I thought this was very good indeed - a really fresh, exciting interpretation of Syrah. There was some VA on the nose at first, with a poster-colour twang to it, but that blew off quite quickly to show a really quite nice bouquet of fragrant garrigue and dried lavender floating over a core of blueberries and spice, with something a little vanilla creamy at the edges. It smelt just a bit like blueberry cheesecake, complete with crushed graham cracker bottom actually. With time though, a more ferrous, bloody mineral streak and a little whiff of crushed ants came out as well, all along with a whole lot of earthy mineral. A complex and shifting panoply of smells. The palate was very pleasing too. Lithe and well-cut, but very nicely resolved, with a structure really velvety tannins and fresh but nicely integrated acidity framing effortless flavours of blue fruit, some spice, a touch of garrigue, and then a nice touch of dried, crumbly earth and mineral stretching away into a juicy, fine-boned finish. There was no lack of body, yet this had a nice sense of transperancy to it throughout. With time, a more savoury character started emerging as well - I got hint of eucalyptus, maybe a shade of dried mushroom just peeking around the edges, and then more of that lovely earthiness at the end. Very nice indeed, and drinking beautifully now.

Such a compelling wine - this kept changing and shifting over the evening. Tonight, it took 3 hours in the decanter to really open up. The nose was really funky at first, almost gym socks and leather, but this slowly evolved into a sweet and savoury melange of sour cherry and wild berries, roasted meats and earth, preserved oranges and black tea, and then just that little edge of spice and menthol at the sides. With time, a little floral twang started coming out as well. Such an entrancing bouquet, getting more and more savoury with time. It was lovely on the palate too - here I got hawthorn berry and dried strawberries, orange peel and mint, and then a thread of chalky earth, and a hint of mineral pulling away into the finish. Still youthful, with fresh, vibrant acidity and a little chew of fine tannins lending the wine a sense of noble structure. Lovely finish too, with a twist of sweet black tea floating away into the distance. So different after 3 hours from the rather stinky, slightly flat showing when we first opened it. So complex, and so giving. This was slowly stepping into its drinking window, but I would happily lay it aside for another 5-10 years - I think it will be fantastic when it hit its stride.