Andrew Jefford: Clear dark red, with a walnut cast to the edges. Fresher and more vivid than the rest of its flight, with a sense of tobacco and earth and even distant woodsmoke over dark, humid, unfocused sweetness; no raisins here, and no Christmas spice either. Singular, provocative, a step or two toward profundity. Rich, dense, and almost meaty (thus savory-sweet) on the palate, with more energy and thrust than the rest of its small flight; evident tannins, too, to give the wine plenty of central-palate texture. Muscle and flesh, here, and some dark, rustic grandeur. A little pointing acidity, but most of the balance comes from its slow inner fire, its modulated fruit, and its tannic and extractive presence. Nonetheless, in the context of this tasting, I suspect that this will be one of the lighter wines. A real success 15

Richard Mayson: Mid-deep garnet center, with a broad tawny rim; rich, slightly baked tawny character; “Douro bake,” but not from the Douro? There is some richness and finesse here, though; very sweet and rather cooked in style on the palate, with rather rustic dusty tannins lingering on to a rather burned finish. A wine to respect that just falls short 13.5 Jancis Robinson: Bright ruby, with a tawny rim. Rancio nose but smells very healthy and appetizing. Lovely sweet mellow fruit on the palate. Tangy finish that is dry on the very end— really appetizing! Yes, round and sweet, too. I should imagine this will have a very long life. Drink 2008–30 18. :