Andrew Jefford | Dark, purple-black red. Full, savory, earthy fruits: blackcurrants with a gravelly fullness (or so it seems, though this may be autosuggestion) and milky poise. Attractively sweet-toned scents for the vintage. On the palate, by contrast, the fruit is much more driving, lean, and incisive than the aromas suggested, with high levels of acidity in cool-bladed, tongue-cleaving style. There is tannin as well, so the overall sense of structure is good—but no amount of aging will bring warmth to that cool, lean, saber-toothed core. (Authentically blackcurranty in that respect.) | 86

Michael Schuster | Red-fruit ripe and faintly gravelly to smell; medium-full, crisp in acidity, firmly dry in tannin; unyielding for the moment, with acidity dominant, but also some length, too. This will need time to mellow and harmonize, but as there is a nice depth of ripe fruit behind the frame, and a good length to finish, if you can give it time, at the right price, then why not? 2026–34+. | 87