Medium colour. The nose soars with a perfume that has roses and an impression of stems – I remember he said their were none – so I check again; “trust me!” he says. Oh well – it’s lovely anyway. Transparent, elegant, lithe and beautifully focused. I have an impression of the floral notes in the mouth too. There is no ‘oomph’ just understated intensity. Very lovely and hard to appreciate where all that new oak has gone!

Medium colour. The nose for over two hours wears a background cloak of reduction yet the dark red fruit is easy to discern. Across the tongue it’s light and lithe with a fine layer of velvet tannin and an intensity that grows in the mid-palate. There is a little flavour of reduction too – even the last glass saved for day 2. I’m a little concerned by this reduction but frankly it did little to stop the wine being finished with great enjoyment.

Much aromatic complexity – warming the glass brings more density of fruit. Full but balanced, supple concentration – another wine of understated but impressive length. Less ‘woody’ than a bottle last September – just lovely, covetable wine.

Medium colour. Precocious aromas of roses and red fruits – super. Velvet tannin with just an edge of ‘grab’. Beautiful acidity – a wine of beautiful balance.

Floral aromas. The palate has great poise but is really distinguished by its dense, flavourful finish – I’d finish it myself given half the chance.

Medium-plus colour. Floral – roses and violets. Textured, partly the tannin but interestingly so, yet this is quickly forgotten given the gorgeous flavour. Can you (ever) have enough of this wine…(?)

I started writing transparent, but I think I really mean ethereal, flowers and fruit – exquisitely detailed. Density though no apparent weight, this has quite some understatement; just a subtly haunting length…

Fine, precise red fruits, not super depth but with good width. Lots of mid-palate interest and a slowly lingering finish – yum!

Medium, medium-pale colour. Aromatically more impressive than you expect from the colour, deep with a faint edge of coffee – only turning redder and finer with a little tobacco and spice as you slowly drain the glass – no green notes. Light but intense in the mouth – it’s the slightly bright acidity that adds to the apparent intensity. Red berry fruit that slowly fades, good, understated velvet tannins. It’s precocious though quite well balanced, I’d be tempted to drink this younger rather than older. Tasty.

Medium, Medium-pale colour. Aromatically more impressive than you expect from the colour, deep with a faint edge of coffee – only turning redder and finer with a little tobacco and spice as you slowly drain the glass – no green notes. Light but intense in the mouth – it’s the slightly bright acidity that adds to the apparent intensity. Red berry fruit that slowly fades, good, understated velvet tannins. It’s precocious though quite well balanced, I’d be tempted to drink this younger rather than older.

Medium-plus cherry-red colour. Deep red, sweet cherry mixed with sweet vanilla oak – the fruit is nicely delineated – provided you keep the temperature below 20°C. Full flavour, perfectly presented with a strong vanilla infused finish – very high quality villages but very, very 2003.

Spicier, initially less fruit-driven nose, yet each sniff brings new aromas as the nose widens out, but at the centre is a tight core of fruit that never-quite opens out. Velvetty tannin that’s on a higher level than the other wines, yet very well balanced. Super acidity and really impressive length – it’s a more linear length than the ‘panoramic’ 05 in barrel – but it’s a rather haunting diminuendo.