2020 D'Aiguilhe

The 2020 Château d'Aiguilhe has bold bouquet with finely delineated aromas of blackberry, wild strawberry, wild mint and cedar, almost Pauillac in style. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins. It's one of the "juicier" wines in the flight with a more approachable, corpulent finish. There is the substance here to merit cellaring, though it doesn't quite deliver the intellectual heft of its peers. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc. Stefan von Neipperg describes this as the most powerful of the four vintages shown in this line-up (2018–22). More intense and powerful dark fruit here, black plum, cassis, slightly charry savour. Deep and chewy but balanced in its power. (JH)

Aromas of cassis, dark berries and cherries mingle with subtle hints of incense and spices in an inviting bouquet to introduce the 2020 d'Aiguilhe, a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered wine with powdery tannins and the lively acids that are typical of this later-ripening, limestone-rich sector. Always a notable value, this age-worthy cuvée has turned out very well this year.