Nicolas Belfrage: Mid-depth, bright. Spicy Christmas-cake nose. Firm structure in mouth, acid on the high side (good for aging), tannins firm but ripe. Plenty of sweet Porty fruit on the finish, good length. Not yet fully knit but heading in the right directions. 16.5

Andrew Jefford: Clear but deep black-red in hue. Soft, creamy, earthy, truffley: a very sexy nose for hereabouts. On the palate, this is a terrific wine: much softer than many, but effortlessly muscular too: The tannins are purring and panther-like, and they carry a great weight of roaring fruit on them. As so often, there is the flavor pause after the fruit has struck its opening chords and before all the textural matter and the delicious warm alcohol arrives, but the fruit warmth carries very well through that pause and gives the wine a great sense of amplitude and harmony. There are perfumes, too, playing about the finish—violet and rue and what-have-you. A touch grippy at the very end. Admirable work. 17

Franco Ziliani: Dark color, too dark and concentrated. Very ripe fruity notes, cherries, plum, blackcurrant, with some chocolate, coffee, and toasty notes. Rich, full-bodied, has a good but not special structure and no great complexity or balance. Lacks harmony and finesse, and the finish is slightly bitter and dry. 15