Quite full, moderately rich, pinot fruit coming through. Decent length. Elegant enough as an aperitif but with sufficient weight to cope with the jamon iberico bellota and blinis with foie gras. Only a couple of quick sips really but felt quite moreish. ***1/2

Really quite dense graphite and blackcurrant nose. Very left bank and suggestive of Pauillac. A nice mix of sweet fruit and classical restraint. Dense and quite deep. Opened up through the evening with the sweet-fruited aspect coming to the fore with a nice mix of spices. Vevy long and very lovely. *****

Initially very similar to the LLC but opens up to a less blackcurrant and more merlot-like dark red fruit nose and palate. A touch of liquorice and a more floral, slightly herby quality. Really blossoms over a couple of hours. Excellent. *****

Sweeter-fruited nose from the off. Definately a touch of the south here - olive grove and warm summer breeze. Similar on the palate; a sense of more alcohol, ripe fruit and the syrah content coming through balanced by a savoury element towards the finish. Slightly grainy tanninscompared to the LLC & Palmer. Initially the showier and more expressive of the three, but although it evolved in glass it didn't improve in the same way that they did - this the tortoise to their hare. Lovely wine though. ****

Similar to the bottle at the Square offlinen a couple of weeks ago. Sweet, ripe fruit, a little more weight. No surprise to hear suggestions of southern rhone here - the vintage character cf the 85 is clear. Just starting to show what it's made of and a lovely drink, but plenty in reserve here. ****(1/2)

A little riper, a little fuller and a touch sweeter than the LLC. Again, the warm vintage character comes through but ti retains its typicity, especially with air when it becomes more obviously clarety in profile. Lots going on here, only really at the start of its window. Some nice savoury notes in addition to the voluptuousness. Out-classed by the 85 tonight but will surpass it in the future I think. ***(**)

Again this stands out initially as the slightly riper, lusher, warmer climate of the three though the difference is not as pronounced as with the 85s. A touch of coffee on top of the slightly garriqe aspect manifesting itself as olive grove and sunshine. Again, complex and long. Really lovely. A slightly stronger showing than my last bottle of this whereas the 85 was showing aslightly less strongly and more obviously southerm whereas previously is felt more right-bank bordeaux. Lovely wine. ****1/2

2 halves with consistent notes. Gorgeous bright amber to deep gold in colour. Luscious nose hinting at its sweetness and currently in the orange spectrum with barley sugar and freshly squeezed lemon juice in support. Very sweet attack but balanced by vibrant acidity. Good depth to the mid-palate, complex and long. Hard to imrove on this really. Very easy just to drink it but there's all sorts going on here if you stop to look. 230g/l RS *****