Stony, light floral nose with a lot of peach emerging as it warmed up. Full body and great concentration with nice acidity. Citrus and green apple finish, very good!

Herbal, green pepper and olive bouquet. Spicy and very Cabernet-driven nose. Smoky licorice palate with nice fruit, great structure. Some ashiness emerges on the finish but this is a real stunner. Wow! I echo the comparison to mature Bordeaux. Drinking perfectly now, 93-94.

Cloudy, with a stewed blackberry, mineral, rusty iron, and rock nose. Seems more Aglianico-driven than the '96. Softer tannins and less structure. Maybe a touch cooked or oxidised? This would be enjoyable on its own but was severely outshone by comparison.

Blackberry, rust, fumy iodine nose with some flowers and ash. Intense acid, big bodied, fairly coarse. Acid seems out of balance and there is a bit of unpleasant chemicals here. Improved with air. Serious stuff.

Intense earth, mineral, sweet black fruit. Sweet tobacco palate that is tannic but silky with berry, rock, chalk, chocolate, cherry. Incredible concentration, very wild and volcanic. Superb.

Blackberry, smoky oak, spice, mineral, licorice. Young and promising with good acid and a healthy dose of oak. Vanilla comes to dominate nose with air. This lacks the raw intensity of the Serpico, seeming more polished and made for drinking now.

Explosive blue and black fruit, volcanic, smoky licorice nose. Tobacco, iron, ionic palate that is deep and complex. Very young and tough but amazing. I think this has the potential of becoming a world-class wine with time.

Tight and chewy, with less fruit than the '02. Almost menthol and iron palate with only a peek at the fruit. Attractive nose, brutal palate. Impenetrable right now. I won't touch mine for a long time.

Honeyed mango syrup. Bitter mandarin pith. Huge acidity to meet considerable sugar. Viscous but very little botrytis. Interesting, has the concentration and intensity of a great dessert wine but is lacking a little in complexity.