There are all kinds of perceptions about wine and, unsurprisingly, not all of them are true. You may have heard people say that if a bottle has a deep punt, the wine inside will be of a high quality and you may have heard people say that if you swirl a wine and it has ‘tears’ running down the inside of the glass, then that means it’s a fine wine. One thing we have noticed, though, which does actually seem to be true, is that when a wine is named after a person, it tends to be pretty decent. This wine is names after Alexia Eymas, the head winemaker at Chateau Maison Neuve, and it’s a cut above what you would expect from a Bordeaux at this price. It’s a blend of Malbec and Merlot, and has a really joyful personality, packed with molten blackcurrant pastilles, floral spices (it’s unoaked, so that comes from the skins of the Malbec grapes) and a glossy cassis character that refreshes the finish. A very fine tribute to a very talented winemaker. 13.5% alc. Drink now-2030.