This Lurton family-owned property has upped its game in recent vintages and this wine shows the same progress. Rich tannins and dense black fruits deliver weight and concentration. The alcohol is balanced by the fresh black-currant-flavored aftertaste to give lushness without heaviness. Drink from 2025.

The 2016 Bouscaut has a very attractive bouquet of blackberry, bilberry, fresh mint, cigar box and light stony aromas; the new oak is nicely integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and a fine bead of acidity. This feels velvety-smooth, leading into a caressing finish. I appreciate the discreet crescendo of this Pessac-Leognan. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

As to the red, it's also outstanding. The 2016 Château Bouscaut is a gem of a wine, offering complex earth and forest floor notes intermixed with lots of black cherry and tobacco. Medium-bodied, nicely textured, with notable purity of fruit, it hits the palate with a rounded texture and loads of charm. Drink it over the coming decade or so as well.

The 2016 Bouscaut is deep garnet-purple in color and offers up exuberant black cherries, blackberries and cassis scents with hints of pencil lead, smoked meats and underbrush. The palate is medium-bodied, elegant and fresh with lovely vibrancy and a quiet intensity to the finish.