A LOT more austere than I expected, tastes almost young. Nose took time to develop, even with lots of air. I'm a little suspicious about how this bottle was stored. There's almost zero penetration of the cork suggesting lots of upright storage? The ulage was normal-seeming, just a small visible gap beneath the foil. What nose there is has hints of mint, cedar and something candied, like dates. On the palate, surprisingly moderate intensity (12.5% pre-fruit-bomb era), tannic structure still very evident at 24 years, but considerably softened down to fine grain. Plummy, black cherry flavored, with that confected undercurrent. Finishes long and tannic. Cut through very rich lamb shank stewed in red wine, caramelized onions, shallots, and rosemary. Still developing with dark chocolate dessert.
A LOT more austere than I expected, tastes almost young. Nose took time to develop, even with lots of air. I'm a little suspicious about how this bottle was stored. There's almost zero penetration of the cork suggesting lots of upright storage? The ulage was normal-seeming, just a small visible gap beneath the foil. What nose there is has hints of mint, cedar and something candied, like dates. On the palate, surprisingly moderate intensity (12.5% pre-fruit-bomb era), tannic structure still very evident at 24 years, but considerably softened down to fine grain. Plummy, black cherry flavored, with that confected undercurrent. Finishes long and tannic. Cut through very rich lamb shank stewed in red wine, caramelized onions, shallots, and rosemary. Still developing with dark chocolate dessert.
3 people found it helpfulNov 9th, 2014
Cahors, Southwest France, France
