Bordeaux 2010 - Margaux

With 1,100 hectares, only a few less than Saint-Estèphe, and a very wide variety of soils, Margaux is a difficult commune to judge overall, but 2010 made this easier through the perfect ripeness of the Cabernet Sauvignon (Merlot's taken as a given, and often worrying in its high alcohols) and the light gravelly soils providing the looked-for elegance, while the depth of flavour will assure a very good future. A very successful vintage, with the crus bourgeois showing ripe, clear fruit and the cru lassés at the top of their form. By Steven Spurrier