Château Mouton Rothschild 1948 only had 10.5° alcohol (the absolute legal minimum); whilst in recent years the Pavillon Blanc of Château Margaux and Château La Mission Haut Brion have both topped 15° on occasions – an increase of over 40%.

Bordeaux is ideal at around 12.5° because it is not a wine for power; it is a wine for elegance, delicacy and finesse and high alcohol levels tend to blunt the perceptions of these characteristics.

Why have levels increased so much? It would be easy to blame global warming, but this can only be held responsible for a small part of the increase. We [the critics and producers] are responsible for most of it.