Top Médoc 2018 wines: Re-tasted in bottle

Accomplished and sleek stuff from Stéphane Dief. These are high alcohols for a Médoc wine, and you feel it through the powerful ripe fruits and...

Juicy and layered black fruits here, this is excellent, with real sense of drive forward through the palate and well expressed tannins that have texture...

An excellent indication of how 2018 can really deliver wines with swagger and polish in the right spots. This is full of brambled black fruits,...

From an estate located just outside of St-Julien, without doubt deserving its 'Exceptionnel' badge, this is showing extremely well - if young - right now...

Enjoyable depth and power. This has walls of spice and smoke set against powerful cassis and bilberry, and plenty of Haut-Médoc signature. Oak notes also,...

Sourced from 18ha on Gunzian gravel in the Arcins plateau by the Gironde estuary, where the vines are an average 40 years’ age. A blend...

Heady scents of wild flowers and cassis fruit with dried herbs and liquorice accents. Full and fleshy, this is round and mouth filling with juicy,...

Very deeply coloured, with masses of ripeness but not quite all in balance yet. Floral, herbal notes and some cooked fruits on the nose. Tannins...

Deep plum colour, this is full of black fruits overlaid with a raspberry leaf floral character, showing its location a little further up the Médoc...

A lovely kick of Petit Verdot spice and grilled oak through the finish coupled with polished tannins, which makes this a good choice in the...

A good-quality Haut-Médoc from this family of estates that delivers consistency and value. Aged in 30% new oak, this is a rare 100% Cabernet Sauvignon...

With vineyards located on gravel terraces in the run up to St-Julien in the commune of Cussac-Fort-Médoc, this is a high-quality family-run estate that is...

Grilled cedar notes on the aromatics, with damson and black cherry jam fruit, this is polished and enjoyable. A low 20hl/ha yield after the weather...

Packed full of Médoc character, as you would hope for from the home estate of consultant Eric Boissenot. You'll find fine tannins but plenty of...

Sleek, deeply textured and majoring on blackberry and damson fruits. This is a gourmet take on Haut-Médoc, polished without being overdone, with good balance and...

Clear sweetness through the palate here with gentle grilled cedar notes, bilberry and cassis fruits, earthy and savoury underneath the oak. But there is real...

Clear, rippling black cherry and raspberry fruits; beautiful aromatics with floral edging. This has a pretty tight layer of tannins to navigate through before you...

Lovely deep ruby colour with excellent oak finesse on the aromatics, not overpowering but adding layers of smoke against cassis and black cherry fruits. You...

Lovely depth to the raspberry, damson and cassis notes here. This has form and forward motion. A very successful Agassac that can be drunk within...

Richly textured, attractive floral aromatics give a whisp and a curl of roses and smoke out of the glass. Floral perfume through the palate also,...

The oak here is a little intrusive. It's certainly gourmet and enjoyably sweet, with black cherries and grilled cassis, but has less typicity than some.

Located in St-Seurin-de-Cadourne, a high-quality location with excellent gravel terroir. Good quality, young and a little austere right now, but there is personality here and...

This has form and shape, and maintains excellent momentum that pushes the black fruits and sappy raspberry fruits forward through the palate. Chewy tannins also,...

With richly textured and carefully extracted blackberry and cassis fruits, this is powerful with firm tannins and is unmistakably from the Médoc family of wines....

Thoroughly enjoyable, with the high powered black fruit and smoked oak that is a signature of Chasse-Spleen and that gives huge promise as to how...