1990 Joseph Roty, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru, Tres Vieilles Vignes

Full medium red. Huge, deep, lightly medicinal nose combines scents of raspberry, blueberry coulis, mocha, coffee, clove, minerals and licorice. Hugely rich and mouthfilling without being weighty, boasting outstanding concentration and sweetness but also noteworthy finesse. Conveys a distinctly ripe kirsch aspect but there's nothing cooked about this monumental wine, which fills the mouth with subtle notes of spices, tobacco, cocoa powder and violet. Surprising acidity emerges with air, along with a sexy element of dried flowers. This huge, thick, mouthfilling wine is most impressive on the back half, finishing with big, silky, sweet tannins, extraordinary palate-saturating persistence and outstanding grip thanks to a piquant point of acidity. Wonderfully plush, full and sweet but with buns of steel, this wine is as thick on the finish as it is on entry. (Incidentally, my first bottle of this wine showed sexy aromas of spices and cherry liqueur but was lightly corked, so the Rotys simply uncorked and poured this brilliant second bottle.) (13.9% alcohol; 3.29 pH; 39 h/h)

The 1990 Charmes-Chambertin Très Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru was one of the standouts from Stephen Tanzer's vertical tasting, so I was intrigued to taste it myself. It’s dark in color, with the same medicinal bouquet featuring a surfeit of dark berry fruit, white pepper, cola and mocha, the licorice element becoming more apparent with time. The palate is dense and rich, displaying massive grip and density and a sinewy, almost primal finish. This is a wine that demands your attention, unashamedly ostentatious and flamboyant. You know, I get why some might be attracted to this 1990, though for me it’s just a little too keen to impress.