Medium, medium pale colour. Right from the start, there’s not a hint of leaf, soil or mustiness on the nose, just a frankly gorgeous blend of precise red berries, brown sugar and the finest ginger cake – wow! One hour on and the snose has lost some of those precise berries to a marzipan-type layer. To me this is a negative as I’m no fan of marzipan – to others, quite the reverse. The flavours deliver width, a plush texture, very fine acidity and an impressive density of sweet, slightly raisin-fruited flavour in the mid-palate. Approaching 30 years-old one might expect this to be described as an old grandmother of a wine – how very wrong that would be. It remains fresh, sensuous and complex. It is blisteringly good – thank-you Caves Baggli…

Medium rusty-red colour, more rust than red at the edges. Forward aromas of part fresh, part baked red fruits over a sterner and much more mineral depth – a raspberry jelly aroma is one of the last from the glass. Impact in the mouth – this isn’t a wine that widens across the palate, it starts at full width. Velvet tannin that is faintly edged with astringency and a fresh burst of dimension across the mid-palate. The mineral aroma is also reflected in the flavours. A success! The fruit flavours remain relatively primary, take that together with the slight astringency and I would guesstimate that this is at least 5 or 6 years from being ‘mature’

Medium-plus colour. The nose is deep, showing plenty of leaf, undergrowth and a nice spicy element. Very nice acidity and flavours that burst across the mid-palate, then a wave of tannin before fading in the finish. This is a lovely wine and not ‘too’ 1996.

Medium-pale red with a strong amber caste. The nose started with a whiff of oak before settling for quite some time into a dirty, almost fixed sulfur motif. It wasn’t fixed as extended aeration brought a denser red fruit that eventually became more elegant and redcurrant in style. Good acidity with quite some extension in the mid-palate – this punch is delivered with little overt density but still impresses. The tannin has reasonably fine grain but still needs a little time to provide a perfect texture. This is not a powerhouse wine, but despite the initially disappointing aromatics there’s still some interest here.