This was the first bottle from a case of '88 Burgs Jean purchased earlier this year at auction. We decanted it 20 minutes prior to dinner.
n: initally, a bit closed, opening to smoke, minerals, barnyard and black raspberries p: dark fruit, minerals, acidity, deep, rich, fully resolved tannins
Served with mesquite-grilled ribeye steaks, a pairing that worked wonderfully with this very powerful NSG, the wine showed beautifully. It continued opening up for 30-45 minutes, taking on more traditional PN character and reminding me at times of a Russian River Vly PN, but with much more acidity. Interestingly, the steaks really brought the raspberry fruit out of this wine, rendering the match a 4 on the Hoare scale, much to my surprise. Overall, a very pleasurable experience, and a vote for the success of the '88 vintage in the Cote de Nuits.
Mark Lipton