Still youthful. Strawberry and raspberry fool, figs and dates underneath. Clean, attractive nose. Some pretty, floral aromatics too. Full bodied, tannic, good depth of licquorice spice, excellent acidity. Very good.

Expensive oak on the nose, figs, nuts, truffle. Red fruits on the palate, delicate, light, good acidity, nutty creaminess. Very long finish. Seamless.

Deeper Sherry notes on the nose, mushrooms, nuts. Fine acidity on the palate, less fruit than the 10 y.o., with savoury flavours dominating, truffle, walnut, oak. Very long finish.

Primary at first, almost aggressive, like taken straight from a maceration tank. Settles down after a while, revealing dark fruit, some green leaves but less than other ’11s I’ve had, red fruit. Monolithic on the palate, hot, a solid core fruit and nothing much else at the moment. Tannin and acidity are well integrated, in fact almost unnoticeable. Has all the ingredients to reach the top of the summit. Ridiculous to score it now, really. Come back in 20 years' time. 94-100

From magnum. A lot more barnyard, plum, cedar, lead pencil. Hints of Claret. Sweeter on the palate, alcoholic, less stuffing than the ’11. Still not entirely integrated, the alcohol is very evident. Good leafy, inky finish. Needs time. 93++

More feminine, oak, nuts. This is the first in the line-up that feels settled. Deeper exotic fruit underneath the perfume, quite a lot of oak but it doesn’t detract. Settled and balanced on the palate, fine fruit, good acidity, but there’s still an edge to it, needs more time. 94++

Pretty nose, aromatic, perfumed red fruit. Better settled and now we’re moving into dry red wine territory with savoury tones coming to the fore. Damp earth, lead pencil, minerals. Will improve

Very deep, floral, earthy too, cedar and crushed rock. Licquorice, raspberry, concentrated savoury-fruity flavours, integrated oak. Very, very good. As often is the case, I find more individuality in these single Quintas, more rebellion, more spikes. The proper Vintage might be more balanced, overall, but you find real idiosyncrasy and personality here. It would be fascinating to follow this, teamed with the Vintage, over the years. 94-100

Exotic nose, star anise, cinnamon, casks, great perfume, wildly spicy, like a bazaar. Sherried flavours on the palate, great acidity, great integration. Compared to the 20 y.o. this is more concentrated, more dominated by spices and condiments, molasses, maple syrup, exotic Asian spices. Great.

Bottled from cask, on demand. Surprisingly deep colour, like Oloroso but finer, with layers of amber and gold, and a tint of blueish green at the rim that I've never seen in a wine before. Profound nose: strong, strong. Smoke, nail varnish, dried apricot, bergamot oil. From the nose alone I can sense the soaring acidity: there's such a bite to the bouquet, such smoking mineral intensity. Great attack, fierce acidity, some tannin too, orange zest, walnuts, oak, and a wave of other exotic aromas. The finish is incredible. And it gets better in the glass, by the minute. I wish I had an entire bottle of this to myself because it is building a crescendo here. I check back to the Colheita 1965 and that wine feels ridiculously young now. I cannot see anything missing or anything I'd like to take away. This is a perfect wine.

As with all great wine experiences there's an element of surprise involved. I just couldn't believe the power and self confidence on display here: the wine just completely swept away everything else. And the increasing intensity… almost frightening, like waking up some primordial beast. I suppose this is indestructible but it was a privilege to try it now. Getting to know it, I can only say that a profound sense of reverence came upon me.