Tim Atkin : Youthful, opaque, black/purple. Very little colour development. Nose oxidised. Palate shows evidence of good fruit. Second bottle reduced and slightly savoury/Bretty. Two bottles - different faults. 11

Oz Clarke: Fairly deep red, hint of age. On the nose, rather rich and oxidised. The palate is better. It’s not a bad drink, but disappointingly oxidised. But I’m not talking heavy, brown, maderisation-oxidation. I’m talking a disappointing bruise on the face of some very good fruit. In scientific terms, what is it? Acetaldehyde? Maybe. But that is easy to deal with for a competent winemaker. Is the fruit itself oxidised? I don’t think so. In fact, I think the fruit seems to be extremely good, and in the right hands this could be a 17.5 wine. So what’s to be done. Well, despite there being a fault on this wine, it is a good drink. I'd happily drink the bottle with my friends. I wish it weren't oxidised but the wine isn't dead - it’s a full, plummy, herb-scented, ripe and interesting wine from grapes that should have been treated better. 16