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Dating back over 800 years in the Bordeaux region, Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte is owned today by Daniel and Florence Cathiard. The estate also features a world class spa, which specialises in Vinotherapie - using grape extracts in many of their treatments. Up until the year 2000, the estate was not known for producing top quality wines, however in the capable hands of the Cathiard family and after over a decade of hard work and reinvention, the wines truly began to come into their own. It has been, in the words of Andrew Caillard, an astonishing ascendancy in the past 15 years, and given the sterling reviews the 2016 vintage has received, its trajectory seems set to continue its meteoric rise.

One of the original Second Growths of the Bordeaux Classification of 1855, Rauzan-Ségla's 51 hectares of mineral rich soils begin on the banks of the Gironde, on the left bank of Bordeaux. A complex mix of gravel, clay and limestone subsoil imparts a richness and complexity to the Cabernet (62%), Merlot (36%), Cabernet Franc (1%) and Petit Verdot (1%) grapes used to produce this powerfully intense and elegant wine. The estate was last sold in 1994 to the Wertheimer family of Chanel, who employed former Château Latour winemakers, David Orr and John Kolasa. Nicolas Audebert, the former winemaker at Cheval des Andes, the LVMH property in Mendoza Argentina, was hired to succeed John Kolasa following his retirement in 2014.

One of Australia's icon wines, this is Cabernet at its very best. This wine is the very definition of power and elegance. Hand crafted by Keith Mugford and his team in the Margaret River, Moss Wood deservedly fits in the Exceptional category of Langton's Classification of Australian Wine.

Small piece of Bordeaux trivia - Chateau Leoville-Barton has no chateau to speak of! In fact, all wines are made at its sister property, Chateau Langoa Barton, which is the storybook chateau pictured on the label. Once part of a much larger estate - in fact the largest in St Julien - Chateau Leoville-Barton has been under the ownership of the Barton family since 1722. In their hands, traditional winemaking techniques remain integral to production - certainly more so than many other modern Bordeaux estates. Leoville-Barton Bordeaux is famous for its traditional, beefy, and strapping style with an excellent reputation for ageing, making them particularly attractive additions to any wine cellar.