Lovely. Very bright and pure after a vigorous shake, a touch glossy and dark beforehand. ***1/2

Very pure squashed raspberry nose initially, opening up to a gamier, in fact specifically grouse-like nose. A touch of black olive too. Very smooth entry, fresh, good acidity throughout the mid-palate to the reasonably long finish. Silky. Maybe starting to lose complexity cf previous bottles, but still a lovely bottle. ****

Dense full ruby. Bright nose with dark red fruit. Intense. Follows through to the palate - really quite intense through the attack. Proper density of flavour here. Mixed red fruit, a little spice but overall this is very pure and transparent. Not super complex or long, but this shows it's class. ****

Curious, and slightly unfortunate cheesy nose. This is underpinned with a touch of grapefruit, and honeyed passion fruit. The sweetness is starting to come through as it begins to fill out on the palate. Long. ****

Light gold, darken to a fairly deep gold in the glass. Gorgeous nose, creamy toasted hazelnut, developing more citrus with air. Quite fat in the glass. Rich creamy nuttiness with a lime cut and decent minerality through the back half. Lovely. ****

Decanted 8hrs. Beautifully clear, bright light ruby to mid garnet. Raspberry and cherry fruit on the nose with some fireside spice. Fresh, kirschy attack, moderate sweetness and a nice, slightly dry finish. Very drinkable. ****

Pale copper to salmon. Peach stone and strawberry on the nose, albeit quite restrained. A mineral, quite full style, develops some complexity with air. Serious rather than showy. Ok as an aperitif, but splendid the next lunchtime with slices of cold beef Wellington. Finishes well. ****

Dense ruby. Bright. Lovely nose, quite subdued at first, plummy fruit with darker fruit bass notes, opening up to show a damp soil and Christmassy nose. Dense and classic attack, nothing showy here, very proper claret, dense and with a richness developing with air. A superb match with a very rich beef Wellington. Long, dense and complex. Proper wine - not a flash 'look at me' number. ****1/2

Hmm. Glorious bright and vibrant ruby. Dense red fruit, real depth and definition. Very classy. Then after about twenty minutes this clamps down and shuts up tight and mean. Just entering a closed period it seems. Bother. Based on first impressions this could be *****. Still surly 24hrs later, but after 48 hrs in the fridge this had reverted to its original state and was showing very well (top **** at least). Come back in a few years!

Consistent with previous bottle. Excellent but not as top flight or vibrant as it can be. Mature Rioja, vibrant with good acidity but also a richness and slight gaminess that worked well with a saddle of hare. Long and satisfying. ****

Half. Four years of post purchase cellaring. Lovely. Nicely maturing with a biscuit character, retaining its freshness and vibrancy. Splendid for a half of nv. ****

Another good showing though not quite the grip and intensity of a bottle in the summer. Pale green-yellow. Very citrus, tightly floral and densely mineral nose. Nicely mineral and saline around the edges with good grip. Mineral, good focus, weight building through the mid-palate and a very positive finish. Lovely. ****1/2 After 24 hrs in the fridge, this has built intensity and grip and is every bit as good as previous ***** bottle.

Fresh, clean, very decent. Can see the Duval Leroy lineage. Maybe not the class and intensity of some (eg 04 DL BdeB), but really decent for what it is. Nicely chalky and fresh. ***

Magnum. Very decent with good Graves character. Relatively light, and maybe I'm guilty of keeping it a tad too long, but satisfying and functional luncheon claret. Good. ***

March 2011 disgorgement. Nicely spicy, custard apple and warm toasted brioche on the nose. Moderately rich on the rounded attack, vanilla, warm pastry and a little ginger spice through the mid-palate to the long finish. Showing Bolly weight and richness but without fully losing sight of the surprising zing it had when first released around three years ago. ****

Dark cherry fruit on June nose with a slightly kirschy element. With time the kirsch subsides to reveal lighter cherry fruit in a very rounded and quite plush frame. Similar on palate. Dark cherry fruit and a little spice. The initial kirsch element with its consequent slightly hot finish evaporates to leave a far smoother, quite plush and really quite long finish after an hour or so. Lots of interest here and quite stylishly done. It's not burgundy, but it is quite refined and nicely structured. ****

Reasonably deep garnet. Quite an elegant, restrained nose initially, tangy cherry and mineral reminiscent of Morey. Quite focused and relatively linear on the palate too, more tight knit than a previous bottle two years ago. A brooding intensity. With air (ie down to the last glass), it starts to show slightly meatier and a little more expansive whilst retaining its core of bright cherry fruit and mineral spine. A fraction hard perhaps. I don't think I'd pick this as Nuits, blind, but it's very classy and well done. ****