Aromas of smoky black tea, truffle, honey, orange marmalade, and peach preserves anticipate the complex flavours that emerge on a palate uncannily poised between textural creaminess and honeyed richness on the one hand and levity and refreshment on the other. The brown sugar and raisins of the 2008 are absent here; instead, spice and citrus rind invigorate, while salted caramel mingled with honey and citrus juice serves for saliva inducement in a long finish. This should be worth following for well more than a decade. This was a warm growing season with heat spikes early-on, but as the terrifically successful dry version of Eroica from the same year also seemed to suggest, its what happens in the late innings that really counts.

Deep orange-gold colour. Exotic aromas of orange oil, honey, clove, cherry-almond and marzipan. As viscous as motor oil, but with decent saline acidity framing the high-toned, very sweet flavours of apricot nectar and marzipan. Finishes with tokaj-like notes of mushroom and dark earth. Very long and sweet but without a hidden dimension. I wanted a bit more eclat.