Simon Field | An attractive harvest gold. Floral aromatic; dried fruit; straw, quince, and a little verbena. Behind that, coconut oil to betray seriousness of intent; grape skin and a hint of gunpowder. An intriguing and enjoyable wine, its destiny hard to predict, but the runes are positive... | 93

Andrew Jefford | Deeply colored already: a lavish old-gold. Very Suduiraut, very visceral, very seductive. Not by dint of extravagant oozy fruit, lashing of oak or piles of Chantilly cream, but by contriving to suggest intimacy and physical engagement— something carnal, just sweetened and fruit- perfumed and bee-busied to the extent nature allows. Actually quite graceful and understated for the vintage, but very fine. Ah, yes, then, on to the tongue, and you suddenly discover that Suduiraut has given no quarter in the broil for sweetness and succulence this year. It’s not quite Essencia but not far off: hugely luscious, close- grained, honeyed, saturated, weighty, head- turning, tongue-crushing. And there are all the flavory extracts you might want (honey, lavender, fig, glacé fruits) to keep that weight churning and turning, speaking and communicating. Fantastic stuff and super-exciting. Will it age? Yes, with this amount of sugar it can hardly not. But I would still be drinking as you go, since there is nothing forbidding about it right now. A gorgeous thing to put in your mouth, full stop, and in no sense an odalisque: saturated with perfumes and essential oils to carry the sweetness along. | 96