Best 2018 Bordeaux second wines: Re-tasted in the bottle

Exuberant as always but here with pretty serious tannins, the result of small berries and a low yield of 28hl/ha, so a little more tension...

In 2018, La Croix is a rumbustious, powerful St-Julien weighing in with 15% alcohol. This feels very New World in character, in a blind-tasting it...

Tight, bright firm fruits, packed with finely tuned tannins, with a clear velvety texture. The highest tannin levels they have ever produced in Pavillon Rouge,...

The 2018 Carruades, stored in magnum, is immediately appealing, with dark fruits on the nose infused with coconut and milk chocolate. Richly hedonistic on the...

You definitely get the brushed damson fruits and slight grilled notes of oak, but it is oh-so carefully handled, and just gives the most gorgeous...

This is sappy and bright, very light on its feet; an excellent second wine that is hard to argue with. A yield of 44hl/ha. The...

Visually gorgeous with bright plum colour. Black cherry and damson on the first sip, clear oak influence with flexible but far-reaching tannic structure. Some real...

Beautiful, full of St-Julien character, with a ton of pencil lead, charcoal and slate, and there is an appealing welcome that you don't always get...

<p>Beautiful depth, density and complexity, and a lovely spice, along with softer touches of floral aromatics. Successfully holds juice and tension through the palate. A...

From young vines under 20 years old, accounting for around one-third of overall production. Just beautifully mouthwatering, with rosebud notes alongside ripe berry fruits, and...

<p>An excellent-quality Lions de Batailley, with pencil lead and cassis that very much puts it in the Batailley family and ensures it is a classic...

Powerful, with shavings of bitter dark chocolate running through it. This has depth and power and as it unrolls it shows grip and complexity. Plenty...

This has punch and character and pep. A little drying once you get to the close of play, as I am finding in many of...

Enjoyable, well-brushed tannins. There is clear power here, real tension through the palate and lovely deep black pepper spice. Impressive and ready to approach within...

A doubly rare wine for Bordeaux because it has no added sulphur and is also 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in amphorae and oak barrels. It...

Good balance and well-defined fruits here. An enjoyable second wine, with a Pauillac character combined with a confident, sweet black cherry push of fruit though...

I like the Pauillac character, safe and eucalyptus-lined with a ton of black chocolate, cassis, and a brush of slate. Really a wine that you...

Clear ambition and precision here, this has extremely tight tannins, pencil lead, graphite, bitter chocolate and cocoa bean. Austere and a long way from being...

Powerful nose, still extremely young. This is serious with tannic heft and good savoury acidity that suggests it will age well. Beautiful fragrance as it...

Broad-shouldered, with impact and a fairly swift tannic build-up. The construction is clearly laid out, with spicy, concentrated rosemary and cinnamon, and ripe berry and...