Medium cherry-red. Sweet, only slightly smokey stems, rather candied red/blue fruit. The palate is as sweet as the nose, with understated acidity. Occasional sips give a padded, slightly plush texture, but most show a mid-palate/tannins with a slightly astringent, sharp effect. Quite long finishing, but this far from a ‘together’ wine. Day two, less aromatically interesting, but more ‘together’ on the palate. I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt and say wait another year or two – it’s not really for today though…

Medium-pale ruby colour, fading to salmon pink at the rim. Nice sweet red fruit nose – like a ’97. The palate is quite fresh with grainy tannins and okay acidity. Still some astringency on the finish. This was fine with food, but was a little rustic without.