The Cuvée Classique is drawn predominantly from the Domaine's vines on the mid-slope of the Clos but also plots on the lower and upper parts of the vineyard. While there's certainly more depth and fruit intensity here, there's also more detail and clarity and exceptionally fine, powdery tannins that coat the tongue and drive the very long finish.

Penfolds RWT Shiraz is a big juicy Barossan Shiraz refined by the use of older French oak barrels. 1998 is considered to be one of the classic vintages of the modern age. Drinking wonderfully now but with many years still to come in its development, this is a great addition to any cellar.

AZIENDA AGRICOLA SORDO GIOVANNI Parussi, Barolo DOCG

From a 37-acre vineyard, Château Pavie Macquin is stunningly situated on the clay-limestone plateau of Saint-Émilion on the right bank of Bordeaux. 2010 has produced a formidable wine: a blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is a top release of the harvest year and a highlight from St-Émillion in 2010. Tannins, restraint and inward concentration are motifs, this is a wine for the patient, sophisticated collector who wishes to embellish a cellar with pedigree wines that need time and maturity to come to the fore.

One of the most expensive Bordeaux wines - and indeed, one of the priciest anywhere - Le Pin is a surprisingly recent arrival on the global stage, with its first vintage having been produced just decades ago in 1979. Originally priced at a modest 700 francs, the praise garnered by the 1982 vintage propelled Le Pin into the global limelight, with sales from that point on par with - or exceeding - those of First Growth Bordeaux wines. An exotic style of Bordeaux, Le Pin possesses a resplendent, lavish mouth-feel with intensely ripe fruit aromas and hints of smoke on the palate.