Jean-Hubert Verdaguer – who sells off most of his crop to the local cooperative so that he can follow a family tradition (once wide-spread in Roussillon) of devoting his attention to oxidized, “rancio”-styled wines – last year bottled a 1996 Rivesaltes Ambre on which a dozen years in wood have worked real magic. Smoky, saline, pungent toasted nuts and black tea in the nose barely hint at the explosively rich and sweet palate, where an ideal balance is struck between brightness on the one hand and creaminess of texture and dried fruit character on the other. Sultanas, orange liqueur, dark chocolate, toasted walnuts, black pepper and invigorating salinity and citrus oil pungency stain the palate and penetrate to a long finish that, is, despite its sweetness, positively refreshing. You can keep this in practically any room in your house for the next couple of decades, and provided the cork holds, a treat will await you whenever you choose to pull it.Importer: A Connie and Patrick Allen Selection, United Estates Wine Imports, Worthington, OH; tel. (614) 543 1427