Richebourg			1985	Jean Gros

4/97. Acquired in auction Oct-96 for $190 (imported from Chicago for $216 net).
My first taste ever from this grandest of Grand Cru. Both the superb vintage and the impeccable reputation of the producer left me in great anticipation. The wine accompanied a magnificent main course of home-made steak-tartare with cream-topped baked potatoes.
COLOR: Medium-deep garnet-red, slightly clearing towards the rim. Not particularly impressive color. Healthy amount of sediment attest to the fact that this wine was not filtered.
NOSE: Beautifully complex yet extremely elegant! Exciting and rich mixture of primary fruit and flower aromas together with slightly smoked raw meat, wet earth, discernible wood and a host of other elements. All enveloped by distinct and yet somewhat reserved 'Bourgogne Nose'. The kind of bouquet that makes you want to sniff and sniff and never let go.
TASTE: Super concentrated on the palate. Voluptuous, rich and mouth-filling. Multi-layered and multi-flavored. One moment you notice the mature fruit, then the earthy elements, then the good acidity, then again the fruit... a wine so rich I don't recall I ever tasted.
LENGTH: The tiniest of sips leaves never-ending reverberating echo that literally lasts minutes in your mouth! The longest aftertaste I have ever encountered.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Full bodied 'big' wine, yet not a blockbuster in any sense. The richest of textures and flavors balanced by fresh acidity, plenty of alcohol and good soft tannins to hold everything together.
OVERALL: Extraordinary! The epitome of a grand (B). Fully mature and ready now though will certainly hold on for another decade.
MARK: 19/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Maybe.

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Copyright 1996-2003.
Jacob "Yak" Shaya.