5/01, Tasted at our friends Oded and Nitza Lerer.
I must admit that when Oded suggested opening this 18 years old Ruchottes I quite skeptic. Though I immensely enjoyed many 83s from producers that managed to avoid rot in their wine, I was afraid this wine [which I have tasted and like from later vintages] would be beyond its best by now. Boy was I wrong!
COLOR: Medium brick red with a touch of brownish hues.
NOSE: No words! So good and enticing. Ripe sweetish fruit with complex tones of wet forest-floor, leather, raw meat and wood. All that is wrapped in the most harmonious beautiful and clean 'Bourgogne Nose'. Completely forward and mature, but not a bit 'tired'. That is the nose a great mature (B) should have, alas this is not always the case...
TASTE: Not to be outdone by the nose, this wonderful wine fills the palate with lush mature and fully-integrated flavors. Deep complex prune-like fruit serve as core for the rich winyness. Fantastic backbone, still some noticeable tannins and good acidity. A rare treat.
LENGTH: Very long and harmonious aftertaste that lingers.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Full bodied [in (B) terms] and stylish wine. Fully mature, beautifully concentrated, multi-dimensional and smooth. Perfect balance and fantastic harmony between everything. At its absolute best now.
OVERALL: Outstanding! A rare example of what a fully mature great (B) can be like.

MARK: 19/20.

BUY MORE? Yes.

Reach Me? yak@yakshaya.com

Copyright 1996-2003.
Jacob "Yak" Shaya.