1996 Musigny

(with thanks to Robert Bookman and Bonnie Wai). This is quite deeply colored for a '96 and evidences no bricking after 13 years. Perhaps the best part of this wine is the nose, which is warm, inviting, seductive and gorgeously complex with abundant spice notes and really lovely elegance though there is also much to be said for the rich and phenolically ripe flavors that coat the palate with velvet on the broad and surprisingly round finish. I say surprisingly because there was none of the typical '96 edginess or green acidity and while this will certainly continue to hold, I would be drinking this now and over the next ten years. An excellent wine in the context of a variable vintage. Tasted twice with similar notes.

The 1996 Musigny from Jacques Prieur must represent one of their finest wines that decade, and it has reached a perfect equilibrium almost 20 years on. Deep in color, it has a luscious mulberry, raspberry preserve and undergrowth scented bouquet that is beautifully defined, with hints of lavender emerging with continued aeration. The palate has plenty of sweetness, fine tannin and impressive depth. What is most entrancing is the purity in evidence here, and the the manner in which it just winds down towards an elegant finish. Pierre Rovani enthused about this Musigny upon release; I am inclined to agree with him. Oct 2015, www.robertparker.com