France, Bordeaux

The Château Moulin Haut Laroque vineyard has been producing wine since 1890. There are just over 16 hectares in production, on the plateaus and hillsides of Fronsac. It is planted between 5500 and 6700 vines per hectare, with 65% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% (100 year old) Malbec, with lots of old vines - and an average vine age of 55 years old. Jean-Noël Hervé has handed over to his son Thomas a vineyard at the top of its appellation, which, as Robert Parker has written 'seems never to disappoint'. The harvest is manual, picked into small crates for transport to the modern winery, with dual sorting tables and total de-stemming. The winery uses gravity - the only pumps ever used are peristaltic. The wine is aged for 18 months in barrel, with 35% new wood. The wine has a distinctive character of limestone soils, with a bracing structure and firm definition framing a fruit which concentrated and expressive. A tannic frame is part of what makes this wine such a joy to drink, especially with quite hearty food.