Rich, deep, powerful and hugely persistent, this has tons of juicy black fruits but clearly in the more restrained frame that owner Jean Luc Thunevin has introduced over the past few vintages. It`s a brilliant wine, full of personality, keeping its concentration and glamour and just easing towards balance, but still with its signature insouciance. Tasted several times and always delicious, this just pips the excellent 2016 for me. 3% Malbec completes the blend, the first time it`s been included in the wine. 40hl/ha yield. 3.6pH. 100% new oak for extended ageing. Drink 2027 - 2042. 96 points

90% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Malbec; 100% new oak.Black with barely a rim. Very archetypal New World on the nose: sweet, ripe fruit and toasty oak. Barossa Shiraz? Thick, chewy, rich and sweet. Nothing in moderation but it is all in harmony. A hard wine for the table – at least for the next 10 years. Will give pleasure but not classic Bordeaux pleasure. Impressive rather than enjoyable. There is some freshness on the finish, just. 16.5+ points

Deep purple-black in color, the 2018 Valandraud develops slowly from a base of warm black cherries, blackberry compote and preserved plums with a perfume of sandalwood, Indian spices, lavender, wilted roses, mocha and fruitcake plus wafts of woodsmoke and camphor. Full-bodied, the palate is rich, ripe and flamboyant with tons of opulent black and blue fruit layers, wonderfully curtailed by a firm frame of velvety tannins and fantastic freshness, finishing very long and very seductive. 95-97+ points

The 2018 Valandraud is magnificent. Unctuous and super-concentrated on the palate, the 2018 possesses off the charts richness. Crème de cassis, bittersweet chocolate, hard candy, lavender, menthol, licorice, mint and dark spice all meld together. The 2018 is quite shut down at this stage, which is probably a good thing for its long term prospects. T he blend is 90% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Malbec. This is the first time since the early 1990s that Malbec has appeared in the blend. Yields came in at 48 hectoliters per hectare, a touch above the 45 or so that is more customary here. 94-97 points

This is a blend of 90% Merlot, with 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Malbec. The yield was 40 hl/ha, with a declared alcohol of 14.5%. It is classic Thunevin on the nose, all smoked black cherry, kirsch, black pepper and dried black olives, with brooding vanilla pod substance, and a perfumed cherry blossom and violet lift. The palate shows a really confident and plush substance, charming yet there is a real weight and breadth to it. There is black olive and black cherry fruit here, along with notes of praline, tobacco leaf, cocoa bean and cigar box, all laid over a bed of ripe cashmere tannins, tightly knit and persisting with great confidence into the finish. It rolls on seemingly forever, the length coated with a wealth of creamed fruit. Supremely ripe, but bold too, and polished. Well done. The élevage will be in 100% new oak, naturally. 96-98 points