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Chateau Lascombes is a second grand cru classé of Margaux, renowned for producing perfumed elegant wines which gain greater depth and complexity with cellaring. The 118 ha vineyard of the Chateau is one of the largest and most fragmented in the area with plots spread across the Margaux appellation. Plantings comprise 50% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot anchored predominantly on gravel, clay and sand soils. The wine is vinified in a combination of wood and stainless steel vats and then aged in 80% new French oak barriques for 18 months. Serious investment both in the vineyard and winery has led to a notable renaissance in quality in recent years.

With a history dating back to 1143, Chateau du Tertre is one of the oldest properties in Bordeaux. Since 1995 it has been in the hands of the Jelgersma family, also owners of Chateau Giscours. The du Tertre vineyard is a large single block, with 52ha under vine, planted to Cabernet Sauvignon (55%), Merlot (27%), Cabernet Franc (11%) and Petit Verdot (7%). Biodynamic viticultural techniques were being introduced beginning in 2008 and du Tertre was one of the first in Bordeaux to ferment grapes in egg-shaped concrete vats. The property produces a second wine, Les Hauts de Tertre, and from 2014 a dry white wine, Tertre Blanc, an unusual blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Viognier and Gros Manseng. This Margaux property was classified Cinquieme Cru (Fifth Growth) in 1855.

An elegant more mid-weight Pauillac, Chateau dArmailhac is classically structured claret that is slightly earlier drinking than some of its Pauillac counterparts. The grapes are handpicked, de-stemmed and vinified using traditional methods before undergoing maturation in 30% new oak and 70% second fill barrels.

Beychevelle is often described as the Versailles of Bordeaux, due to its spectacular château and gardens. Beychevelles origins go back to the mid-1400s and the estate was renovated and rebuilt in the second half of the 18th Century. It is now owned (since 2011) by the Japanese Suntory company in partnership with Pierre Castel, head of Castel Freres. The 75ha of St-Julien vineyards are planted on deep, gravelly soils 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot and increasingly farmed organically. A striking new glass-walled winery was completed in 2016. Chateau Beychevelle, classified Quatrième Cru (Fourth Growth), is a traditionally-styled Bordeaux wine full of cassis, earth, spice and tobacco notes that ages well.

While the estate known as Chateau Haut-Bailly dates back to 1461, its wine production began in 1530, falling into the hands of the de Leuvarde and Le Bailly families in 1630. It was purchased in 1998 by Robert G Wilmers, a Harvard-educated banker, and his French wife Elisabeth and under their care, the estate has begun producing some of the best wines in its history. The cellars and production procedures were renovated and modernised and this year, the Chateau itself was awarded government recognition of its cultural and vinious heritage. From some of the oldest vines in the region, the 2016 has been lauded as one of the Chateaus best, with Neal Martin hailing it as perhaps the best that I have tasted in almost 20 years of tasting at this estate.

La Dominique is a Grand Cru Classe growth of Saint-Émillion, leading the way in many fields of modernisation and innovation amongst the chateaux of Bordeaux. Owner Clement Fayat has spent decades on improving everything from vinification facilities, to drainage, to the cellars, to a bright red (and controversially visible from a distance) vat house completed in 2013. Benefitting (similarly to their famous neighbours, Ch. Cheval Blanc) from a proximity to Pomerol, La Dominique produces Merlot-led wines that combine vigour and elegance.