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.

Having been through many iterations since its establishment in the early 17th century, what we know today as Chateau Brane Cantenac has well and truly settled into itself and become something extraordinary. Taking its name from the man knows as the Napoleon of the Vineyards, the Baron of Brane, who purchased it in 1833, the chateau has passed through several hands, finally coming to rest in the hands of Lucien Lurton in 1956. Under the Lurton family large portions of the vineyard were replanted, vine densities increased, drainage systems improved and the plantings evolved into their current varietals. The 2016 release has garnered a huge response from critics, with James Suckling naming it one of the best ever from the chateau, and Jancis Robinson praising its Cool, unforced and sophisticated delivery as Very competent indeed.

The first grape plantings on what we know as Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste date from the 1500s and the property began to take its present shape in the 1700s. The beautiful château itself, still in use, was built in the second half of the 19th Century. Grand-Puy-Lacoste was classified a Cinquième Cru (Fifth Growth) in the Bordeaux Classification of 1855. Vineyard area totals 55ha planted to Cabernet Sauvignon (75%), Merlot (20%) and Cabernet Franc (5%). Typically for Pauillac, deep, gravelly topsoil overlies a limestone base. The Grand Puy of the name is a low hill that interrupts the flat landscape. Owned by the prominent Borie family since 1978, the vineyard, cellars and winery have all been extensively renovated since 2004. The Grand Vin is classic Pauillac full bodied, tannic, concentrated and ageworthy, offering cassis, cedar, tobacco and truffle scents and a juicy mouthful of flavour. There is a second wine, Lacoste Borie.

Two words come to mind when you mention great Australian Merlot. Jim Irivne. Jim's Grand Merlot is the benchmark of complex and elegant Merlot in Australia and his Eden Valley vineyards are the perfect place to produce this iconic wine.