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Riddled with VA. Utterly nasty. Flawed bottle.

Surprisingly evolved, amber-infused color. Beautifully expressive, open-knit, and complex, with enchanting aromatics and a touch of Vosne-Romanee-like spice on the wide-open, mid-weight palate. Lovely, elegant red fruit and layers of leaf/tobacco-driven secondary complexity. A gorgeous showing.

Heavily reductive, plastic, soapy, and sour. This was clearly an off bottle.

Third time tasted. This was a touch shut down, and not nearly as expressive as previous bottles. Aromatically complex and intense after some extended aeration: blackberries, flowers, spice, and earth. The palate was a touch more reserved than usual, but really began to emerge after a few hours. Hold off on opening these for several years.

Really pretty. Intense aromas of dark spices, plummy fruit, minerals, and fresh herbs that build to an elegant, impeccably balanced whole. Beautifully ripe, lively, and long on the palate. This has a real sense of purity, class, and energy, and seems to be holding back some of its fireworks at the moment. Should be even better in several more years.

Real fireworks here. The nose explodes from the glass in a blaze of aromas -- a spice bazaar in a glass. Compared with the '96 Meo-Camuzet Richebourg, tasted side-by-side (see TN), this was more flamboyant and sexier in personality. Beautiful layers of dark fruit, spice, and smoky tastes that defy descriptive words. Really strutting its stuff. A great bottle.

Even more fireworks here. A fantastic bottle. Kaleidoscopic spice bazaar nose. The palate is deep, rich, and beautifully pure and poised, with gorgeous earthy/leafy/smoky secondary flavors that elegantly frame the stunningly pure, dark, mid-weight fruit. Near-endless finish. Fabulous. WOTN for me.

Brief note: Tasted after the '96 La Tache, which didn't do this wine any favors. This came across as quite leafy and vegetal, with a palate of tart dark fruit and herbs. Judgment reserved.