1998 - Hermitage Marquise de la Tourrette, Delas

"This is a powerful, rich wine, aged in 50% new oak and 50% one-year old barrels. It is bottled with neither fining nor filtration. The 1998 Hermitage Marquise de la Tourette exhibits a remarkably huge, chewy mid-palate as well as formidable persistence, but it is very tannic and backward. Readers who are not willing to invest 8-10 years of cellaring should forget about this wine. Some toasty new oak is present, but the primary characteristic is the layers of black fruits intertwined with minerals. "