Andrew Jefford: Full lemon-gold. Buttery, soft, lactic, vaguely saline: the sea washing in and out of the sand on the shore. An interestingly different aroma, suggesting satisfactorily developed ripeness. Vanilla, pale tobacco, sliced white mushroom, late summer peach: lovely. Vivid, ripe, and rich on the palate, with fruit-saturated acidity providing ample but not excessive structuring force. This is softly expressed but concentrated Chardonnay, with some structure and a sense of finishing vinosity. I also get some sense of minerality and place-derived extract here. Glycerol, too—this has a mouth-coating central palate. Excellent wine; I’d love to drink it. A real sense of commanding presence here. 17.5

Jancis Robinson: Broad and racy. Evolved. Not much acidity. At its peak. Ripe pears. Fairly low acid. Slightly astringent. A bit of alcohol on the end. Drink 2009–12. 15.5

Anthony Rose: Pale lemon in color; this is quite exotic on the nose, with opulently sweet peach and honeyed characters, but a tad coarse and oaky on both nose and palate, a warm-climate fuzziness and coarseness kicking in here, with power and alcohol, too. 15