Comfortably still in its mature window, with old leather, blackberry jam and some whiffs of hung game. Enjoyably chewy tannins still, this is still powerful, with good length. Time to drink up now, but no hurry.

A slightly finicky wine that has shown a smidge erratically over the past 5 years or so, the 1998 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape showed brilliantly in this tasting, possibly hinting that it’s starting to enter early maturity. Beautifully fresh and clean, with gorgeous underlying structure and depth, yet still youthful and meaty, with hints of complexity, this should continue to evolve positively for another 3-5 years, at which point it should show well for another decade or more. Jeb Dunnuck >

Saturated ruby-red. Superripe but reticent, grenache-dominated aromas of roasted plum, cherry jam, tar and humus. Fat, lush and stuffed with fruit; almost heavy today compared to the '99. But this is utterly silky and its firm underlying structure is buried by fruit and baby fat. Intriguing meat and licorice notes. A wine of superb finesse and superfine tannins.

Full bottle 1,603 g. I hope they have lightweighted since then... Looks mid ruby – deeper colour than the Rayas 2005! Gamey nose, possibly the best match for the grouse that we are having tonight. Still some tannins in evidence, amazingly. This seems as though it must have been pretty tough in youth. Treacle toffee underneath with some sweet liquorice notes too. (JR)

Deep garnet colour. Plenty of varnish and farmyard aroma, with fruit that seems to be towards the end of its lifecycle. Mushroom and damp earth. Structurally balanced but losing too much fruit. (RH)