Rauzan Segla 1985

Tasted at lunch at La Trompette, it has that beguiling bouquet of cedar, mushroom, graphite and warm bricks, developing hung game aromas with further aeration in the glass. The palate displays wonderful balance and freshness, the Cabernet Sauvignon more prominent than in other bottles, a little ‘stricter’ and foursquare at first, but mellowing with time, developing that savoury, chestnut tinged, heart-warming finish. It does not have the breeding of say, Chateau Margaux ’85, but to be honest, it does not need it.

Tobacco, spearmint, cigar box, black currants and forest floor pops in the nose. The palate is equal to the perfume with its chewy, sweet, peppery currants. It’s fully mature do, drink up.

Drink: now-2030