Stephen Brook: Opaque red. Has some power on the nose; blackcurrants and mint leaf. Suave, mellifluous, concentrated, with surprisingly weighty tannins. There’s ample fruit and spice, but it’s a bit dense and effortful and lacks some elegance. So the finish is rather chunky and not especially persistent. The attack is fine, but the extraction becomes more evident as the wine stays in the mouth. 14.5

Andrew Jefford: Dark, saturated red-black. Earthy, full, sweet, and incense-spicy: attractive and enticing. Ambitiously dense, dark and stewy, but like many of the most ambitious wines in this vintage, the end result is slightly indigestible, lacking a palpable line of beauty for the drinker to ride. Perhaps it will settle and refine in the next five years. It is certainly cellarable—in contrast to many of its peers—and there is much to discuss and enjoy in this close-textured, spiky Margaux. 14