Michael Schuster: Very dark, narrow-rimmed black/ purple; remarkably youthful in appearance at nearly two decades of age; soft and rich to smell, with a very ripe, juicy blackberry fruit alongside the minerals and black pepper, a fine early bouquet; fairly full and richly fruity, still with a firm sinew of tannin; very sweet, with a strong, warm, juicy fruit presence and good, fragrant length; the overall impression, though, is one of mass, of bulk, rather than of complexity or refinement; surprisingly youthful and raw at 18 years— and likely always to be so, I suspect. This is an abundantly fruity but still rustic and rather plain expression of the terroir by comparison with the wines from the end of the decade onward. Now to 2021+ (January 2009). 15.5