Stephen Brook: Cloudy, which doesn’t inspire confidence from the outset. Muted pear-and-mango nose. Broad and concentrated but quite heavy, voluptuous, and creamy. There’s not enough acidity and zest to give it focus and drive. In fact, there is some acidity on the aftertaste, but it seems tacked on rather than integrated. The style isn’t buttery, but it’s streets away from modern Burgundian or Australian Chardonnay. Fairly short, with no precision, and rather boring 13

Alison Buchanan: This appears to be unfiltered, with a definite haze. The nose offers a blend of orchard and stone fruit, vanilla, and toast. The palate is agreeably and surprisingly fresh—though toasty—with resonances of perfume, layers of mocha, and pastry-shop richness. Hints of lemon grass and wild herbs lift the aromatics, reflected on the palate, which is creamy, rich, and silky, multilayered and long, though very hedonistic. Food-wise this would need something rather bold— rabbit, pork, or veal—since it would eclipse milder fish. Hot on the finish 17

Anthony Rose: Like the wine that went before it [Peter Michael Winery La Carrière 2007], this is cloudy to the eye and therefore not showing that well unless you’re expecting it. And like the previous wine, it also has a worked and crafted quality that seems to overwhelm the fruit. It’s very alcoholic—so much so that, with this level of mouth-burn, it’s hard to get your head around how you could finish and enjoy a whole bottle of this. Apart from that, I’m sure it’s a great wine 13