Simon Field: A big brooding nose, wide screen, panoramic, the detail apparently not sought and not found. Quite a burn on the palate, but this should not detract from the quality of fruit and its resonance. The tannins are firm and finely wrought, taking all before them, a surge of powerful and impulsive self-belief; the structure behind is far from academic, its salty poise essentially fragile, maybe even a little leafy—anathema in this of all years, perhaps. | 87

Andrew Jefford: Dark black-red, and still opaque, though no purple remains. Earthy, spicy, and urgent, with a sense of warmth and fire licking around the purple fruits; some finer spices, too. Glorious lifted perfumed sweetness. Powerfully aromatic and enticing, though solar. Deep, rich, searching, and palate-scouring; another heavyweight 2003, which just about busts the scale in terms of sugar and tannin but where any acidity and freshness (even non-analytical, inscribed in the fruit) has long since left the party. You have to take it seriously, though, and it’s going to stick around. And around. In its own style, it is in fact astonishingly good: a huge accumulation of wine energy, with the photons obviously steaming through it. Such a special vintage. Don’t miss it! | 92

Richard Mayson: Good deep color, youthful hue. Still withdrawn on the nose but with depth and richness underlying, more to give. Firm, tight-knit, and tannic, seemingly without much flesh on the tannic bones at this stage. Firm, rather lean, tannic length. Needs time. 2025–50+. | 88