He is joined in running Haut-Brion by director Jean-Philippe Delmas, who has been in the role since 2004, taking over from his father and grandfather before him. The three generations of Delmas’ have ensured Haut-Brion has retained its innovative status; this was the first chateau to introduce stainless steel tanks for winemaking in the early 1960s, and one of the first to have an onsite oenology laboratory, heading up by Jean-Philippe Masclef, together with a nursery for private clonal selection. This dates back to 1970, when Jean-Bernard Delmas pioneered the idea. Today the estate uses one dozen clones per plot to be sure of complexity for all its red grapes, and enlists six trainees for the two months before harvest to test the ripeness of the grapes in each plot at least four or five times across the whole vineyard.

Progress continues – the chateau has just seen the completion of a new building for offices, and a circular library which will house an important collection of rare wine and gastronomy books. And as with Margaux and Lafite, there is also an onsite cooperage, this time in partnership with Seguin-Moreau barrel makers, producing around 500 barrels per year. Here, cooper Luc Nicolas perfects the Haut-Brion signature toast, which ensures the hint of roasted coffee beans and soft leather notes that infuse its wine.