pale straw. Rich dried herb and honeyed fruits. Beautifully balanced, lovely weight of ripe tropical fruits and dried herbs, spicy, and with a long poised finish. Seamless and very enjoyable. Good acidity and some zip on the finish.

very pale. Lightly fragrant tropical fruits, some lanolin and honey. Delicate, appears tightly coiled although not especially intense. Pleasing ripe fruit flavours of modest intensity, not a lot of length or zip on the finish. Not convinced it will evolve but perhaps in a dumb phase.

rich colour. Deeply scented, earthy and developed. Extremely smooth, has real delicacy. Flavours are rich and earthy and in nice balance. Not a blockbuster but drinks well. Soft finish and low acidity.

rich colour. Lovely ripe dark berries with just a hint of leather. Ripe dark fruit, quite primary, not especially complex. Firm tannin still present and a hint of astringency on the finish.

rich rusty colour. Beautiful, well integrated fragrance, a blend of ripe dark fruit, leather and a hint of earth. Excellent weight of deep dark fruit, supported by some dark spice, a little leather and earth. Seemingly not very developed. A superbly poised and seamless wine.

dark colour. Soft fragrance of dark berries. Powerful, ripe black berries dominate with just a little spice. Tannins are big still, a little too big. Lacks a bit of balance on the finish but very tasty. It definitely stood out as a potential ringer in this bracket.

very dark. Huge perfume of violets, blueberry and a bit of mint. Good intensity, but clearly not a CNDP, not fooling anybody. All about blueberries, more noticeable oak, and little if any sign of earthy spice. A nice drink but lacks the interest of the others. A very obvious ringer, nobody fooled by this one.

deep red, a bit rusty. Ripe dark fruits dominate the fragrance with hints of soy, tar and leather. Well integrated and smooth palate. Aged dark fruits and warm earthy leather, but fruits dominate. Soft and supple, with a smooth finish. Well weighted soft tannins. not much spice, but an enjoyable drink. At its peak.

pale red. Fragrant but green herbal nose, not at all attractive. Nicely aged red berry flavours come through but the green character again dominates. Not good.

brick red. Soft inexpressive nose with a slight hint of tea leaves. A very pure and undeveloped palate, dominated by ripe red and dark berries. Excellent balance, very smooth. Not a lot of spice to it but still very enjoyable. Years ahead of it.

brick red. Cool nose, dark berries with a hint of blue, some spice, excellent depth. Beautiful balance, supple and very long. Pure red and blue berry fruits with excellent intensity. Very youthful. Hints of leather and licorice spice but fruit dominates. excellent drinking.

deep red, a bit rusty. Darker fruits and soy/tar/leather spice in the rich deep fragrance. Silky smooth and very long. Rich ripe dark fruit flavours. Not much development evident but perfectly integrated, seamless. Lovely drinking but will age a long time.

pale but rusty. Rich earthy fragrance, plums and leather. Very smooth, in fact quite soft and finishing a bit short. Flavours are nice, lovely ripe fruit and leathery spice. Enjoyable but not for keeping.

deep red with some brick. Lovely delicate fragrance, quite undeveloped, darker fruits and spice. Beautifully poised wine. Perfect balance, fruits to the darker end of spectrum, some dark spice and sweet leather. Has power and intensity, seems relatively unevolved. delicious.

rich red, some rust. Pure ripe nose, leather and violets. Still with some strong tannins but reasonably well balanced. Nice ripe fruits, leather and earth with just a hint of spice.

pale red, earthy. Clean, dark and with some spice. Very youthful dark fruit, with a little leather and light spice. Good tannins and a strong finish.

rich rusty red. Clean, pure and not very expressive fragrance. Youthful dark fruits, lovely sweet leather and hint of earth. Softer but still with notable tannnins.

deep red. Ripe red fruits and earth. Soft and fleshy. Red berries, earth and tea leaves/dried herbs. The herbal edge tends to dominate the flavours.

quite a pale red. Ripe red berries, violets, not much earth but just a little leather, quite an intense fragrance, beautiful. Lovely sweet fruit, almost cherry, plump and intense. Poised, superb length, not at all dominated by earthy characters, just nicely aged fruit. Special.

Youthfully ripe berries, very pure and undeveloped fragrance. Superb structure, fleshy, good tannins and great length. Dark fruit flavours supported by a little earth and spice. Everything is in place, hard to fault. Spectacular.

pale brick red. Rich earthy fragrance with deep red fruits. Nice blend of ripe red and black fruits with some leather and spice. The middle has faded but is still drinking well while tannins are holding on. very enjoyable.

rich earthy red. Amazingly rich fragrance, expressive, superb. Supple, fleshy, rich, beautifully balanced, pure black fruits, not much sign of earthy development, very special.

rusty red. Rich complex fragrance. Deeply flavoured, with meat and earth, a little yeasty note, over deep dark plump fruits. Very good structure. Delicious drinking.

good deep red colour. Rich developed nose, hint of honey. Hints of coffee, tar and licorice, with rich red berry. Quite a developed taste but still with a core of sweet fruit, very enjoyable. Soft finish but still with good tannins.

good red colour with clear bricking. Clean pure nose, not much sign of development, a little earthy with ripe mixed berries. Extremely smooth with excellent weight and a good solid structure, still has nice tannins. Powerful and surprisingly youthful, a blend of dark fruits and earth. Aged characters are in the background only, just a light richness. Superb.

lovely ripe blueberry and spice fragrance. Nicely balanced, pure red berry and plenty of spice. Lots of mouth-coating tannins.

CORKED !!!

quite soft, spice more to the front, not as well balanced. Toffee/coffee character, rich and quite interesting.

Rich fragrance, deep, blueberries and dark spice. Plump fruits, blue and red, a little dried herb spice, a tasty blend. Tannins are very fine. Lovely structure, quite coiled, and clearly needs much more time.