Andrew Jefford | Deep garnet to red-black in appearance; translucent. Sweet and warm to smell, though without much definition and contour. Sweet raspberry and plum; mown hay. Smooth and open, with sweet red-fruit flavors. Ample, fine, floating tannin and the sustained balancing acidity of the vintage brings poise. Attractively graceful and almost Burgundian in style, which makes the back-label references (“Packed and stacked—this is a ripe and lavish wine”) a little puzzling to me. | 87

Michael Schuster | Lovely, subtle, persistent, ripe black-cherry, early bouquet here; then on the palate it is elegantly balanced, fairly full, fresh in acidity, very dry-edged in fine tannins. A sweet, pure, finely juicy fruit, long and subtle and delicate, framed by a firm, distracting, dry new-oak tannin texture; the fruit reflects a very fine origin, making for a subtle, complex, transparent and aromatic core flavor, almost Burgundy-like, with lovely complexity and beautiful fragrant fruit persistence. But this is compromised by its wood treatment, which detracts from the wine’s class and subtlety. Fine wine, discordant texture. As with its Le Dôme partner, I am not sure the wood dryness will ever be absorbed. Pity. A sort of 93 going on 89 in terms of figures. 2027–40+. | 93?