SF | Burnished walnut color, lignified, discreet, still deeply pigmented after all these years. oxygen held in check somehow. How? Quality of oak… intensity of fruit… the clarion call of piercing acidity... the gentle tannic balustrade…? All of the above, surely, all reverberating to the sound of a finely tuned nonagenarian who refuses to leave the dance floor. Composed and lucid; energetic and focused. Be prepared for a testing discussion, if you take on this one. 95
AJ | Back to the ebony, here; dark, glinting, and brooding. The nose is almost oily, smooth with the grease of the years, though there is treacle and syrup of raisins beneath to lend it dimension and depth of field. Impressive and... old! On the palate, it is very sweet, very acid, very concentrated and scouring, laden with sugars and extract, very everything, truly an essence from a dark decade. I feel guilty spitting; this should only be swallowed: the preciousness of these messages from the past. Critically speaking, perhaps the most useful thing to say here is that anyone who procures a bottle and opens it with her or his oldest friends, will not be disappointed; it is riveting, spellbinding stuff. 2024–34. 96
RM | Mid-deep mahogany, with a thin green glint on the rim; distinctly lifted, high-toned but totally under control, with a gentle vinagrinho, balsamic richness and a crystalized fruit character on both the nose and the palate. Glorious richness and concentration, stopping just short of unctuousness, bitter-sweet in its depth and intensity, with a finish that goes on for ever. Remarkable wine that leaves one with a sense of wonder given its age and evolution. 99