At one time a perfect wine, my three-digit score has dropped simply because I am not sure the huge tannins this wine possesses will ever fully melt away. Nevertheless, it is still one of the greatest wines I have ever tasted for its tremendous singularity and intensity. The color is still a murky plum/purple that shows a bit of amber at the edge. The nose is strikingly intense, with an almost liquid minerality intermixed with fig, truffle, spice, plum, and black cherry as well as blueberry. In the mouth the wine is massive, with searing levels of tannins, but monumental levels of extract and concentration. I would not be surprised if some of the great 1928s or 1945s tasted like this in their first 20 years of life. This wine is still very backward, yet with decanting of 6-10 hours (the normal operative procedure when opening this wine), the wine is prodigious. A 50 to 75-year wine? Anticipated maturity: 2005-2050. Last tasted, 8/02.

Promising wine that's a bit burly now. Closed on the nose, but showing lots of ripe fruit. A bit tough, but this masculine wine makes an impressive mouthfeel.--Chateau Lafleur vertical. Best after 2005. -PM

At one time a perfect wine, my three-digit score has dropped simply because I am not sure the huge tannins this wine possesses will ever fully melt away. Nevertheless, it is still one of the greatest wines I have ever tasted for its tremendous singularity and intensity. The color is still a murky plum/purple that shows a bit of amber at the edge. The nose is strikingly intense, with an almost liquid minerality intermixed with fig, truffle, spice, plum, and black cherry as well as blueberry. In the mouth the wine is massive, with searing levels of tannins, but monumental levels of extract and concentration. I would not be surprised if some of the great 1928s or 1945s tasted like this in their first 20 years of life. This wine is still very backward, yet with decanting of 6-10 hours (the normal operative procedure when opening this wine), the wine is prodigious. A 50 to 75-year wine? Anticipated maturity: 2005-2050. Last tasted, 8/02.