This is for Jenise, mostly: Lynn said you must have gotten a bad bottle. It's very good. The nose effortlessly effused lovely aromas of burnt spice or spicy meat, or andouille sausage, on an asphault bed, giving the impression of great inky depth. Wonderful lead pencil and cassis, cedar and other wood, like a Pauillac, and a very nice finish. Beautiful, strong concentration; better mouthfeel than with most '97s. Mostly it was just wonderfully classy, showing that breeding that some people refer to. We both think it is one of the very best '97s we have drunk.
It would be great to get a couple of other opinions. Some might think that Lynn and I are just partial to '97s and can find no wrong in them. If a couple of other people found this wine to be ho-hum, I might accept this explanation of how Jenise and I could be so far apart on this one.
Hope you have the opportunity to try another bottle sometime, Jenise. But they won't last for too many more years. There was a hint of finality in the bottle, unfortunately.