Top Bordeaux 2018 wines in bottle: Right Bank report

This is deep and ripped, coming out you like a powerhouse, then it stops, tiptoes away, then rises up to slowly stretch out through the...

Lovely ripeness on the nose, full of dense Morello cherries and milk chocolate notes, this feels round and just very complete. It has a density...

Deep and richly spiced notes of cinnamon and smoked butterscotch along with Cabernet Franc-dominant savoury fruits. Expands in all directions, showing precision and delicately brushed...

A beautiful Canon that performs the 360-degree trick in your mouth of expanding up, down and out. Of course a little austere right now at...

Clear flesh to the plump damson fruits, alongside grilled caramel, graphite, cassis bud and cocoa bean. The tannins are plentiful, but they are plush, ripe...

Hugely serious; still clearly extremely young. With a gorgeously ripped muscular frame, the fruit is multi-layered and multi-faceted. So much power, with autumnal blackberry and...

This stood out en primeur and it does again in bottle (I also tasted it in between at a Decanter Fine Wine Encounter), more than...

Closed and coiled right now, with ripped layers of fruit. A ton of graphite, bitter dark chocolate and finessed berry fruits. Definitely need to give...

In bottle since September, still on the edge of reduction (low sulphur additions at Angélus, particularly as this is the first year of organic conversion)....

While the 2018 vintage got plenty of buzz, following the less heralded 2017, I remain less enthusiastic when compared to the stellar 2016. The 2018...

The combination of Cabernet Franc and limestone give this wine both a beautifully floral-laced nose, and a sense of energy and lift as it travels...

Extremely concentrated cassis and bilberry fruits, almost Left Bank on the approach (there is a majority of Cabernet in the blend), until the juice and...

Silky tannins, lovely fresh lift and some menthol powering along through the finish. Brambled fruits, freshly cut and dried herbs, with tons of nuance and...

This has the clear edge over La Mondotte for me because it combines the polish and glamour of a St-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé with...

Blueberry, blackberry, coffee beans, slate, sage and rosemary are layered up here, opening slowly to show a gunsmoke edge. A success en primeur and has...

Polished gourmet fruit right from the first nose, this is an accomplished and powerful Valandraud that has seductive and appealing notes of burnt caramel and...

This has plenty of coffee/mocha edging and generosity, alongside abundant tannins and an enjoyable lift that gives tension and definition. Everything in balance, with a...

Owned by Mathieu Cuvelier of Clos Fourtet and located right next-door, this has plenty in common with its neighbour. Tons of plum, cherry and raspberry...

Well-located on the limestone slopes near Pavie, this has been under the ownership of Peter Kwok since 2017. Here he delivers a measured wine that...

An estate that is just doing such good work right now. This was delicious en primeur and for me a little better in bottle. Has...

One of the best in this tasting. Silky and rich, with aromatic black fruits and a complex layering of cut herbs, liquorice and sweet spices....

Perhaps not quite as fine as the Bélair-Monange but this is just gorgeous, with deeply textured black and blue fruits, and a spring of limestone...

This is a good-quality, serious wine. It has some firm tannins and a ton of fruit, and underneath it all the luxurious feel of a...

Well-defined, muscular tannins that form a wall to keep the black cherry fruits in place. Clear liquorice as it opens up. It's the texture that...

Damson and blackberry fruit aromas precede a palate more wet stone and 'mineral', delivered with gorgeous finesse and smooth tannins. Proposed it blind to a...

Even in the short time that the Vauthiers have been making La Clotte, you can see the depth and precision increasing. This is a little...

This is pretty powerful. Extremely tight dark fruits right now - quite a change in profile from a decade ago, now showing brambled blackberries and...

Expressive in its youthful, fleshy fruit, full of blackberry, cassis and blackcurrant stem. It charms immediately, combining smoky oak with rich fruitcake spice and a...