Wines from Graves will be the star performers of the 2010 Bordeaux en primeur tastings, according to one expert.

Renowned wine critic Steven Spurrier told Decanter that the sole First Growth Bordeaux from the region, Chateau Haut Brion, has produced another superlative vintage.

Yet other smaller estates from the area have also been singled out for recognition, with Domaine de Chevalier, Malartic Lagraviere and Smith-Haut-Lafitte being worthy of particular note.

"Everything ripened perfectly. There is more fruit, more structure, more acidity and more extraction," he told the publication.

Graves is on the left bank of the Garonne, and is the only part of Bordeaux that is celebrated for production of all three regional styles - reds, dry whites and sweet wines.

However, the whole 2010 Bordeaux vintage is generally agreed to be of exceptional quality.

Denis Dubourdieu, a consulting winemaker and director of the Institute of Vine and Wine Sciences at the University of Bordeaux, has described it as "liquid beauty".