Oxidized with dirty barrels, nuts, tart lemon and the faint remains of dried apricot. VA started to take over the wine with time. Not pleasant. D.

This was such a youthful and fresh bottle that continued to unfurl and get better as the evening progressed. Fruit forward, but with complex blood and spicy wood backing up the sweet cherry fruit. The wine picked up an interesting cement dust component and a touch of blood orange with air. Extremely fragrant on the nose and showing great depth and weight on the palate. Just a beautiful showing and plenty of life ahead of it. Low A.

In comparison to the Monte Real, this showed a more mature profile with darker, less vibrant fruit and more tobacco, earth and meat notes. Quite juicy and showing a lot of tannin. Indeed, the tannins started to clamp down hard on the wine with extended air. Good weight and it shows more extract than the Monte Real, but it lacks the succulence and vibrancy that one has. A good showing, but I've had some where the fruit was more pronounced. Keith flew up from DC with it the same day, so that probably didn't help its cause. A-.

I've had variable success with this wine. This was an average showing. Starts off with a bit of musty barrels, a trait that never really left the wine. Decent fruit levels and they did increase with time, but never really blossomed. Leaner than some other bottles I've had with the acidity sticking out just a touch. The usual worn wood, spice and orange citrus bringing up the rear. B.

Another wine that shows wide variability. I remember Manuel one time going through several corked bottles of this before finally finding one that was tca free. Other times the VA has been out of control. When it's on, though, it can be a terrific bottle of wine. This showing was fine, but a bit sedate. It showed some decent cherry and strawberry fruit that continued to grow with air, with old wood, spice and citrus, but the wine seemed constrained in a straitjacket and perhaps a bit medicated. There just wasn't a lot of energy to the wine. Some interesting coffee and herb notes developed with air, but an unusual plastic note also came up. B.

Decanted a couple of hours before we got to it, Jayson was concerned that the fruit was a little more vibrant a half hour before we got to it, but this was a lovely showing. Just what you want in an old Bordeaux, plenty of earth notes, tobacco, graphite, a hint of herb and good fruit. The fruit was a little bit in the back when first poured, hence Jayson's concern, and more black in profile, but it sweetened up with air and took on more of a cherry character. Integrated and fairly resolved, but showing wonderful length and old age sweetness. Just nicely comforting, like a well worn leather chair. Solid A-.