Ooh – here’s a forward nose – lots of volume – with plenty of herb in a large expanse of complexity. Cushioned depth to the palate, considerable concentration, still a grain of tannin. Layered, intense, with waves of flavour, faintly bitter and saline. Never a sweet wine, never a comforting wine – but frankly who cares, this is really super, indeed invigorating stuff.
​

On opening, the cork and head-space was a 10 out of 10 textbook example of ‘corked’, so much so that it wasn’t poured until later, when surprise, surprise: Medium ruby. The nose is a mineral but with a savoury depth. More mineral than any of the other wines with an interesting width and still plenty of tannin. The creamy finish lingers well, though stylistically very different to the other bottles. Vintage or cork makes the difference? – I detected no cork…

Medium, medium-plus colour with amber at the rim. A slightly smoky element to add to the earth but a dense core of beautiful fruit is ascendant – a treat. The palate is slightly ‘confiture’, plenty of apparent concentration widening on the palate before narrowing into the finish which has a lingering fruit note borne on the acidity. Fresh and very lovely.

Medium, medium-plus colour but more mahogany than ruby. Wide and deep aromatics that are initially fruitless, more earthy. This is more structured than the 85 but smooth acidity is the hallmark that rescues the wine. The tannins still have a light ‘grab’ in the finish. Clearly not the most sophisticated, but very enjoyable.

Medium, medium-plus colour – some purple reflections. Despite the description of the oak regime here, this starts deep and toasty. A swirl releases dark-skinned fruit and over time it transforms to a more floral and spicy effect. The texture is rather good with some fat and plenty of well-covered and well-mannered tannin. There’s a burst of interest in the mid-palate helped by the acidity. Finally there’s the nice finish. Not a blockbuster, but nice fruit.

A shade lighter in colour and more of a ruby-colour. No toast aromas this time, but a wide profile of red and black fruits that are shaded more to the red versus the 2002. The fruit and tannins are a little less ripe than the 02, in particular the tannins – but they are far from green astringency! The fruit flavour is more obvious in the mid-palate and finish when contrasted to the 2002. Nice, but don’t pair it with a much riper wine.

Medium ruby-red colour with some amber at the rim. The nose is wide and a little spicy and gamey with an undertow of spiced plummy red fruit. The palate is quite silky with plenty of of width and still some relatively silky tannin. The acidity is not absolutely seamless, but the wine has a good character.

Medium-plus colour right to the rim. The nose is a really interesting and characterful mix of chalk and chocolate, wide dark fruit and fainter floral elements – super. Smooth and rather linear in the mouth, but you are borne the dark-fruit finish on fine acidity. It lingers very well but the interest is today only on the nose and finish – maybe a few years will pad-out the palate too.