Beautiful deep golden amber color. Complex nose of petrol, caramel, exotic spice. Dense and heavy on the palate, mouthcoating succulence and sweet with soaring lemon juice acidity. Elements of apple and pear essence mingling with nice minerality on the finish. Just a lovely wine to start (and finish) with. This got better with time. 93-94.

TCA

A little shy on the nose with some red fruits and leather peeking through. Some noticeable oak in this youthful and typical Sangiovese. 87-88 pts.

Double decanted and aired throughout the night. This seemed wound up tight and didn't display much intrigue. Some earthiness, sour cherry, tannins, but not much else. Very disappointing, nobody guessed the region or variety, Bordeaux was suggested. My contribution. Heat damaged? This was not on. No score.

Dark and billowing bouquet of currant, menthol, camphor, perfume, flowers, licorice. Fairly tight but opening with some air, this was a truly fabulous bottle of wine. Stunning spiciness, earth, herbs, minerals. The nose and palate were absolutely layered with nuance and character. Something new to discover each time I went back for a sniff. Some guessed Cab, Syrah, Grenache. I guessed Priorat, suspected it might be an Erasmus.

Plum, grape, strawberry jamminess unusual for Nebbiolo. Sharpie marker, charcoal...very atypical. Flat finish. Over the hill? Heat damaged? No score.

Light, transparent, mature coloration. Surprisingly alive with a complex nose of cedar, vegetables, unusual spice. Virtually no fruit left but nice secondary characters. A fun glimpse into the ageability of nice Rioja. A little flat but really quite beautiful. 91?

Raisin, currant, dried fruit nose. More on the palate. Dense, concentrated, but approachable. Nice wine.

Dark purple, young appearance. Sweet berry fruit, bright flowers, and wood on the nose. Youthful and primary, this immediately stood out as Malbec to me. Well executed but too sweet and a little shy in the complexity. Maybe see you in a few years...

Distinct green olive on the nose with some herbs, spice, currant, licorice. Sweet, round, plummy fruit in the mouth. I thought New world Cab/Shiraz blend, others guessed Grenache. Nicely done Chilean Cab, very approachable.

I picked up raisins, smoke, cherry, earth. Elegant tannins, long finish, a bit of a floral element, big acidity going on. I guessed something else, ashamed I missed this one. Doesn't have the pronounced rose/tar that would've given it away to me. Nicely aged but still gripping pretty tightly

Impenetrable inky purple, almost black. Huge elegant fruit. Sweet, ripe, rich, berry, plum, chocolate truffle. Like a Mollydooker Shiraz that isn't stupidly overdone. Great balance. I guessed Aglianico, someone else guessed right bank Bordeaux so we were almost not shocked to find out it was 100% Campania Merlot. Apparently from vines planted in 1802. I've never loved Merlot before, simply staggering. 94+ pts.