<p><b>XANADU</b></p> John Lagan and family established Xanadu in the 1977 naming the property after Samuel Coleridge’s epic Kubla Khan or a Vision in a Dream. During the mid-1980s and 1990s Xanadu created a strong following for its muscular but energetic wines. After a brief interlude as a public company, it is now once more in private hands as part of the Rathbone Wine group. The Rathbone family has instigated a complete revitalisation of vineyard and wine making practise including lowering yields and optimising regional nuance. The 85 ha property is farmed along low input/organic lines and winemaking follows a minimal-intervention philosophy. Under winemaker Glenn Goodall, Xanadu is enjoying a major renaissance.

Beychevelle is often described as the Versailles of Bordeaux, due to its spectacular château and gardens. Beychevelle’s origins go back to the mid-1400s and the estate was renovated and rebuilt in the second half of the 18th Century. It is now owned (since 2011) by the Japanese Suntory company in partnership with Pierre Castel, head of Castel Freres. The 75ha of St-Julien vineyards are planted on deep, gravelly soils – 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot – and increasingly farmed organically. A striking new glass-walled winery was completed in 2016. Chateau Beychevelle, classified Quatrième Cru (Fourth Growth), is a traditionally-styled Bordeaux wine full of cassis, earth, spice and tobacco notes that ages well.

<p><b>Chateau Branaire Ducru</b><p> Chateau Branaire Ducru is a fourth growth (4ème Cru Classé) estate in St-Julien. The Chateau has 60 ha of vineyards planted to Cabernet Sauvignon (70%), Merlot (22%), Cabernet Franc (5%) and Petit Verdot (3%). The Grand Vin has one of the highest proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend among all the wines of the Médoc. A second wine called Duluc de Branaire Ducru is produced from the estate’s younger vines.

<p><b> Chateau Calon-Segur</b></p> With its name enclosed in a heart on the label, Chateau Calon-Ségur is a third-growth estate (3ème Cru Classé) in Saint-Estèphe and the Médoc’s northernmost classified growth. Today it comprises 74 hectares of vineyards; 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, planted on gravel-sand and gravel-limestone-clay soils. Under new ownership since the 2012 vintage, Calon-Ségur has increased its use of new oak in the Grand Vin to impart greater richness and texture. As well as its Grand Vin, the estate produces a second wine, Marquis de Calon.

Château Cantemerle's is a fifth growth (5ème Cru Classé) Chateau located in the Haut-Medoc appellation of Bordeaux. The Chateau is situated in one of the most beautiful settings of the region, in woodlands on the outskirts of the city of Bordeaux. The wine undergoes 12-16 months maturation in 50% new French oak barriques. Chateau Cantemerle’s style is lively and fruit forward. The best vintages show complex aromas and flavours of black currants, plums and spice with superb freshness and plentiful fine-grained tannins.