Magdelaine 2010

Attractive and elegant, as it always is, with hints of sweet strawberries, crushed chalk, raspberries and cherries, the wine is medium-bodied, relatively rich for a Magdelaine, with an attractive, heady mouthfeel and more suppleness, glycerin and power than this wine - usually a finesse-styled St.-Emilion - normally possesses. Drink it over the next 15-20 years.

Tasted at Ets J-P Moueix, the Magdelaine 2010 has a lovely rounded generous bouquet of fresh strawberry, dark plum, mulberry and a touch of vanilla. It is very harmonious, with some dark chocolate notes emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with a slightly irony entry. It is taut and linear, much more reticent than the nose suggests, but imbued with great freshness on the finish, whilst the citric aftertaste is very appealing. This is a fine Magdelaine that might give more with continued bottle age. Tasted November 2012.

Attractive nose with fresh leather, plums and orange peel at first. Opens up with raspberries and vanilla. Wonderful sumptuous fruit on the palate with a full body and good length. Smooth tannins and good complexity. Already very enjoyable. Last vintage.

Brambled fruit, raspberry, cloves, cinnamon, red cherries, tobacco, coupled with the limestone scrape that is never far away with Magdelaine, and the vivid brightness of orange peel and fennel. More austerity present than in the other vintages of the vertical, exceptional quality but it's the 2009 that really stands out right now - and I would also suggest looking to the fantastic Bélair-Monanage 2010. Eric Murisasco winemaker, 50% new oak. First bottle of this was corked, luckily a kind friend had a second bottle that they shared.

Mid crimson. Very heady nose - quite intense. Lovely sumptuous fruit. Very forward. Very fine tannins almost disguised by the plumpness of the fruit. Perhaps not for the very long term? Sappy and refreshing. Not straining to impress.

We do not have first hand allocations of this Chateau but hope to have small quantities later in the campaign. This lovely, fresh Saint Emilion is full of red cherry and strawberry fruit. There is a glossy overlay of sweet vanilla and a hint of pepper. The texture is silky and the tannins ripe and round. If only more wines from St Emilion tasted like this!

The richness of the black fruits is balanced by red fruited freshness. Ripe tannins add to the sweetness on the mid palate but towards the back there is enough freshness to give a lift to the finish.

Sweet, ripe berry fruit nose - open and showy. Supple and round on the palate. A minerally, calcaire nuance on the finish but seems a little heavy and ponderous. Drink 2018-2030.

This is the second time in the last few years that I have had the opportunity to taste the 2010 and 2009 Château Magdelaine bottlings side by side, and much to my surprise, I again preferred the 2010 version. This is not to say that either one is a good Magdelaine, as both of these vintages are relatively flawed by the heat and drought conditions of their respective years. But, today, the 2010 is less alcoholic than the 2009 and that counts for something. The ripe nose offers up scents of cassis, dark berries, menthol, cigar ash, chalky soil tones, tobacco leaf and a nice touch of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and only a touch hot on the backend, with a plush core, ripe tannins and a long finish. This is still quite a number of years away from drinking with generosity, but it is not too bad, when viewed in the context of this difficult vintage. 2033-2075.