No wine was produced here in 2017 due to frost, but the 2018 is highly successful. It`s one of the very few vintages where I prefer this to the grand vin: it`s inky and deep in colour, and there`s no question that the oak give walls and tannic structure. But everything is well integrated and balanced, and the charred notes give an extra kick that softens the austerity. As I often think, if they combined the two wines it really could be a brilliant ensemble, but it`s definitely clear that this wine has an edge in 2018. 92 points

100% Merlot on gravelly clay. Black core with purple rim. Intense sweet cassis, a little like Ribena. Same single-focused fruit on the palate, denser and firmer but still very fresh. Fine texture and still juicy on the finish even though the tannins are more compact. 16.5 points

Made of 100% Merlot, the deep purple-black colored 2018 Le Plus is quite closed and broody to begin, opening to give notions of baked plums, warm black cherries and kirsch plus touches of Chinese five spice, bay leaves and fragrant earth. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is completely packed with ripe, rich black fruits with loads of earth and herbal accents to brighten it up, framed by rounded tannins, finishing long and spicy. 91-93+ points

This super-cuvée is 100% Merlot, from old vines, picked at a yield of 20 hl/ha. It presents a very expressive, lifted and elegant nose, showing smoked cherry fruit, wrapped in ribbons of cinnamon and praline oak. The palate is fresh, broad, looking quite bold and punchy at first, although in the middle it softens and broadens out to show a wealth of ripe fruits, swirled with gently spiced oak. Polished and supple with a medium-bodied substance, laid over a rich and grippy bed of tightly knit tannin and fresh acidity, spicy, peppery and long. Good potential here. The élevage will be in 100% new oak, for 33 months. 92-94 points