Medium ruby/garnet core. Spicy, rich slightly tobaccoey nose. Nicely mature, savoury palate. Cedar, blackcurranty fruit, some chewy tannins on the finish. Lacks a bit of depth but perfectly enjoyable.

Deeper, more youthful appearance. Slightly closed and brooding on the nose, comparatively youthful blackcurranty fruit, some slightly bloody notes. Very fruit forward still on the palate, more underlying concentration though with some chewy, but riper, tannins on the finish. Very good indeed.

Corked.

Very impressive - sweet red fruit, hints of tea, quite leafy, tea and spice on the palate, some fine tannin on the sweet, lingering finish. Quite classy and refined, very good/excellent.

Took to wine-pages off-line. Deep ruby, primary cassis dominated nose, not very showy but with good depth and a slightly tannic, savoury finish. Somewhat eclisped by the sleeker and distinctly moire youthful 1996.

Took to Wine-pages 95/96 Cru-Bourgeois Off-line. No formal note, but this shone. Youthul cassis dominated nose, some leafy complexity. Sleek and quite sophisticated, sweet palate, rich with good concentration and slightly beefy black fruits. Still quite youthful with a well balanced, lingering, savoury finish. Plenty more to come with this - my WOTN.

Distinctly agricultural, open and slightly bloody nose. Fruitier on the palate, tannins seem integrated on mid-palate but slightly edgy on the finish. Still interesting, complex and very good +.

This really impressed with its deep, complex slightly beefy nose, deep, rich, smooth palate, and long well-balanced, slightly savoury finish. Just behind the 96 Poujeaux for WOTN, with a good future ahead of it. A bargain at its current market price.

Good, honest, fruity claret nose. On the palate this has dark, slightly beefy fruit, reasonable concentration on the mid-palate but is dry and short on the finish. A marked step down from the previous flight.

Slightly more concentrated and ripe than the 95, but still a bit tannic, short and bitter on the finish.

For me the best wine of what was admittedly a slightly disappointing flight. Slightly riper cassis fruit on the nose and palate, with an attractive lingering spicy finish. Very good.

Corked.

This had an interesting complex nose, spicy, leafy with a touch of meat, but after the initial attack was really disappointing on the palate, falling away alarmingly quickly into a short, green, tannic finish.

Mature, bovrilly nose. Mature, attractive if a little light on the palate. Quite supple and tasty but not very long. Drink now.

Dense garnet appearance. Interesting and quite complex nose, licquorice, gamey, even slightly burgundian. Similar flavours on the palate, reasonable intensity but a little short and tannic on the finish. May still improve, but for the moment no better than very good.

Noticeably deeper than the 95. Darker and more svelte, relatively classy. Younger and more fruity on the palate, cassis dominating, reasonable length quite succulent finish. Should improve.

Corked!