89+(?) 1998 Geantet-Pansiot Gevrey-Cham. Vielles Vignes 5/9/09 ($36)
13% alc
Color: Medium raspberry with some onion skin around the rim. Looks ready. (3.0) Bouquet: Raspberry with mint, black truffle, veal broth and some oak. A little austere and muted. (2.5) Body: Solid middleweight with excellent structure, tannin and acidity. Sufficient fruit, but could use a bit more to meet the tannin. Still rich and mouthcoating. (3.0) Flavor: Parallels bouquet, but more forceful and open. Lively acidity propels the fruit and secondary nuances. Racy with black pepper. (3.0) Finish: Parallels flavor, but not quite as nuanced. Still forceful with structure lingering. (3.0)
Overall: This is a serious village wine. Its structure is impressive with forceful tannins and lively acidity. Ideally, it could use more fruit, but what's there is sufficient. It's very enjoyable now, but the fruit could get sweeter and the nuances more pronounced with 2-3+ years of bottle age. Keep your fingers crossed. If drinking now, give it 2 hours in a decanter. This really stands up to food. (14.5)Note: Drank similar to the above in 5/11, but with a little less fruit. Gave it an 88+. Stills shows excellent structure for 5+ more years of development, but fruit will probably continue to fade, so drink up.