Alison Buchanan: Lovely yellow–gold in color, this has a beautiful, if rather decadent, nose, degraded and rather lovely. The palate is seductive and now challenging. Is it holding? Yes…but for people who like to hold such wines and show them to friends, certainly not for the average restaurant. Pure, mineral stunning. 16

Alex Hunt: Though developed, this has an invigorating whiff of oyster shell about it. Still very lively acidity, but the centre is sagging. Starting to tire. 12

Andrew Jefford: Full gold. Very herbal, hoppy and hawthorne–like, like an old–style white Hermitage or a pre–1995 Coulée de Serrant. I quite like it, but it wouldn’t stand much chance on an Australian tasting bench. Intense and rousingly acidic. The balance of still Champagne, in other words, though the greenness of Sauvignon is still evident. An old lady now. 12