Chateau Angélus is one of the most renowned estates of St-Emilion, currently designated Premier Grand Cru Classé A in the most recent classification of St-Emilion. Located due west of the town of St-Emilion, the estates vineyards lie on a warm south-facing slope. The Grand Vin is a dense and unctuous blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, matured in 85-100% new French oak barriques for 18-22 months. Complex and concentrated, Chateau Angélus can appear slightly austere when young, developing greater generosity and richness with age.

Chateau Angélus is one of the most renowned estates of St-Emilion, currently designated Premier Grand Cru Classé A in the most recent classification of St-Emilion. Located due west of the town of St-Emilion, the estate’s vineyards lie on a warm south-facing slope. The Grand Vin is a dense and unctuous blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, matured in 85-100% new French oak barriques for 18-22 months. Complex and concentrated, Chateau Angélus can appear slightly austere when young, developing greater generosity and richness with age.

A 1st Growth of the highest order, Château Margaux is one of the original 1st growths classified in the Médoc and is arguably the most important of the region. Producing only some 33,000 cases of predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaux consistently produces wines that are among the finest examples of the vintage. 2009 is regarded as one of the finest in recent memory in the region and 'normal' wines form the Margaux appellation are being heralded as truly exceptional. One can only speculate how magnificent the Château Margaux will be in 15-20 years time, if one can be patient enough!

Château Latour is the epitome of power and bold concentration that is Pauillac. With a high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon, the brilliant close knit tannin complimenting the vibrant cassis driven fruit is something to behold. It is often said that buyers of Latour worry about the wines they purchase will outlive them quite considerably such is the pedigree of such a wine. This is a definite concern for the 2009 vintage which is being reported as being the very best in living memory. The wine itself is a masterclass in concentration and power only with a robust and joyful front and mid-palate. Notes of blackberry and dark plum dance along with secondary characters of subtle oak and pencil shavings. A rambunctuous back palate that is almost thick and viscous that is truly forboding. Robert Parker Jnr has been quoted as saying

Regarded a Super Second (but technically a 3me growth), Palmer is capable of producing wines that equal or even outstrip the quality of its famous Premier cru neighbour, Ch. Margaux. Named for the wealthy English military man who bought the estate in the early 19th century, Palmer is now majority owned by the Mahler Besse and Sichel families - famous Bordeaux negociants. Many of the best plots on the property were purchased after the Classification of 1855, explaining in part why Palmer did not warrant higher standing at that time. Certainly today there is no question that the wine is among Bordeauxs best. The estate also makes a separate second label - named Alter Ego - which is made from similarly high quality fruit but treated differently in the winery with the aim of producing a counterpoint in style to the First wine.

One of the very greatest estates of Bordeaux, Château Mouton Rothschild is in the commune of Pauillac in the Haut-Medoc, 50km north-west of the city of Bordeaux. Its Chateau wine or grand vin is among the worlds most highly-rated and expensive. Excluded from the highest rank (Premier Cru or First Growth) of the famous Bordeaux Classification of 1855, Mouton was finally promoted in 1973 after decades of lobbying by Baron Philippe de Rothschild, who ran the estate from 1922 until his death in 1988. Mouton was first in the region to bottle at the estate, rather than shipping its wine to merchants for bottling elsewhere. Since 1924 artists including Braque, Dali, Picasso, Henry Moore, Miro, Chagall, Kandinsky, Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon, David Hockney and Lucian Freud have been commissioned to produce label images. Mouton, uniquely among the First Growths, remains in the hands of the same family as it was at the time of the 1855 Classification. The vineyards are on slopes with gravel-based soils leading down to the Gironde estuary and total 75ha 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. The Chateau wine is (unusually) fermented in large oak vats and then matured in new oak barrels for between 19 and 22 months. Total production of the grand vin is 20,000 dozen or less. There is a second wine, Le Petit Mouton, established in 1993. The grand vin is noted for its flamboyance exotic, powerful aromas of cassis, minerals, tobacco leaf and graphite, an opulent palate and impressive length of flavour.

Now this half bottle is handy if you wish to toast yourself. Pol Roger is one of the world's power house champagne houses. Famously quoted by the likes of Winston Churchill and the champagne of choice for Her Majesty the Queen. An equal blend of chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier, with addition of 20% reserve wines. It is impressively fresh and vivacious with more depth than most aperitif styles.