Château Bourdieu N°1 2018

89% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Malbec. For the second year running, Blaye has come storming into our Best in Show selection, and on this occasion with a Value wine from the exciting 2018 vintage. It was a warm and generous year, and you can read that generosity in the deep colours and vivacious aromatic ripeness which lifts from the glass. The wine is deep, round, ample and approachable on the palate, the primary plum and damson fruits just beginning to soften into something a little more savoury and meaty. There are, though, firm shaping tannins behind those prominent fruits; while the acidity is supple and fruit-packed. This sturdy Value Best in Show will certainly continue to evolve for another half-decade yet, and would show convincingly among peers of loftier price. Best in Show. Score – 97. (Decanter World Wine Awards, 2022)