Charles Metcalfe raises a glass to Bordeaux
Following wide international praise for the Bordeaux region's 2009 vintage, one critic has singled out a few of his favourites.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Charles Metcalfe said that he felt "like a combatant suffering from tannin shock" as he returned from a week's tasting in Bordeaux.
The real highlights of 2009 include Lafite, Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Haut-Brion and Yquem, according to the critic - although these may well be out of the price range of many buyers.
"There will be real value among the mid-range and lesser wines, but follow the advice of merchants or writers you trust, as excellence is not ubiquitous," Mr Metcalfe advised.
Many second wines from the great estates have also proven "astonishingly" successful, he went on to say.
One of the UK's best-known popular wine critics, Charles Metcalfe became the winner of the Glenfiddich Wine Book of the Year in 1989 and is a chairman of the Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino.