WTN: 1999 Sang des Cailloux Vacqueyras

[geo t.]

1999 Sang des Cailloux Vacqueyras, $19.99, 13.8% alc.: There's still no rust showing in the deep, dark garnet color of this old friend, but it's finally coming around and entering a nice drinking window. It's tight when first poured, but with 45 minutes to an hour's worth of air, it really blossoms into a fine Vacqueyras. Giving grilled meat, black fruit and some barnyard and rotting vegetation on the nose when first poured, the funky notes mostly blow off to reveal a root beer - rock & rye - cola character. Big, rich and powerful in the mouth, the flavors follow through on the promise of the aromatics with plenty of structure and a nice finish. Still on the way up, with a good three to five years of improvement ahead of it, so why have we gone through six bottles since New Years? Must have had something to do with how well it's drinking already, because there sure hasn't been any Red Wings action to enjoy it with. I'll try to keep hands off that last bottle for a while, but...

Imported by Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA

-From (Not Just) Flotsam & Jetsam

Reporting from Day-twah,

geo t.