St Emilion:

Chateau Belair 2005: An appealing nose, with ripe plummy and herby fruit, with a layer of nutty oak showing through. The palate is attractive, with a rather complete and gentle style compared to many other wines. Elegant rather than forceful, well composed, with a firm acid backbone providing some freshness. Underneath it there is good structure. Very typical understated Belair style; certainly promising potential here. 17.5+/20

Chateau Canon-la-Gaffelière 2005: This has a very flashy, plummy nose. Exuberant style. There is a core of ripe tannins on the palate, which are prominent and firm, but they are well matched by by a firm backbone of acidity and a lovely, dense fruit profile. Textured. A big and impressive style, with an awful lot going on here. A little on the edge but overall really excellent with fine potential. 18-18.5+/20

Chateau Figeac 2005: Deep, dense, finely layered fruit on the nose, which is rather sweet and ripe at the core. The palate presents itself in a very straightforward fashion at present, but in a ripe, structured and balanced fashion. There is a firm seam of tannin with a good acid backbone, but not a complex composition. It is all nicely put together though, the tannins are well covered, and this is clearly a very primary phase. Excellent potential for the future though. 17.5-18+/20

Chateau Fonroque 2005: This isn't showing too much on the nose at first, but on the palate it clearly displays a fine weight and texture. It remains true to form for the estate, possessing a smoothly composed polish, but with a good amount of tannin and acidity underneath, providing some power. There is both substance and potential here. This has very good potential. 16.5-17/20

Clos Fourtet 2005: This has smoky sweet fruit on the nose, with a very dense character, and little notes of rich, roasted herbs. Creamily textured palate, seamless composed, with a nice bitter-edged grip rather like very fine dark chocolate. Rich yet balanced, with good acidity, but showing a firmer grip towards the finish. Excellent potential here. 18+/20

Chateau Grand Mayne 2005: This has a rather distinct toffee oak and raspberry character on the nose. And on the palate it has a hard style, showing good flavours but a bony structure. In terms of its composition it is rather challenging, and it has a huge, bitter, spicy finish. Lots of tannins swimming about, dominating the picture. Doesn't seem to have achieved a totally desirable balance to me, but there are some good elements, and this may become more harmonious with time. 16.5+/20

Chateau La Gaffelière 2005: This has a wealth of dense fruit on the nose, and a rather crisp character, perhaps enhanced by the redcurrant fruit it is displaying. It has a rather cool and integrated start on the palate, showing good acidity, but then this gives way to a rather hot tannic wall which comes to be all-dominating. A huge, mouth-gripping style; this is too much for me. 14.5-15.5/20

Chateau Larcis Ducasse 2005: An evocative nose, showing some rather hot and feral fruit character laced with some spicy plum. It starts off nicely on the palate, showing quite a high level of grippy tannins, but a good associated ripeness too, and also a nice acid backbone. There is good weight, and a lot of structure here. It is quite heavily extracted but there is a lot of substance to balance this out. Nevertheless, I find it to be teetering on the brink of being overdone. It is better than I rated it when tasting en primeur. 16.5-17.5+/20

Chateau Larmande 2005: A very fine nose here, showing some lovely, pure plummy fruit, laced with a cherry-cranberry freshness. It has a moderate texture, and an appealing, moderately firm grip of tannin in the midpalate. There is a slightly bitter edge to the peppery fruit, with good acidity and a big layer of tannins beneath. I think it has the fruit and acidity necessary to cope with these, and I think this has very good potential. 17-17.5+/20

Chateau Pavie-Macquin 2005: This wine has very dark, sweet, macerated cherry fruit character on the nose, with a slightly hot and feral edge to it. Immediately ripe and rounded on the palate, with a creamy texture, the fruit doesn't come through as the nose suggested it would. And dominating it all there is a huge presence of massive, chewy tannins, which with the relatively low acidity makes for a very overdone style. I find it to be over-extracted, which is a shame as there are some good features here. 14.5-15.5/20

Chateau Trottevieille 2005: A bright and aromatic style on the nose, although it is complicated by nuances of slightly jammy fruit, with little hot, feral nuances. On the palate though it initially seems much more composed than the nose suggested, although through the midpalate there is a layer of feral, cherry fruit laced with peppery spice, backed up by a huge, chewy grip of tannin. There is a slight bitterness on the edge too. A decent style. 15.5/20

Pomerol:

Chateau Beauregard 2005: An aromatic, plummy, dusty style of fruit on the nose here, with a spicy character and also just a little touch of heat. It has a soft and rounded texture on entry, initially showing a rather soft and elegant style which was perhaps a touch unfocussed. Then there are plenty of ripe and chewy tannins which are certainly more apparent at the finish. Possibly a touch heavy on the extraction, but quiet a nice style nevertheless. 16.5+/20

Chateau Clinet 2005: A very sweet and outgoing character on the nose here, with fresh cranberry and plum fruit. Rich and sweet and quite fleshy on the palate, it is also rather lively. There is a lovely tannic core, over which there lies some fine firm, rather sappy style. Composed, admirable, although in a more modern style, this is really good with fine potential. 18-18.5+/20

Chateau Gazin 2005: This has some delightfully lifted aromatics on the nose, with a dense, meaty, plummy character beneath. It is elegant, with notes of white flower petals, and on the palate there is a similar style, although in combination with much structure. Lots of appeal, but very firm, upright, and unsurprisingly a big, tannic finish. But there is plenty of fruit here to cope with this. Great potential here. 18-18.5+/20

Chateau La Conseillante 2005: This has obvious finesse on the nose, with a pure, plummy fruit presented in a crisp, very well defined fashion. The palate shows all the necessary components, worked in together in a very harmonious style. There is a firm core of tannins, wrapped in a layer of bitter-edged redcurrant and plum fruit. A great composition, with fresh well-balanced acidity and overall superb style. Really super potential here. 18-18.5+/20

Chateau Mazeyres 2005: This has a little raft of dark fruits on the nose, with some liquorice elements, but otherwise it does not seem very open. The palate has a ripe, supple and smooth composition, with a seamless, elegant presence in the mouth. There is pleasing although restrained fruit, with nice grip underneath. It has the gentle polish that is typical of Mazeyres, without the punch that the vintage has brought to other wines of the commune. 16.5-17+/20

Chateau Petit Village 2005: A sweet and handsomely evocative nose, with a fresh and stylish character. On the palate it is firm, textured, and really well strung together. It has a fine style, is harmonious, and has a good tannic foundation. Great grip, and firm acidity. Good work here; this is showing very differently to the representative barrel sample tasted en primeur in April 2006, and I have given a remarkably different score. 17.5-18/20