Château Teyssier Puisseguin-Saint-Émillion 2014

We reckon this wine ticks what we consider to be two pretty major boxes: Firstly, it's tasty: it speaks eloquently of the Puisseguin Saint-Émilion terroir and is supple, well-structured, with impressive length and surprising fruitiness.

Secondly it's cracking value: at £13.00 it is a come-hither Claret that won't break the bank. You could plonk this on any dinner table, happy in the knowledge that they'll love it and you're not skint.

Dating back to the 15th century, this ancient vineyard is located on high quality calcareous-clay soils very similar to those of its neighbour Saint-Émilion. Its ideal location, together with careful winemaking techniques, makes Château Teyssier one of the flagship vineyards amongst Saint-Émilion’s satellite appellations.

Significant investments have been made to renovate the winery and enhance the vineyard. Meticulous viticultural techniques are implemented in the vineyard to enhance the quality of the grapes, including increasing leaf surface area, canopy management and yield control when necessary and sustainable plant protection.

In the winery, a new conveyor belt system allows grapes to be carefully transported to the first floor avoiding any bruising. The tank room has been completely renovated and all the tanks are equipped with temperature control; smaller tanks were bought specifically for top quality batches. The barrel hall has been extended and now houses 400 barrels, 50% of which are renewed each year.

The wine undergoes traditional fermentation, in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks. Cold pre-fermentation maceration occurs for some batches. The grapes are removed from the tanks manually in tubs and transported on a gravity-controlled conveyor belt to the press. A proportion of the wine is aged on its lees for topping up the barrels.

With its intense garnet hue, Château Teyssier reveals notes of ripe red fruits. On first impression, it is supple and fruity, with silky tannins and impressive length. It is drinking very well now.