1993 Monbousquet

It is no secret to anyone following the Bordeaux wine scene that Monbousquet, with its new young, passionate proprietor, is pushing the envelop of quality. As a result, recent vintages have produced the finest wines I have ever tasted from this estate. Yields for 1993 were just over two tons an acre, and in 1994 and 1995, well under two tons an acre. In addition to trying to emulate the great success enjoyed by such St.-Emilion chateaux as Angelus, Troplong-Mondot, and Valandraud, Monbousquet is being bottled with no fining or filtration. One of the sleepers of the vintage, this lavishly-oaked, dense purple-colored wine reveals gobs of sweet black-cherry and cassis fruit, intertwined with aromas of smoke and new oak. Extracted and rich, with no hard edges, this is a fat, glycerin-endowed, chewy, pure St.-Emilion that can be drunk young, or cellared for 10-12 years.