Alex Hunt: Lots of toasty oak on the nose here. Only the palate will be allowed to reveal the fruit at this point—and unfortunately the palate is not only overextracted but dominated flavor-wise by this rather mawkish clove/violet-crème oak. The winemaking shows shockingly low confidence in the potential of the fruit. 81

Andrew Jefford: Deep, dark black-red-purple. Fine pure blackcurrant notes here: very clean and fresh, cleansed by pure spices. A scent of great allure and charm. Deep, gutsy, firm, vivid, and searching—definitely a Côte de Py to set aside for a year or two, but one with much in reserve. Concentrated, dramatic, and authoritative, with a vivid core of black fruits, very generous tannins, and a structured, brisk, firm, colonel-like style. Evident ambition here; superb. 94

Peter Liem: This is dominated by its wood, feeling refined in texture and tone yet unnecessarily oaky. It’s a pity, as there’s probably an expressive wine underneath this. 85