A gathering of smokes – cold fireplace, extinguished cigar, smoked meats, fireworks. Hot granite and petrichor. It still has weight and breadth, with a great spread of tannin still. Well-balanced acidity and alcohol, and a long, smoky finish. Not as refined as the 1990 but still very good indeed.

One of the more finesse driven wines in the vertical, the 1985 Hermitage la Chapelle offered beautiful, complex notes of coffee beans, dried meats, potpourri and mint to go with a full-bodied, elegant and seamless feel on the palate. Following on the heels of the monster-sized '89, it still stood out for its purity, fine tannin and length on the finish. It's a beautiful wine drinking at point.

A clear, more limpid colour compared to the early 1980’s. The nose has good intensity with notes of animal fur, liquorices, cigar box and smoke. Good definition but it takes a while to awake from its slumber. The palate is medium-bodied, superb balance and delineation with great focus. Less stalky than earlier La Chapelles, very harmonious with good grip and firm, solid structure to counterbalance the ripe leathery red-berried fruits. Real finesse, fleshy and meaty on the finish. Great length. Probably at its peak now, this is a great wine. Drink now-2018 Tasted March 2008.

A saturated dark plum/garnet color with amber at the edge is followed by an attractive smoky, underbrush, and truffle-scented wine with coffee, smoke, cedar, and jammy cassis/plum-like fruit. As the wine sits in the glass, notes of Chinese black tea, pepper, and soy emerge. There is surprising tannin and austerity in the finish, but the aromatics and attack were convincingly rich and intense. From my cellar, the 1985 appears to be developing at an evolved, precocious pace, but at the Jaboulets, the wine revealed far more force, vigor, structure, and weight. Anticipated maturity: 2002-2025

Thank heavens – a real fulfilment of expectation on the nose – gravy, granite, dark chocolate, black cherry, smoke, toast, bacon fat. It is the definition of Hermitage – very, very good indeed. Still drinking now but could easily age for another ten years, it feels. (RH)

Two bottles tasted but my score is for the second bottle, which I thought was showing slightly better at this point and on this day. First bottle From Richard Mayson's cellar (Wine Society bottling) Browny red. Smoked meat and mocha notes. Really savoury combined with decadent decayed fruit. Firm and chewy. Acid and tannins clash a little on the finish. It's still a big wine but drying out. Second bottle From Kate Dugdale's cellar Gentler and more succulent on the palate and with a lovely peppery bite to the undergrowth flavours and aromas. But it's fading. (JH)