SF | Near opaque, uncompromising for sure; dense evocative aromatics, the gamut of fruits and herbs successfully ran, maybe twice over, lovely soft (and not so soft) spice as a backdrop. Very complete mouthfeel, challenging because of its complexity but ultimately easy to navigate , such is the structural symmetry in play . Plenty of tannic vigour and room to grow, more perhaps than in warmer, more immediately seductive vintages, but let us not forget that 2019 was fundamentally warm, certainly in terms of a thirty year average, but that the cool nights a the height of summer really did underwrite a benevolent complexity which is evidenced in the glass here. A great deal more to give here.... 97
AJ | Dark, dense black red though not saturated or opaque. Pure, billowing, sweet-scented plum, blackcurrant and cherry. There is something deeper, richer and more secondary beneath -- citrus peels, beaten cream and fresh game -- but these are very subtle notes, so that you almost seem to imagine them, like a quiet conversation beneath a musical line. Ineffably classy, as this wine always seems to be, and a part of that classiness is precisely the understatement that enables you to imagine and emote your way into the wine's personality. On the palate, it is silky yet ample, aroma-haunted, both rich yet fresh, and lent gravitas by a sense of stone or rock lurking below all of that sumptuous fruit. Quite a dark streak to it this year, too; almost a smokiness. Lovely composition, as always.Drink Dates: 2025 - 2040. 96
MS | On the nose, that subtle, seductive oak ‘vanilla-cream’ and blackberry Merlot combination, dense, primary, mineral, closed; rich, ample, generous proportions, beautifully freshly defined in its acidity, and beautifully fine in its tannin too – a gloriously complete and effortless balance; deep, sweet, fleshy, but dense and complex beyond this immediate charm, very long across the palate, full of gently mesmerizing inner energy, with a superfine tannin sap, and with terrific length to finish. About as fine and complete as it can be.Drink Dates: 2035 - 2060. 98