168, 2012 base. Pale straw, young and vibrant. Some nascent toast coupled with a very young wine/winery note. Bright finish. Lots of acidity here without yet the weight to fully cover it. After a couple of hours some freshly cut apple comes in to ply. Currently this I bout raw potential. *(***) 91

156 (guessed from cork code). Full straw. Vinous. Rich and full. Toasty with a pinch of ginger. Vinous. Just a touch of caramel and the slightly oxidative. Full, long, rich and lovely though. ****(1/2)

162. Pale straw. Maturity coupled with youthful elegance. This really is the centre point between the two previous bottles. Gorgeous. Lots here. Energy, freshness and weighty richness. *****

Mid ruby. Lovely, fresh, lifted, stemmy nose.,wild strawberry. Just a hint of sous bois. Silky. More depth than last night’s 13 Santa Rita Hills. A touch of cranberry and rose petal. Long and lingering with a floaty character. *****

Seven years on from my last bottle of this and it’s stepped up a gear. Deep cherry. Hint of old-school Ramminet spearmint on the nose. Dark red fruit. Lots of energy. Cherry cut with cranberry on the finish. Long and positive finish, a touch of chalk adding some texture. *****

A big step up from a slightly ungainly and possibly corky bottle five years ago at Piccolino. Dark, lots of blackcurrant on the nose. A touch of spice too. Mellow cassis with a powdering of pencil lead on the attack. Some spice too. Nicely grippy. Opens up to a floral, violet scented nose. Lovely, and really quite serious. ****

Mellow. Floral fragrance. Just a touch of Va on the nose. Mid red fruit. A hint of astringency on the finish. Lighter and brighter than the Barton. Lovely freshness. Just not the richness or depth for top flight Palmer. ****

Dense ruby. A touch of cherry. Nicely rich on the nose, before and after the shake. An attractive blend of earthy Gevrey and red fruited Fourrier gloss. Needs a really good shake. Still a sense of reductive gloss. Some density here. Long and fresh. ****

A half from the usual source, this one qualitatively as good as the previous half but just a little lighter and fresher, more acidity over sweetness. Light to mid gold.Fresh. Beautifully balanced. So fresh but yet a lip smacking quality too. ****

Half. Gorgeous orange blossom and coconut nose. Nicely fresh. Just a touch of botrytis. ****