Chateau Angélus (St Emilion) 2001: Dark, smoky, concentrated. The palate is broad, well defined and yet creamy. There is a fine depth, with a great grip, and altogether this is an integrated, well knit, focussed and yet seductive package. Certainly a success, although not showing as well as my note from a few months ago - perhaps because this is a totally different tasting environment. Well done Hubert de Boüard! 17+/20

Chateau Cheval-Blanc (St Emilion) 1996: A deep, meaty, concentrated and evolved nose. Fresh, also a little soft, but underneath that a warm and velvety nature coating a core of tannin. Firm, certainly meaty as on the nose, full of potential. Not a great Cheval-Blanc, but very good indeed. 17+/20

Chateau Cheval-Blanc (St Emilion) 1997: A lively, open, slightly meaty, deep and characterful nose, evolved, with a little nuance of green peppercorn and hints of iron. Rather detached on the palate, a little lean, and certainly gentle through the midpalate. Soft, integrated, aged. Drinking now. Interesting, developed and ready to go. But no better than good really. 16.5/20

Chateau Gazin (Pomerol) 2000: Still obviously very youthful on the nose, although really rather closed down. Rounded, with a soft texture, peppery acidity, and firm tannins at the core. But other than this, little impact here. This is really difficult to judge in this state, but based on the structure alone I think this may have very good potential, and I have given a likely score. 16.5-17.5?/20

Chateau Phélan-Ségur (St Estèphe) 2000: Rather evolved compared to the more youthful wines also tasted on this day. It has a deep, brooding, claretty nose which certainly appeals to me. Full, fresh, with lots of extract on the palate. There is good grip underneath, but nice flesh on top, and overall a nice style. This is very nice indeed. 16.5+/20

Chateau Langoa-Barton (St Julien) 1999: A deep and smoky feel here, with a meaty, iron-clad, claretty style. Very traditional and pleasing. Attractive, bright and fresh on the nose and the palate, but showing some pleasing flesh too. A little plumpness, with bright red fruit, and a good tannic backbone. Precise, fresh acidity, and a nicely integrated feel overall. This will make very good drinking, and very good in the context of the vintage. Last time I sampled this the bottle was riddled with a Bretty farmyardy character, not so here. A very good experience this time. 16.5+/20

Chateau Cantenac-Brown (Margaux) 2000: This is showing obvious evolution, a very claretty iron and blood nose which certainly appeals to me. Open, quite flashy and smoky still, but with those maturing elements alongside. It perhaps lacks a little concentration, and to be critical seems to have evolved in a very forward fashion, and there is a little jamminess to it. Nevertheless, the tannins are ripe and there is good acidity. Good. 16/20

Chateau Poujeaux (Moulis) 2002: A nice, evolved nose here, quite claretty in style, but still showing some very appealing primary fruit. Full and plump on the palate, pleasingly so in view of the vintage. There is a good structure quite evident, a core of tannin, with nice acidity. But it is all rather quiet. It lacks the impact and flavour that would make the wine really good. It has some style though, and finishes very gently. 15.5/20

Chateau Haut-Bailly (Pessac-Léognan) 1999: A beautiful nose, seductive yet classic, stony and perfumed. A very evolved, open style. Gentle, moderately concentrated, rather firm and intense tannins, but still a fine composition. Good acidity, overall a very good style. Attractive, slightly pretty, but excellent for the vintage. 17+/20

Chateau Smith-Haut-Lafitte Blanc (Pessac-Léognan) 2000: A very open, attractive, maturing, stylish and toasty wine. Rather lean on the palate, not as vibrant as I would have expected, not very fresh, not sufficient acidity for me. Seems a little stripped out. Lacks vigour and punch. Nevertheless it displays some appealing, mature characteristics. Good. 15/20

Chateau de Fieuzal Blanc (Pessac-Léognan) 2003: A full, toasty, creamy, lanolin-laden nose. Creamy and round, with a little grip and structure, but as we might expect low acidity. There is some character though, a spicy, peppery element, and a full, pleasing nature. Some oak tannin adding to the grip on the finish. There is much more to comment on than when tasted at the UGC, but nothing will ever change the inadequacy of acidity and freshness in this vintage. 13.5/20

Chateau Carbonnieux Blanc (Pessac-Léognan) 2005: 65% SB, 35% Sem. More vibrant than the 2006, which goes against the grain somewhat. Very fresh and vibrant. It has a touch more focus than the 2006 also, although still a warm, rounded style with underlying grip. Zippy acidity, but less lively than some of the other white Graves of this vintage. Nevertheless, still good, bordering on very good. 16.5+/20

Chateau Suduiraut (Sauternes) 2000: Lots of lanolin here, a touch of volatility, pineapple and candied fruits, not a lot of botrytis. Fat and flavoursome, with decent acidity, although nothing more than that. Pleasing, viscous, full, not the freshest, but well made in a difficult vintage I think. 15.5/20

Chateau d'Yquem (Sauternes) 1996: Dense, fairly well concentrated, with an evocative nose, and a fine spine of acidity. There is good botrytis character here too, as well as a little residual oak. Full, creamy, rather light-footed and delicate, but this gives a nice balance based on that fine and firm acidity. It has elegance, and a very good length. Whilst not a great Yquem, it is certainly very fine for the vintage. I think my last score may have been a little harsh, although that time it was lined up against a number of superior vintages, including the 1997 and 1990. 16.5+/20