Jesús Barquín: Pale yellow, slightly more intense than others. The last wine of the tasting is also the best: delicate and personal in unlikely balance. There is fruit, and there are notes of flower petals, as well as subtle autolysis and elegant undergrowth notes. It exudes finesse, but the final impression is mainly one of racy character. 96

Andrew Jefford: Still looks bright, fresh, and youthful. Quietly allusive rather than the huge wealth of aroma of some of the older wines, and this has lovely soft seaweedy, oyster, and seashore scents rather than the scents of the forest: remarkable aromatic freshness and subtlety for a 1997. Vivid, searching, deep, dense, pristine, lifted, poised, harmonious, balanced, and subtle: an absolutely remarkable Cava of great, enduring distinction. There are some of the seaweedy notes I caught on the aroma but also lots of dry grass and hay and crushed stone. A wonderful effort, and astonishingly youthful. 94

Andreas Larsson: Another surprisingly young color, just verging on light golden. The nose has some sous-bois and development with smoke and windfall but no oxidative notes; fine spices, tobacco, and wood appear as well. The palate is showing more roundness, it probably felt sweet when it was young but has dried out in a positive way, with good freshness and fine vinosity. A rather long finish. A really well-kept example—chapeau! 88