I have often commented that for me two words describe wine well, and they are yumminess and balance. Yummy is just about delicious fun and enjoyment, but balance is an indication of the ability to age and reach for remarkable attributes that can only develop with the passage of years – usually ten or more.

Today I am going to suggest a few ideas for gifts to very good, and particularly patient friends. They are wines that will slowly turn into wonderful treats, but they should be in a temperature controlled “wine cellar” or at the very least at an even and under 70F room and out of direct light or vibrations.

Some say that the 2018 vintage in Bordeaux has the potential of being legendary, so we will start with 2018 Chateau D’Issan from Margaux. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate comments, “the 2018 D'Issan is composed of 60 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon and 40 per cent Merlot, ageing in 50 per cent new and 50 per cent second year barrels for an estimated 18 months. With 13.97 per cent alcohol and a deep garnet-purple colour, it features baked berries, warm cherries and cassis with spice box and fragrant earth plus tea hints. Medium to full-bodied, it has a great core of muscular fruit with firm, fine-grained tannins, with nice freshness, finishing layered with mineral notions. Barrell Sample: 94-96”. This split score indicates that it is destined to go from strength to strength.

Jeb Dunnock tells us that, “it offers a beautiful, singular bouquet of blackcurrants, new leather, smoked tobacco, scorched earth, and camphor. This carries to a medium to full-bodied, seamless Margaux with wonderful tannins, beautifully integrated acidity, and just a flawlessly balanced, elegant, layered style that's going to evolve for 20-25 years. It's one classy 2018 that has loads to love”. $110.00. Stock # 9635.

In the same commune we find 2018 Chateau Brane-Cantenac and staying with Mr. Dunnock we read, “a quintessential Margaux as well as one of the finest wines I've tasted from this estate, the 2018 Château Brane-Cantenac is based on 74 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon, 23 per cent Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, all aged in 70 per cent new French oak. Beautiful cassis and mulberry fruits as well as notes of leafy tobacco, spice, cedarwood, and spring flowers emerge from the glass. Medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced, and elegant, it has loads of fruit, a seamless texture, and a good spine of acidity. Give bottles four to five years and enjoy over the following 30 years or more. 95+”. $125.00. Stock # 9506.

We can step back two years and suggest a perfect gift, the only problem that I have with it is, as it rates 100/100 how in the world does it improve? Somehow it will miraculously do so – please believe me.

We move to St. Julien and the same critic as he describes a wine that is known as a “super second”, and this is because in 1855 it rated just behind the four great first growths but is now considered equal to them.

“Reminding me of the 2010 with its incredible stature and class (as opposed to the more opulently styled 2009), the 2016 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou is a legendary wine from the genius of Bruno Borie, who has managed this estate brilliantly since he arrived in 2003. A blend of 85 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon and 15 per cent Merlot brought up all in new oak, the 2016 has a mammoth bouquet of crème de cassis, espresso, camphor, crushed violets, toasty oak, and graphite.

“Full-bodied, concentrated, and backward on the palate, it nevertheless has perfectly integrated acidity and building tannins, a concentrated, layered texture, off-the-charts purity of fruit, and a finish that won't quit. Give this powerful, concentrated wine a solid seven to eight years of bottle age and enjoy it over the following 50 years or more. 100/100. $350.00. Stock #7122.

2021 Shafer Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon should be at a yummy stage even now, but it has decades to go.

Jim Gordon of the Wine Enthusiast pens, “this sophisticated and concentrated wine wraps lovely dark plums, blueberries and cocoa flavours in velvety tannins that are well-integrated and soothing, while still setting the wine up for a potentially long life. Subtle baking spices, espresso and cedar accents enhance the impressive fruit flavours. Best from 2027–2037. 96/100”. $135.00. Stock #6817.

If you would like to purchase perfection from the New World you could always purchase a bottle of 2018 Shafer “Hillside Select” Cabernet Sauvignon that is a perfect 100-point offering. Dunnuck writes, “the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is another perfect wine, although readers will need to have patience, as it’s still a baby. Deep purple-hued with a perfumed, vibrant bouquet of blue fruits, graphite, spring flowers, and lead pencil, it’s full-bodied, sensationally concentrated, has perfectly integrated acidity, tannin, and alcohol, not a hard edge to be found, and an incredible finish.

“This monumental Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is seven to eight years away from maturity and will have 40 to 50 years of overall longevity”.

At a recent and special dinner in our home we opened a ten-year old version of this wine – also a 100/100. The wine was just breathtaking! $375.00. Stock #6835.

The site Winepilot gives Australian 2020 Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet/Shiraz 97/100 and opines, “51 per cent cabernet sauvignon/49 per cent shiraz blend. As such it perhaps is the most quintessential of all Penfolds’ South Australian reds. There certainly is plenty of magic in the wine, with cabernet leading the first sensory impressions while more robust, savoury shiraz sits under cover of darkness.

“The fruit profile is dark cherry and black forest cake, then later suggestions of roasted root vegetables rise to speak their piece. Palate structures are well knitted and solid, and already there are early signs of maturity. It’s a big wine now with plenty to look forward to in the decades to come”. $109.00. Stock #6835.

So, there you have it, six timeless, wonderful gifts, or why not for yourself!

• This column is a paid-for advertorial for Burrows Lightbourn Ltd. and Discovery Wines & Spirits written by Michael Robinson. He can be contacted at mrobinson@bll.bm. Burrows Lightbourn stores are located in Hamilton (Front Street East. 295-1554) and Paget (Harbour Road, 236-0355). Discovery Wines & Spirits stores are located in Hamilton (Corner of Queen & Reid Street, 232-0090) and Pembroke (Bakery Lane, 296-9463). A selection of its wines, beers and spirits are available online at discoverywines.bm