Medium-plus colour. The nose opens with a dense core of dark red/black fruit with a sweet coffee addition – relatively young aromas of pretty and sweet fruit dominate though. In the mouth this is all silk and linearity. Certainly it’s intense in the mid-palate and the linear flavours are borne long on the acidity but despite having to search hard for any overt tannin this is clearly a baby. Return in 5+ years…
There’s a deep core of colour here – looks relatively mature. The nose starts deep, sweet and earthy – that’s a great start – concentrated, macerating dark fruit that very slowly gives up a redder berry-note. In the mouth there is intensity, depth and really good acidity – it is a luxurious rather than ‘fat’ impression. The tannin is a mere after-thought and the flavours, with a bitter chocolate edge, linger very well. Despite it being more than 15 years since it was harvested, it’s still a young wine, but clearly it’s in an early phase of maturity and certainly drinkability! A clear ‘rebuy’ with it’s blend of power and elegance. Really super stuff.
A big cork has been common to all these Drouhins, but this is the first to easily slide from the bottle – it doesn’t look like it’s been a perfect seal – let’s see. A deep core of ruby-red colour, just hinting at amber. Over time the nose vacillates between tight, deep but dark woody notes and a wider, undergrowth driven panorama – I ‘feel’ rather than smell just a hint of oxidation. In the mouth there’s no hint of oxidation, rather a core of flowing acidity is the central pillar. Good intensity with a mouth-watering finish and tannin that still shows a grain. The length and dimension are impressive. This bottle, despite what I suspect to be a less than perfect cork, needs a couple more years – I expect other bottles may need at least five! Much younger than the 93 Charmes and today, far less satisfying – but I’ll be buying a few for future reference.
Deeply coloured. Mineral, crystallised dark fruit on the nose. Very fine texture, minerality and lovely acidity – the length is a match too. It’s tight and muscled and I reckon needs 5-8 years more in the cellar. I was smitten for the first 30 minutes, afterwards the nose was occasionally a little pruney – I ended up undecided.
Unfortunately the first bottle smelled and tasted of feet – the second was altogether more interesting: A lovely core of red fruit surrounded by slightly more diffuse high tones. The structure is now starting to fade in favour of nicely defined and ripe red fruit. The finish is a good one too. Quite a pretty wine.
From magnum. Deep colour. High tones over a base of raisins and dried red fruit on the nose. A really nice core of concentrated fruit on the palate pushed long into the finish by first-class ’93 acidity. The grainy tannins don’t have the sophistication of the recent wines, but this is certainly a very enjoyable finale and still a very young wine in this format.
In the glass – disappointment – there’s good depth to the ruby red colour, which fades to amber, but also a slight cloudiness. On the nose, chocolate, meat and a faint oxidative note. On the palate there’s good acidity and velvety tannins – still with a little dryness, but leaving a smooth coating on your teeth – always a good sign. Good depth to the sweet fruit with a reasonable chocolaty length. Okay, not a perfect bottle, and if they’re all the same then you should look elsewhere. I did, however, manage to finish the bottle without problem 🙂
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