Tim Atkin : Deep colour for a 1996. Still opaque purple with brick notes. Big, ripe, alcoholic, quite Porty style with lots of oak, tannin and extraction. Alm ost too much of a good thing. Finishes dry and slightly burnt. Overalcoholic. 14

Oz Clarke: Good, mid-deep red. On the nose, much richer, grapier, touch of raisin. Good. On the palate, also good. It’s full and rich, mixing dark black plums withatouch of almond and mint. Deep, rather ’Italian’ mix of black, unforthcoming fruit and black-chocolate bitter tannins. It’s good and deep and I feel it still needs five years to flower. Or will it ever? I think it will, because cased inside this fairly dark carapace there is an unexpectedly mellow fruit sweetness, which, with a little bit of luck, will be unlocked by a few more years. 17

Michael Schuster: Youthful black-red; intense blackcurrant; sweet oak, touch of brown sugar to smell; rich, ripe fleshy fruit framed by a dry wood tannin and an edgy added acidity; winemaking (added acid especially and oak tannin) mars a good-quality fruit. 15