Chateau Peybonhomme Les Tours (Premières Côtes de Blaye) 1997: At first this wine offers little. Fairly pale in colour, although with vibrant hue. The nose initially seems earthy, with macerated fruit, but with aeration it soon develops some style. There is some blackcurrant and black cherry fruit, new oak and a hint of liquorice. On the palate a degree of elegance accompanies soft, grainy tannins, a firm texture and correct acidity. Pleasant, smoky fruit. This is a delicious, great value claret for drinking now. 16/20

Chateau Potensac (Médoc) 1995: A promising red-black hue in the glass. Great interest on the nose, with red and dark black fruits, and cedary oriental spices. Just moderate weight on the palate, although there is a pleasing texture, not quite creamy, but also a fairly hard, tannic edge on the endpalate. This is matched by a good quantity of fruit, and good acidity. Drinking well now with food, although still a little fierce alone. Within a few hours this wine really closed down, so it is not a wine to leave too long in the glass! Will drink well for 7-10 years. 16.5+/20

Chateau La Tour de By (Médoc) 1995: A good colour, a deep red-purple hue. Good fruit on the nose, with blackberry and bramble fruit predominating. Similar flavours on the palate, with an initial touch of richness, although a hollow, hard character soon becomes apparent. Somewhat austere tannins also begin to dominate. I suspect there is sufficient fruit to outlast these tannins, but will it ever fatten out in the midpalate? 14.5+?/20

Chateau Patache d'Aux (Médoc) 1995: Another wine with a pleasing colour, red-purple and fairly dense. The nose is fairly stylish, good blackcurrant fruit with cedar and mineral overtones. Moderate weight, with good structure. A warm, rounded texture sits over a layer of grainy tannins, which have integrated considerably since I last tasted this wine in 2000. A lovely flourish of berry fruit and liquorice on the finish. Balanced acidity. Enjoyable, although rather open knit and unfocused. From two half bottles. 15.5/20

Chateau Verdignan (Haut-Médoc) 1996: More than a hint of tawny here. The nose shows some maturity, with wood spice, cedar, macerated red berry and cherry fruits and some aromas of damp forest undergrowth. A medium bodied palate, with earthy fruit. Soft tannins and correct acidity. A drinkable although somewhat clumsy wine. 14/20

Chateau Liversan (Haut-Médoc) 1996: A promising deep red-purple hue to this wine. No disappointment on the nose, which is initially dominated by an intense cassis aroma, with a touch of wood-smoke. With air this exuberant fruit soon settles, developing into a classic combination of stony, mineral blackcurrant and cedar. Medium bodied, with woody tannins on the palate, and correct acidity. There's some more stony, black fruit. It perhaps lacks texture and even a little concentration through the midpalate, although some weight develops towards the finish. Nevertheless it's classically styled and enjoyable. 15.5/20

Chateau Haut Canteloup (Haut-Médoc) 1998: Fantastic colour here, a deep and vibrant red. There is a surprising depth of fruit for such a good value wine on the nose, with a layer of fresh, crunchy blackcurrants, plums and damsons over a sensible amount of new French oak. The palate has delicious balance, despite a degree of tannin, and the wine simply glides across the tongue. With some aeration it fattens up somewhat, although the tannins remain firm and structured rather than obtrusive. Plenty of fresh fruit and good acidity. This will benefit from another year or so in bottle. It's a lovely wine for the money, and what's more it is widely available in the UK. 16.5/20

Chateau Les Ormes de Pez (St Estèphe) 1996: A good red purple wine. Classic St Estèphe on the nose, with a hard, gravelly edge to the abundance of cedary, smoky, cigar box and austere blackcurrant fruit. There is an attractive, somewhat hard edge on the palate, this is offset by a good quantity of fruit and a full and rounded texture. The tannins underpin the whole affair giving good structure, but are otherwise barely noticeable. Delicious stuff, classically styled, and the wine of the tasting. Drinking very well now, and over the next 4-5 years. 17+/20

Chateau Pibran (Pauillac) 1996: Good deep colour. The nose carries cedary, pencil shaving aromas, over a layer of intense, smoky blackcurrant fruit. Lovely texture, with an edge of glycerol, backed up by firm yet supple tannins and low acidity. There's plenty of fruit. A nicely structured, focused, fleshed out wine for drinking over the next five to eight years. 16+/20