Tim Atkin : Youthful, dense, unyielding colour. Nose a little jammy, but lots of fruit. Palate quite commercial with sweet fruit characters and slightly confected oak. The wine's acidity is out of kilter with the rest of its elements. Finishes sweet and simple. 13

Oz Clarke: Fairly deep red, no age. It's got quite a deep nose but unfocused. Almost slightly irritating on the palate. I can see the sort of sweet black-cherry and blackcurrant juicy fruit I remember from wines like the old Vasse Felixes, but I see them through a veil of rather extractive tannins and a nut-husk flatness. I tend to think there is something not quite rig ht in the winery. There’s a sort of roughness, as though the winemaker had been in a surly mood when some sweet and winsome fruit had been delivered to his bower. And when the grapes should have been cherished and caressed they were jostled and bullied into the vats. So the wine isn’t bad but it could have been better. 15.5

Michael Schuster: Black-red; dense, high-toned, oaky nose; strong, tannic, robust, muscular wine; huge astringency dominates very ripe fruit, hot from the alcohol - forceful and potent - but difficult to see this ever being a pleasure at the table! 14.5