Nose combines cigar ash, smoky wood, a little pleasant under-ripe greenness, some red currant, touch of chipotle.
On the palate, tangy mouthwatering acidity is the first predominant feature, then structurally tannins make an appearance to make an impression of a strong, muscular body in the mid-palate.
Flavor-wise, the smoke and a touch of earth are strong, together with the red fruits.
Overall, there could certainly be more complexity, “stuffing,” more of a back-end, as the finish is not particularly long.
Certainly not great or even very compelling, but it does show some unfinished promise, kind of the hallmark of a fine site in a poor vintage, I’d say.
Drank a nice one in 2012.
Agree on the mouthwatering acidity (great with Wagyu steak), and nice smoke. I mostly noted blackberries as the main fruit-flavor.
A very fine '94 ATM, IMHO. -I don’t do points, but this one could reach 90+, -if I was forced to score it.
Two bottles left, and I look forward to the next pop, some years from now.
-The '93, on the other hand, has always disappointed Me, as a diluted, herbaceous, “sour” wine…
I don’t always score points, either, and the wine is fine and has a classic quality and is enjoyable to drink.
As for the score, I also didn’t want to overinflate it just because it was good.
It was not excellent, though like I said it had some nice constituent parts, like a sculpture partway complete but not entirely done.
I had the 1997 10 years ago and obviously that was at a much different point in its drinking cycle but I would rank it (at the time) as superior to the 1994 yesterday. I rated it 89. Obviously neither an amazing vintage.
I think you had a really bad bottle. We have one every year as it is my son’s birth year, and there is a Mouton story connected with it.
There is a little variation, and I have never had a sub 90 point wine, in fact the color has barely changed from the first time we tasted it, so the “orange rim” indicates a bottle that has had some issues with storage or transport.