Just like last year, perennial favourite Angludet kicks off our Bordeaux en primeur campaign in earnest. We tasted the wine on the Quai de Bacalan, in the beautiful offices of the chateau's owners, the Sichel family. There, we talked at length to Charles Sichel - about the challenges and potential pitfalls of the vintage, about pesticide use in Bordeaux (Angludet was one of the first estates in the Medoc to embrace eco-friendly pest control), about the design of the traditional buildings on the Quai. The Sichels are a family deeply rooted in Bordeaux, and as both owners and negociants they have a thorough understanding of the market. They always price Angludet to sell, precisely what it does. We loved their 2014 and bought all we could (still available at £156 a case) but the 2015 is a more substantial wine. It has some of the voluptuousness of the 2009 allied to the freshness of the 2005 and should rank amongst the best wines ever made here. Don't miss it!

As usual for a high quality vintage, the first couple of weeks have belonged chiefly to less well-known wines. Most notable of these were La Tour de By and Clos Manou which we like so much we buy them en primeur - even if you don't! This morning has seen the first Sauternes of the vintage - the ever popular Coutet. /AR

Offered subject to remaining unsold; available spring 2018