Medium-pale colour. Very much like the 1996 the nose has tons of complexity – again that core of red fruit shining through – lovely just to sniff. The palate is not dense, yet manages to be packed with flavour and complexity. In some respects it is still a little unruly, and certainly needs a few more years of maturation for ‘charm’ but was anyway great fun.
Medium cherry-red colour – perhaps just a trace of purple. The nose is wide with high-toned fruity headroom and more than a hint of sweetened cherry. The palate is fresh and wide – not the highest level of concentration, but depth and lovely fresh fruit with super complexity on the finish. I think with a little lower yields this could have been outstanding – as opposed to interesting and satisfying – first from this case, and no ‘buyer’s regret!’.
Medium-plus red, still with a cherry-red rim. The nose has a rasping mineral, indeed earthy note, behind there’s a lovely deep red fruit aspect – very good so-far. There’s some of that earthy aspect on the palate too (geosmin?) but the fruit is splendid behind, as is the overall balance. I’d like a little more length but this has very good base material – I’m concerned about that earthy aspect, but not enough to stop me buying a couple more for reference.
Medium-plus yellow. The nose is waxy and smooth. The concentrated palate gives quite a dense showing – there’s lot’s of material here – good acidity and nice length. For me this wine is in that area where I wouldn’t drink – old enough to have lost it’s youthful zest and still too young for serious complexity.
Very deep colour – looks like Bordeaux. The nose starts with plenty black and red fruit-skin notes but slowly becomes less giving and settles-down to an interesting spice note redolent of cumin. The palate is very polished and concentrated with mouth-wrapping velvet tannin that’s well matched to sweet black-shaded fruit and acidity that you hardly notice. The finish, like the fruit, is quite primary and of good length. Not an austere CV and easily drinkable but one that could do with at least another 5-7 years before assessing. Very fine.
Medium-plus cherry-red. The nose has a little oak-toast and shows a much more savoury and spicy edge than the other wines, the fruit has a blacker edge too. The spice is also there on the palate, in-fact it currently defines the wine more than the fruit. A completely different expression to the others, it shows impressive though primary density and balanced structure – more so than the 99 Amoureuses – different, but very interesting.
Medium-plus yellow. The nose is waxy and smooth. The concentrated palate gives quite a dense showing – there’s lot’s of material here – good acidity and nice length. For me this wine is in that area where I wouldn’t drink – old enough to have lost it’s youthful zest and still too young for serious complexity.
Medium, medium-plus cherry-red. A melange of fruit greets the first sniff, the aromatics are in a similar vein to de Vogüé’s ’99 Amoureuses, the palate however, has another level of structure and concentration: it’s not obvious at first taste as you’re assaulted by such a bewildering array of sensations, but it’s very obvious when you move back. Despite the density there is no undue fat, many unfurling layers and tannins that wrap your teeth in velvet. Whilst today I prefer the expression of fruit on the nose of the ’99 Amoureuses, I simply can’t imagine how good this wine will become. I’m not tempted to try it before it’s 15th birthday though. Very special.
Deep colour. There’s deeply toasty and creamy black fruit on the nose. Primary, painfully intense fruit with excellent acidity and buried tannins. Excellent but very hard to drink right now – I’d guess that you need another 7 or 8 years before this wine starts to bloom – but bloom it will. Very impressive wine.
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