Blind. Mag. Light straw, really very pale. Quite a full, floral and quite rich nose, almost a sense of oak. Really quite full on the palate too. Nicely poised. Opening nicely but with time to go. ****

Quite rich initially, a touch of spearmint. Classic Graves palate with some tobacco and gravel. Refreshing attack, some width but light and relatively short on the finish though there’s an underlying persistence that carries through. A lingering quality. ****

Quite dense and savoury. Some licorice. Dark. Savoury. A little bitter in the middle. Opens and rounds with air but I preferred this a decade ago.***

Somewhat muddy on the nose, though better in the palate. Quite dry though does open nicely. A touch agricultural but the Brett does add some complexity. Not as bright or as pure as previous bottles. ***1/2

Rich but cool fruit. Very harmonious on the palate. Mid palate richness with a hint of Madeira cake that’s kept nicely in line. ****

Very creamy, milk chocolate on the nose. More composed and focused on the palate. A touch savoury on the finish with some licorice. A nice line between padding and focus. Lovely balance. A touch of smoke. ****

Served a little cooler. A touch of mocha but good grip and focus. Really quite poised. More savoury and tighter on the mid palate. Not quite the flair and expressiveness of previous bottles. ****

A little mute and flat on the nose. A touch diffuse and soft on the mid palate. Enjoyable and easy going but underpowered in the context of chateau and vintage. Consistent with previous bottles. ***1/2

This is a step up from previous bottles. Cool, slightly minty nose.relatively compact on the attack. A touch of salinity too. Opens to a nicely fragrant expansive note. Quite charming for the normally quite stolid 90 LB. ****

A little more poise initially than I remember from my half bottles. Very rounded and giving. An atypically comely style of LLC. Still, a nicely mineral line develops with air. Showing well. ****

Bottle 1, a touch of smoke damage. Very flat on the nose. Similar on the palate initially. Compressed and monolithic.a pinch of spearmint on the finish with gingerbread on the nose, tempered by pine sap. A little mote open and interesting cf bottle 2, though I think the majority view was the other way round. ****

Bottle 2. Not dissimilar on the nose, though perhaps a little more giving initially. A rubbery top note emerges though that’s hard to get past. It does open nicely without shedding its dense ness, but there are signs of it starting to give. Cool and composed and still a little surly with that lingering sense of rubber. ****

Quite dense and surly on the nos ei itially, but opening up. Dense and savoury, quite minerally and almost a little tarry. There’s a lot here but it’s commanding respect rather than garnering love. ****

Dense and quite deep barley sugar colour. Deepest amber. Similar barley sugar nose with a touch of burnt caramel. A slightly over singed crèche brûlée element here. Very evolved and medicinal. In terminal decline. (**)1/2

Similar to the Guiraud in that it’s an over evolved deepest amber barley sugar colour, with a nose to match. Just a bit kore freshness on the palate though, albeit relatively. Too evolved for what it is and not a patch on the 88. ***