Over the years I have tasted all the 100 Year Old Paras released, some singly, others both singly and as part of a vertical tasting. My tasting notes vary to a degree, but there are recurrent themes, and no vintage has stepped out of line. So it comes to this: either don't allot points; or try to pick holes and squeeze out a point higher here, drop a point there, knowing in my heart this was a charade; or say these wines have no parallel anywhere else in the world, and the conjunction of 100 years of devoted stewardship (think former cellarmaster James Godfrey) and climate/terroir/varieties have had an outcome that can never, ever, be duplicated. Key words: impenetrable colour, viscosity, searing intensity, endless finish, distillation of every spice known to humankind, bitter dark chocolate, burnt toffee, incisive acidity, rancio, supreme balance, aromas that not only remain in the glass, but intensify, celestial anaesthesia. It is the only wine I give 100 points to; what's more, the points are already on the page as I pick up the glass of the next release.

100 points, Wine Companion