On opening the bottle a waft of treacle and soot. The colour is dark (very dark for a 1980), with little fade out at the rim.
At about 3 to 6 hours after opening not much fruit or sweetness on the palate.The nose is a bit dumb. The first impression is of tannin and that slightly sooty quality. A big, unyielding wine if a bit simple.
At 24 hours the colour is more cherry, the fruit and sweetness has come forward and the wine seems more friendly, almost exuberant, but perhaps that is more to do with the amount I drank. Good length and development in the glass.
I used to think this wine would continue rather than develop but I feel more optimistic about it now. This has character and individuality which makes me like it all the more. A really good 1980.
I would give it a 7-8 in Tom's parlance but perhaps a more realistic view would be a 6-6.5.