served very cold. Brioche, citrus, candy floss, touch of green apple, crisp mousse, sourly juicy, green apple and lemon, slight chalky textured burr, simple. Nah.

Medium plus intensity aromas of gooseberry, a little cats pee, sweaty armpit, quite green and herbaceous, a touch of fruit lozenge, very sauvignon blanc fruit opens to show more tropical weight fruit. Juicy tending to medium plus intensity acidity, touch of slightly woody texture, quite sour and slight alcohol warmth. No thank you.

Dirty glass (sigh) so rinsed a fresh one and chucked my pour in. Low intensity aromas (especially after the boldness of the croix de labrie blanc) show slight apple, cream, butter, herbaceous underpin. On the palate a little apple, medium plus intensity acidity, tangy, very slightly tart tending to sour, textured burr is quite drying, slight non-intrusive alcohol warmth, muted fruit here, with time a little herbaceous note, finishes with woody bitterness. Not very nice drinking experience and not very good value for money

Polished oak, plums, blackcurrants, a little sweet spice, slight chocolate, cassis with a bit of agitation, quite plush smelling. Medium plus intensity acidity (just), black hued fruits, quite savoury with woody tannins that prove drying. A touch of alcohol warmth on the finish which also has a slight bitterness. <shrugs>

Biscuit, plums, blackcurrant, herbaceous notes, slightly meaty underpin, smells quite dense, a little leather farmyard and autumn leaves. Juicy acid, savoury, tight tannins, dark hued fruits resolve to blackcurrant and plum, non-intrusive alcohol warmth, long, balanced, pleasing.

Medium plus intensity aromas of savoury blackberry, brambles over blackcurrant, cedar, cigar box, touch of pencil shavings and crushed rock, smells quite 'fresh'. Medium plus intensity acidity provides that freshness, softly engaging tannic burr persists long, black over red fruit, quite plummy and brambly. though the tannins are in the ascendency the fruit is very much present. Very nice. Very 'on-point' with current Bordeaux wine making trends so, as it's a 2010, this is actually ahead of the curve.

Plummy with red berry (wild raspberry especially) underpin, sweet spice, slight herbaceous notes, cream, polished oak but this is far more controlled that the other two wines in this bracket. Juicy, raspberry, slight red and black plums, slightly floury textured tannins, pleasant in this bracket - an inherent sense of freshness makes it stand out.

Plummy, rich, quite worked, loads of new oak, loads of caramel, vanilla dominate proceedings. Medium plus intensity acidity proves slightly sour, plenty of woody tannins, pretty awful stuff.

Slight sour red fruits, blackberry, plums, sweet spice, loads of oak (again) but less prevalent than the La Clotte. Medium plus intensity acidity, tightly textured woody tannins, then non-delineated dark hued fruits, alcohol warmth is a bit intrusive on the finish. Meh.

Medium minus intensity aromas of mushroom, yeast extract, damp cellar stink, herbaceous and meaty with a little red over black fruit, quite savoury, wet clay and there is a kind of 'off' note here as well on the nose. In the mouth it has medium plus intensity acidity which makes the palate sourly juicy, yeast extract, tight unyielding tannins, a distinctly average wine - very tired and flat. Not sure it's flawed as opposed to just old.

Medium minus intensity aromas of blackcurrant, plums, chalky minerality, savoury, leather, earthy, sweet spice, a little pyrazines, earth, autumn leaves, umami notes, touch of bacon fat. Medium plus intensity acidity, chalky textured tannins, savoury, black fruits, fresh, a little velvety quality on the finish, very nice indeed.

Apricot, cream, orange marmalade, sweet spice, vanilla, toast. Juicy, fleshy, quite custard, a little orange marmalade, a little woody textured, a touch cloying - the sugar a little too high for the acid.