1988 - Bonnes Mares Grand Cru Vieilles Vignes, Georges Roumier

The 1988 Bonnes-Mares Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru represents the only time that Christophe Roumier parsed his older vines from the regular cuvée. One important difference is that this included 50% stems, although the remainder of the élevage was the same. It has slightly more horsepower than the regular cuvée, more fruit intensity but curiously you would think that the regular is the one that contains stems. This is a little more opulent and vivid with dark cherries, cassis and bergamot, crushed stone and perhaps more violet than rose petal. The palate is supple and lithe in the mouth, quite intense with juicy ripe tannin, fine acidity and with a hint of menthol in the bottle shown in Hong Kong (not present in the London bottle). With fine salinity on the finish, this is a wondrous and indeed, rare bottle since only three barrels were ever produced. However, controversial as it may sound, the regular Bonnes-Mares has ended up maturing with more style. Tasted at the Roumier verticals in Hong Kong and London.