Château Marquis de Terme, Margaux Grand Cru Classé, 2016

Château Marquis de Terme is one of the Margaux properties that has undergone a steady transformation over the last number of decades. A 4th-growth property in the hands of the Sénéclauze family since 1935, the conversion to organic in the early years of the twenty-first-century have turned it into one of the most exciting, vibrant, value for money Grand Cru Classé properties today.

This generous and structured vintage is now showing wonderfully with its silky tannins, dark fruit flavours and seamless acidity, supporting integrated, sophisticated spice flavours of mocha and tobacco. There's plenty of life yet as you'd expect with a significant proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend.

Set right in the heart of the appellation of Margaux, the property has 39 hectares of vines on a plateau of gravel - the classic Médoc terroir - with vineyards divided between 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. The wines are aged for 18 months in French oak barrels, 50% of which are new.

The now assumed respect for the environment and the expected plot-management in the vineyards with site-specific vinification practices, produce a very sleek, densely-coloured wine famed for being a perfect match for fine dining.

Definitely requiring a decant before serving, we recommend about an hour and a half or more, in order to allow the perfume to really start singing: you'll thank yourself for it.

The property dates back to the 15th-century and among its many historic fans, Thomas Jefferson ranked it as one of his favourites from his travels around Bordeaux in 1787.