Château La Grande Maye, Côtes de Castillon,

Paul and Cedric Valade's Grande Maye is always a high quality offering from the hills of Castillon. A few big names have spotted the potential of this commune; most notably, Denis Durantou and Jacques Thienpont. The clay soils at Grande Maye are ideally suited to Merlot, and they coped admirably with the dry, hot conditions in 2015. Produced from 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, this offers up a really impressive bouquet of flowers, smoke, dark spice, loganberry and liquorice. The mid-palate has good depth, with plenty of dark fruit and hints of cranberry. There is a velvety plushness to the fruit and sleek, granular tannins. It is a mighty impressive example, possibly the finest we have ever tasted from this estate. It is also worth pointing out that we drank a magnum of the 1995 with Cedric, which is still drinking beautifully. His wines are keepers!