Simon Field | Dense dark color; black at the mizzen; then a rather eggy nose, maybe a touch of hydrogen sulfide. Not irredeemable, one hopes, though the ingression of air only provides modest respite. The palate is a little clumsy today, a cubist disjoint, an accident waiting to happen—or a slow-burn beauty. The former, maybe, but let’s see. | 86

Andrew Jefford | Saturated, deep red-black and still opaque at the core. Reduced aromas, alas, that don’t retreat with vigorous swirling; let’s wait awhile. They are still in evidence ten minutes later—a great shame. Perhaps the full decant would resolve matters, but it is unfortunate that the wine has been bottled in this state. On the palate, it is deep-contoured and sweet- fruited, though not as concentrated as some, and the reductive aromatics don’t compromise the palate, so it offers in fact good drinking. But the reduction robs this otherwise deep and exciting wine of the high score it might otherwise merit. | 89

Anthony Rose | This is quite dense in color, a saturated, youthful ruby. And at this stage of its life, it’s reduced in aroma, making it of course quite hard to love now. The fruit itself is concentrated and quite firm and grippy, less troubled by the reduction, but if your first smell is of reduction, it’s not going to encourage you to want to continue with it. I would otherwise score it higher but can’t really recommend it in its current state. | 86