Tim Atkin: Black opaque color. Super-dense, some reduction, with some dead-fruit characters. Tannic, dry, Porty, with masses of oak. Impressive but hard to drink. Trophy wine? Lacks subtlety. But jammy finish. 14

Jesús Barquín: Deep cherry. Reduced, needing lots of air to express itself. Toasty, with smoky notes. Showing finesse on the palate, long and expressive. Serious and well made. 16

Alex Hunt: Very unusual nose in this lineup. Much more on the reductive side than the oxidative, a factor that masks considerable depth. This has a blackberry-and-apple freshness to it that occurs nowhere else among the 2005s. The palate is built on a grand scale and yet resists the temptation of overextraction. Oak is generally well behaved, too, though there is a slightly resinous quality on the finish. There is some nifty winemaking here, providing muscle without steroids. 17