Maison Belliard, Reserve de Belliard, Graves, Bordeaux, 2016

A wonderfully fragrant nose of plush cherries and supple red plums with a soft hint of milk chocolate. On the palate, it's juicy and sumptuous, smooth and well-defined with precise blackcurrant and black cherries and enrobed by cooling menthol and liquorice flecks which gives an enjoyable spiciness that lingers on the tongue to a long finish. Made with 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot. Grapes are grown across 7ha in Illats from clay, sand and gravel soils. Ageing was 12 months in French oak barrels. Around 6,000 bottles per hectare are produced.