Simon Field | Attractive nose of graphite and mature fruit, with a ferrous backdrop and a savory kick. The palate is quite severe and the acidity somewhat foursquare, with tannins head to head in definitively and probably terminally unresolved combat. | 87

Andrew Jefford | Clear, deep black-red. Firm, gruff scents, with some grassiness but a little tarry richness and slabby clay, too. Light, lively, and fresh, but there is some hollowness here, too; the fruit isn’t particularly dense or concentrated. Nonetheless, stylistically this is very well-managed, and it would make an enjoyable and now mature glass of Saumur-Champigny. | 84

Charles Metcalfe | This is a very successful red from a difficult, rainy year. It has light, savory, evolved aromas, but the fruit has held up, and the overall impression is of a pleasant, evolved, lightish- weight red. Tannins are gently supportive, and extraction has not been overdone. Finish is savory, with meaty notes. Good wine from a tricky year. Drink soon. | 89