When last noted in 2004, "this was still a remarkably young and backward wine." Nine years later at age 23+, it is much further along in its evolution but even so remains surprisingly fruity.
Decanted off moderate sediment 45 minutes before service. The bottle showed some ullage, with the wine level at the bottom of the neck. The cork was intact but showed some staining.
The bouquet suggested raspberry, black cherry, black currant, cedar, and the humidor. The flavor associations were similar, with somewhat more maturity markers such as leather and tobacco. The finish is a little short, betraying its cru bourgeois origins.
I think this wine will easily hold its own and even continue developing at least through age 30. So I plan to hold on to my last bottle until 2019.
Grade: A-/A
I served it with medallions of boneless lamb loin, which I had marinated for 6 hours in a pomegranate juice/blood orange marinade, and then grilled for about 3 minutes per side. I prepared a cup of Israeli couscous according to the package directions,except for substituing 1/2 cup blood orange juice and 3/4 cup white wine for the 1-and-1/4 cup water for which the recipe called, and mixing in at the last minute some dried parsley, pistachio nuts, and pomegranate seeds. Yum.
