Les Cruzelles 2010

The Les Cruzelles is a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the former picked a little earlier than the La Chenade with 50% new oak. The nose is more extroverted, a little more flamboyant than the La Chenade with a tangible floral aspect and fine delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, slightly grainy tannins. It is more linear than the La Chenade, slightly more peppery at the moment but still with great freshness towards the finish. It will need a little bottle age to come round. Recommended. Tasted November 2012.

Chocolate, vanilla and blueberries. Some raspberry and cherry blossom with spicy white pepper. Full and dense on the palate with lovely fruit and velvet tannins. Juicy and round with a nice fruit-focused finish. Lots of ripe fruit under the chewy tannins. Drink from 2015.

One of the least well known of Denis Durantou's wines, this is a really good buy for the price-conscious claret lover in 2010. It's a big, statement wine, but beneath the oak, there's plenty of texture, flavours of sweet blackberry and liquorice and a spicy, refreshing finish. A mini Eglise-Clinet? 10+ years.

From the proprietor of the well-known Pomerol estate of L'Eglise Clinet, the 2010 Les Cruzelles, a sleeper of the vintage, is an amazingly constituted effort that transcends its humble appellation. Aromas of black raspberries, licorice, truffles and camphor are followed by a sweet, round, opulent, generous wine that should be consumed over the next decade