Opulent, silky, lush and sensuous, the wine is concentrated, deep, long and yes, it is also fresh, The layers of perfectly ripe, velvet-textured fruits come at you in layers. The wine is refined and intense.

With its usual high proportion of Merlot, Palmer 2003 was always going to be a generous, very ripe wine. And so it is proving, but what is so satisfying about the wine at this stage is that the great sweet fruit, which...

A dense and powerful wine as always with very ripe fruit yet an underlying freshness and complexity with tobacco, dried fruit and fresh spices such as lemon grass and Thai basil. Layered and long. Drink or hold.

Loads of raspberry and blackberry jam on the nose. Full and pretty, with strawberry jam and vanilla character, yet still subtle and fresh. Give this time to mellow. Pull the cork after 2012. Find the wine