(Troisième feuille) In those days the wine from a new vineyard's third year fruit did not qualify for appellation. So we bottled this as just table wine with my name on the label. This nonsensical law was eventually changed. Weather was foul. We got just a puddle of wine in our smallest vat and told everyone to drink it quick. I am just amazed the bottles we kept are still alive.

This was liked by all tasters. A remarkable wine – to be this old and from such an unpromising vintage. Of course, it has paled in colour significantly, as old claret will. Wonderfully evocative nose, promising hints of leather, forest floor and cooked plums. The palate has lost a lot of fruit, and the acid is now quite prominent, but has kept it together. This was a humble wine in its first vintage, and was never meant to last more than 10 years. It is interesting, rather than especially delicious, but remarkably still alive. Drink now – or keep as a museum piece.

Long hot summer. Drought even. But we filled our tanks. Won our first Gold at Mâcon; one of France's Big Three Competitions.

Still a bright red, considering its age, with a tawny rim. Promising nose, polished wood, leather and mushroom. The fruit is much livelier on the palate. Vibrant fresh acidity, tannins still evident, and satisfyingly bright and lively. On the downhill slope, but still drinking.

Won two Golds! We offered to buy back any bottles the Confrères didn't want. Didn't get any. Overall, it was a large vintage – largest apparently since the end of WW2! Very cold early on, warming up through a hot summer. Vins de garde was the conclusion … and as the tasting proves.

Still good deep red, with orange/brown tints creeping in. Sweet aromas of raspberry and creamy plum, vegetal hints of age, truffles perhaps. Good richness – surprising, even if it’s from the 1986 keeper vintage. The summer pudding flavours are still there, along with meaty hints, bit more of the mushroom/undergrowth flavour. Acidity coming through – we picked early, which helped it age. Will not improve, but a pleasant glassful.

Light vintage. Wet summer. 'Drinkable' is all that can be said now – but once this wine won the Prix d'Excellence at Les Vinalies; the competition run by France's oenologists (wine scientists).

Paler still. Nose is very leafy, no fruit to speak of. Palate is definitely drying out. The fruit has nearly gone, and a metallic note is creeping in. This was a difficult vintage at the time, and was never likely to last much longer than 5-8 years. Not offering much pleasure at all. This was the least popular of the 35 line-up.

I didn't make this wine because I was in hospital having my heart seen to. But they did a good job. Both surgeons and winemakers. I'm still here and so is the wine. A Gold and a Silver.

30 years old, but some pleasing freshness. Pleasant, mid-red colour. Bright, fruit-focussed nose. Aroma speaks of evolution – leather, shoe polish. Fresh, lively acidity keeps the fruit bright – cherries, raspberries and a hint of leather, with some grip. In 2012, I said “one to drink up in the next couple of years”, but it’s still doing well. Roast beef recommended!

This was the year we inaugurated the office, lab, and great hall (with Confrère names on the wall) – the original buildings. We had a Professor of wine, and a bunch of top winemaking technicians, including the winemakers of Pétrus and Ausone, come for the inaugural tasting.

Mid-red, tawny edge. Some leafy, mushroom, savoury hints on the nose. Not so fruity. It’s holding on in there, with nice crunch and structure, leathery finish, but not big on fruit. This would have been a very good wine 15 years ago. Drink soon.

We did our first experiments with crop thinning – removing a portion of the unripe bunches in July, to concentrate extra flavour in the remaining fruit. The whole region thought us mad. Just one vat full. We liked the concentrated result and wished we'd done the whole vineyard. Another Gold at Mâcon. A top vintage for Bordeaux.

Mid-depth red, but tawny. Creamy ripe raspberries and blackcurrant pastilles, nice intensity, with more mature mushroom hints. Showing evolution – mushroom, leather, but also blackberry notes. Fruit drying out a little, but still a very nice glassful. Drink soon.

Temperature went down to minus 8 in April. Killed all the young shoots. Then a hailstorm in August shredded all the re-growth. It's amazing we made any wine at all. Certainly no need to do any crop thinning this year … we made a tenth of the usual. The wine has turned out better than expected at the time. We had a lot of problems. We didn't have enough wine to put in competition. I'm glad.

Definitely browning a bit at the rim, very tawny. Herbal bracken, mushroom and leafy aroma. There’s lots of acidity here, which shows that the grapes struggled to ripen fully this year. Still that acidity gives it a certain sort of freshness. Not unpleasant, just not so much to write home about.

This was the first year we crop thinned or green harvested the whole vineyard. Maybe not enough … because it poured with rain at harvest. Horrible. I remember driving up to the vineyards – it was raining so hard, it was like the vines were bleeding! Used the whites of 52 dozen eggs to fine the wine. For the first time we named our 'Confrères de La Clarière' as the producers of the wine – gratitude for their support. 97% of them take up their allocated case. Silver and Les Prix de Vinalies from Paris.

Fairly pale, and browning. Polished old wood. Beef stock, cooked fruit. Short. Not out of court, but not much to sing about either. Should be drunk now, without expectations!

With three French Silvers and a Gold medal at the Wine Challenge in London and another from Mâcon, this was our most successful wine so far. It was a year that saw greatness snatched away … incessant rain in September and October. Crushing at the time. The upside was that cold temperatures prevented rot and the Right Bank in particular made some lovely wines that are drinking well even now.

Nice deep colour – rich, rusty red. Lovely, creamy black fruit aromas, with old cigar box, spice and leather creeping in. A real lift of freshness lends support to the ripe black fruit. Won't improve, needs drinking, but pleasant at 25 years of age!

Jean-Marc Sauboua took over the winemaking and we immediately won a mass of accolades: Four Silvers. My favourite was La Clarière being deemed 'hors concours' (‘out of competition’) in the village competition; we were just too good! But it costs. We calculate that dropping grapes, green harvesting every summer, costs us the equivalent of 600 cases of wine. Our accountants are not happy, but we know the quality is there.

Deep colour. Lovely richness of textured, velvety red. This lovely old claret has developed aromas of dark coffee and cooked damson and prune fruit. Quite a velvety start, with sweet, ripe blackcurrant fruit over firm tannins. Less acidity than other vintages, we must have picked riper. Quite grippy still with tobacco spice length. Drinking well.

Good solid stuff. Jean-Marc took all the pressure off me. I still remember one November morning, after a visiting bus load of Confrères had departed, drawing myself a big glass of the big, fat, soft, black-hued baby wine from the barrel they'd been so enthusiastically pillaging, sitting myself on the doorstep in the warm sun and thinking this is it – this is BLISS. La Revue de Vins de France said our '95 was “époustouflant et monumental”.

Vibrant, rich purple-ruby – what a colour! Still. The nose is high-toned and promising, with hints of chocolate, sweet, ripe raspberry. Tannins still lurking beneath the creamy black fruit and raspberry notes. Nice balance.

We bought old Monsieur Jay's vineyard upon his retirement – it has proved to be one of our best. This meant our 'estate' increased to 4.5 hectares. We took two Golds (Mâcon and Aquitaine) and a Silver. We reluctantly allowed Jean-Marc to take a year off to break new ground, winemaking in Morocco. We brought in Australian Greg Jarrett to do the winemaking. Greg is a bit of a legend for a number of reasons – for his pigtail, for being the winemaker extraordinaire at Coldstream Hills and, while he was with us, for managing somehow to leave his Avis hire car up a tree.

Henry, my eldest, 16, does his first harvest.

Paler than 1995, Greg was going for a lighter style. Surprising for an Aussie. Vegetal aromas, a peek of cherry. Fresh acidity keeps this lively, with some tannins. Lacks the charm of 1994 and 1995. Fruit mainly gone. Drink soon.

Two Gold medals but a tricky year. Started hot early then went cold and wet. So very uneven flowering. End of summer some grapes black, some mauve, some green. Saved by our meticulous hand sorting … it took days … and the best harvest weather in the memory of Madame Cassin (then 93). Our winemaker was a stunning, six-foot blonde New Zealander called Jacqui. We excavated our way into the caves beneath the winery and – at last – had a cellar big enough to age all our wine, in one place, for a full 12 months.

Quite pale red, with brick and browning towards the rim. Our tasters were more complimentary about this in 2018 than 2012! It’s still got some farmyard aromas, leathery hints, but there is some sweet and pretty ripe fruit coming through, with a savoury finish. As one of our tasters said “tired, but not knackered”! Mark H enjoyed it: “lovely balance with fresh raspberry.” Drink soon.

This year we made a softer and rounder style because it was a great Merlot vintage – the best since 1990. The Cabernets didn't do much – rain at the end of September took the edge of greatness from those. We tried putting wine into barrel much earlier - even before the fermentations were over.

Mid-red with early signs of tawny-brick edge. Aroma – really minty, like a Coonawarra Cabernet! Herbal too, with some leather hints. Not a powerhouse, tannins with some gentle fruit. Needs drinking.

Madame Cassin passed away in June, sitting, as always after one of her delicious lunches, with her coffee in her favourite chair. She would often doze off at this time. We moved out of the little La Clarière house, and bought the big house next door to the church. We began to restore it, along with its 100-year-old vineyards and the old Presbytery wine cellar, which, 12th century, is as old as the church and the oldest buildings in the village.

Weather-wise, it was challenging, with storms late August into September. This proved more of a hit for Merlot than Cabernet. Took some careful picking and winemaking.

A lovely, balanced, bramble and cassis nose, with notes of prune, leather, liquorice. Round and ripe, raspberry and blackberry. Enjoyable. In 2012, this was the highlight of the 90s flight and it proved so again in 2018. Drink now, or keep for a year or two.

We still didn't include our recently acquired vineyards in Château La Clarière as we weren't yet sure of the quality of their fruit. They weren’t in great shape when we got hold of them. We bottled that wine as Château du Bourg. It looked promising. But the La Clarière was as lush and rich as we'd ever known it, after a brilliant summer and autumn.

Mid-depth scarlet. Gentle plum, mint and leather on the nose. Smooth, rounded, with gentle raspberry and almond notes. Grippy tannins on finish. Attractive.

A tricky vintage let down by wet weather at harvest. It didn't look like it would be up to much, especially after the fabulous 2000. But time has proven us very wrong … it was given a major thumbs up by all our tasters … 17 years after vintage. The only major disaster this year was the illness of both our harvest cooks – Olivier’s maman and her cohort cook, Claudy’s maman, were both poorly. An outside caterer just didn’t cut the mustard!

Enthusiastic tasting notes on the wine included: “Lovely. Charming and long. Great” (MH), “an excellent restaurant wine … immediate appeal,” (IM) “appealing colour, pencil lead, black fruit depth on aroma, ripe black raspberry taste with strong grippy finish,” (NJ), “powerful, balanced”.

Disastrous late spring weather results in poor flowering, tiny yields, uneven ripening - La Clarière's team had the whole book thrown at them. We go through the tiny crop, berry by berry, to ensure no green fruit gets into the vat. The wine's wonderfully concentrated (so intense we use 50% new oak, not the usual 33%), just nothing of it. Amazing that from these poor conditions such a delicious wine is born. It tasted impressive in 2012 and was tasting just as delicious six years later.

Deep velvet red. Evocative dark berry nose with lovely evolution, complexity, cedar notes. Lovely sweet ripe fruit – smoky tobacco, ripe blackberry, blackcurrant with a touch of coffee and vanilla. Big, mouthfilling with rounded, yet lush supple tannins. Tasting lovely now, but has a good few years left in it. Just shows the team really loves a challenge!

This summer we took to eating meals down in the underground cellars; to get away from the heat. We harvested a lot of dried raisins but the young wine was immediately delicious … possibly because Jean-Marc, after his stint in Morocco, knew exactly how to handle such fruit. Not much of it, of course, with so little moisture and the wine reached 14.3%! J-M in charge, with sidekick from Oz, Phil Christiansen (formerly of RedHeads, now a garagiste) as his sidekick. Two Golds and a Silver.

Rich ruby. Really ripe, sweet fruit on the nose. Lush, super-ripe, fat and a bit jammy. Molasses even and mellow tobacco. Lacks a touch of acidity to keep it for long, but a hedonistic mouthful. Still drinking very well now and for a few more years.

Big changes in the vineyard. We hired the best viticulturist we could find to advise us on vineyard management. He made us more eco-friendly. We saw more insect life in the vines immediately. Lots to learn. Very late harvest; second week of October. That was thanks to the cool summer. Overall, a very classic vintage.

We invested in a new bit of kit too – a conveyor belt to take those grapes, oh so gently, up from the sorting table to the fermentation vats. Kid glove treatment for our berries.

Fair mid-red, not a big colour. Herbaceous bracken, almost grassy nose. Classic and claret-y – for lovers of traditional Bordeaux. Has both tannic grip, and acidity – best not to hold onto it too long.

The perfect summer in Bordeaux; dry, but not too hot. Blue skies with little white clouds are what you want. Clear blue skies usually mean it'll get too hot then have a storm. Wind from the northeast rather than west. Jean-Marc started refrigerating our grapes before putting them in the tanks. A cold soak for three days, then, because the berries are still quite chilled from the refrigeration, the fermentation starts very slowly. J-M believed it’d help retain more fruit in the wine.

And we finally decided it would improve our wine if we included the grapes from our 'new' old vines down by the Presbytère.

This was the last vintage wines could be called Côtes de Castillon AOC. After this year, they became Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux AOC. A Trophy, a Gold and Le Prix des Vinalies for our wine.

Deep red. Rich and promising. Rather minty, and exotic on the nose. Very ripe, possibly overripe. Bramble compote and red cherry with some spice still evident from the oak barrels. Complex, characterful. Has enough acid to age, but will be at its best between now and 2020.

A rather wet late summer meant we had to watch very carefully over our grapes and sacrifice any berry that threatened a spot of rot. We had our Ausone-borrowed viticulturalist advising us again and it really showed in the microbial life that was rushing back into our soils. This strengthens the vines, so they can resist bugs, mildew etc more effectively.

It was a smaller vintage – we cut off a fair bit. Still it won a Silver in Paris. This was the year we first welcomed Mark Hoddy to the team.

Back in 2012 its aroma had been quite muted. Not now though … lovely sweet ripe fruit … all the tasters remarked on what lovely aromas. Starts luscious – black berries, raspberry, very appealing, with notes of dark chocolate towards a more rustic finish. In 2012 we thought it’d all be over by 2017. In fact, it’s tasting better than ever.

The wettest summer since 1987, but the grass we’d left to grow between the rows of vines did its damnedest to drink it all up. We kept right on top of those vineyards too, thinning the crop, 'de-fankling' the bunches (a Scottish term from the wool industry we adopted). Means untangling them. Where there's a tangle there is risk of rot. Plus, the hot, dry weather from late August through September saved the vintage. The wine impressed the judges in Paris anyway, and won another Gold. We also introduced our Mistral sorter and a more flexible harvest team, so we could pick each patch just at the peak of ripeness.

Lighter colour reflects the vintage. Its aroma has lost a bit – perhaps a little damp washing in there, along with the red fruits. Tangy red fruit, tea leaf, a touch of leather and quite toasty too. Balanced and alive, but needs drinking up.

Another wet summer with the usual problems made this our smallest crop ever … 2800 litres a hectare (when it can be 6000). With much effort tending, pruning, discarding and lovely autumn weather, we produced a lovely dark and fruity wine. Got another Paris Gold too.

Fresh, vibrant red. Purple has faded, but rich and promising oak is still evident on the nose, with notes of blackcurrant jam and vanilla. Tannins are still big, and alcohol, too. Mark H was impressed in 2018 and described it as “really good”. Another taster gave it the big thumbs up with: “Smoky raspberry, blackberry and tobacco. Lots going on, plenty of life.” ”Soft and balanced,” said Iain, “more fruit and more subtle oak from change of oak regime” he noted too. A big style that is delicious now or will repay 5 or so more years of ageing.

A fabulous year, fitting for our 40th Anniversary vintage. Not only was the weather perfect – sunny but not hot, with just the right amount of rain – but we won the highest award we could possibly get, and as a result of that the French Government made me a 'Chevalier du Merite Agricole' for services to French wine. I got a medal to wear. Only one wine producer in Bordeaux is awarded the annual Laureat du Prix d'Excellence, and this year it was us. Who would've believed it? A good handful of Silvers too. We made the most luscious wine ever. Tasters in 2018 were heaping it with adulation!

Big deep red. Hints of purple still. Very youthful appearance. Big, luscious aromas; modern style fruit – black, ripe, voluptuous and spicy. There is a fair whack of alcohol (14%), or tastes like it. Flavours of damson and plum and a hint of cassis, still with pleasingly firm tannins to lend structure. Will be good for at least 15 years. We said that in 2012, but we still think so in 2018. This is much bigger than preceding La Clarière wines. Is this the method or the vintage? “This is what I want in magnum in my cellar” declared Iain.

Amazing vintage, although it didn’t seem so good as it was happening. Early summer was cold and wet, then there was a heat wave, followed by a mixed sort of summer. Yet, with a nice sunny autumn it somehow all worked to make another terrific vintage to rival 2009. So lush, almost like port, it nonetheless won us yet another Paris Gold. Our 19th Gold! Plus four Silvers. All the critics were unanimous in praise of the year – “2010 has produced another year of compelling Bordeaux,” said Robert Parker; Tim Atkin MW described it as “arguably the best ever vintage in the Gironde”, and there was much more praise besides.

In 2018, both Mark and J-M called the wine “huge”. Lots of power here, gorgeous ripe fruit, alcohol and luscious appeal, but it still needs time to reveal its true peacock tail of flavour.

Its colour is big, purple still. Exuberant, ripe modern fruit aromas – ripe cherry and cassis, with a touch of caramel. It still has lovely chewy tannins and lots of flashy black fruit – a bit Hollywood style, said two tasters. Grippy with vanilla and dark chocolate hints. All the components are there for a long life. Should keep going for another decade, easy.

While 2009 and 2010 almost made themselves, 2011 was very much ‘a winemaker’s vintage’. Eldest son Henry was in charge and likes more of a challenge. He was delighted with the vintage – not least in September, when it all righted itself with an Indian Summer supreme. Henry declared it the best-ever year for Cabernets at La Clarière and consequently upped the percentage from around 20% to 35% … yes, that good. Our wine won three Golds (from Bordeaux, Paris and Beaune) and 90 Points from Wine Enthusiast.

Mid-depth ruby. Fresh, bright fruit on the nose. Red berries, milk chocolate, freshness coming through on the taste too. Cabernet remains subtle despite higher proportion, thought it might stride out a little more. Integration for you.

While 2011 was a Cabernet year, 2012 redressed the balance and was very much a Merlot year. It made up 90% of the blend. Tourists were very unimpressed with early summer weather. August, however, was back to heady temperatures (I had to hide in the cellars to keep cool) and this continued into September and October. That said, vintage was about two weeks late. 10th October was our start date, but it paid to hold off. Beyond the wine, the excitement of the vintage was sealing the deal on Châteaux du Bois and de Colombe and its 20 or so hectares of vines. These and the cellar buildings have now become the hub of Château La Clarière.

Medium red, with exuberant ripe blackcurrant, pencil lead and hints of creamy vanilla on the aroma. To taste, it’s a classic – still quite tight initially. Bright redcurrant fruit, with leafy notes, a hint of blackcurrant, gentle oak – a real taste of Merlot grown on limestone soils, with its freshness and firm silky tannins. No rush, give another 5 years or so.

The first time we didn’t make a wine at Château La Clarière. The team dealt with everything Nature threw at them … until August and overnight the vines were completely ravaged by hail as large as golf balls. It didn’t strike everywhere, but the storm scythed a path through Bordeaux, destroying 20,000 hectares.

In a bid not to disappoint our Confrères, we offered them instead four wines with 17 awards between them: Château La Clarière 2008, 2009, 2010 and Henry’s Château Verniotte 2011.

The weather followed the recent pattern of a cool, damp start to summer (and sleepless nights for us all), then real heat, wind and sunshine from late August and through to October. That transformed the year from mediocre to very good – the first of a top trio. Gold and Double Gold this vintage.

Very deep crimson; aromas oozing creamy blackberry, blackcurrant, smoky oak, dark chocolate. Such richness and velvet power in the fruit. Real depth in that creamy cassis, black plum and very dark chocolate notes. Delicious power, structure and length.

This year saw our move to renovated cellars at Château de Colombe. The Château La Clarierè sign moved too, to the vineyard in front of the château. It was an emotional moment for me. Saying goodbye to the original site, but compensated for by the excitement and potential for the new. Our first harvest was made there – once I saw those grapes coming in, I could relax, sigh, smile … we’d made it, this was our new home and very lovely it was too.

Vincent Galineau became our Estates Manager. We’d managed to poach him (with permission) from the rather lofty Château Ad Francos. We’ve known Vincent for years, J-M has always been impressed by his family vineyards, indeed makes wine from them. And he’s married to Anne-Marie who owns and runs Le Comptoir village shop and restaurant-bar in the next village.

And the wine … well, of course, it was a knockout vintage – ten Golds and a Trophy for this year’s Château La Clarière. This was the first year we started to play with the wood a little and only put 80% of the blend into oak, the aim being to retain more of the fruit. We finished restoring the barrel hall at the new buildings, too. Beautiful, calm, cool …

Deep ruby, crimson, and offering mint, ripe raspberry, along with creamy blackberry and plum aromas. Tobacco and dark chocolate mingle with ripe black fruit – mouthfilling with underlying grippy tannins. A wine built to last.

The year our middle boy and brewer, Will, got married to the beautiful Veronika, with the reception held in the courtyard at La Clarière. J-M worked hard making sure it was looking nothing short of amazing. A beautiful day … and a great vintage with six Golds. More to come I suspect.

As you’d expect for this great vintage and this lovely wine, it has unfathomable depths of colour. It’s aroma is equally big – luscious ripe black fruit, creamy, caramel maybe, tobacco. Ditto on the taste – voluptuous, mouthfilling blackberry, cassis, plum coating firm, grippy tannins. It’s a substantial wine, “super-charged and power-packed” wrote taster and director Iain Muggoch.

This is one to tuck away for … a decade or so. Equally, it is utterly delicious now. Lucky, then, you’ve got a case!

As both Jean-Marc and Henry (my eldest) always say, we do love a more challenging vintage to perform at our best. That’s certainly true of our deeply flavoured 2017. Devastating frost struck in April … the worst since 1991 – that was the year’s main story. Our sturdy vines withstood the -2 temperatures and produced well-ripened grapes after a rather mixed-bag summer. We are delighted to have been rewarded, so far, with a Trophy, a Double Gold and two other Golds. Not a bad haul so far.

Not as opaque as 2016, but nonetheless it’s a deep crimson purple, giving up aromas of juicy, ripe plum, blackberry, cassis and blackcurrant leaf, with a lovely strong note from the new oak. Velvety, dense black fruit, creamy even, but below that are some firm tannins. It’s no push over. Long flavours of creamy ripe black fruits, toasty new oak and a firm tannic structure. Definitely a claret to open early or tuck away for a decade or so.

‘Exceptional’ or better was the joyous conclusion from most critics for the glorious, ripe 2018 vintage. And it was … but that single word rather glosses over the bumps on the journey. A very wet winter – December to April, double the average rainfall – was significant, especially as warm, humid weather followed. The main issue for many was, therefore, rot … it ripped through the vineyards. Not ours, mind. We were well on top of it … picked off any offending berry super-fast so we didn’t lose the fruit. Many lost the lot.

Not as opaque as 2016, but nonetheless it’s a deep crimson purple, giving up aromas of juicy, ripe plum, blackberry, cassis and blackcurrant leaf, with a lovely strong note from the new oak. Velvety, dense black fruit, creamy even, but below that are some firm tannins. It’s no push over. Long flavours of creamy ripe black fruits, toasty new oak and a firm tannic structure. Definitely a claret to open early or tuck away for a decade or so.

Another lovely, ripe vintage – to some, even better than the fabulous 2018. It certainly was a cracker for our Grand Vin Blanc – the 2019 Château La Clarière Blanc won Trophy for Best Bordeaux white at the International Wine Challenge. To me, it was like winning the Derby – we were well chuffed. And our 50th Anniversary year!

As for the red, Jean-Marc told me. “It’s gorgeous and velvety ... the tannins are all there, but rounded and textured, with a lovely balance of fruit and oak.”

Critics were full of praise for the vintage, “through-the-roof-good” (RobertParker.com), “a beautiful, incredibly high-quality vintage” Jeb Dunnock.

Weatherwise, the 2019 summer started out rather cool and damp, but by late June had ramped up and temperatures reached 40° … just for a short time. I remember – I was out there, with Confrères. Overall, there was great colour from the small berries, lovely ripeness and terrific depth. A claret that is deceptively easy to drink when young but with great potential … if you can resist the temptation. Open early – drink by 2032.