Jesús Barquín:Intense mahogany brown with an amber rim. It starts with marked tarry and vegetal aromas, a hint of clove and peppermint, then still expressive and zesty on the palate, with balanced sweetness, a beautifully complex finish of aromatic herbs, and a long aftertaste dominated by spiciness and becoming bitterness. 95

Andrew Jefford:Clear, burnished russet-walnut of dark hue within its peer group. Intensely aromatic and casky, with smoke, vanilla, raisin, and sweet moist vanilla behind. Dense and rich on the palate, with masterful concentration, but we are heading toward something a little medicinal now, and the bitter notes of age are beginning to get the upper hand, locked in tension with the wine’s intense sweetness. The result is very slightly stressful and somehow unsubtle to sample, whereas the “aged Tawny” ideal is one of sublime, aromatically refined gentleness. This is hugely impressive nonetheless. 90

Richard Mayson:Deep, dark for a 40 Year Old, with a red mahogany hue; lifted, a touch maderized and lacking in definition on the nose, verging on rustic in style; very sweet, rather overburdened by sweetness, demerara sugar, and a raisiny finish. Top-heavy with sweetness. 86