With Hart, YZ, Sloke, Sean and Tabs at mine. Bottle from YZ.

THIS WAS DELICIOUS and my personal WOTN.

I had very low expectations given we had just encountered a flat and tired 1998 Leoville las Cases last week.

Bottle arrive with excellent fill level. Cork was in a surprisingly flawless condition.

In the glass: a rich bright ruby, with just a touch of garnet around the rim. (Photo was misleading; it was a deeper ruby)

On the nose: what a nose. This was a wine that was in the early stages of its tertiary development. A mild but rich waft of mushrooms, sweet red plums, blackcurrants at the background, mild sweet oak, tiny touch of leather and cedar. This was close to my perfect level of tertiary development for a Bordeaux blend. As the wine breathed, the nose just kept getting more and more opened and aromatic. Immense stamina in the glass, and I never saw the wine drop off even by the 5-6 hours mark. While the cedar slowly grew more prominent over time, the wine was always in great balance, including maintaining its tertiary funk.

On the palate: high purity of red fruit with a surprising high intensity. Wine was mid body – this wasn’t necessarily power or concentration. More purity and finesse. Super elegant. And did I mention that bright juicy acidity? This was still so energetic it really surprised me. Fully resolved tannins. Mid++ finish

Did I mention this went absolutely perfectly with the umami bomb of a shallot-anchovies pasta?