Leoville Barton 2004

St Julien 2GCC. The flag bearer of traditional left bank Bordeaux. Simply amazing. Decanted 2 hours but barely enough - just at the start of its long drinking window. Cool, minty black fruit and oak dominated nose. Assertive masculine entry that transitions to an approachable, creamy middle core. Powerful blackcurrants at play with secondary Asian spices and mint. Still dark, brooding and serious. 10 second finish. All components are in place for a great wine, with no part overpowering the others - great symphony. Solid but not outlandish. The perfect left banker? Close enough (9.8/10)

Cantenac Brown 2000

Margaux 3GCC. It takes a ripe vintage like 2000 for me to like Margaux. Pitch dark purple hue betraying its age. Ripe blackcurrants w nice vanilla and violets undertones - great nose as expected. The palate is v masculine for Margaux, brooding, mid-bodied. Dark fruits, good roundness, well-judged tannins and classy grip. Some elegance peeking thru. V well balanced wine overall. Can still improve for a few years. Would be less impressive in a lighter vintage I reckon (8.7/10).

Alion 2006

Tempranillo, Ribera del Duoro Spain. Off-shoot of the famed Vega Sicilia. This wine impresses me time and time again (this is my 3rd tasting). Nose is q shy and green, perhaps the only downside. In the mouth it's all fantastic. Round, weighty and great lusciousness. V creamy w milk chocolate and Asian spices thrown in to attain great interplay of flavours.. Good weight and nice grip. New world in style no doubt but w superb complexity that only good winemakers can conjure and intellectual wine lovers will appreciate. Long, caressing, warm finish (9.3/10).

Brane Cantenac 2008

Margaux 2GCC. Funnily, this wine impressed much more 2 years ago than now. It was dark, heavy, extracted and v red fruit-driven then, v 'new world' and lush in a good way. These days, it has thinned out and acquired the quintessential typical Margaux characteristics. Floral nose, developing but not q near its potential. Palate has lost q a bit of weight, now elegant and I feel q hollow compared to the last tasting. A bit more weight and complexity will be nice. Fruit seem to have gone into hiding. Seem to be in a dumb phase now, not q sure how it'd turn out in a few years (8.6/10).