Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve: A splendid success and signs of a (long-awaited) development in style towards more immediate freshness and aromatic purity while remaining as superbly constituted as ever. Pierre Lurton and his brilliant team have added a deft, scholarly touch of the most wonderfully aromatic Sauvignon, and the use of oak is masterful by any measure. Not only the greatest, but plainly the best-made of all the 2004 vintages. This is the first time in a great many years that this wine has been entered for en primeur tasting – and you can see why. 19.5

Michael Schuster: Mid-orange gold to look at. Fine, scented, persistent nose, dominated by its new wood at present. Rich, elegant, fairly concentrated wine with an excellent, vigorously defining acidity. Intensely sweet, pristine, clear-cut flavour – discreet, refined, subtly racy, continuously complex, with great tenacity across the palate and a powerfully aromatic and honeyed finish. Understated by comparison with many, but an effortlessly persistent combination of viscosity allied to delicacy and finesse. Reminiscent for me, at present, of the very fine but more restrained Yquem vintages such as ’96, ’88, ’71, ’62… 19