A fairly elegant nose. Quite attractive. It has some of the overtones of a fino sherry. Dry and clean. Not bad.

A much sweeter nose and much, much more sweet on the palate. OK-ish.

Bottled (filtered) in 2002. A rather subdued nose with a bit of spirit. Soft, rather sweet attack. There is a touch of tannins, followed by a bit of spirit on the finish. 1996 LBVs continue to fail to impress. Good.

This has a nice nose, with some violets and dark plums. Good, clean flavours and not too sweet. Nice round flavours and a good fruit character. Good finish. Very Good (+)

A lovely colour - like a pale ruby . A nice nose too, with fairly fresh fruit and some oxidation and nuttiness developing. Good attack with nice fruit immediately evident. A bit spirity on the middle, and the spirit unfortunately becomes just a little too dominant on the finish. Good+

There's remarkably little difference in colour between this and the preceding 10 year old tawny. A good fruitcake nose with a hint of molasses. Very good attack. This has a very nice balance of fresh and dry fruit, some oxidised notes and nuttiness on the palate. Again, there's a bit of spirit on the finish, but this time, it's in check. Very Good/Very Good Indeed.

(Bottled 2003) A lovely polished oak colour. The nose is slightly dull, and I wonder if this bottle might possibly be a bit dried out from being open a while (it was a bottle open for general tastings in the Graham's lodge). Actually, it's very nutty on the nose. Smooth, fruit-cake flavours, and perhaps a bit cloying. But very enjoyable. Very Good Indeed.

(Bottled 2003) This was a much darker colour than the 30-year old, as would be expected: tawnies leech colour out into the wood for the first 10, 20, 30 years, but after about 40 years in barrel, the colour leeches back into the wine. The nose is much richer, with more wood and complex dried fruit and nuts. Marvellously complex and mouthfilling. There is some good fruit that appears in the mouth, though the wine finishes with a slightly tart, rich fruitcake.