stunning wine showing exquisite balance between vibrancy and focus and autolysis character, A large-scaled wine that remains refreshing on the finish. Very concentrated, but light and frothy. Drinking perfectly well today.

A broad and honied mineral nose of wet slate and apple sets the stage for a very high acid and intense wine of extreme focus. On opening the wine was sharp as nails but with air, the palate softened, allowing the pinpoint acid to define the broad impression of the nose. Drinking beautifully well, in my opinion.

A welcome chance to retest an old friend. While still alive, this once excellent wine is in the early stages of decline, with noticeable drying on the finish. Very butterscotch nose and a slight sense of tired fruit. With a dish of minted pea soup, this came more alive, but the wine had more outstanding vibrancy and nuance 5 years ago.

Wildly exotic wine with considerable heat (a marked 14.5%) on the finish. Bright white pepper, white peach and candy cane herbaceousness, this is a wine that is almost too much by itself. Drunk next to an strongly and unusually flavoured crayfish and chicken terrine with an orange sauce (and chicken liver pate!), by Charlie Trotter, this wine completely came into its own - fully matching the breadth of flavour of the food and a seeming lack of heat on the finish. Touch of residual sugar adds a welcome lushness to the exoticism of the experience.

Stunning Burgundy drinking at the end of youth and start of very early maturity. Focus, depth, intensity, meal, balance, grip. Very primary, but the constituent parts of this wine are married and offer considerable pleasure. Will likely improve over the next 5 years, but there seems to be no reason to delay gratification, in my view. Not a hint of premox in this bottle.

Weak, unripe and dull. While it is modern, clean and reasonably vibrant in the mouth, the wine speaks nothing of its varietal and is mono dimensional.

Nice example of a well-constructed 1998. Suave texture, reasonably good variety intensity and showing well at 18 years, in a very modern manner. New world in style, but there is some nuance and a lovely sense of layered complexity, which certainly adds interest. I can't really call this outstanding, but it is an excellent example of new world merlot.

Spectacular St. Emilion! Opulent, luscious, ripe, very structured, generous oak handling. The delicious plummy fruit almost comes across as a Pomerol to me. This has awesome complexity and a finish that just will not quit. Drinking at early to mid maturity at the moment. This will be a fascinating wine to follow - if you can keep your hands off of it!