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