2003 Hermitage Les Bessards

Showing similar to a bottle last year, the 2003 Hermitage les Bessards is a big, full-bore, pedal-to-the-metal Hermitage that's loaded with currants, smoked meats, roasted herbs, beef blood and chocolate. Decadent, voluptuous and full-bodied with sweet tannin, it has beautiful purity of fruit and a terrific finish. it's an incredible wine that can be enjoyed anytime over the coming two decades.

Medium ruby. Began youthfully closed, but with aeration this revealed deep, ripe aromas of dark cherry, plum, bitter chocolate, espresso and minerals. Firmly built and brooding, with flavors of dark berries, licorice and tobacco carrying through the finish. A big, almost hulking wine that will need some serious cellaring to gain complexity and definition. But this appear to have all the necessary elements.

Saturated ruby. Roasted black fruits, gunflint, minerals and a whiff of meat on the nose: very Bessards. Dense, silky and suave, with great depth of chocolatey black fruit. As large as this is, it's not at all heavy. In fact, this shows superb mineral lift in the mouth and explosive length. Fabulous fine-grained tannins coat the entire palate.