The most prominent impressions here are of tenderly ripe and scintillatingly aromatic and juicy strawberries tinged with freesia and mint as well as a drop of distillate from the berries. Black tea smokiness and piquancy of cherry pit help set into relief the lusciously pure fruit delivered on a liltingly buoyant, silken palate, while wafting perfume and saliva-liberating salinity accompany a sensationally expansive and persistent finish. Since there have been five vintages of this cuvee, it should soon become possible to address the issue of its bottle potential. Meantime, as with its white “General de la Revolution,” you certainly don’t want to miss out on savoring bottles over the next couple of years given how amazingly delicious this is – and, you’ll soon discover, how versatile too. On the other hand, if you can locate and afford sufficient bottles, hold-back a couple for a longer voyage of discovery. (DS)