Frédéric Engerer, responsible for producing the esteemed bordeaux first growth, Château Latour, gave a simple response when asked about the quality of his 2005 vintage: “I think we should retire; we can’t do better than this.”

Those in charge of the great chateaux of Bordeaux are not known for their avoidance of hyperbole but when they called 2005 the greatest vintage in living memory, the wine world took them at their word.