At only eight hectares, Ferriere is positively titchy by Bordeaux standards. Claire Villars is in charge, who runs La Gurgue and Haut-Bages-Liberal, both of which we like very much. The estate has excellent terroir, being situated on several plots of deep gravel and the wines have always tended towards the muscular end of Margaux in a similar way to La Gurgue and are immensely satisfying. To all intents and purposes Ferriere can be considered a `new` property, having been rescued from the clutches of Lascombes and only produced its first vintage from new cellars in 1992. At first equipped with stainless steel tanks, small concrete vats are now in use for the bulk of production, with a couple of wooden vats reserved for the best looking lots. Over the last ten years Claire has really got the measure of the estate and the wines are showing more and more Margaux character as extraction and oaking have been moderated. (CW 20/05/10)