Another pale-ish and and mature looking wine. Slight green and cedary notes overlay a sweet apple and raspberry pie. The texture is almost good despite a slightly rasping finish. Not an archetypal 1997, indeed a it’s maybe a little under ripe, but there’s a sweet and cedary finish. Quite drinkable but not on my purchase list.

A shade darker and less amber thane the ’97 Varoilles. A little coffee and slowly evolving black fruits on the nose. Again there’s good fat, but this time the fruit has a less obviously roast character. Tannins are pretty much resolved. Tasty and drinking now.