Simon Field: Pleasing, dignified colour. Nose of coffee and iron, and a delicate perfume lurks beneath. The palate has a little youthful greenness that may cede. Beyond that, there is persistence and quite a forthright intensity on the palate. Make-up not quite fully resolved, but it would be interesting to follow its development. 16

Andrew Jefford: with much better depth than the weaklings in this flight, this wine has lots of black among the red. Savoury, earthy, touches of coal and charcoal, with deep spicy fruits: impressive, well-constructed aromas. Rich-textured, lush, almost salty flavours, with big piles of fruit heaped up one upon the other and a real warm brandied base beneath. Big, welcoming and extravagant, the kind of style I tend to think of as Graham’s but this wouldn’t dishonour any leading shipper, and in the bordello of '85 it is very definitely a good deed. Lovely, exuberant, extravagant Vintage Port for the mid-term. 18

Richard Mayson: Good deep centre, thin purple/ruby rim. Cooked fruit on the nose with a green backdrop, not very attractive. Hot and coarse - the fruit tastes stewed and extracted. Some structure but a coarse finish follows. Unbalanced and overextracted. 10.5