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Regarded a Super Second (but technically a 3me growth), Palmer is capable of producing wines that equal or even outstrip the quality of its famous Premier cru neighbour, Ch. Margaux. The estate also makes a separate second label - named Alter Ego - which is made from similarly high-quality fruit but treated differently in the winery with the aim of producing a counterpoint in style to the First wine.

Regarded a Super Second (but technically a 3me growth), Palmer is capable of producing wines that equal or even outstrip the quality of its famous Premier cru neighbour, Ch. Margaux. Named for the wealthy English military man who bought the estate in the early 19th century, Palmer is now majority owned by the Mahler Besse and Sichel families - famous Bordeaux negociants. Many of the best plots on the property were purchased after the Classification of 1855, explaining in part why Palmer did not warrant higher standing at that time. Certainly today there is no question that the wine is among Bordeauxs best. The estate also makes a separate second label - named Alter Ego - which is made from similarly high quality fruit but treated differently in the winery with the aim of producing a counterpoint in style to the First wine.

The formidable fortress depicted on the famed vanilla Latour label was built to withstand the Gironde pirate attacks of the 15th Century. And, truly, as well as the tower still stands, so does Latour and its consistent excellence regardless of vintage. Nominally Pauillac, this First Growth sits almost astride the border of St. Julien and its output as one would expect is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon with 10 per cent awarded to both Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Any experience with Latour is to be savoured with patience this notoriously slow-developing wine requires at least a decade or twos development. But the reward for this patience is a fulsome melange of power, finesse, depth and tone.

Château Margaux is a 1er Cru Classé (first growth) estate of Bordeaux. The Grand Vin is renowned for its enthralling perfumed elegance, finesse and layered complexity. A Cabernet Sauvignon blend with a minor component of Merlot and a smattering of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, fermentation occurs in oak vats followed by maturation in 100% new barrels for approximately 22 months. Since its acquisition in 1978 by the Mentzelopoulos family, the quality and international reputation of Château Margaux has soared to even greater heights.

Lynch-Bages is an iconic fifth growth of Pauillac and has the distinction of having produced the only wine that has ever been sent into space. Established in the early 1700s, the wine was labelled Chateau Jurine Bages at the time of the 1855 classification, later renamed in recognition of earlier owners the Lynch family. Jean-Charles Cazes purchased the property in the 1930s, later passing the management of the estate to his grandson Jean-Michel Cazes who modernised the winery and was a prolific spruiker of not just his own wines, but those of all Bordeaux throughout the 70s and beyond. Now managed by the next generation, (another Jean-Charles) Lynch-Bages continues to produce Cabernet Sauvignon-led wines of great concentration, offering ripe cassis and enviable cellaring potential.

Chateau Angélus is one of the most renowned estates of St-Emilion, currently designated Premier Grand Cru Classé A in the most recent classification of St-Emilion. Located due west of the town of St-Emilion, the estates vineyards lie on a warm south-facing slope. The Grand Vin is a dense and unctuous blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, matured in 85-100% new French oak barriques for 18-22 months. Complex and concentrated, Chateau Angélus can appear slightly austere when young, developing greater generosity and richness with age.

One of the very greatest estates of Bordeaux, Château Mouton Rothschild is in the commune of Pauillac in the Haut-Medoc, 50km north-west of the city of Bordeaux. Its Chateau wine or grand vin is among the worlds most highly-rated and expensive. Excluded from the highest rank (Premier Cru or First Growth) of the famous Bordeaux Classification of 1855, Mouton was finally promoted in 1973 after decades of lobbying by Baron Philippe de Rothschild, who ran the estate from 1922 until his death in 1988. Mouton was first in the region to bottle at the estate, rather than shipping its wine to merchants for bottling elsewhere. Since 1924 artists including Braque, Dali, Picasso, Henry Moore, Miro, Chagall, Kandinsky, Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon, David Hockney and Lucian Freud have been commissioned to produce label images. Mouton, uniquely among the First Growths, remains in the hands of the same family as it was at the time of the 1855 Classification. The vineyards are on slopes with gravel-based soils leading down to the Gironde estuary and total 75ha 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. The Chateau wine is (unusually) fermented in large oak vats and then matured in new oak barrels for between 19 and 22 months. Total production of the grand vin is 20,000 dozen or less. There is a second wine, Le Petit Mouton, established in 1993. The grand vin is noted for its flamboyance exotic, powerful aromas of cassis, minerals, tobacco leaf and graphite, an opulent palate and impressive length of flavour.

One of the most famous - as well as one of the most expensive - wines in the world, Chateau Lafite Rothschilds history dates back to 1235, by which time, it is believed, the vines were already planted and thriving. Nearly 1,000 years later it still retains the name of its then-owner Gombaud de Lafite. It wasnt until 1868 that the Rothschilds came to become the Chateaus owners, after it was sold at public auction in Paris - and it remains in their hands today. Producing an elegant Paulliac wine, Chateau Lafite is renowned for its characteristic blend of rich dark fruit with spicy, savoury and earthy notes of cassis, tobacco, and truffle. The 2016 earned sterling reviews, with James Suckling scoring it a perfect 100 and speculating on its standing as Perhaps the greatest Lafite since the legendary 1959.

Chateau Angélus is one of the most renowned estates of St-Emilion, currently designated Premier Grand Cru Classé A in the most recent classification of St-Emilion. Located due west of the town of St-Emilion, the estate’s vineyards lie on a warm south-facing slope. The Grand Vin is a dense and unctuous blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, matured in 85-100% new French oak barriques for 18-22 months. Complex and concentrated, Chateau Angélus can appear slightly austere when young, developing greater generosity and richness with age.

While a fair share of Bordeaux vineyards can claim significant historical pedigree, few would be able to touch Chateau Figeac - it is one of a select few St Emilion vineyards to have been continuously occupied for over 2,000 years! The estate dates back to the second century when even the ancient Romans who occupied the area were aware of its outstanding terroir. One figure dominates the Chateau’s modern era, and that is Thierry Manoncourt who ran the property from 1947 until his death in 2010, just shy of his 93rd birthday. Under his leadership, the Chateau was the first major Right Bank estate to embrace modern techniques such as temperature controlled, stainless steel vats. The traditional-styled Bordeaux has, understandably, gone through a wide range of iterations in its 2,000-plus year history - yet it still manages to surprise and delight. The 2016 earned rave reviews from critics, with Jancis Robinson hailing it as a wine of which “...the Manoncourt family should be very proud.”