Best Bordeaux 2019 wines: Second labels

Deep damson colour and mouthfilling from the start, this expands outwards through the palate, filling up with concentrated yet plush berry fruits, notes of smoked oak, hazelnut, grilled liquorice. A real presence, approaches the 2016 but with more evident approachability. Appealing now but sure that it will close down pretty tightly for a while as this has a high tannin count of 88IPT.

Packed with spice and fruit on the nose, this grips you and lifts off. A great mid palate with juicy, enrobed tannins and seductive fleshy fruit in the mouth. Makes you smile, enticingly creamy and yet with sappy slate on the finish. One of the best Pavillon Rouge for years. 27% of overall production in Pavillon. 2% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. A yield of 47hl/ha, (compared to 30hl/ha last year). Tannin index of 75 IPT so higher than 2009, 2010, 2016 (only 2018 higher).

A very moreish Petit Mouton with plump fruit and clear coffee and mocha beans - a signature of this wine and people who love its unashamed glamour will adore this vintage. It has welcome astringent tannins on the finish and overall this is delicious. There are not many 2nd wines that can truly stand on their own but this is very much one of them. Harvest September 18 to October 5.

This has more depth to the palate than the No.3, giving a seductive reminder of the flourish of Angélus with coffee, chocolate and precisely expressed flesh to the damson fruit. Plenty of complexity of flavours, salinity on the finish, feels like a successful, well-delivered example of the appellation. 60% new oak. New cellar for first time, expressly for this wine and No.3, reflecting the fact that since 2014 there have been plots dedicated only to these two wines. New plots also, notably one near to Cheval Blanc and another in St Colombe, taking the total for Carillon to around 15ha in total across a variety of terroir types.

This is a gorgeous rippling wine with a clear muscular frame. It's a year where there are more tannins than in 2018, and this has a wonderful two-step, fruit tannin fruit tannin rhythm that propels the wine forward through the palate. Iris flowers and berry fruit, with smoked-tinged cedar oak. Harvest September 10 to October 4.

Plump blackberry fruits, velvety texture and evident tannins. An excellent wine that has sapidity and punch, a great combination that makes this extremely successful. 4% Petit Verdot completes the blend.

This is a pretty serious and structured Clarence, with firm tannins that give walls and form to the wine overall. Has depth and character to the black fruits, and is one where the Merlot character is almost masquerading as Cabernet Sauvignon. Great quality, with ageing potential and one that gives a real step towards the first wine.

Intense and concentrated Petite Eglise, raspberry and blackberry fruit rippling through the body of the wine, held in check by a deftly confident frame. You're in Pomerol here, with sweet heady floral aromatics, tons of bright plump fruits and an accessibility to the tannins that makes it extremely enticing. Easy to recommend this 2nd wine of L'Eglise Clinet. 30% new oak.

The special bottling of La Fleur de Boüard, from the oldest Merlot vines on the estate, with a low yield, aged in 100% new oak. Lovely violet reflections around the rim of the wine and good purity of damson and black cherry makes this seductive and pretty irresistible. Heavy bottle alert though.

As with the Duhart, this is very Pauillac, with pencil lead and cedar notes, and the highest amount of Cabernet Sauvignon in Carruades to date. Subdued on the nose, but it opens up with a lovely floral character. It starts off with frank, autumnal fruit on the attack, majoring on brambly plum, with tannins that build up through the palate and do their job of tugging things back, putting on the brakes. A little more straight laced than the 2018, but one that you would be more than happy to own and to share. Has the drinkability that Lafite prides itself on.

A captivating nose of milk chocolate, cola, cherries, and violets, offering a soft and inviting bouquet. The palate is fully textured, opening gradually to coat the cheeks and tongue in a fine layer of chalky tannins. Juicy and succulent through the mid-palate, it bursts with citrus zest, orange and lemon pith, cranberries, and red cherries. There’s a beautiful interplay of bite and tension, with a sapdi freshness and a mineral core of crushed stones and iron. The finish ends bright, minty, and herbal, delivering great drive and persistence. 3.60pH.

The second of the Le Rey wines, from more clay-heavy vineyard plots but still with limestone influence underneath. Has plenty of grip on the finish, and overall is extremely seductive with blackberry and raspberry notes, and clear cocoa dusting. For sure an exceptional wine in Castillon.

The grapes come from within the walled L'Enclos for this 2nd wine, and straight away you see a higher intensity and focus than with the more open Clos de Marquis. The majority Merlot gives a plump character to the ripe berry fruits but they are old vines with plenty of intensity. Great entry point to Las Cases, with lift and focus on the finish - you still get the austerity and tight tannic delivery that is part and parcel of the Las Cases experience, but there is juice and pleasure waiting here. 30% new oak. 3.55pH.

This is well structured and approaches 2010 in terms of its weight and depth of fruit. Deep spiced damson on the nose, you would be hard pressed not to say that this is as good as very many Cru Bourgeois 1st wines. Huge depth, similar to the 2018 but a little higher acidity, a little less round, a little more classic Pauillac in character. This is confident and serious with lots of tannins. A great 2nd wine, and a reminder of the consistently successful winemaking that is happening at this estate.

Vibrant violet edging speaks of its limestone soil. I love the purity of the fruits, and the real chalkiness to the tannins on the finish. Clear density but one that is being uplifted by a cushion of air. This is elegant and sappy with cool blue fruits and precisely placed tannins on display. A brilliant wine for understanding terroir impact. Harvest from September 10 to 21 for the Merlots (before the rain), then October 24 for Cabernet Franc and October 7-8 for Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is now from newly-purchased plots that are entirely Asteries limestone, plus a few plots of Troplong that are also pure limestone (as opposed to the clay cover that is found on much of the property).