Jesús Barquín: Especially deep color. Concentrated nose of meat stew, smoke. Aggressive tannin and notes of tobacco. I have the feeling that this wine lacks the balance to ever integrate harmoniously, but of course such impressions are often dangerous. 13.5

Nicolas Belfrage: Black, totally opaque. Wild cherry and root vegetable on nose. Massive concentration, like drinking a food rather than a liquid. Perhaps overextracted, even for the style. Mighty tannins, firm acidity, tons of fruit, but not much joy right now. Needs lots of time. 17

Andrew Jefford: Saturated dense black-red: still very deep in color. Rather resiny and waxy in aroma at this stage; aromatically it is very present but slightly disconcerting, like a shrunken head. Wow: What a difficult wine to judge! You take a sip, and it is obviously hugely concentrated, dramatic, and intense. All the flavor threads are tightly gathered; these are first-class raw materials, very lingeringly and lovingly fermented. There are massive, astonishingly grippy tannins. There is inner force and fire. It is a show-stopper. But do you want the show stopped? Where is the charm, the life, the seduction? Is this not the wine of a maniac? I would truly enjoy sipping this wine and trying to unpick all its nuances, but it is taking concentration and density out to the nth degree, and as a consequence it is hardly “drinkable” or “classic.” Nonetheless, it is a monumental, no-holds-barred synopsis of its place—and as such, it is awesome. My score is troubled, but I can hardly give a wine like this fewer marks. 18