I remember my first bottle from this case, on release there was overwhelming sulfur on the nose, I took it back to the merchant as it was completely undrinkable – even 4 hours after opening – this was where I learned about bottle stink, but they still replaced the bottle! This second bottle didn’t start much better, perhaps worse, the sulfur has slowly evolved to hydrosulfite – that means very smelly cabbage. The palate manages to show just a little creamy length, but for me the dominating factor is the sulfur infused edge. Even on day two and despite the nose clearing up a little the palate was the same – perhaps worse as there was even a hint of oxidation. I’ll give this case one more chance this time next year – if it fails I’ll be looking for the merchant to take them back – potentially good wine spoiled by too much sulfur.

Deep ruby – just fading a little. A lovely nose of focused red cherry overlaying candied red fruits. Concentrated fruit on the palate with smooth, very 1996, acidity and well hidden tannins. It doesn’t have the fat it showed 3 years ago, but is still some way from maturity. Very good villages.