Medium cherry red. The nose is sweet with warm red fruits – one of the rare wines in this line-up to show griottes! Rich and fat this wine shows beautiful red fruit, lovely acidity and medium, relatively refined tannin. A finish which I would describe as long in most line-ups, but merely average in this company. Whilst very primary, there is a drinkability about the wine which makes it ‘moreish’ today, but my remaining two bottles will have to wait at least until their 10th birthdays for the next viewing.

Medium cherry red colour. The nose is dense and tight, still with some oak apparent. Very concentrated palate with good acidity and very refined tannins. Superb length too, but this wine is as tight as a drum – definitely not a wine for drinking now. Will be superb in another 10 years.

Medium-plus ruby at the core still showing some cherry red. The nose is a little subdued with bright red berries and rose petals. Lovely fat with pure, concentrated redcurrant and cherry. Good acidity and tannins that you need to search for. Some vanilla on the long finish. A lovely bottle which showed in a subdued way – perhaps in it’s shell? Even if not, there’s more than enough material to safely leave this for a few more years.

Deep ruby core still some cherry flashes towards the rim. Nose hasn’t the intense ‘griottes’ of the 2001/2002 barrel samples tasted in the Drouhin cellars two weeks ago – but they’re definitely still there in a subdued form, perhaps rose petals too. In the mouth this wine comes across as fat and smooth with intense red fruits complimenting good acidity. Well covered tannins give way to a well integrated vanilla tinged finish. This is very, very good.