A limpid, ruby/crimson core. The nose soars from the glass: violets, cassis and blueberry. Incredible definition and vigor with perceptively more upfront, vanillary oak than the 1995. As usual the palate is complex, laced with cherry, red with layers of dark fruits. Perfectly balanced and symmetrical with a minerally finish. Amazing. Tasted February 1999.

This is among the world's most expensive wines (as far as I know only certain late harvest wines from Germany are more expensive). It has a gorgeously bright dark ruby/purple color and extremely complex aromatics of fresh herbs, Asian spices, creamy cherries, super-ripe blackberries, and vanilla-imbued oak. This superb wine offers a mouthful of silky-textured cherries, blueberries, plums, boysenberries, earth, minerals, and spiced oak. This masterpiece is full-bodied, dense (yet extremely elegant and defined), thickly-textured, and immensely concentrated. Moreover, I sensed this wine was holding a significant amount in reserve! Importer: Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-9661.

Tasting note: This is backward to the point of being almost inexpressive though with extended airing, subtle aromas of black fruit, hoisin, spice, underbrush, anise and violets frame understated, refined, elegant and classy flavors of incredible breed and fantastic complexity. This will live for decades and it is so young that it hasn't even begun to reveal what it will ultimately be capable of delivering. And like the 2001 version, the transparency here is nothing short of remarkable. In short, opening a bottle anytime before 2012 will indeed be egregious infanticide and as the drinking window suggests, patience is required, or if need be, at least three hours of in a decanter. Consistent notes.

Good deep ruby-red. Subtle notes of plum, redcurrant, truffle and game, plus a faintly liqueur-like quality. Great sweetness and sensuous palate feel; this is round and broad, while La Tache is more vertical. On the other hand, the previous wine comes across today as high-pitched, tighter, even a bit astringent, and perhaps even more impressive. But this wine is extraordinarily suave and long on the aftertaste, with extremely fine tannins.