Dating back over 800 years in the Bordeaux region, Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte is owned today by Daniel and Florence Cathiard. The estate also features a world class spa, which specialises in Vinotherapie - using grape extracts in many of their treatments. Up until the year 2000, the estate was not known for producing top quality wines, however in the capable hands of the Cathiard family and after over a decade of hard work and reinvention, the wines truly began to come into their own. It has been, in the words of Andrew Caillard, an astonishing ascendancy in the past 15 years, and given the sterling reviews the 2016 vintage has received, its trajectory seems set to continue its meteoric rise.

One of the original Second Growths of the Bordeaux Classification of 1855, Rauzan-Ségla's 51 hectares of mineral rich soils begin on the banks of the Gironde, on the left bank of Bordeaux. A complex mix of gravel, clay and limestone subsoil imparts a richness and complexity to the Cabernet (62%), Merlot (36%), Cabernet Franc (1%) and Petit Verdot (1%) grapes used to produce this powerfully intense and elegant wine. The estate was last sold in 1994 to the Wertheimer family of Chanel, who employed former Château Latour winemakers, David Orr and John Kolasa. Nicolas Audebert, the former winemaker at Cheval des Andes, the LVMH property in Mendoza Argentina, was hired to succeed John Kolasa following his retirement in 2014.

Majestic, intense, full bodied and tannic, Cos dEstournel is considered the leading wine of St Estèphe. Highly tannic in its youth, over time it develops much much like the great wines of adjoining Pauillac. The wine is typically a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, consistently displaying immense power and evident breed.

Château la Mission Haut-Brion is on uniquely stony soil in the Pessac-Léognan appellation close to the city of Bordeaux. It is a Cru Classé in the Graves Classification of 1953. The 22.5 hectare red wine vineyard is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon (46%), Merlot (44%) and Cabernet Franc (10%). The chateau wine is vinified in large (180hl) temperature-controlled, stainless steel vats and aged in 100% new French oak for an average of 22 months. Annual production is 6000-7000 dozen. The famous white wine of the chateau comes from 3.5 ha planted to Semillon (62%) and Sauvignon Blanc (38%). Overall planting density is 10,000 vines per hectare (red) and 8000 vines per hectare (white). Since 1983, under the ownership of Domaine Clarence Dillon (which also owns the neighbouring Chateau Haut Brion), the entire estate has been renovated vineyards, winemaking facilities and the chateau itself. The property got its name in the 1600s when it was owned by the Catholic Church.

TE MATA ESTATE Coleraine. Cepage may include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Certified biodynamic, the Cullen Vanya is 97% Cabernet Sauvignon complemented by 3% Petit Verdot. Aged in new French oak of which 50% was new for a period of 19 months. Totally opaque dark red black colour with a dark red hue. Intense but beautifully refined the nose offers up aromas of blackcurrant and mulberry laced with cedar and tobacco characters followed by hints of cigar box, faint bay leaf and spice. Medium weight the palate is the perfect marriage of richness, elegance and power delivering sublime flavours of blackcurrant, ripe mulberry and dark cherries seamlessly integrated with cedar, tobacco and spice characters. Exquisite finesse with exceptionally fine grained, polished tannins. Very long after-taste of blackcurrant, ripe mulberry, cedar faint tobacco, cigar box and spice that seems to sail on forever.

One word - legend. Jack Mann served Houghton for a remarkable 51 consecutive vintages. His determination to create wines of intensity, elegance and regional character have inspired a generation of Australian winemakers to achieve great things. Simply one of this country's greatest Cabernets, this wine is not just single vineyard fruit, the selection process is so rigorous that often it is just a few rows from the Justin Vineyard. Such is the reverence for that great man - Jack Mann.