Deep ruby colour – still looks very young. Lovely fruity nose of damson and black cherry – some coffee too – a blend of aromas to wallow in. Structured and fat, with big, still grainy tannins and plenty of acidity. Really excellent, creamy concentration. Hardly budged since last tasted 2 years ago – lovely now and has real potential to stay lovely for the next 15 years.

Deep ruby colour almost to the rim. The nose sucks you in with damp soil, marmite, cooked fruits and a ‘top-end’ of kirsch. In the mouth it’s fat and sweet – still with mouth-wrapping tannins. Good acidity too. Medium-plus length. A few more seconds on the finish and I would have said ‘superb’, now I’ll just have to stick with ‘almost superb’. Still years ahead of it.

Lovely deep ruby colour, just bricking a little at the rim. This looks younger than many a 1997. Nose – what nose? then oops: can that really be creosote? The note is halfway between creosote and corked, floating over a sweet base. It comes through on the first part of the palate too – such a shame as this wine is big bodied and exceptionally long in the background. Just in case this was some type of devilish bottle stink I vacuvin’d it overnight. Next day we still had creosote, just a little more subdued, but not much. Tainted