From younger vines (12 to 28 years old): Good full ruby color. Black cherry, dark berries, licorice and mint on the nose. Pungent, bright flavors of licorice and leather. Finishing flavors of espresso and chocolate. Dense tannins. From 32- to 48-year-old vines: Saturated ruby. Higher pitched aroma of berries, bitter cherry and oak spice. More minerally in the mouth, with a stronger spine of tannin and less evidence of torrefaction. Fresh and firm. Not at all in the softer style of the vintage. From the estate's oldest vines (up to 67 years of age), cropped at barely 28 hectoliters per hectare: Good full ruby color. Perfumed, sappy aromas of blackberry, mint and oak spice. Lively and sharply delineated; sweetened by notes of mocha and smoky oak. Tannins are firm but fine, and less aggressive than those of the last sample. An approximation of the final blend: Deep ruby. Complex bitter cherry and dark chocolate aromas. Rich, dense and sweet, with lovely ripe, chocolatey fruit. Thick, generous and very long on the aftertaste, with impressively even tannins and no sign of dryness. The whole seems greater than the sum of the parts here. Impressive potential.

A ripe but unusually pretty and complex nose betrays none of the subtle greenness that 1997 often possesses while leading to rich| full and naturally sweet flavors supported by fine concentration and firm| prominent but not drying tannins as well as fine length. By the elevated standards of the Clos des Epeneaux| the '97 is not a particularly elegant or refined vintage and it is frankly much more of a classically robust Pommard than it usually is. For my taste| this is no where near its peak and in first-rate storage conditions will require another 5 to 7 years of cellar time. In sum| this is a relatively big and quite structured example that delivers very solid if not truly sensational quality. Consistent notes. Drink: Try from 2014+
-Allen Meadows, Burghond.com. Tasted: Jul 03, 2008

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 30/10/1999 ()