Simon Field | Purple-black, saturated, and near opaque. An almost charming (despite its intensity) nose of ripe cassis fruit, myrtle, camphor, and briary, the dappled sun warming expectation. Powerful and elegant, savory notes allied to herbs, figs, and sous-bois. The muscular texture defies any expectation of placing ripe fruit in the ascendant, but ripe fruit there is aplenty, and overall, the structure enchants with its powerful potential and its gastronomic possibilities. | 93

Andrew Jefford | Dense, midnight-black, out to a purple rim. Lots of ultra-ripe fruit on the nose: The plums have a fig-like sweetness here, though this is not unattractive, and there is some summer acorn and oak-copse finesse, too. In the mouth, this is clearly a wine of the highest ambitions, very deep and dense, with exactly the same ultra-ripe fruit on the palate that we found on the nose, and commensurate concentration. It is very good, and I’d enjoy drinking it a lot. I can’t help wondering what the same beautifully tended vines would have delivered with slightly more freshness of fruit and less oak—but this is to carp. Kick back and enjoy. I must point out that there is also some squeezy sloe acidity that keeps everything shipshape and, despite the ripe flavors, fresh, too. Voluptuous tannins add to the pleasure, and the fruit isn’t in any way prune-like, wrinkled, or dry. Superb Cahors. | 95

Anthony Rose | Deep, ruby-purple, this is bright, youthful, and fragrant, and while initially showing some juicy dark cherry fruit, it becomes unexpectedly denser in texture, thanks to a degree of ripeness, concentration, and oak maturation. The density of tannin makes it serious and savory at the same time. This is a powerful, chunky red that definitely needs food—robust food, even—in the spectrum of game. | 92