Jesús Barquín: Modern nose of ripe cherry, toasty notes, cinnamon, a hint of tobacco. The palate is truly hostile: seriously drying tannins and just an appealing note of tobacco that does not make up for this tannic aggression. 12

Nicolas Belfrage: Opaque. Nicely stated brambly fruit on nose. Creamy blackcurranty character. Nicely balanced acidity and tannins in place. Finishes well; will last. 16

Andrew Jefford: Saturated, deep black-red. Warm, sweet, kinky-kirschy scents: lovely. Off you go to that distinctive Romeo-and-Juliet place. On the palate, this is arresting and masterful but very much in its own style; it has massive concentration, glycerol, fullness, and depth, and its flavor trace (which quickly leaves the black fruits for something more like wild mushrooms and spices) doesn’t have any of the fresh-fruit vividness and bright, shapely, lifted textural presence of some of the other top wines. Very secondary, in sum, without a lot of mid-palate core. But it’s a very serious, dense, extractive wine and would provide wonderful meditative sipping. I go back to it with a huge amount of pleasure. 18