The 2020 Montlandrie, the Durantou family's Côtes de Castillon, is fabulous. It is another very serious wine in this range. A core of dark Merlot fruit gradually opens, releasing complicating notes of spice, leather, incense and licorice. There's real depth and gravitas. A few years in the cellar seem prudent, as there is a lot of wine here. The purity of the flavors is just striking.

A real sign of the vintage to see how the Durantou wines performed in Lalande in the heat of 2022 and here we have fully ripe blackcurrant and black cherry fruits, sweet and highly spiced, careful extraction as you would expect, annd this is good quality, but for me the mark of the vintage are the clove notes on the finish. 30% new oak. Sandy-gravel soils, 28hl/h yield. Harvest dates September 1 to 9.

The limestone soils in Castillon are naturally cooler than many parts of Bordeaux across in all vintages, and yet even here the harvest began on September 8 through to 23, highlighting the unusual conditions of the vintage. The resulting wine still reflects the site, with its salinity and grip, and waves of soft rose aromatics. Gentle, supple tannins and fruits, enjoyable and finessed, carefully calibrated given the heat of the summer. 37hl/h yields. 50% new oak, Noemie Durantou winemaker.

The 2022 Les Cruzelles is a wine of notable breadth and texture. Older vines and clay-rich soils yield a Lalande de Pomerol that offers notable resonance. Dark-toned fruit, leather, tobacco, incense, licorice and lavender infuse the 2022 with considerable nuance to match its virile, rather somber feel.

Intense muscular contraction to the tannins on the opening beats, the fruit gets creamy as it opens, with vivid raspberry reflections and plenty of mouthwating salinity. This is a pretty serious Saintayme, great quality and great value. Olivier Gautrat alongside Noémie Durantou. Harvest September 17 to October 3 (extremely late for the vintage, because cool clays in a cooler part of St Etienne de Lisse, something you also see in the generous 50hl/h yields), 30% new oak.