11/01. Acquired from London, Feb-96 for $45.
1991 was initially an absurdly underrated vintage in Burgundy (as it was in Cote Rotie), especially so in the northern Cote de Nuits. It came after the glorious trio vintages of '88, '89 and '90, so it seemed 'logical' to have a 'lesser' vintage in their wake. I have only had few wines from this vintage, but every bottle I tasted was wonderful.
Let's see what this middle-of-the-road Grand Cru from Armand Rousseau stable tastes like.
COLOR: Medium light color, even for a (B), with noticeable clearing around the rim.
NOSE: Really nice and expressive nose. Plenty of fresh red fruit with hints of ripe prunes. Clean yet complex 'Bourgogne Nose'. Measured wood tones compliment the fruity and earthy aromas. Open and forward yet no sign over over-maturity.
TASTE: Wonderfully tasty with surprising concentration of fruit and winyness. Not a dense wine, yet nicely focused and full of flavors. Vibrant and mouthfilling, with good spectrum of clean flavors. Delivers both punch and delicacy. Non-distracting tannins and light acidity add to the structure of this wine.
LENGTH: Pretty long and very pleasant aftertaste.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Medium bodied wine with more vigor and concentration than is hinted by it looks or texture. Semi mature fruit abounds as well as reasonable complexity and grip. Very finely balanced. Perfectly enjoyable now, though may get rounder and even more complex with time.
OVERALL: Very Fine now. Will get even better with a few more years of cellaring.

MARK: 18/20.

BUY MORE? Yes.

Reach Me? yak@yakshaya.com

Copyright 1996-2003.
Jacob "Yak" Shaya.