The dark ruby/purple-colored 1996 Cote Rotie offers attractive herb-tinged cassis, pepper, Asian spices, and bacon fat in the nose, but in the mouth, the wine is strikingly acidic with loads of tannin. It is extremely backward due to its searing acidity level. While I enjoyed many of this wine's characteristics, the acidity scares me - hence the lower rating. Importer: Paterno Imports, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900