St-Julien
BoRDEAux lovERs RAREly envisage poor wines from st-Julien and in 2015 that remains the case. With fine gravel hillocks and a little clay, the style is richer than Margaux with a firmness that brings balance and length. The vineyards nearer the river produce wines of great class and finesse, while those further inland are meatier – yet even with this slight difference, they can be described as ‘quintessential claret’. The big players have been producing the best of their vineyards and cellars for years but progress never stops, and st-Julien continues to make wines of the highest quality – one or two of which approach that of the first growths. That said, the few crus bourgeois and second wines will make fine drinking from 2020 to 2027.