The aromatics on this stately 26-year-old wine are just so welcoming. Autumnal leaf, delicate finely-boned tannins, savoury black fruits, feels like you can only be in St Julien, with a caressing if not hugely-persistent structure compared to the 1996. What you get here is a wine with juice, finesse and balance, all extremely moreish if subtle in its charms.

Ruby-red with a pale rim. Initially closed nose opens slowly with aeration to offer delicate blackcurrant and mineral aromas complicated by a touch of field herbs. Then richer and deeper on the palate, with flinty blackcurrant, raspberry and herbal flavors carrying nicely through the aftertaste. The chewy, peppery tannins have smoothed out nicely with age. This wine has already developed much more depth and complexity than it showed on release; should it continue to evolve positively, it may yet turn out to be a memorable Gruaud.

Intense aromas of crushed blackberries, licorice and Spanish cedar. Full-bodied, concentrated and structured. Give it some time.--'95'96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2008.