a hint of background oak. The pH is slightly above average (3.7 versus the pH of 4.0 that the 2009 and 2000 possessed). This is a massive, rich, very impressive L’Evangile, and readers should take note of the “+” in my rating, which could certainly push this wine way up there. Remarkably, I was shocked when I learned that this wine was aged in 100% new oak, as the oak is a background element in this blockbuster l’Evangile. Forget it for 3-5 years, and drink it over the following 30-40. " 98+ points, Robert Parker

A new project from Querciabella, all the fruit comes from high altitude vineyards on the Ruffoli hill, in the commune of Greve. Classically made, this is a profound, complex, ageworthy wine from Querciabella. There’s so much going on here, and the texture is astonishing. A new benchmark for Chianti?

Philipponnat hold back a proportion of each vintage from their outstanding single vineyard Clos des Goisses, and age it sur lattes in their cellars. For those who love the complexity and vinous power of old Champagnes, there is nothing better.

The 2011 Comtes de Champagne is a thrilling, scintillating edition of this much-loved fizz. It's tense and rippling with energy on the nose, with wild flowers and just a hint of tarragon. The palate is vibrant and grippy, with so much finesse and focus. This is astonishingly pure and long, a wine that wows with its understated concentration and minerality. Bravo.