Essi Avellan: Medium-deep lemon. Nose is slightly lifted; strong, oak-lined, and spicy. Vanilla and baked apple. Full-bodied, beautifully intense and driven. Fine acid line and long length. Great structure, but the oak and oxidation are too prominent. Has capacity to age. Ambitious, but some finesse is masked by the oak. 15.5

Andrew Jefford: Pale to mid-gold; steady mousse. Apple, pear, and tangerine scents: frank, firm, a little flat. A rather raw, acrid palate, alas, without any of the diagnostic Champagne finesse; apple-core finish. 11.5

Tom Stevenson: Distinctly oaky aromas, aldehydic-oxidative aromas build in mouth and develop through to finish. Good energetic mousse. Just too oaky. Fine for lovers of 4x2, but chunky and lacks balance. Drink; do not keep. 14