Simon Field | Chinese ink color; suitably hard to read. A nose of scrub, camphor, Everton mint, and angelica root. There is dark fruit, too, more than a footnote. A distinct basso profondo style, the modest descant of spritz a function of youth and careful husbandry rather than an attempt to bivalve the ensemble. Dark fruit on the palate, too, rigorous but not overweening tannins; intimations of ripeness and softly spoken power. Eloquence abounds, and the message will linger long in the memory. | 92

Andrew Jefford | Dark, black-red. Aromatically exuberant but unusual, too, with some sweet bacon and leather upholstery scents. Zesty and stylish on the palate, in soprano style, with ample acid energy. | 89

Anthony Rose | Mid-ruby, showing some evolution at this early juncture, this smells fresh and there’s a hint of spice, but otherwise it’s little hard to find the fruit. To be fair, there is some appealing ripeness of fruit when you taste, the texture is juicy and accessible, and the oak, if there is any, well enough integrated. But it lacks a bit of oomph, to use a technical term, about doing just what it says on the tin. | 87