Simon Field | Midnight-black at the core, only a modest fade thereafter. The nose has a leathery farmyard-like character, quite lifted and potent: cassis and ripe blueberry, gâteau and soft spice, a hint of cardamom. The wood sits on the palate, and there is just a hint of spritz, which may betray a delayed malolactic fermentation, or maybe an excess of rigor with the blanketing gases. | 85

Andrew Jefford | Dense, deep black-red. Lively though a little grassy and herbaceous—it’s always a narrow line between freshness and leafiness. Indeed, in this cohort of wines, it is attractive rather than spoiling, adding a little aromatic intricacy that is lacking from the run of its peers. And we mustn’t forget, too, that tea leaf is a classic Malbec indicator (as it is for Touriga Nacional). For all that, this is just a little bit close, warm, and fermentative—like damp hay or grass clippings set aside for compost. Hugely acidic and tomato-like on the palate. An odd wine that I would struggle to drink, much as I was hoping for good things from the promise of the aromatic profile. | 81

Anthony Rose | Starting to evolve in the glass, with a slight maturing brownness at the rim, this is evolving in aroma, too. There’s a slightly unnerving spritz on the tongue before flavors of blackcurrant and mulberry kick in, which are then eaten by a whack of dry tannin, all slightly shortening the flavors. | 86