Bordeaux - Médoc

The great châteaux of the Médoc stand as landmarks and benchmarks of the fine wine world, their complex, ageworthy wines forming the cornerstone of any great cellar. Here, Cabernet Sauvignon rules, playing the dominant role in the region’s signature red blends whose savoury, dark-fruited, cigar-box identity is so hard to find in other Cabernet-driven wines around the world. Purists debate at great length the nuances between the various communes – Pauillac and St-Julien, Margaux and St-Estèphe, and while the grands vins of the top classed growths can take several years to unfurl their full kaleidoscope of flavours, look for second wines, cru bourgeois properties or unclassified estates for wines that are made in an increasingly accessible style, offering vibrant fruit and softer tannins from an earlier stage.