We are now in the ‘home straight’ and things should be becoming clearer(?) For those that missed it, here’s part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4.

Wine 13
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red colour. High tones overlay a nose of considerable depth – earthy and cedar aspects and a slightly ‘lifted’ impression – but throughout our time together the nose remains completely understated. This wine bursts with excitement; it’s intense and the forward acidity makes it difficult to hold the wine in your mouth. The tannin is very well covered and the finish only slowly fades. It’s not as long as the best here but it’s not too far behind. This is an excellent bottle.
My mark: 18.25/20, group average 17.8/20

Wine 14
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red colour. The nose starts wide and creamy – I though a little lactic too but this was transient – quickly taking on a forward cream coverd red cherry aspect and eventually coffee notes too. Understated, concentrated and tons of mid-palate dimension – many of these wines are one-dimensional in comparision. The fruit is so well done that it completely buries any necessity to discuss acidity or tannin. The creamy finish is understated but very long. Really top-class wine.
My mark: 19.0/20, group average 17.7/20

Wine 15
Medium-plus cherry-red colour. The wide nose showcases well delineated soft red fruit and a little coffee too. High-toned fruit in the mouth that is both concentrated and bursts into life on the mid-palate. There is some astringency to the tannin but the combined sweetness of the fruit and the considerable spicy oak means that it’s not overpowering in the finish which also shows plenty of cream and just a touch of espresso. In quality terms this wine is quite close to the previous wine, just a little shorter and less precise – mainly due to the layer of sweet oak which I don’t find ‘additive’.
My mark: 18.5/20, group average 18.6/20

I’ll let you consider until tomorrow’s results which might be which, but in the meantime here is my summary of the scores:

For those that missed it, here’s part 1, part 2 and part 3.

Now I’m starting to get confused because previous wines that I thought were ‘xxx’ cannot be, because surely some of these are those…

Wine 10
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red colour. An understated and tight nose slowly becomes creamy with glossy fruit. The cream of the nose is paralleled on the palate with impressive density to the precise creamy fruit that has a licorice edge. Mouth-watering acidity and understated smooth tannins that just cling a little to your gums. There is just a faint edge of bitterness in the finish which I can’t quite decide whether it comes from the grape or oak tannin, but it’s a good length. Very young – certainly a 2004 – but a very nice package.
My mark: 18.0/20, group average 17.4/20

Wine 11
Medium ruby-red colour with a hint of amber at the rim. A very deep, wide, earthy and impressive nose. Mouthfilling, still with plenty of drying tannin. Given the nose and structure this slips disappointingly unobtrusively into the finish – but it’s one very long, if slightly oaky finish! In the end the astringent (though ripe) tannins dominate the mid-palate and finish a little too much for current enjoyment. Taking stock there’s a modicum of maturity on the nose and surely a great grand cru nose at that. If the nose hints at maturity the palate is way too young; it’s concentrated and long but the structure is dominant today. When the palate catches up I think this will be a stunning bottle.
My mark: 19.0/20, group average 19.0/20

Wine 12
Medium, medium-plus cherry red. The high-toned nose also starts with a little reduction and earth – it never really becomes fully fruit driven. The stance of this wine is althletic and ‘wiry’ with plenty of intrinsic muscle. The texture is good and the acidity helps to push the finish reasonably long – though in this company it’s (at best) average – with a little raisined aspect and some underlying oak being the dying notes.
My mark: 17.0/20, group average 17.4/20

For those that missed it, here’s part 1 and part 2.

It’s not getting any easier…

Wine 7
Medium-plus cherry red colour. A high toned and wide nose that mixes red and blue-skinned fruits. A wonderfully effusive wine with excellent acidity and super depth. There’s a real extra dimension of fruit on the mid-palate before going into a discrete but long finish. The tannins are completely buried by the fruit. A few of the previous wines are longer but this wine is a compelling ‘complete package’. I started with a score of 18.5 but given that I thought it better than some later 18.5’s I added a quarter.
My mark: 18.75/20, group average 18.1/20

Wine 8
Medium ruby-red colour. The nose starts quite high-toned and a little creamy before going through a mineral and earthy stage with flashes of red fruit then bonfire – you need a little patience, but there is just so much dimension to be found – bravo. The entry and mid-palate start a little disappointing after the previous wine but minute by minute the palate opens wider and wider. The finish is very good and whilst the tannins are a little grainy but they are ripe and grab the mouth and help cement the flavours of the finish. Slow to blossom, but excellent and pips the previous wine.
My mark: 19.0/20, group average 18.3/20

Wine 9
Medium, medium-plus ruby-red colour. A wine and mineral nose that slowly releases dark cherry fruit, gradually becoming higher toned before giving glimpses of coffee notes. The palate is clean, muscular and intense with really good, fresh acidity. The length doesn’t come close to match some of the previous wines, but it’s a very good finish if just a little oak-driven. A very nice package that needs two or three years before it starts drinking well.
My mark: 18.0/20, group average 17.7/20