2005 Château Lagrange, St Julien, Bordeaux []

The winemaker at Lagrange is the brother of the winemaker at Léoville-Las Cases, so family Christmases must be quite a treat. Unusually for the Médoc, this ever-impressive wine has been made with more Merlot than usual (45%) rather than more Cabernet (46%). The yields are down to a lowly 40hl/ha, which bestows the wine with great concentration. The keynote here, though, is the incredible ripeness. The attractive nose is elegant and pretty, while the wine is pure and generous with polished blackberry fruit—another terrific wine from this Berrys' favourite.

Berry Bros. & Rudd