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From the appearance of the bottle, this was bottled in the UK in the early 1980s in a light coloured bottle, sealed with a t-cork. From appearance, the bottle had been stored on its side and had not leaked during the 25+ years in has been cellared in the UK. Decanted very cleanly off a surprising amount of sediment. Initially very light in colour, but in the 8 hours that the wine was double decanted, it put on lots of depth until it was a mature mahogany in colour when being drunk. Mature redcurrant and leather on the nose, with some spicy dustiness. Pleasant, smooth texture when first sipped, with a fair degree of thickness. Some modest complexity and pleasant development on the palate, but the acidity is slightly too prominent and dominates a little. The aftertaste is modest, but flavoursome and the length is impressive in duration. This was the bottle which was emptied on the night. 87/100. Drunk 30 November 2009.

Incidentally, for any UK-based readers, El Vino’s is still going strong and must be one of a few firms that both runs wine bars and still ships and cellars wine for on- and off- sales. Well worth dropping in to one if you have a chance.