Saturated deep black-red. Bottle 2: Warm, dark, with a little incense-like oak: attractive and promising. Sweet and plump on the palate, with lots of driving black fruits and some of the incense-like exoticism of the nose. Touch of Brett (savory rather than hospital) here perhaps? If so, it works well at present. A crowd-pleasing style, with some sense of layering to it and ample richness. On the palate, we’ve moved well beyond the pure black fruits of many of its peers; this is almost fruitcakey, with lots of dark dried-fruit richness. My own preference is for something a little more sinewy and textured, but no one could fail to enjoy a glass of this. Drink 2016–19.
90, Andrew Jefford

Dark color; a little taint on bottle 1. Bottle 2: Very dark; the nose comes forward big and broadly, with a nearly lush offering of crushed berry fruits. The palate is well juiced, ample, with a crisscross of fruit that has some shade and coolness in it. This plays the southern ripeness card well, along Shiraz rather than Syrah lines. Very appealing. Drink to 2020
90, John Livingstone-Learmonth

Blackish crimson. Dramatic color and serious stuff on the nose. Rich and round on the palate. Well-balanced and unusually rewarding, with real vitality and precision. Still lots of tannin but good expressive fruit, too. A real pleasure to drink. Drink 2015–21
90, Jancis Roberson MW