Château Laroque, Grand Cru Classé, St Émilion,

There is such incredible balance to this wine, with deftly expressed black and blue fruits, espresso, liqourice and cocoa bean shavings, all delivered slowly but surely through the palate, held in by sculpted tannins, and wet stone texture. This is my biggest upscore from En Primeur - I noted at the time that it was extremely closed, but it is now showing its incredible potential, and is a great value wine. David Suire director, owners Beaumartin family, 61ha of vines.

A blend of 99% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc, the 2020 Laroque is deep garnet-purple in color. A little subdued to begin, offering subtle notes of crushed rocks and damp soil, it opens out to a core of ripe black and red plums and fresh blackberries, plus a fragrant waft of lilacs. The full-bodied palate is bursting with taut, muscular black fruits and amazing tension, framed by ripe, rounded tannins, and finishing with great length and depth.

The 2020 Laroque has a nose that has closed down a little since bottling, though the quality still shines through with blackberry and raspberry fruit, undergrowth, rose petals and light orange rind aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, sweet and candied with a plush finish. It just needs a little more grip and sapidity, though that should emerge with bottle age. Impressive.