Simon Field: Dense youthful colour, the cardinal’s robes with coat-tails of ruby. Vinous, almost resinous, but not entirely in balance on the nose. The palate is better, solid, quite complex, sweetness slightly suppressed as yet but may reveal itself with time. Breeding will out... possibly. Too close to call. 16

Andrew Jefford: A huge contrast to the '85 Delaforce, with deep, dark, sombre black colours. Lovely fresh cherry and plum aromas: pure fruit here at this stage, and lashings of it - a vivid, plunging, serenely fruity mouthful. Absolutely gorgeous fruited style, rich and lush - a real fruitcake wine. Not massive or dense tannins, and not a grippy or austere style, but there is so much here to enjoy that one doesn’t really miss all the more masochistic elements in Vintage Port. Hedonists drop anchor here! (When you taste a wine like this, you cannot help weeping that so many of the others screwed up 1985 somehow or other...) 18

Richard Mayson: Very deep, opaque centre, with a purple rim. Closed on the nose - withdrawn and sullen, going through the doldrums - but with underlying breed. It needs time to open. Big, broad and brooding, with rich voluptuous fruit. Very characteristic of a good 1985, with a powerful, explosive finish. It needs time: it will develop for another 50 years! 17