Dark garnet with a ruby rim. Lovely scents of plum, mocha and tobacco regale the nose. Sweet on entry, then nicely delineated, with flavors of plum jam, licorice, mint and tar. Plushly textured, with full fuzzy tannins, this medium-to-full-bodied... Read More
The 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard, is a beauty. The healthy ruby/purple color is followed by classic, unevolved but promising aromas of minerals, cedar, smoke, and black currants. The wine is medium to full-bodied, with... Read More
The 1997 Cinq Cepages is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Petit-Verdot, it boasts a super-complex bouquet of licorice, dried herbs, black currants, spice box, and cherry liqueur.... Read More
Consistently one of the most profound wines of Barsac/Sauternes, this wine, made from 100% Semillon, is one of the most ravishing examples of just how much elegance can be built into a powerful race horse style of wine. The classic... Read More
The dark ruby 1997 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, with a ripe nose of raspberries, tar, and oak spices, is solid, deep, and long on the palate. Plush and with perceptible tar and mineral notes on the fresh finish, it will easily... Read More
The 1997 Dominus, a blend of 86.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 4.5% Merlot, is showing fabulously well. With 14.1% alcohol and a pH that would make many New World oenologists shudder (about 3.95), this wine is a... Read More
The 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa exhibits an opaque purple color as well as a gorgeous nose of pure cassis and blackberries with flinty notions in the background. Full-bodied, powerful, tannic, pure, and backward, it needs another... Read More
Readers should not overlook the dense purple-colored 1997 Maiden, a creamy-textured, full-bodied, unctuously thick, rich wine. Jammy cassis, new oak, smoke, and espresso notes explode from this blockbuster. An amazing effort,... Read More
The 1997 Harlan Estate is one of the greatest Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines I have ever tasted. A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, with the rest Merlot and Cabernet Franc, this enormously-endowed, profoundly rich wine must be... Read More
The 1997 Hermitage rouge is unusual in its fruit-forward, user-friendly style. The color is a dense ruby/purple. The gorgeous, evolved bouquet of cassis, minerals, herbs, underbrush, and licorice is intense. Creamy-textured, full-bodied,... Read More
Saturated bright ruby. Black raspberry, sandalwood, and a slightly medicinal suggestion of Dr. Pepper on the superripe nose. Thick, deep and mouthfilling; intriguing flavors of black fruits, tobacco, leather and iron. Finishes... Read More
A solid wine. Good dried cherry and berry aromas follow through to a medium-bodied palate, with light tannins and a fruity finish. Perhaps not as impressive as in barrel. Best from 2001 through 2005. -JS WS
A star of the vintage, this classy, cedary, black currant, and sweet cherry-scented, dense ruby-colored Las Cases exhibits a beautiful dosage of new oak, medium body, expansive, ripe, concentrated flavors, plenty of glycerin,... Read More
Mineral, blueberry, plum, and earthy characteristics can be found in the dark purple-colored 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain (700 cases). Soft in the mouth, but full-bodied, dense, and rich, it is an immensely impressive... Read More
The 1997 Chambertin Clos de Beze was harvested at an unheard of (for Burgundy) 14.2 natural potential alcohol. This black/purple-colored benchmark-setter displays saliva-inducing cookie dough and cherry syrup aromas. Immensely... Read More
The 1997 Chambertin Clos de Beze was harvested at an unheard of (for Burgundy) 14.2 natural potential alcohol. This black/purple-colored benchmark-setter displays saliva-inducing cookie dough and cherry syrup aromas. Immensely... Read More