Tim Atkin : Black, deep, brooding colour. Still very youthful. High-toned, very expressive nose bursting with fruit and not occluded by oak. Rich and textured, with grainy, well-handled tannins, good balancing acidity and com paratively subtle oak usage. The berry/cassis fruit sings on the palate, and the wine is long and attractive on the finish, despite its youth. It should continue to develop for 5-10 years. 16.5

Oz Clarke: Fairly deep, dark, fresh red. The nose is rich but closed. On the palate, another dark, rich red. Closed, well balanced, with restraint and dark fruit. But there’s a sense of place here and a touch of perfume - even a promise of a little cedar and savoury oak. The tannin is fairly chewy but ripe, and so, in 6-8 years, this will peak very well. Later, quite good, deep, syrupy black cherry. The balance between acid, tannin, fruit and oak is better here. 17.5

Michael Schuster: Deep, youthful purple; closed nose, but blackberry, cassis and fine-oak vanilla; concentrated, fairly full-bodied wine with a firm acidity and firm, fine tannin; intense ripe blackcurrant fruit flavour, moderated complexity, slightly intrusive acidity at present - good medium length. 15