Stephen Brook: Opaque red. Lush, heady opulent nose, with a lot of toasty oak. Very concentrated, with powerful tannins, spicy and intense, with pronounced acidity. Though this is a touch effortful, it has real force and power. There’s an imperious quality to the wine that is most impressive, and it makes no attempt to be charming or winsome. Very long, grainy finish. Margaret River? 18

Andrew Jefford: Saturated black-red. Meaty, subtle, full, earthy; ripe black fruits backed by chocolate. Attractive and complex aromatic ensemble. Concentrated, but rather hard on the palate, with excessive acids clamping everything in place. Good tannins, however, and fine fruit definition and purity, with a kind of latent creamy sumptuousness behind. First-class raw materials, which cry out for a gentler, more attentive, but less forceful winemaking approach. A potentially outstanding wine of finely judged ripeness actually rendered overconcentrated, overly intense, and overly edgy in vinification. Margaret River. 14.5

Anthony Rose: Very dense color, shading to garnet; intriguing savory/sweet nose, quite meaty in character, with some Bovril stock lurking in there; some dark berry fruit on the palate; tense, bittersweet chocolate, a degree of chewiness of tannin, and an impression of dryness on the back palate. There is good fruit here, but it’s just a tad dry and charmless, with slightly tart acidity. Coonawarra? 15