The young face of Barolo

Juan Luis Cañas has very clear views on what is the most important prerequisite for a great wine: «You need an excellent terroir.» The agricultural engineer travelled the length and breadth of the Ribera del Duero region until he found his dream vineyard in La Aguilera, filled with old vines – some of which are more than 100 years old – situated on a limestone plateau at an altitude of 830 to 950 metres above sea level. Yes, this is music to the ears of wine enthusiasts! This is where Juan Luis Cañas built his modern bodega in 2008, where everything is geared towards vinifying the grapes under the best possible conditions. The result is dense, characterful Ribera del Duero wines. In just a few years, the winery has achieved a national and international breakthrough. But Cañas is not resting on its laurels and even dares to tweak the tried and tested – in order to achieve even better results. This is also the case with our favourite wine, Cair, which has been given a somewhat fresher style with the new vintage where the grapes are harvested earlier, macerated for longer and matured in larger barrels, to get out the real purity of the fruit. A Cair full of vitality! Nos gusta mucho...

Château Grand-Puy Ducasse stands proudly on the quay of Pauillac, halfway between the Atlantic Ocean and Bordeaux, directly on the Gironde. When Anne de Naour first stepped through the doors in 2005, the odd mote of dust danced in the corners of the time-honoured winery. Compared to its noble neighbours Mouton-Rothschild and Lafite-Rothschild, the wine estate, founded in 1675, had lost some of its lustre.

But from then on, a change was in the air... Orchestrated by the successful Parisian oenologist, the ambitious new management devised a plan to cement the status of this domaine listed in the 1855 Bordeaux classification. The centrepiece of this so-called "renaissance" is the new winery. And while the renovation programme introduces state-of-the-art technology to the historic château, the old walls have been treated respectfully by the new approach. Instead of frightening away the nesting swallows encountered during construction, the feathered tenants are being relocated elsewhere on the grounds in the interests of biodiversity. Grand-Puy Ducasse is gradually converting to a purely organic operation, which will be complete by 2025, just in time for the 350th anniversary of this Médoc legend. Incidentally, the château's chambers will soon be open to guests – while the crus out in the wider world of wine spread the news of the Ducasse dynasty's bolstered reputation. Inspired by the timbre of this prestigious terroir.