Heard the story of sleeping beauty? Well in this case maybe “The Sleeping Beast” might be a little more appropriate, but you get the drift. While it was far from a prince’s kiss that work this wine up, its time at slumber in the cellar has been well spent. From the moment you popped the cork,( yes a cork it is that old!!!), you know that you are onto something special as strong aromas of dark brooding fruit and chocolate spill out. Acting its age these primary fruit characters quickly start to give you to tobacco and cedar flavours which structure the palate and make you think of steak and log fires. As such you need limited decanting time, but any time in the decanter will always benefit this wine and allow you to pick the moment when you find the combination of fruit and tannins just right. While still very big and tanninic, the edge of the tannins has lost its bite, resulting in a big mouth fill but with a smooth dry tanninic finish. Just a pleasure to find this wine again and see how it has grown up. If sitting down to a big Christmas roast lunch this is the special wine of the day I would be reaching for every time.