Mid to full gold. Nicely rich on the nose. Properly Krug. Drops away a little on the finish but very nice and very drinkable. Lots of ginger spice. Lovely. ****

This has clearly seen better days. However, it’s not oxidised, and has some interest. Faded and tired but one could follow a glass with interest. (**)

Curious fresh-cut bruised apple nose that follows through to palate with harsh acidity and a sickly sweet top note. Really not for me though others found it less offensive. Hopefully this hasn’t lasted well.

Pristine bottle, palest lemon flesh in colour. Lovely nose, mineral, lemon, slightly floral. Lots of line and grip and interest. Positively youthful. Why, oh why...! ****

Full garnet. Slightly cheesy initially but this blows off quickly to reveal a nicely blackcurrant lead classic claret nose. A touch of mocha richness on the palate. Very decent and classic. After a couple of hours this is still going strong and showing typicity. ***

Denser and sweeter-fruited nose. Plush almost. Quite flirty. Doesn’t quite follow through on the palate but the nose is atypical for Barton. Decent, some structure but not quite the padding on the finish. Collapses somewhat after a couple of hours. (*)**

Dense, slightly green pepper nose. Nicely rounded and smooth. Decent length too. Very good by any standard. After a couple of hours still showing well but rather emphasising a showy simplicity rather than complexity. Very nice drink though and clearly the best of the flight. ***1/2

Half. Slightly dusty. Some shape but the stuffing is coming out. Needs re-plumping. (**1/2)

Initially quite flat on the nose before it takes an alarming turn towards stale chrysanthemum water. I wish I hadn’t thought of that — I just can’t shift the scent. Refreshing. Very cranberry. Lots going on upfront and then it turns off. Hard to classify/rate. Interesting rather than traditionally enjoyable. Somewhat masochistic. Hard to rate — a personal judgement. I’d struggle with a glass though. **

Gorgeous when opened 4hrs ahead of drinking. Just loses a touch of richness in the interim. Some plushness but very much silk rather than velvet. Classic Vr in a slightly adolescent stage. Not yet the orange peel complexity but plenty of interest. Not giving itself away easily but plenty to tempt one to persevere. Quite vibrant still. Just about ****1/2

Denser and plusher than the VR Reserva. Somewhat more obvious as expected. Very smooth. Creamy velvet. Classic Imperial. Brash smoothness rather than reticent complexity. Slips down well though! ****1/2

Double decanted 4hrs previously. Fragrant nose. Very attractive. Red fruit, floral, vanilla spice with some coconut. A little flighty as well as flirty. Just a bit too sweet and obvious with air. A touch of cola too. Nice though. ****

Quite dense, attractive nose. Very cab. Slightly leafy. Does exactly what it says on the label. Decent but lacks some character cf the clarets. ***

Smoky, dense. Black olives. Alongside the cheese this is an uncompromising and mean bruiser. Very dry and overly
Oaky. Dusty. Almost unpleasant. However with the cheese out of the way this sweetens and shows more nuance and character. Complexity too. Still quite hard work / uncompromising but one could drink a glass of it. 30 years old in a lighter vintage — goodness knows what a big vintage is like! ***1/2

Full amber. Barley sugar. A touch of medicinal botrytis. Only noted briefly at end of meal but seemed promising. ****