I don't know what it is with this wine and me, but I feel as if over the years it has become my version of Jim's 1989 Lynch Bages - for my palate, just a perfect match; to watch it evolve and unfurl over the years, revealing a wee bit more of its secrets with each and every new bottle as it evolves. I don't know that I've ever had a "perfect" bottle of wine, but this comes about as close as it can for me with the 375ml of it opened yet again last night. I've always felt over the last 5-10 years that this one was a bit of a sleeper, and relatively undervalued vintage for HB - but I am saddened to see that that is indeed no longer the case (same with the 2002!), and the price is now more reflective of the quality.
This is about everything I desire in a Bordeaux - captivating, spellbinding, etc. When I smell the nose, it transports me to a cigar bar - the sweet scent of tobacco, smoke in the background, with the faint smell of the leather bound books in the mahogany book cases....and on the palate, just really really really coming into its own, particularly in the last few years. Still somewhat understated on the palate, but with enough air, it is starting to show brilliantly now - I would imagine in another 5-10 years, this will be regarded as a near perfect wine (certainly for my palate). Dark fruits, boysenberry, cedar, sweet tobacco, a bit of tarry ash, etc.
An experience I do not often have given the price point and my limited remaining bottles - but it never fails to disappoint....and each time I open one, it always feels like "I'm coming home"....that emotional attachment we all crave with a bottle, an experience, that just keeps us coming back for more in this crazy hobby and passion of ours
