The grand vin from Nicolas Glumineau is 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc, and the élevage was in 65% new oak and 35% second-fill oak barrels for 19 months. Remarkably it includes 17.5% press wine, up from the usual 13%, added with consultation from Eric Boissenot who is a big press-wine advocate. This accounts for 60% of production. An expressive, confidently dark, toasted and harmonious nose, with powdered chalk and crushed white gravel dusted over concentrated black cherry, blackberry and currant fruits. The palate is fresh and bright, with plenty of peppered dark fruit freshness, toast, liquorice and tar with black pepper energy, lots of great substance here wrapping all this up, supported by grip from the rich tannic substance. It continues with layers of dark and salted fruits, salty minerals, an intense confidence, and a long and peppery finish. Stunning potential here, with great energy wrapped up in this supple, mouth-watering, sinewy texture, which adds a sense of restraint to what is a confident style. A breathtaking, spine-tingling wine, which simmers with incredibly tight-knit tannin in the length, but with never a hair out of place. Superb, and surely a new benchmark for the estate, one which we can watch evolve over the next three or four decades.