A medicinal edge on the nose, some gorgeous floral and herbal touches to the ripe fruit but a savoury element too. Compact and dense on the palate, the tannins and general weight is felt in the mouth straight away, with searing acidity making this quite lean and focused but with a lovely creaminess that comes through as it slowly expands. This has a lot of power and charge but no overt weight, density but no fat. I like the lingering coolness with fresh mint and graphite giving a saline, mineral element at the end. Complex and serious yet elegant, full of taste and detail.

The 2020 Grand Village (Lafleur), which is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, comes from more clay soils and from cuttings from Château Lafleur in Pomerol. It's a gorgeous wine that brings serious power and richness while staying nicely balanced. Ripe black fruits, truffle earth, chocolate, and some floral, earthy notes define the aromatics, and it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, ripe yet building tannins, and a great finish. It's certainly a bigger, richer vintage at this address, and this beauty will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age. I can't imagine it not drinking well for a solid two decades. It's worth pointing out that production was down from an average 5,000 cases to over 3,000 cases in 2020, so there's certainly less of this beauty to go around. If you see a bottle, don't miss it.

(94+ points) A serious, more obviously structured effort than the suave 2019, the 2020 Grand Village offers up a smoky, dense bouquet with aromas of cherries, spices, flowers, lead pencil and dark wild berries. Medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with rich, powdery tannins and a vibrant core of fruit, it concludes with an impressively long finish and superb controlled power. It clearly needs time to chill out. - Yohan Castaing

This is the wine of their range that has most changed and evolved over the past few years, now a 'petit chateau' that should be sought out and put on your list if you are a Bordeaux lover. Even in a structured year like 2020, the tannins show texture and grip, with juicy, savoury cassis bud, cherry, blueberry, spiced chocolate. It's not generous, but it has freshness and life, and is a thoroughly enjoyable wine. Now 12ha, down from 18ha as they concentrate on the best parts of the clay-dominant soils. From the winemaking team of Château Lafleur. All the Bouchet (Cabernet Franc) at Grand Village is from massal selection at this point.

The 2020 Grand Village has a ripe nose with quite ebullient red fruit and well-integrated oak. It is more opulent than some of its peers, though it maintains delineation. The palate is well balanced with a slightly powdery texture and admirable depth. It is perhaps just missing a little grip, but it retains a degree of elegance and focus. This unravels a little in the glass, prompting me to dock a point. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. -- Neal Martin