This cask sample had a teasing bluefruit sweetness to it, intermingled with floral notes.

What I love about this wine is the calm orderliness of its aromatic profile, and the exceptionally sophisticated quality of its allusion repertoire.

Clean, savoury aromas, all pungency and refreshment: a huge style contrast to late-summer lushness of the previous vintage.

An even sweeter style of fruit than 1999, with some slightly exotic, almost medicinal notes.

This pre-bottling sample was showing a lot of oak when tasted, but the coffee and truffle characters suggested that the wine would have no trouble digesting that oak.

Creamier and lighter in aromatic style than 2000 or 2002: these near-milky attractions are stealthy and haunting.

The most aromatically flamboyant of the vertical range of La Mondotte wines tasted in December `03: sweetly orchestral, with notes of incense, resin, chocolate and kirsch.

Sweeter scents than its peers; oak-guided. Smooth, harmonious, round and elegant; a dark pool of plums. Pure and sleek finish.

Aromatically warm and full, though unformed as yet: a sense of promised amplitude.

Charming aromas of gently oak-plumped fruits; more lush fruit on the palate, unpinned by vivid acidity to give delicious drinking balance.