The aromas have much more in common with the premier cru (unsurprisingly) with a mix of mineral and musk together with a subtle rose perfume, eventually a white pepper accent too. Once more there is a wealth of very fine tannin which is slowly overtaken by a beam of gorgeous pure fruit that then becomes rounder. A long fruit-dominated finish that even has a dash of orange. Clearly ‘special’.

Do you ever find yourself trying to find an excuse to drink a corked wine? Initial cost of purchase may have had something to do with it, I have to say that for about 3 or 4 minutes I’d convinced myself that if I swirled the glass I could hardly smell it, and the taste wasn’t so bad, indeed it was very long for a corked bottle. I passed the glass to my wife who muttered something about me trying to poison her and she needed a beer to take the taste away – I was back, grounded. Very corked and very yuk.

The nose offers an obvious first impression of flora, yet seems underpinned almost by ‘texture’ and a background hint of anise. In the mouth this is clearly cut from thicker cloth, yet manages to find all the hiding spaces in your mouth in order to attach its lingering flavours. The tannin has some grain to it, but that grain seems ‘loaded’ with flavour. Very, very complex despite my poor attempts to warm the glass. A wine that always impresses in this situation – bravo!

Medium, medium-plus colour. Initially not quite the intensity of aroma as the previous wines, but certainly it’s very complex – remains fine, but it becomes ever-more precise in the glass. This wine really delivers. Your mouth is filled with so many dimensions. There’s a slight rasp to the tannin, but it’s just part of the experience. Super, and no spitting.

What a surprise – not served last. Understated, tight aromatics, despite that there is wide panorama of notes – just limited depth. In the mouth it’s simply a tour-de-force. It’s just an amazing mouthful of complexity. At this level, price is effectively transcended.