Château Léoville Las Cases, La Petite Marquise, St-Julien, 2016

The new second wine of Clos de Marquis. The blend here comes in at 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38.5% Merlot and 0.5% Cabernet Franc. There is an attractive touch of white pepper spice on the attack with juicy, tight and controlled fruit. This is a good showing from the young vines of Clos du Marquis, and should be around the same price level as Château Potensac in the same stable of Delon wines. My advice would be to not forget about the brilliant pleasure available in their Médoc wines this year.

There aren't many entry-level St-Juliens, as the appellation is so small and the majority are classified growths, so it's great to have this wine, and there's no need to wait too long before drinking it. The aromatics are excellent, and it's pretty tight structurally, with pure, crunchy fruit that's so well formed you can almost feel the ripe but not overripe berries; more blueberry than cassis, with no heaviness.