Deep ruby plum colour, fleshy and generous brambled black cherry and blackberry fruits, highly spiced, creamy with slate-textured tannins, great stuff. This 2020 is really taking a step up, as the King's View bottling heads into its third vintage, and is both confident and easy to love. 40% new oak barrels for ageing, Jerome Aigurre winemaker, Thomas Duclos consultant. 0.7ha plot of vines at 93m altitude.

The 2020 King's View comes from a tiny 0.7-hectare vineyard planted in 2001 that's sitting at one of the highest points in the appellation. This is all limestone soils, and the wine is 100% Merlot aged 22 months in 40% new French oak, with the balance in once- and twice-used oak. Its semi-opaque ruby hue is followed by a great nose of ripe red fruits (redcurrants, ripe cherries), truffly earth, graphite, and chalky minerality. It's medium-bodied, has a pure, elegant, layered mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and nicely integrated acidity. It's a classic, gorgeously put-together Castillon that will evolve gracefully over the coming 10-12+ years.