WTN: 1988 Jean Gros Richebourg

Appearance: translucent deep red, with an orange rim that says this is an old wine. The aroma: oh, my. Who needs to drink this wine? I could just inhale it forever. Generous aromas of roasted strawberries and raspberries (OK, I've never roasted a strawberry or raspberry, but if I ever did, I think this is what it would smell like). And some oak. Extremely fragrant, and complex and elegant. You can lose yourself in the aroma of this wine. On the palate, red fruits and a roasted quality. Just a hint of soft tannins and oak in the background. There's a good bit of acidity, too, that carries the fruit into the finish, where it does the "peacock's tail" effect of suddenly exploding, and then lingering on and on.

Folks, this is what great red Burgundy is all about. This is why Richebourg is rated Grand Cru.

Triple Curly and a woo woo!!

-Paul W.

Nice way to celebrate your birthday. Happy birthday again, glad both that and the Port showed well!

Thanks for the note Paul. I have been sitting on a couple bottles of this for 20 years now, waiting for it to be ready!

Lovely notes, Paul,

I perfectly understand your comment about just sniffing the wine, instead of actually drinking it. Great Burgundy has the very same effect on me.

Cheers, Anders

Thanks for the note Paul. I have been sitting on a couple bottles of this for 20 years now, waiting for it to be ready!

Paul, you are twice blessed. This was, alas, my only bottle of this great wine. But what a treat it was! If I were you, I'd enjoy it while it's at its peak. The acidity says to me that this wine has nowhere to go but down.

Of course, with a wine this old, every bottle is bound to be different.

Salut,

-Paul W.