Vinous, Stephen Tanzer: (from barrel) (the estate had a close-to-normal crop of 35 hectoliters per hectare in Bressandes): Dark red with ruby highlights. Slightly cool aromas of blackberry, licorice, bitter chocolate and black pepper. Riper and smoother in the middle palate than the nose suggests but still quite dark and medicinal for this wine, showing an obvious minty element. There's no shortage of texture here but the finish is ultimately a bit clenched, with dusty tannins apparent today. I was surprised to hear that this wine was less touched by hail than most of the estate's other vineyards. 89-91
