Almost the wine of the series – were it not for the cork! The cork itself was slightly unusual in that the only inscription it bore was the number 983 – even the GF& S Bourgogne told me more. Said cork also had an unusual rancio-type of note – there it was in the wine too – unless you swirled and then it was gone – clinged to the palate though. So everything was dumped into a decanter to see if I could shift the smell, it wasn’t overpowering, but it was enough to spoil (my) enjoyment. The decanter failed to clear the ‘problem’ so I had to make a quick swirl with the wine before each time putting nose to glass. The colour showed no obvious oxidation – a lovely deep ruby colour with minimal fading to the rim. Post swirling the nose was first-class young, aristocratic Bourgogne, depth, bloody dried cranberries, coffee, dried currants – so complex. The palate showed none of the astringency of many, the tannins marked by a slight grain, but nothing more. The acidity is shows up on the mouthwatering finish, which despite no explosion lingers really well. But then the real taint came through – it had to be the GE that was tainted didn’t it(!) I got a new bottle, but didn’t see the point in opening it – I know it’s a superb wine – cork permitting!