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A horizontal of 1994 and a G83 were tasted at Bordeaux Index, 10 Hatton Garden EC1N 8AH on Tuesday 4^th March 2014, in the presence of Richard Mayson, as arranged by Michael Schuster of MichaelSchusterWine.com.

Links:

• Review of the evening as a whole;
• 1994 Quinta do Crasto (#1);
• 1994 Smith Woodhouse (#2);
• 1994 Gould Campbell (#3);
• 1994 Ramos Pinto (#4);
• 1994 Martinez Quinta da Eira Velha (#5);
• 1994 Martinez (#6);
• 1994 Niepoort (#7);
• 1994 Quinta do Noval (#8);
• 1994 Quinta do Vesuvio (#9);
• 1994 Dow (#10);
• 1994 Warre (#11);
• 1994 Graham (#12);
• 1994 Fonseca (#13);
• 1994 Taylor (#14);
• 1983 Graham;
• Arrangements on MichaelSchusterWine.com;
• Arrangements on ThePortForum.com.

RP94. Dark red 80% opaque. Nose of dark dark cherry, and plum, and a hint of toast behind. Palate matching the fruits of the nose, but rather closed. Needs cellar time.

85% opacity, deep red, good legs. Nose more open than some of the others I thought. Some vanilla and hints of lychee and watermelon at the end. On the palate, nice balance, some heat which faded, longish dry finish. Fruity. Had some substance. Having written this up now, feels like a bit of an indeterminate conclusion. Look forward to trying this again in the future to see where it's going.

Strange - very unlike anything else on the table. Elegant with a nice fresh finish.

***

Decanted at 3 pm (drunk from around 4.30 pm onwards). 80%, thin rim, deep ruby. Not enormously expressive. Acidity, thin sharpness in the nose. Mouth is bitter but not herby, a little rubbery. Cloves. Not tremendous but not faulty.

Dark red, opque except on the very edge of the rim. Closed nose, harsh alcohol showing in some restrained fruit. Hollow entry, with the early mid-palate showing tannins but little fruit. The fruit shows on the late palate and is rich, dense and promising much for the future. Restrained aftertaste, hollow initially but with plenty on the huge finish of great length. Impressive, but in need of lots more time in the cellar. 91/100. Decanted 3½ hours.