2002 first growths at 10 years old

Hong Kong wine merchant and restaurateur Paulo Pong, founder of Altaya Wines, is determined to continue the tradition begun by Edmund Penning Rowsell, my predecessor as Financial Times wine correspondent, of tasting the Bordeaux first growths at 10 years old. Last year we tasted the 2001s blind chez nous with Michael and Daphne Broadbent and Stephen Browett of Farr Vintners, resulting in 2001 first growths tasted blind.

Last Sunday night we reconvened to assess the 2002 first growths, all kindly supplied by Paulo except for the Ch Latour which was brought by Stephen Browett. The previous year Michael had...