Stephen Brook: Very deep red. Very fresh cherry nose, hedonistic, with some Oriental spice, but it doesn’t come over as especially intense. Soft and plump, with considerable weight though less finesse than, say, Trotanoy. Full and fruity, with ripe tannins, but I don’t sense a great deal of personality. Sound, with no rough edges, but it lacks some flair. Adequate but not exceptional length. 15.5

Andrew Jefford: Deep, full black-red. Broad, fresh, warm, lively: combines the exuberance of spice with a lively spectrum of fruits (nectarine and peach as well as cherry and plum) and an appealingly subtle vanillic undertow. Aromatically rangy and complete. Amply textured, deeply fruited, full, and spicy: a résumé of the aromatic profile, in sum. Balanced and carefully crafted, though without the penetration and persistence of the leonine summer. A mid-term treat—even a little fruit perfume lifting the finish, too, which is unusual this year. The tannins are more firmly stated than some of its Pomerol peers, but they are sylph-like by comparison with much else on the market from other world regions. Despite those tannins, there is a little less textural density than the Trotanoy. 16.5