1999 Vosne Romanee Les Suchots

Bright, full red, with a slightly pale rim. Explosive nose right out of the chute: black raspberry, spices, truffle, coffee and cocoa powder, plus an ineffable carnal quality. Plush and utterly seamless; not the most concentrated vintage of Suchots that Yves Confuron has made but wonderfully silky and spherical, showing near-grand cru class and texture to its berry, mocha and underbrush flavors. Finishes very long, with serious but smooth tannins that reach the front teeth and build. (Confuron insisted that his 1996 Suchots was more intense and backward, then opened a bottle to prove his point. It was less silky but more intense than the '99, not to mention younger and more incisive, showing uncanny saline mineral energy. It's already remarkably complex but still needs more time in bottle to expand further. I rated it 96+.).