Unusually for a left bank claret this is 100% Merlot. The grapes come from a single plot of 8 hectares on clay-limestone soil in the hamlet of Vertheuil just to the north of Pauillac and tucked in behind Saint-Estephe. These vines are farmed to organic and biodynamic standards and the grapes, once crushed, macerate for 24 days followed by 6 months spent in concrete vats.

At Chateau Haut-Bages Liberal the philosophy is very much to let nature do the work so there's minimal intervention using very low sulphite levels and a very gentle extraction to encourage a pure, fresh and modern style of red Bordeaux. Ceres is part of a sustainability-driven project led by owner Claire Villars-Lurton. Just as at Chateau Haut-Bages Liberal itself they farm organically and biodynamically and plant trees amongst their vines to enable agroecology and agroforestry. There's also no oak here with the wine aged in concrete vats to preserve the purity of the fruit.

The name Ceres comes from the Roman godess of fertility and agriculture to reflect the wine's ecological and natural philosophy. It is so refreshing to see forward-thinking producers in such a traditional area creating wines like this to bring a new dimension to Bordeaux.

Please give this time to breathe so that it can open up. The nose is slightly vegetal at first to the point where you may wonder where it's going, but stick with it - they've cut the sulphites right down here. This is high grade modern claret. In the mouth it's rich, full on Merlot with good grip and excellent balance. There's no doubt that this needs food (we splashed out on a couple of rib eye steaks) so don't buy this to drink on its own because it's wasted doing that. This is Merlot with attitude; a wine from just outside some of the most highly regarded terroir of the Medoc, made by a top Chateau, that's dedicated to letting nature do the work. makes me weak at the knees just to think of it, but here you have a seriously good wine for a sensible price when you hold it against the sort of money you could be paying for wines from this land. Decant, as there's sediment in the bottle.

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