Comments by John Duval. A deep, crimson red with a dense ruby core. Immediately engaging, with wafts of nutmeg and ginger amongst notes of blueberry and blackcurrant and a background of wellseasoned savoury oak. The fruit gains in the glass with aeration, when more subtle perfume and chestnut complexities emerge. Already showing excellent balance within the frame of a beautifully interwoven mesh of dark plum and blackberry fruits with fig and liquorice. Complex fruit and spice flavours sit against a finely focused backdrop of firm but rounded tannins, balancing acidity and seductive, perfectly integrated, smoky oak. The palate has wonderful length, with a tightly structured, tannic finish indicative of the calibre of this fine wine.