Served from magnum. Very welcome start to proceedings. Seemed to fall between two stools perhaps - not a mouth filling plush style, neither angular and challenging. As one fellow diner said - "anyone would like this champagne".

Oh yeah. Such great stuff. Started off - almost flabby - but as it opened up to the air became really special. Such a great wine - and thank you A for bringing it.

Third vintage of this i've tasted - this is closer to the Rioja meets S Rhone of the 2013 than the light florality of the 2016. The viura / macabeu is very evident and this has a sense of being close to a non oxidative rioja. It struggled to express itself when sat alongside the glorious Gravonia, and I feel this was a little unfair to the Soula, which is a lovely wine in its own right. Will certainly look for again.

On opening, and in the company, it honestly felt a bit flabby and dull - all fruit and oak. With some air and time however, started to really come together, and had some backbone behind it. The last sip was most certainly the best.

Backup bottle popped and poured after a painful TCA incident. This is just lovely - well put together claret. I don't think i would have called it as a right banker blind, but there it was. Really delicious.

At the start this was the clear winner of the Syrah flight. It had been double decanted around 7:30 am and it showed - super fragrant, almost punched you in the nose, and a whiff of that cornas zing that sends shivers down your spine. There was some discussion that it maybe started to fall apart over time in the glass - I don't believe it did, but rather the other Syrahs, having not been given the double-deek treatment, started to unfurl and reveal their true colours.

Started off a little muted, especially when compared to the other wines at the table. As it got the chance to get some air, however, it became - close to majestic. Blood and iron, a whiff of bacon fat and campfire smoke perhaps, with that bracing core of acidity that keeps it all together. Surely ready to drink now, but will go for a long time. Lovely bottle.

Even in such august company, this showed well. A little more technicolor than the Cornas, a little more exuberant, but not painfully so. Decent new world Syrah - certainly compared well with some of the (probably much spendier) Californian versions I've tried.