Slightly roasted, lower-toned aromas of cassis, chocolate, grilled nuts and botanical herbs. Like liquid velvet on entry, then firmed in the middle palate by a solid spine of acidity and an impression of strong mineral content. Still has a lot of baby fat but this also boasts buns of steel. Finishes with broad, dusty, surprisingly pliant tannins and superb length. An outstanding--and unusually outsized--wine from what Christian Seely characterized as "an LBV year." (ST)

The 1996 Nacional offers up a stunningly complex and bottomless nose, but it is not quite as vibrant as the 1997. The beautifully complex bouquet wafts from the glass in a mélange of cassis, black cherries, tar, cigar ash, dark soil tones, a bit of coffee grounds and a dollop of cedar. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, powerful and rock solid at the core, with still some fairly substantial, youthful tannins to resolve, lovely focus and balance and stunning backend intensity on the still fairly adolescent finish. This is not as refined a vintage of Nacional as either the 2000 or the 1997, but there is an awful lot of stuffing here that will carry this wine a very, very long way in bottle.

Dark ruby with some purple. Aromas of spices, bark, wet earth and black fruits. Floral. Medium-bodied, lightly sweet, firm and racy tannins and an open finish. Lovely finish. Starting to drink beautifully. Drink or hold.