Chateau Lafon-Rochet 1996 Saint-Estephe

onemore

Nose: Mmm, earthy—like sitting in a cluster of mossy stones and trees beside a barnyard. There's a little chalk and gravel, a good dose of dark fruit (plums, black cherries, black currant), green peppers, and that bacon smell I love to find in wine.

Those scents came after an hour of decanting. When I first opened the bottle and poured into my decanter, I smelled creamy cherry/blackberry/black currant cobbler with a lot of chalky stone and a hint of bacon.

Taste: Mmm, vegetal—those green peppers are mixed with green beans, bacon, cherries, and black currant, with a little spice and dirty gravel. The tannins are nice: not too soft, not too bitter. The mouthfeel is lush, fleshy, and elegant. The cherry finish doesn't last as long as I'd like, but it doesn't abruptly drop off.

This wine is drinking well right now. I have another bottle in my kitchen that I'm saving for an upcoming dinner party. I think it'll go over pretty well with the dinner guests.

Tasting Tags: bacon barnyard black chalk cherry dirt earthy elegant fleshy gravel green greenbeans lush moss pepper plum spice vegetal