Château Poujeaux 2015 is a classically built Bordeaux red from Moulis-en-Médoc, drawing on cabernet sauvignon with a substantial share of merlot alongside small parts of petit verdot and cabernet franc. Firm and savoury rather than showy, it carries dark fruit on a frame of fine, dry tannin.

Blackcurrant, plum and a touch of cedar lead the aromatics, with graphite, tobacco leaf and dried herbs sitting underneath. Air brings out violet and a hint of cured meat.

The merlot in the blend fills out the middle, so the palate arrives with more flesh than the appellation's reputation suggests, before the cabernet reasserts itself through the back half. Tannins are chalky and close-knit, acidity keeps the fruit lifted, and the finish runs long and slightly earthy, with the cassis fading into cedar and pencil shaving.

Pour it with roast lamb shoulder, a rare porterhouse, duck with lentils, or a slow-cooked beef cheek. Hard cheeses such as aged comté or a good cheddar work equally well, and the wine benefits from an hour in a decanter.

Drinking well from now through to roughly 2032, with the fruit likely at its most generous over the next five to eight years as the tannins continue to soften.