Michel Bettane: Black color; curious intense nose reminiscent of rubber, due certainly to the oak; intense but dry, lacking real flesh; difficult to rate and understand at this point of development. 16

Thierry Desseauve: This bottle is off: rubber smells, dryness, intense but stressed. Wait and come back in 3–5 years. NS

Michael Schuster: Dense, ripe, faintly raisiny, and slightly woody to smell; smells of very late picking; strong, tannic, raisiny wine, where the texture overwhelms the fruit; dry, astringent, tannic; feels as though the texture will always be too dry for even the mass of fruit there is. A tough prospect for a long time! Will it ever be “ready”? 16.5