2012 ««««« Drink now to 2035.

Deep crimson. Intense blackberry, mocha and liquorice aromas with Turkish Delight notes. Generous deep-set palate with ripe and fleshy blackberry, mocha, panforte and dried plum flavours, fine plentiful grippy tannins and roasted chestnut and walnut flavours. Finishes sinewy with graphite cedar notes. Rich, balanced and multi-layered.

A first-class and notably balanced wine. The blackberry black liquorice flavours, tarry complexity, ripe tannins and oak are all perfectly aligned. (JH)

Lively red and black fruits with an overall pronounced tannic structure. Will those grippy stalky notes ever integrate? (FW)

2013 ««««« Drink 2025 to 2060.

Deep crimson. Opulent black cherry, blackberry and ginger/vanilla aromas with praline espresso notes. Saturated chocolaty textured wine with powerful blackberry, panforte and dark chocolate flavours, ample fine-dense firm tannins and superb vanilla marzipan oak. Intensely concentrated, but supple and vigorous. Grange-like.

Heroically framed, deep and inky with blueberries, rosemary, fennel, quince and cocoa. Still fresh, bright and alert. (NR)

2014 ««««« Drink 2030 to 2055.

Deep crimson. Fresh blackberry, mulberry, graphite and cedar aromas with fresh vanilla oak and liquorice notes. Generous and inky with plentiful blackberry, mulberry and panforte fruits, fine dense chalky tannins, lovely mid-palate volume and underlying grilled nut vanilla notes. Finishes firm, long and sweet. Refined and compact with lovely density and richness.

Intense and focussed with potent dark fruits and grainy/powdery tannins. The oak frames the fruit without swamping it, but the wine is more a long-term promise. (NB)

The dry pencil-like tannins still need to integrate, but this has a promising future. (JH)

2015 «««« Drink 2023 to 2038.

Deep crimson. Intense mulberry, black cherry, blackberry and quince aromas with herb garden cola notes. Saturated palate with dense mulberry, blackberry and brambly fruits, chocolaty tannins and ginger vanilla oak complexity. Finishes chalky/powdery and minerally.

Perfumed with lifted dark fruits, incense, liquorice and spice. Sappy and sweet with supple tannins. (JR)

Reticent on the nose but the palate has a rich balanced structure and fresh fine tannins. (FW)

2016 ««««« Drink 2028 to 2050.

Deep crimson. Fresh blackberry, dark cherry and liquorice aromas with vanilla cola notes. Beautifully concentrated blackberry, dark cherry and mocha chinotto flavours, plentiful fine, chalky al dente firm tannins, roasted chestnut and vanilla oak complexity. Elemental and powerful with extraordinary density and mineral length.

Attractive spicy black raspberry and blackberry fruit. Elegant, vivid and fleshy on the palate with abundant taut tannins. Very long-term potential. (NB)

Voluminous, voluptuous and invigorating with imposing tannin structure, impressive depth and length. (NR)

2017 «««« Drink 2028 to 2040.

Deep crimson. Intense elderberry, mulberry, liquorice and star anise aromas with toasty vanilla notes. Exuberant elderberry and blackberry fruits, chocolaty tannins and roasted chestnut, vanilla and ginger oak complexity. Finishes firm and inky with drying, almost sappy tannins. Elemental but still in balance.

Pretty violets and candied blackberries with a sweet oak lift. Delightfully sweet and graceful on the palate. Not a big or burly year, but lovely in its youth. (FW)

The primary juicy fruit stands high above the oak and tannins. A top vintage with remarkable substance. (JH)

2018 ««««« Drink 2028 to 2050 and beyond.

Deep crimson. Opulent dark plum, mulberry, blackberry fruits with mocha and praline notes. Richly flavoured and gorgeously saturated with luxuriant dark plum and mulberry fruits, supple fine-grained/velvety textures and roasted chestnut, dark mocha oak. Finishes chocolaty firm and long with aniseed, herb garden notes. A wonderful vintage with superb density, buoyancy and attack.

Reminiscent of the 2002. Plush and glossy with immediate supple fleshiness. A textbook RWT with its blueberry dark chocolate markers, velvety/cashmere textures and barrel ferment overtones. (PG)

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